Hello Parents, I hope everyone is having a good week! Tomorrow morning's temperatures  look to be COLD!!! 

Calendar Dates: 

Nov. 13- End of Trimester

Nov. 17- Biz Town Day

Nov. 20- Spirit Day

Nov. 25-29- Thanksgiving Break

Nov.29- Advent Begins

Dec. 2- Christmas Concert 6 pm

Dec. 8 Mass- holy day of obligation

Dec. 10- 5th sing for CDA at Holy Spirit

BizTown-We are leaving at 7:30 on Tuesday. That means the kids can't ride the bus to school that day or eat breakfast at school. They will need to eat at home.  We told the kids they are to wear mass day attire. I did remind the girls that there is a lot of sitting on the floor, so they might not want to wear a dress or skirt. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day. Drinks should have a lid, not a can. Parents, you will also need a sack lunch and drink for that day.  They may take their electronics for the drive. Our rules are no movies. No taking pictures. No sending text messages to friends in other cars or parents. 

Drivers: Here is the address for BizTown.

 Junior Achievement of Central Iowa 

6100 Grand Avenue

Des Moines,Iowa

Reading- We are wrapping up our story this week!  They are taking a spelling test today. Tomorrow they will take the selection Quiz over the story. On Monday , they will take the weekly module test. Next week we will begin the final story in this module. Next week's story is a bunch of different poems that a boy writes to show that he just can't stop writing! 

Religion- They are checking their study guide today! That means their religion test will be tomorrow (Friday).   I am giving you a heads up for December. The holy day of obligation is on Tuesday, December 8. It is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The 5th graders will be in charge of mass that day if you would like to join us! Holy Days are usually a bigger crowd! There won't be mass on Wednesday of that week. 

Math- I am starting the kids back in our math books today! We are  going to work on multiplying with double digits! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! My sister Mary from Sioux Falls is coming down to visit! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend! I know I enjoyed the extra time to get some stuff done! 

Calendar Dates: 

Nov. 6- Spirit Day

Nov. 9- Picture Retake Day

Nov. 11- Noisy Change Collection at Mass

Nov. 11- Book Report Due

Nov. 17- Biz Town Day

Nov. 25-29- Thanksgiving Break

Nov.29- Advent Begins

BizTown- Thank you for all the help in working and driving us there! It will be a great day! Just a reminder, we are leaving at 7:30 that morning. That means the kids can't ride the bus to school that day or eat breakfast at school. They will need to eat at home.  We told the kids they are to wear mass day attire. I did remind the girls that there is a lot of sitting on the floor, so they might not want to wear a dress or skirt. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day. Drinks should have a lid, not a can. Parents, you will also need a sack lunch and drink for that day.  They may take their electronics for the drive. Our rules are no movies. No taking pictures. No sending text messages to friends in other cars or parents. 

Reading- We read our short version of The Secret Garden on Monday. On Tuesday, we read our play.  The king was unhappy because people were suffering from spring fever and taking days off of work! He had "spring" arrested and put in prison, but then the animals and plant life put the king on trial for attempted murder! 

Our grammar this story will focus on the rules of making nouns plural. 

November Book It calendars have been given out. I did tell them they have one less day to read this month. I also told them they might want to read ahead in minutes in case they don't read over Thanksgiving break. 

Religion- They worked with a partner on Tuesday to learn about St. Malachy since it was his feast day. They did a word search, and then went on their chromes to find out certain answers about him. Our chapter is finished so later this week they will start the review. They will probably be testing next week!  

Mass on November 11 is a 4-8 grade mass. Ramona, Ellee, Addy, Grisham, and Grayson have jobs. There is also going to be a Noisy Change Collection. The 3rd graders are donating the money to buy stuffed animals for the Greater Regional Emergency Room younger patients. This is not a requirement, but the kids are invited to donate. 

Saint Day Activities- The middle school is providing activities based on saints instead of our normal Halloween activities! I am excited to see what they have come up with for the kids! We will be doing this on Thursday afternoon. 

Wipes! The cold season is coming. I am in need of Clorox wipes. If you are out shopping, could you donate some to the classroom? Thank you so much! 

Congratulations to the 5th graders for winning the Cookie Party for the Coin Wars!!!

Spirit Day on Friday! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I will be working at the book store on Saturday. :) 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, 

Thank you for signing up for a conference time! I will see you next week! If you haven't signed up, there are plenty of spots still open! 

Calendar Dates: 

Oct. 26-30 - Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 28- Halloween Parade at 1:15

Oct. 29-30- No School/ Conferences

Nov. 11- Book Report Due

Nov. 17- Biz Town Day

Biz Town- Our field trip is coming up in November for the 4th and 5th graders. I am sending the permission slip home in their folders this week. I also attached a paper for parent volunteers. We need 12 parents between the two grades. We will need you for driving to Biz Town as well as working there. Please check your calendars and let us know! There is a fee for them to go. They will need to pay $10.50. 

Reading- We are still working on our Airborn story. This one is a long story for us.  We are working on common and proper nouns in grammar. I had them do a worksheet where they had to locate them in the sentences. It wasn't pretty so I had us redo the worksheet together. I also had to teach them about the Radio City Rockettes! Once they saw a picture of them, they recognized them.  Our other worksheet talked about doing double Dutch jump rope. They didn't know what that was either, so I showed them a quick video of kids doing it in a contest. We were all impressed with their stunts while jumping rope! 

We are also focusing on antonyms and synonyms. I showed them a website to locate antonyms. 

Halloween stories are being edited and we are almost ready to share them aloud! You will see them next week in the hallway. 

Math- We are starting our new chapter on multiplication! They will do some multiplying mentally at first. For example: 8 X 10  8 X 100  8 x 1000. They will also get some review of multiplying by a single digit before we work on double digits!  Hopefully this will go smoothly since some of it will be review ! 

Religion- They made some timelines of Jesus' life to cover the Pashcal Mystery. They are on our wall for you to see! This chapter covers the seven sacraments, but the focus is on sanctifying grace which is something we receive in the sacraments. 

Next week the 5th graders will be helping in the kindergarten/1st grade mass. 

Halloween- We will have our annual Halloween parade on the 28th at 1:15 in the gym. The kids should bring their costumes that day! 

We will not be doing the usual Halloween activities due to time on that day. The middle school will be doing something next week,but the focus will be on All Saints Day! 

Have a great weekend! I will be helping out at the book store on Saturday with Halloween fun! Please stop in for some trick or treating with your kids if you're in town! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! My ALS Walk last week was so nice! There were 798 people walking! 

Calendar Dates: 

Oct. 12-16 Coin Wars for FBLA

Oct. 15- Bring your stuffed animal to school

Oct. 16- Spirit Day/ Fancy Hat Day

Oct. 26-30 - Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 28- Halloween Parade at 1:15

Oct. 29-30- No School/ Conferences

Nov. 11- Book Report Due

Reading- We started a new story this week! They took their spelling pretest on Wednesday. Our new story is a fantasy called Airborn. There are some fantastical animals in this story. 

The grammar will focus on nouns and pronouns. I know this should really be a review for them. 

In your child's folder is a score sheet from their Module 1 Test. 

Halloween stories- they have all typed up their rough drafts for me. Now, I am going through them to edit them. Once I have that done, I will give them back to fix them. When they are all done, they will read them to the class. My plan is to have them hanging in the hall so you can check them out during conferences. 

Conferences- The sign up on JMC is now open! Make sure to schedule your time to meet with me!  

Book Fair - During conferences Mrs. Van Gelder will be having the book fair! We have Scholastic books again! I am providing a link that you can use for your child if you want to make it easier for the purchasing or donating of a book. 

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/stmalachyschool5 

If you have issues with the link...I would contact Mrs. Van Gelder through her email...    tvangelder@crestonstmalachy.org

Math- We are continuing to add and subtract decimals. They did a  fun little math activity on Tuesday where they solved math problems and then had to run out to the hallway to grab an answer. They had to match the answer to their work. I didn't get any pictures because I was too busy helping them sort things out. It was the first time I did this activity,but I think it would be really fun for a religion test review. 

Religion- We are going to start a new chapter. The focus in this chapter is a brief view of all 7 sacraments as well as understanding the Paschal Mystery.  We are also going to the chapel once a week to pray the Rosary. We keep Pope Leo in our prayers as he recovers from his recent surgery. We pray that he continues to get better as he deals with his cancer diagnosis. 

Mass- Some of the 5th graders will be helping at the kindergarten/ first grade mass on October 28. Not everyone has a job. For many of them it will just be holding the microphone! You are welcome to join us! I haven't given them their parts yet. I will probably do that next week! 

FAST Scores- They are going home in your child's folder this week! Sorry, I meant to send them last week. 

Spirit Day Tomorrow! Wear a Fancy Hat Day! 

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

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents,  I love seeing the sun! I know the kids are excited to be able to go across the street for recess once again! 

 Calendar Dates:

Oct. 12- Green Valley Day for younger grades/ Wear Mismatched Clothes

Oct. 12-16 Coin Wars for FBLA

Oct. 15- Bring your stuffed animal to school

Oct. 16- Spirit Day/ Fancy Hat Day

Oct. 26-30 - Parent Teacher Conference Week

Oct. 28- Halloween Parade at 1:15

Nov. 11- Book Report Due

Reading- They took their weekly test on Tuesday! Lots of great scores on that one!!! You will see their score sheet in their Take Home Folder.  I think part of that was due to the story being fiction instead of nonfiction. Kids typically do better on those.  On Thursday we will start the module test (unit test). I am breaking this up over two days. They will finish it on Friday. 

I assigned the first book report. They have a bright pinkish packet with the different projects. They will choose only one!  I think they all have chosen a book, but I also told them that they have until Tuesday, Oct. 13 to decide if they like it or want to change. 

When it comes time to do the project- much of it can be done at school in their free time. I would say the Book in the Bag and the Diorama would be at home projects. 

Halloween Story- They are going to begin the process of writing one, but I am giving them a packet so we can break down our ideas and get specific on the characters, setting, plot, and conflict. I found a packet that looks like it will be a huge help, especially for the kids who struggle coming up with a story. The goal will be to have those on the wall in the hallways as well for you to read during conference week. 

Math- We started our new chapter of adding and subtracting decimals. Our first lesson is on estimating the decimals and then being able to add or subtract them. Most of those could be done mentally,but there were a couple that are harder to do that way. So we are going to practice some more on estimating  and then finding the actual sum or difference as well. 

Religion- They are working on passing their prayers! They have drawn out all the Mysteries of the Rosary. Once they share those in class, we will hang in the hallway for all to see. They did those a lot faster than I expected. We will go to the chapel to pray the Rosary once a week. Next week,  we will start a new chapter in the book. 

Coin Wars starts on Monday. You will find a flyer with more information in your Take Home Folders. 

Fire Prevention Week is this week. We will once again do our fire posters in grades 3-5. I am going to talk about it to the 5th graders during art on Friday.

Diocese Virtus Lessons- I am sending home a permission slip to you in the Take Home Folder. You ONLY sign it and return if you DO NOT want your child to participate in the lesson. If you do want them to participate- don't send the letter back. In the letter is a brief description about the lesson I will be teaching.  We are doing this two times during the year.  If your child doesn't participate, I will send them down to the office with their chapter book to read while I teach it.  My plan is to teach it on Monday, October 12. So I will need any of the "no" letters returned by Monday , or I will assume you want your child in the lesson. 

 FAST Scores are in your child's Take Home Folder. Reading and Math interventions will be starting soon. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am going to Waukee on Saturday with my brother and sister-in-law. We are participating in the ALS Walk. We lost our sister Penny to this disease in January. 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

I think I need to pray harder for the rain to end! 

 Calendar Dates:

Oct. 2- Noon Dismissal/ Homecoming/ Spirit Day

Oct. 5- No School/Professional Development

Oct. 16- Spirit Day

Oct. 26-30 - Parent Teacher Conference Week 

St.Malachy Cafeteria National School Week- There are some dress up days that kids can participate in if they want to, but it isn't required. 

Oct. 12- Wear mismatched clothes

Oct. 15- Bring your favorite stuffed animal ( remember they may need to take this on the bus- so make it easy to carry)

Oct. 16- Wear a Fancy Hat Day- (can be a cap, crown, top hat, crazy hat,etc.) 

Reading- They are going to take their spelling post test on Friday. Next Tuesday will be their weekly test. We will also start their Module Test next week. I break that one up over a couple of days. This is more like a unit test for them. 

Book Report- Next week I will be assigning their first book report. I give them a packet with different options to choose from to create their final project. They pick one to do. They will have to okay their book with me. I don't allow any graphic novels or audio books.  I will give them more directions and specifics next week when I assign it. It won't be due until November. That packet will be in their homework folder if you want to check it out next week. 

Math- They took their tests on Tuesday. Some of them are going to be correcting their tests with me today and then they will bring them home to get signed by you. Our next chapter covers adding and subtracting decimals. I don't cover every lesson in this chapter. Because it is adding and subtracting, I don't feel we need to do every lesson and test on it. I just need to make sure they remember how to add and subtract and bring that decimal down. 

Religion- They did an awesome job with the Rosary on Wednesday!! I was super proud of them! In October we really focus on the Rosary. They will do a couple of different things. First, they have 2 prayers to memorize. They have papers with them on it. I am going to "quiz" them starting on Tuesday, Oct. 6. They really should just pick one and pass that one before trying to memorize the other one. I don't care which one they do first. This is definitely something they could do with you at home or in the car on trips. 

The other part we focus on are the Mysteries of the Rosary. They will be taking time in religion class to draw/color pictures that depict each mystery.  That is something they will do only at school. Our hallway will  be lined with the posters! You will be able to check them out!  We will also be going to the chapel once a week to pray the Rosary together as a class. 

Book It- This starts today! I have given each child a calendar to keep track of the minutes read each day. The goal for October is to read 600 minutes. That means they would have to read about 20 minutes each day. If we do any silent reading in the classroom, they can count that time! If they reach the goal at the end of the month- their prize will be a free Dilly Bar.  I know it closes in the winter but they can save them until spring! 

Homecoming Friday- It is a Spirit Day! They can also wear their Black and Red to support the Panthers!  We get out at noon on Friday! Please let me know if their pick up routine changes.  We are feeding them lunch before we leave! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Waverly on Saturday to babysit 3 of my great nieces! I think I might be tired when I come home on Sunday! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 I see the sun!!! 

Calendar Dates:

Sept. 24- Picture Day

Sept. 25- Spirit Day

Sept. 30- Rosary led by 5th Grade/ No Mass

Oct. 2- Noon Dismissal/ Homecoming/ Spirit Day

Oct. 5- No School/Professional Development

Reading- They took their Weekly Module test on Tuesday.  This is definitely a harder story, but some of the questions could definitely have been looked up and I don't think some of them bothered to look back. The same goes for the grammar. They had a cheat sheet on the 4 kinds of sentences, but I am not sure they looked back to remind themselves of what an imperative sentence is and how you punctuate it. Their score sheets will be in their take home folders today.

Our last story in this unit is called Captain Arsenio. This is more like a cartoon. We see his trials and triumphs as he tries to fly. This story just makes me giggle. 

I gave them their pretest in spelling on Tuesday. This list has long I and long O sounds in their words. 

Math- We worked on rounding decimals on Monday and Tuesday this week.  Today they are starting their chapter review/ dress rehearsal test. We do this in class. They can always use their book on it if they need to.  Once I check it and we go over it, it will be a great "study guide" for the test. That will happen sometime next week most likely. It just depends on how long it takes them to do the chapter review. 

Religion- They did a great job at mass on Wednesday! Next up is leading the Rosary. Most of them have a speaking part. Sorry- just not enough for everyone to do a job. They have been given their part. They should practice this at home with you! Some of the words are hard to pronounce. 

Spirit Day on Friday!!! Wear sweats and/or  a hat for $1!!! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I also hope we don't get the rain! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma