Dear Parents, I hope you are doing well. I am putting in a reminder about our plans for conferences. Make sure you look them over. 

Conferences   Tuesday, Oct. 27 3:30-6:00 pm

Thursday, October 29th 1-5pm & 6-9:30pm

• Conferences will last 12 minutes - this allows for time to clean between each visit.

• 1 Parent/guardian may attend (we recommend the other parents/guardians attend via facetime or speaker phone call)

• Teachers will take the temperature of the parent/guardian in attendance

• Masks are required

• To reduce exposure we ask that parents/guardians use the door nearest your child’s classroom door

• We ask that children to not attend

• We will have the Book Fair in the gym on Thursday from 1-9:30.  We ask parents to social distance and sanitize their hands before shopping.

Google Meet Conference - If you would like to attend virtually. Please let the teacher know when you sign up for your conference.

Please contact Mrs. Stoner/Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Lesan by email if you would like to meet with them separately about music or PE.  They can set up a time to chat with you.

Math- We finished the lessons this week. Today and tomorrow they are doing their "dress rehearsal". I am giving them the test to do and they can use their book to help them. We will go over it on Monday and then they will take the exact same test on Tuesday. As I told them, there should be a better score on their Tuesday test. IF they should get everything correct on their dress rehearsal test- they won't take the real one. The goal is to see improvement. I won't kid you though, some of them aren't using their book or their cards I made them on this first run, even though I suggested it. I keep telling them they have access to that tool right now. They should be using it.

Reading- I decided that I would extend this week's story into next week instead of cramming it all into 4 days. I don't know if that was a good decision or not. This means they will test over the story and the spelling words on Monday. They will reread the story again on Monday in class before the test. They are also typing up their Halloween stories. We will share those next week as well. Those will be in the hallway for you to check out at conferences.

Halloween Fun- We won't have the parent parade as usual. The kids should still bring a costume if they can! We are going to dress us. Our parade will be virtual and online! I don't have all the details yet, but I know our 7th and 8th grade filming crew will be putting on the virtual parade. There will be a link for you to watch if you are able ! That will be after 2:00 sometime. We will celebrate in our room with a little party and I have a game planned.

Lunch- today at lunch the kids got to try the new bar code scanner! I think they enjoyed the task of scanning their number into the computer! One of mine said, "It's like we're at Wal-Mart!" 😂

Conferences- Remember it is a 3 hour early out. Lunch will not be served that day.

Mass- I hope you got to see their mass today. They did a great job!

I know tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s, but back to the 40s on Friday. Enjoy your long weekend. Mrs. Sickels had to show me the forecast for Sunday. I don't want to say what she was showing me. I'm not ready to shovel! 😐

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! 

Conferences   Thursday, October 29th 1-5pm & 6-9:30pm

• Conferences will last 12 minutes - this allows for time to clean between each visit.

• 1 Parent/guardian may attend (we recommend the other parents/guardians attend via facetime or speaker phone call)

• Teachers will take the temperature of the parent/guardian in attendance

• Masks are required

• To reduce exposure we ask that parents/guardians use the door nearest your child’s classroom door

• We ask that children to not attend

• We will have the Book Fair in the gym on Thursday from 1-9:30.  We ask parents to social distance and sanitize their hands before shopping.

Google Meet Conference - If you would like to attend virtually. Please let the teacher know when you sign up for your conference.

Please contact Mrs. Stoner/Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Lesan by email if you would like to meet with them separately about music or PE.  They can set up a time to chat with you.

I have shared out the Signup genius with you. I am doing them on Tuesday from 3:30-6 and then again on Thursday. Make sure to let me know if you are in person or virtual. I will send you an email link if you want to do it over Google Meet. The conferences will only last about 12 minutes due to Covid and we need to clean between parents. Look over your schedule.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0544A5AA23A2FF2-5thgrade3

Reading- In your child's folder are their scores from out unit test last week. Some were not very good. That isn't a total shock to me. They typically aren't. This is a harder test. They have more stories to read and fewer questions per story to answer. I did warn them before the test to read the story more than once, but as I watched them take the test, I know many did not. We talked about it on Tuesday. I showed them their scores. Some of them were not happy. I told them that was okay. We talked about the amount of effort being put into them, which I think for some of them...wasn't a lot. We will talk at conferences about the tests. I am trying to get them to show more effort into their homework and that grades will matter in middle school and high school.

This week we are reading a story about Kangaroo monkeys. They call them tree 'roos. It is a nonfiction story with a lot of specific vocabulary to the story. No, it's not the most exciting story to read unless you have a love for animals. It is good practice to read though because it reads more like a textbook in social studies or science. The comprehension is different. We are also working on cause and effect situations in the story. On Tuesday, I gave them pretend situations and they had to come up with the different causes and effects of that situation. In grammar we are working on verbs. On Tuesday we focused on action verbs. We will also be talking about helping and linking verbs.

Their rough draft for their Halloween story is due this Friday. I will edit the stories and give them back so they can type up their final draft.

Social Studies- They have been working with Mrs. Sickels daily on writing their rough drafts for their Iowa history town. Wednesday was the last day of working in class. The rough draft is due on Monday. IF they didn't finish in class, they will have to find time to finish it. It's a Google document, so they should be able to access that at home. The final project is due November 2.

Math- We are getting closer to the end of our chapter. This week they learned to write expressions and the word problems for them. They are going to also be learning the order of operations! This is easy for some, but difficult for others. Remember I said this chapter is packed! I give them little cue cards to remind them of the steps.

Spirit Day- This Friday they may wear sweats and or a hat for $1!

Wipes- I am almost out of the wipes you guys gave me plus the ones I still had from last year. I am going to use a spray with paper towels, but if you by chance come across any containers of wipers, could you donate some or let me know where they are so I can buy some?

Art- On Thursday, your kids are going to be painting rocks in the art room. This was an activity we planned last year, but never got to do it because of Covid. I read a couple of books to them about being unique and being your own person rather than being like everyone else. It talked about how it's okay to be unique. The rocks will be painted by all the kids in the school eventually. Once they are done, you will see them outside in the flowerbeds by the steps. I need to take a before and after picture! If they want to pack a paint shirt in their bag-- that is fine with me!

Religion- Their mysteries of the rosary are due on Friday. They will share those in class. I will get them hung up and take a picture for you guys to see too!

Fire Posters- They started working on these in art. Boy, the room was so quiet after they started those! This year they have to focus on the kitchen. They will work on these at school. We will eventually pick the top 3 from grades 3-5. The first place posters will be sent on to the state. We have the kids in 6-8 pick our top 3.

Have a great weekend! Sounds like our weather will be changing. Mrs. Sickels even said something about snow! I am going to pretend I didn't hear that!

God Bless,

Miss Surma ❤

Hello Parents! Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week! 

Reading- This week they are doing their unit test. I will send scores home next week. I am also having them write a Halloween story. On Friday, I will read some of my favorite ones that my 5th grade teacher read to my class. They will then write me a rough draft. I will have that written on paper. Once I edit them, the final copy will be typed. I hope to have them up in the hallway. I will post pictures. You will probably get a sneak peek at conferences. Next week, we will start unit 2. That means they will be having a spelling test, etc.  

Religion- At this point I only have 4 kids left who have to pass the Hail Holy Queen prayer. After they have passed we will move on to learning the different mysteries. 

Math- This week we moved on to using the Distributive Property to solve a division problem. I told them they can no longer say... I don't know how to divide. It isn't the standard way, but using multiplication, they are able to solve the problem. It does take a lot to remember the different steps. 

Spirit Day- They have Spirit Days this Friday and next Friday! Sweats and/or hat for $1.

COVID- There were changes made to quarantine last week by Governor Reynolds. Please make sure you looked at last week's S'more from Mrs. Simmons for details. My face shield didn't count as protection, so I have switched to a mask. I did tell the kids we were going to try and wear our masks more in the classroom to protect ourselves because we like being here!  We will take mask breaks throughout the day. 

 I have to be able to tell Mrs. Simmons who is wearing a mask 90% of the time if I had a case in my room for contact tracing purposes. It will be easier if we are all wearing them. Creston is getting more cases. I knew it would happen sooner or later. I want to keep them as safe as I can so that we don't have to go home. It changes every day it seems. This is definitely something I didn't learn at UNI. Thank you for your understanding and support and flexibility with the changes! 

Book IT- Don't forget to record your child's Book It minutes on the calendars I gave your kids.

Conferences- We will be sending out sign ups for conferences on Oct. 29. You will need to let me know if you are in-person or virtual. We will have some rules to follow. That will be put out next week. 

I hope you have a great weekend! Sounds like great weather for October! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! It sounds like you enjoyed your 3 day weekend last week from what the kids told me! I was able to get to Waterloo to see my niece at her first homecoming. The school didn't have any formal activities due to Covid, but she and her friends made plans! 

Math- We are working on multiplication still. As I check papers, I can see they all have the process down. The mistakes I see are in the multiplication. I keep reminding them to use their assignment book for help with their basic facts. Some do, many do not. Many are having to go back and correct their work. I also see a few not dropping the 0, but not too many. The final mistake I see is they do all the work, but the last step- the addition. I also think a few might be rushing because math is at the end of the day and they don't want homework.  Next week we will be moving on in the chapter. This chapter is pretty lengthy. I believe there are 12 lessons. 

Reading- This week they read a story about a girl named Elisa. She moved from Puerto Rico to the USA as a child. She struggled with speaking English when she arrived, but she could write it easily. She met a boy name Jose who also came to the USA from Guatemala. He could speak it, but not write it. I shared the story with them about my own dad. He moved to the US in 1945 at the end of WWII. He came from Poland and didn't know any English. He learned from watching TV...mostly soap operas. We talked about how today they offer classes or you can learn online.  In grammar they are learning about the different rules to make a noun plural. Again they created a page of rules in their composition book. They can use this on the test on Friday. 

Religion- We finished our cards for the soldiers. I will get those mailed off. October is the month of the rosary. They will say that in class every day or at least a decade. This is my favorite part. The kids do such a great job of being prayerful. They also have to learn the two prayers- The Apostle's Creed and Hail Holy Queen. I gave them a paper to use to study from. On Friday, I will start quizzing them to see if they know it. Once they pass one prayer, they just need to do the other one. Right now, we won't be doing much with the religion book in their desk. 

Friday, October 2 is homecoming for Creston. There is a 3 hour early out. They won't be served lunch here that day. It is a Spirit Day if they'd like to wear sweats or a hat for $1. They can also wear their Panther gear that day  or black and red to support them.

FAST testing is being done. I have the reading completed now. There is a new math test they will do as well. That is all on their computer. 

I have been chatting with the 5th graders about making good choices because we've been having some issues with following the classroom rules- mostly respecting each other.  There is a definite feeling that if you do something and you get "told on"...it is the fault of the person who told.  Some of them have a hard time accepting their part in what happened. I am really trying to get them to be responsible for their own actions and words and understand that what they do or say can affect others feelings, but also their learning. If I have to spend half of my time on discipline..then they are not getting the opportunity to learn like they should. We have to grow into being 5th graders and with that comes more responsibility. 

 I also want you aware that if the water bottle becomes a toy for them-- I do put it on the counter top. They may still get a drink from it, but it no longer sits on their desk. For some it is a huge distraction and they can't seem to do their work. Each day we start fresh and try again. 

October 7- No Mass that day. Father will be gone. The kids do NOT have to dress up that day. We will plan on saying the rosary that day. 

Dreambox- I learned how to assign lessons. Some of the kids go above and beyond the 7 lessons for the week, which I love. I have others who don't even get 5 done, not because it is hard, but because they don't want to . I see the eye rolls when when I say, "Get on Dreambox". 😀 The other reason I am doing this is to close that gap on standards that should be completed by now. I assigned two lessons and they have a week to do them in. If they aren't done, I reassign them. We have to make some ground here due to Covid.  It was kind of funny. When they went in to do them today, I heard a lot of them say, "Wow, I haven't done this one before!" I think it is a good challenge for them! 

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! If you're going to homecoming pep rally or game...have a great time! I imagine I will be working this weekend,but I hope to get my fall stuff out at my house! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! Happy Wednesday! I hope you're having a good week! 

Testing- We started our FAST testing on Tuesday. Today I had a substitute and did another portion of it today. I have to work with each kid individually. We still have one more round in reading to go and then onto the math portion.

Math- We are working on multiplication now. They started with single digits. My plan for Thursday is to multiply by double digits. We have also been working on corrections from a few other math assignments. 

Reading- They are reading a nonfiction story this week. It is about a group of girls from Islip, NY that are part of a jump rope team. They go to competitions to show their skills and stunts. The story works in a time order to show how rough they had it in the beginning and then how they practiced and ended up state champs! We also are working on nouns in grammar. The hard part seems to be remembering that proper nouns are upper cased and common nouns are not. They will have to figure out which sentence is written correctly on the test on Thursday. 

Next week will be the 5th story in this unit. That means the first full week in October will be a unit test. They won't have spelling that week. ( I can almost hear the cheers now as I type this! 😉 ) 

Religion- They did GREAT on their tests! They worked on the mailing labels I told you about a couple of weeks ago. They really came up with some great little messages to write on those!  In art they are working on their Christmas cards for them. Once they are done, I will take some pictures to show you. Then I will put them in the mail to Doon. I know my friend Tracy will be so appreciative. 

Homecoming- Next Friday is Creston's homecoming. It is a 3 hour early out! I don't know if our kids will receive lunch that day or not. I will let you know. They can wear their Creston gear that day! It is also a Spirit Day, so they can wear sweats or a hat for $1. 

Friday, September 25- No School for your kids! The teachers have PD at the high school that day! 

Ala Carte- Remember your kids can buy ala carte now at lunch for 50 cents. 

 Dear Parents, Happy Wednesday or Thursday! (depends on when you read it) 😊

I like this weather much better! We have been able to get outside for recess and doing some classwork! 

Math- We moved onto exponents this week after reviewing the properties again on Monday. Some of the kids really struggle with breaking up a number into 2 numbers. For example 51. I would break that into 50 +1. 107= 100+ 7. They want to do 5 and 1 or 1 and 7. They aren't thinking about their actual values. On Tuesday, I taught them about exponents...we did a bunch together and many of them said, "Oh, this is so easy." That didn't seem to hold true when they had to do the assignment. We did more work on Wednesday with them. That went much better I think. Getting them to multiply by 10s can be tricky. Plus if the exponent was 4, some thought there should be a 4 in their answer. We are also working our way into multiplication. This should be review because I know they did that last year. They may need some extra work on doing double digits  and multiplication. I don't know if they remember to drop that 0 when multiplying in the tens column. 

Religion- They are finishing up their chapter this week. They will do a study guide and right now it looks like the test will be next Monday. I will let you know if that changes. They did great at mass! I heard there were some technical issues for those watching so I am sorry if you missed out. I think the kids did great, but it is very odd only having two grades in there and then the cameras. I told them we had some kinks to work out, but that we can do that at our next mass. 

Reading- This week we read a story about two 5th graders running for class president. They had to give a speech to their class to persuade the votes. Miata gave a very formal speech. She also is planning things that will beautify the school. Rudy was very informal. Rudy wants more recess for the kids and ice cream every day! While the kids liked his choices best, they knew that probably wouldn't happen. Our grammar this week is complete subjects and complete predicate parts of a sentence. This is difficult. Kids just have a hard time finding the verb in a sentence and then are thrown even more if they put an adverb in front of it. They are also working on subject/verb agreement.  They will have their posttest on Friday in spelling. This is our third story in the unit so there will be a cold read they have to do which means 10 more questions. 

FAST testing will be starting up soon! This year they will doing that in reading and math. The math portion is all on their computers. 

No school next Friday. We have PD at the public school that day. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Dear Parents, WOW! Mother Nature has certainly turned around on us! I loved the temps we had on Labor Day! I am not sure I am ready for cold. 

Being Sick or Gone- Parents are asking questions so I thought I would make some clarifications. If you know you are going to be gone ( taking a trip, Beef Expo, etc) please let me know. I will gather homework for them or at least send their books with them. If you have WiFi while you are gone, you can have them join us for class on their Google Classroom. That way they get the instruction. If I know in advance, I can make paper copies to send home as well, but if not, they may have to do work on Google Classroom using KAMI or whatever the teacher uses. IF they join us online, then they don't get counted as absent either ( as long as they are with us for most of the day).  If you are keeping your child home because they are sick or you're getting them tested for Covid, they can still join us for class online and they won't be counted absent. If they are really sick, feeling horrible, puking, high temps, etc... they don't need to be online. They can get the rest they need. I can still pull together homework and have you come pick it up. If it's just a 24 hour flu they can pick up the work when they get back to school. Boy, is that clear as mud? I hope that makes sense. If not, email and ask me. 

I do have a student on vacation right now. I sent her books and some paper copies with her last Friday. She is getting online with each of us during the day to get the instruction. She is taking a break during specials, lunch and recess or if I just tell her...you don't need to be on right now. So  far so good. She emails me with questions on homework.  

Now if you don't have WiFi...then I would just send home the books and copies. We also will do catch up when you get back if we need to. These are definitely strange times! 😀

Reading- We read A Royal Mystery this week. This is actually a play with a mystery involved. The two main characters find out they are really cousins. ( Kind of like Parent Trap) Due to our shortened week, they only had to do 5 vocabulary words.  This week in grammar we are discussing the 4 kinds of sentences there are and how to punctuate them. I reminded them that if they don't punctuate on their worksheets it will be wrong because that is the whole point of the lesson. They will take their post test in spelling on Friday. 

Spirit Day- Friday is a Spirit Day! They can wear sweats or a hat for $1. It was supposed to be the Cy-Hawk game weekend as well. IF they want to wear their favorite team jersey, sweatshirt, t-shirt...go ahead! It doesn't have to be a Cyclone or Hawkeye. Sorry, you will never see me in those. I prefer purple and gold!

Math- So it took me a few days to get through all the corrections. Sometimes, I feel okay about just giving it to them to correct on their own. These first few assignments are a lot. Those were corrections  that I needed to do with them individually. On Wednesday we started working on the different properties in addition and multiplication. Those should really be review for them. The new one is Distributive Property. As I told them, it might stress them out a bit. There is a lot for them to take in and do . This lesson will take a few days to fully cover  as well. I told them for the first test, they will get a "cheat sheet" from me. They can use to remind them of all the different things we cover in this chapter. We are not near a test yet! 

Religion- After we are done with our first chapter, I am going to have the kids in 3-5 help me with a service project.  A friend of my mom's back home has a charity called SALUTE. She sends care packages to military men and women who are serving overseas a couple of times a year. The Christmas ones go out November 15. I am going to have the kids make Christmas cards to put in the packages.  They will also be writing positive notes like "Stay Safe" or "God Bless America" or whatever they come up with on a mailing label. She uses those labels on the ziploc baggies or  items she includes in the packages. I will take pictures and post them so you can see what I am talking about. That should happen in the next couple of weeks. 

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend! I ended up last Saturday watching my niece from Waterloo play soccer in Waukee. It was so nice to see family again! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma