October 22, 2026
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.
DRESS CODE: The dress code states that beginning November 1, shorts should not be worn to school.
HALLOWEEN PARADE: Next Wednesday, October 28 is the St. Malachy Halloween parade! Students may bring a Halloween costume to change into before the Halloween parade. The Halloween parade will take place in the school gym at 1:15. We hope to see you there if you are able to come!
NO SCHOOL: School will not be in session next Thursday, October 29 (parent/teacher conferences) and Friday, October 30.
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 29 since I will be visiting with you at conferences.
CONFERENCES: Parent/teacher conferences will take place on Monday, October 26, Tuesday, October 27, Wednesday, October 28, and Thursday, October 29.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
- Friday, November 6: Spirit Day
- Monday, November 9: School picture retake day
- Friday, November 13: End of the first trimester of school
October 15, 2026
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.
SECOND GRADE MASS: The second grade class is in charge of the school Mass next Wednesday, October 21. Please look for a note in today's take home folder to see what special part your child will have in our Mass. Mass begins at 9:15 in the school gym. We hope to see you there if you are able to come!
MATH: Students used models to add two-digit numbers and added using place value and partial sums.
SPIRIT DAY: Tomorrow, October 16 will be a Spirit Day at St. Malachy. Students can pay $1.00 to wear sweatpants or a hat to school if they wish. The money raised helps those in need in our local community.
FIELD TRIP: Due to weather, our field trip to Thompson's Fall Festival has been postponed to Tuesday, October 20. Please have your child bring a sack lunch and a drink that day. This would also be a great day to wear our class t-shirt! Let's hope for great autumn weather!
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES: Parent/teacher conferences are quickly approaching. Conferences will take place on Monday, October 26, Tuesday, October 27, Wednesday, October 28, and Thursday, October 29. 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 8, 2026
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.
LIBRARY: Second graders will have library next Tuesday, October 13 since we will be on our field trip during our regularly scheduled library time on the 15th. Please have your child return his/her library book to school next Tuesday, October 13 so he/she can check out a new library book on that day.
ROSARY: October is the month of the Rosary. The Rosary is a summary of Christian faith in language and prayers inspired by the Bible. The Rosary calls to mind the most important events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. These events are called mysteries and are divided into four groups: The Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, the Glorious Mysteries, and the Luminous Mysteries. St. Malachy students are praying the Rosary during the month of October in religion class. Second graders pray one decade of the Rosary each day. If your child has a Rosary from home that he/she would like to bring to school for this, he/she may do so.
FIRE SAFETY: October 4-10 is Fire Prevention Week. Students have been learning about fire safety in social studies and have been creating a fire safety pamphlet with many tips on how to stay safe in the event of a fire. We would like to thank the Creston firefighters for coming to St. Malachy School on Tuesday to visit with the students about the importance of fire safety.
GREEN VALLEY FIELD TRIP: The postponed K-4 field trip to Green Valley State Park has been rescheduled for Monday, October 12! We will leave the school at 9:45 and will return around 2:00. Please have your child bring a sack lunch and a drink. Let's hope for great weather!
PUMPKIN PATCH FIELD TRIP: Students in grades PK-2 will be taking a field trip to Thompson's Fall Festival on Thursday, October 15. We will leave school at 11:00 and will return by 2:45. Please have your child bring a sack lunch and a drink. This is also a great day to have your child wear his/her class t-shirt!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:
Friday, October 16: Spirit Day
Wednesday, October 21: Second Grade Mass
Monday, October 26-Thursday, October 29: Parent/teacher conferences
Thursday, October 29: No school
Friday, October 30: No school
October 1, 2026
LANGUAGE ARTS: This week we read and discussed The Great Fuzz Frenzy and Water Rolls, Water Rises. The Great Fuzz Frenzy is a fantasy, while Water Rolls, Water Rises is a poem. We worked on skills such as decoding words with "e" at the end making the vowel long as in "pine," making singular nouns plural by adding "s" or "es" as in cat/cats or bench/benches, decoding words with the suffixes "er" and "est" as in "stronger" and "strongest," using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.
MATH: We broke apart numbers into tens and ones to find their sum, combined addends in different ways to make numbers that were easy to add mentally, and used drawing and equations to solve one and two-step problems.
RELIGION: Students explored the ability to make choices. We discussed that God lets us choose what to do (free will) and that our conscience helps us decide right from wrong. Students learned that God always forgives us when we are sorry for our sins and want to be forgiven.
SCIENCE: We took the unit test over the engineering design process and 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.
HOMECOMING: Tomorrow, October 2 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. Lunch will be provided. The homecoming parade will begin at 1:30.
FIELD TRIP: Students in grades PK-2 will be taking a field trip to Thompson's Fall Festival on Thursday, October 15. Your child will need to bring a sack lunch and a drink. We will leave school at 11:00 and will return by 2:45. Please return the green permission slip along with $15.00 so your child may attend if you have not already done so.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: School will not be in session on Monday, October 5 due to teacher professional development.
September 24, 2026
LANGUAGE ARTS: This week we read and discussed What's the Matter and Many Kinds of Matter. Both are informational texts. We worked on skills such as decoding words with long o, u, and e, using story vocabulary in context, identifying nouns, decoding words with the suffixes -er and -est, identifying synonyms (words that mean about the same, such as "big" and "large,") and learning ten new high-frequency words.
MATH: We took the chapter test over working with equal groups and started a new chapter over adding within 100 using strategies. So far students have added within 100 using a hundred chart and an open number line.
RELIGION: This week we focused on ways we can praise and thanks to God. We explored celebrations in which we give thanks and recognized prayers of praise and thanks. At Mass we praise God with words and songs, with gestures and movements. We lift our hearts and minds to God in a hymn of communion. We give thanks for the gift of Christ and for the blessings in our lives. We worship God together as a community of believers.
SOCIAL STUDIES: We talked about our state and our country this week. We identified our state bird, flag, flower, rock, and capital. We discussed how a state is different from a country. Next week students will be making a poster about the great state of Iowa!
FIELD TRIP: Students in grades PK-2 will be taking a field trip to Thompson's Fall Festival on Thursday, October 15. Please look for a note in today's take home folder for more information.
SPIRIT DAY: Tomorrow, September 25 is a Spirit Day. Students can pay $1.00 to wear a hat or sweatpants to school if they wish. The money raised helps those in need in our local community.
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