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Saturday
October 31
It was a busy week with Iowa Basic Skills tests. Mrs. Wolf's class had their class Mass and
Mrs. Steenblock's class is preparing for theirs next weeek. The students will also be getting their Bibles next week at
Mass.
In math we have started multiplication. The first lessons are easier for the students but as we get to the
higher numbers they would benefit from practicing their multioplication facts nightly at home .
We will be nearing the
end of our second anthology before Thanksgiving and are looking forward to seeing all the story cube book reports come in.
A few have started to arrive already. The due date is November 23.
In science the students are all lexcited because
our beetles and crayfish have arrived. We are first studying the structures and behaviors of the crayfish.
Monday
is the deadline for student council essays and applications. Results will be announced later next week.
Tomorrow
is God's Poprtion Day. We hope you will get a chance to come out and enjoy the day with us. Our Third Grade basket
is awesome!! Get your bidding cards ready.
We have had many students out with flus and illnesses. We
are praying that they get well soon and that we all can stay healthy the rest of the winter. We continue to wash our hands
diligently and use hand santizers as well. The students are great "cough in your sleeve" models. Mrs. Wolf
Sunday October 25
It was great to see you all at conferences last week. Discussing your child's
progress and setting goals will help to ensure a successful rest of the semester. The three day weekend we are hoping will
allow students to return to school refreshed and ready to do the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) which are scheduled
for this next week. We have had lots of students out with illnesses, so we also hope this long weekend will see students
return healthy as well. With ITBS this week we also want to remind students to get a good night's rest and eat
a healthy breakfast each day to be prepared for the day of testing.
This coming week Mrs. Wolf's class will
do the readings at Mass on Thursday. The following week, November 5, Mrs. Steenblocks's class will have Mass. The
students will get their bibles at this Mass as well. You are invited to join us at these Masses which start at 1:50 in the
elementary gym.
Mrs. Wolf
Friday,
October 16
This week we have tried to get all end of quarter assessments finished. You should have
recieved conference folders yesterday. You should also have received your scheduled conference time. We would appreciate your
reviewing the folders and bring any questions regarding it to our conferences. We look forward to seeing you all next
week.
On Thursday of this week the entire K-8 student body participated in a Living Rosary. Eleven third
grade students led the prayers for the 5th mystery. They did a terrific job!
Be looking for our GPD Third Grade
Basket to be displayed outside the classrooms on conference nights. The Parent committee did an awesome job of putting together
a "Knight By the Fire". Thank you!!!!
In math we are working hard on subtracting with renaming. The
students are doing quite well with it so far. In science we have made mini sprouters and are all excited to be seeing our
seeds sprouting!!
Mrs. Wolf's class collected "soup and soap" for the homeless shelter as our Social
Justice project for this past unit.
The weather has us grabbing our jackets and mittens for recesses. Make sure
these come to school each day with your child as we are out everyday unless it is raining. See you next week. Mrs.
Wolf
Saturday October 11
This past week we started working on subtraction. Continue to practice facts at home
as some of these have become rusty.
We also started a new anthology in reading and will be reading more informative
writing as well as working on author's purpose. STAR testing was completed and we are busy getting folders reading
for conferences. Look for these to be coming home this coming Thursday with your conference schedule.
On Thursday
of this week we will be having a Living Rosary in the Elementary gym instead of the usual weekly Mass. You are welcome
to attend this K-8 prayer service. The third graders will be leading the 5th mystery.
In science we began our
study of plants and seeds. The students were surpised to find out that the green bean is a fruit. In science, anything
that holds the seeds to a new plant is the fruit of that plant, and since we founds seeds in our green bean, it is indeed
a "fruit". This next week we begin to look at how seeds sprout.
A fun event this week was
organized by Mr. Bonzer. Thursday was Iowa Fall Fitness Day, and Mr. Bonzer had the entire K-5 student body walking from 9:30
-10:00. It was quite a site to see us streched out in a continuous line through the hallways. We were long enough that the
beginning of the line met the end of the line at one point. In all we walked close to 3 miles. Great exercize!
On Friday the third graders worked on "tying" two blankets for their God' Portion Day Basket. They are beautiful
and the students did a great job.
A final note...it is getting colder, make sure that your child brings
a warmer coat or sweatshirt as we are out twice a day for recess and the wind really does find us on the playground!
Mrs. Wolf
Saturday October 3
This past week in math we took our chapter 2 test. Next we begin a subtraction chapter. It would be very beneficial
for students to be practicing subtraction facts at home during this time.
In science we completed a mini unit on germs.
Students now know how to keep healthy and germ free this fall and winter. We even tried to see how well we wash our hands.
Those nasty germs sure do like to hide underneath fingernails and around our wrists!
We took all our end of Theme 1
tests in reading and even began to take our STAR tests in preparation for conferences.
Speaking of conferences, a sign
up sheet was sent home on Thursday. Thanks to all who have returned it already. Those who have not, you have until next Friday,
Oct. 9 to get them back.
On Thursday Father Mike came to the classroom and spoke to the students about St. Francis.
We ended the week with the blessing of pets in the gym.
We also ended the week with the third grade retreat on Guardian
Angels. It began with a prayer service in the chapel, a story about an angel read by Seminarian, Ryan Klobassa, followed by
rotations where students heard about different angels in the Bible. They worked on an Angel book and colored an angel bookmark
which will be used in their Bibles which they will get next month. The afternoon concluded with the Guardian Angel movie.
Thanks to parents who helped out with the retreat. Mrs. Wolf
Sunday September 26
This past week we hit the half way mark in the quarter already. The new AR program
is up and running and students are busy reading to reach their reading goal. In math we continue to work on addition up to
thousands. We finished our first anthology in reading and this next week will be doing our end of theme and skills tests.
Because of this there will be no vocabulary quiz or spelling test on Friday. A new list of the words for the next five weeks
starting on October 5 will be coming home this week. This coming week we will be having our Third Grade Retreat on Friday
afternoon. The retreat will focus on angels and especially our guardian angels. On Friday we also will have the blessings
of pets as we remember St. Francis of Assissi. If you are bringing a pet for the blessing be sure to return the form which
was sent home last week. We are also collecting items for the Humane Society of North Iowa this week. In science we took our
final test on Ideas and Inventions. Students did well on this unit and are looking forward to our next unit on Structures
of Life. Before we do start that, we will be doing a one week short "mini" unit on germs. Since flu season is nearing,
I thought this would be a good time to do this health unit to make sure students know all the preventive techniques that they
can use to stay healthy! Mrs. Wolf
Friday September 18 This week went fast! As your child has probably told you
we are now back on track with AR. It now has a new name of Renaissance Place or Renaissance Learning. The program has many
wonderful aspects. One of these is the Home Connect program. You will be getting a letter home about this feature on Monday.
This will allow you to set up an account on-line and you will be able to see your child's progress and tests. You can
even have them e-mailed to you. You will instantly know how they are doing. How neat is that!! In math the students are finding this chapter on addition to be
much easier than the the last. Their scores are reflecting this!
In science we are finishing our first unit and will have our end of module
test next Wednesday. A study guide was sent home on Wednesday. Did your child bring it home?? It is a longer test with lots
to know so I encourage studying each night for it. There is also a social studies test next Friday. A study guide and information
also came home on Wednesday for that. In Religion we are learning about the Catholic Social Teachings. To show how we care for God's gift of
creation, Mrs. Wolf's class has started a project of collecting used batteries from the classrooms and will make
sure they are disposed of safely and not thrown in the trash where they can end up in the landfill and possibly harm our environment.
Any household batteries from third grade parents can also be sent in to our collection containers. We are gearing up now for God's Portion Day.
You should have gotten a letter from our parent volunteers about the Third Grade Basket. Enjoy the weekend! Mrs. Wolf
Sunday September
13
We had a busy week finishing our first chapter in math. This next
week we begin computation, starting with a review of addition. This will be a big change from our first chapter. It would
be very helpful for all students to begin practicing flashcards at home to brush up on all the math facts. In science we began
discovering amazing chromatography.
Students did their experiments to uncover the various pigments in their markers.
Afternoon recesses are a popular item with the students. Thank you to the parents who are helping out with our recesses both
before school and in the afternooon. We are continuing to watch for the Monarch butterfly to emerge in Mrs. Wolf's room.
Ben N brought in a Monarch for us to see and it was released in the playgound to begin its migration to Mexico.
This
next week we will have our first Unit test in Relligion. It would be helpful for students to take their Religion books to
review before this. Mrs. Wolf
Saturday, September
5- Week 3
Wow what a busy week we had!. The highlight of the week
had to be the Back to School Mass which was on Wednesday evening in the football stadium. It was a beautiful night and we
packed the stadium. What a special event it was for the Newman family. Our three third graders did an awesome job of reading
as well. We were so proud of them. It was good to visit in the classrooms with many of you. In Religion we have been talking
about our church community, and the concept that "church" is not a building, but is "the people". The
outdoor stadium Mass was a wonderful reinforcement of this.
In the classroom this week we used our Smartboard
room to review for our vocabulary. The students love this new technology tool. Ask them about it. In math we worked with
rounding numbers and also counting and making change in money. Making change was a real challenge for some. This concept would
be an easy one to practice at home. Have your child help with grocery lists and count out the money you need. Make up some
problems where they would have to make change. In reading we worked on dictionary skills and in writing we used our sensory
descriptors to write a paragraph about our favorite food. In science we learned about carbon printing and identified
each of our fingerprints using this technique. We also created a pictograph showing how many in the class had the whorl, loop,
or arch patterns.The loop pattern by far was the most predominant which fits with the average of all people.
Next week we will be adding an additonal recess in the afternoon. There are many studies that show activity enhances learning.
Thanks to all the parents who volunteered to help teachers with the recess duty.
Remember that Fundraisers
are due next week too! ENJOY LABOR DAY!! Mrs. Wolf
Friday August 28- Week 2
Classroom routine is beginning to fall into place. The students are also leaning what behaviors
will help them become more responsible classroom members who respect each other and are in charge of their learning.
In math we have been working on place value up to hundred thousands. Wow, we are finding these to be challenging to write,
especially when we need to write in expanded form! We also will keep practicing our math facts each day when possible.
Work at home on these would be much appreciated.
In science we spent the week learning about rubbings and learned
about various leaf characteristics such as shape, venation, and margins. Kyle brought in a monarch caterpillar which we are
anxiously observing. This morning it was in the chrysallis stage. We will keep you posted on its progress.
Next
week is our first annual Back to School all school Mass. This will be on Wednesday, September 2 at 6 pm. followed by an ice
cream treat. Hope you all can join us. Classrooms will be open after this until 8 pm.
One note.. on our website
you may see the Mastery Club page. Students in either of the classrooms may work at this. They just need to see Mrs. Wolf
to test on the categories. There are two names on the Wall of Fame from last year in Mrs. Wolf's room. Which of
this year's students will join them? Good luck to all the students!
Again thank you for the Giving Tree gifts...they
are SO appreciated! Mrs. Wolf
Friday August
21- Week 1
We made it through the first three days!. The students are eager
and we have been pleased with their enthusiasm. The first few days were packed with many schedule changes but they are adjusting
well. Rules were established and students will have a chance to sign them next week.
Students received their planners
and were anxious to have assignments to write in. We statred right in with our regular classes in math, reading, and language.
Since we do not have school on Monday we thought it wise to give students an early start on the vocabulary and spelling for
next week. In math students took a diagnostic pretest to help in planning the first chapter. Thanks to all who
signed their child's planner. I hope you will find this to be a quick way to communicate with teachers as well as check
on your child's work.
Today (Friday) the representative from the fundraising company visted with the students.
We are hoping for good participation this year, as it is a very important part of our being able to offer many programs for
the students. Check out all they offer. Great food as well as Christmas gifts and wrapping paper.
School Masses
start next week. There is a change this year in that the Masses will be on Thursdays instead of Wednesdays
(1:55 time is the same).
A big Thank You for the items donated from the Giving Tree. We really appreciate your
generosity.
That's it for the week. Check back again next week. Mrs. Wolf
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