Dear Parents,
The weather is changing off and on. Some of the kids are wearing only a sweatshirt to school, which is fine, but that isn't a coat/jacket. Many of them choose to wear that all day in the classroom, which is fine as well. A coat is needed these days. A coat/jacket is something they will take off and hang in their locker. They may need it in the morning, but by after school time they won't. I am having that discussion with them today because many didn't dress appropriately for the cold temperatures. We don't go out if it is below freezing or raining.
Thanks,
Miss Surma
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I know I did! I was in Doon with most of my siblings. We are having to go through Mom's stuff. It wasn't exactly fun,but spending time with them is always good. Below is a link for the conference sign-up. I added some extra time slots on Tuesday and Wednesday because I can't get all of you in on Thursday. Check your calendars and pick your time ASAP. Thanks!
"http://www.
Social Studies- I just wanted to put out there that their Iowa History reports (rough draft) are due on Friday to Mrs. Sickels. She said if you can have it typed that would be easier for her, but I don't believe it's a requirement until the final copy. She likes to look them over and then she make some final suggestions before the final is due. The kids have a list of questions they should be able to answer. If the information isn't in the stuff they received in the mail, they may be able to find it online.
Science- Their test is on Friday. Mrs. Burg told me that they should be studying their vocabulary for sure because that is a more difficult piece on the test. I reminded them of that on Wednesday.
Math- The test is tomorrow (Thursday). If they need extra time-- we will use Friday as well. You will see their test once I am done grading and if any corrections need to be made. They will make those corrections with me. I like to sit with them and figure out what they missed and how we can fix it.
Reading- This week we read a short excerpt from Old Yeller. (Not the sad part-- I didn't tell them) This is about how the main character has to rescue his little brother Arliss from a bear cub and its mom. We are working on direct objects in grammar. So we are finding the verb and then trying to figure how who or what received that action. I ask them a lot of questions to help them pick it out. On Wednesday, we spent time going over adages and proverbs. I did tell them-- these are little phrases that they may not hear of much these days, but that there is always some meaning or lesson behind them. For example: It's better to be safe than sorry. They were able to give me lots of examples for this one. We also used it when talking about studying for their science test starting tonight (Wednesday) because we know the vocabulary piece is going to be a challenge. It is better to be safe than sorry and wait until the last possible minute to study. A penny saved is a penny earned was another one. We also talked about how we can't always take them literally...it's raining cats and dogs. They told me that just means it is raining really hard. It's not REALLY raining cats and dogs. :) This is a tricky part of the test on Friday.
Halloween stories- I am handing them back as fast as I can edit them. I have some already returned with the final copy. I am trying to give them at least 5 days to type it up. If you can't print it-- email the story and I will print it for you. I will have some of them posted on the wall in the hallway by the Spaghetti Supper!
Religion- Many of them have already memorized both prayers. I have a few that are still working on one, but they are so close. We will move to the different decades of the rosary next!
Spirit Day is on Friday! $1 for sweats!
Spaghetti Supper is this Saturday! I know spots to help work it are still open! Please check your calendar and do what you can to help out! I will probably see you there.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I know I did! I was in Doon with most of my siblings. We are having to go through Mom's stuff. It wasn't exactly fun,but spending time with them is always good. Below is a link for the conference sign-up. I added some extra time slots on Tuesday and Wednesday because I can't get all of you in on Thursday. Check your calendars and pick your time ASAP. Thanks!
"http://www.
Social Studies- I just wanted to put out there that their Iowa History reports (rough draft) are due on Friday to Mrs. Sickels. She said if you can have it typed that would be easier for her, but I don't believe it's a requirement until the final copy. She likes to look them over and then she make some final suggestions before the final is due. The kids have a list of questions they should be able to answer. If the information isn't in the stuff they received in the mail, they may be able to find it online.
Science- Their test is on Friday. Mrs. Burg told me that they should be studying their vocabulary for sure because that is a more difficult piece on the test. I reminded them of that on Wednesday.
Math- The test is tomorrow (Thursday). If they need extra time-- we will use Friday as well. You will see their test once I am done grading and if any corrections need to be made. They will make those corrections with me. I like to sit with them and figure out what they missed and how we can fix it.
Reading- This week we read a short excerpt from Old Yeller. (Not the sad part-- I didn't tell them) This is about how the main character has to rescue his little brother Arliss from a bear cub and its mom. We are working on direct objects in grammar. So we are finding the verb and then trying to figure how who or what received that action. I ask them a lot of questions to help them pick it out. On Wednesday, we spent time going over adages and proverbs. I did tell them-- these are little phrases that they may not hear of much these days, but that there is always some meaning or lesson behind them. For example: It's better to be safe than sorry. They were able to give me lots of examples for this one. We also used it when talking about studying for their science test starting tonight (Wednesday) because we know the vocabulary piece is going to be a challenge. It is better to be safe than sorry and wait until the last possible minute to study. A penny saved is a penny earned was another one. We also talked about how we can't always take them literally...it's raining cats and dogs. They told me that just means it is raining really hard. It's not REALLY raining cats and dogs. :) This is a tricky part of the test on Friday.
Halloween stories- I am handing them back as fast as I can edit them. I have some already returned with the final copy. I am trying to give them at least 5 days to type it up. If you can't print it-- email the story and I will print it for you. I will have some of them posted on the wall in the hallway by the Spaghetti Supper!
Religion- Many of them have already memorized both prayers. I have a few that are still working on one, but they are so close. We will move to the different decades of the rosary next!
Spirit Day is on Friday! $1 for sweats!
Spaghetti Supper is this Saturday! I know spots to help work it are still open! Please check your calendar and do what you can to help out! I will probably see you there.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Happy Thursday Everyone! I hope you are having a good week. It looks like you get a long weekend too. I hope you are able to take some time and enjoy it!
Just a reminder-- No School on Friday. We will be attending the 21st Century Learning at the high school. The public school is also off on Friday. We also don't have school on Monday. We (staff) will be going to Des Moines for some faith professional development as well as some meetings with the other teachers in the diocese. The public school will be holding classes on Monday.
Math- I feel like every time I tell you what we are going to do be doing, I can't follow through with it! So this week we are working with the Order of Operations. That took a bit longer. On Tuesday and Wednesday we added more to that by calling it Grouping Symbols. They were given expressions to solve that were within parentheses and then brackets and finally braces. They seemed to like this a lot more! I did hear a student say more than once,"This is fun! It is liking solving a puzzle!" YES!!!!! We will be doing a little more work with that today. Next week we will be working on a chapter review. I have the test set for Thursday at the moment. If we need to finish it up on Friday-- we will do that. One day at a time. :)
Reading- This week we read an information piece on tree kangaroos. We read about a team that goes to Papa New Guinea to locate them and then put a tracking device on them so they can do more research on the animals. We learned the word "elusive" because that is what they consider these animals! We also discussed some aspects in the story to identify the cause and effect. On Tuesday, I worked with a small group on different situations and they had to create the cause and the effect. For example, "Sharon's mom buys cookies, but hides them." The causes were many, but the one I enjoyed the most was that she was hiding them for herself! We then had to come up with what the possible effect would be from hiding them. They will be testing over the story and the spelling words today.
Unit test scores are in your child's take home folder. I don't need that copy back. I made that one for you. This was a Benchmark test which means there were more stories to read and only about 7 questions to answer per story. They only did about 2 stories a day and were given about an hour to do them in, but many were finished much sooner. I do think the questions can be challenging, but I also believe they can go back and find the answers. I have done that when I look them over while checking. I can show you the actual test at conferences in November.
Religion- They have been doing the rosary as well as learning their prayers. Some have already passed both the Apostle's Creed and Hail Holy Queen. You might ask your child over the long weekend if they have passed. They could practice it with you at home,
All School Mass- Next week is an All School Mass. Your child might have a part. IF they do, they will have a note in their take home folder telling you what the job is and if they have a speaking part, that will be attached to practice.
Service- The 5th graders helped out during their recess on Wednesday at the Rectory Rerun. A truck arrived that needed to be loaded. Usually the middle school kids help out with this, but they were eating lunch at the time. The 5th graders were more than willing to help out! They were most excited to tell me they loaded a Christmas tree! I was proud of them for stepping in during their recess time!
I sure love your kids! They are a great bunch! Have a great weekend! Enjoy your extra couple of days. I am heading to Doon on Friday after our meetings.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Just a reminder-- No School on Friday. We will be attending the 21st Century Learning at the high school. The public school is also off on Friday. We also don't have school on Monday. We (staff) will be going to Des Moines for some faith professional development as well as some meetings with the other teachers in the diocese. The public school will be holding classes on Monday.
Math- I feel like every time I tell you what we are going to do be doing, I can't follow through with it! So this week we are working with the Order of Operations. That took a bit longer. On Tuesday and Wednesday we added more to that by calling it Grouping Symbols. They were given expressions to solve that were within parentheses and then brackets and finally braces. They seemed to like this a lot more! I did hear a student say more than once,"This is fun! It is liking solving a puzzle!" YES!!!!! We will be doing a little more work with that today. Next week we will be working on a chapter review. I have the test set for Thursday at the moment. If we need to finish it up on Friday-- we will do that. One day at a time. :)
Reading- This week we read an information piece on tree kangaroos. We read about a team that goes to Papa New Guinea to locate them and then put a tracking device on them so they can do more research on the animals. We learned the word "elusive" because that is what they consider these animals! We also discussed some aspects in the story to identify the cause and effect. On Tuesday, I worked with a small group on different situations and they had to create the cause and the effect. For example, "Sharon's mom buys cookies, but hides them." The causes were many, but the one I enjoyed the most was that she was hiding them for herself! We then had to come up with what the possible effect would be from hiding them. They will be testing over the story and the spelling words today.
Unit test scores are in your child's take home folder. I don't need that copy back. I made that one for you. This was a Benchmark test which means there were more stories to read and only about 7 questions to answer per story. They only did about 2 stories a day and were given about an hour to do them in, but many were finished much sooner. I do think the questions can be challenging, but I also believe they can go back and find the answers. I have done that when I look them over while checking. I can show you the actual test at conferences in November.
Religion- They have been doing the rosary as well as learning their prayers. Some have already passed both the Apostle's Creed and Hail Holy Queen. You might ask your child over the long weekend if they have passed. They could practice it with you at home,
All School Mass- Next week is an All School Mass. Your child might have a part. IF they do, they will have a note in their take home folder telling you what the job is and if they have a speaking part, that will be attached to practice.
Service- The 5th graders helped out during their recess on Wednesday at the Rectory Rerun. A truck arrived that needed to be loaded. Usually the middle school kids help out with this, but they were eating lunch at the time. The 5th graders were more than willing to help out! They were most excited to tell me they loaded a Christmas tree! I was proud of them for stepping in during their recess time!
I sure love your kids! They are a great bunch! Have a great weekend! Enjoy your extra couple of days. I am heading to Doon on Friday after our meetings.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! We have been busy!
Reading- They are still working through their first unit test. I don't think I will have scores done for you until next week. Sorry about that. They finished up the comprehension section on Wednesday. They are working on the revision piece on Thursday and Friday.
We have also been working on creating Halloween stories. On Tuesday they worked on a Halloween mad-lib. This was to give them an idea of what a Halloween story could be about...it doesn't have to be scary. This was silly and funny. This was also a good way for them to work on some parts of speech. On Thursday, they will begin creating their own idea of their Halloween story. I have told them that their story cannot be gross or violent. It can still be a scary story without so much description. We have enough violence in our world these days, I don't want that in their stories. It can be about a Halloween party, a haunted house, trick-or-treating, or just a scary story. They will write their rough draft out for me to edit. Their final draft will have to be typed. If you don't have a computer at home, let me know. We can make a plan for them to use one here. They can come in early or stay after school with me to work on it. If you don't have a printer, you can always email me your child's paper, and I will print it off here. I usually give them different due dates on the final draft only because I don't sit down and edit them all in one night. They will all get the same amount of time to type it up-- I just base it on when I am able to hand it back to them.
Book Report- I assigned their first book report as well. It has to be a chapter book they haven't read before or had read to them. It should also be over 100 pages. I know they like these I Survive books and they are great, but I want them to try something a little more challenging. They were also given a handout with about 8 different options for their report. They only choose 1. They have plenty of time to do this--about 7 weeks. They will need to let me know their book once they have it picked out. The due date is Thursday, November 17. I chose that day because I know we won't be able to get through all of them in one day. It will also be another unit test week, so it will be good to break up the testing.
Math- This week we did some more work with division using the Distributive Property. We are also stepping into the world of writing algebraic expressions. They seem to enjoy this because they are making up word problems to go with the expression, but are finding that it isn't so easy. We will also be going into that a little further working with the order of operations. I have made them little cards to keep that will remind them of the steps. We are nearing the end of our chapter. They could be taking a test next week, but we will see how these final lessons go. The fun part for me this week was that in doing a "review" problem on their worksheet, I heard many say, " I can't do this, I don't know how to divide." I reminded them they learned two ways to divide a problem using multiplication and division with the Distributive Property! They said, "We can do it that way?" I said, "Why not? It's division isn't it?" They were so excited to remember that and not worry about doing long division.
Religion- They will take their test on Thursday. On Friday we start our work with the Rosary. If they want to have their own rosary with them, I am fine with that, but I will tell them they are responsible for taking care of it. If it is a special gift from someone... I suggest they keep it at home. I have plenty of rosaries they can use.
Friday Lunch- This Friday is the optional sack lunch day again. If they want to eat the school's menu they are more than welcome to! We will supply the milk. No drinks are needed.
Spirit Day- Friday is also Spirit Day! They may want the sweats because I hear the weather will be cooler! $1.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- They are still working through their first unit test. I don't think I will have scores done for you until next week. Sorry about that. They finished up the comprehension section on Wednesday. They are working on the revision piece on Thursday and Friday.
We have also been working on creating Halloween stories. On Tuesday they worked on a Halloween mad-lib. This was to give them an idea of what a Halloween story could be about...it doesn't have to be scary. This was silly and funny. This was also a good way for them to work on some parts of speech. On Thursday, they will begin creating their own idea of their Halloween story. I have told them that their story cannot be gross or violent. It can still be a scary story without so much description. We have enough violence in our world these days, I don't want that in their stories. It can be about a Halloween party, a haunted house, trick-or-treating, or just a scary story. They will write their rough draft out for me to edit. Their final draft will have to be typed. If you don't have a computer at home, let me know. We can make a plan for them to use one here. They can come in early or stay after school with me to work on it. If you don't have a printer, you can always email me your child's paper, and I will print it off here. I usually give them different due dates on the final draft only because I don't sit down and edit them all in one night. They will all get the same amount of time to type it up-- I just base it on when I am able to hand it back to them.
Book Report- I assigned their first book report as well. It has to be a chapter book they haven't read before or had read to them. It should also be over 100 pages. I know they like these I Survive books and they are great, but I want them to try something a little more challenging. They were also given a handout with about 8 different options for their report. They only choose 1. They have plenty of time to do this--about 7 weeks. They will need to let me know their book once they have it picked out. The due date is Thursday, November 17. I chose that day because I know we won't be able to get through all of them in one day. It will also be another unit test week, so it will be good to break up the testing.
Math- This week we did some more work with division using the Distributive Property. We are also stepping into the world of writing algebraic expressions. They seem to enjoy this because they are making up word problems to go with the expression, but are finding that it isn't so easy. We will also be going into that a little further working with the order of operations. I have made them little cards to keep that will remind them of the steps. We are nearing the end of our chapter. They could be taking a test next week, but we will see how these final lessons go. The fun part for me this week was that in doing a "review" problem on their worksheet, I heard many say, " I can't do this, I don't know how to divide." I reminded them they learned two ways to divide a problem using multiplication and division with the Distributive Property! They said, "We can do it that way?" I said, "Why not? It's division isn't it?" They were so excited to remember that and not worry about doing long division.
Religion- They will take their test on Thursday. On Friday we start our work with the Rosary. If they want to have their own rosary with them, I am fine with that, but I will tell them they are responsible for taking care of it. If it is a special gift from someone... I suggest they keep it at home. I have plenty of rosaries they can use.
Friday Lunch- This Friday is the optional sack lunch day again. If they want to eat the school's menu they are more than welcome to! We will supply the milk. No drinks are needed.
Spirit Day- Friday is also Spirit Day! They may want the sweats because I hear the weather will be cooler! $1.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Thursday, September 29, 2016
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!!!!
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)