Hello Parents,

I hope you're having a great week and are staying warm! I think winter is near!  

Calendar Dates: 

Nov. 21- PTO Meeting 

Nov. 22- Spirit Day

Nov. 27-Dec. 1 - Thanksgiving break

Dec. 4- Christmas Concert

Dec, 6- Spirit Day/ St. Nick's Day 

Dec. 12- 5th Grade sings at Holy Spirit

Dec. 18- 5th grade mass 

Reading- They took their spelling test on Wednesday as well as their weekly module test. On Thursday they will take their module/unit test.  We aren't going to start a new story before Thanksgiving. I am going to have them write a narrative story. I use the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick  by Chris Van Allsburg. He is the author of Polar Express and Jumangi.  In it are 14 different titles and each one has its own drawing and caption. They have to use the title for their story. The caption will be used somewhere in their story. It can be in the opening, the middle, or the end. We will work on this in class every day until Thanksgiving break. So... no spelling tests until after break! 

I finished the book I was reading out loud to them- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! It has been made into a movie and is in theaters now! It looks great! The kids told me it was a great book and that I should read it next year! 

Spirit Day on Friday, November 22!! 

Math- This week we worked on multiplying numbers in the hundreds and thousands by two digits. We are also working on some story problems dealing with multiplication. When we get back from Thanksgiving break, we will be finishing up our chapter with reviews and a test. 

Religion- We are working on learning about the Beatitudes- God's plan for us to find true happiness. We have had some great discussions on them too. They were introduced to Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati as well. He lived in Italy, but dedicated much of his life to God and helping others. For graduation he was offered a car or money from his father. He chose the money and then gave it away to help others. He is a such a great example to them, but really to all of us especially as we get close to the Advent season. 

Biz Town- What a GREAT day! The kids had a great time and wish they could go again next year! I told them they will go in 8th grade to the Financial Center. We did have a good discussion about the importance of why they were told to spend their money so that the businesses could pay back their loans and stay open. Thank you to all the parents that went with us! I love that you get to help them and see what a wonderful opportunity it is for them! 

Lots of information sheets in the take home folder today! Don't forget about the Read-A-Thon! The kids can wear pajamas on Tuesday! I said they can wear slippers and a robe as well, but need to have shoes for recess. Sweatpants are fine too. I know some wear that to bed! 

I hope you have a great weekend! I plan on watching Loras Soccer in the Sweet Sixteen from my warm house while I do report cards! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you're traveling, please have a safe trip! I am heading to Windsor, Colorado with my brother and his family to go see my niece Grace! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Families! I hope you're having a  great week! Temperatures are changing. Please make sure your child comes to school with at least a sweatshirt to wear at recess! 

Calendar Dates: 

Nov. 18- Field Trip to Biz Town

Nov. 20- Advent Activity Night

Nov. 21- PTO Meeting 

Nov. 22- Spirit Day

Nov. 27-Dec. 1 - Thanksgiving break

Dec. 4- Christmas Concert

Monday- The 5th graders will need a sack lunch with a drink on Monday. No POP.  They also need to dress in mass day attire. They can bring things to do on the car ride.  We are leaving at 7:30 AM! They will not get breakfast at school that day.  Parents- please remember your own lunch with a drink! Please be here before 7:30 on Monday. Thank you!!! This is such a fun day! The kids will be tired after their day at work! 

Religion- They finished up their chapter on the 7 sacraments. We also took some time to learn a little bit about Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini before Wednesday's mass which was her memorial.  Our next chapter will be learning about the Beatitudes. 

Math- We spent a couple of days working on Biz Town- remembering how to fill out our checkbooks and trackers. We have also moved on to multiplying three digits by two digits. 

Reading- We are continuing to work on our story which is actually a poem. This week the kids had to go through and find rhyming words. They had to find a poem that depicts imagery. They had to find a repeated verse as well as identify a stanza.  in grammar they are working on action, helping, and linking verbs. They have got a list of examples in their composition book that they can refer to! They will most likely test over this next week sometime. This is also the last story in our module. They will be  taking module test as well. 

Read-A-Thon- in your child's folder is the information on one of the PTO's fundraiser. They can use the minutes  they do for this on their Book-IT Calendar as well. I know one of the days is Double the Minutes!  There is also a pajama day on the 26th! 

Advent Activity Night- On November 20th, if it fits your schedule, come to St. Malachy for a fun night along with families from the RE Program. STM teachers will be there providing games and activities! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will probably be cleaning! I am trying to get rid of a mouse in my house! UGH! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, I hope everyone enjoyed the 4 day weekend. I know I did. I did some cleaning,but also made a trip to Winterset and was able to do some Christmas shopping!  I went to the craft show in Corning with Mrs. Levine and Mrs. Simmons and her daughter. Mrs. Levine and I bought some new towels. I was able to read my book and start a new one! I enjoyed my time. 

Calendar Dates: 

Nov. 8- Spirit Day

Nov. 13- All School Mass

Nov. 18- Field Trip to Biz Town

Nov. 22- Spirit Day

Nov. 27-Dec. 1 - Thanksgiving break

Dec. 4- Christmas Concert

All School Mass- Next Wednesday is our first all school mass. A few kids from 5th grade have a part. I gave it to them on Tuesday. If they have a reading part, they should be practicing at home. This is good practice for our Catholic Schools Week mass in January! 

Religion- We are in a new chapter about the seven sacraments. The other day we read about how Jesus started his ministry at the age of 30 by reading from Isaiah in the temple. He basically told them that he was the Messiah at this point. Many of the listeners weren't happy hearing this. I did show them this particular scene from The Chosen. They were a little worried for Jesus in the scene. I had to remind them that they already know the ending of his story so they didn't have to worry. We did talk about how this was the beginning of his 3 years of public ministry. 

Reading- They took their module test and I am grading those. The scores will probably not go home until next week. We did read it out loud two times before going over the questions. On Wednesday, we started our last story in this module, which is probably our longest. It is actually a collection of different poem styles.  They had their spelling pretest as well. This list is r-controlled vowels. We did have to pause during the test because a few of the words are homophones, so I told them to listen to how the word is being used in the sentence. 

Book Reports are due on Friday. My plan is for them to share that day. I think we will get all of them done, unless something else comes up! 

Math- We are working on multiplying two digits times two digits.  For the most part, they are doing fine. I have a few who are forgetting to carry over the number and then adding it on. We will be focusing on Biz Town the rest of the week. 

Field Trip- In your child's Take Home Folder is a permission slip you need to fill out. I need those back before the 18th. They will also have to pay $10.50. A few have already paid that.  If you send a check, make it out to St. Malachy School. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day. Nothing carbonated. If you said yes to driving or helping us out that day, there is a letter in there for you as well. It is just some basic info for you. WE are leaving at 7:30 that morning so kids will not be getting breakfast at school. They will need to eat at home. We will be back in time for the bus! 

Spirit Day on Friday- the temps look perfect for wearing some sweatpants and/or a hat! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I don't really have any plans yet, but we shall see what happens! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma