Hello Parents, I hope you're having a good week! We sure had a great time at Green Valley State Park! It was such a beautiful day! I hope grades K-4 have a great time on Monday!

Calendar Dates: 

Sept. 20- Spirit Day

Sept. 20-22 Balloon Days

Sept. 25- 5th grade mass

Oct. 4- Rosary led by 5th grade

Reading- They took their first test this week. Scores were not that good. First, I am not surprised. They need to get back into these and remember how they work. Second, they need to take more time. I am stressing that they read or listen and read the stories more than one time before they answer questions. Third, they need to remember to go back and look up things in the story or ask me questions if they don't understand what it being asked. I can sometimes reword it in a way that makes sense. 

Spelling- they took their next pretest on Wednesday.  We will start our new story this week. Week 2 is always two short stories. We will read both of them, but I will focus more on one than the other.  The grammar this week will focus more on identifying the four kinds of sentences.  They do DOL every week to work on fixing sentences, so my hope is that this will help with the grammar lessons too. 

Math- We are working on decimals and their place values now. This gets a little bit trickier for them to understand. Tenths and Hundredths are easier to relate to because I can talk about money -- dimes and pennies. Thousandths is harder to understand. They are learning how to write it as a decimal and as a fraction. 0.25 = 25/100   0.6= 6/10   0.874= 874/1000.

I see scores rising for the most part on our weekly time tests. If there is something you want to do to help- quiz your child on their facts when you're riding in the car, hanging out, doing chores, etc. I think some of them need some more regular practice. 

Religion- We have been talking about the Incarnation - God being made flesh by sending us Jesus.  We also talked about the Blessed Trinity. They had to draw a picture of one thing and then label the parts Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Once I have them all, I will post a picture on my Facebook page. (If you're on Facebook, remember to sign up for my page so you can see the pictures I post of different things they do. St. Malachy Fabulous Fifth Grade is what you want to search up!  This week they learned about Saint Damien. He was missionary priest who volunteered to go to Molokai, Hawaii to teach and help the lepers that were forced to move there so they wouldn't spread the disease. He is one of my favorites. We are nearing the end of our chapter. They will be getting a study guide soon! 

Next week I will hand out their mass parts for September 25. I was able to give everyone a job! They will also be leading the Rosary for the school on October 4. We don't have mass that day because Father will be gone.  Not everyone will have a part for that service. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I plan on cleaning my house! I know...so exciting! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Families! I hope everyone had a great weekend! My sister and I made it to 12 different book stores in eastern Iowa. I really loved seeing towns like Bellevue and Fort Madison. They are right on the Mississippi River! So so pretty. 

Calendar Dates

Sept. 6- Spirit Day Hats and/or Sweats for $1

Sept. 9-FAST Testing begins /Field Trip to Green Valley

Sept. 25- 5th grade mass

Field Trip- Please make sure you return the green and white permission slips for the field trip to Green Valley by Friday. If you haven't paid the $5, please do so. Thank you!   Don't forget they will need a sack lunch that day with a drink. They also need to wear clothes and shoes they can get dirty. I am saying no sandals. I think tennis shoes will be easier for them to get around and safer. 

Reading- We have read the story about Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. It is a narrative nonfiction story about Henry and Thomas' inventions, but also the things that didn't work! The lesson Henry learns from Thomas is to never give up on his ideas! Due to our field trip on Monday, they will test over this story on Tuesday. They will also have their spelling post test on Tuesday. 

Grammar- this week they are learning about writing complete sentences.  On Tuesday, we picked apart sentences to figure out if they were complete, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma splice sentences. 

Math- we are working on writing numbers in standard, written, and expanded form through the millions.  Standard- 8,879   Written- eight thousand, eight hundred seventy-eight  Expanded- (8 x 1,000) + (8 x 100) + (7 x 10) + (9 x 1). I find that the kids can say the number or read it to me, but when they have to break down the number by place value that is where they stumble. We will get there! 

Religion- They are working on the first story in the Bible. Genesis tells us the story of Creation. We work on learning about that and what God truly wanted for us. He created all things and thought of them as  "good". 

Spirit Day- Tomorrow is our celebration of the Cy-Hawk Game this weekend! They can wear their gear and a hat and or sweatpants for $1. They don't have to wear Cy-Hawk gear.  I won't be wearing that! I'm a UNI girl.  If they want to wear their Creston Panther gear- they can ! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! My sister and I are meeting in Des Moines  on Friday night to meet the author Jodi Picoult! I am so excited! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! We are into our first week! Things are going pretty well, I think! The kids are slowly learning how things might be a little different in my room. I think we will all be tired by Friday from our busy week and this heat! 

Calendar Dates

Sept.2- No School/ Labor Day

Sept. 4- Back to School Picnic 5:30 pm

Sept. 6- Spirit Day Hats and/or Sweats for $1

Sept. 9-FAST Testing begins 

Sept. 25- 5th grade mass

Car-line Pick up- I know this is a slower process this year. That is due to two things. We don't have the trolley in town right now. We also have new sod that has been put down so the kids have been instructed they cannot walk or stand on it.  Please remember that if you're picking up your child or a grandparent is that you cannot leave the car line until all the cars in front of you move. Once your child is in the car, you wait for the cars ahead of you to get theirs. Once the first car starts to move away and back on to the road, the cars behind it can follow suit. It is for the safety of the other cars and the children still loading into other cars . Please be patient. In a few weeks it will run more smoothly. 

Reading- We started our first story this week. We haven't really gotten our routine down yet because some days I am still teaching something new to them and the process takes longer than I remember! Once we get our groove going, things will flow more smoothly. 

They had their first spelling test on Tuesday. I gave them a copy of their words to study for the post test. I don't know exactly when that will be yet because we are out of sink. Some kids got a shortened list- I highlighted their words. Those are the ones they need to study. I really suggest having them practice with you at home and writing them in cursive. Writing in cursive is what takes them the most time because they aren't used to it. The list is in print, but I rewrite their words in cursive on the pretest if they want to see how to connect letters. I also explained I get picky. N's should have 2 humps, M's have 3. T's should be crossed. Your E's and L's shouldn't be the same size. All words are written in lowercase. 

Math- our first chapter is working with decimals and learning the place value names of those. We work with tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. We also learn how to say those fun words! One of the first lessons I let them use calculators... so there will be a little instruction on that too if needed. 

We will do time tests. I do those on Wednesdays because then I don't have to worry about switching classes or specials.  You will see their tests in their folders. They will color in a bar graph for me so they can see their progress. 

Assignment Books- I told the kids we aren't going to worry and stress about NOT having one just yet. For now those who don't , can write on scratch paper. I will still sign it. I told them they don't need to worry about returning that to me unless we have a lot of homework one day. I just want you to see it, so you know what they did. I do really work to give them time to work in class so they don't have much to take home. If they are choosing to do other things like look around the room or visit or go to the bathroom during that work time...they might have stuff to take home at night. 

Religion- Mrs. Ramsey and I met with the Catholic kids in grades 4-8 to train them to be servers at our school masses. Father Patrick also allows non-Catholics to do this job! We had a full chapel! I was excited to see so many kids. I am proud of the non-Catholics who want to help out! We are just in our books. The beginning of the year is all about locating Bible verses in the Bible. That will be their first activity. 

Welcome Back Picnic is set for Wednesday, September 4 at 5:30. Even Classrooms bring a cold dish. Odd Classrooms bring a hot dish. If you have one of each- choose one! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! Enjoy the extra day! I am planning on going to my sister's house in Waverly. We are  trying to collect our stickers for the Iowa Independent Book Store tour. We plan on hitting the ones on the Eastern side of Iowa. Safe travels to any of you who are traveling this weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 

Dear Parents,

It's my last blog! I cannot believe our year is almost over. Where did the time go??

Just a few reminders at first. 

Tonight the concert starts at 6. Band kids should be there by 5:30 and non-band by 5:45. Wear mass Day attire. 

Thursday- They should have an empty book bag with them to school so they can clean out their desks and lockers. 

Friday is  Field Day. You are welcome to come and watch. We are doing a clap out for the 8th graders around noon. It is a 3 hour early out so the kids will not get lunch here . Make sure they wear tennis shoes for the field day events! 

Okay, so now I am going to be a little mushy. I have truly enjoyed every minute with this group of kids. I am really not ready to let them go, but I can tell they are ready for summer and 6th grade. I don't think there hasn't been a day when they haven't made me chuckle or laugh out loud for some reason. They are just such great supporters for each other. They are willing to help and try new things out! They have buckets of energy. I think they will do well in middle school. I know I will miss walking into the music room to pick them up and hearing their beautiful voices sing! I hope all of you have a wonderful summer! Do something fun! I don't have major plans but to read the books that are piling up on my bookshelves. I do have plans for a weekend at Okoboji with my sisters in August.  

I love your kids! I will miss them!! Enjoy your summer!!! 

Love,

Miss Surma

 Hello Families! We had a busy week! They did such a great job at mass!!! Can't wait for everyone to hear the bells next week! 

Calendar Dates: 

May 17- 8th grade graduation/Spirit Day

May 22- Spring Concert/ Last School Mass for the year

May 24-Last Day of School/ Field Day/ 3 hour early out

Reading- I decided we would end our year writing another story. Every year I read the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg. It is a series of pictures, a title and sentence to go with the picture. The kids then have to choose one! They write their story based on that. The one sentence that is given has to be used somewhere in their story. It is a lot of fun to see what they come up with for their stories. 

They did a great job on their book reports! I think everyone learned something they didn't know! The costumes were great! I will be grading those as quickly as I can, but right now I am without internet at home- hopefully fixed tomorrow! It's been a quiet week at my house! I don't think I could have handled life on the prairie. I need noise in the background! 

Silent Book Club Day- On Wednesday, May 22, we are going to have a silent book club day! There is a flyer in your child's folder with the details! This will be similar to Mrs. Sickels' Cuddle Up and Read Day.  

Math- We have been doing our math FAST testing this week so we haven't done much in the classroom. We will be getting to subtract mixed numbers! They will learn how to borrow with fractions before they can subtract their numerators. 

Religion- Our last chapter covers the Sacraments of Healing -- Penance and Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. We will probably get in one more test before the year ends. 

Spirit Day on Friday, May 17! Hats and/or sweats for $1. This is the last one for the year! 

All library books need to be returned by May 22.

Permission Slip- In your child's folder is a permission slip for an afternoon at Rainbow Park for the 4th and 5th graders. Unfortunately we didn't make enough money at last year's auction to take them to the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad like we had hoped. We are going to use some of that money next week to buy snacks and drinks for them to enjoy at the park.  We are going to walk over and let them play! We will need someone with a car over there in case we have an emergency, as well as have them cart over some play equipment and the snacks and drinks.  We have looked at the weather forecast and we do see rain. If we need to cancel, we decided we will do a movie afternoon in our rooms. They will need a water bottle that day to take with them! Make sure to wear shoes that are easy to walk in! 

If you would like to join us on the walk and hang out with us at the park, you are more than welcome.  You can also drive over there if that is easier. Just let me know! We plan on leaving here at 12:45. We will be back at school by 2:45 or 2:5o.  We know this is really short notice, sorry about that! We just kind of threw this idea together!  Please return the permission slip by Monday. 

Thursday, May 23- Clean out Desks and Lockers- Make sure they have an empty book bag or two  for school that day!! 

Congrats to Harper for winning the Dollars for Scholars Essay Contest for 5th grade!!! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am heading to Waterloo on Friday for my niece Olivia's graduation. I will miss out on the 8th grade graduation. 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, I had a great weekend last week. I got to watch my niece play soccer and score the first goal for her team! I also enjoyed every minute of helping her get ready for prom. She was beautiful! I might be biased! She also named won Prom Queen!!! I was able to watch Grace graduate in Colorado via livestream. I saw part of Emily's graduation too, but prom activities got busy! It was a great fun! 

Calendar Dates: 

May 8-12  Archery Nationals

May 15-  Final Book Report Due/ 5th Mass Day

May 17- 8th grade graduation/Spirit Day

May 24-Last Day of School/ Field Day/ 3 hour early out

Reading- This week we finished up our story on Phillis Wheatley, an African American slave who wrote poetry. She wanted to get it published, but the publishers didn't believe she was the one who wrote it. She had to go in front of 18 men in the Bay Colony and sit through an examination to prove herself! She is the first African American slave to get her poetry published. Their spelling test will be on Thursday as well as their weekly module test. On Friday, they will take their Module Test( unit test). 

Book Reports are due on Wednesday. They should bring their costume to school that day. I think I will be able to get through most, if not all of them that day! 

Math- We are working through our fractions! This week we are adding mixed numbers with unlike denominators and simplifying them!!! There are lots of steps to go through along with lots of sighing and complaints, but they are doing it!!! I told them I wasn't going to stop teaching and pushing them to do more even though they are sighing and complaining. I don't know if we will test over this chapter before the year is out, but I am going to get us as close to the end of it as possible. 

Religion- We started a new chapter. This one covers the Sacraments of Healing which are Penance and Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. We dive into what the receive when they go to confession and the kinds of things they should confess. 

They are doing mass next week with kindergarten. They are also playing their hand bells at mass! I am excited to listen to that! You're more than welcome to come!

Last Day of School is a 3 hour early out! They will need a big bag or two on that Thursday, May 23 because I will have them clean out their desks and lockers then. No lunch at school on the last day. 

Good Luck to Ava, Finn, Leo and Quentin at Archery Nationals! 

Congrats to the 5th grade class! They got 1st place in the Glow-A-Thon for laps! They will get a Dilly Bar party next week!!! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Are you going to Market on Maple?  I am planning on it! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Families, I hope everyone is safe and sound after last Friday's storms and tornado. I had just arrived at my brother's house in Waterloo when the text messages started coming in! I was praying for all! We continue to pray for those affected by the storms. 

Calendar Dates: 

May 2- Glow Run Lap-A-Thon

May 3- Public School Band Experience/ Spirit Day

May 8-12  Archery Nationals

May 15-  Final Book Report Due/ 5th Mass Day

May 17- 8th grade graduation

May 24-Last Day of School

Reading- They took their test on Tuesday  along with the spelling test. On Wednesday, we will start our last story in this module. That means they will have a new spelling test on Wednesday. I have it planned out that next week we will wrap up this story. I plan on the next spelling post test to be on Thursday, May 9. By next Friday, they will be taking a Module (unit test). The kids that are gone for archery will take them on the Monday they return.  

Book Reports are due on May 15. They should pack their costume in their bag that day. I think I will be able to get through most of them, if not all! 

Religion- They will test over our most recent chapter on Thursday. This one covered the Fruits of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Last Friday, we started our Guidance books. I think we will get into more of that next week. 

Math-This week we worked on adding and subtracting of fractions with unlike denominators making sure to use the lowest common denominator possible. It became slightly more challenging when they had to add and subtract 3 different fractions within the same problem. For example: (1/2 + 3/30) - 2/20.  I haven't focused on simplifying yet. I wanted them to understand what the process to rename them before they add or subtract. I think we are there now so that is our next step!  They will also be adding mixed numbers with unlike denominators. 

Glow Run on Thursday!!! Wear bright colors, white, or neon so you glow in the dark while you run. Make sure to return your  fundraiser forms!!! 

Friday- They need to be at school EARLY! They will load the trolley at 7:55 am. Mrs. Warner will be in charge. Make sure to eat breakfast at home! They will be back at 9:00. I know some of them are excited! 

I am going to be gone on Friday. I am taking a personal day and heading to Waterloo. My niece Olivia is a senior and has a soccer game that night. This is my chance to see her play. It is also her senior prom weekend! My brother and sister-in-law are going to go to Dubuque on Friday because Olivia's older sister graduates on Saturday from Loras College. To top it all off their oldest child is graduating from her college in Colorado on Friday! Talk about needing to be in more than one place at a time! Sadly, they knew they couldn't do it all. I am going to take care of all the prom activities with Olivia while they celebrate Emily in Dubuque all weekend! WE will all celebrate Gracelyn when she comes back to Iowa for Olivia's graduation. 

Mary Brown will be my sub. She will go with Mrs. Warner to the public school. If you have any messages or concerns on Friday, contact the office. They will let the kids know. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma