Hello Parents! I hope you are having a great week! I hope you were able to enjoy the weekend outside! The weather was so nice! I had a great time with my sisters! We did some shopping in Winterset and Des Moines and then caught the new James Bond movie. We stayed up way to late visiting!  

Important Dates:

• Oct. 20- 4th/5th grade mass
• Oct. 21- PTO Meeting
• Oct. 22- Spirit Day
• Oct. 28- Conferences/ No School
• Oct. 29- No School
• Nov. 1- No School/PD Day

Reading- This week we are reading part of a classic! Old Yeller is the story this week, but not the sad part!  We also have to focus on how they talk in this story. They pronounce words a little bit differently! In grammar we are working on direct and indirect objects. I am giving them a little cheat sheet to help them on the test on Friday. That part of the test can be a little tricky. 

Next week we only have 3 days of school so I am not going to try and do a story in that amount of time. So there won't be a spelling test either. I think next week we will work on creating some Halloween stories. Due to the time crunch, I am going to have them work in partners to create a story. 

Just a reminder that the book report is due on Friday, November 5. 

October Book IT Calendar will be due on Tuesday, November 2. Make sure you sign it! Even if they don't make the goal...I can record any minutes they did read. 

Book Fair- The kids will be looking and buying any books they choose on Wednesday at their library time. They will need to come with money on that day if they plan on making any purchases. It will also be open during your conferences on Thursday if you want to do any shopping! 

Math- this week we are ending our chapter on adding and subtracting decimals. By Friday, we should be going over the dress rehearsal with the test being on Monday. Our next chapter is on multiplication. 

Halloween Celebration- We will celebrate Halloween on Wednesday, October 27 in the afternoon. The 6-8th graders are providing activities for PK-5. We are doing the parade again! You are welcome to join us in the gym. The parade will begin at 2:30 pm.  The kids DON'T have to dress for mass that day. They should pack their costumes in their bags. They will change into those before the parade. If you want to take your child after the parade, that is fine, just see me before you leave so that I know you have them and we can make sure they have everything! 

Spirit Day on Friday! $1 for sweats! 

Reminder: No school on October 28 and 29 and November 1. I will see you at your child's conference!  

Religion- Most everyone has the prayers memorized now. We are moving on to the next topic! They are drawing and coloring posters to represent each of the mysteries of the rosary. Right now they are focused on the Joyful Mysteries. You will see them in the hallway when you come for conferences! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Next week will be very short! I probably won't do a blog next week since I see you for conferences, unless something comes up! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the early out on Friday! I got to my niece's soccer game, but she didn't get the chance to play. It was still great to see her and visit with my brother! 

 Important Dates:

• Oct. 20- 4th/5th grade mass
• Oct. 21- PTO Meeting
• Oct. 28- Conferences/ No School
• Oct. 29- No School
• Nov. 1- No School/PD Day

Wipes- I am in need of more wipes. I bought 5 containers a couple of weeks ago and we are nearing the end of that supply. If anyone can help and donate some, that would be much appreciated!  We go through about 45 wipes a day! Thanks so much for your help! 

Reading-  this week they are reading an informational article on tree kangaroos that are found in Papa New Guinea. The scientists in the story are putting collars on them so they can track them and learn about this elusive animal. We are focusing on cause and effect as our skill. In grammar we are talking about action, linking, and helping verbs. 

I have their unit test scores in your child's Take Home Folder. Some of the comprehension scores are not the greatest. This doesn't surprise me. This is pretty typical. This was a Benchmark test and they have more stories to read. I am also not sure they actually went back to look anything up in their stories to help them. Most don't fully comprehend the story when they read it one time. They do have time to read it more than once, if they take the opportunity. 

Math- this week they have been working on adding and subtracting decimals. We getting through this chapter pretty quickly. There is a lesson coming up on problem solving that I think will slow us down a bit. We will most likely do that together in class. I think next week we will be finishing this chapter up. 

Religion- I have given your kids a copy of the two prayers they are to memorize. I am going to start quizzing them on Thursday. I told them to choose whichever prayer they want to do first. It doesn't matter the order. Once they pass one, they will move on to the next. I also told them to focus on learning one prayer at a time, not try to do both. One of the other standards in 5th religion is focusing on the mysteries of the rosaries. That will begin next week. They don't need to memorize them. They are going to use their art skills to display them! 

Conferences- Below is a link to the sign up. This year, we are following little bit of the schedule the public school is doing.  The kids will NOT have school on Thursday, October 28. I am doing conferences that day from 10 am to 6 pm.  This year both parents/guardians are welcome to attend the conferences, unlike last year when we only allowed one person.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0544A5AA23A2FF2-5thgrade5

Halloween Celebration- we will celebrate Halloween on Wednesday, Oct. 27. The kids can bring their costumes to school that day to change into before the parade. It is a mass day, so they will still have to dress up. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Two of my older sisters are coming down this weekend for a little sister bonding! I can't wait to see them! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

Dear Parents, 

Happy Crazy Week! I think we packed a ton into this week and it isn't even over yet. 

 Important Dates:

• Oct. 8- 3 hour early out/ Homecoming
• Oct. 20- 4th/5th grade mass
• Oct. 21- PTO Meeting
• Oct. 29- No School
• Nov. 1- No School/ PD Day/ All Saints Day

Reading- They are taking their unit test this week. They also got a packet to choose an activity for their book report project.  They each have a purple packet with the possible activities listed. They only choose one to do. The project is due on Friday, Nov. 5. Next week we will get back to spelling. I will send home their unit test scores next week in their folders. 

Thursday- Oct. 7.- The high school cheerleaders will be here on Thursday morning for a Pep Rally.  We have the fire station coming in the afternoon. They will be talking to the 3-5th graders. We have our annual poster contest too. The 5th graders will start that in art next week. 

Friday, Oct. 8- We have a 3 hour early out for homecoming. There is a parade!  We also have a Spirit Day too! They can wear sweatpants or a hat for $1 if they want to. They can also wear their PANTHER gear to support homecoming! 

Mass- Next week is the 4th and 5th grade mass, but your kids won't have a part. This will be the rest of the 4th graders having the jobs since the 5th graders had roles in our last mass. 

Religion- October is the month of the rosary. We aren't really focusing on that in religion this week due to finishing our chapter and our field trip. Next week we will be! I have plenty of rosaries here at school, but if they want to bring their own they may. They are responsible for them! 

Math- we are working on adding and subtracting decimals. The first lesson was on mental math and using the commutative and associative properties. The next lesson is on estimating the decimals to find the sum or difference. 

Thank you, Lara, for going with us to Kansas City! We hope you enjoyed the day!!! Thank you to everyone for helping us make this once in a lifetime opportunity come true! 

I hope everyone enjoys their early out on Friday ! I am heading to watch the Loras Women's Soccer Team on Saturday play at Pella! My niece is on the team! Hopefully she will get some play time!  Have a great weekend! 

God Bless

 Hello Parents, WOW! I can't believe Friday is October already!  Time is already flying by so quickly! 

Important Dates:

• Oct. 1- Book It Begins! 
• Oct. 6- Auschwitz Field Trip
• Oct. 8- 3 hour early out/ Homecoming
• Oct. 20- 4th/5th grade mass
• Oct. 21- PTO Meeting
• Oct. 28- Parent Teacher Conferences
• Oct. 29- No School

Field Trip- In your child's folder is the permission slip that needs to be filled out and returned before next Wednesday. Please return ASAP. There is a detailed letter attached. Please read it so you are aware of the information for that day, especially the times. They will need a sack lunch and drink that day. 

Reading- This week they are reading a story called Elisa's Diary.  This is the story of a little girl who moves from Puerto Rico the USA. She has difficulty speaking the English language, but she can write it just fine. She meets a boy name Jose who is from Guatemala. He can speak the language,but not write it correctly. By the end of the story it fast forwards in time to show that she did learn it. She grew up and became a teacher! I told them that my dad learned to speak English from watching soap operas and other television shows when he came from Poland.  They then asked if that meant I was part Polish??? Yes! You might have that conversation at home with your kids to talk about your ethnic backgrounds. A couple of them told me they were American, which they absolutely are, but I did suggest they go home and ask about their ancestors and find out their heritage. I said your relatives most likely came to America from a different country unless you have a Native American bloodline, which is very possible!  

The grammar this week is working on plural nouns. They filled out a form on Monday with me with the most common plural noun rules. We added words to each rule. They cut that paper down into a smaller one and glued it in their vocabulary notebook. I told them they can refer to the rules when they take their Friday test. 

This is our last story in our first unit. Next week will be a unit test week. That also means there will not be a spelling test next week. 

Book It- The reading contest starts this Friday! I am giving the kids their calendar on Friday so they can keep track of their minutes. The goal for October is 600 minutes. That's about 20 minutes a day. They can count any free reading they do at school as well. At the end of the month, you sign it. They return it. I only have Pizza Ranch coupons for those who meet the goal. 

Math- They take the test over our first chapter on Wednesday.  The nice thing about these tests are there are only 12 problems. I guess that is a good and bad thing. Some of the questions ask them for two different answers. They need to pay attention to that because those are extra points they could be missing out on. Our next chapter is adding and subtracting decimals. They will also be working on commutative and associative properties. 

Religion- I jumped ahead a few chapters because of our field trip. In this chapter we learn about Saint Maximilian Kolbe. He was a priest who died at Auschwitz. They will see his picture in KC at the exhibit. We also are talking about Jesus' baptism by the John the Baptist.

Friday, October 8 we will be celebrating homecoming.  The kids can wear their Panther gear. There is a form from PTO in your child's folder if you want to buy tattoos, etc. We will have a 3 hour early out that day. Lunch will NOT be served.

Have a GREAT weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Dear Parents, I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend! The kids sounded like they did! I had a great time at my great niece's first birthday party! Her mom told me she is expecting #4 in March! Wow! She will have 3 under 3 years old. My niece Olivia looked beautiful for her homecoming dance! 

 Upcoming Important Dates:

• Friday, Sept. 24- No School/ PD Day
• Oct. 6- Field Trip to KC for Auschwitz Exhibit/ Need a sack lunch
• Oct. 8- Homecoming/3 hour early out/ Spirit Day
• Oct. 22- Spirit Day

Reading- This we we have our first nonfiction story. It is called Double Dutch.  This is a story about a group of girls in NY who compete in double Dutch contests. It took them 5 years to win a championship. The kids were busy jumping rope at recess on Monday.  In grammar this week they are working on nouns- common an proper. We made lists of each on Tuesday. They had to also identify nouns in sentences and then label them either common or proper. We then worked on identifying proper nouns in sentences that need to be capitalized. That also includes initials, abbreviations, and acronyms. We also talked about capitalizing nouns that represent a certain language- Russian, Chinese, American,etc. 

Math- We are ending our first chapter! On Tuesday, they worked in groups  and were given clues that they had to match to a certain math problem. For example, which problem has a sum that is between 19,000 and 20,000. It was great estimation work. Some were looking for an exact sum or difference. The remainder of the week will be working on the math review and then a dress rehearsal. The actual test won't be until next week. 

FAST Testing- In your child's folder are their scores for our Fall Fast Reading. They did really well. If they have to work with me during intervention time, I made a note of it on their sheet. They will test again in the winter. 

Religion- This week we focused mostly on practicing our parts for mass. We will be starting our second chapter !  October will be the month of the Rosary. We will be going back to the chapel for this. There will be two prayers that the kids will be memorizing for this, but I will wait until we get there to talk to them about it. 

Friday, September 24- This is a NO SCHOOL day! Teachers have professional development. I will be with the Lead Team going to the public school to work with our PLC instructor. I hope you enjoy your 3 days!!! 

Field Trip to KC- more information will be coming, but it is just around the corner!  It will be  long day! We leave EARLY and get back later! They will need a sack lunch that day! We will be eating our lunch at Union Station. I would say they should wear good walking shoes that day! In the exhibit, there are really only a few spots to sit down...and they are small benches so only a few can sit at a time. There is a lot of standing! I am excited for the kids to get this opportunity! This is something that means a great deal to me and my siblings. Our dad came to America from Poland at the end of WWII. He was 21. He had $2 in his pocket and couldn't speak English.  He was on the run from the age of 12 when his village was taken over. He didn't end up in a concentration camp, but was in a labor camp. We just found out last year that his dad spent a couple of years in Auschwitz, but survived. 

October 8 Homecoming- The public school has notified us that this will be  a 3 hour early out. We will not be serving lunch on that day. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I have no major plans except cleaning my house! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, I hope everyone is having a great week! 

Reading- This week they are reading a story called Off and Running. It is about two 5th graders who are running for class president. Miata takes the role very seriously and speaks formally to her class. Rudy is kind of a jokester. He wants to get things like ice cream every day and extra recess minutes. He also speaks using slang terms when giving his speech. This is our third story in the unit which means on Friday they will have questions over the story, but also they will do a cold read. They will have to read a story to themselves and then answer questions about it. In grammar they are focusing on identifying parts of the sentence- subject and predicate as well as making sure their verbs work with their nouns. 

Math- They are learning compare decimals and then write them in order from least to greatest and greatest to least. They are also working on rounding decimals to a certain place value like tenths, hundredths and ones. Rounding is always a bit tricky! We are spending a couple of days on it! 

Religion- They will have their first test on Thursday. They have a study guide to use to study from! I will give them their reading parts for mass on Friday. Please take some time to have them practice with you! 

 Upcoming important dates:

• Thursday, Sept. 16- PTO Meeting 6pm
• Saturday, Sept. 18- Holy Spirit Block Party 3-8pm
• Wednesday, Sept. 22- 5th and 4th grade mass @ 9:15
• Friday, Sept. 24- No School/ PD Day

Block Party- This Saturday during Balloon Days, come by the school for your dinner! This Block Party is in place of the Food Fair. 

Have a great weekend! If you are here for Balloon Days have a great time! I am planning on going to Waterloo for my niece's homecoming and a great niece's first birthday party! 

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

Dear Parents, I apologize for changing formats again! The Smore I sent last week was great, but I am using the free version and they don't give me enough to use in a month's time and I don't really want to pay the $70 for an upgrade! So... I am going to use this until Blogger decides to be no more! 

 Upcoming important dates:

• 🏈Friday, Sept. 10- Spirit Day! Hawkeye/ Cyclone Day ( or any other team you cheer for!) 
• Thursday, Sept. 16- PTO Meeting 6pm
• Saturday, Sept. 18- Holy Spirit Block Party 3-8pm
• Wednesday, Sept. 22- 5th and 4th grade mass @ 9:15
• Friday, Sept. 24- No School/ PD Day

Reading- This week we have to kind of crunch things together since we are only doing 4 days. This week our story is rather long. It is also a play called A Royal Mystery. It is a different take on The Princess and the Pea. It also reminds me of the movie The Parent Trap. There is a fun little twist at the end! In grammar we are working on recognizing the 4 kinds of sentences...declarative, imperative, exclamatory, and interrogative. They will have a spelling test on Friday as well as the test over the story. 

Math- We are continuing our work on place value. Last Friday they worked on writing decimals. They also wrote those decimals as fractions. For example: they wrote 0.32 and then 32/100. They only go to the thousandths. I try to get them to think of decimals in monetary form, but that doesn't work with thousandths.  It is difficult to wrap their head around the fact that hundredths can mean pennies and tenths as dimes. They are doing great! They will also be working on writing decimals in word, expanded form, and standard form. 

They have also been taking a placement test on Successmaker. This coincides with our new math series. It is a different form of Dreambox. So far, I like this much better and I think they do too! So far I don't see as much frustration on the students' part. If they get it wrong, they give them a clue to help try once more. Once they complete the placement test it will align them with problems and activities to do based on their score. This is not something they will do at home. 

Spirit Day - This Friday they can wear sweats or a hat for $1. It is also Cy/Hawk game weekend so if they want to support their favorite team they can! Sorry, I'm allergic to those colors!😉 I will be in purple and gold! 💜💛

Religion- This week they are learning about Saint Damian of Molokai. He worked as a priest in Hawaii to care for the lepers. He was very young and eventually he contracted the disease and passed away. He dedicated his life to teaching the sick about Jesus. 

FAST Testing- Next week I will conducting the FAST tests in reading and math with the 5th graders. I  will send home reading scores as soon as I can.  Emily, our AEA consultant will be here the week after to go over the scores with me to see if there are any interventions I need to do with your kids. 

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend! I didn't do much,but I did get a book read in a day so that was fun! This weekend I will be in Des Moines again to watch my niece play soccer. 

God Bless,

Miss Surma