Hello Parents, 

How is your week going?? I hope you're able to find some peace and quiet moments in all this crazy!  For my online parents.. thank you for your patience as I am learning daily! 

Math- We have been working on division with a single digit divisor. Their dividends have varied from 2 to 4 digits. I think we have done enough groundwork to move back into the book. They will continue working on division with single digit divisors for a bit, but not much longer. We are going to move into two digit divisors most likely after Thanksgiving break. I will see how things are going. I have discovered that long division quiets down the kids! Who knew??? 😄

Religion- This week we are working more on the Beatitudes. We read a story about a young saint named Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He died at the age of 24. He spent his youth having fun, but also doing kind acts of charity. He gave his own shoes to a boy that was at his door. When he graduated from school, he was given the choice of a car or money as a gift. He chose money. Then he gave that money away to help those in need. We are trying to discuss how we can live the Beatitudes on a daily basis. 

The kids did great at mass! Thank you to the 5th graders for being so flexible with getting jobs at the last minute due to kids having to go online! Hopefully we will ALL be together soon! 

Christmas Concert- We are going to tape the program on Monday, the 23rd. The kids should dress in mass clothes that day. We plan on walking to the church unless the weather isn't cooperative. 

Reading- This week we are reading a nonfiction story called Cougars. It is an interesting story. There is much to learn about this animal!  I think the kids were even surprised at some of the facts!  Our grammar this week is on quotation marks. This can be tricky.  We are mostly working on where they belong in a direct address. 

I am not sure we will do reading next week with only two days. When we get back from Thanksgiving we will do the Unit test. I don't like waiting, but I also don't want to cram it into two days. 

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. I decided to play it safe and not go see my family. The risk is just to great in my opinion. I have plans for reading a good book or two and maybe get some Christmas decorations up! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Hello Parents! I hope you are all safe and healthy! Hopefully you are having a great week! 

Math- Well, it has been a slow start learning division as I expected it would be. That's okay, I know it is a difficult procedure to figure out. I saw some light bulbs turning on on Tuesday during class. Most of them could walk me through solving a problem! We actually did an entire worksheet today on division! There were a few tough spots, but I heard the kids say, "The more I do it, the more I get it! " YAHOO! 

Reading- This week we are reading a historical fiction story called Storm Warriors. This story takes place in the 1800s in North Carolina. A group of men are assigned the task of saving a crew from their ship that has run aground.  My guess is that this group is really the first of the Coast Guard. Nathan is the main character and is a teenager who wants to join this group, but after witnessing what they must do, he doesn't think he is brave enough to really do it. In the end, his studying of medical books comes in very handy with some of the passengers on the ship.  Spelling- This week their list consists of compound words. Some are two words written together as one ( wildlife), then there are words that have a space in between ( home run), and finally there are words with dashes or hyphens ( up-to-date). Tricky tricky!! They will test over this story on Friday along with their spelling words. 

Book Report Projects are due on Friday! 

Religion- We started a new chapter on the Beatitudes. These are not really rules,but more like guidelines from Jesus. He said this is the way to find true happiness. I talked to the 5th graders about things we find happiness in...they told me... ATV's , video games, sports, dance. We also talked about how we buy new cars, phones, take trips,etc. Those things bring us happiness, but it can be short lived. They will really delve into finding ways we live these Beatitudes.

Christmas Program- We will be recording their songs for the program on November 23. Taping will either happen at the church or in the music room...depending on the weather. We do want the kids to dress up that day as though they would dress up for the actual concert night! Mass day attire! 

Mass- We have our mass next week. Not everyone will get a part due to the limited jobs. 

This the last week of the Read -A- Thon! I hope some of your kids are participating in this! 

The end of the trimester is on Friday. The 2nd trimester will start on Monday. Mrs. Simmons will let you know when our progress reports are done!  Monday will be a clean slate for lateslips! Actually, your kids did really well overall. 

Have a great, but safe weekend! Stay healthy! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 

Hello Parents! Wow, we are actually doing a full week of school! I am not sure we will know what to do on Friday! 😊

Covid-19 Rules-  

FERPA stands for Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This is very similar to the hospital's HIPAA laws.  I wanted to make sure you knew that I told your kids, I cannot, by law, tell any of them or you if a student in our room or school tests positive for Covid-19. It is natural that they ask me, but I tried to explain that I cannot give them this information. It is the job of Public Health  to contact trace and make notifications to families who are possibly exposed or have tested positive. The numbers are on the rise, there is no doubt about that. Families in our community are being affected. We are continuing our mitigation procedures at STM. Just know that we as teachers cannot give out any information. 

Religion- They have finished a new chapter. This one briefly discusses all 7 sacraments and sanctifying grace. They will be testing over it on Friday. Our class will be in charge of mass on November 18. 

 Book Reports will be due on November 13. I am not sure if we will be able to share all of them on that day, but I will sure try! 

Reading- This week they read a nonfiction story on the Florida Everglades. It is a difficult story to read and comprehend because there are a lot of vocabulary words in it that are difficult. One word that comes to mind is thermoregulation! Say that 5 times fast!  Plus they talk about the animals that live there and the plants that are native to the area. This week in grammar they are working on using conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.  Spelling is homophones! That is always a fun test to give just to see their faces. Ring and Wring! Lesson and Lessen! I did warn them that on the post test I mix them up so they need to pay attention to the sentence.  This is also our third story in the unit. That means they will get a cold read to do. They also have ten more questions. 

Math- Well, I think I have all the tests returned to me. All of them made improvements from their dress rehearsal test. I think next time, they will have to do the chapter review or test prep at home. I started this week with some division worksheets of basic facts. I wasn't letting them use their multiplication tables either just so I could see what they knew about their facts. On Thursday we will do an activity in class with division and remainders. On Friday, I plan to start the standard algorithm with them. They won't have to worry about remainders in that one. We will take it slow. I know this will throw some of them off. That's okay! We will get through it! 

Advent Angels- We weren't sure how to do this this year, but I think we have it figured out! I know this will make the kids really happy! This will start the first week of December. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Sounds like we should all enjoy the warm temps because they will be changing! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 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