Hello Parents, Can you believe we will actually get a full week of school this week? I am not sure how to act! I am loving the melting snow and birds chirping!! 

Calendar Dates:

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM/ Noisy Change Collection at Mass

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day/ Spirit Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Feb. 23- End of 2nd Trimester/ Spirit Day/ Fish Fry

Mar. 2- STM Foundation/ Gala

Reading- This week we are finishing our story about living on the prairie. We have been talking about how they had to figure out the weather based on how the sky looked and how animals and insects acted. They will have their spelling posttest on Friday. They will also do their weekly test on Friday too. 

Next week they will have their Module Test (unit test) on Monday. After that we will start our next module. 

They did a great job on their book reports! It is always fun for me to hear that they loved the book because in the beginning so many of them don't think they will like them because it is out of their normal book choice. I get it. The great thing about reading is that you can take all kinds of adventures and don't have to stick to one genre! 

Math- This week we are really diving into multiplying decimals times decimals! They seem to have caught on quickly about where to put that decimal! Always good! 

Religion- This week they read about two saints. One is my personal favorite because he was so courageous. They read about Saint Maximilian Kolbe.  He was a priest from Poland during WWII. He ended up in Auschwitz. When a prisoner tried to escape the commandant of the camp sent 10 prisoners to a room with the goal of starving them to death as a punishment. One of the ten begged to not go because he was married and worried about his wife and kids. Maximilian offered himself up in his place. He is a martyr in our church. I shared with them a little about my dad growing up in Poland and escaping during WWII as well as a young boy. I told them some of things he experienced while on the run. He came to the USA at the end of the war through the Catholic Relief Services.  They will be finishing up this chapter and testing next week! 

Lenten Activity Night- Next Wednesday, we are hosting a night with some Lenten activities at our school. It will be from 6-7 pm. There will be some activities in the hallway, the gym, and then in the classrooms of the 3-5 wing. I hope to see you there! Everyone is welcome! 

Mass on Friday is at 1:30 pm.  Your child's guest needs to pick them up from school at 1:00. 

Valentine's Day- We are celebrating on Friday, Feb. 9 since Ash Wednesday falls on the 14th. The kids can bring in their Valentines that day. We will have a little party in the afternoon before they go home. 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I am going to Adoration on Saturday and then the book store here in town! There is an author visiting that day! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope everyone is doing well. These snow days are getting old! I sure hope next week is just off because of Catholic Schools Week and not snow days!! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan. 29- Book Reports Due

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Reading- We started a new story on Monday. This one is historical fiction. It is about a family living on the prairie. It's main character, Willy, is one of the kids in the family who has to help harvest the wheat crop. We learn some new vocabulary on the tools they used in farming back in 1840. I am showing them pictures so they have an idea of what we are talking about. They are reading about how the weather played a huge role in their lives. They are also learning some ways they used to tell how the weather was going to be each day. They didn't have the meteorologists to tell them about a storm arriving! In grammar we are going to be working on the past, present, and future tense of verbs. In spelling we have VV combination. I told them during their pretest that some words have 2 vowels next to each other and each vowel has their own sound so that helps us figure out how to spell them. Some words have 2 vowels next to each other, but they work together and make one sound so that makes it more difficult to figure out. Some times we can separate them between the vowels and their syllables. 

Book Reports - I moved the due date to Monday! We will see how many we can get done. I know it is Catholic Schools Week, so that may be another challenge! 

Math- We are still working on multiplying decimals and whole numbers, but I am hoping this week we can get to multiplying decimals times decimals. That makes it a little more challenging to figure out where to put that decimal. 

Social Studies- They will have a test tomorrow (Friday). They are going over their study guide today. 

Mass- Make sure to return the form that went home last week that lets us know who is picking them up on Friday for the Grandparent/Special Guest mass. I have gotten a few, but not all. 

Catholic Schools Week begins on Sunday! If your child is signed up for mass on Sunday, look for their paper/assignment in their Take Home Folder.  If they have a part in Friday's mass, that will also be in their folder! Please make sure you read Mrs. Simmons' outline on the activities each day. They will need a sack lunch on Monday. Milk is provided. They can wear their STM gear or blue and gold on Monday! 

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! Hope to see you at mass on Sunday! If your child has a part, be there at 8:30 so we can practice! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I hope everyone did okay during our snowy weekend! I am ready to put my shovel away, but sadly it is only January! We still have a lot of winter to go! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan.19- Spirit Day

Jan. 26- Book Reports Due

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Feb. 7- Lenten Activity Night 6-7pm @STM

Feb.9- Celebrating Valentine's Day

Feb. 14- Ash Wednesday- 5th grade mass

Reading- We  will finished up our current story tomorrow with the weekly test. It helps if you assign the right test! We discovered that one today! UGH!  I will also be using some of my reading time for FAST testing. On Friday, I have 3 kids who will be sharing their book reports because they are gone next week. We will most likely start work on the next story- maybe take a spelling pretest! The FAST testing will continue into next week. 

Book Reports are due next Friday! I see some kids who are still reading their book! They are going to have to do some at night at home so they aren't rushing to get the project done. 

Math- we are working more on estimating decimals and then multiplying them. By Friday I will having them actually multiply a whole number times a decimal. They have been using calculators. Those will go bye-bye! I didn't do any Timed Tests this week. We need to get some work done!! We also have some math FAST tests to do. 

Religion- We are getting back to that on Thursday! On Wednesday, the 5th graders helped the kindergartners with their mass! They did great! So cute to watch them help them! I just want to hug them all! 

On Friday at 2:20 pm we will be saying a Rosary for Perry as a school. We will be in the gym. Some of the 5th graders will be leading this service. You are welcome to come and join us if you are free. 

Spirit Day on Friday!! $1 for sweats! 

Due to the snow days, we will most likely send home parts for the Sunday mass for CSW next week. Sorry, that isn't a lot of notice. We are still getting volunteer sheets turned in! 

Have a GREAT weekend! I will be here and going to the local bookstore because she has an author coming in to sign books! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! I am writing from my comfy chair at home! I sure hope we are at school tomorrow! We will be. I just know it! I hope your kids are enjoying their really long weekend! LOL I see more snow is in the forecast! I am praying it is just a little bit of snow! 

Calendar Dates:

Jan. 15- FAST testing begins

Jan. 17- Kindergarten/5th grade mass

Jan. 17- PTO Meeting 6pm

Jan.19- Spirit Day

Jan. 28-Feb. 2- Catholic Schools Week

Reading- Well things are pushed back with the snow days. We will finish up our story either on Friday or Monday. I will see how things go when we get back. Their story is called Celestial Railroad. It is about how many Chinese men came to America in the 1800s to help create the Transcontinental Railroad. It discusses the hardships of that job for all the men, but it does show how the Chinese workers complained less, did their job, but were still treated poorly. They started with 50 Chinese workers helping out, but with their work ethic being so strong thousands were there by the end! It was really interesting. In grammar they are working with subject and object pronouns- singular and possessive.  The spelling test was supposed to happen today, but that will be pushed back! 

Book Reports are due on January 26. I know some are struggling with making time to read their books. I told them they can't just read it at school. They need to take them home. They have a packet with the information needed on the project they chose.  If they need drawing paper or poster paper they can ask me! 

Math- We are in our chapter. Not very far yet! They worked with multiplying decimals by 10, 100, 1,000, and 10,000. I let them use calculators. Some of them figured out that the decimals moves to the right by the number of zeroes they multiply by. 10=1. 100=2. 

Religion- We are starting a new chapter when they return. This one I believe is on the sacraments. 

I gave most of them jobs to help with kindergarten class with at their mass next week. Some of them have reading parts to practice. 

Rosary- We are planning to hold a rosary for Perry. The plan was for Friday afternoon. I don't know if that is still the plan or not due to our snow days! I have some of the 5th graders leading it. If we have school on Thursday (which I think we will) I will let you know for sure! 

Lunch calendar- due to snow days our lunch calendar has had some changes! Tomorrow's lunch will be Sloppy Joes, green beans, chips and two fruits. I will keep the kids posted daily on the changes so they can plan accordingly. 

Recess- Make sure they have their boots, snow pants, mittens/gloves, and hats for recess! I am NOT excited about the cold temps coming our way! 

If you're at the store- could you get some wipes for our classroom?? Thank you!!! 

I hope everyone has a good end to their week and a great weekend! Stay warm. Drive safely!

God Bless, 

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents,

Happy Wednesday! So much energy this week with fun clothing and the realization that Christmas break is around the corner! 

Calendar Dates:

Dec. 22- Bring a Sack Lunch

Dec. 23- Jan. 2- Christmas Break

January 3- Classes Resume/ Mass Day

Reading- We finished our story about the Wild West this week. We enjoyed the biscuits from Mrs. Clark in the kitchen! The struggle was real for moving west back then. I don't know that I could have handled all the hardships. Those people were so strong! They will test over this Wild West story on Thursday. On Friday morning we will do the weekly assessment, but we are doing it on paper this time. They are going to work with me to figure out how to look up hints or answers in the story. I am hoping they will learn that there is no rush. They have plenty of time. They will also have a spelling test on Friday. 

Math- We finished our chapter! They took a test on Wednesday! When we get back from break I am going to start the multiplication of decimals chapter. Most likely I will be jumping around in that chapter a little bit because I want us to get to division and fractions! 

Religion- this week we have been covering Advent. On Monday, we discussed the people we remember on the Jesse Tree. I did show them two short little videos on Ruth and Queen Esther because we don't know them as well. On Tuesday, we discussed our own family trees. They may have questions about their ethnicity. We also talked about traits that we pick up from our parents: height, hair color, etc. When we return we will do a short chapter on Christmas. 

Mass- Starting in January the first graders and kindergarten kids will start to do mass. The 5th graders will be helping the kindergartners with their masses. Some of the 5th graders will have reading parts, some may only hold the microphone. Not all 5th graders will have a job. We do have mass that first day back in January! Dress up! Maybe we will have some snow by then! 

Thank you so much for the nice Christmas presents!!! They are so great! The snacks I am probably going to share with my family! I am heading to Waterloo to spend it with my brother and sister and their families.  I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! 🎄✝❤

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents! Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is going well! We are busy little elves I feel like this week! I can't believe we only have one more week until Christmas break! 

Calendar Dates:

Dec. 11-15- Coin Wars 

Dec. 14- Sing for CDA at Holy Spirit

Dec. 15- Spirit Day

Dec. 23- Jan. 2- Christmas Break

January 3- Classes Resume/ Mass Day

Dress Up Days Next Week: 

Dec. 18- Grinch Day/ Wear Green

Dec. 19- Pajama Day/ Slippers/Robe

Dec. 20- Dress up- Mass Day

Dec. 21- Dress Up as your favorite Christmas Carol

Dec. 22- Ugly Sweater/ Favorite Christmas Shirt

Don't forget to wear your winter coats etc., on these days! Recess will be chilly in PJs. 

Reading- In their folders you will find their scores from their Module test last week. They did better! We took time on Monday to go over the test question by question and discussed possible hints that might have helped them or using their composition notebook for help too. On Tuesday, we started our next module. This one covers the Wild West. They had to discuss what they already knew about the move out west years ago and we focused on some key vocabulary words. We are going to be reading a story that is informational-nonfiction. It is about the things the pioneers had to experience on their travels west. I found it really interesting, but I like learning about that time period in our nation's history. This is another longer story, so we won't be on a 5 day cycle. I will make sure we get this done before Christmas break. 

Book Report- They were given their next project last week. They all have a Newbery Winner or Newbery Honor book. The final day to switch books is Friday. I know a couple of them have already finished reading!  The project is due on January 26. Those that have finished reading might want to start on their project now before they forget all the details. 

Religion- They did a great job on their chapter test! We will be focusing on the Advent season before break. 

Math- Our schedule this week has been a little off. I am still hoping we can get the chapter test in next week before break. Multiplying 3 digits by 2 digits has thrown some of them off a bit. 

Congratulations to the 5th graders! They won the cookie party for the

 Read-A-Thon for most minutes read! Thank you to those who participated!!! 

Friday, December 22- The kids will need a sack lunch. Milk will be provided so they do not need a drink. The kids will eat lunch with their Advent Angels in the gym. After lunch is when we do the caroling. You are welcome to come and sing along. That will start around 12:30.  In the past SOME Angels like to get their Angel partner a Christmas gift. This is NOT required. Please remember to make the gift something simple and easy for their buddy to carry home that day! Please don't spend more than $5. Again, this is optional! No worries, I will remind you again next week! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I need to finish up wrapping gifts and maybe start some holiday baking! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma

 Hello Parents, 

Well, it's been an off and on couple of weeks since coming back from Thanksgiving. Lots of short fuses and picking at each other. Not every day, but it feels like it sometimes. It's nothing horrible! Don't worry. I just think we are getting on each other's nerves.  I think we are just in that Christmas mode and ready for a longer break. We will make it through! Only 2 more weeks! They may nag at each other in one minute, but then they are all giggles  the next! I love your kids! ❤

 Calendar Dates:

Dec. 6- Christmas Program 6 pm

Dec. 8- Mass/ Holy Day of Obligation/Noisy Change Collection

Dec. 11-15- Coin Wars 

Dec. 14- Sing for CDA at Holy Spirit

Dec. 15- Spirit Day

Dec. 23- Jan. 2- Christmas Break

Permission  Slip- Another one in your child's folder! This one is an invite to the church to sing for the CDA. The ladies are also super sweet and make lunch for us! I told the kids they usually make really good dishes, but if your child is worried...tell them to pack a sack lunch. We usually walk away feeling stuffed. The 5th graders will also sing their Christmas songs for the ladies. I feel lucky that I get to go every year with the 5th graders. Please return ASAP. 

Reading- They took their selection quiz on Tuesday over our hurricane story. They took their weekly module test on Wednesday. They also took their spelling test. On Thursday, we will take the Module Test (unit test).

Religion- We finished up our chapter on the Beatitudes. On Monday we had to create hashtags for what we could do to live like Jesus. That was fun to write! They will test next week! We will then start working on Advent. 

Math- We are working on multiplying larger numbers by two digit numbers. We are also working on some of our factors have 0 in them! They have the process down for the most part, but when it became a number in the hundreds that slowed some of them down. We also have some little errors in adding or not dropping the 0. They are making great strides! 

Coin Wars will start next week!

Don't forget if you can help out by donating to the nursing homes, please do!  We have more people this year! 200! Please help out if you can and thank you to those who already have sent items in ! They are so appreciated! 

Advent Angels activity will begin this Friday! Don't forget we have mass on Friday. It is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. There will also be a Noisy Change Collection at mass. This money goes to help our adopted families. We buy some Christmas presents for them. 

Prayers- I just wanted to let you know that your kids are great at praying for you and others! I feel like every morning during our morning prayer, they keep adding more people to their list. It makes our prayer take a little more time, but I don't care! I love that they care so much for others! 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

God Bless,

Miss Surma