Hello Parents,
I hope everyone had a great week off! I moved from my apartment to a house on Prairie Street (renting;not buying). Two of my siblings came down last Saturday to help with the big stuff along with some great men from church! It took us less than an hour to load and unload!
Dollars for Scholars- They wrote their essays before we went on break. This week they used their Chromebooks and typed them up in a Google Doc for me. They shared it with me and then I printed them off! I am waiting for all to finish. I need to turn in the top 3 next Friday to be judged.
Fire Posters- Congrats to Tucker! He came in 2nd place in the state contest for 5th graders! Woo hoo!!! He was invited to a luncheon in Osage, Iowa. He will receive his award then.
Math- This week we started back with dividing decimals by 1, 10, 100, and 1000. On Tuesday and Wednesday they worked in small groups using Base 10 blocks to divide up the decimals by whole numbers. We will continue with Biz Town on Thursday and Friday.
Reading- This week we read a story called The Birchbark House. This is a story about a Native American girl who is upset with her sister and wants to make her envy her. She ends up befriending a couple of bear cubs until the mother bear shows up! Then she tries to reason with the bear to convince her that she wasn't going to harm her cubs.
We are also working on Perfect, Past, and Future Tense verbs in grammar. On Monday we used has or have in front of our verbs, but we needed to make sure that our verb was in past tense. You have to love the English language that tells us we are working on Perfect Present Tense, but using past tense verbs! :)
Remember that on Monday we don't have school.
Make sure you are watching the April calendar. The month is really chopped up and I have a feeling it will fly by!!!
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Happy Thursday, Parents! I hope you are all having a great week!
Iowa Assessments has been going on for most of the week. We will finish our final tests today!
Thank you to the parents who signed up to bring in snacks for them. They have been a welcome break every day!
Reading- Next week we only have 4 days, but we will do a story and spelling words. Your Unit 4 scores are posted online in the grade book, but I have also put a paper copy in your child's Take Home Folder.
Auction- It was great to see some of you there. I think it was a successful night! Mark O'Riley bought our 5th grade basket and gave it back to me! I showed the kids on Monday. Some of them took the book they suggested for it, the others donated them to our classroom library. It's been fun to see them all go through it and look for a new book to read!!!! We will thank Mark on Friday when we go to the Food Pantry!
Math- This week we have focused on Biz Town. They had to fill out an application to get a checking account at the bank. Then we discussed a lot of terms. We played a game on Tuesday where I gave them a situation and they had to tell me how that person was going to pay--checking account, savings account, debit or credit card, safe deposit box, personal loans. It was good to get them aware of all the possibilities. We have stressed identity theft and the ways it can be done. I stressed that they are NOT to give their social security number out to anyone unless you have given them permission. We also solved some math problems that tellers might face. We had to count up the money the teller had in their drawer.
On Wednesday, we went over writing a check and then endorsing it. We also filled out a deposit slip and then recorded the deposit in our banking transaction book. They had to record and balance a deposit and a check written out. We will be practicing that one. I think the biggest thing they realized was that they might have to write their name smaller so it can fit on the lines of their check! 😃
Lenten Angels- They met with their angel again on Wednesday. They watched a 60 second video to explain what Lent is about-- prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. It was so cute, my group watched it twice! Then they each made a cross to remind them of these things and the promise they made this Lenten season.
Sack Lunch- This Friday is a Spirit Day and the sack lunch is optional. I will remind them that it is Friday, and as Catholics we don't eat meat on Fridays. They may also opt for the school lunch which I believe is a bean burrito.
Food Pantry- We are to go again this Friday. I have told the 5th graders that the weather will be COLD on Friday so we need to go back to winter coats. The hoodie and fleece won't cut it. It's March-- it will be different again next week!
Clocks- Don't forget to set your clocks ahead this week! We all lose that extra hour of sleep, but just think of all the sunshine! You may need to remind me that I said this on Thursday! 😫
I will see you at conferences next week! Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Iowa Assessments has been going on for most of the week. We will finish our final tests today!
Thank you to the parents who signed up to bring in snacks for them. They have been a welcome break every day!
Reading- Next week we only have 4 days, but we will do a story and spelling words. Your Unit 4 scores are posted online in the grade book, but I have also put a paper copy in your child's Take Home Folder.
Auction- It was great to see some of you there. I think it was a successful night! Mark O'Riley bought our 5th grade basket and gave it back to me! I showed the kids on Monday. Some of them took the book they suggested for it, the others donated them to our classroom library. It's been fun to see them all go through it and look for a new book to read!!!! We will thank Mark on Friday when we go to the Food Pantry!
Math- This week we have focused on Biz Town. They had to fill out an application to get a checking account at the bank. Then we discussed a lot of terms. We played a game on Tuesday where I gave them a situation and they had to tell me how that person was going to pay--checking account, savings account, debit or credit card, safe deposit box, personal loans. It was good to get them aware of all the possibilities. We have stressed identity theft and the ways it can be done. I stressed that they are NOT to give their social security number out to anyone unless you have given them permission. We also solved some math problems that tellers might face. We had to count up the money the teller had in their drawer.
On Wednesday, we went over writing a check and then endorsing it. We also filled out a deposit slip and then recorded the deposit in our banking transaction book. They had to record and balance a deposit and a check written out. We will be practicing that one. I think the biggest thing they realized was that they might have to write their name smaller so it can fit on the lines of their check! 😃
Lenten Angels- They met with their angel again on Wednesday. They watched a 60 second video to explain what Lent is about-- prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. It was so cute, my group watched it twice! Then they each made a cross to remind them of these things and the promise they made this Lenten season.
Sack Lunch- This Friday is a Spirit Day and the sack lunch is optional. I will remind them that it is Friday, and as Catholics we don't eat meat on Fridays. They may also opt for the school lunch which I believe is a bean burrito.
Food Pantry- We are to go again this Friday. I have told the 5th graders that the weather will be COLD on Friday so we need to go back to winter coats. The hoodie and fleece won't cut it. It's March-- it will be different again next week!
Clocks- Don't forget to set your clocks ahead this week! We all lose that extra hour of sleep, but just think of all the sunshine! You may need to remind me that I said this on Thursday! 😫
I will see you at conferences next week! Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Hello Parents, Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe it is Thursday already and March! Time is flying by!
Reading-- They are finishing up their unit 4 test today. Since we have Iowa Assessments next week, I don't plan on starting a new unit. We will do other things. They won't have any spelling next week either. We will do a story the following week before we leave for spring break. I probably won't be able to get you scores until next week.
Math- They finished up the test yesterday. Today they will be getting it signed and corrected, if needed. I plan on starting BizTown on Friday. We will probably do a lot of that next week as well.
Religion- This week we are discussing the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and the difference between venial sins and mortal sins. They have a good understanding of those two things. I have them working in small groups to create an acrostic poem using a word that has something to do with reconciliation.
Iowa Assessments- Starting on Monday they will be taking these tests. I will talk to them on Friday, but it doesn't hurt to say it twice. I will remind them that it is important they get a good night of sleep every night. They should eat a good breakfast so that their stomach rumbling won't be an added distraction. They will be provided a snack on their test days from the PTO. The biggest point I will stress to them is that they just work to do their very best with each test. We will take breaks to allow them to stretch and relax, but they just need to keep trying and do their best. Bottom line.
Conferences- Please make sure you check out the email I sent you last Wednesday and get signed up for your conference time. I added days to it to get all of you in.
Auction- The auction is this Saturday. Hope to see many of you there. This is the school's biggest fundraiser. It's a great dinner and a fun night!
Lenten Angels- Next week the kids will be getting together with their Angels to do activities dealing with Lent. Please look for a flyer in your child's folder about raising money for the Nigerian Seminary. The Civics Club is running this one. I think the kids will really like to participate in this one.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope you are enjoying these spring like temps! Reality will be here on Friday...winter isn't really over yet.
Reading- This week we read a short excerpt from Black Stallion. This part of the story is really with the main character Alec figuring out how to build a relationship with Black. They are on this uninhabited island together. Black does help Alec by killing a snake! Alec doesn't give up and keeps trying until he is successful in being able to ride Black.
Grammar- This week they are working on the mechanics of capitalizing and punctuation rules for books, magazine, poems, songs, TV shows, movies, etc. The clue that sometimes helps me is that if I can hold it in my hand... I underline it. I can hold a book. I can hold a movie. I can't hold an episode of a TV show. We also talked about how capitalize the most important words in a title. We for sure do the first and last, but the shorter words or shorter prepositions, or articles don't usually get capitalized. We did make reminder pages in their notebook with some examples.
Spelling- This week their clue before the pretest was that these words are from different languages. I always love telling them that! They all worry until they hear the first word...salsa. "Ohhhhh!!!" is the usual response. We do learn some words they might not use daily like dungarees, tycoon, or siesta.
This is our last story in this unit. That means next week will be another unit test. They won't have any spelling next week. The week after that will be Iowa Assessments. I don't plan on doing a story that week either. They will be doing plenty of reading that week.
Math- We are working on multiplying decimals this week. The trick is knowing where to put that decimal. They are doing really well. This is a short chapter. They will be testing next week in this too. Once we are done, I plan on starting BizTown.
BizTown- At this point I have 4 parents that have said YES to helping us out! Please look at your schedule to see if you can join us that day! It is a lot of fun!
Religion- Next Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday. They will receive ashes that day at school. I have already talked to the kids about thinking what they want to do during Lent. They will fill out their promises on Tuesday. We have started our next chapter on the Sacraments of Healing. Right now they are working on skits to perform in class on Thursday.
Auction- Thank you so much for all the donations towards our book basket! I think it will be great! I also think the silent auction item is going to be really cool! If you don't have plans for March 4-- get your ticket and join us at the dinner and auction! It is always a GREAT time!
Trivia Night is this Saturday at The Lobby. Social hour is at 6 with the questions beginning at 7!
Conference Sign Up- I sent out emails for you to sign up for your conferences. I am planning on doing them a little every night. Sign up soon!
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- This week we read a short excerpt from Black Stallion. This part of the story is really with the main character Alec figuring out how to build a relationship with Black. They are on this uninhabited island together. Black does help Alec by killing a snake! Alec doesn't give up and keeps trying until he is successful in being able to ride Black.
Grammar- This week they are working on the mechanics of capitalizing and punctuation rules for books, magazine, poems, songs, TV shows, movies, etc. The clue that sometimes helps me is that if I can hold it in my hand... I underline it. I can hold a book. I can hold a movie. I can't hold an episode of a TV show. We also talked about how capitalize the most important words in a title. We for sure do the first and last, but the shorter words or shorter prepositions, or articles don't usually get capitalized. We did make reminder pages in their notebook with some examples.
Spelling- This week their clue before the pretest was that these words are from different languages. I always love telling them that! They all worry until they hear the first word...salsa. "Ohhhhh!!!" is the usual response. We do learn some words they might not use daily like dungarees, tycoon, or siesta.
This is our last story in this unit. That means next week will be another unit test. They won't have any spelling next week. The week after that will be Iowa Assessments. I don't plan on doing a story that week either. They will be doing plenty of reading that week.
Math- We are working on multiplying decimals this week. The trick is knowing where to put that decimal. They are doing really well. This is a short chapter. They will be testing next week in this too. Once we are done, I plan on starting BizTown.
BizTown- At this point I have 4 parents that have said YES to helping us out! Please look at your schedule to see if you can join us that day! It is a lot of fun!
Religion- Next Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday. They will receive ashes that day at school. I have already talked to the kids about thinking what they want to do during Lent. They will fill out their promises on Tuesday. We have started our next chapter on the Sacraments of Healing. Right now they are working on skits to perform in class on Thursday.
Auction- Thank you so much for all the donations towards our book basket! I think it will be great! I also think the silent auction item is going to be really cool! If you don't have plans for March 4-- get your ticket and join us at the dinner and auction! It is always a GREAT time!
Trivia Night is this Saturday at The Lobby. Social hour is at 6 with the questions beginning at 7!
Conference Sign Up- I sent out emails for you to sign up for your conferences. I am planning on doing them a little every night. Sign up soon!
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Hello Parents! I hope your week is going well! We have been busy this week!
Reading- This week we read a story called Darnell Rock Reporting. It was about a boy who wrote a newspaper article asking that a deteriorating basketball court be turned into a community garden for the homeless in his community. The opposing article was by a girl in his class who wanted to turn it into a parking lot for the teachers at their school. It was a great discussion we had in class about both sides and even though he lost with the town council...he still won. Another person asked him to write another article about another piece of land being donated for that garden. We talked about how his article and the homeless person that spoke up pulled at the heartstrings of the reader to see his side of the story. This is a powerful way to persuade people to your side.
In grammar we are creating lists of different kinds of pronouns. I made them separate lists and they cut them out and glued them into their vocabulary notebook. They even added some words to their lists. I know the grammar piece has gotten harder these last few weeks. I'm hoping creating this notebook now and in the future will help them out. I know it is a challenge when we jump each week to another part of speech.
We will have one more story in this unit to read next week and then we are doing another unit test. This unit feels like it flew by!
Book Reports are due on Friday!!!
Math- This week are working on multiplying whole numbers and decimals. A lot of our story problems have been multi-step. There is more than just multiplication going on in them. They are dealing a lot with money. This will help with BizTown math! We are about half way through this chapter.
Speaking of BizTown, in your child's Take Home Folder is a letter from me. I am asking for 7 volunteers that can spend the day with us at BizTown. You will need some training before you can go. The letter gives you that information. Please let me know as soon as possible. Sorry I can only take 7!
Religion- We have been working on a chapter of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation. They have been focusing on baptism and confirmation. They will be working on a study guide this week. The test will be on Monday. Lent is quickly approaching. I will be talking to them about making their Lenten Promise on March 1 (Ash Wednesday). I usually remind them that for those 40 days they can give up something that might be difficult,but shouldn't make the rest of the family miserable. 😄😄 They don't have to give up something..it can be doing something instead. They can donate money to the church or a cause. They can donate their time to someone or an event. They can read more, pray more, write letters to someone who doesn't live nearby...the list goes on and on.
Friday, Feb. 17 - Sack Lunch is optional
Saturday, Feb. 25- Trivia Night at the Lobby. Social hour is at 6 pm. Trivia begins at 7.
Auction- Thank you for the donations that have come in this week! We appreciate it! If you still want to help out, you certainly can! The auction is set for March 4! Hope to see you there!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! The weather sounds perfect! Bring on spring! I am heading home to Doon. I haven't been home since Christmas so I plan on hanging out and checking papers!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- This week we read a story called Darnell Rock Reporting. It was about a boy who wrote a newspaper article asking that a deteriorating basketball court be turned into a community garden for the homeless in his community. The opposing article was by a girl in his class who wanted to turn it into a parking lot for the teachers at their school. It was a great discussion we had in class about both sides and even though he lost with the town council...he still won. Another person asked him to write another article about another piece of land being donated for that garden. We talked about how his article and the homeless person that spoke up pulled at the heartstrings of the reader to see his side of the story. This is a powerful way to persuade people to your side.
In grammar we are creating lists of different kinds of pronouns. I made them separate lists and they cut them out and glued them into their vocabulary notebook. They even added some words to their lists. I know the grammar piece has gotten harder these last few weeks. I'm hoping creating this notebook now and in the future will help them out. I know it is a challenge when we jump each week to another part of speech.
We will have one more story in this unit to read next week and then we are doing another unit test. This unit feels like it flew by!
Book Reports are due on Friday!!!
Math- This week are working on multiplying whole numbers and decimals. A lot of our story problems have been multi-step. There is more than just multiplication going on in them. They are dealing a lot with money. This will help with BizTown math! We are about half way through this chapter.
Speaking of BizTown, in your child's Take Home Folder is a letter from me. I am asking for 7 volunteers that can spend the day with us at BizTown. You will need some training before you can go. The letter gives you that information. Please let me know as soon as possible. Sorry I can only take 7!
Religion- We have been working on a chapter of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation. They have been focusing on baptism and confirmation. They will be working on a study guide this week. The test will be on Monday. Lent is quickly approaching. I will be talking to them about making their Lenten Promise on March 1 (Ash Wednesday). I usually remind them that for those 40 days they can give up something that might be difficult,but shouldn't make the rest of the family miserable. 😄😄 They don't have to give up something..it can be doing something instead. They can donate money to the church or a cause. They can donate their time to someone or an event. They can read more, pray more, write letters to someone who doesn't live nearby...the list goes on and on.
Friday, Feb. 17 - Sack Lunch is optional
Saturday, Feb. 25- Trivia Night at the Lobby. Social hour is at 6 pm. Trivia begins at 7.
Auction- Thank you for the donations that have come in this week! We appreciate it! If you still want to help out, you certainly can! The auction is set for March 4! Hope to see you there!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! The weather sounds perfect! Bring on spring! I am heading home to Doon. I haven't been home since Christmas so I plan on hanging out and checking papers!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Hello Parents, As I write this...it actually looks like winter outside! The kids are excited to play in the snow!
Reading- This week we read a story called The Dog Newspaper by Peg Kehret. It is her autobiography on how she wrote a newspaper about her dog BJ. BJ was her uncle's dog. He was found in a bombed out building during WWII. He was the only survivor of his litter. She discovered after 4 issues that her paper wasn't selling many copies. We also talked about facts and opinions. They had to find some in the story on Tuesday. We had to discuss what makes it a fact vs an opinion.
Their grammar this week is prepositions. They had adverbs last week. Those are difficult. We did a little more work with them on Monday after I looked over last week's test.
This is the 3rd story in our unit. They will have a cold read to do on Friday. I did take out the decoding section this week.
Quizlet- They are all now able to do this during free time. They are really enjoying competing against each other! Sorry for the hassle at home. I think this is just a school thing. We can't seem to get it to work at home. They also will be doing it with Mrs. Sickel's social studies words.
The book report is fast approaching! The due date is 9 days away!! February 17!!!!
Math- They started multiplying whole numbers and decimals this week. The first lesson was realizing how the decimal moves to the right or left. On Wednesday, they got the chance to actually multiply using the standard algorithm.
Religion- Last week they used their Chromebooks to look up saints. They each picked one and then took some notes on that person' s life. This week they are sharing their information with the class.
Spirit Day is this Friday! Sweats for $1!!!!
Food Pantry Day-- We will walk down on Friday to help out again! Hopefully the temps will be as promised! 50s!!!
Valentine's Party- They will pass out Valentines on Tuesday afternoon. I did make a bag for Mrs. Kendrick. She helps out during math every day! The kids might want to include her. I don't anything major...their treats to each other are usually enough. We do have a birthday that day as well.
Auction- Last week you received a flyer about our auction basket. Remember all donations are due back on Feb. 17. Please do what you can to help our basket out!
Have a great weekend! God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- This week we read a story called The Dog Newspaper by Peg Kehret. It is her autobiography on how she wrote a newspaper about her dog BJ. BJ was her uncle's dog. He was found in a bombed out building during WWII. He was the only survivor of his litter. She discovered after 4 issues that her paper wasn't selling many copies. We also talked about facts and opinions. They had to find some in the story on Tuesday. We had to discuss what makes it a fact vs an opinion.
Their grammar this week is prepositions. They had adverbs last week. Those are difficult. We did a little more work with them on Monday after I looked over last week's test.
This is the 3rd story in our unit. They will have a cold read to do on Friday. I did take out the decoding section this week.
Quizlet- They are all now able to do this during free time. They are really enjoying competing against each other! Sorry for the hassle at home. I think this is just a school thing. We can't seem to get it to work at home. They also will be doing it with Mrs. Sickel's social studies words.
The book report is fast approaching! The due date is 9 days away!! February 17!!!!
Math- They started multiplying whole numbers and decimals this week. The first lesson was realizing how the decimal moves to the right or left. On Wednesday, they got the chance to actually multiply using the standard algorithm.
Religion- Last week they used their Chromebooks to look up saints. They each picked one and then took some notes on that person' s life. This week they are sharing their information with the class.
Spirit Day is this Friday! Sweats for $1!!!!
Food Pantry Day-- We will walk down on Friday to help out again! Hopefully the temps will be as promised! 50s!!!
Valentine's Party- They will pass out Valentines on Tuesday afternoon. I did make a bag for Mrs. Kendrick. She helps out during math every day! The kids might want to include her. I don't anything major...their treats to each other are usually enough. We do have a birthday that day as well.
Auction- Last week you received a flyer about our auction basket. Remember all donations are due back on Feb. 17. Please do what you can to help our basket out!
Have a great weekend! God Bless,
Miss Surma
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