Hello Parents- We are in with a week down! I think it is going well. We are very busy! Last week they took some pretests in reading, spelling, and math. This week we are going at it! 


Reading- We read a short part from The Wayside School book. We had to discuss what was Louis' problem in the story and then how it was resolved. We will do more of that on Thursday. This is a funny story with an ending that isn't really expected (unless you've read the book). We will take a test over this on Friday. They will also have their spelling posttest on Friday.  Since we don't have school on Monday, they will have their pretest on  Tuesday.  In grammar we are working on what makes up a complete sentence and a fragment. We also identify the two parts of a sentence: subject and predicate. I did talk to them about picking out the who or what (noun) and the action or linking verbs. This is usually a difficult task. We will get more specific with those parts of speech as we go on. 

Mrs. Mitchell is doing the BRI tests right now. Once she is done, we will have small group time with her.

Vocabulary- I want to give you a heads-up on this!  We are doing the Frayer Model with our definitions in reading. They did this last year in social studies, but I am tweaking it for reading.  We did it this week together in class so I could show them how it would look.  They will have a big box for each word. They will write the word, a short definition, use the word in a sentence, and then they need to find two antonyms and two synonyms.  Now, if you have a thesaurus at home they can certainly use that, but some words are located in there. We used the internet. I went to www.thesaurus.com  and was able to type in their vocabulary word and a list came up! It does take some time.  They can do most everything here, but they may need the internet at home to do that research. We will do what we can in class, but I can't promise this won't be homework. They will have most of the week to do it. I would like them to have it done on Thursdays so we can go over the words. 

Math- We are starting with place value positions of numbers and learning how to write a number in word, standard, and expanded form. For example: If the number is 1,234. That is standard form. Word form- one thousand,two hundred thirty-four.  Expanded form- (1 x 1.000) + (2 x 100) + (3 x 10)+ (4 x 1).  This is a little new compared to how I taught it before, but it makes much more sense to them when I ask--how many 100s does it take to equal 200?  We started this today (Wednesday).  We will do more together tomorrow.  One thing I have noticed is that some need to refresh themselves on their multiplication facts. They can use the chart in their assignment book, but those basic facts should be a little quicker. Maybe quiz them in the car when you drive to practice, a game, or Des Moines. 

Religion- They have been working with the Bible this week. I always start the year by reviewing how we look up verses in the Bible. This coming Sunday Mother Teresa will be canonized (named a saint). We will celebrate this at mass next week. I also have some information on her that I will share with them in class next week. 

We don't have really any study halls except on band days and that is first thing in the morning. Right now they have some extra time with our mornings because we haven't been on the computers yet, but we will be.  I have been trying to stress that if they have homework they need to make use of any free chance they get to work on it, especially if they have signed up for other things outside of school. I can tell you this... I don't give homework for major holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break. I can't guarantee that your child won't have something to do on Halloween. I also remind them their job right now is school. So that has to come first. I am not going to work around their extra activities outside of school.  If they use their time, they really shouldn't have much to do, but with a lot of the core classes in the afternoon, they will have to be smart about not wasting time. They can do this! 

Any questions or concerns please email me or call the school! 

I hope everyone has a great long weekend. Please be safe! I am planning on heading home to Doon. Take Care!!!

God Bless, 
Miss Surma

I made a mistake about our website! 

Go to www.crestonstmalachy.org  


Thanks!

Hello Parents!  We are on Day 2 and everyone returned! Woo hoo!!! 

In your child's folder is a  letter from me that describes a little bit more about 5th grade and the subjects. From this point on I will put things on my blog unless it is a last minute thing I need you to know about. You can get to my blog through our new school website. Just visit www.stmalachy.org!  



As of right now we are at 25 in my room. Aydan White didn't return.  I will have a para with us during some points in our day. We will most of the time have Mrs. Kendrick, but Miss Ashton may see us too. 


Please feel free to email me if you have questions or concerns. 

This week we aren't doing much in the textbooks. There is some pretesting going on in math, reading, and spelling, but they won't have real homework this week. 

Next week we will start with the signing of assignment books. 

Have a great weekend! I plan to head to Waverly for my great-niece's birthday party! 

God Bless,
Miss Surma

The first day of school for 5th grade!!!! 2016-2017 here we come!!!! 

Happy Thursday Parents! I hope your week is going well! The humidity is making it feel like summer!

Friday-- Pray for sun!  We will plan on Field Day fun around 10:30. The afternoon will most likely be a movie for 3-5. IF it does rain, Mrs. Sickels, Mrs. Burg, and myself have been making a Plan B. 

They will need to wear tennis shoes for the field day. No sandals. They will need a sack lunch with drink that day. No soda bottles bigger than 20 oz. No ala carte that day. 


 I would like to take a moment to just say thank you! Thank you for allowing me to be your child's teacher this year and the past two years as well. Thank you for entrusting them to me each day. They have made me laugh (almost) every day! They are a terrific group of kids and work so well together. I know I will miss them next year-- there is no doubt. I know they will do great things in middle school!!!! Thank you for your continued support. Thank you for choosing STM!!! I love my job and  I love these kids!!!! This has been a great year even with the sadness. I hope you have a wonderful summer!  I will be back to help with Ragbrai, and  I am taking a class. Most of my summer will be in Doon at Mom's. There is a lot of stuff to sort through. Thanks again! God Bless you and your family!
Love, Miss Surma

Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe the end is so near for our year together!! 

Reading- This week they read a short little mystery story about some missing deer. They had the mystery solved before we even finished reading it! We have been working more with commas in grammar. They will have a spelling test on Friday as well as a test over the story. 
Next week we will read the final story in this unit. I will have a spelling test and a test over the story on Thursday, May 26. We will be working right until the end!!!

Math- We have been working on adding and subtracting mixed fractions. With the subtracting of fractions I have shown them two possible ways to come up with their answer. One is much quicker to do, but it does make them stop and think. They still have to borrow from their whole numbers, but now the value of that 1 is based on the denominator of the other mixed number. Some were opting for the other way until they really tried option #1 (as I called it in class). They did realize option #2 did take them longer and wasn't always fun to turn that improper fraction back into a mixed number.  The way we are heading we will be testing over this chapter next Thursday. I was hoping it would be sooner, but this subtraction kind of stumped them. I hate to give a test on that day, but I don't have much choice. 

Religion- They are taking an ACRE test right now. It is a standardized religion test-- kind of like Iowa Assessments, but not as long. I also read this one aloud because I know some of the words can trip them up. This is basically a test to see what they know in religion. It is taken in 5th and 8th grades.  It isn't timed. 

The 4th and 5th graders have mass next Wednesday. I believe every 5th grader has a part, but not every 4th grader was able to. Please join us if you can. It will be the last school mass of the year.

Thursday, May 26- They will clean out their desks in the afternoon before going home. They will need their book bag!

Friday, May 27-- Field Day will be in the morning. I will send out a schedule next week. It isn't an early out. We will gather in the gym around 2:30 for our final send off. They will need a sack lunch on that day.  They should wear tennis shoes for sure--no sandals! They won't need their book bag that day, just their lunch!


Book Reports-- I am trying to get through grading them, but every night it seems there is something! As I get them done they will be able to take their posters home. Sorry it is taking so long! I get pretty detailed in my note taking!

Thank you so much for coming to the play last week! I hope you enjoyed it! They did an AWESOME job!!!!

Have a great weekend! I have a couple graduation parties to hit on Saturday and my nieces will be in Des Moines on Sunday to play some soccer! God Bless, Miss Surma

Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are having a great week!

Reading-- We have been running lines and practicing for the play with every spare minute! I think you will enjoy it! It is only about 10 minutes long once it starts!  The kids will celebrate afterwards in the room with the pink frosted cake! They will have a spelling posttest on Friday. There is no weekly test! They should bring their costumes to school on Friday morning. 

Book Reports-- These are due on Monday! They should have their project and costume with them when they come to school. I believe we will be able to get through all of them on Monday, but if not we will finish them up on Tuesday. 

Math- This week they are working on renaming fractions with common denominators and then adding and subtracting them. They will be getting to add and subtract mixed numbers as well. If everything goes as planned, they will finish this chapter and test over it before our year ends. 

Library Books-- All library books must be returned by May 19. The 5th graders will still need to have something to read during free time in the classroom. They can get a book off of my shelf or something from home. I don't mind if it is a magazine either. 

Middle School Day- I believe the 5th graders will be spending part of a Wednesday with the middle school kids to get a feel of what that will look like next year. I don't have an exact date yet, but I will let you know. 

Iowa Assessments-- The scores are back. We will be sending home their scores soon. 

I hope you have a great weekend!  I can't believe our year is ending soon. Where did it go??? 

God Bless, 
Miss Surma