Hello Parents, I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I had a really nice visit in Arkansas. I much prefer our hilly drives compared to their winding roads! Due to the amount of rain we've been getting, my classroom received a lot of water over the weekend at different times. The 5th graders have been really good about being flexible on having to move to the gym on Wednesday. They have helped me move stuff out of the way of the water as well! Right now there is a temporary wall outside my window. They will be putting in gutters when the rain ends! That will divert the water.

Reading- Even though this is a short week, we are still reading a story. They read a play this week that is a modernized version of  The Princess and the Pea . This story has a bit of a mystery to it and as they read  the ending... Owen's face was fantastic! That Home Alone moment of shock!  In grammar we are focusing on the four kinds of sentences. I have them using their composition notebook to take notes in to remember things as we go along. They will have a posttest on Friday of their spelling words. I have started to enter scores on Powerschool, but in your child's folder you will find their reading scores from last week.

Math- We are going slowly on our 2nd lesson. They are writing large numbers in standard, word, and expanded form. The expanded form has changed, but this one has always been hardest for the kids to understand. For example: 1,235 (standard form) , one thousand two hundred thirty-five (word form),
(1x1,000)+ (2x100) + (3x10)+ (5x1) (expanded form). We are dealing with numbers in the millions and billions.

Religion- We are focusing our first chapter on God's creation. They are also going to be talking about being a good steward.  I am going to have them work in groups to create an ad that would show up in a magazine or a TV commercial to show being a good steward and how we need to be responsible for taking care of God's creation.

Your kids are learning how things are different in 5th grade and my expectations. We have had to go over bathroom behavior a couple of times now. They are also finding that they are so busy talking to their neighbors that they are missing out on directions or how to do the assignment. I have found myself repeating myself a lot. Some of them just can't stop the visiting. They are also realizing that STOP means STOP when doing their work. They like to keep working when they are supposed to be transitioning to the next thing. We are working on that. I know they will get there, but the beginning is always a time of learning that Miss Surma may do things a little differently from Mrs. Sickels.  Some need to work on using their free time to do their work. Many should go home without anything in their bag...if they are using their time. That doesn't mean there won't be days that we just couldn't do all of it at school. We are all learning. Please don't feel like you need to email me to find out if I am talking about your child. If I am ... I would email you first! :) We are just beginning to learn-- it is normal.

Art- If you're in the building next week, make sure to walk down the hall once I have the posters up in the hallway. They are drawing pictures of themselves. Will you be able to pick out your child??? That's the fun part!

I hope you have a great weekend! I hope to see you at the Food Fair here on Sunday! I will be working the dessert booth! I am heading to Waterloo on Friday to see my niece. It is her school's homecoming.

God Bless,
Miss Surma