Happy Thursday!!! I hope you are having a good week!

 This week we finally finished The Truth About Truman! Boy, by the end, there were some very angry 5th graders at a few of the characters in the book. It is their book. I would suggest reading it! It is very good and does really focus on cyber-bullying which is such an easy thing for kids to do these days. It certainly didn't end the way we all were hoping it would ,but some very good lessons throughout it.

Math- This week I am seeing more confidence in the process of division from all the 5th graders! I am having to do less work with them individually. This week they had to focus on dividing with zeros in the quotient and dividing larger numbers. The most common mistakes I see are forgetting to bring down the next number or errors in their subtraction or multiplication. Feel free to give them a problem at home to work out for you! They also know how to check it through multiplication.

Language Arts- This week we read a science fiction story. I think that is a first for this new series. It was a good story about a boy who created a time machine that could only go forward in time. It was a fun story. We also jumped to learning about adverbs for grammar. This one is more challenging because they have to be able to identify the verb or adjective that the adverb is describing. Plus, adverbs don't always come just before the verb or just after it. They really need to stop and ask themselves the questions.  If the verb is "run". How far did they run? How often did they run? When did they run? Where did they run? How much did they run? The nice part is that many of the adverbs they worked with end in-ly.  In their folder you will find their test scores from the story before Christmas and they story they read last week. You may also notice they rise in scores this past week. I believe taking the test on Friday of Christmas break...was not a good idea. I learned a lesson there.

Book Reports- Depending on our schedule, I will be talking to them about their next book report. This one will be a Newbery Honor or Newbery Winner book. I have a list of books for them to choose from. They will also get the list of projects. They cannot repeat the same project they did in the first trimester.

Catholic Schools Week- A flyer went home last week. There is a class theme day. Mrs. Sickels and I talked and wanted to do something around TJ and Nate. She came up with the idea of auctioneers, cowboys, or outdoors because we know they loved the mountains and they loved going to the Sale Barn. We have made some suggestions such as cowboy hats or some kind of cap, plaid shirts or western type shirts or t-shirts, cowboy boots ( if you have them). Some of the 5th graders asked about wearing their buttons they made at CYC. TJ loved wearing his "Stevie Joe Bob" button or his Sheriff pin. I will brainstorm with the kids some more to see if they have any more ideas. They could also just wear their colors: pink, orange, and yellow.

St. Malachy Foundation Auction- I stuck a note in your child's folder. I am looking for someone to take care of the Live Auction Basket from 5th grade. Please let me know if you will help out. Thanks!!!

Have a great weekend! I plan on going to Doon. Mom's birthday is on Friday. My sister and I are throwing her a party with some of her friends. I am hoping she will come back to Creston with me for a couple of weeks!
God Bless, Miss Surma

Hello Parents, I hope you have been staying warm!!! It looks like we might see the outdoors today for recess!!!

Language Arts- This week they are reading the story Lunch Money. It is about a boy who creates his own comic book. This is a book by Andrew Clements. I told the kids they could read the entire story if they were interested in it.  Our grammar this week is focusing on adjectives and articles. They learned that adjectives answer questions like: How many? What kind? or the Origin. This can be difficult to find, but I try to tell them to find their nouns and pronouns in the sentence and then look for possible adjectives that come before those words. Once they find it, they need to go through those questions to see which one it answers. The hard part is to realize most sentences have more than one! They will have a spelling test tomorrow as well as the test over the story.  I still have some kids making up the unit tests from last week. Once all are finished, I will let you know scores.

Math- we are working on basic division with remainders. We are not focusing on decimals yet. We post the steps they follow in a problem: Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down, Repeat until they have a final remainder. They will also learn about having a zero in the quotient. We will move from their to larger numbers to divide. I am impressed. There are quite a few that have caught on quickly to the process.

Religion- Right now I am trying to finish up The Truth About Truman book. We really didn't do anything with it in December. We are having good discussions though as we read. I think we are really seeing all different kinds of bullying, but especially what cyber bullying can look like.

Book Order- I am sending home a book order. If you are interested in ordering you, remember you can order online or using the form. Please have all orders to me by next Thursday, Jan. 16.

Catholic Schools Week- There will be a letter for volunteers to sign up to participate in Sunday's mass at Holy Spirit. This isn't a sign up for helping with the music. That will be another letter from Mrs. Wignall.
I will send home more information on the individual days next week.

Have a good weekend!!! God Bless, Miss Surma

Welcome back!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas break and New Year! I don't have much for these two days.

Just a reminder that our mass is next week. You are welcome to join us!

Language Arts- They had to come back to a unit test today and tomorrow. Next week we will start with our new unit. From what I can tell, we are out of the Revolutionary War! :) Our first story is Lunch Money by Andrew Clements. He is a great author! They will have a spelling test as well next week.

This unit test is a big one. I have split it up into two days. We probably won't get to math today, but we will for sure tomorrow.

Have a great weekend! Stay warm! God Bless, Miss Surma

TJ's "strong man" pose from Homecoming!

 TJ's "Don't Judge Me" pose! It was something he often said! :)

Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope this has been a good week for you.

Friday, December 20, 2013- Just a reminder it will be the last day for sweat pants, music, gum, etc.,
Students will need a sack lunch on this day, milk will be provided by the school. They will be eating with their Advent Angels and then we will do caroling in the gym.  In the afternoon we are watching a movie with 3-5. I have had a parent donate water bottles for everyone in our grade band that afternoon. Thank you!!! I also have a student with a birthday--so her treat will be our treat during the movie!

Language Arts- This week we read two short biographies about two teenagers and their experiences with the Revolutionary War. I found it pretty interesting.In grammar this week they are working on putting transitions into their writing. The transition will connect two ideas in the same sentence.  When we get back from Christmas we will be doing our next unit test.

Math- We worked on dividing money this week. I worked with two students at a time giving them play money to divide up. They had to work on exchanging the larger bills for something smaller so that everyone would get their share.

Religion- This week they wrote letters to the Des Moines Diocese seminarians. Our school is taking turns writing them while they are in school. The 5th graders made me aware that they knew a couple from CYC. They were excited to see "Batman" as one of them. I also recognized that Mrs. Priest's brother-in-law is one of the seminarians. I told them not to expect a letter in return, but you never know!

I am going to try and add some pictures and a video clip of the kids this morning in their TJ and Nate colors. They looked so sweet! They were sharing stories again today! Those make me smile!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Safe travels to everyone! I am heading home to Doon and will spend the week with my mom and see my siblings. Merry Christmas!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma

Hello Parents,
I hope you are all staying warm! Winter is here! 

Language Arts- This week we are reading a story called James Forten. It is a biography about an African American who was free during the Revolutionary War. At a young age, he signed up to work on one of the ships during the war. They had to surrender to the British. He was held prisoner for a time. We also learned that he dedicated the rest of his life to working on sails for ships and was quite profitable with it. He also worked on freeing slaves and getting women the right to vote. In grammar we are focusing on using commas and semi-colons. That was something new for me! We used our commas to separate items in a series, to set off a direct address in a sentence, or where an introductory element is being used in a sentence. Next week will be the last story in this unit. They will have a normal week of spelling and a test over the story next Friday. 

Math- We started working on division.  On Monday they worked on drawing me pictures to show what division looks like. On Tuesday we worked on doing some division mentally with the basic facts. On Wednesday and Thursday, they are learning to do estimating through compatible numbers. I am stressing to them to keep their multiplication table handy. I will sometimes rephrase the division problem into a multiplication problem to help them find the quotient. 

Religion- We are finishing up our quizzes!!! We are also working on liturgical calendar and Advent.  They will be going to reconciliation on Thursday.

Geography Bee- The final round will be on Wednesday, Dec. 18 around 10:30. You are welcome to come and watch. This will be held in the gym.

Friday, Dec. 20- This is our last day before break. It is a full day. We do not get out early that day. They will need a sack lunch and drink on that day. They will be eating with their Advent Angels. We will also do some caroling.  In the afternoon, grades 3-5 will watch a movie together. Since this is the last day we are raising money for the Philippines, I want ALL 5th graders to have a water bottle that day. They will be able to have that with them during the movie. We  will also have a treat that day. I would like a parent to volunteer to supply some kind of treat for the 5th graders. The 3rd and 4th will have their own. Please let me know ASAP if you can help out with that! Thanks. Nothing big! 

Classes will resume on January 2 and 3rd. 

Thank you for all the donations we received for the St. Nicholas Project. We collected about 361 items! Woo hoo!  I believe the noisy change collection on Wednesday raised a little over $300! So much giving!!!!!  The students should be so proud of their contributions! 

Program- Way to go, 5th graders, with the Christmas concert! You did a wonderful job! 

TJ and Nate Memorial-- We have extra money from your donations last week. We decided to purchase some of their favorite books in memory of them for our school library because they were such big readers. The remaining money will be used in some way as a memorial here at school for the kids to see. Mrs. Sickels and I have a couple of ideas, but if you have suggestions, please email us. We will consider all ideas. The cost will also play a role in what we choose to do. We aren't going to rush into this just yet. We want some time to think it over. Thank you again! 

The week has felt a little more normal, but we continue to receive sympathy cards. The support has been amazing.  Have a great weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma

5th graders working on division with Skittles!