Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! Our trip to St. Louis was GREAT! We had a lot of fun, plus we all took back a lot of great ideas for future activities at STM.  Most of my sessions were religion based. They dealt mostly with ideas for service projects. 

Field Trip- First, thank you to the parents that went with us to Des Moines. Your assistance was wonderful. The day went so great! Once again, I got a little teary eyed watching them all perform their jobs. They have been working so hard at school, it was just so great to see them put it all into action. They learned to value their lunch breaks! They were so busy. Mrs. Sickels and I helped in the book store. I couldn't believe how quickly we had to work. Our CEO was constantly paying bills after her lunch break! 

Reading- We are reading our last story Lewis & Clark in this unit. We read about their expedition to find a waterway that went from one coast to the other. We learned about the barriers that slowed them down.  In grammar they are working on contractions. In spelling we are working on the adding the suffix-ion. They will test on Friday. Next week will be our unit test week. 

After that, we will be working on Unit 6, but I will also be doing the play with them. We most likely won't finish Unit 6. Most of them have also picked their latest autobiography or biography book. I told them they needed to make that choice by this Friday. They have a packet with the information needed to create this book report. They will have to have a costume. I told them NOT to go out and buy something...check their closet or yours! The Rerun may also have something they can use. If you have questions- shoot me an email. These will be due on May 24.  The packet also includes questions for them to answer as they read their book. I did tell them that once they are done reading the book and if they still have questions that are unanswered, they can look those up online.  They are required to read the book first. 

Math- Now that Biz Town is done, we will get back to our division chapter! 

Religion- I meant to show this before Easter, but I couldn't find my tapes. I did find them finally in the lounge! They are watching The Ten Commandments.

On Wednesday, Troy McBroom, Mrs. Kendrick's dad, came to our room to talk to the 3-5th graders about his trip to Israel. It was so cool. We saw pictures of the Jordan River, he showed us pictures of the cave in which Jesus was born. They had to put marble down on the floor because too many people were coming in to chip it away and take it with them. He showed us the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before he was arrested.  We saw the place that Pilate most likely held the trial of Jesus. He showed us where David fought Goliath. He even brought some rocks back from that area. He gave each child a small bottle of shells from the Sea of Galilee. He taught them some common words to say in Hebrew. 

Lap-A-Thon is set for Thursday, May 4. The kids should wear clothes that are comfortable to run in. They may want sweats in case it is chilly. I usually recommend 2 pairs of shoes and socks for that day. Many times that ground is really muddy. This way they can change when they get done. They can bring a water bottle and music to listen to while they run. They should return their pledge envelope by next week. There will be a sign up genius being sent out to all parents if you want to help that day. 

Next week is May already!!! Where did our year go?? My time with your kids is running out! 

Please continue to pray for Leisha Clark and her family with the passing of her mom.  Father also announced that Father Pins' mother also passed away. We will keep them in our prayers. 

Have a great weekend! 
God Bless, 
Miss Surma