Hello Parents, WOW! I can't believe Friday is October already!  Time is already flying by so quickly! 

Important Dates:

• Oct. 1- Book It Begins! 
• Oct. 6- Auschwitz Field Trip
• Oct. 8- 3 hour early out/ Homecoming
• Oct. 20- 4th/5th grade mass
• Oct. 21- PTO Meeting
• Oct. 28- Parent Teacher Conferences
• Oct. 29- No School

Field Trip- In your child's folder is the permission slip that needs to be filled out and returned before next Wednesday. Please return ASAP. There is a detailed letter attached. Please read it so you are aware of the information for that day, especially the times. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day. 

Reading- This week they are reading a story called Elisa's Diary.  This is the story of a little girl who moves from Puerto Rico the USA. She has difficulty speaking the English language, but she can write it just fine. She meets a boy name Jose who is from Guatemala. He can speak the language,but not write it correctly. By the end of the story it fast forwards in time to show that she did learn it. She grew up and became a teacher! I told them that my dad learned to speak English from watching soap operas and other television shows when he came from Poland.  They then asked if that meant I was part Polish??? Yes! You might have that conversation at home with your kids to talk about your ethnic backgrounds. A couple of them told me they were American, which they absolutely are, but I did suggest they go home and ask about their ancestors and find out their heritage. I said your relatives most likely came to America from a different country unless you have a Native American bloodline, which is very possible!  

The grammar this week is working on plural nouns. They filled out a form on Monday with me with the most common plural noun rules. We added words to each rule. They cut that paper down into a smaller one and glued it in their vocabulary notebook. I told them they can refer to the rules when they take their Friday test. 

This is our last story in our first unit. Next week will be a unit test week. That also means there will not be a spelling test next week. 

Book It- The reading contest starts this Friday! I am giving the kids their calendar on Friday so they can keep track of their minutes. The goal for October is 600 minutes. That's about 20 minutes a day. They can count any free reading they do at school as well. At the end of the month, you sign it. They return it. I only have Pizza Ranch coupons for those who meet the goal. 

Math- They take the test over our first chapter on Wednesday.  The nice thing about these tests are there are only 12 problems. I guess that is a good and bad thing. Some of the questions ask them for two different answers. They need to pay attention to that because those are extra points they could be missing out on. Our next chapter is adding and subtracting decimals. They will also be working on commutative and associative properties. 

Religion- I jumped ahead a few chapters because of our field trip. In this chapter we learn about Saint Maximilian Kolbe. He was a priest who died at Auschwitz. They will see his picture in KC at the exhibit. We also are talking about Jesus' baptism by the John the Baptist.

Friday, October 8 we will be celebrating homecoming.  The kids can wear their Panther gear. There is a form from PTO in your child's folder if you want to buy tattoos, etc. We will have a 3 hour early out that day. Lunch will NOT be served.

Have a GREAT weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma