Hello Parents, I hope you are having a great week! Our trip to St. Louis was GREAT! We had a lot of fun, plus we all took back a lot of great ideas for future activities at STM. Most of my sessions were religion based. They dealt mostly with ideas for service projects.
Field Trip- First, thank you to the parents that went with us to Des Moines. Your assistance was wonderful. The day went so great! Once again, I got a little teary eyed watching them all perform their jobs. They have been working so hard at school, it was just so great to see them put it all into action. They learned to value their lunch breaks! They were so busy. Mrs. Sickels and I helped in the book store. I couldn't believe how quickly we had to work. Our CEO was constantly paying bills after her lunch break!
Reading- We are reading our last story Lewis & Clark in this unit. We read about their expedition to find a waterway that went from one coast to the other. We learned about the barriers that slowed them down. In grammar they are working on contractions. In spelling we are working on the adding the suffix-ion. They will test on Friday. Next week will be our unit test week.
After that, we will be working on Unit 6, but I will also be doing the play with them. We most likely won't finish Unit 6. Most of them have also picked their latest autobiography or biography book. I told them they needed to make that choice by this Friday. They have a packet with the information needed to create this book report. They will have to have a costume. I told them NOT to go out and buy something...check their closet or yours! The Rerun may also have something they can use. If you have questions- shoot me an email. These will be due on May 24. The packet also includes questions for them to answer as they read their book. I did tell them that once they are done reading the book and if they still have questions that are unanswered, they can look those up online. They are required to read the book first.
Math- Now that Biz Town is done, we will get back to our division chapter!
Religion- I meant to show this before Easter, but I couldn't find my tapes. I did find them finally in the lounge! They are watching The Ten Commandments.
On Wednesday, Troy McBroom, Mrs. Kendrick's dad, came to our room to talk to the 3-5th graders about his trip to Israel. It was so cool. We saw pictures of the Jordan River, he showed us pictures of the cave in which Jesus was born. They had to put marble down on the floor because too many people were coming in to chip it away and take it with them. He showed us the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed before he was arrested. We saw the place that Pilate most likely held the trial of Jesus. He showed us where David fought Goliath. He even brought some rocks back from that area. He gave each child a small bottle of shells from the Sea of Galilee. He taught them some common words to say in Hebrew.
Lap-A-Thon is set for Thursday, May 4. The kids should wear clothes that are comfortable to run in. They may want sweats in case it is chilly. I usually recommend 2 pairs of shoes and socks for that day. Many times that ground is really muddy. This way they can change when they get done. They can bring a water bottle and music to listen to while they run. They should return their pledge envelope by next week. There will be a sign up genius being sent out to all parents if you want to help that day.
Next week is May already!!! Where did our year go?? My time with your kids is running out!
Please continue to pray for Leisha Clark and her family with the passing of her mom. Father also announced that Father Pins' mother also passed away. We will keep them in our prayers.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a great week! This is such a crazy month! It is flying by us already!
Reading- Okay with these two weeks being really strange, I told the kids we would read our story like normal, but that I would not test them over this one. They will still have a spelling test next Friday. There are just too many things on our calendar this week and next week being gone, I don't feel it is fair to test them over it. We read a story called Rachel's Journal. It is historical fiction about a girl who records the accounts of her family's travel on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. Again, they won't have to be tested over this story, but will have a spelling test next week.
Next Friday I will also talk to them about their final book report.
Math-- This week we worked on dividing decimals by whole numbers. The decimal part doesn't seem to be throwing them off too much, but some are struggling to remember how to divide. So, feel free to give them a problem to divide at home!
Biz Town- This week they received their job assignments. Mrs. Sickels and I spent a few hours on Sunday night going over their interviews. We decided that we needed to take into account our knowledge of each child's interests and capabilities when choosing their jobs. Some of the jobs were never applied for, which means some kids got a job they never asked for. They were all well received and I believe that day we are at Biz Town, they will be so busy and having so much fun, they will forget they may not have the job they really wanted. I can't wait to see them in action! This week they got together with the people they are going to be working with and had to create a name for their business. They also had to write up ads to be done for the magazine and radio in Biz Town. The CEO/CFOs had to fill out forms for the bank. They will also be writing some short articles that will be included in the Biz Town magazine!
When we go, they will need a sack lunch and drink. They will also need to wear mass day attire. They are going to work!
Clean-Up Day- The school will be cleaning up our school property on Friday, April 21. We are asking your kids to bring a rake to school that day if they have one! Make sure your family name is on it somewhere. If they have work gloves, they can bring those too. We will be raking along the fence and by Father Halbur's house.
Iowa Assessment scores are going home today. Please look in your child's folder for their results.
Religion- This week they worked in small groups to brainstorm ideas of how we can live out the Spiritual Works of Mercy. We then created an 8 page book to combine all of their ideas. I gave them the task of fulfilling one of them in the next week. I did take away the 7th one because technically they could all use that one because we do it every day in morning prayer. I want them to step out of the box and try to see what else they could do. They have until next Friday. If they are really struggling, they should talk to me on Thursday. I may be able to remind them of something they didn't even consider. I realize these are harder to do, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it. It just means you have to work harder.
I hope everyone has a blessed Easter! Safe travels if you are celebrating elsewhere! Enjoy the break! I will see your kids again on April 20!!!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- Okay with these two weeks being really strange, I told the kids we would read our story like normal, but that I would not test them over this one. They will still have a spelling test next Friday. There are just too many things on our calendar this week and next week being gone, I don't feel it is fair to test them over it. We read a story called Rachel's Journal. It is historical fiction about a girl who records the accounts of her family's travel on the Oregon Trail in the 1800s. Again, they won't have to be tested over this story, but will have a spelling test next week.
Next Friday I will also talk to them about their final book report.
Math-- This week we worked on dividing decimals by whole numbers. The decimal part doesn't seem to be throwing them off too much, but some are struggling to remember how to divide. So, feel free to give them a problem to divide at home!
Biz Town- This week they received their job assignments. Mrs. Sickels and I spent a few hours on Sunday night going over their interviews. We decided that we needed to take into account our knowledge of each child's interests and capabilities when choosing their jobs. Some of the jobs were never applied for, which means some kids got a job they never asked for. They were all well received and I believe that day we are at Biz Town, they will be so busy and having so much fun, they will forget they may not have the job they really wanted. I can't wait to see them in action! This week they got together with the people they are going to be working with and had to create a name for their business. They also had to write up ads to be done for the magazine and radio in Biz Town. The CEO/CFOs had to fill out forms for the bank. They will also be writing some short articles that will be included in the Biz Town magazine!
When we go, they will need a sack lunch and drink. They will also need to wear mass day attire. They are going to work!
Clean-Up Day- The school will be cleaning up our school property on Friday, April 21. We are asking your kids to bring a rake to school that day if they have one! Make sure your family name is on it somewhere. If they have work gloves, they can bring those too. We will be raking along the fence and by Father Halbur's house.
Iowa Assessment scores are going home today. Please look in your child's folder for their results.
Religion- This week they worked in small groups to brainstorm ideas of how we can live out the Spiritual Works of Mercy. We then created an 8 page book to combine all of their ideas. I gave them the task of fulfilling one of them in the next week. I did take away the 7th one because technically they could all use that one because we do it every day in morning prayer. I want them to step out of the box and try to see what else they could do. They have until next Friday. If they are really struggling, they should talk to me on Thursday. I may be able to remind them of something they didn't even consider. I realize these are harder to do, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it. It just means you have to work harder.
I hope everyone has a blessed Easter! Safe travels if you are celebrating elsewhere! Enjoy the break! I will see your kids again on April 20!!!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Happy Thursday Parents! I hope your week is going well. I feel like it is flying by! I have a feeling the entire month will feel like!
Literacy Night- Tonight is the night!!! It is a Come and Go! There will be a lot of games and activities for the kids! They can meet an author! They can stop by the Book Tasting for the 4th and 5th graders. The 5th graders do not have to stand by their book. If they come to the event...just go have fun and experience it all! I know the Literacy Committee has put a lot of effort into this event!
Dollars for Scholars-- The votes are in for the 5th grade essays! The three essays moving on to the contest belong to Ashlyn Baker, Austin Evans, and Dillon Starlin! Congrats! I believe the winner will be notified in May after a mass. We never know which one!
Math- This week they worked on estimating the quotient of decimals. They were using compatible numbers to get their answers. We don't do rounding when we divide, we get a much closer answer and no remainders when we use compatible numbers.
Today we will be working on Biz Town. We are going to practice interviewing. They will interview for their jobs tomorrow afternoon. We have asked a couple of parents from 4th and 5th grade to help us out. We asked parents who weren't attending Biz Town. We are also going to have the 5th grade parents interview the 4th graders, and the 5th graders will be interviewed by the 4th grade parents. We are just trying to make it more realistic for the kids. There is a good chance they won't know their future employer so we wanted to keep it as close to real as possible. Mrs. Sickels and I will make final job decisions and let the kids know some time next week.
Religion- We have started a new chapter that focuses on Jesus' mercy. The main points are the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. In 5th grade we really focus on the Spiritual Works, but it is always good to go over both of them. I found a short little video that I am going to show them. Besides using our book, it does a good job of explaining these and what we can do to help others "spiritually". It is coming out at a great time because I think we can easily relate what we do during Lent that is helpful.
Holy Thursday, April 13- Next week we will celebrate the Seder Meal as a school. It is one of my favorite traditions that we do here. That day there won't be an alternative at lunch. We will eat family style. That afternoon will be the Cross Walk. You are welcome to join us on that day. We are planning to leave around 12:30. This was a wonderful experience for all of us last year. I just hope the sun shines and the rain stays away. Miss Steinkamp is planning to take a picture of the entire student body in the church that day. It will be used in future ads and the newspaper next year. They would like students to wear a white shirt. If it is a t shirt-- it is to have as little writing on it as possible. We may also make them wear it inside out for the picture if there is too much on the front. I would also suggest tennis shoes and not sandals to walk in. That will be much easier to walk in. I believe we are doing this rain or shine, so if it is raining, they might to bring an umbrella to school.
Good Friday, April 14-- There is no school on that day! Remember no school on Monday- Wednesday the following week. The teachers will be in St. Louis.
Tomorrow, Friday, April 7 is a optional sack lunch day! Just remember we are still in Lent.
Have a great weekend. I am heading to Doon. I am meeting my sister there. Next week is the first year anniversary of my mom's passing, so we wanted to get home. I hope all of you have a GREAT weekend.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Literacy Night- Tonight is the night!!! It is a Come and Go! There will be a lot of games and activities for the kids! They can meet an author! They can stop by the Book Tasting for the 4th and 5th graders. The 5th graders do not have to stand by their book. If they come to the event...just go have fun and experience it all! I know the Literacy Committee has put a lot of effort into this event!
Dollars for Scholars-- The votes are in for the 5th grade essays! The three essays moving on to the contest belong to Ashlyn Baker, Austin Evans, and Dillon Starlin! Congrats! I believe the winner will be notified in May after a mass. We never know which one!
Math- This week they worked on estimating the quotient of decimals. They were using compatible numbers to get their answers. We don't do rounding when we divide, we get a much closer answer and no remainders when we use compatible numbers.
Today we will be working on Biz Town. We are going to practice interviewing. They will interview for their jobs tomorrow afternoon. We have asked a couple of parents from 4th and 5th grade to help us out. We asked parents who weren't attending Biz Town. We are also going to have the 5th grade parents interview the 4th graders, and the 5th graders will be interviewed by the 4th grade parents. We are just trying to make it more realistic for the kids. There is a good chance they won't know their future employer so we wanted to keep it as close to real as possible. Mrs. Sickels and I will make final job decisions and let the kids know some time next week.
Religion- We have started a new chapter that focuses on Jesus' mercy. The main points are the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. In 5th grade we really focus on the Spiritual Works, but it is always good to go over both of them. I found a short little video that I am going to show them. Besides using our book, it does a good job of explaining these and what we can do to help others "spiritually". It is coming out at a great time because I think we can easily relate what we do during Lent that is helpful.
Holy Thursday, April 13- Next week we will celebrate the Seder Meal as a school. It is one of my favorite traditions that we do here. That day there won't be an alternative at lunch. We will eat family style. That afternoon will be the Cross Walk. You are welcome to join us on that day. We are planning to leave around 12:30. This was a wonderful experience for all of us last year. I just hope the sun shines and the rain stays away. Miss Steinkamp is planning to take a picture of the entire student body in the church that day. It will be used in future ads and the newspaper next year. They would like students to wear a white shirt. If it is a t shirt-- it is to have as little writing on it as possible. We may also make them wear it inside out for the picture if there is too much on the front. I would also suggest tennis shoes and not sandals to walk in. That will be much easier to walk in. I believe we are doing this rain or shine, so if it is raining, they might to bring an umbrella to school.
Good Friday, April 14-- There is no school on that day! Remember no school on Monday- Wednesday the following week. The teachers will be in St. Louis.
Tomorrow, Friday, April 7 is a optional sack lunch day! Just remember we are still in Lent.
Have a great weekend. I am heading to Doon. I am meeting my sister there. Next week is the first year anniversary of my mom's passing, so we wanted to get home. I hope all of you have a GREAT weekend.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Thursday, March 30, 2017
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
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
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
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