January 29, 2026

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Cloudette and Get Ready for Weather.  Cloudette is a fantasy while Get Ready for Weather is an informational text.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with the prefixes "un," "dis," and "re," identifying correct subject-verb agreement in sentences, spelling words with the hard and soft sound of /c/ as in "cage" and "cent" and /g/ as in "goat" and "giant," using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  Students solved problems with dollar bills, found different ways to make the same total value of coins, and wrote time to the nearest five minutes.

HANDWRITING:  This week students reviewed the lowercase cursive i, t, u, w, e, l, and b.  They also practiced writing the lowercase cursive h and f.

FIRST EUCHARIST:  There is a parent meeting at 6:00 P.M. on Wednesday, February 4 at St. Malachy School for those who are Catholic and will be making the Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation and First Eucharist this year.  If you have any questions, please contact the director of religious education, Anna Mealey.

GRANDPARENT/SPECIAL GUEST DAY:  Tomorrow, January 30 is "Grandparent or Special Guest Day/Dress Up Day" at St. Malachy School.  Please have your child's grandparent or special guest pick your child up at the school at 1:00 and go to Holy Spirit Church for Mass at 1:30.  

ENROLLMENT FOR 2026-2027:  Enrollment is happening a little differently this year.  To secure your child's spot for K-8th grade for the 2026-2027 school year, you have until January 31 to do so.  We do have a waiting list for some grades, so by enrolling now, your spot will be guaranteed.  Please call the school or visit the school website at www.crestonstmalachy.org for more information.

January 22, 2026

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Weather Through the Seasons and Wild Weather.  Weather Through the Seasons is an informational text while Wild Weather is a narrative nonfiction selection.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with the suffixes "y," "ly," "er," and "est," identifying subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, it, you, they) and object pronouns (me, him, her, us, them, you, it) in sentences, identifying and using reflexive pronouns (myself and ourselves) in sentences, identifying and explaining the meanings of homophones in sentences, spelling words with inflected endings "s" and "es,"  using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

GUIDANCE:  On January 23 we will discuss lesson 3 in guidance class.  Lesson 3 is called "Who Are You?"  In this lesson we will recognize the special gifts of people with special needs and celebrate the unique talents that each one of us has been given.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK:  Catholic Schools Week is January 25-30.  Many wonderful activities have been planned for this special week.  Please note the following:

SUNDAY, JANUARY 25:  Today is the opening of Catholic Schools Week with a Eucharist Celebration at 9:00 a.m. at Holy Spirit Church.  

 MONDAY, JANUARY 26:  This day is “Out of This World Day.”  Students may come to school dressed like something from outer space. They could dress as an astronaut, planet, alien, star, etc. Students will also be writing letters to students in Catholic schools around the United States as a pen pal activity in hopes of hearing back from them.  Second graders will be writing to a second grade class in New Jersey.   

 TUESDAY, JANUARY 27: This day is “Winter Olympics Day.”  Students may come to school dressed as someone would for the winter Olympics.  They could wear red, white, and blue for team USA! Students will also be getting together with their Advent Angels in the afternoon for “religion station rotations.”  Students will rotate from classroom to classroom to participate in various religious activities.

 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28:  This day is “Wild West Day.”  Students may come to school dressed in western gear such as cowboy boots, cowboy hats, cowboy shirts, etc.  Students will also be writing letters to the Iowa National Guard members that are stationed overseas.   

 THURSDAY, JANUARY 29:  This day is “St. Malachy Day."  Students can show their spirit for St. Malachy by wearing the St. Malachy colors of blue and/or gold.  If your child has a St. Malachy sweat shirt or T-shirt, today would be the perfect day to wear it!  STUDENTS ARE TO BRING A SACK LUNCH TO SCHOOL.  They will be eating with their Advent Angels.  Milk will be provided, so you do not need to send a drink.  Please note that refrigeration will not be provided, so plan accordingly.  An all-school talent show will take place in the school gym in the afternoon.  We hope to see you there if you can come! 

 FRIDAY, JANUARY 30:  This day is “Grandparent or Special Guest Day/Dress to Impress Day.”  Students are encouraged to wear their “Sunday best” to school since it is such a special day.  Please have your child’s grandparent or special guest pick your child up at the school at 1:00 and go to Holy Spirit Church by 1:25 since Mass begins at 1:30.  Students will be dismissed from Holy Spirit Church.  If students need to ride the bus home after the Mass, there will be a bus waiting at the church to take students where they need to go.

ENROLLMENT FOR 2026-2027:  Enrollment is happening a little differently this year.  To secure your child's spot for the 2026-2027 school year, you have from January 25-31 to do so.  We do have a waiting list for some grades, so by enrolling now, your spot will be guaranteed.  Please call the school or visit the school website at www.crestonstmalachy.org for more information.

January 15, 2026

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read an informational text called Who Are Government's Leaders and watched/discussed a video called Thomas Edison and the Light Bulb.  We worked on skills such as identifying homophones (words that sound the same, but they're not spelled the same and do not mean the same such as "sea" and "see,") decoding words with the suffixes "ful" and "less," writing abbreviations for months, days, places, and titles for people correctly, identifying nouns that name people, using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  This week we took the chapter 7 test and started chapter 8 over money and time.  So far students have found the total values of collections of quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, and solved problems with coins.

GUIDANCE:  On January 16 we will discuss lesson 2 in guidance class.  Lesson 2 is called "Rules and Choices."  In this lesson we will explain how good rules keep people safe.  We will also identify reasons for good rules. 

HANDWRITING:  This week students practiced writing the lowercase cursive w, e, l, and b.

SCIENCE:  We have been discussing various water habitats such as a pond, river delta, and tide pool. Students compared the diversity of life in each one and discussed how plants and animals meet their needs in the water habitat in which they live.

TALENT SHOW:  There will be an all-school talent show on Thursday, January 29 during Catholic Schools Week.  If your child has a talent he/she would like to share, please encourage him/her to participate! Students can show their act to the talent show committee members through next week.  This way we know ahead of time what talent your child will be performing so the talent show program can be put together.  We're hoping to get a record number of participants this year!

January 8, 2026

LANGUAGE ARTS:  This week we read and discussed Wilma Rudolph:  Against All Odds and Great Leaders.  Wilma Rudolph:  Against All Odds is a biography while Great Leaders is an opinion article.  We worked on skills such as decoding words with long /i/ (i, ie, igh, y, i_e) as in iron, pie, right, fly, and bike, capitalizing the first letter in the names of the days of the week, months of the year, and holidays, decoding words with the prefix "dis," identifying statements of fact and opinion, using story vocabulary in context, and learning ten new high-frequency words.

MATH:  Students used drawing and equations to make sense of the words in problems, modeled and solved two-step problems using equations, used different ways to solve two-step problems, and found unknown numbers in equations that relate four or more whole numbers.

GUIDANCE:  Tomorrow, January 9, second graders will begin lesson one in guidance class.  Guidance goes along with our religion series and focuses on family, friendships, and God's love.  There are ten lessons in the guidance book.  We will discuss a new lesson each Friday.  Enclosed in today's take home folder is a "Parent Connection" resource book for you to have at home.  This goes along with and supports our guidance program.  It is yours to keep and does not need to be returned to school.

HANDWRITING:  Second graders are beginning cursive handwriting! Before learning how to write our lowercase cursive letters, students have been learning the strokes used in cursive handwriting (undercurve, downcurve, overcurve, slant, and checkstroke.)  We have also discussed keys to legibility such as the shape, size, spacing, and slant of our cursive letters.

SPIRIT DAY:  Tomorrow, January 9 is a Spirit Day at St. Malachy.  Students can pay $1.00 to wear sweat pants or a hat to school if they wish.  The money raised will help those in need in our local community.