October 24, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Be a Hero! Work it Out! and Pepita and the Bully.  Be a Hero! Work it Out! is an infographic.  Infographics give information quickly and in a visual way using pictures, symbols, and words or phrases that stand out.  Pepita and the Bully is a realistic fiction selection.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with consonant digraphs /ph,/ /ch,/ /tch,/ /th,/ /sh,/ and /wh,/ identifying compound subjects and predicates in sentences, identifying coordinating conjunctions (words such as "and" & "or,") to form compound subjects, decoding words with the prefixes "re" and "un" as in reread and unfold, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

RECONCILIATION:  Thank you for sending your child's First Reconciliation book to school on Monday.  We discussed chapter 5 in class.  Please complete chapter six and return the book to school on Monday, October 28.  We will be discussing chapter six in class next week.  This is the LAST chapter!

DRESS CODE:  The dress code states that beginning November 1, shorts should not be worn to school.

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES:  Next Wednesday, October 30, the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will be providing Halloween activities for students in the afternoon.  Students may bring a Halloween costume to change into before the Halloween parade.  The Halloween parade will take place in the school gym at 2:30.  We hope to see you there if you are able to come!

NO SCHOOL:  School will not be in session next Thursday, October 31 (parent/teacher conferences) and Friday, November 1.

SPELLING:  We will not be taking a spelling pre/post test next week due to the short school week.

TAKE HOME FOLDERS/BLOG:  I will not be sending take home folders home next week due to the short school week.  I will also not be posting a blog next Thursday, October 31 since I will be visiting with you at conferences.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:  On Monday, October 28, students in grades K, 1, and 2 will walk to the school's "safe place" for practice.

CONFERENCES:  Parent/teacher conferences will take place on Monday, October 28, Tuesday, October 29, Wednesday, October 30, and Thursday, October 31.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

 

October 17, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Working With Others and Gingerbread for Liberty.  Working With Others is an informational text while Gingerbread for Liberty is a biography about a baker who lived during the Revolutionary War.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with double final consonants, identifying action verbs in the present and past tense, decoding words with inflected endings "ed" and "ing," and learning ten new high-frequency words.

RECONCILIATION:  Thank you for sending your child's First Reconciliation book to school on Tuesday.  We discussed chapter 4 in class.  Please complete chapter five and return the book to school on Monday, October 21.  We will be discussing chapter five in class next week. 

MATH:  This week students used models to add two-digit numbers and added using place value and partial sums.  

SCIENCE:  We discussed how matter can change.  Some of those changes are reversible, such as freezing and melting, while others are irreversible, such as cooking or burning.

SPIRIT DAY:  Tomorrow, October 18 will be a Spirit Day at St. Malachy.  Students can pay $1.00 to wear sweatpants or a hat to school if they wish.  Let's all try to wear our new class t-shirts since they arrived last week! They money raised helps those in need in our local community.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES:   Parent/teacher conferences are quickly approaching.  Conferences will take place on Monday, October 28, Tuesday, October 29, Wednesday, October 30, and Thursday, October 31.  An email was sent out from the school to schedule a conference time.  If you did not receive the email or have questions about signing up, please contact the school office.  I look forward to visiting with you about your child's progress! 

October 10, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Meet Me Halfway and Big Red Lollipop.  Meet Me Halfway is an informational text while Big Red Lollipop is a realistic fiction selection.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with final consonant blends, decoding words with the prefixes "un" and "re" as in unable and rewrite, using context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar words, capitalizing names for special people, animals, places, and things, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  We took the chapter test over adding within 100 using strategies.  Soon we will begin a new chapter over fluently adding within 100.  

SCIENCE:  We started a new unit over matter.  We discussed properties of matter such as color, shape, hardness, texture, and flexibility.  We also explored the three states of matter--solids, liquids, and gases.

RECONCILIATION:  Thank you for sending your child's First Reconciliation book to school on Monday.  We discussed chapter three in class.  Please complete chapter 4 at home with your child and return the book to school on Tuesday, October 15.  We will be discussing chapter 4 in class next week.

FIELD TRIP:  Students in grade K-2 will be visiting Thompson's Fall Festival tomorrow, October 11.  We will leave school at noon and will return around 2:30.  It looks like the weather will be perfect!

NO SCHOOL:  Please note that school will not be in session on the following days:

• Monday, October 14 (teacher professional development)
• Thursday, October 31 (Parent/teacher conferences)
• Friday, November 1

October 3, 2024

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed a drama called The Puddle Puzzle.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with l, r, and s consonant blends as in play, drum, and swim, using story vocabulary in context, forming and using plural nouns with "es" as in "glasses," identifying and writing irregular plural nouns (as in "child" to "children,") identifying and using collective nouns (as in herd, flock, or team,) and learning ten new high-frequency words.

FIRST RECONCILIATION:  Thank you for sending your child's First Reconciliation book to school on Monday.  We discussed chapter two in class.  Please complete chapter three at home and have your child bring the book to school on Monday, October 7.  We will be discussing chapter three in class next week.

MATH:  This week students broke apart addends into tens and ones to find their sum, combined addends in different ways to make numbers that are easy to add mentally, and used drawings and equations to solve one-step and two-step problems.

 SCIENCE:  We are wrapping up our unit over the engineering design process and will soon begin a new unit over matter.

HOMECOMING:  Tomorrow, October 4 is Creston's homecoming.  It is also a Spirit Day.  Students can pay $1.00 to wear sweatpants or a hat to school if they wish.  They can also show their support for the Creston Panthers by wearing red and/or black.  School will dismiss at 12:10.  School lunch will not be provided.

FIELD TRIP:  Students in grades K-2 will be taking a field trip to Thompson's Fall Festival next Friday, October 11.  We will leave school at noon and will return around 2:30.  Please return the green permission slip along with $13.00 so your child may attend if you have not already done so.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:  School will not be in session on Monday, October 14 due to teacher professional development.