Hello Parents,
I have posted on here and our Facebook page a link to sign up for conferences. Please let me know if you can't get it to work.
Reading- So we are off due to the snow. We had our test day on Tuesday. On Wednesday we started the last story in this unit. The story they will be reading is The Black Stallion. I felt pretty old when I said the title and they gave me these looks that said,"What????" I gave them their pretest today. I usually give them some kind of clue about the list. Their clue today was--words from other countries! I love this one! They always think I'm giving them words in other languages until they start to hear the list! We did have some fun words like: dungarees, siesta, tycoon! So, their posttest will be on Tuesday of next week, I think. We are going to just take it day by day!
Religion- As part of our Lenten promise this year, I decided I would add prayer to our list. We were going to start last week, but that didn't work out. So, this week I took each religion class to the chapel and we prayed the rosary. These kids have it down pat! I love saying the rosary, but when I know they know it and they enjoy that quiet time in the chapel...there is nothing like it! We will go once a week throughout the Lenten season. They are also working on a Lent chapter in our book. They have been creating posters that I will be hanging in our hallway. Each poster will tell you a little about Lent or things we celebrate during this time.
Math- They did some division with the Base 10 blocks and on Tuesday they had to do some estimating with decimals. We had to remember how to find compatible numbers from our old division chapter. That just means finding numbers that go together easily and I know there won't be a remainder. Numbers like 7 and 49 or 5 and 25. We will start the standard algorithm this week too.
Scott Boyle- I think the kids really loved listening to him! He was on their level and kept them busy! I am going to church tonight to listen to him speak again. He had the adults a little teary-eyed at times! He just had some really touching and meaningful pictures and videos that he shared. I highly recommend everyone to come and listen!
Auction- Thank you so much!!!!! The gardening basket looks awesome! I hope many of you will be at the dinner and auction to see it! We couldn't do something like that without you! I really like our silent auction poster/picture as well! Thank you, Danielle and the other moms for putting it all together!
I hope you have a great weekend! Maybe I will see you at the auction!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Hi Parents,
I just wanted to clue you in about the next few weeks in our reading class before we head to spring break. Usually our reading is Monday-Friday with each story, but due to our snow days we are now off. So, that means their spelling posttests and reading tests won't necessarily land on a Friday. The story we were working on this past week will now be tested over on Tuesday. I will start a new story on Wednesday. When I looked ahead, it worked out okay because we would still be able to get a unit test in and possibly a new story from our next unit before we leave for break. So I can't tell you to have them practice their spelling words every Thursday night. I will try and keep you in the loop on when those end of the week tests will happen! I know week 19 will be on Tuesday, February 27.
Thanks for understanding!
Miss Surma
I just wanted to clue you in about the next few weeks in our reading class before we head to spring break. Usually our reading is Monday-Friday with each story, but due to our snow days we are now off. So, that means their spelling posttests and reading tests won't necessarily land on a Friday. The story we were working on this past week will now be tested over on Tuesday. I will start a new story on Wednesday. When I looked ahead, it worked out okay because we would still be able to get a unit test in and possibly a new story from our next unit before we leave for break. So I can't tell you to have them practice their spelling words every Thursday night. I will try and keep you in the loop on when those end of the week tests will happen! I know week 19 will be on Tuesday, February 27.
Thanks for understanding!
Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Hello Parents,
I hope you are enjoying this crazy week of school and weather! We may just have to hold on to see how the rest of the week goes! That forecast isn't looking very good. Hey, all 18 were back to school today!!! Woo hoo!
Reading- This week they read a story about a young boy named Darnell who writes an article for the local newspaper to persuade people to turn the basketball court into a community garden for the homeless. Another girl in his class writes an article as well, but she is wanting it to become a parking lot for the teachers at school. They end up going to the city council to have them vote on it. Darnell loses, but he also gets the opportunity to write another article for the paper because someone in town wants to donate land to follow through with his plan. So in a way, he wins too. We talk a lot about the power of persuasion. We also talked a lot about how people typecast the homeless without really knowing their situation and then treat them as though they are less than. One of the councilmen did that in the story. Our grammar this week is pronouns: indefinite, possessive, and interrogative. There is quite a list again. I will let them refer to their list on the test on Friday.
Math- We just started using the Base 10 blocks to divide whole numbers into decimals. They didn't get to work on it on Wednesday, but we will be back at it on Thursday. This gives them a better idea of what is happening before they do it on paper. The dividing will be the same, but now they will have to put a decimal in their answer.
Religion- We started our unit on Lent. They are working in pairs or small groups on posters. Each poster will teach others some aspect of Lent. I think we will post them outside our room after they are all finished.
Next week Wednesday, Scott Boyle will be here to speak to the kids in grades 3-5. Later he is speaking to the kids in 6-8. He will also be speaking at Holy Spirit that night for anyone interested in listening to him. I believe he is going to talk to our kids about Lent, but also the saints.
Noisy Change Collection- This will now take place at the 3rd grade mass next week.
Auction- Any donations for the basket or silent auction are due this Friday! I have a note in your folder. Thank you to anyone who has already contributed.
With the forecast being what it is... we are just playing things from day to day. I just hope we don't get any more ice!
Book Reports- They are all done now! I will grade them as soon as I can, but it has just been crazy to find a little extra time. Please be patient. 😊😊
Have a good weekend! Stay safe and warm!
God Bless, Miss Surma
I hope you are enjoying this crazy week of school and weather! We may just have to hold on to see how the rest of the week goes! That forecast isn't looking very good. Hey, all 18 were back to school today!!! Woo hoo!
Reading- This week they read a story about a young boy named Darnell who writes an article for the local newspaper to persuade people to turn the basketball court into a community garden for the homeless. Another girl in his class writes an article as well, but she is wanting it to become a parking lot for the teachers at school. They end up going to the city council to have them vote on it. Darnell loses, but he also gets the opportunity to write another article for the paper because someone in town wants to donate land to follow through with his plan. So in a way, he wins too. We talk a lot about the power of persuasion. We also talked a lot about how people typecast the homeless without really knowing their situation and then treat them as though they are less than. One of the councilmen did that in the story. Our grammar this week is pronouns: indefinite, possessive, and interrogative. There is quite a list again. I will let them refer to their list on the test on Friday.
Math- We just started using the Base 10 blocks to divide whole numbers into decimals. They didn't get to work on it on Wednesday, but we will be back at it on Thursday. This gives them a better idea of what is happening before they do it on paper. The dividing will be the same, but now they will have to put a decimal in their answer.
Religion- We started our unit on Lent. They are working in pairs or small groups on posters. Each poster will teach others some aspect of Lent. I think we will post them outside our room after they are all finished.
Next week Wednesday, Scott Boyle will be here to speak to the kids in grades 3-5. Later he is speaking to the kids in 6-8. He will also be speaking at Holy Spirit that night for anyone interested in listening to him. I believe he is going to talk to our kids about Lent, but also the saints.
Noisy Change Collection- This will now take place at the 3rd grade mass next week.
Auction- Any donations for the basket or silent auction are due this Friday! I have a note in your folder. Thank you to anyone who has already contributed.
With the forecast being what it is... we are just playing things from day to day. I just hope we don't get any more ice!
Book Reports- They are all done now! I will grade them as soon as I can, but it has just been crazy to find a little extra time. Please be patient. 😊😊
Have a good weekend! Stay safe and warm!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! It is a little bit of a crazy week with Valentine's Day and Fat Tuesday, but then Ash Wednesday to follow.
Reading- This week they are reading a nonfiction story by Peg Kehret. She wrote about the time she attempted to write a newspaper about her dog. Her dog has a special background. He was found as a newborn puppy during WWII by her uncle. He and his buddies took care of the dog and raised him. When the war was over, her uncle took him back to Minnesota with him. They are also working on identifying facts and opinions within the story. Our grammar piece is working on prepositions. We are creating some interactive notebooks. I am allowing them to use them during their tests on Fridays because I know these are hard to pick out. The notebook might not have the answer, but it will hopefully guide them in the right direction.
Math- The test over our chapter took 2 days. Our next chapter is on dividing decimals. It looks like next week they will be doing some of that hands-on with Base 10 blocks.
Religion- They finished this chapter in perfect time. Ash Wednesday is here and that begins our Lenten season. Our next chapter will focus on that.I also told them that during our Lenten season, I was going to take them to the chapel once a week. We will pray the Rosary. They filled out their Lenten promises on Tuesday.
Auction- Danielle Steele is going to take some pictures of the kids on the 20th for our silent auction item. We had 2 other dates, but she has had a sick child. We said we would go with the 20th and whoever is here will be in the pictures. We can't wait for all 18 to be here. Please remember to do what you can to help donate to our 3-5 auction basket and our silent auction item. Many hands make it much easier!!! I appreciate the donations we've received so far. Thank you!!!
Need for a Break- Some of the 5th graders are kind of struggling with appropriate behaviors and responses to behaviors. I see a lot of knit-picking on things that aren't big things, but they are getting frustrated more easily so they act out by pushing or hitting or just doing things that they don't normally do. It isn't everyone. I am not calling anyone out on it. I know they need spring break and our indoor recesses don't help. I am trying to teach them that pushing back (physically or with words) is not going to get the result you were hoping for,but instead it could cause you to have a consequence. There are some things we just need to blow off and there are other things that hurt our feelings or could hurt us physically. We need to use our common sense before doing reacting. This is NOT anything new. It usually starts in February. I am just making everyone aware. Again, nothing so serious that I need to contact you personally. We are just getting into that Spring Fever mode. We need to stop before before we act and think.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. I need to head back home. My siblings and I are purchasing a bench as a memorial for our parents in our hometown. I need to go home and help with the design,etc.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- This week they are reading a nonfiction story by Peg Kehret. She wrote about the time she attempted to write a newspaper about her dog. Her dog has a special background. He was found as a newborn puppy during WWII by her uncle. He and his buddies took care of the dog and raised him. When the war was over, her uncle took him back to Minnesota with him. They are also working on identifying facts and opinions within the story. Our grammar piece is working on prepositions. We are creating some interactive notebooks. I am allowing them to use them during their tests on Fridays because I know these are hard to pick out. The notebook might not have the answer, but it will hopefully guide them in the right direction.
Math- The test over our chapter took 2 days. Our next chapter is on dividing decimals. It looks like next week they will be doing some of that hands-on with Base 10 blocks.
Religion- They finished this chapter in perfect time. Ash Wednesday is here and that begins our Lenten season. Our next chapter will focus on that.I also told them that during our Lenten season, I was going to take them to the chapel once a week. We will pray the Rosary. They filled out their Lenten promises on Tuesday.
Auction- Danielle Steele is going to take some pictures of the kids on the 20th for our silent auction item. We had 2 other dates, but she has had a sick child. We said we would go with the 20th and whoever is here will be in the pictures. We can't wait for all 18 to be here. Please remember to do what you can to help donate to our 3-5 auction basket and our silent auction item. Many hands make it much easier!!! I appreciate the donations we've received so far. Thank you!!!
Need for a Break- Some of the 5th graders are kind of struggling with appropriate behaviors and responses to behaviors. I see a lot of knit-picking on things that aren't big things, but they are getting frustrated more easily so they act out by pushing or hitting or just doing things that they don't normally do. It isn't everyone. I am not calling anyone out on it. I know they need spring break and our indoor recesses don't help. I am trying to teach them that pushing back (physically or with words) is not going to get the result you were hoping for,but instead it could cause you to have a consequence. There are some things we just need to blow off and there are other things that hurt our feelings or could hurt us physically. We need to use our common sense before doing reacting. This is NOT anything new. It usually starts in February. I am just making everyone aware. Again, nothing so serious that I need to contact you personally. We are just getting into that Spring Fever mode. We need to stop before before we act and think.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. I need to head back home. My siblings and I are purchasing a bench as a memorial for our parents in our hometown. I need to go home and help with the design,etc.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Happy Thursday Parents,
I hope your week is going well and that you and your family are all well. It seems like the sickness stuff is going around again. We are washing our desks. I am not shaking hands in the morning. We are doing fist bumps. :) Germ-X Germ-X Germ-X!
Reading- This week we are reading a story called LAFFF. It is about a boy who builds a time machine that can only go to the future, but not for very long. His neighbor gets him to send her to the future so she can read the winning story in their school magazine and then go back and write it herself. She wants to win. Once she does win, the guilt sets in because she realizes she copied someone else's work and then won! It isn't until her friend talks to her that she realizes she was the author the entire time. She copied her own work. Our story also ends with her reading her story to her friend. What the kids realize is that her story is our story! It comes full circle. It is a great little mystery and I just love when they realize we were reading it all along.
In their notebooks they are creating an interactive notebook that focuses on our grammar. We are working on adverbs this week. They are words that describe other verbs. They answer questions like how? when? where? and how often? Many adverbs end in -ly.
Math- On Tuesday we started multiplying decimals times decimals. It went pretty well. They know how to multiply, they just need to figure out where that decimal goes now. They did better than I expected that first day!
Religion- I have hung up their saint reports in the hallway. I've received compliments from others who have stopped by to read them. I focused on having them choose one saint because our chapter works heavily with the sacrament of confirmation,and when they get confirmed they will have to choose one. Next week we will be writing our Lenten promises. If they are giving something up, that will begin on the 14th.
Mass- Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. It is also our 5th grade mass. I was able to give everyone a job! You are more than welcome to join us for mass. It will most likely be a bigger crowd due to it being Ash Wednesday!
Valentines Day- We will have our party on the 13th at the end of the day. If your child is bringing in Valentines, make sure they do one for every classmate.
Auction- IF you are able to help out with our live auction basket or silent auction item, please do so! I put a letter in your child's folder about our silent auction item. If you are donating, please send it with your child. I will get it to the parents in charge of this! Thanks so much!
Have a great weekend! Stay warm.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
I hope your week is going well and that you and your family are all well. It seems like the sickness stuff is going around again. We are washing our desks. I am not shaking hands in the morning. We are doing fist bumps. :) Germ-X Germ-X Germ-X!
Reading- This week we are reading a story called LAFFF. It is about a boy who builds a time machine that can only go to the future, but not for very long. His neighbor gets him to send her to the future so she can read the winning story in their school magazine and then go back and write it herself. She wants to win. Once she does win, the guilt sets in because she realizes she copied someone else's work and then won! It isn't until her friend talks to her that she realizes she was the author the entire time. She copied her own work. Our story also ends with her reading her story to her friend. What the kids realize is that her story is our story! It comes full circle. It is a great little mystery and I just love when they realize we were reading it all along.
In their notebooks they are creating an interactive notebook that focuses on our grammar. We are working on adverbs this week. They are words that describe other verbs. They answer questions like how? when? where? and how often? Many adverbs end in -ly.
Math- On Tuesday we started multiplying decimals times decimals. It went pretty well. They know how to multiply, they just need to figure out where that decimal goes now. They did better than I expected that first day!
Religion- I have hung up their saint reports in the hallway. I've received compliments from others who have stopped by to read them. I focused on having them choose one saint because our chapter works heavily with the sacrament of confirmation,and when they get confirmed they will have to choose one. Next week we will be writing our Lenten promises. If they are giving something up, that will begin on the 14th.
Mass- Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. It is also our 5th grade mass. I was able to give everyone a job! You are more than welcome to join us for mass. It will most likely be a bigger crowd due to it being Ash Wednesday!
Valentines Day- We will have our party on the 13th at the end of the day. If your child is bringing in Valentines, make sure they do one for every classmate.
Auction- IF you are able to help out with our live auction basket or silent auction item, please do so! I put a letter in your child's folder about our silent auction item. If you are donating, please send it with your child. I will get it to the parents in charge of this! Thanks so much!
Have a great weekend! Stay warm.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
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