Book-IT-- I forgot to mention this in my blog! This starts on Saturday. I will give the kids their calendars on Friday. They should keep track of their minutes on there. For the month of October they are to read 600 minutes. If they read during the school day, I let them count that. It's about 20 minutes every day. At the end of the month, you sign it and have them return it. Please mark the box for which pizza place they would like. LET'S GET READING!!!!

Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a great week! It feels like fall now! :)


Math- This week we have been working on finding the quotient by using the Distributive Property and multiplication. It took a couple of days to really get them to see the process. On Wednesday they had their first assignment-- 6 problems! We did one together as a reminder. As I walked around the room I was watching them work. It made me SMILE! They were finally "getting" it and working the problems with very little assistance from me! I even heard things like, "I finally get this!!" and "This is so easy, I don't want to go back to division!"  I have to say-- that just made my heart melt a little! This is one strategy they could use when we get into division if they find the long division too hard. Now, that will be awhile, but it is there! We will continue to do more of this today before we move on to something else. 

Art- I don't talk about art much, but on Wednesday I gave them each a sheet that had a different design on each side. They were in a book of Optical Illusions. They had to choose which side to color. Their expressions when they saw the different designs were so fun! I have to say I could not really look at them. They hurt my eyes and some made my stomach flip! They are having a great time with them. If you are in our hallway-- check out last week's art. They had to draw themself with some sunglasses on. In the lense of the glasses they had to draw a picture of whatever they were looking at. They turned out really cute! 

Reading- We are reading our last story this week in this unit. It is called Elisa's Diary.  Elisa has just moved to the USA and is having a hard time with the English language. She can write it okay, but speaking it is very difficult. Her brother is more outgoing and is picking it up much easier. Elisa meets Jose. He moved here from Guatemala. He can speak English better than he can write it. They make a pact to help each other out. 

In grammar we are continuing our work with nouns, but this week we are working on making them plural. We are also talking about collective nouns-- audience, class, committees, etc. Even when you can see them as a group, they can still be identified as singular or plural. 

We will test over the story and spelling words on Friday. Next week Monday we will start our first unit test. I will break this down over the week so they aren't doing it all in one sitting. Towards the end of the week, I will start their first writing assignment,  a Halloween story. 

Religion- Our focus in this chapter has been the Paschal Mystery-- the suffering, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus. We are also talking about the grace we receive when we receive a sacrament.  Once we are done with this chapter-- I will be focusing on the Rosary. In 5th grade they learn the decades and two of the other prayers we say during the Rosary. While they are doing this, we step away from the book. 

PTO- A big shoutout to our PTO! They have been so generous! We have a set of 26 Chromebooks in our wing that  are in a transportable cart. At this time they are for grades K-5 to share, but the PTO just bought another set for K-2!!! Once Father has those up and running we will have a set in each wing. The 5th graders get on them about 3 times a week for ST Math, but I know they have also used them in social studies for their county project. They each know how to login and can check their  emails. They did this last week to vote on the new STM gear design. It is always a little scary for me because I am not tech savy, but they are doing great with them! They really enjoy their ST Math time. The PTO is also having a contest that deals more with YOU! They are taking attendance at each PTO meeting of the parents or teachers that attend and then you can pick which grade you want. They are keeping track of those and the grade with the most attendance will get a pizza party at the end of the year! I realize you are really busy, but we all know it takes a village. Plus this way you know what they are planning and if you're interested, you could help out! The PTO does a lot of fundraising for our school and you are part of that organization whether you are there or not. They did a fantastic job with the Color Run! It was perfect weather and so much fun! I loved it! I loved seeing so many of my kiddos there too! They poured on the color at the end! Please just take a minute to consider coming to the next meeting. The Spaghetti Supper is around the corner! 

Have a great weekend! I am heading back to Waterloo. My niece Mara is getting married this Saturday.  I did see plenty of flooding last weekend in Cedar Falls and surrounding towns. :( 
God Bless,
Miss Surma 

Service Work -  The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will be participating once a month in some community service.  They will be walking down to The Food Bank of Iowa and helping to unload the truck that comes in on Fridays.  It usually arrives around 1:15 or 1:30 and may take about 20-30 minutes to unload.  The Food Bank provides supplemental food to those in need.  The students will providing a great service to those who volunteer their time to unload the truck, shelve the products and help the day it is distributed to families.  We are excited that they are being given this opportunity to help others in the community.  I have provided a permission form in today's folder for you to sign regarding this opportunity.  It lists the dates the student will walk down to the food pantry, which is on Wyoming Street.  It is on the corner of Division and Wyoming.  Of course this will always be weather permitting.  We will not walk in the rain or when the weather is too cold.  The teacher in charge will make the decision.  The 5th grade will be going the 2nd Friday of every month.  Please return the permission form as soon as possible.

Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a good week! It has certainly flown by!


FRIDAY- Just a reminder that we get out early on Friday for the Homecoming Parade. It is also Spirit Day. They can wear sweats for $1. They can also wear their black and red for the Panthers. We will have a Pep Rally on Friday morning. 

Lunch- On Friday the students may also bring a sack lunch to school if they don't want to eat what our cooks will be providing. They will drink milk, so no other drink is needed. Remember it is an option: school lunch or sack lunch. 

Reading- This week we are reading a story called Double Dutch.  This week's story is nonfiction. This is a story about how Coach Rockett decided to start a jump rope team at the school he worked at in Harlem. The story includes some short jump rope rhymes. 
In grammar we are working on identifying common and proper nouns in a sentence. On Tuesday they were in teams and I gave them 2 minutes to name as many of each as possible. Their team would score a point if no other team named the same noun. (It's actually a version of my Scattergories game I play). We also discussed what makes it a word a proper noun. On Wednesday we talked about how we capitalize titles, abbreviations, initials, and acronyms.
Spelling- This week we started doing bonus words on the pretest. Not everyone is getting them. I based it off their spelling inventory test and their past pretest scores. 
They will take a test on Friday over the story and the spelling words. This also means next week is our last story in this unit. The following week will be a unit test week. 

Math- This week we are continuing our multiplication, but I have slowed us down a bit. They have the process down, but some are missing too many due to their multiplying or adding. We are just slowing down to get those things ironed out. 

Mass- Thank you for coming to our first mass and staying for the reception! It was so great to see all of you there!!! The 5th graders did such a great job! Our next mass is November 16. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy homecoming! I am headed to Waterloo after work on Friday. My nieces' homecoming is this week as well. My niece Grace is a homecoming queen candidate. They will crown their queen at the football game! I should make it in time! 

God Bless,
Miss Surma

Hello Parents, I hope you are all having a great week! We actually have a full week!  We have been busy!!!

Reading- This week we read a story about two 5th graders running for office for their grade. Each child had to give a speech before the students voted. We focused on the similarities and differences between the two speeches and how they acted afterwards. Miata spoke more formally and wanted to do things that would better their education and the looks of their school. Rudy spoke informally and promised more recess time and more days to have ice cream! The frustrating part for the students is that the story ends and we don't know who won!  We are also working on subject and predicate parts of a sentence and writing compound sentences using the words and, but, so, or or to connect them. We are also working using context clues in the sentences to figure out what a word means, especially if that word has more than one possible meaning.  On Friday, they will take the test. This is Week 3 , which means there will be an extra story they have to read and 10 more questions to answer. 

Math- This week we have been working on Powers of Ten and Exponents. That's right! Exponents. We have only used them with the number 10. They have been working on addition problems and multiplication problems with them. I am trying to get them to figure out they can do this mentally with just their basic facts. One day they said they got it, but when it came to working them out in their assignment, I wasn't seeing that. We hit it again the next day and the lightbulbs went on! I was actually hearing some of them say, "This is easy!" and "This is fun!" We will be getting into regular multiplication now. We will start out reviewing double digits times a single digit, but then we will work on bigger numbers. 

Religion- They are finishing up their first chapter on creation. This week they had to draw pictures that represented 3 in 1-- like the Trinity. They did a great job! If you are ever in our hallway, check out their work! It is on our walls!  They will be doing a study guide on Thursday. We will look it over on Friday. They will have a test on Tuesday, since we don't have school on Monday. 

Chromebooks- We have started working with the Chromebooks!!! They have learned their password for the ST Math. It is made up of a combination of 13 pictures, letters, and numbers. Once they have passed the training for that, they are set to go! They are working on math problems. We are doing this in addition to our Go Math series. There are different levels they have to work through. The hardest part might be that I can't help them. They have to sit and try to solve the problem and then try again. I am not sure if it is harder for them or me! :) 

Mass- Our first mass is next week. The 5th graders will get their parts on Friday. Just remember I can't give all of them a job. So those who don't have a part in this mass, will have one in our next mass. We are also having a reception afterwards for any parents or grandparents that can join us! Stay for some refreshments and some visiting with your children! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy the nice weather and Balloon Days festivities! 
God Bless,
Miss Surma

I had a parent request a copy of the 5th graders' schedule. I decided I would just make copies for all of you! They are in your child's Take Home Folder. 

Hello Parents, Happy Thursday! I hope you had a great long weekend! I was able to get ALL of my papers checked in Doon--so it was very productive for me.  I do want to explain something about my trips to Doon. Most of you might remember that my mom passed away this past April. My siblings and I haven't sold my parents' home yet and we don't plan to until next fall...unless something changes. Anyway, I do go home to check on the house, keep it clean, do yard work, and just spend time there. It was a great home for six kids to get brought up in, and I plan to enjoy it while we still have it. :)

Reading- This week we read a mystery based on the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea. It was also written as a play. So the 5th graders had a little opportunity to read the play and some great acting skills! We also discussed the makeup of a play. It is divided into scenes. Those scenes are numbered in Roman numerals. They know those! There is also a little mystery about one of the main characters-- Rena.  We also discussed the possible themes-- that you can't judge a book by its cover and that while you may seem really different from someone at first,  you may find that you have a lot in common. Rena and Althea did just that in the story!  In grammar this week we are discussing the four kinds of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogative. We focus on the job of each and how we punctuate each one.  They will have their spelling test on Friday. In your child's take home folder you will find their scores from last week's test over the story. I will send home a copy of the score sheet each Thursday. I don't need those back. 

Math- This week we have spent time on the properties of addition and multiplication. Commutative, Associative, and Identity Property. We also are spending a greater amount of time learning the Distributive Property. In my room, if I feel that the topic is a difficult one, we may do a lot together in class to practice the procedure. We have been doing that a lot this week. Now they know this may not be the fastest way to add or multiply, but it does allow them to do it mentally versus having to work out a big problem. What I love about it is your children's faces from beginning to end!!! At first, I can see the confusion, but as we practice and discuss more...that look begins to go away until I see the "I GOT THIS"!!! That is just the best sight to see! I know that feeling of being overwhelmed with math and believing I am not good at it! I hated feeling like that! Believe me, I will do what I can to appease your child feeling like that in my room! 

Religion- On Tuesday, I showed them a short little biography video on the life of Saint Teresa. We talked about how she was named a saint this last weekend. In mass, the 6th graders and Father also talked about her. She was a remarkable woman. She is definitely someone we could all strive to be more like.  In class we will be focusing on the Holy Trinity.

Our first mass will be on September 21. I will do as other teachers have done in the past and only use half of the class for this mass. Today, we made a list on the chalkboard of all the jobs they do during mass. They were each given a recipe card and wrote their top 4 choices of jobs they would like to have in our masses. I will do as best I can with those! After our mass, is our 5th grade reception for you the parents and grandparents. You can stay after mass to have coffee or juice and donuts with your child and visit with us! 

Food Fair is this Sunday if you can't decide what to make for dinner! Come to St. Malachy!!! 

The Creston Color Run is set for September 25. If you haven't signed up, please do so! There are forms in the office or you can enter online! There is also a route for the kids!  The PTO is doing this as their fall fundraiser. The kids won't be selling cookie dough or wrapping paper this year. I will be participating, but I will be walking! :)

Book Orders are due Friday! 

Friday is our first Spirit Day! The kids can wear sweatpants for $1. It is also our ISU/IOWA game day-- kids can wear their favorite team jersey or t-shirt !!!! I will be in purple and gold! GO UNI!!!! 

Have a great weekend!  God Bless, Miss Surma

I forgot to mention I am putting a book order in your child's folder. If you are interested in ordering please return it by next Friday, September 9. If you are sending a check, you can write it to me or Scholastic Books.  Thank you!!!