Hello Parents, I hope everyone had a GREAT spring break! I had a nice relaxing week in Doon and the snow seemed to miss us there! Yahoo! We also went to Waterloo for Easter. It was great to see my sister and her kids from PA!!
Field Trip Change- There was a miscommunication with Howe Elementary on the date of our trip. We are now moving it to Tuesday, April 26. I have one parent for sure as a volunteer, possibly 2, but could still use one more. Does the date change help??? You would still need to attend the training on April 5 or 6. Please let me know by Monday! I apologize for the mix-up!
Iowa Assessment Week- Next week they will be taking these tests. I will remind your children to just do the best they can-- that is all I want from them. I will remind them to get a good night's sleep each night. Eating a good breakfast that fills them up is helpful as well. I know the PTO is creating the snacks for our break. They should also have a free reading book or a magazine to look at when they are finished with each test so they don't distract others. I will do my best to create a stress free environment. Their schedule will be a little crazy this week due to the testing. They won't have every class every day. We are developing a schedule. They will continue to get their specials and library time.
Mass- The 5th grade mass is next week. I will assign them their parts this Friday. You are welcome to join us!!!
Reading- We are reading a story that is historical fiction this week. It is from a little girl named Rachel. She is writing a journal of her traveling in the 1800s with a wagon train.
Our grammar this week is focusing on using the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs. For example: good, better, best or bad, worse, worst. You can also use the words more or most with an adjective...more beautiful or most beautiful.
They will take their weekly test on Friday. Next week during assessment week we will not have a story to read. We are going to take a break.
Math- They are beginning to divide decimals by decimals this week. They are doing really well! In fact, I have even heard some of them say, " I like this kind of math!" That makes me smile because they didn't really say that when they were doing basically the same thing a couple of chapters ago! :)
Substitute-- There will be a sub here on Friday afternoon. I am leaving at noon to head back to Waterloo. My niece is being confirmed on Friday night. Mom and I will be there for the weekend. Mrs. Bearden will be my sub. I know the kids will love that!
I hope you have a GREAT weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! The weather has been wonderful! Thank you so much for your help with the silent auction and live auction donations! The 5th grade basket did really well. It was a very successful auction overall. Thank you for your support.
Spring Concert Date Change-- Please mark your calendars--the new date is Wednesday, May 4, 2016, at 7pm. It will be held at the high school.
Cross Walk-- On Friday we will be walking the Stations of the Cross as an entire school. You are more than welcome to join us. The students will be walking with their Lenten Angels. We will have some stops along the way where they will be picking up some mementos of Jesus' journey. We will finish the stations at the church. We are walking rain or shine. Students should dress appropriately for the walk... they may need a light jacket that day. We haven't done this before, but we are very excited about it. If you want to join us, we are gathering in the courtyard at 12:45.
Reading- This week they read a story called The Birchbark House. It is about an Indian girl who is walking through the woods and tries to befriend to bear cubs, but the mother bear puts a stop to that. This is another historical fiction story. They are also working on Past Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect Tense verbs in sentences. These are verbs that usually have a helping verb in front of it--has, have, had, or will have. They are also working on picking out a theme of the story based on what they have read. A theme is kind of a lesson we learn from the story. They will test over it on Friday. I do plan on doing another story next week even though we will only have 4 days. I will need them to stay focused next week, even though we are all ready for spring break.
Math- We started back in the book this week. Their first lesson was learning how that decimals moves to the left when we are dividing a decimal by 10, 100, or 1000. On Wednesday and Thursday, I gave them Base 10 blocks. They are working in groups to solve division problems with decimals. They are having some fun with this because it is different and they are still solving the problem, but now they may have to trade out their ones for tenths to make it doable or they exchange their tenths for hundredths. All of these problems work out evenly so we aren't in the world of remainders right now. This does give them a visual of just how small their answers really will be.
Religion/Biztown-- We finished our unit on Lent, so I am now using my religion time for work on Biztown. They are currently figuring out the different kinds of jobs there are to choose from in life. Do they want to work with people, ideas, things, or data? They will be working on building a resume for their job at Biztown. They are also working on this with Mrs. Sickels during social studies.
Conferences- If you haven't signed up for a time, please do so, or let me know if next Thursday doesn't work! We can schedule something else!!
Friday Lunch-- Sack lunch is optional. The school will still provide their Friday menu for those without sack lunches. Ala Carte will be available. Milk will be provided. No drinks needed.
Have a great weekend! I will see you next week at conferences!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Spring Concert Date Change-- Please mark your calendars--the new date is Wednesday, May 4, 2016, at 7pm. It will be held at the high school.
Cross Walk-- On Friday we will be walking the Stations of the Cross as an entire school. You are more than welcome to join us. The students will be walking with their Lenten Angels. We will have some stops along the way where they will be picking up some mementos of Jesus' journey. We will finish the stations at the church. We are walking rain or shine. Students should dress appropriately for the walk... they may need a light jacket that day. We haven't done this before, but we are very excited about it. If you want to join us, we are gathering in the courtyard at 12:45.
Reading- This week they read a story called The Birchbark House. It is about an Indian girl who is walking through the woods and tries to befriend to bear cubs, but the mother bear puts a stop to that. This is another historical fiction story. They are also working on Past Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect Tense verbs in sentences. These are verbs that usually have a helping verb in front of it--has, have, had, or will have. They are also working on picking out a theme of the story based on what they have read. A theme is kind of a lesson we learn from the story. They will test over it on Friday. I do plan on doing another story next week even though we will only have 4 days. I will need them to stay focused next week, even though we are all ready for spring break.
Math- We started back in the book this week. Their first lesson was learning how that decimals moves to the left when we are dividing a decimal by 10, 100, or 1000. On Wednesday and Thursday, I gave them Base 10 blocks. They are working in groups to solve division problems with decimals. They are having some fun with this because it is different and they are still solving the problem, but now they may have to trade out their ones for tenths to make it doable or they exchange their tenths for hundredths. All of these problems work out evenly so we aren't in the world of remainders right now. This does give them a visual of just how small their answers really will be.
Religion/Biztown-- We finished our unit on Lent, so I am now using my religion time for work on Biztown. They are currently figuring out the different kinds of jobs there are to choose from in life. Do they want to work with people, ideas, things, or data? They will be working on building a resume for their job at Biztown. They are also working on this with Mrs. Sickels during social studies.
Conferences- If you haven't signed up for a time, please do so, or let me know if next Thursday doesn't work! We can schedule something else!!
Friday Lunch-- Sack lunch is optional. The school will still provide their Friday menu for those without sack lunches. Ala Carte will be available. Milk will be provided. No drinks needed.
Have a great weekend! I will see you next week at conferences!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe we are in March already! Where is our year going?? I know we will be busy up until Spring Break!!
Conferences- Last week I sent out an email with a link for you to sign up for conferences. Please make sure you do that!! If you can't get it, call Sarah. She should be able to help you out! If that Thursday doesn't work, let me know. We will make other arrangements.
Reading - This week we read a story called Tuck's Travels. It was about a boy and two other children escaping from the Comancheros. These were kids that were traveling with wagon trains with their families, but were separated from them for different reasons. After one of the 5th graders checked out this unit's stories-- he asked me if they were all "old-timer" stories. :) I would call them historical fiction, but I guess we can call them "old-timer" stories too. ha ha
They are working with verbs again, but are focusing on the verbs be and have. We are using the different forms of those words: am is are was were has have had.
Their Harris Burdick stories are slowly going up on the wall outside our room. I will have them up during conferences, so you can check them out!
Religion- They are working on a Lent chapter right now. We will be going to confession on Friday. I also plan on showing them the very old movie The Ten Commandments. As a school we celebrate the Seder Meal which is what Moses and the Israelites did before leaving. We will also do the Stations of the Cross before they leave for break.
Math- We have finished up our math part of Biztown this week. The next part is more about getting that job in Biztown. We will be getting back into our math book next week. The next chapter is dividing decimals. I told the kids that on Tuesday. They weren't too happy. :)
Stations of the Cross Walk- Next Friday we will be walking the entire school to the church and back for the Stations of the Cross. We will walk rain or shine so the kids should dress accordingly.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I hope to see you at the auction on Saturday night. I will be there with my mom.
God Bless, Miss Surma
Conferences- Last week I sent out an email with a link for you to sign up for conferences. Please make sure you do that!! If you can't get it, call Sarah. She should be able to help you out! If that Thursday doesn't work, let me know. We will make other arrangements.
Reading - This week we read a story called Tuck's Travels. It was about a boy and two other children escaping from the Comancheros. These were kids that were traveling with wagon trains with their families, but were separated from them for different reasons. After one of the 5th graders checked out this unit's stories-- he asked me if they were all "old-timer" stories. :) I would call them historical fiction, but I guess we can call them "old-timer" stories too. ha ha
They are working with verbs again, but are focusing on the verbs be and have. We are using the different forms of those words: am is are was were has have had.
Their Harris Burdick stories are slowly going up on the wall outside our room. I will have them up during conferences, so you can check them out!
Religion- They are working on a Lent chapter right now. We will be going to confession on Friday. I also plan on showing them the very old movie The Ten Commandments. As a school we celebrate the Seder Meal which is what Moses and the Israelites did before leaving. We will also do the Stations of the Cross before they leave for break.
Math- We have finished up our math part of Biztown this week. The next part is more about getting that job in Biztown. We will be getting back into our math book next week. The next chapter is dividing decimals. I told the kids that on Tuesday. They weren't too happy. :)
Stations of the Cross Walk- Next Friday we will be walking the entire school to the church and back for the Stations of the Cross. We will walk rain or shine so the kids should dress accordingly.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I hope to see you at the auction on Saturday night. I will be there with my mom.
God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! We actually have had a FULL week! We had better hold on because I think it will get a little crazy!
Reading- This week they were taking their unit tests. I will send scores as soon as I am done checking them. I would say overall scores came up with this one.
Next week they will get back to spelling tests and a weekly story. This week they also started a new writing project. This one is being done in partners. They were given a piece of paper that had 3 different lists. They would roll a dice for each category. That number would determine their setting, character, and plot of the story. They could add characters to the story as they wrote. We are almost done typing our Harris Burdick stories and will be sharing those in class. I will post the finished ones in the hallway for conferences.
Reminder: Book Reports are due on Friday!!!!
Math- This week they were busy with their Biztown Math. They were to choose an item that they would like to save up money for and purchase. These were BIG items for the most part. Once they each had a picture of the item and an average price, they had to determine how many years they wanted to save up the money to buy it. Then they figured out how much they would have to save each month. Once they had that figured out we went shopping for banks. They were looking for the best interest rates for savings accounts. We found Wells Fargo had the best rate. From that point on we entered their data into a calculator on moneychimp.com. This showed them how much interest they would make in 5 years based on how much they were going to save each month. I think they had fun doing this project. They are also discussing all the different ways we can pay for items or get cash. They read information on debit cards, cash cards, gift cards, credit cards, checks, cash, and prepaid cards. They are determining which ones are easy to use, more difficult as well as the advantages and disadvantages of them. They will be working on Biztown in social studies starting on Thursday!
Religion- Their test is on Thursday. We will start a short unit on Lent next.
Conferences: I sent an email to you to have you sign up for conferences. If that day doesn't work for you, email me and we will make other arrangements. Thank you!!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! It sounds like it will be a very nice weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week they were taking their unit tests. I will send scores as soon as I am done checking them. I would say overall scores came up with this one.
Next week they will get back to spelling tests and a weekly story. This week they also started a new writing project. This one is being done in partners. They were given a piece of paper that had 3 different lists. They would roll a dice for each category. That number would determine their setting, character, and plot of the story. They could add characters to the story as they wrote. We are almost done typing our Harris Burdick stories and will be sharing those in class. I will post the finished ones in the hallway for conferences.
Reminder: Book Reports are due on Friday!!!!
Math- This week they were busy with their Biztown Math. They were to choose an item that they would like to save up money for and purchase. These were BIG items for the most part. Once they each had a picture of the item and an average price, they had to determine how many years they wanted to save up the money to buy it. Then they figured out how much they would have to save each month. Once they had that figured out we went shopping for banks. They were looking for the best interest rates for savings accounts. We found Wells Fargo had the best rate. From that point on we entered their data into a calculator on moneychimp.com. This showed them how much interest they would make in 5 years based on how much they were going to save each month. I think they had fun doing this project. They are also discussing all the different ways we can pay for items or get cash. They read information on debit cards, cash cards, gift cards, credit cards, checks, cash, and prepaid cards. They are determining which ones are easy to use, more difficult as well as the advantages and disadvantages of them. They will be working on Biztown in social studies starting on Thursday!
Religion- Their test is on Thursday. We will start a short unit on Lent next.
Conferences: I sent an email to you to have you sign up for conferences. If that day doesn't work for you, email me and we will make other arrangements. Thank you!!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! It sounds like it will be a very nice weekend! God Bless, Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Hello Parents, I hope you are going to enjoy our spring temperatures this week! I hope it sticks around!
Math- We are working on our BizTown math during class time. Last week they learned how to write a check and record it. We are doing more of that this week. They are also learning about overdrafts. Such fun stuff! I think they are enjoying it!
Math tests were pretty good. I told them the thing I picked up on is that they aren't paying attention to their decimals. That was usually the reason the answer was wrong. They know how to multiply! They just need to pay attention to whether they are multiplying whole numbers and decimals or decimals x decimals. The rule for their decimal changes with each.
Reading- We read an excerpt this week from The Black Stallion, This part of the story focused mostly on Alec and the Black learning to trust each other to help their survival on the island. We also focused on the story map and figuring out the conflict of the story and then how and when it was resolved. They also had to come up with a theme or a lesson we are to take from the story. Their spelling list this week was fun to give because it is words from other languages. I love telling them that before they take the pretest. Their reactions are funny! They did decide some of those words are hard to spell. In grammar we are working on how you write titles of books, magazine, articles, movies, TV shows, etc., when you include it in a story. Some get underlined, but others just need quotation marks. I told them if they can remember --if you can hold it in your hand, it gets underlined-- books, magazine, movies. Poems are usually in a book of poems, articles in the newspaper or magazine--do not get held alone. You hold the newspaper or the book it is found in.
Auction- Thank you for the donations! If anyone else still wants to donate, please do so! I will get it to Katie or Kim! Don't forget to buy your dinner tickets for March 5 if you are able to attend!
Religion- Our chapter is covering the Sacraments of Healing. We discussed both the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. We will have the students go to confession during Lent.
Book Reports-- Their 2nd report will be due on Friday, February 26!
Have a great weekend! Enjoy those spring like temps! I may even wash my car! :)
God Bless, Miss Surma
Math- We are working on our BizTown math during class time. Last week they learned how to write a check and record it. We are doing more of that this week. They are also learning about overdrafts. Such fun stuff! I think they are enjoying it!
Math tests were pretty good. I told them the thing I picked up on is that they aren't paying attention to their decimals. That was usually the reason the answer was wrong. They know how to multiply! They just need to pay attention to whether they are multiplying whole numbers and decimals or decimals x decimals. The rule for their decimal changes with each.
Reading- We read an excerpt this week from The Black Stallion, This part of the story focused mostly on Alec and the Black learning to trust each other to help their survival on the island. We also focused on the story map and figuring out the conflict of the story and then how and when it was resolved. They also had to come up with a theme or a lesson we are to take from the story. Their spelling list this week was fun to give because it is words from other languages. I love telling them that before they take the pretest. Their reactions are funny! They did decide some of those words are hard to spell. In grammar we are working on how you write titles of books, magazine, articles, movies, TV shows, etc., when you include it in a story. Some get underlined, but others just need quotation marks. I told them if they can remember --if you can hold it in your hand, it gets underlined-- books, magazine, movies. Poems are usually in a book of poems, articles in the newspaper or magazine--do not get held alone. You hold the newspaper or the book it is found in.
Auction- Thank you for the donations! If anyone else still wants to donate, please do so! I will get it to Katie or Kim! Don't forget to buy your dinner tickets for March 5 if you are able to attend!
Religion- Our chapter is covering the Sacraments of Healing. We discussed both the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. We will have the students go to confession during Lent.
Book Reports-- Their 2nd report will be due on Friday, February 26!
Have a great weekend! Enjoy those spring like temps! I may even wash my car! :)
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Happy Thursday!!!! I hope everyone is having a good week! I guess winter is still here. :( I think we all had a great time at the basketball game at Wells Fargo!
Reading- This week they read a story called Darnell Rock Reporting. It was about a boy who wrote an article for the newspaper about the need to turn a basketball court into a garden for the homeless people in his town. He then had to go to the city council meeting and make a presentation on the topic. He had to go up against a girl who wanted the court turned into a parking lot for the teachers. One of the things we discussed that while he lost at the meeting, some good things came out of it. A man donated some land for the gardens, plus the newspaper asked him to write another article. We talked about how the author's purpose was to show that one voice could do a lot, and that you might not get everything you want, but good things can happen anyway. Their grammar this week has been on different kinds of pronouns: indefinite, possessive, and interrogative. These would be words like: someone, anything, anyone or hers, theirs, mine, and who, what, and which.
Next week will be the last story in this unit. That means they will take a unit test the week of Feb.22. There won't be any spelling words that week. Their book report is due Friday, Feb.26.
Math- We finished our last lesson on Monday. On Wednesday, they were assigned the chapter review. We will go over that on Thursday, but I am pushing the test to Monday. On Friday, we need to do some math for our BizTown field trip. I will remind them on Friday to take home that extra practice worksheet in their math books. That can be used like a study guide for the test.
Religion- We are just starting our new chapter. This one is on the sacraments of healing, which would be penance and reconciliation and anointing of the sick. They also filled out their Lenten promises for this Lenten season. They will start activities with their Lenten Angels next week, I believe. If you notice on the school calendar, we are still having the Seder Meal, but it will be the Wednesday before spring break starts.
Living Rosary- The 5th graders did a GREAT job last week with the living rosary! I received many compliments from other teachers on how well they did!!! Go 5th GRADE!
Auction- Thank you to those who have sent in a donation towards our basket and silent auction items. For those of you that haven't yet, please do what you can! We will need those in by the end of the month for sure, if not sooner. Please just do what you can to help out.
Valentine's Party is on Friday. I have my volunteer for drinks and snacks! Keely Coen received money from one of the STM alumni postcards. They requested that money be used in the classroom somehow...so that is how it is being spent! Thank you, STM Alumni!!! I did make a bag for our teacher's aide, Miss Thomas, so if your child wants to give her a Valentine, that would be great!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am planning on going home to pick up Mom if the weather cooperates. She seems to be getting more snow than we are here! She will be with me until Spring Break!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Reading- This week they read a story called Darnell Rock Reporting. It was about a boy who wrote an article for the newspaper about the need to turn a basketball court into a garden for the homeless people in his town. He then had to go to the city council meeting and make a presentation on the topic. He had to go up against a girl who wanted the court turned into a parking lot for the teachers. One of the things we discussed that while he lost at the meeting, some good things came out of it. A man donated some land for the gardens, plus the newspaper asked him to write another article. We talked about how the author's purpose was to show that one voice could do a lot, and that you might not get everything you want, but good things can happen anyway. Their grammar this week has been on different kinds of pronouns: indefinite, possessive, and interrogative. These would be words like: someone, anything, anyone or hers, theirs, mine, and who, what, and which.
Next week will be the last story in this unit. That means they will take a unit test the week of Feb.22. There won't be any spelling words that week. Their book report is due Friday, Feb.26.
Math- We finished our last lesson on Monday. On Wednesday, they were assigned the chapter review. We will go over that on Thursday, but I am pushing the test to Monday. On Friday, we need to do some math for our BizTown field trip. I will remind them on Friday to take home that extra practice worksheet in their math books. That can be used like a study guide for the test.
Religion- We are just starting our new chapter. This one is on the sacraments of healing, which would be penance and reconciliation and anointing of the sick. They also filled out their Lenten promises for this Lenten season. They will start activities with their Lenten Angels next week, I believe. If you notice on the school calendar, we are still having the Seder Meal, but it will be the Wednesday before spring break starts.
Living Rosary- The 5th graders did a GREAT job last week with the living rosary! I received many compliments from other teachers on how well they did!!! Go 5th GRADE!
Auction- Thank you to those who have sent in a donation towards our basket and silent auction items. For those of you that haven't yet, please do what you can! We will need those in by the end of the month for sure, if not sooner. Please just do what you can to help out.
Valentine's Party is on Friday. I have my volunteer for drinks and snacks! Keely Coen received money from one of the STM alumni postcards. They requested that money be used in the classroom somehow...so that is how it is being spent! Thank you, STM Alumni!!! I did make a bag for our teacher's aide, Miss Thomas, so if your child wants to give her a Valentine, that would be great!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I am planning on going home to pick up Mom if the weather cooperates. She seems to be getting more snow than we are here! She will be with me until Spring Break!!!
God Bless, Miss Surma
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Note from the office:
Iowa Energy Game
Iowa Energy Game
Tuesday, February 9th
Buses leave at 8:30 am
Buses will back by 2:45 pm
*Wear St. Malachy Gear
*All students will ride on the bus to the event.
*Students may leave with their parents. Students MUST check in with their teacher prior to leaving.
*School lunch is provided
*We will not be purchasing from the concession stands.
*Students should never be without an adult for any reason.
*If you child is not riding the bus home please contact the office by Monday at 3pm to let the school know their travel arrangements.
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