Hello Parents, Okay this weather doesn't feel like February! I love it, but I also know we need the moisture. I'm okay with rain!  I was able to see my niece perform last weekend at All-State Speech in Ames. Their choral reading story was about the planes that landed in New Foundland on 9-11 because the airspace had been shut down. It was really cool. I need to read the book. 

Calendar Dates

Feb. 23- End of 2nd Trimester/ Spirit Day/ Fish Fry

Mar. 1- Shorts can be worn

Mar. 2- STM Foundation/ Gala 

Mar. 4-7 Parent Teacher Conferences

March 8-15 Spring Break/ No School

Friday, March 1st- Shorts can be worn. I will remind them that if they wear shorts, I don't want to hear complaints of being cold! Shorts MUST be mid thigh- they have to be below their fingertips. If they aren't I will be sending home a slip with them to show they have broken our dress code policy. 

Spirit Day is this Friday! Sweats or hats for $1.

Math- We started our division chapter by estimating our division using compatible numbers. This isn't rounding. They have to find math facts that actually work so there isn't a remainder. We also have started dividing using partial quotients. This is the method I told them they won't do at home with you! We will get to the standard algorithm next week. 

Religion- we will be finishing up our Lent chapter on Thursday. Our next chapter deals with a few of the sacraments but mostly confirmation. We are also going to be reading one of my favorite stories from the Bible- The Woman at the Well. I think we will finish the chapter before break, but we won't have time for a test. That's okay.  We just won't test over this chapter. 

 The Knights of Columbus Fish Fry is this Friday at St. Malachy.  You can eat in the gym or drive up and get your dinner to go!! 🐟🐠

Reading- Our new stories have to deal getting people to recycle and reduce  what they use. We also have a story about a family who doesn't have much for food, but they learn some gardening tricks that help them! We will be working on figurative language in this story as well. In grammar they are learning about where to place commas in sentences. For example: commas go in a sentence when listing a series, or when you have a compound or complex sentence. On Wednesday, they worked on putting commas after introductory words or phrases. We also worked with placing semicolons in sentences with commas. Their spelling list this week is base words with the added endings of -ed and -ing. Some of the words require them to double the consonant! 

Thank you to those who have donated to our silent auction item and the live auction basket! The last day to donate will be Friday. We are shopping this weekend to finish it! I have seen the silent auction picture. It's beautiful!! Thank you, Tiffany Ossian! Don't forget to buy your dinner ticket if you're going to attend the Gala! 

The 2nd Trimester ends on Friday. Our final trimester will begin on Monday! The lateslip record will be clean! 

Don't forget to sign up for your conference time! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Hello Parents! I hope you are having a GREAT week! The kids did an outstanding job at mass today!!! They received many compliments afterwards! 

Calendar Dates

Feb. 19- No School/ Professional Development Day

Feb. 23- End of 2nd Trimester/ Spirit Day/ Fish Fry

Mar. 2- STM Foundation/ Gala 

Mar. 4-7 Parent Teacher Conferences

March 8-15 Spring Break/ No School

Reading- This week we are working on our story about urban cities growing gardens. The story was trying to persuade us into making one of our own. We talked about living in Creston and that wasn't really a need because many of us have the space  for one. It showed us how in cities people are creating their own garden space on rooftops . Some of them are grown vertically. They gave us some history on Victory Gardens that were made during WWI and WWII because of the food shortage. That was pretty interesting. 

Grammar- we are wrapping up our section on past tense verbs and whether they are regular or irregular. For example:  like and liked are regular because we only add the -d. But go, went, had gone are irregular because we change the spelling so much that they become different words. 

They will have their spelling test on Friday as well as the weekly test.  This week's words are a little tricky because of the schwa sound on the unstressed final syllable. The words end in -al, il, el or le. They all have a similar sounding ending. 

Math- We worked on area and perimeter on Tuesday. I am NOT going to test them on this chapter. We have done enough of the multiplication with decimals. I need to keep moving because we have to do some division work!!! My plan is to start tomorrow (Thursday). This is where I usually have kids get emotional because it is hard. I am going to show them two ways to divide. One way is the standard algorithm. (The way you were taught).  I am also going to show them partial quotients. This is a way you don't know! I don't expect you to know! I won't let your kids ask you for help with this way either!!! We will do this in the room!!! 🤣

Religion- Now that mass is over we are going to focus on Lent. They made their Lenten promises! Part of that promise is that once a week during religion we will be going to the chapel to say the Rosary. 

The 2nd Trimester will end on February 23. I can't believe we have only one left!!! 

Auction- If you are going to donate to the Live Auction Basket or the Silent Auction item, please do so ASAP. We will be putting the Reading basket together soon. Thank you for the donations I have already received!! 

Fish Fry here at STM on February 23rd. They are offering drive up or dine in! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I am heading to Ames on Saturday. My niece Olivia made it to the All-State Speech Contest in two categories. Both of them get to perform on Saturday! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope you are doing well this week! We almost have everyone back in the class! We have been enjoying these nice temps as well. I know they will go back to normal soon enough! 

Calendar Dates:

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day/ Spirit Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Feb. 23- End of 2nd Trimester/ Spirit Day/ Fish Fry

Mar. 2- STM Foundation/ Gala

Reading- They took their Module test on Monday. Sorry, I haven't checked them yet! I feel like every night there is something going on that stops me! I am also trying to check all the sick kids' papers. We did start our new unit. This one is focused on helping the planet. The first story we are going to read about is telling us how urban places create gardens on their rooftops! We are also learning about how authors write with persuasion. We discussed what that means. I posed a question to the 5th graders today. How would you persuade your parents to let you stay up longer at bedtime...without tears or drama? Quite a few of them had some pretty good arguments, while others were planning to tell you the "why", but then they were going to really play video games,etc. LOL I tried to play the role of the parents and give them some , "what if your parents say this..."  I apologize now if they try to pull something on you!  In grammar they are working more with verbs. Today we worked on writing verbs in past tense . We also worked with verbs where the spelling changes when we write them in a different tense. 

The spelling list is a bit trickier this time. It is the schwa sound with "L" . We talked about how the final syllable would have a vowel and L , but that vowel will not necessarily be heard. "Quarrel" was a tough one for many. I did tell them, it's not "coral". Angle and angel are on the list and always easily confused. 

Religion- We just finished up our religion chapter. I am going to talk to them about making their Lenten promises because that will start on Wednesday. I do tell them to pick something that won't make your family members' life miserable too because you are miserable. Father Halbur always talked about his friend who gave up coffee and then was miserable to live with until his wife told him to pick something else! No need for everyone to suffer! 

We will have mass next week! We have a big one!  I will give them their parts on Friday to start practicing. We have an extra reading that day, plus ashes.  There will be another Noisy Change Collection that day. 

Math- We are nearing the end of our chapter! They will probably be testing next week at some point. I have been sitting with some of them lately doing corrections because decimals X decimals ...we forget we need to count where to put that decimal in our product. 

Friday is a Spirit Day! They can also wear RED for Valentines or their Superbowl team clothing

The Valentines Party will be on Friday afternoon. I told the kids they can bring their Valentines on Friday. Thank you, Jacquie Merritt, for supplying our party with some treats! 

Tiffany Ossian came in on Wednesday to take pictures for our silent auction item! Thank you so much!! Don't forget that we are looking for donations for the silent auction item, but also the Live auction book basket that 3-5 will be putting together. 

I am going to be gone on Monday afternoon. There will be a substitute that afternoon. 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! Stay well! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, Can you believe we will actually get a full week of school this week? I am not sure how to act! I am loving the melting snow and birds chirping!! 

Calendar Dates:

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM/ Noisy Change Collection at Mass

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day/ Spirit Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Feb. 23- End of 2nd Trimester/ Spirit Day/ Fish Fry

Mar. 2- STM Foundation/ Gala

Reading- This week we are finishing our story about living on the prairie. We have been talking about how they had to figure out the weather based on how the sky looked and how animals and insects acted. They will have their spelling posttest on Friday. They will also do their weekly test on Friday too. 

Next week they will have their Module Test (unit test) on Monday. After that we will start our next module. 

They did a great job on their book reports! It is always fun for me to hear that they loved the book because in the beginning so many of them don't think they will like them because it is out of their normal book choice. I get it. The great thing about reading is that you can take all kinds of adventures and don't have to stick to one genre! 

Math- This week we are really diving into multiplying decimals times decimals! They seem to have caught on quickly about where to put that decimal! Always good! 

Religion- This week they read about two saints. One is my personal favorite because he was so courageous. They read about Saint Maximilian Kolbe.  He was a priest from Poland during WWII. He ended up in Auschwitz. When a prisoner tried to escape the commandant of the camp sent 10 prisoners to a room with the goal of starving them to death as a punishment. One of the ten begged to not go because he was married and worried about his wife and kids. Maximilian offered himself up in his place. He is a martyr in our church. I shared with them a little about my dad growing up in Poland and escaping during WWII as well as a young boy. I told them some of things he experienced while on the run. He came to the USA at the end of the war through the Catholic Relief Services.  They will be finishing up this chapter and testing next week! 

Lenten Activity Night- Next Wednesday, we are hosting a night with some Lenten activities at our school. It will be from 6-7 pm. There will be some activities in the hallway, the gym, and then in the classrooms of the 3-5 wing. I hope to see you there! Everyone is welcome! 

Mass on Friday is at 1:30 pm.  Your child's guest needs to pick them up from school at 1:00. 

Valentine's Day- We are celebrating on Friday, Feb. 9 since Ash Wednesday falls on the 14th. The kids can bring in their Valentines that day. We will have a little party in the afternoon before they go home. 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I am going to Adoration on Saturday and then the book store here in town! There is an author visiting that day! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope everyone is doing well. These snow days are getting old! I sure hope next week is just off because of Catholic Schools Week and not snow days!! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan. 29- Book Reports Due

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Reading- We started a new story on Monday. This one is historical fiction. It is about a family living on the prairie. It's main character, Willy, is one of the kids in the family who has to help harvest the wheat crop. We learn some new vocabulary on the tools they used in farming back in 1840. I am showing them pictures so they have an idea of what we are talking about. They are reading about how the weather played a huge role in their lives. They are also learning some ways they used to tell how the weather was going to be each day. They didn't have the meteorologists to tell them about a storm arriving! In grammar we are going to be working on the past, present, and future tense of verbs. In spelling we have VV combination. I told them during their pretest that some words have 2 vowels next to each other and each vowel has their own sound so that helps us figure out how to spell them. Some words have 2 vowels next to each other, but they work together and make one sound so that makes it more difficult to figure out. Some times we can separate them between the vowels and their syllables. 

Book Reports - I moved the due date to Monday! We will see how many we can get done. I know it is Catholic Schools Week, so that may be another challenge! 

Math- We are still working on multiplying decimals and whole numbers, but I am hoping this week we can get to multiplying decimals times decimals. That makes it a little more challenging to figure out where to put that decimal. 

Social Studies- They will have a test tomorrow (Friday). They are going over their study guide today. 

Mass- Make sure to return the form that went home last week that lets us know who is picking them up on Friday for the Grandparent/Special Guest mass. I have gotten a few, but not all. 

Catholic Schools Week begins on Sunday! If your child is signed up for mass on Sunday, look for their paper/assignment in their Take Home Folder.  If they have a part in Friday's mass, that will also be in their folder! Please make sure you read Mrs. Simmons' outline on the activities each day. They will need a sack lunch on Monday. Milk is provided. They can wear their STM gear or blue and gold on Monday! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! Hope to see you at mass on Sunday! If your child has a part, be there at 8:30 so we can practice! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope everyone did okay during our snowy weekend! I am ready to put my shovel away, but sadly it is only January! We still have a lot of winter to go! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan.19- Spirit Day

Jan. 26- Book Reports Due

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Reading- We  will finished up our current story tomorrow with the weekly test. It helps if you assign the right test! We discovered that one today! UGH!  I will also be using some of my reading time for FAST testing. On Friday, I have 3 kids who will be sharing their book reports because they are gone next week. We will most likely start work on the next story- maybe take a spelling pretest! The FAST testing will continue into next week. 

Book Reports are due next Friday! I see some kids who are still reading their book! They are going to have to do some at night at home so they aren't rushing to get the project done. 

Math- we are working more on estimating decimals and then multiplying them. By Friday I will having them actually multiply a whole number times a decimal. They have been using calculators. Those will go bye-bye! I didn't do any Timed Tests this week. We need to get some work done!! We also have some math FAST tests to do. 

Religion- We are getting back to that on Thursday! On Wednesday, the 5th graders helped the kindergartners with their mass! They did great! So cute to watch them help them! I just want to hug them all! 

On Friday at 2:20 pm we will be saying a Rosary for Perry as a school. We will be in the gym. Some of the 5th graders will be leading this service. You are welcome to come and join us if you are free. 

Spirit Day on Friday!! $1 for sweats! 

Due to the snow days, we will most likely send home parts for the Sunday mass for CSW next week. Sorry, that isn't a lot of notice. We are still getting volunteer sheets turned in! 

Have a GREAT weekend! I will be here and going to the local bookstore because she has an author coming in to sign books! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I am writing from my comfy chair at home! I sure hope we are at school tomorrow! We will be. I just know it! I hope your kids are enjoying their really long weekend! LOL I see more snow is in the forecast! I am praying it is just a little bit of snow! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan. 15- FAST testing begins

Jan. 17- Kindergarten/5th grade mass

Jan. 17- PTO Meeting 6pm

Jan.19- Spirit Day

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Reading- Well things are pushed back with the snow days. We will finish up our story either on Friday or Monday. I will see how things go when we get back. Their story is called Celestial Railroad. It is about how many Chinese men came to America in the 1800s to help create the Transcontinental Railroad. It discusses the hardships of that job for all the men, but it does show how the Chinese workers complained less, did their job, but were still treated poorly. They started with 50 Chinese workers helping out, but with their work ethic being so strong thousands were there by the end! It was really interesting. In grammar they are working with subject and object pronouns- singular and possessive.  The spelling test was supposed to happen today, but that will be pushed back! 

Book Reports are due on January 26. I know some are struggling with making time to read their books. I told them they can't just read it at school. They need to take them home. They have a packet with the information needed on the project they chose.  If they need drawing paper or poster paper they can ask me! 

Math- We are in our chapter. Not very far yet! They worked with multiplying decimals by 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000. I let them use calculators. Some of them figured out that the decimals moves to the right by the number of zeroes they multiply by. 10=1. 100=2. 

Religion- We are starting a new chapter when they return. This one I believe is on the sacraments. 

I gave most of them jobs to help with kindergarten class with at their mass next week. Some of them have reading parts to practice. 

Rosary- We are planning to hold a rosary for Perry. The plan was for Friday afternoon. I don't know if that is still the plan or not due to our snow days! I have some of the 5th graders leading it. If we have school on Thursday (which I think we will) I will let you know for sure! 

Lunch calendar- due to snow days our lunch calendar has had some changes! Tomorrow's lunch will be Sloppy Joes, green beans, chips and two fruits. I will keep the kids posted daily on the changes so they can plan accordingly. 

Recess- Make sure they have their boots, snow pants, mittens/gloves, and hats for recess! I am NOT excited about the cold temps coming our way! 

If you're at the store- could you get some wipes for our classroom?? Thank you!!! 

I hope everyone has a good end to their week and a great weekend! Stay warm. Drive safely!

God Bless, 

Miss Surma