Hello Parents! I just want to know where October went? Actually, where did our first trimester go?? I feel like it is flying by us so quickly! 

 Calendar Dates:

Oct. 27- Black and Red Day to support Panthers 

Oct. 30- Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 31- Celebrating Halloween at school

Nov. 2 - No School/Conferences

Nov. 3- No School/ Comp Day

Reading- this week they have been busy typing their final drafts of their Halloween stories!! Most of them are done all ready!  I hope to start sharing them tomorrow or Friday. They will be posted in the hallway. You will be able to check them out during conferences! 

We also took our first module test (unit test). I am still grading those. I plan on showing you  those during our conference time. I had them take this one on paper so that you can see them. The next one might be on their Chromes. 

Book Reports- they all were able to share them on Wednesday. I haven't had the time to grade them yet. I am hoping I can get some done yet this week, but I will for sure get them done over the weekend! They did a great job!

Math- We are working through their BizTown workbooks. We talked this week about making deposits and withdrawals. We worked on writing checks, filling out deposit slips, and debit card receipts. We also focused on getting part of that paycheck in cash and depositing the rest.   We also talked about bouncing checks and what happens if you do that. I have talked to them a little about online banking and credit cards as well. They are loving it! 

I have talked to them about the fact that not a lot of people write checks anymore... many use their debit cards. Some track their money using their banking apps. We are going old school you could say with BizTown. They are writing checks and keeping track of their account with their transaction book. 

There is a letter and permission slip going home in folders on Thursday. Please return the permission slip as soon as possible. The field trip isn't until November 21, but better to get ahead of it all. 

Religion- We are back in the book. Our next chapter deals with the seven sacraments. They will only touch on them a little bit. We have chapters coming up that delve deeper into them. I did talk to them about the ACRE test they will take in the spring. It is a standardized religion test that is given to 5th and 8th graders each year.  It shows us what they have learned in their religion classes and at mass. 

Black and Red Day on Friday to support the Panther football team! Wear your black and red! This is NOT a Spirit Day. No sweats. ❤🏈

Conference Week is next week! Thank you all for picking a time! Monday is pretty packed so don't be surprised when I set an alarm. I don't want to throw all of you off by getting behind. 

Halloween- We will celebrate on Halloween! The kids should pack their costume that day! The 6-8 grades are planning on some fun activities before the Halloween Parade. I think they will have a busy afternoon! You are welcome to join us for the parade in the gym! It's usually a packed house! If you are taking your child home after the parade, make sure you let the office know beforehand. 👻👻👻

November 1- All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation. We will celebrate it at school on Wednesday at mass. 

October Book It Calendars are due on November 1!!! Make sure you have signed them! I will give them their November calendar that same day. The goal will be the same- 600 minutes. 

I hope everyone has a good weekend! I pray that "s" word I heard the meteorologists use doesn't occur! I am not ready to see that stuff! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Happy Wednesday Parents! This week seems to be flying by so quickly! I had a great weekend in Sioux Falls with my sisters. Mary is doing so well after her surgery, but we just sat around and visited all day! My brother-in-law grilled dinner for us that night! 

 Calendar Dates:

Oct. 13- No School/ PD Day for Teachers

Oct. 20- Spirit Day

Oct. 25- Book Reports Due

Oct. 30- Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 31- Celebrating Halloween at school

Nov. 2 - No School/Conferences

Nov. 3- No School/ Comp Day

Spirit Day this Friday! $1 for hats and/or sweats! 

Book Report Projects due on Wednesday, Oct. 25! We will start sharing that day!

Religion- This week they are finishing up their posters of the Mysteries of the Rosary.  On Fridays, I take them to the chapel so we can pray the Rosary. Last week we took time to dedicate each decade to someone or some group of people- they came up with the people. It was so sweet. We will be starting back in the book with our next chapter tomorrow. In the next chapter we learn a little bit about all 7 sacraments. 

Father Patrick left today for his trip home to see his mom and family. We pray for safe travels and a wonderful visit! I cannot imagine not seeing my family for 4 years.

Math- they finished the chapter and you have seen the test scores. Instead of moving on we are starting to work on our trip to BIzTown in November! This is a field trip for 4-5th graders. We are working on information for you so that will be coming home soon. BizTown is put on by Junior Achievement. The kids will be working in this "town" with jobs and they will have to write checks and balance their checkbooks. There is more to it, but that gives you an idea! It is a GREAT learning experience and the kids have so much fun. So, in math class I am teaching them  about opening bank accounts and writing checks, etc. They have a workbook that we will be going through in preparation for that day! 

They are still taking their timed tests each week. We are making progress there too! 

Reading- This week we read a poem called "The Poem that Would Not End". It is about a boy who spends his entire day writing poems. He writes on the walls, napkins, paper, a soccer ball,  a skateboard, in the dirt, and other places. The poem contains about 19 different poem styles! Haiku, Cinquains, Free Verse, and Concrete are just a few. This is new teaching for me as well! So, we are taking this slow, but I decided the Friday test will be something we do together rather than alone because this is all new. In grammar they are working on action, helping, and linking verbs. They WILL have a spelling test on Friday as usual.  Next week is our unit test. We are going to try those and see how it goes! 

Halloween- We will celebrate Halloween at school on the 31st. Your child should pack their costume that day for our parade at the end of the day. The parade is usually around 2:30 in the gym.  You are welcome to come and watch. I am sure more information will be coming soon. I just wanted to give you a heads up! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am so excited because I am NOT going anywhere! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope you're having a good week!  

Calendar Dates:

Oct. 13- No School/ PD Day for Teachers

Oct. 20- Spirit Day

Oct. 25- Book Reports Due

Oct. 30-Nov. 2- Parent Teacher Conferences

Reading- This week we took a break since we only have 4 days. Last week we read a little bit of The Secret Garden. On Monday and Tuesday, we watched the movie. We watched the one from 1993. I rented it on Amazon Prime for really cheap! Some of them said they want to watch it again at home. I also read to them some of my favorite Halloween short stories that my 5th grade teacher used to read to me and my class. On Wednesday they started writing their Halloween story rough draft. They will get time on Thursday to continue writing it, but it will be due on Monday. Next week they will have a spelling test! Next week's story is poetry. This will be new for me and them! 

Math- They have a math test on Thursday over adding and subtracting decimals. 

Religion- Many have passed both prayers! I am testing those who still need to pass one or both tomorrow. We will do it again on Monday! They are also drawing and coloring pictures to represent the mysteries of the Rosary. Father Patrick leaves for Ghana next week to see his family. We wish him safe travels. 

Conferences- The office sent out the parent teacher conference link! Please make sure to check your calendar and pick a day and time! 

Book Reports- Projects will be due on October 25! That's two weeks from now! 

This week is a short letter! I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Sioux Falls, SD for a sisters weekend with two of mine. My sister Mary recently had back surgery so we are going to pamper her a little bit! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Happy Wednesday! I just wanted to let you know that I am soooooo enjoying working with your kids this year! They keep me on my toes and make me laugh almost daily! ❤❤❤

Calendar Dates:

Oct. 6- Spirit Day

Oct. 13- No School/ PD Day for Teachers

Oct. 20- Spirit Day

Oct. 25- Book Reports Due

Oct. 30-Nov. 2- Parent Teacher Conferences

Thank you! I got some wipes for the classroom! Will definitely take more if you are at the store! 

Religion- The 5th graders did a wonderful job leading the Rosary today!  I am so proud of them!  We are going to be stepping away from the book for  bit. We are going to focus on the Rosary. They will have two prayers to memorize. They are getting copies to take home on Thursday! Feel free to practice that with them at home. I told them they will keep saying it to me until they pass so this isn't a one shot deal. We are also going to focus on the different Mysteries of the Rosary and what part of Jesus and Mary's lives are being depicted. 

Math- This second chapter is short! They are nearing the end! I think they could be testing again next week, but that isn't a guarantee yet with the schedule. 

Spirit Day- This Friday is a Spirit Day! They might actually want to wear sweatpants with the predicted temperatures! $1 for sweats and/or a hat. 

Reading- This week they are reading two stories. One is realistic fiction. It is just a segment from The Secret Garden. I told the 5th graders this book is considered a classic! I wish they had given us more than 5 pages to read from the book. The other story is a play. So this week we are learning about the story elements - character, setting, plot, resolution. We are also talking about the literary elements of a play and what dialogue means.  We worked more on Figurative Language as well. I created a little cheat sheet to remind them of the different kinds- personification, idioms, similies, hyperboles, and metaphors. They glued this in the interactive notebook so that they can go and refer to it when we are working in class or on a test. On Tuesday, we really focused on personification. On Thursday, we are talking more about idioms which are my favorite!  They will have their spelling test on Friday. They will also take their Friday cold read test. These are slowly getting better each time. I think they are getting a better handle on what is expected in the short answer questions, but some are still writing one sentence and that just doesn't cover it. 

This new series covers so much in a week's time that I feel bad so that is why you might see a lot of extra worksheets in their folders with a D.T. (Did Together) on them. We do them together because I just don't like overwhelming them with all the work to do alone. Some of it they do with a partner or small group. In grammar this week they are working on making nouns plural. I told them in this case spelling will matter! 

FAST Scores- in your child's folder you will find their Fall Reading and Math scores. If your child is needing interventions we have already sent that paper home to you. I started this week working with some kids in both areas. 

Book Reports are due on October 25. I have a few who have already done some of their project work here at school! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am driving to Waterloo again. I am participating in a Breast Cancer Walk for my sister-in-law's sister. We were all roommates in college at UNI! Tracy was diagnosed this past summer and is receiving treatment currently. 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma