Dear Parents, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break! It was so nice to spend Christmas with family in person versus virtually. 

 Important Dates: 

January 14- Spirit Day

January 26- 5th grade mass

January 28- Spirit Day

Jan. 30-Feb. 4- Catholic Schools Week 

Feb. 4- Book Reports Due

CSW- If your child is telling you about needing an outfit for their name, let me explain! One of the dress up days is for the kids and teachers to dress up as something with the first letter of their name- it can be their first name or last name. So for example-- A is for apple, B- for bat. I am excited to see what the kids come up with. I told them I am dressing up as an alien! There will be more information coming soon for the events that week! 

Reading- This week they are reading a story called They Called Her Molly Pitcher. It is the story of how Molly Pitcher helped on the battlefield during the Revolutionary War. At first she was running water to the soldiers,but after her husband was injured, she took over the cannon. She was even named a sergeant by General Washington. In grammar they are working on verbs - regular and irregular. Regular would be  when we add an -ed to the ending. Irregular is when we change the word entirely-- was/were, buy/bought.  Spelling this week has the pattern of VCCCV- vowel, consonant, consonant, consonant, vowel. I know they were paying attention to that during the pretest. 

Math- they are finishing up their chapter this week with a review and then the dress rehearsal. They will test over this chapter on Monday or Tuesday. I am not really sure of the timing yet. I did tell them to expect more problems on the test. I believe there are around 20 this time. Our next chapter will be division,but I am going to some review with them first. They need to remember the process because we jump into double digit divisors-- which will be new for them. 

Religion- They finished up their chapter on the Beatitudes! They worked on the review on Tuesday. They will finish the week with the study guide. The test will be on Monday.  Last Friday, I showed them an episode of The Chosen. It's a free app you can get on your phone.I have it on mine and my iPAD. The show is about Jesus and his life. There are only 2 seasons at the moment. I showed them the episode about Jesus and the little children. Most of the episodes are showing him picking his disciples and their journey of following him. The show shows Jesus with a sense of humor which I like to think he probably had! They loved it! We had such a great discussion as we went along! Now that I figured out how to show them, I will share more when they fit. 

Spirit Day- This Friday! They can wear sweats for $1. I am told snow is in the forecast! That might be a great day for sweats! 

Catholic Schools Week Kick-Off Mass- If you are signing up your child for this mass on January 30, please return the form or just email me! I could use some older kids for reading parts!!! 

Tuesday, January 18- I will be leaving for the afternoon that day. There will be a substitute. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Looks like we are getting more snow on Friday! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Dear Parents, I hope this week has been running smoothly for you! Hold on...just a few more days until Christmas break! That's what I keep telling myself! They did a great job singing at the church! Steve was there filming so keep an out for the video! 

 Important Dates: 

Dec. 17- Spirit Day

Dec. 21- Wear your Ugly Christmas Sweater

Dec. 22- Mass with Bishop Joensen/ Sack Lunch Day

Dec. 23- Jan. 4. Christmas Break

Jan. 5- Classes Resume

Dress Up Days-

Tuesday- Ugly Christmas Sweater

Wednesday- Dress up for Mass with the bishop and wear red or green if you can! 

Reading- This week we read the story called Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? If you have watched Hamilton, you've seen King George sing. His lyrics kind of portray a man that sounded a little crazy. In fact, when he was 50 he had a horrible illness that affected his brain. Back then they thought he was crazy. He wasn't. It was due to his illness. He thought he was making great decisions for his country and that the American colonists were just being stubborn kids. In grammar we are working on the proper tenses of verbs- present, past, and future.  They will have their reading and spelling test this Friday. 

With only three days next week, I don't plan on doing another story. We will work on writing our Harris Burdick stories.  I will also be assigning the next book report. I will go over that with them and have them choose their book. I am doing this before break, in case they want to start reading it! The project will be due on February 4.

Math- They are beginning to multiply whole numbers and decimals. They are also multiplying by 10s, 100s, and 1000 to see how the decimal moves each time.  The process is the same, this time it is all about dropping the decimal in the answer. 

Religion- On Monday, I stopped our religion work and we prayed the rosary for the people suffering from the tornadoes last weekend. I told them this was something we could do for them from Iowa.  We are finishing up our Advent chapter. Our next chapter will be covering the Beatitudes. They don't have to memorize them, but we do get into an indepth conversation about how we should be living them every day.  We talk about how finding true happiness is by living these- happiness in money, things, power, etc. is only short term because we usually want the "next best thing". 

Spirit Day this Friday, December 17- sweats for $1!

They will need a sack lunch on Wednesday, December 22. They will be eating with their Advent Angel and then we will sing Christmas carols in the gym.  If they are buying their angel a gift, that is usually when they give them. 

We will have some fun in the afternoon on the 22nd in our room. I haven't got it fully planned yet, but we may watch a movie or play some games or maybe both! 

Thank you for the gifts for the nursing homes! Our tables are getting fuller every day! Thank you for the help with noisy change collection as well! 

I won't write a blog next week so I am going to wish you a very Merry Christmas now! I hope your holidays are packed with family and fun and are as stress-free as possible! May 2022 bring all of you joy and happiness!  I will be traveling to Waterloo for Christmas with my brother Joe and his family. I am sure my sister Penny will be there as well. Penny and I maybe traveling to Arkansas during Christmas break to see her mother-in-law. 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

Dear Parents, Well, the temperatures this week definitely remind us that we are in the month of December! I hope everyone is having a great week! 

 Important Dates: 

Dec. 15-Lunch/Singing at church

Dec. 19- Spirit Day

Dec. 21- Wear your Ugly Christmas Sweater

Dec. 22- 4th/5th Mass with Bishop Joensen, wear mass clothes and Red or Green if you have it! 

Dec. 23- Jan. 4. Christmas Break

Jan. 5- Classes Resume

Reading- This week they are reading a story called Dangerous Crossing. It is a historical fiction story about John Adams traveling by ship to France three years into the Revolutionary War.  We hear about the adventure from him and his young son Johnny. While the story is fiction, John did travel to France to try and get help for the Americans during the war.  The spelling this week has a VCCV pattern. Have your kids explain that one! It was funny on Monday, they were actually trying to make sure they saw the pattern in each word during their pretest. I think that was a first!  In grammar we are working on replacing nouns with pronouns! 

Unit test scores are in their folders. They are much better than Unit 1, but I am not surprised! Benchmark test scores are typically lower. They did a great job! 

Math- Test scores were really good! I was wrong. Our next chapter is multiplying decimals! Division gets to be put off a little longer! 

Religion- They went to confession on Monday. One of them said, "Well, that was refreshing!" That's exactly how they should feel afterwards! We are in our Advent chapter now. We also have discussed the church calendar and gone over the seasons of the church. We also went over the holy days of obligation. 

Dress Up Days for Christmas-

Tuesday, Dec. 21- Wear your Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! 🎄

Wednesday, Dec. 22-Dress up in your Sunday Best while showing off your Christmas spirit by wearing Red/ Green ! Bishop Joensen will be at this mass! ❤

Donations for the Nursing Home- Please send your donations in ASAP. I think all items need to be in by the 14th.  If you haven't signed up yet, there are still women to buy for! 

Just a reminder that on the 15th, the 5th graders will go to the church and sing for the ladies and have lunch with them! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I heard snow is in the forecast for my hometown of Doon! (I'm okay if they keep it)

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

Dear Parents, I hope everyone had a great holiday! I spent it in Waverly with my sister Penny. We went to her daughter's house for dinner! I got to play with my great nieces!  December is going to be packed with activities and I know it will fly! 

Important Dates: 

Dec. 3- Spirit Day

Dec.8- Noisy Change Collection at mass/ Christmas Concert 5:30 pm at high school

Dec. 15-Lunch/Singing at church

Dec. 19- Spirit Day

Dec. 21- Wear your Ugly Christmas Sweater

Dec. 22- 4th/5th Mass with Bishop Joensen, wear mass clothes and Red or Green if you have it! 

Dec. 23- Jan. 4. Christmas Break

Jan. 5- Classes Resume

Reading- This week they are taking their Unit 2 test. I will send home scores next week in their Take Home Folders. We will also start Unit 3- my favorite! We will be reading stories about people who were involved in some way with the Revolutionary War. The first story is about John Adams and his son. This is also the time I will be breaking out the music to Hamilton. The spelling tests will return next week! 

Math- We are finishing up our chapter on multiplication this week! They will test over it next week! 

Religion- The test is on Thursday. I will move into Advent next!  Please check your folders for the flyer about the Christmas party at church on December 19. The hope is to get more families and kids to return to church. It sounds like a great time for you and your kids! 

Reconciliation- Father Adam will be listening to confessions on Monday for kids in grades 3-8. 

Christmas Concert- The concert is Wednesday, December 8 at 5:30 at the high school.  The kids should wear mass attire. There is a permission form in your child's folder  for us to take them to the high school to practice. Please sign and return ASAP. 

By the way, next Wednesday is also the holy day the Immaculate Conception. Mass will be at church at 7pm. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I really wish these warmer temperatures would stick around, but I also like a white Christmas! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Dear Parents, I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe we only have a couple of days next week and are celebrating Thanksgiving next week! 

Important Dates: 

Nov. 18- PTO Meeting

Nov. 19- Spirit Day/ Sweats for $1

Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break/ No School

Nov. 28- First Sunday of Advent

Nov. 29- No School/ PD Day

Dec. 15-Lunch/Singing at church

Reading- This week they are reading an informational article called Cougars.  We learned about the different names of them and the different places they live. They got their rulers out to figure out the length of the tail. In grammar they are working on quotation marks. This is the last story in our unit. When we get back from Thanksgiving, they will take the Unit 2 test. I don't want to try and get it done in two days next week. I also have a feeling they will be a little too excited for their break and maybe not focused the best. The next unit is all about people from the Revolutionary War. This is when I will introduce them to the Hamilton music as well!! 

Math- They are getting closer to finishing up this chapter on multiplication. They won't test until after Thanksgiving.  They know the process, but some are making errors in their adding and some aren't copying problems down correctly when showing their work on other paper. 

College Project- Payton Burg ( Mrs. Burg's daughter)  is creating a video for one of her college classes at IOWA. She is going to film the 5th graders next week in a play. She has created a permission slip for you to sign. It is in your child's take home folder. Please fill it out and return by Monday!  I don't know the amount of time it will take, but I decided not to do a story or testing in reading due to this project.  I have made copies of the script for the kids. Most of them don't really have lines, but they will appear in the scenes. They should look those over this weekend. 

Coin Wars- We are participating in Coin Wars with the high school FBLA. The kids can start bringing in any money they'd like to donate on Tuesday, November 30th. The class with the highest total will win prizes. I believe they told us a Pizza Party- 1st place, Cupcake or Cookie Party- 2nd place, and a Sucker party for 3rd place. This will run to December 3. 

Christmas Concert- Mark your calendar for December 8! They will have a concert at the high school that evening! 

Advent begins the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The kids will be doing activities with Advent Angels. I know there will be a couple of Noisy Change Collections at mass for the Adopted Family. 

Just a reminder, we only have school next Monday and Tuesday. Then you have Thanksgiving break which will include the Monday after! We will have a PD Day that day. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving next week! Enjoy your family time and all the yummy fixings! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Dear Parents, I hope you are having a super week! You realize that next week is our last full week of school for November?? Time is flying by so quickly! 

Important Dates: 

Nov. 11- Veteran's Day Program 2 pm

Nov. 12-14 Big Fish Musical at the high school (Ryder is in it! ) 

Nov.17- 5th and 4th grade mass

Nov. 18- PTO Meeting

Nov. 19- Spirit Day/ Sweats for $1

Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break/ No School

Nov. 29- No School/ PD Day

Mass- It is our mass next Wednesday! You are always invited to come join us! They will get their mass part on Friday. 

Reading- This week they are reading a story called Storm Warriors. This story takes place in the 1800s. This is about a young boy named Nathan who wants to join this group of men who rescue people from the ocean. We have the Coast Guard now. At the beginning of the story he doesn't think he can do the job after watching men walk into the stormy seas to rescue others, but later proves his ability. Nathan helps the people who were injured. In grammar we are working on subordinating conjunctions in sentences to create a complex sentence. One part of the complex sentence cannot stand alone that is why it is dependent on the other sentence. The spelling list this week was confusing again because it is compound words, but there are different kinds! Their words are like: up-to-date, wildlife, and light bulb. 

Religion- We are back in the book and are discussing the 7 sacraments. 

Math-- This week they are multiplying by single and double digits. This is pretty much review for them from 4th grade!  They have the option of choosing which strategy they like better to use to solve the problems. They choose between the standard algorithm and partial products. So far most of them are choosing the standard algorithm. 

The new trimester will begin on Monday. That means the lateslip board will be wiped clean! They will start again with 0!!! I will be working on progress reports this weekend! 

Temperature changes- Friday is supposed to be colder! Make sure your kids have winter coats, hats, gloves for recess! 

Veteran's Day Progam is at 2:00 on Thursday! All are welcome to attend! I know this is a late reminder, but your kids can wear red, white, and blue! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Hello Parents, I hope everyone had a great long weekend! I enjoyed it! I went home on Friday to Doon to take care of the cemetery where my parents are buried. I also did a little shopping while I was there. It sounded like Halloween was a success for your kids!

Important Dates: 

Nov. 5- Spirit Day - Sweats for $1

Nov. 11- Veteran's Day Program 2 pm

Nov. 12-14 Big Fish Musical at the high school (Ryder is in it! ) 

Nov. 24-26 Thanksgiving Break/ No School

Nov. 29- No School/ PD Day

Reading- This week they are reading a nonfiction story about the Everglades. They learn about the different animals and plants that live there and what you can do to help that area stay alive and growing. In grammar this week they are learning about adding the conjunctions and, but , or or in a sentence to join two complete sentences. Their spelling list is homophones this week! That was a fun pretest to give! Wring and ring, lessen and lesson, aloud and allowed. I will mix them up on Friday so they have to listen to how they are being used in the sentence! 

Book Reports are due on Friday! Most are done already! There next one won't be for awhile! 

Math- This week they are multiplying with 10s, 100s, 1000s mentally. They did great with that one! They picked it up really quickly. On Wednesday, we went to rounding the numbers and then multiplying them. Again they caught on quickly and most of them know their basic facts! The trick is adding those zeros. Next week we will begin multiplication. I will show them two strategies and they can pick which ever way works best for them. We will start out with multiplying by one digit and then we move into double digits.  Both strategies are ones they learned in 4th grade...so it really should be review! 

Religion- They finished their posters for the Sorrowful Mysteries and so they will finish up with the Glorious Mysteries. I would think next week we should be back in the book. 

Social Studies projects- These are due on Friday. The kids can bring them in the building when they arrive. Mrs. Sickels will have an Iowa History Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 10 in the afternoon. I don't have the exact time. Look for a flyer from your child. You are welcome to come that day and look at all the different projects. 

Spirit Day on Friday- Wear sweats for $1!

I feel like this is the shortest letter! I just talked to you so I can't think of anything new!

Have a great weekend! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma