4/30/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/30/26

Chaperones Still Needed

Parent chaperones are still needed for the field trip to Greenfield on Thursday, May 14th. At this time, there is enough transportation for twelve students. Using grandparents can also be an option if necessary. All paperwork just needs to be completed before the field trip. If I am not able to get enough transportation for all twenty-two students, the class will not be able to attend this event. I am appreciative of any chaperones who volunteer.

FAST Testing

I will test students' reading fluency on Friday, May 1st. Mrs. Brown will be subbing in the classroom while I am testing in a different room.

Cross Picture

The student body cross picture will be taken on Friday, May 1st. There is no specific dress code for the picture this year. Students may wear what they want.

Biography Book Report Projects

We are down to ONE week before biography book reports are due. I have had several students ask if they could bring their projects to school early since they are finished with them. My response is to please keep them at home until Thursday, May 7th. There is not enough storage space, and I do not want anything to happen to a student's project that they have worked so hard on.

Please have your child practice their presentation at home. Students should be able to pronounce all of the words in a clear speaking voice that the audience can hear. Students should also be able to make some eye contact with the audience. They can read the information from the report form.

Math

The class continues to work on time. In addition to telling time to the nearest minute, students have also been calculating elapsed time and solving word problems that involve time.

Reading/Language Arts

Module 8 will focus on inventors and inventions. The essential question asks, "What does it take to make a successful invention?" 

This week's story is a biography by Gene Barretta entitled Timeless Thomas. Students learn about a variety of inventions by Thomas Edison. The author compares present day inventions that were developed from Thomas Edison's inventions. The comprehension skills focused on text/graphic features, making inferences, text structure, and the central idea. Students worked on words that ended with -ed and -ing as the decoding skill. The vocabulary skill focused on the Greek word root graph and the suffix -logy. The grammar skill reviewed adjectives and adverbs that compare.

The results of Module 7 assessments have been included in the take home folder. These are yours to keep.

Science

The class has been learning about severe weather. Students have learned about solutions that can help reduce risks during severe weather.

Important Dates

Friday, May 1st-FAST Fluency Testing (Sub in the Classroom)

Friday, May 1st-Student Body Cross Picture

Wednesday, May 6th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, May 7th-Biography Book Report Projects Due

Friday 8th-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, May 12th-Biography Bash 2:00-3:00 PM in the gym

Wednesday, May 13th-1 Hour Dismissal

Thursday, May 14th-On The Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

4/23/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/23/26

Math

The 3rd grade class is learning about time. Students have identified the time to the nearest minute.

Reading/Language Arts

The Storyteller's Candle is a historical fiction story about a Puerto Rican family that moved to New York City during the time of the Great Depression. As Christmas is approaching, the cousins Hildamar and Santiago are missing their sunny home and their traditions, especially celebrating Three Kings' Day. They meet a librarian named Pura Belpre, who changes everything. Students worked on the comprehension skills of literary elements (identifying characters, setting, and plot), figurative language, and text and graphic features. The grammar skill covered adverbs that compare by adding -er, -est, more, or most. The class also focused on compound words as the vocabulary skill. The decoding skill was words with /oo/, such as mood and wood.

Glow-A-Thon

Glow-A-Thon is a PTO fundraiser that will take place on Monday, April 27th. Since the gym will be set up for Glow-A-Thon, we will not be able to eat in the gym. Students need to bring a sack lunch. Students are asked to wear neon clothing and tennis shoes. Also, please return the donation forms and money back to school.

Biography Book Report Projects

We are down to two weeks until the biography book reports are due. The due date is Thursday, May 7th. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Important Dates

Friday, April 24th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, April 27th-Glow-A-Thon (Bring a Sack Lunch)

Wednesday, April 29th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, May 1st-Fluency FAST Testing (Substitute Teacher)

Wednesday, May 6th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, May 7th-Biography Book Reports Due

4/16/26

Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
4/16/26 

Reading/Language Arts

The class is reading One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul. In this biography, the students follow Isatou Ceesay from a young woman to a mother herself as she realizes the need to clean up all the plastic bags that have created a trash problem in her village. She comes up with an idea to turn the plastic bags into purses by cutting the bags into strips and crocheting them together. Eventually, the purses get sold, and this helps with the trash problem. One of the comprehension skills covered was text structure, specifically cause and effect. Another comprehension skill covered is point of view. The students were introduced to adverbs as the grammar skill. The vocabulary skill focused on the suffixes of -ness and -able. The decoding skill went over irregular plurals.

Science

The class continues to study the weather. Last week, Doug Welch, grandfather of kindergarten student Connor Smith, talked to the third, fourth, and fifth grade students about weather balloons. Students have been learning about typical weather conditions to identify patterns and make predictions.

Math

The next topic the third grade class will be covering is figuring time to the nearest minute. The class will also continue to review addition and subtraction using the algorithm.

Mass

The 3rd grade class will lead the liturgy on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mass parts have been included in the take home folder. Please practice speaking parts at home. Mass begins at 9:15 AM. Parents are more than welcome to attend.

Biography Book Reports

Biography book reports are due on Thursday, May 7th. Please let me know if you need any necessary supplies from me. I can provide the pizza box, poster board, construction paper, or the directions to the foldable person. 

Important Dates

Wednesday, April 22nd-3rd Grade Leads Mass

Wednesday, April 22nd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, April 24th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, April 27th-Glow-A-Thon

Wednesday, April 29th-1 Hour Early Dismissal 

4/9/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/9/26

ISASP Testing

ISASP testing will be finished after today. I appreciate the students taking their time on these standardized tests. The school will notify you when the results are in. A big thanks to the PTO for supplying snacks for the students. 

Reading/Language Arts

Since there was no testing this past Wednesday, the third grade students completed a spelling pretest. The class will resume in our reading series on Friday, April 10th.

Math

The class is reviewing for an assessment on estimation by rounding and strategies used for addition and subtraction.

Biography Book Report Projects

Biography book reports were assigned to third-grade students this week. Students were excited to pick out their books on Wednesday. A packet has been included in the take home folder. This packet includes two report forms. I send two home in case of mistakes. Students should write on the report form in pencil using legible handwriting with proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Only one form needs to be returned to school. Also, in the packet are the project options. I have poster boards, pizza boxes, construction paper, and directions for the foldable person. Please have your child let me know when any of those supplies are needed. The rubric that I will use for grading has also been included in the packet.

Projects are due back to school on Thursday, May 7th. I know spring schedules are busy. I talked with the students about not waiting until the night before the project is due to start working on it. Students will present to their classmates on May 7th and 8th.

Parents, grandparents, and other family and friends are invited to the "Biography Bash" on Tuesday, May 12th, from 2-3 PM to view all the projects.

Important Dates

Friday, April 10th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, April 13th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

Wednesday, April 15th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, April 22nd-3rd Grade Leads Mass

Wednesday, April 22nd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, April 24th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, April 27th-Glow-A-Thon

4/2/26

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/2/26

Happy Easter to all St. Malachy 3rd Grade Families from Mrs. Burg.

ISASP Testing

This week has been spent completing the practice ISASP tests to prepare the 3rd grade students for the actual testing.

Students will need to make sure they have a book available to read when they finish testing. 

A note card with an envelope was sent home in last week's take home folder. The note card was for parents to write a positive and encouraging note to their child. Notes will be given out to students before testing begins on Monday, April 6th.

Science

The 3rd grade class continues to learn about weather. The students have learned about predicting different types of weather.

Math

Students worked on estimating differences to the nearest ten and hundred, then solved the actual problem. A review of concepts for ISASP testing was also covered.

Peep Adoption

Each third grade student has adopted a Peep to care for over the Easter weekend. Each student filled out a certificate of adoption. Students are asked to complete one journal entry per day, which includes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each journal entry should be at least three sentences. Each sentence should start with an uppercase letter and end with punctuation. Students should also include an illustration to go along with the journal entry.  The journal needs to be completed and returned to school on Monday.

Needed

The 3rd grade classroom needs more boxes of Kleenex. Any donation for the classroom is greatly appreciated.

Important Dates

Friday, April 3rd-NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, April 8th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, April 10th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, April 13th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

Wednesday, April 15th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

3/26/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

3/26/26

Welcome back to school! I hope the students enjoyed their time away from school. From now until the end of the year, there will be lots of activities going on.

Latest Edition Bookstore

The field trip to the bookstore is planned for Friday, March 27th. We will leave St. Malachy at 12:30 pm. While at the bookstore, Creston native author Terri Higgins will visit with the students about her experience as an author. We will head back to St. Malachy around 2:15. There will be time for the students to browse the store's selection of books. If your child is bringing money, please put it in a sealed envelope with their name on it. I will collect envelopes on Friday morning, and then hand them out to the students when it is time for the purchase of books.

ISASP Testing

During the week of April 6th, students in third through eighth grade will be taking the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress standardized tests. These tests will be administered on chromebooks. The third grade students take three separate tests that include reading, math, and writing. Practice tests and review of concepts will be done during the week of March 30th.

In your child's take home folder, you will find a note card and an envelope. Please write an encouraging note to your child about the testing. You can decorate the note card and envelope how you wish. Then, return the envelope sealed with the note card inside. I will hand out the notes for the students to read before testing. Please have this returned to school by Thursday, April 2nd, due to no school on Friday.

Reading Bingo Sheet

The reading bingo sheet that was sent home at the beginning of March can still be turned in for prizes. I will accept them until Wednesday, April 1st.

Reading Incentive Program

March reading calendars are due back to school by Thursday, April 2nd. Minutes for March will then be tallied.

Since March is the last month for the program, recognition will be given to students who met the goal during all six months. The total minutes read for all six months will also be calculated. Awards will be given to the top two finishers.

Math

In 3rd grade, the class has been working on estimation. Students have practiced rounding to the nearest ten and hundred. The class will next be working on estimating sums and differences.

Reading/Language Arts

Module 7 focuses on how people are making a difference in their communities. This week's story, Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table. In this biography, the reader is introduced to Will Allen, a former basketball player turned farmer and educator. He recognizes the need for better food options in the inner city. Will Allen turns an abandoned city lot into a community farm as he faces many challenges along the way. The comprehension strategies covered included the text structure of chronological order, the author's purpose, and the point of view. Students also worked with compound words and abbreviations as the decoding skill. The grammar skill focused on irregular verbs. The class also worked on the vocabulary strategy of using the suffix -ion.

Important Dates

Friday, March 27th-Sprit Day $1

Friday, March 27th-Bookstore Field Trip

Wednesday, April 1st-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, April 2nd-Seder Meal/Bring Sack Lunch

Friday, April 3rd-NO SCHOOL (GOOD FRIDAY)

Monday, April 6th-ISASP Testing Begins

3/5/26

Burg's Buzz 

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

3/5/26 

Science

The next topic the third grade class is learning about in science is weather.

Reading/Language Arts

This week's story, TJ The Siberian Tiger Cub by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel, is an informational text that follows TJ from birth to adulthood. Students learn about the death of TJ's mother when he was six weeks old and, and the struggles TJ faced gaining weight due to not eating. Students also learn how TJ was raised at an animal hospital until he was ready to return to the tiger exhibit at the Denver Zoo. TJ is eventually moved to a new zoo in Billings, Montana. The comprehension skill for this story focused on text structure, text/graphic features, and identifying the central idea. Students worked on decoding words with -air, 

-are, and -ear. The vocabulary skill covered the suffix of -ly. Students also work on the verb "be" and linking verbs as the grammar skill.

Math

In third grade this week, the class began working with addition properties. We compared them to the multiplication properties. Students were also asked to identify which property was being used in addition problems. Students also had to find the missing numbers in problems to make both sides of the equations equal.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

With parent-teacher conferences next week, I am sending home a form for parents to fill out with any specific topics they would like to discuss during their child's conference. Please return it before your child's scheduled conference time next week.

Author Visit

On Friday, March 27th, the 3rd grade class, will be going to The Latest Edition Bookstore uptown.  Author and Creston native, Terri Higgins, will be reading her book, Bella Bean on Blue Berry Lane, aloud to the class. She will also be discussing the process she went through from beginning to end to having a book published. There will be time for the students to shop at the bookstore. A permission slip for walking uptown has been included in your child's take home folder. Please fill out and return back to school.  I am sending it home early since there is no school on Thursday, March 12th, because of parent/teacher conferences. There is also no school the following week due to Spring Break. The week in which school resumes is the week of the field trip.

Important Dates

Friday, March 6th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, March 11th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, March 12th-NO SCHOOL

Friday, March 13th-NO SCHOOL

Spring Break

St. Malachy School will be closed from Monday, March 16th, through Friday, March 20th, for Spring Break. Classes resume on Monday, March 23rd.