Happy Thursday Everyone! The 5th graders have had a busy week! I am hoping for a more normal schedule next week! 

Calendar Dates:

May 8- Spirit Day 

May 21- Biography Report  Due / Bring Costumes

May 22- Spirit Day/ 8th Grade Graduation

May 25- No School/ Memorial Day

May 29- Last Day of School / 3 hour early out

Reading- We started our new module. Our first story is about how cities are now farming. The story talks about how people plant gardens on roof tops, but are also creating vertical gardens that go up the side of the building. We also learn about the gardens that were grown during WWI and WWII to help with the food effort due to factories being used for munitions.  In grammar we are working on regular and irregular verbs. A lot of this is about the spelling rules for them when we change from present to past tense. The module test scores are in their folders. 

I have started FAST testing. They will do their reading test on Friday on their chromes. 

Math- We started subtracting mixed numbers! This has surprised me because they are catching on to this faster than I expected. The borrowing can be tricky! I am really impressed with what they have been doing this week!  

Religion- We are at the end of our chapter. They did a great job on their posters for the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. We will go over the study guide on Friday. The test will be on Monday. 

In May I will start our Guidance books. We will do this about once a week. It goes with our religion series, but deals more with relationships. 

 I know May is a busy month with dance, baseball,softball, and soccer. I told them they will have to use their time wisely on the weekends to make sure their homework and studying get done. 

Cross Picture- We are trying a new cross picture on Friday afternoon. They don't have to wear white. The temps are supposed to be a little cooler. They might want to wear a sweatshirt! 

Do you realized we only have 3 Mondays left??? That is just crazy to me! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Waterloo to watch Penny's granddaughters in their dance recital. 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Families, I hope you're all having a great week! 

Calendar Dates:

Apr. 24- Spirit Day

Apr. 27- Glow-A-Thon/ Bring Sack Lunch

Apr. 30- Large Group Band Contest

May 8- Spirit Day 

May 21- Biography Report  Due / Bring Costumes

May 29- Last Day of School / 3 hour early out

Glow-A-Thon- This is happening on Monday during PE.  It's more fun to see the kids in whites and neon colors so they glow in the dark, if possible.  Make sure to return the fundraising sheets by Monday!  They will need a sack lunch that day as well. We learned last year it was hard to put lunch tables down with all the fun decor in the gym! 

Religion- We have been covering the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in class. They worked on posters to depict each one. Those will be in the hallway for all to see! 

Cross Picture- We are doing this outside on May 1. The kids DO NOT have to wear a white t-shirt. What they wear to school that day will be just fine! 

Reading- They took the post test in spelling. On Wednesday they took the weekly reading test. They will be starting the Module test on Thursday. I found that breaking it up over a few days was better last time. They are also working on their Dollars for Scholars essays. They do those at school. The top 3 in the class will be chosen from teachers in the building. I will then send those 3 on to be read. One of them will be the winner of $50. 

Book Reports- Many of them are finishing up their Google slides! They are finding this project lots of fun! 

Math- This week we are focusing on adding mixed numbers with unlike denominators. This added another step though because some of the answers had improper fractions so I had to teach them how to turn that into a mixed number and then add it to the total of the whole number. The goal is trying to get some of the 5th graders to realize that they can do "hard" things, but it takes practice and we don't just stop. 

FAST Testing is also beginning! This will be the final testing round for the year! The goal in reading is 162! They will continue with FAST next year in middle school. 

Puberty Video is tomorrow! I told them that if they are sick, I will email you the video and you can watch it with them! 😀

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be working at the book store on Saturday! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Dear Families ,

I hope you are having a good week! Enjoying the warmth and the rain?? 

Calendar Dates:

Apr. 20- Site Visit by Diocese

Apr. 24- Spirit Day

Apr. 27- Glow-A-Thon/ Bring Sack Lunch

Apr. 30- Large Group Band Contest

May 8- Spirit Day 

May 21- Biography Report  Due / Bring Costumes

May 29- Last Day of School / 3 hour early out

Book Reports- I taught them how to do their Google slides today. I told them they have to show me their notes pages are done BEFORE they get started on their slides.  The sooner they get done with the book, the sooner they can get started. 

Reading- We stared our next story which is historical fiction. It is about a family living on the prairie. They had a few different idioms that we had to discuss such as: Make hay while the sun shines. The family is out in the field cutting their hay for the season in the story so we talk about the different chores. I showed them pictures of some of the tools they used back then. We also watched a video of a family in the UK that thatches roofs for a living. The work involved is something!  In grammar we are working on the tense of verbs: action and linking. Right now it is looking like the spelling pretest will be on April 21. I will let you know if that changes. 

Math- We are working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators. We have been doing this for a few weeks. Some of the kids are still struggling with finding that common denominator and simplifying the answers. I decided it was time to move on with the lessons. Today we worked on estimating the fractions and mixed numbers  and then adding or subtracting them. For example 2-3/4 + 5/8. That would estimate to 3 + 1= 4. That was pretty simple for them!  We will be getting into mixed numbers ! 

Religion- We finally finished The Ten Commandments movie. Our next chapter will cover the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. 

Glow-A-Thon- Don't forget this is coming up on Monday, April 27. Kids should return their pledge sheets by then! They should also white or neon colors if they have them so we can see them glow in the dark gym!  They need to bring a sack lunch that day!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 I think April Fool's Day landed on April 7 waking up to that snow! I hope everyone had a great Easter!  I had a great time in Waterloo.  My sister Penny's daughter told us that she is expecting child #6 in July!! It was nice to celebrate some good news! 

I think Wednesday was the first day I had all 23 kids back since spring break! 

Calendar Dates:

Apr. 10- Spirit Day

Apr. 13- No School/ PD Day

Apr. 20- Site Visit by Diocese

Apr. 24- Spirit Day

Apr. 30- Large Group Band Contest

May 21- Biography Report  Due / Bring Costumes

Band Students- In your child's folder is a permission slip for their day in Council Bluffs. They need to wear mass clothes to school that day as well as have a sack lunch and drink. Please return the form ASAP. Thank you! 

Testing Week- Our schedule has been off due to testing week and our delay from the snow. I am working to get the kids who missed ISASP tests due to illness caught up as well. 

Math- They are doing more practice with subtracting and adding fractions. The trick is figuring out which answers need to be simplified. 

Reading- We are starting our next and final story about pioneer life. I decided that on Friday we are going to talk about the next book report. Time is flying so quickly! Remember this book they need to read and take notes on as they read it. At a later date I will show them how to make the power point. Once they have their person, they can start creating their costume for the presentation day. They due date is May 21. 

Book It-  March was the last month for reading and counting minutes. I will be awarding prizes soon to those that participated and met the goals for 5 and 6 months! 

Spirit Day on Friday! $1 for sweats and hat! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Did everyone enjoy Monday's weather??? That was a great recess duty day! 

Calendar Dates:

Apr. 2- Seder Meal- Sack lunch needed

Apr. 3- Good Friday/ No School

Apr. 6-10 ISASP testing week 

Apr. 8- 5th grade mass

Apr. 10- Spirit Day

Apr. 13- No School/ PD Day

Reading- They took their weekly module test this week.  Many of them did very well.  I also gave them a spelling pretest for our next story. We won't get into the next story until next week. 

March Book It Calendars due April 2! 

Math- They are working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators.  The next hurdle with this is reducing the fractions in the final answer. We have been discussing prime and composite numbers with that one. 

Religion- My tradition with Holy Week is showing the movie The Ten Commandments. I started it on Tuesday and had to warn them there really isn't any good CGI at this point. There is always a lot of explaining of who people are at the beginning, but they did make the connection of Charleston Heston when I said he played Doc Graham in Field of Dreams! 😊

I handed out mass parts for next week's mass. Not everyone has a job. You are welcome to join us on April 8! 

ISASP- We've been practicing all week on the tests. It gives them an idea of what to expect next week.  Just to let you know my schedule in case you have appointments...

I plan on testing after their specials on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday so from about 9:50-11:30 on those days.  Since they are in 5th grade, they will have a science test as well. I plan on testing on Wednesday, April 8, after recess before they go home. If kids are gone, I will use Friday as a make up day. If your child is sick next week for a majority of the day- I will email you so we can make a plan. 

I tell the kids to get good sleep next week. If they are a breakfast person- it's always a good idea to eat a good one! I know the PTO will be providing snacks for them. 

Illnesses- It seems to be back in my room. I am running low on Clorox wipes so if you're going to the store and are able to help out, please drop off  a bottle or two! Thank you! 

The kids will need sack lunches on Thursday for after the Seder Meal!  Milk will be provided.  That afternoon we will be going to the middle school wing for a Passion Play! I am excited to see that! 

Glow-A-Thon- In your child's folder is the fundraiser form for our annual event! It is on the back of the bright green paper!  Please do what you can to help out! 

BizTown- There is also a flyer for doing BizTown this summer if your child is interested to spend a day there this summer! Free and they feed them lunch! 

No School on Friday! Happy Good Friday! 

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter. I plan on spending it in Waterloo with my brother and his family. We signed up to sit at St. Peter's Fire on Friday night at my sister Penny's church in Waverly. This was something we had been doing with her the last few years. We wanted to keep that tradition going. This fire starts on Friday night and stays lit until Saturday's Easter Vigil Mass. It will be our job to keep the fire going for the hour we signed up for, but I am praying the forecast of rain doesn't stop this from happening. 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break! I know I enjoyed my days away by spending some time with my siblings in Waterloo and Sioux Falls.  

Calendar Dates:

Mar. 27- Spirit Day

Mar. 29- Palm Sunday

Apr. 2- Seder Meal- Sack lunch needed

Apr. 3- Good Friday/ No School

Apr. 6-10 ISASP testing week 

Apr. 8- 5th grade mass

Apr. 13- No School/ PD Day

Reading- We are finishing up our Celestials' Railroad story this week.  They will take their quiz over this story on Friday. They will also have their spelling  post test on Friday. We played a game on Monday of Spelling Tic Tac Toe.  It was a fun way to review the words!  Their grammar is focusing on subject and object pronouns. Today we found the pronoun and its antecedent. The weekly module test will be on Tuesday of next week. 

ISASP Testing- next week I am going to give them practice tests throughout the week to get them ready for  the testing they will do after Easter. In 5th grade they have 4 tests. They have a reading test, language arts/writing, math, and a science test. I believe the science test is only given in 5th grade and 8th grade. 

Math- We worked on finding the common denominator  and then renaming the fraction on Monday and Tuesday. Now we begin adding and subtracting decimals with unlike denominators. 

Religion- We just finished our chapter on Lent. We started a new one the other day. We read the story of the tax collector and the Pharisee saying their prayers. The tax collector asks for forgiveness while the Pharisee basically gives a list of the things he has done right compared to others. This chapter focuses on mercy, but more specifically the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Next week we will pause to focus on Holy Week. 

Spirit Day on Friday and it looks like the temps will be dropping so it should be a good day for sweats/hat! 

Students will need a sack lunch on Thursday, April 2, after the Seder Meal. 

No School on Good Friday, April 3! 

The 5th graders will have their mass on April 8. They will have another mass when they help the kindergarten class at the end of May. 

March Book It Calendars will be due by April 2. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Families- I will be having the kids clean out the closet and take home their boots next Wednesday. Hopefully the boots can stay home! 

Calendar Dates:

Mar. 6: Spirit Day

Mar. 6- Reconciliation for Grades 3-8

Mar. 9-12- Parent Teacher Conferences

Mar. 10- ACRE Test for 5th graders

Mar. 11- Noisy Change Collection

Mar. 12-22 Spring Break

March 11, 2026 is now an early out like all other Wednesdays. Dismissal at 2:10

Reading- We are wrapping up our story on the Wild West this week. They will have a post test in spelling on Friday.  Their weekly module test will be then too. This week we focused on problems they faced in the story and how they went about solving them. We also focused on two central ideas. They worked in groups to find proof from the story to back those ideas up.  We worked on quotations and interjections in grammar. 

Math- The tests have been taken. My plan is to go over them tomorrow and have people correct that need to be corrected. The ones I have checked so far have been pretty good! 

Religion- We are focusing on Lent right now. We went to the chapel on Tuesday to say the Rosary again. They did a wonderful job!  On Friday they will have the opportunity to go to Reconciliation. We are going to go with the 6-8 grades in the afternoon. We have been talking about possible sins they have committed since Christmas ( that was the last time we went as a school to Reconciliation). I have been talking to them about their behaviors with a rosary, at mass, or during prayer in the morning, at lunch, or at the end of the day. 

They will take the Religion ACRE test on Tuesday. This is a standardized test for grades 2,5, and 8. 

Spirit Day on Friday, March 6! They can wear a hat if they don't want to wear sweats since it is supposed to be so nice! 

Noisy Change Collection next Wednesday, March 11. 

Wipes- I bought more wipes and we should be okay until spring break. We may need more afterwards though. 

I will see you next week at conferences! I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma