11/20/25

Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
11/20/25 

Reading/Language Arts

The third graders are reading Why is the Statue of Liberty Green written by Martha E. H. Rustad and illustrated by Holli Conger. In this narrative nonfiction story, students learn factual information about The Statue of Liberty by following students on a field trip. The comprehension skills covered identifying the central idea and providing evidence to support it, identifying the author's purpose for writing the story and providing evidence that proves the purpose, and being able to figure out the literary elements of the narrative section of the story. Students also worked on distinguishing between concrete and abstract nouns. The decoding skill focused on the silent letters kn, wr, gn, mb, and rh). The vocabulary skill covered the prefix of im-.

The spelling post and weekly assessments will be completed on Thursday, November 20th. The class will start on Module 4 upon returning from Thanksgiving break.

Science

During science class, the students learned about being able to predict patterns of motion. These patterns include up/down, back and forth, circular, and zigzag.

Math

Since the class has started learning about division, the students worked on identifying fact families. Just as addition and subtraction are related operations, so are multiplication and division. One of the strategies taught for learning division facts is to use the multiplication facts. The class has practiced the divisors of 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Book Order

A Scholastic book order was sent home in last week's take home folder. Please remember that orders must be placed online by Wednesday, December 3rd. If ordering a Christmas gift for your child, please notify me by email. I can notify you when the book order arrives.

Reading Incentive Program

November calendars are due back to school by Wednesday, December 3rd. I will hand out the awards for those students who meet the goal upon returning back to school on December 4th. A December calendar will go home with students next week.

Mrs. Burg Absent From School

As a reminder to parents, I will not be at school on Tuesday, November 25th, Monday, December 1, Tuesday, December 2nd, or on Wednesday, December 3rd. My husband and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on November 25th. We are taking a vacation to Los Cabos, Mexico. The substitute will be Mary Brown. I do plan on telling the students of my absence from school this Friday. My plan is to attend the Christmas concert on the evening of Wednesday, December 3rd.

Thanksgiving Break

School will not be in session beginning on Wednesday, November 26th, through Sunday, November 30th. School resumes on Monday, December 1st.

Read-A-Thon Fundraiser

Read-A-Thon information is coming home in the take home folder today. St. Malachy's PTO will be holding its fall fundraiser beginning on Monday, November 24th and running through Sunday, December 7th. Students track their minutes read throughout the two weeks and gather sponsors to pledge money. All money and reading logs need to be turned back into school by Tuesday, December 9th. 

Because this is a fundraiser, money raised will be used to repair the cement work in the outdoor commons area and to provide funds for the future outdoor classroom. There are prizes that the students can also win. There will be an award for the student who reads the most minutes and who is the top fundraiser per grade band. All students who raise $50 or more will be entered into a raffle for an Amazon gift card. There is also an award for the top fundraising class and the class with the top minutes read.

Minutes can be counted towards both the monthly reading minutes and the Read-A-Thon fundraiser.

Sweatpants Fundraiser

Students can pay $20 to wear sweatpants (no pajama bottoms) throughtout December. The only stipulation to this is not being able to wear sweatpants on Wednesdays due to mass. All of the money raised in this fundraiser will go towards the cost of the outdoor classroom. If your child wants to participate, please have the money turned in by Tuesday, December 2nd.

Important Dates

Friday, November 21st-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, November 25th-Mrs. Burg Absent from School

Wednesday, November 26th-NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

Thursday, November 27th-NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Day)

Friday, November 28th-NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

Monday, December 1st-Mrs. Burg Absent from School

Tuesday, December 2nd-Mrs. Burg Absent from School

Wednesday, December 3rd-Mrs. Burg Absent from School

Wednesday, December 3rd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, December 3rd-Christmas Music Concert 6 PM

Friday, December 5th-Spirit Day $1

 

 

 

 

 

 

11/13/25

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
11/13/25

Math

The class has finished the multiplication units in the book and will move on to learning the division facts.  Students still need to work on their multiplication fluency. The better the students know their multiplication facts, the easier it will be for them to learn the division facts.

Kindness Week Charity Project

Thank you to everyone who donated to the noisy change collection. In total $342 was collected. Donations are still being accepted until the end of the week.

Book Order

A book order has been included in the take home folder. Books make a great Christmas gift. If you would like to order books as a gift for your child, please email me, and I will notify you when the order arrives. All orders are placed online and are due by December 3rd.

Important Dates

 Friday, November 14th-End of the 1st Trimester

Wednesday, November 19th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, November 21st-Spirit Day

Thanksgiving Break

There will be no school on Wednesday, November 26th, through Friday, November 28th. School is not in session due to Thanksgiving break. School will resume on Monday, December 1st.

11/6/25

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
11/6/25

Science

As the class learns about motion, students have studied what speed is and how to calculate it.

Reading/Language Arts

The story that the 3rd graders are reading is The Flag Maker by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. In this narrative nonfiction selection, the reader follows a young girl and her mother, who were commissioned to sew a large flag to fly over Fort McHenry, allowing the British to see it from afar. The flag became a symbol of pride, courage, and hope for the girl as it continued to stand as the war came to an end.

The comprehension skills focus on text structure, retelling, and vocabulary related to specific content areas. The decoding skills have students working with the sounds of /j/, /k/, and /kw/. Students are also identifying where commas go when there are words in a series of nouns and verbs. The vocabulary skill covers the suffixes of -er and -est.

Math

The students are preparing for the Topic 3 math assessment. This test will cover the factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. It will also focus on the student's ability to use the Distributive Property to solve multiplication problems. 

Kindness Week

The 3rd grade class will be celebrating Kindness Week from Monday, November 10th through Friday, November 14th. Each day, there will be a fun dress-up day and an activity related to kindness. There is a note in the take home folder about each dress up day. There is also a note in the take home folder about the charitable act that the third grade class will be partaking in. In years past, Kindness Week has always been such an enjoyable time for the students.  

Resident Artist

On November 10th, 11th, and 12th, artist Gre Preslicka will be at STM assisting all classes in creating a mural. The 3rd grade class will be painting on Monday, November 10th. I suggest students don't wear new clothing or bring a large t-shirt to put over themselves while they are painting.

Important Dates

Friday, November 7th-Spirit Day $1

Monday. November 10th-3rd grade with the resident artist 

Wednesday, November 12th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, November 12th-Advent Night 6 PM

Friday, November 14th-End of the 1st Trimester

10/30/25

 Burg's Buzz 
10/30/25
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

I enjoyed discussing students' progress in third grade with parents at conferences. Thank you for taking the time to attend. I appreciate the books that were also donated to the classroom library.

Dress Code

Shorts will no longer be allowed when students return to school on Monday, November 3rd.

Also, remember that if wearing leggings, the bottom of the garment needs to extend to at least mid-length.

Reading Calendars

October reading calendars are due back to school on Monday, November 3rd. A parent needs to ensure that the total number of minutes read is recorded and sign the calendar. November calendars were sent home with parents at their conference.

Important Dates

Thursday, October 30th-NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 31st-NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, November 5th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, November 7th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, November 12th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, November 14th-End of the 1st Trimester

  

10/23/25

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
10/23/25

Math

The class has been introduced to the factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 when practicing the multiplication facts. Students have now been taught the factors from zero through ten. We will continue to practice multiplication at school, but learning each of the factors is also the responsibility of the students at this point.

Science

The next topic that the third grade class will study is motion.

Reading/Language Arts

During Module 3, students will learn about important U.S. documents and symbols. The stories in this module will be nonfiction.

The story the class is reading this week is called The U.S. Constitution by Norman Pearl. Told by James Madison, the fourth president, the students learn why the U.S. Constitution was developed, who wrote it, and when it was written. The story also breaks down the three main parts of the Constitution: the preamble, the articles, and the amendments. The comprehension skills focused on during the story have included summarizing, central idea, text structure, and text/graphic features. Students have also been identifying the tense (present, past, and future) of verbs. The decoding skill focused the the three letter blends of str-, scr-, spl-, spr-, and squ-. The vocabulary skill covered the prefix of dis- and the suffixes of -y and -less. Testing will not take place until next week due to the amount of information in the story and the skills to cover. On Friday, a copy of the story The U.S. Constitution will be coming with each student. Please have your child read this story to an adult over the weekend.

The results of the Module 2 testing have been included in the take home folder.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/teacher conferences are scheduled for next week. I look forward to talking to parents about their child's progress in third grade. During each child's conference, I will be discussing academics and behaviors. There is a note in your child's take-home folder if you would like to discuss anything additional. Please complete and return it to school with your child before your scheduled conference next week.

Halloween

Halloween will be celebrated at school on Wednesday, October 29th. Students do NOT have to dress up for Mass next week. Costumes should be brought to school. Time will be given before the parade to change. No weapons are allowed to be brought to school. There is NO early out on this Wednesday. The parade begins at 2:15 PM. Parents may take their child when the parade is done, but must come to the third grade classroom before the child is released to leave the building.

Reading Incentive Program

October calendars are due back to school on Monday, November 3rd. I will be tracking the minutes read throughout the entire six months for all students, so please return the October calendar to school. November calendars will be sent home with parents at conferences.

Dress Code

As of November 1st, shorts are no longer allowed to be worn. Shorts cannot be worn again until March.

A reminder for girls who wear leggings to school, that the bottom of the dress, skirt, or shirt must extend to at least the mid-thigh. If the sweatshirt plans on coming off during the day for PE or any other reason, then the shirt being worn underneath it must also follow this same rule. This applies to any type of leggings being worn. Dress code violation slips will be sent home for repeat offenders. The consequences for violating the dress code are on the school's website.

Important Dates

Wednesday, October 29th-Picture Retakes 8 AM

Wednesday, October 29th-Halloween Parade 2:15 PM

Thursday, October 30th-NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, November 5th-1 Hour Early Out

Friday, November 7th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, October 31st-NO SCHOOL

10/16/25

Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
10/16/25 

Reading/Language Arts

The comprehension skills covered in Dear Dragon include visualizing, analyzing characters, and point of view. We also looked at elements of poetry. The grammar skill focused on action verbs and the being verbs (am, is, are, was, and were). Students reviewed long and short vowel words as the decoding skill. As the vocabulary skill, students worked on the suffixes of -y and -ly.

The students have also been working on a writing project entitled "The Best Part of Me." Parents will get to read their child's work at conferences.

Science

In addition to learning about electricity, students also learned about static electricity and electromagnets.

Math

The third grade class has been introduced to the Distributive Property when multiplying. This property states that a multiplication fact can be broken apart into the sum of two other multiplication facts. An example of this includes

7X8 = (5X8) + (2X8), so 7X8= 40+16, then 7X8=56.

Topic 3 in our math books covers the remaining factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Conferences are scheduled for the week of October 27th. Please sign up for one conference time slot that works best for your family's schedule. Mrs. Levine sent out a link at the beginning of the week. Conferences are scheduled for Monday, October 27, and Tuesday, October 28th, from 3:40 PM to 7:00 PM. The last time I checked, the only time slot left on Monday is from 6:40-7:00. On Wednesday, October 29, conferences are from 3:40 PM-5:00 PM. Conferences are in the morning on Thursday, October 30, running from 8:00 AM-11:00 AM. There is NO school on Thursday, October 30th, or Friday, October 31st. I look forward to discussing your child's progress in school with parents during conferences.

Halloween Activities

Due to Halloween falling on a day when there is no school, St. Malachy will be celebrating it on Wednesday, October 29th. The middle school will have activities for the students to participate in during the afternoon. The parade will take place at 2:15 PM (no early out) in the gym. No weapons are allowed with costumes. Parents are allowed to take their child after the parade. I will need parents to come to the third grade classroom to pick up their child.

Important Dates

Friday, October 17th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, October 22nd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, October 29th-Picture Retakes 8AM

Wednesday, October 29th-Halloween Parade 2:15 PM

Thursday, October 30th-NO SCHOOL

Friday, October 31st-NO SCHOOL

10/9/25

Burg's Buzz
10/9/25
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org 

Science

The class is learning about electricity. Students have learned how electricity reaches their homes. We have also discussed alternative ways to generate electricity without the burning of coal, such as solar and wind energy.

Reading/Language Arts

Today the class started reading the fantasy story entitled Dear Dragon by Josh Funk. This delightful tale follows George and Blaise, two pen pals who discover that their seemingly ordinary correspondence holds a magical twist. As they exchange letters, sharing their lives and dreams, they find common ground, learn to appreciate their differences,  and embark on a journey that brings their two worlds closer together.

There will be more information about the skills covered in this story next week.

Math

The Topc 2 math test, covering the multiplication factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10, will be administered on Friday, October 10th.

Mass

The 3rd grade class will lead the mass on Wednesday, October 15th. Your child's mass part has been included in the take home folder. If your child has a speaking part, please practice with him/her at home. We will practice the parts at school, but any additional help at home will be greatly beneficial. In third grade, a teacher no longer goes up to the podium with the children. 

There will also be a noisy change collection during this mass. Monetary contributions will help support faculty and staff experiencing health challenges.

Smart Watches

Along with not being able to have cell phones during the school day, students are not allowed to have smart watches or other communication devices. They can keep them in their bookbags to have access to them before arriving and after leaving the school grounds.

School Picture Retakes

Picture retakes at St. Malachy School are scheduled for Wednesday, October 29th. They are scheduled to start at 8 AM.

Important Dates

Wednesday, October 15th-3rd Leads Mass

Wednesday, October 15th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, October 17th-Spirit Day $1

 Monday, October 20th-Flu Shots Clinic (For Those Signed Up)

Wednesday, October 22nd-1 Hour Early Dismissal