Hello Parents, It's me, Miss Surma! You may have forgotten me since we have been having snow days!!! I really really want to see my kids tomorrow. Saying some strong prayers. 😄 🙏🙏🙏
Since you aren't here... I wanted to make sure you knew our plans for next week for Catholic Schools Week!
Sunday, Jan. 27- Mass at Holy Spirit 9am. All are welcome to join us! The kids that signed up will get their job assignment on Friday in Take Home Folder. Breakfast pizza to follow mass provided by PTO.
Monday, Jan. 28- 11:30-1pm Lunch with Advent Angels and movie in different wings. Students need to bring a sack lunch from home! Milk will be provided.
Dress up in Blue and Gold Day!
Tuesday, Jan. 29- Student Appreciation Day
2:00-2:45 Students vs. Teachers Day
Dress up as Twins or Famous Duos ( I told the 5th graders that we have an odd number so if they want more in their group than just two, I am okay with that! ) They can research famous duos or just dress alike.
Wednesday, Jan.30- Dress up in Class Theme Day! We will vote when we are back together and I will let you know. I told them to think about it on Monday with plans to vote on Tuesday. Guess not. That afternoon they will get together with their Advent Angels and make Valentines for soldiers who are serving overseas. ( I am gone this day. I have class. Mrs. Taylor will be my substitute)
Thursday, Jan. 31- Sack Lunch (provided by the school, but kids can still bring their own from home as usual) 1:00 Movie in the gym- Students may bring pillows and blankets that day.
Dress up in your Pajamas-- they can wear their robes and slippers too.
FYI- If the weather is nice, they will still go out for recess and we do have PE that day. They need their tennis shoes. Snow pants and boots.
Friday, Feb. 1- Mass Day. We are having mass at Holy Spirit Church. Mass begins at 1:30. Students will get there by bus and meet up with their grandparents or special guests. Please let me know if your child won't have anyone that day! I will be their special guest! They may have a part in the mass. That will be in their take home folders. We have coffee and cookies after mass in the basement. Your child can leave after mass or the snacks, but just let me know you are leaving or if special arrangements are being made for pick up.
Okay--as far as school goes... I am just moving everything since we have missed so many days. We still have tests to make up.
Book Report- This is due on February 8. I know some of them have started on their projects here at school. They have about 2 weeks.
I hope to see your kids tomorrow! Have a good weekend! Stay safe and please stay warm. Hope to see many of you at mass on Sunday at church.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
Hi Parents, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. The 5th graders are having a TEST week. I didn't mean for it to work out this way, but it did. They had one in social studies last week, so that subject is clear. They are taking a reading unit test this week. They will do a little bit every day. Their math test is tomorrow (Tuesday). They will have a science test on Wednesday. They will have a religion test on Friday. I hope they have a good book to read after their tests! Sorry about the scheduling of these. It sometimes just works that way. I'd rather they do it this week, than next week during Catholic Schools Week.
Pay attention to the blog or Facebook post on Wednesday. I will have our schedule for CSW and the dress up days.
Have a good week,
Miss Surma
Pay attention to the blog or Facebook post on Wednesday. I will have our schedule for CSW and the dress up days.
Have a good week,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Happy Wednesday Parents,
I hope you are having a good week. Did you enjoy the snow this past weekend? It sounds like our next round won't be as much, but I am not excited for the cold and wind that follows it.
Math- This week they have been continuing to add and subtract decimals, but we've also been reading story problems that require them to make a table to solve or to fill out a checkbook. I am hoping that by Friday we will be ending our chapter and they will be doing a review. If I can stick with that plan, then their test will be on Tuesday of next week. I will see how the rest of the week goes.
Reading- This week we read two short biographies on two kids who had a role in the Revolutionary War. The first one was Joseph Martin. He was a volunteer soldier ( militiaman) for the war. He signed up as a teenager for 6 months. After his tour was done he became a farmer, but became bored with that after a year. He rejoined the military and was in it for another 6 years. Our 2nd person was a 16 year old girl. Her name was Sybil Ludington. She was like Paul Revere. She went out in the dark of night on a horse to warn farmers that they were needed. She actually rode over 40 miles that night. Paul Revere road much less. They will have a test on Friday over the story and spelling.
This is our final story in our unit. Next week they will be taking a unit test. I am going to see how things go with that. I may start our next story on Friday due to the next week being Catholic Schools Week. I am not sure yet. I will let you know.
We are also screening for our winter reading fluency this week and probably into next week. I will send all scores home when I am done. The goal this time is 151 words a minute. We did trial runs last week to get them in the groove! 😁
Religion- we will get back into it on Thursday. We didn't have it today or yesterday due to our late start.
Spirit Day- This Friday they can wear sweats for $1! It is also our day to go work at the Food Pantry. I think the weather will hold off for us to be able to do that!
Auction- Letters went home last week to donate to our basket. Please do what you can. Those are due by Feb. 15.
Biz Town- In your child's folder is a letter about going to Biz Town. This is our field trip for our 4th and 5th graders this year. Please read the letter. We will start working with them in our classrooms. I am waiting until after we are done with this math chapter.
Trivia Night- It is set for this Saturday. We are praying the weather won't force us to move it. If you like trivia and a fun night out-- please join us! We have tables available. There will be drinks and appetizers. This is a fundraiser we put on so that we can attend the NCEA Conference in Chicago in April. We went to St. Louis two years ago.
I hope everyone has a good weekend! Stay safe and warm.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."-- Jeremiah 29:13
I hope you are having a good week. Did you enjoy the snow this past weekend? It sounds like our next round won't be as much, but I am not excited for the cold and wind that follows it.
Math- This week they have been continuing to add and subtract decimals, but we've also been reading story problems that require them to make a table to solve or to fill out a checkbook. I am hoping that by Friday we will be ending our chapter and they will be doing a review. If I can stick with that plan, then their test will be on Tuesday of next week. I will see how the rest of the week goes.
Reading- This week we read two short biographies on two kids who had a role in the Revolutionary War. The first one was Joseph Martin. He was a volunteer soldier ( militiaman) for the war. He signed up as a teenager for 6 months. After his tour was done he became a farmer, but became bored with that after a year. He rejoined the military and was in it for another 6 years. Our 2nd person was a 16 year old girl. Her name was Sybil Ludington. She was like Paul Revere. She went out in the dark of night on a horse to warn farmers that they were needed. She actually rode over 40 miles that night. Paul Revere road much less. They will have a test on Friday over the story and spelling.
This is our final story in our unit. Next week they will be taking a unit test. I am going to see how things go with that. I may start our next story on Friday due to the next week being Catholic Schools Week. I am not sure yet. I will let you know.
We are also screening for our winter reading fluency this week and probably into next week. I will send all scores home when I am done. The goal this time is 151 words a minute. We did trial runs last week to get them in the groove! 😁
Religion- we will get back into it on Thursday. We didn't have it today or yesterday due to our late start.
Spirit Day- This Friday they can wear sweats for $1! It is also our day to go work at the Food Pantry. I think the weather will hold off for us to be able to do that!
Auction- Letters went home last week to donate to our basket. Please do what you can. Those are due by Feb. 15.
Biz Town- In your child's folder is a letter about going to Biz Town. This is our field trip for our 4th and 5th graders this year. Please read the letter. We will start working with them in our classrooms. I am waiting until after we are done with this math chapter.
Trivia Night- It is set for this Saturday. We are praying the weather won't force us to move it. If you like trivia and a fun night out-- please join us! We have tables available. There will be drinks and appetizers. This is a fundraiser we put on so that we can attend the NCEA Conference in Chicago in April. We went to St. Louis two years ago.
I hope everyone has a good weekend! Stay safe and warm.
God Bless,
Miss Surma
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."-- Jeremiah 29:13
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Dear Parents,
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas break. I had a great time with my siblings and all their kids. I also had a great time over New Years with Mrs. Sickels in Branson, MO.
Math- This week they have been busy with estimating decimals by rounding or using benchmark numbers. Benchmark numbers are set. They use 0. 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00. So they might change 2.15 to 2.00 or 2.67 to 2.75. They have also begun adding and subtracting with estimation. Today they worked on adding decimals. The only real trick to remember is the decimal in your final answer! They will also be subtracting soon. I think we will be wrapping up this chapter next week. There might be a test towards the end of the week.
Reading- This week we read a biography on James Forten. He was a free African American during the Revolutionary War. He worked on sails for ships and then got permission to work on one of the ships. His job was to carry the gunpowder from below deck to the upper deck for the cannons.His ship was later captured by the British. His fear was being taken and then sent back to be a slave. He was lucky. That didn't happen to him. He ended up owning the sail business and fighting as an abolitionist. They will test on Friday. Next week will be our last story in this unit. The week of Jan. 21 will be a unit test week.
In grammar they are working on commas. We are putting them in for direct address and introductory elements. They also put them in for items in a series. They also did a little bit of work with semicolons.
Book Report- Last week I assigned their next book report. They have all chosen a Newbery winner or Newbery Honor book to read. Their projects are the same as the last time, but they can't repeat a project. For example, if they did the Book in a Bag last time, they will have to choose a new one for this book. I think many of them are really enjoying their books.
Writing Project- I also assigned last week a short writing project. They were to pick a person from the Revolutionary War and do research on them. I gave them specific questions to answer about their person along with a link to look them up. They were writing a rough draft for me which will be due on Wednesday, January 16. I will edit those and then they are going to type up their final report on their Chromes. I will post those in our hallway once they are done. I think this is good practice for when they do their 3rd book report which will be a biography.
Religion- We came back and made sympathy cards for Mrs. Meisenheimer and Mrs. Coen last week. This week we are working on a Christmas chapter for a little bit, but then we are getting back into a new chapter.
Mass Sign up- In your child's folder is a sign up sheet to help with the mass that kicks off Catholic Schools Week. That mass will be on the 27th at Holy Spirit. Please return those by Jan. 16.
Auction- There is a letter in the folder about our auction basket as well. Please check it out and do what you can to help out! The auction is set for March 2. Thanks to the moms on the letter for taking care of it for us!
I hope you have a great weekend! Don't forget your kids don't have school on Monday!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas break. I had a great time with my siblings and all their kids. I also had a great time over New Years with Mrs. Sickels in Branson, MO.
Math- This week they have been busy with estimating decimals by rounding or using benchmark numbers. Benchmark numbers are set. They use 0. 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00. So they might change 2.15 to 2.00 or 2.67 to 2.75. They have also begun adding and subtracting with estimation. Today they worked on adding decimals. The only real trick to remember is the decimal in your final answer! They will also be subtracting soon. I think we will be wrapping up this chapter next week. There might be a test towards the end of the week.
Reading- This week we read a biography on James Forten. He was a free African American during the Revolutionary War. He worked on sails for ships and then got permission to work on one of the ships. His job was to carry the gunpowder from below deck to the upper deck for the cannons.His ship was later captured by the British. His fear was being taken and then sent back to be a slave. He was lucky. That didn't happen to him. He ended up owning the sail business and fighting as an abolitionist. They will test on Friday. Next week will be our last story in this unit. The week of Jan. 21 will be a unit test week.
In grammar they are working on commas. We are putting them in for direct address and introductory elements. They also put them in for items in a series. They also did a little bit of work with semicolons.
Book Report- Last week I assigned their next book report. They have all chosen a Newbery winner or Newbery Honor book to read. Their projects are the same as the last time, but they can't repeat a project. For example, if they did the Book in a Bag last time, they will have to choose a new one for this book. I think many of them are really enjoying their books.
Writing Project- I also assigned last week a short writing project. They were to pick a person from the Revolutionary War and do research on them. I gave them specific questions to answer about their person along with a link to look them up. They were writing a rough draft for me which will be due on Wednesday, January 16. I will edit those and then they are going to type up their final report on their Chromes. I will post those in our hallway once they are done. I think this is good practice for when they do their 3rd book report which will be a biography.
Religion- We came back and made sympathy cards for Mrs. Meisenheimer and Mrs. Coen last week. This week we are working on a Christmas chapter for a little bit, but then we are getting back into a new chapter.
Mass Sign up- In your child's folder is a sign up sheet to help with the mass that kicks off Catholic Schools Week. That mass will be on the 27th at Holy Spirit. Please return those by Jan. 16.
Auction- There is a letter in the folder about our auction basket as well. Please check it out and do what you can to help out! The auction is set for March 2. Thanks to the moms on the letter for taking care of it for us!
I hope you have a great weekend! Don't forget your kids don't have school on Monday!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Hi Parents, Wow! Such a week!
Reading- This week we are reading one of my favorite stories in this unit. We read a story called They Called Her Molly Pitcher. This is a great story to give them details of the harshness the soldiers went through during their battles in 1777 and 1778. Ask your children what life was like for them on the battlefields and in the camps. I would guess you have heard of Molly Pitcher, but I never knew her story. She definitely helped during the war. Ask your kids how she got her name because her real name was Mary Hays. She was definitely a brave woman! They will test over this on Friday along with the spelling test.
When we get back from break, I will be giving them a writing assignment that goes along with our unit. I will also be assigning the next book report project.
Math- We have started our next chapter on decimals. We are starting with learning the place value position and names for them: tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. They have to learn how to write it in expanded form, written form, and standard form. I can tell some have had no experience with this, which is totally fine. I keep referring to it as money and it seems to make more sense.
Religion- I did push getting through the end of our chapter so they could take a test over it before Christmas break. They have a study guide and will test tomorrow. When we get back from break we will do a little with Christmas.
Friday- It is a Spirit Day- they can wear sweats for $1. It is also Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! They can wear one if they have it. Please don't feel you need to go out and buy one! I am wearing a Christmas sweatshirt, but I don't feel it is ugly! :)
They will need a sack lunch as well. They do not need a drink. Milk will be provided. They will eat with their angels around 11:45. Afterwards, they will sing Christmas carols in the gym from 12:15-12:45. You are welcome to join us if you are free! If you want to take your child home afterwards...you can! Just let me know before you leave.
I hope everyone has an AMAZING Christmas and break! I am heading to Waterloo on Sunday. I will be at my brother's house. Two of my sisters and their families will be joining us. My sister Eva is driving in from Pennsylvania on Sunday! I can't wait to see her! Mrs. Sickels and I will be spending New Years in Branson, MO. We have never been there so that will be a fun little trip! Have fun. Enjoy your time with family. Eat a ton.Be safe. Enjoy the break. Remember the real reason for this season: the magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in HIS presence. Merry Christmas!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Reading- This week we are reading one of my favorite stories in this unit. We read a story called They Called Her Molly Pitcher. This is a great story to give them details of the harshness the soldiers went through during their battles in 1777 and 1778. Ask your children what life was like for them on the battlefields and in the camps. I would guess you have heard of Molly Pitcher, but I never knew her story. She definitely helped during the war. Ask your kids how she got her name because her real name was Mary Hays. She was definitely a brave woman! They will test over this on Friday along with the spelling test.
When we get back from break, I will be giving them a writing assignment that goes along with our unit. I will also be assigning the next book report project.
Math- We have started our next chapter on decimals. We are starting with learning the place value position and names for them: tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. They have to learn how to write it in expanded form, written form, and standard form. I can tell some have had no experience with this, which is totally fine. I keep referring to it as money and it seems to make more sense.
Religion- I did push getting through the end of our chapter so they could take a test over it before Christmas break. They have a study guide and will test tomorrow. When we get back from break we will do a little with Christmas.
Friday- It is a Spirit Day- they can wear sweats for $1. It is also Ugly Christmas Sweater Day! They can wear one if they have it. Please don't feel you need to go out and buy one! I am wearing a Christmas sweatshirt, but I don't feel it is ugly! :)
They will need a sack lunch as well. They do not need a drink. Milk will be provided. They will eat with their angels around 11:45. Afterwards, they will sing Christmas carols in the gym from 12:15-12:45. You are welcome to join us if you are free! If you want to take your child home afterwards...you can! Just let me know before you leave.
I hope everyone has an AMAZING Christmas and break! I am heading to Waterloo on Sunday. I will be at my brother's house. Two of my sisters and their families will be joining us. My sister Eva is driving in from Pennsylvania on Sunday! I can't wait to see her! Mrs. Sickels and I will be spending New Years in Branson, MO. We have never been there so that will be a fun little trip! Have fun. Enjoy your time with family. Eat a ton.Be safe. Enjoy the break. Remember the real reason for this season: the magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in HIS presence. Merry Christmas!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Hello Parents,
I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe we only have one full week until Christmas. So Crazy!
Reading- This week we read a story about King George. It is a narrative nonfiction piece. There are facts in it about the war and King George, but the author also add some funny information into it. We have had big discussions on how he thought he was in the right and doing only good things as a king for the colonists. He couldn't understand their unhappiness with him. He said they were like children who weren't listening to their parents. When they disobeyed he would punish them. One of the things he did was close the port to Massachusetts to them. We also discussed how he became really ill at the age of 50 and people thought he was basically crazy. He wasn't, but the illness did affect his brain.
I showed them a YouTube video from Hamilton of King George singing his song. It kind of goes along with our story because he sings about he will kill your friends and family because he loves you. I also showed them a video of the original cast singing for President Obama and his wife in the White House. I just wanted them to put a face to the many voices they listen to on my cd. They were excited to realize that one of the singers was also the teacher in the movie Wonder that we saw last year.
In grammar we are focusing on present, past and future tense verbs. We have also spent a lot of time on figurative language. Today we discussed similes, metaphors, alliteration, and idioms. Those can be difficult to remember which is which. They will be tested over those on Friday.
Math- They took their chapter test today! I told them yesterday that checking by multiplying was up to them on the test. I don't know that anyone chose to do that. I also told them that based on their work, I really expect some good scores. They have really caught on much quicker than other classes I have taught in the past. I have a good feeling. Our next chapter will start with learning about the place value names of decimals, but then we will turn it into adding and subtracting them. I think decimals will be in the next 3 chapters. They will learn to multiply and divide them.
Food Pantry- This Friday we will walk down to help out Mark and the others. We will also be bringing him the collection we have of items outside the office. I know the 4th graders took some stuff down last week. We have quite a bit gathered. I may need to have them come along too. Thanks so much for the donations. I know Mark and Mary really appreciate it.
Geography Bee- The 2nd round is next week. I know none of the 5th graders made it to that round, but you are welcome to join us in the gym to watch it if you like.
Friday, December 21- We will get out 2 hours early that day. They need a sack lunch. The milk or water will be provided. They will be eating with their Advent Angels. We will be singing Christmas carols with them from 12:15-12:45. You are more than welcome to join us for the singing! It is one of my favorite things!!! That day they can also dress up in their favorite Christmas sweaters, clothes, antlers, jewelry,etc! I know I have some girls with the onesy Christmas pajamas. They can wear those too. It is not required. I know in the past some kids get their angel a Christmas gift, which is fine, but NOT required or expected. If you do this, please keep it reasonable and small...something they can carry or put in their bag at the end of the day.
Loved the Christmas concert last week! I thought the 4th and 5th graders did an outstanding job! Mrs. Stoner always does a great job. The 5th graders did it again on Thursday when they sang at church!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! The weather is certainly warmer! I am not complaining!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
I hope you are having a great week! I can't believe we only have one full week until Christmas. So Crazy!
Reading- This week we read a story about King George. It is a narrative nonfiction piece. There are facts in it about the war and King George, but the author also add some funny information into it. We have had big discussions on how he thought he was in the right and doing only good things as a king for the colonists. He couldn't understand their unhappiness with him. He said they were like children who weren't listening to their parents. When they disobeyed he would punish them. One of the things he did was close the port to Massachusetts to them. We also discussed how he became really ill at the age of 50 and people thought he was basically crazy. He wasn't, but the illness did affect his brain.
I showed them a YouTube video from Hamilton of King George singing his song. It kind of goes along with our story because he sings about he will kill your friends and family because he loves you. I also showed them a video of the original cast singing for President Obama and his wife in the White House. I just wanted them to put a face to the many voices they listen to on my cd. They were excited to realize that one of the singers was also the teacher in the movie Wonder that we saw last year.
In grammar we are focusing on present, past and future tense verbs. We have also spent a lot of time on figurative language. Today we discussed similes, metaphors, alliteration, and idioms. Those can be difficult to remember which is which. They will be tested over those on Friday.
Math- They took their chapter test today! I told them yesterday that checking by multiplying was up to them on the test. I don't know that anyone chose to do that. I also told them that based on their work, I really expect some good scores. They have really caught on much quicker than other classes I have taught in the past. I have a good feeling. Our next chapter will start with learning about the place value names of decimals, but then we will turn it into adding and subtracting them. I think decimals will be in the next 3 chapters. They will learn to multiply and divide them.
Food Pantry- This Friday we will walk down to help out Mark and the others. We will also be bringing him the collection we have of items outside the office. I know the 4th graders took some stuff down last week. We have quite a bit gathered. I may need to have them come along too. Thanks so much for the donations. I know Mark and Mary really appreciate it.
Geography Bee- The 2nd round is next week. I know none of the 5th graders made it to that round, but you are welcome to join us in the gym to watch it if you like.
Friday, December 21- We will get out 2 hours early that day. They need a sack lunch. The milk or water will be provided. They will be eating with their Advent Angels. We will be singing Christmas carols with them from 12:15-12:45. You are more than welcome to join us for the singing! It is one of my favorite things!!! That day they can also dress up in their favorite Christmas sweaters, clothes, antlers, jewelry,etc! I know I have some girls with the onesy Christmas pajamas. They can wear those too. It is not required. I know in the past some kids get their angel a Christmas gift, which is fine, but NOT required or expected. If you do this, please keep it reasonable and small...something they can carry or put in their bag at the end of the day.
Loved the Christmas concert last week! I thought the 4th and 5th graders did an outstanding job! Mrs. Stoner always does a great job. The 5th graders did it again on Thursday when they sang at church!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! The weather is certainly warmer! I am not complaining!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Dear Parents,
How are you? I am writing this on our CraZY Wednesday! WOW! Such a day! I will see your kids tonight at the concert! They did an awesome job at practice today...to the point that I had goosebumps and teary eyes! I told them that is a sign of success! Make Miss Surma cry! Okay...not really.
Reading- This week we are reading the story called Dangerous Crossing. It is the story of John Adams and his young son Johnny on the ship called the Boston. They are sailing to France to get help during the Revolutionary War. Part of our story has what we call primary sources. This is actual sentences or quotes from John Adams journal.It adds a reality to the story that we wouldn't get if it was just from the author's creativity. We are starting to discuss this war more. They are very interested. We also compared the primary sources to us reading a book that someone wrote about 9-11. If there is someone's actual account from being there, we will get a different perspective of that day. Your kids asked a lot of questions about that day. I forget that they weren't alive yet. It was a good discussion. They also listened to the first song of the Hamilton soundtrack and were shocked when they discovered it was done in a rap! I think I have their curiosity piqued. 😊
In grammar they are working on pronouns. We made an interactive notebook entry on the different kinds of pronouns (subjective and objective are the focus). The difficult part is remembering that objective pronouns come after the verb in their sentences. The job of a pronoun is to replace a noun so it doesn't become too repetitive.
They will test over this story on Friday along with their spelling words.
Math- This week they were given the first number in their quotient to decide if that will work or if they need to adjust it. This is good practice at estimating for them. It does require them to do a lot of work and their eraser gets a lot of use. What I noticed with the kids who asked for help is still the same problem as before: either they forget they have another number to bring down to finish the problem or they are wrong in their multiplication. Some have been right in the multiplying area, but they write the wrong number in their quotient. When it comes time for the test, they will have to find their errors themselves. I won't be able to do that . (I haven't really shared that yet with them). We have one more lesson in this chapter. I am looking at them testing next week.
Religion- We are working on the Beatitudes right now. We have been having long discussions on how we can live them out. They will be creating a booklet to go along with our discussion.
Spirit Day- Friday is a Spirit Day! Wear sweats for $1!!!
Church Singing- Tomorrow we will head to the church around 11:30 to sing for the ladies and have lunch with them. The 5th graders will be very full by the time we return to school!
Food Pantry- The 5th graders will go work next Friday, December 14. Don't forget we are asking for donations. Kids in 3-5 are being asked to donate toilet paper. Please do what you can to help! We are taking donations until Dec. 14.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
How are you? I am writing this on our CraZY Wednesday! WOW! Such a day! I will see your kids tonight at the concert! They did an awesome job at practice today...to the point that I had goosebumps and teary eyes! I told them that is a sign of success! Make Miss Surma cry! Okay...not really.
Reading- This week we are reading the story called Dangerous Crossing. It is the story of John Adams and his young son Johnny on the ship called the Boston. They are sailing to France to get help during the Revolutionary War. Part of our story has what we call primary sources. This is actual sentences or quotes from John Adams journal.It adds a reality to the story that we wouldn't get if it was just from the author's creativity. We are starting to discuss this war more. They are very interested. We also compared the primary sources to us reading a book that someone wrote about 9-11. If there is someone's actual account from being there, we will get a different perspective of that day. Your kids asked a lot of questions about that day. I forget that they weren't alive yet. It was a good discussion. They also listened to the first song of the Hamilton soundtrack and were shocked when they discovered it was done in a rap! I think I have their curiosity piqued. 😊
In grammar they are working on pronouns. We made an interactive notebook entry on the different kinds of pronouns (subjective and objective are the focus). The difficult part is remembering that objective pronouns come after the verb in their sentences. The job of a pronoun is to replace a noun so it doesn't become too repetitive.
They will test over this story on Friday along with their spelling words.
Math- This week they were given the first number in their quotient to decide if that will work or if they need to adjust it. This is good practice at estimating for them. It does require them to do a lot of work and their eraser gets a lot of use. What I noticed with the kids who asked for help is still the same problem as before: either they forget they have another number to bring down to finish the problem or they are wrong in their multiplication. Some have been right in the multiplying area, but they write the wrong number in their quotient. When it comes time for the test, they will have to find their errors themselves. I won't be able to do that . (I haven't really shared that yet with them). We have one more lesson in this chapter. I am looking at them testing next week.
Religion- We are working on the Beatitudes right now. We have been having long discussions on how we can live them out. They will be creating a booklet to go along with our discussion.
Spirit Day- Friday is a Spirit Day! Wear sweats for $1!!!
Church Singing- Tomorrow we will head to the church around 11:30 to sing for the ladies and have lunch with them. The 5th graders will be very full by the time we return to school!
Food Pantry- The 5th graders will go work next Friday, December 14. Don't forget we are asking for donations. Kids in 3-5 are being asked to donate toilet paper. Please do what you can to help! We are taking donations until Dec. 14.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
God Bless,
Miss Surma
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