Hello Parents! I hope you are all safe and healthy! Hopefully you are having a great week! 

Math- Well, it has been a slow start learning division as I expected it would be. That's okay, I know it is a difficult procedure to figure out. I saw some light bulbs turning on on Tuesday during class. Most of them could walk me through solving a problem! We actually did an entire worksheet today on division! There were a few tough spots, but I heard the kids say, "The more I do it, the more I get it! " YAHOO! 

Reading- This week we are reading a historical fiction story called Storm Warriors. This story takes place in the 1800s in North Carolina. A group of men are assigned the task of saving a crew from their ship that has run aground.  My guess is that this group is really the first of the Coast Guard. Nathan is the main character and is a teenager who wants to join this group, but after witnessing what they must do, he doesn't think he is brave enough to really do it. In the end, his studying of medical books comes in very handy with some of the passengers on the ship.  Spelling- This week their list consists of compound words. Some are two words written together as one ( wildlife), then there are words that have a space in between ( home run), and finally there are words with dashes or hyphens ( up-to-date). Tricky tricky!! They will test over this story on Friday along with their spelling words. 

Book Report Projects are due on Friday! 

Religion- We started a new chapter on the Beatitudes. These are not really rules,but more like guidelines from Jesus. He said this is the way to find true happiness. I talked to the 5th graders about things we find happiness in...they told me... ATV's , video games, sports, dance. We also talked about how we buy new cars, phones, take trips,etc. Those things bring us happiness, but it can be short lived. They will really delve into finding ways we live these Beatitudes.

Christmas Program- We will be recording their songs for the program on November 23. Taping will either happen at the church or in the music room...depending on the weather. We do want the kids to dress up that day as though they would dress up for the actual concert night! Mass day attire! 

Mass- We have our mass next week. Not everyone will get a part due to the limited jobs. 

This the last week of the Read -A- Thon! I hope some of your kids are participating in this! 

The end of the trimester is on Friday. The 2nd trimester will start on Monday. Mrs. Simmons will let you know when our progress reports are done!  Monday will be a clean slate for lateslips! Actually, your kids did really well overall. 

Have a great, but safe weekend! Stay healthy! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma