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

10/2/25

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

10/2/25

Science

The third grade class has been learning about magnetic force. Students have had the opportunity to experiment with magnets.

Math

The third grade students continue to work on multiplication using the factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. The class has started playing games. Students also took their first timed tests covering the factors of one and two.

I am sure there have been parents wondering why the factor of 9 has been included with these factors, since counting by nine isn't easy. I am including two videos that show two different strategies students can use when multiplying by 9. Finger Trick for Multiplying by 9s and Product Adds Up to 9.

Reading/Language Arts

The story the class is reading is entitled The Upside Down Boy by Juan Felipe Herrera. In this memoir, the students learn how Juan felt as he went to school for the first time at the age of eight, not knowing the English language.  Students continued to work on understanding figurative language and identifying text and graphic features throughout the text as the comprehension skills. The phonics skills focused on words with with long i sound in their spelling. The vocabulary strategy covered the prefix of dis-. Students identified singular and plural nouns as the grammar skill. This story will continue into next week.

FAST Testing

The results of the reading FAST testing have been included in the take home folder. Interventions are determined by the CBMReading (WPM) and Accuracy.

Reading Incentive Program

During October through March, the third grade students have the opportunity to participate in a reading incentive program. A note containing all of the details has been included in the take home folder. Also included in the folder is an October calendar to record the number of minutes read each day.

Important Dates

Friday, October 3rd-Spirit Day $1

Monday, October 6th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

Tuesday, October 7th-Mrs. Burg Away from School

Wednesday, October 8th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

9/25/25

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

Math

Topic 2 will focus on the factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. This week, students practiced solving problems using the factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, and 9. Any additional practice that can be provided at home using the factors practiced at school will be very beneficial to your child. There are tons of resources offered online for practicing the basic multiplication facts. Walmart and Dollar Tree also sell flashcards.

Science

The class has been learning about types of forces, including friction and gravity.

Reading/Language Arts

Third grade is now working on Module 2. Students will build knowledge about how people use words to express themselves, with a focus on poetry and letters. Students will read texts in which the characters share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

This week's story, Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh, is a realistic fiction story about two cousins, one living in Mexico and one living in the United States, who write letters to each other. Throughout the story, the cousins learn about the similarities they share as well as the differences between the two. The reader is also introduced to Spanish words that promote cultural awareness of Mexico. The comprehension skills involved students working on retelling, understanding point of view, and text/graphic features. Students worked with the prefixes of re- and pre- as the vocabulary strategy. The decoding skill focused on words with the long o sound. Students identified common and proper nouns as a grammar skill.

The results of the Module 1 assessments have been included in the take home folder. The selection quiz is five questions over the story that was read throughout the week. The module assessment is a new reading followed by multiple choice questions and one short answer question covering previously learned skills. There is also a short paragraph that students answer multiple questions relating to the grammar skill that was learned during the week.

FAST Testing

The results of the math FAST testing are in the take home folder. The CBMmath Automaticity tests a student's math fact fluency. Beginning in the 3rd grade, the test includes multiplication and division. If your child is below the benchmark score, please remember that the students are just now learning the multiplication facts. Typically, big gains are achieved during the winter screening due to the amount of instruction and learning that will take place over the next few months. The aMath test assesses a broad range of math skills. This is the assessment that is used to determine if a student needs an intervention. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Friday, September 26th

Friday, September 26th, Creston High School is celebrating its Homecoming football game. This will be a Spirit Day at St. Malachy School. Pay $1 to wear sweats/hat. Students should come dressed in their Creston Panther gear. School lunch on Friday will be a grape Uncrustable, apple slices, string cheese, a cookie, and milk. School will dismiss 3 hours early due to the parade. Please notify the school of any changes to your child's dismissal plans for the day. STM will have a float in the parade. Parents do need to accompany their child on the float.

Important Dates

Friday, September 25th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, September 25th-3 Hour Early Out

Wednesday, October 1st-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, October 3rd-Spirit Day $1

Monday, October 6th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

9/18/25

Burg's Buzz

 9/18/25

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Math

The third grade class has learned the processes of multiplication and division. The Topic 1 Assessment 1 will be on Friday, September 19th. A practice assessment was completed in class and is coming home in the red folder today. It shows examples of problems that students will be solving. Students do not have to have any of the facts memorized at this time. They just need to know how to use the strategies learned in class to solve the problems.

Science

Students are learning about types of forces. The class has explored the differences between balanced and unbalaced forces.

Reading/Language Arts

This week the third grade students are reading the fantasy story Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. The students read about another unique character who fears the unknown world beyond his home. The comprehension skills the class is working on include making inferences, identifying text and graphic features, point of view, and theme. The class covered using the suffixes of -ful and -less as the vocabulary skill. The phonics skill focused on the long a (ai, ay, ea) and long e (ea, ee, ie, and e) sounds. The grammar skill was distinguishing between simple and compound sentences. Students were introduced to using coordinating conjunctions, such as "and," "but," "or," and "so," to join two simple sentences and create a compound sentence.

Testing for this story will be on Monday, September 22nd.

Important Dates

Friday, September 19th-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, September 23rd-Homecoming Pep Rally

Wednesday, September 24th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, September 26th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, September 26th-3 Hour Early Dismissal (Homecoming)

 

9/11/25

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

9/11/25

Reading/Language Arts

This week, the class is reading a story by Megan McDonald, Judy Moody-The Mood Martian. Students learn about another unique character. Comprehension skills covered included monitoring and clarifying, figurative language, and literary elements. Students identified the four types of sentences: statements, questions, commands, and exclamations. The phonics skill focused on long vowel words. As a vocabulary skill, students worked with the prefix non-.

The spelling post test and assessments for this story will be on Friday, September 12th.

Science

The third grade class continues their conversation about force.

Math

This week, the 3rd grade students learned about the process of division. Students practiced dividing a total number of objects into equal groups. They also divided to find out how many equal groups there were when given the number of people in each group. Students practiced the strategy of repeated subtraction to solve division problems.

Green Valley Field Trip

Kindergarten through fourth grade students will visit Green Valley State Park on Monday, September 15th. The bus will be leaving STM around 9:30 AM. Students should make sure they are dressed for the weather. As of right now the expected high on Monday is eighty-six degrees. Students do need to wear tennis shoes. Please no sandals or crocs. Activities planned included a nature hike, gaga ball, using the playground, playing on the beach, using a parachute, and sidewalk chalk. Your child will need to bring a sack lunch with a drink for the field trip. Students may also bring their water bottles if they wish. The bus will return to STM around 2:15 PM.

FAST Testing

Three times throughout the school year, students will be given the statewide math and reading screeners. Students take these assessments on their chromebooks. One of these reading assessments involves students reading aloud to the teacher. Words per minute and accuracy are recorded. This test will be administered on Thursday, September 18th. There will be a substitute in the classroom on this day as I pull students to be tested.

Extra Curricular Activities

One of my goals as a teacher each year is to attend one outside of school event for each student in my class. I enjoy seeing the students participate in activities. Being an empty nester, this is one of the things I miss. I have attended flag football, volleyball games, dance recitals, basketball games, wrestling matches, soccer games, and running races. If your child has an event that he/she would like me to attend, please let me know the date and time. I will see how it fits into my schedule.

Music at Mass

If your child is interested in playing the piano or an instrument at Mass, there is a link to a Google form on the school's website that needs to be filled out. You will be contacted by the school once your request has been approved. The third grade class will lead the mass on October 15th, January 21st, and April 22nd.

Important Dates

Monday, September 15th-Green Valley Field Trip (K-4th)

Wednesday, September 17th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, September 18th-Substitute for FAST Testing

Friday, September 19th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, September 24th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

9/4/25

 Burg's Buzz 

9/4/25

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Science

The first topic the third grade class is learning about is force. Students have identified pushes and pulls that cause forces to happen. The class also discussed strong and weak forces.

Reading/Language Arts

The class finished Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match. Thursday will be spent taking the spelling post test, the weekly assessment (questions over the story), and the module test (a cold read that assesses students on the skills and strategies worked on).

On Friday, the class will have a pretest and read a different story.

Math

The class continues to learn about the process of multiplication. This week, students used a number line to skip count and solve problems. Students also made arrays to model multiplication problems. The Commutative (Order) Property of Multiplication was also introduced to the class. An example of this is 4x5=5x4.

Class Meeting

The third grade class is scheduled to have weekly class meetings on Wednesday afternoons. The discussions and activities that the class does will focus on social-emotional learning. Enclosed in the take home folder is an interview form for your child to complete. Your child needs to interview a parent about he/she got their name, The child should be the one writing down the answers. During our class meeting on Wednesday, September 10th, the children will be sharing information that was learned from the interview.

School Picture Day

School picture day at St. Malachy is scheduled for Thursday, September 11th. Order forms were sent home in last week's take home folder. I have received a few order forms back. Please let me know if you need a new one sent home.

September Book Order

Included in your child's take home folder this week is a Scholastic Book order.  Scholastic offers books at affordable prices for parents to purchase for their children's reading interests. All ordering is done online. The closing date for ordering from the September catalog is Friday, September 19th.

Green Valley Field Trip

A field trip to Green Valley State Park has been planned for the students at St. Malachy School. The students in grades kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth will have their trip on Monday, September 15th. There is paperwork in the take home folder that needs to be completed and returned to school. Students will need to bring a sack lunch on this day. Also, please have students wear tennis shoes. There will be some walking on the trails.

Parents are more than welcome to meet us at the park. Please note that if you plan on joining, please make sure your background screening is completed. This is required by the Diocese for all adults who attend field trips. Please contact Mrs. Simmons with any questions pertaining to this.

Important Dates

Friday, September 5th-Spirit Day $1 (Iowa Hawkeyes/Iowa State Cyclones)

Wednesday, September 10th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, September 11th-Picture Day

Monday, September 15th-Green Valley Field Trip

8/28/25

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

8/28/25

Welcome to 3rd Grade

It has been a GREAT first week of school in third grade! The students are learning the daily routines. I will post a blog each Thursday morning. I also make announcements and post pictures on my school Facebook page (Burg's Buzz at St. Malachy School). This is a private page that only parents/grandparents of students in third, fourth, and fifth grade are a part of. 

Social Contract

This week, the third, fourth, and fifth grade students created a social contract. The guidelines that were established are expected to be followed throughout the school day. This includes when students are in the classroom, at specials, and at recess. A copy of the social contract will be sent home next week in the take-home folder. Please place this in a location where your child can read it regularly as a reminder.

Math

The first topic that the third-grade class will cover is multiplication. This week, students have worked on relating multiplication to repeated addition.

Reading/Language Arts

Module 1 focuses on characters. The stories within the module will focus on the traits of characters. The first story that the class will be reading is Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match by Monica Brown. This realistic fiction story is about a lively girl who explores how individuality makes us different.

The class also started spelling this week. An email explaining how spelling works in 3rd grade was sent out yesterday. A hard copy of the note is being sent home in the take home folder.

Dress Code

Here are some reminders about the school's dress code. Students in third grade must wear shoes that stay securely fastened to their feet. This means shoes must have a back on them. The other expectation is that when a student wears leggings, the bottom of the shirt, skirt, or dress must extend to the mid-thigh. I have had discussions with the students about the dress code.

Classroom Fridge

A note was sent home with parents at Meet the Teacher about the "fridge" in our classroom. Students are asked to bring in a fridge worthy picture of themselves to put up. Below is a photograph of what the fridge looks like now. There is still plenty of room for photographs from students who have not brought one in. 

Important Dates

Monday, September 1st-NO SCHOOL (Labor Day)

Wednesday, September 3rd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, September 10th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, September 11th-Picture Day

5/29/25

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org 
5/29/25

Math

The third grade class finished the year doing a review of math concepts.

Reading/Language Arts

The class finished reading Poppy by Avi this week.  It is an enchanting story that uses the themes of bravery, friendship, and the triumph of good over evil. There are other books in this series as well for students to read.

School Year

It's hard to believe that the 2024-2025 school year is complete. My heart is full of gratitude and joy as I reflect on the learning and growth that the students and I have experienced together. Each third grade student has grown academically, socially, and spiritually. I have enjoyed getting to know each student through the school year. I hope your child has learned to take chances, know that it is ok to make mistakes, and not give up when things get hard. Thank you, parents, for your unwavering support that you have provided to me as your child's third grade teacher. Throughout the summer, I hope you can build upon the wonderful progress that your child has made throughout third grade.

I hope that all families have a wonderful summer. I will be keeping each third grade family in my prayers. May your summer be filled with God's abundant blessings.

Last Day of School Schedule

9:00 Field Day Activities

10:45-Silly String by PTO

11:00-Lunch Served by PTO

12:00-8th Grade Clap Out

12:10-Dismissal

Important Dates

June 23rd-27th-Vacation Bible School at STM

VBS Registration

  

5/22/25

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
5/22/25

Math

This week, the students have been working on subtraction. Students solved problems by using the partial differences strategy using a number line. The class also used the regrouping strategy.

If your child has not passed all of their basic facts on XtraMath, please continue to have them practice at home this summer. I have sent information to students who are not enrolled online in the take home folder.

Reading/Language Arts

The class continues to read the novel Poppy. We are about halfway through the book. The students are really enjoying it.

FAST Testing

The results for the spring FAST screening have been included in your child's take home folder. Every student made growth throughout the school year. Please continue to have your child work on their reading and math fluency during the summer. Five to ten minutes a day will help keep students on track.

Bringing Home Supplies

Students will bring home the supplies in their desks on Thursday, May 29th. Please make sure your child comes to school with an empty book bag. I have talked with the third graders about taking things home in their lockers ahead of time. I plan on sending home your child's writing portfolio with them this Thursday.

Last Day of School

Field day will take place on Friday, May 30th, beginning at 9:00 AM. Students should wear tennis shoes for running around outside. Lunch will also be served by the PTO, grilling hamburgers. School dismisses at 12:10 PM.

Important Dates

Monday, May 26th-Memorial Day (NO SCHOOL)

Thursday, May 29th-Take Home Supplies

Friday, May 30th-Field Day 9:00 AM

Friday, May 30th-12:10 PM Dismissal

5/15/25

Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/15/25

Reading/Language Arts

The third-grade class is reading the book Poppy by Avi. The story follows Poppy, a deer mouse, navigating life in Dimwood Forest. Poppy has to deal with a fierce owl, Mr. Ocax, and she faces challenges. Throughout the story, the class will work on vocabulary and comprehension skills that we covered throughout the year.

The results of Module 8 have been included in the take home folder.

Science

This week has been spent learning all about corn for the upcoming field trip. Students have learned about the process of planting and harvesting corn. They have also learned about the many uses of corn.

Math

The third grade class is working on addition with regrouping. Students started by solving addition problems by finding partial sums. This involves the students adding the sums using place value (hundreds, tens, ones). From using that strategy, students then moved on to using the standard algorithm.

Important Dates

Friday, May 16th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, May 21st-Spring Music Concert 6 PM

Monday, May 26th-Memorial Day (NO SCHOOL)

Friday, May 30th-Field Day 9 AM

The last day of school is Friday, May 30th. 

School will dismiss at 12:10 PM.

 

5/8/25

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/8/25

Math

The remainder of the school year will be spent on covering adding and subtracting regrouping.

Science

The students were given the challenge to design and build a shelter. Students were given specific criteria for success such as could the shelter stand on its own and did the shelter stay dry on the inside when water was dripped on it. Students also had constraints to deal with such as a budget of $10 to buy supplies and only class time to build the shelter. The shelters will be tested Thursday during science class.

Reading/Language Arts

This week, the class read Edison's Best Invention. In this opinion essay, the author claims that Edision's best invention is the light bulb. The author's text includes evidence to support to his claim.  The comprehension skills covered included summarizing, ideas and support, and text and graphic features Students also worked on plurals as the decoding skill. The vocabulary skill focused on the Latin roots of vis, mem, and cent. The students were introduced to complex sentences as the grammar skill.

This was the last week for the class to use the reading textbook. Students will bring home their reading book. The stories can be read over summer break.

There will be one more spelling test next week. It is an end of the year test. It will include one word from each of the twenty-four lists.

Biography Book Report Projects/Presentations

Overall, the students did a wonderful job on their biography projects, presenting to the class, and showing off their projects during the Biography Bash. A completed rubric is coming home in the take home folder for each student.

On the Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

On Thursday, May 15th, the third grade class will be attending the "On the Trail of Iowa Corn" event in Greenfield. Heath Mitchell, Lee Madison, and I will be driving/chaperoning the trip. We will the school at 8:45 AM and return back to school around 2:30 PM. Students need to wear tennis shoes for this field trip. Please, no open-toed shoes. Lunch is provided as well. Please complete the permission slip for your child, and have him/her return it back to school.

Mrs. Levine's Retirement

 

After 47 years of teaching first grade at St. Malachy School, Mrs. Levine is retiring from teaching after this school year. Please feel free to pass along this message to anyone you might know who had Mrs. Levine as a teacher. We are trying to reach as many of her former students as possible. Besides working with Ann for the past nineteen years at STM, my own children also had the privilege of being taught by her.

Important Dates

Thursday, May 8th-Glow-A-Thon

Friday, May 9th-Mrs. Burg Absent From School

Thursday, May 15th-On the Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

Friday, May 16th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, May 21st-Spring Music Concert

Monday, May 26th-Memorial Day (No School)

Friday, May 30th-Field Day 9AM

Friday, May 30th-3 Hour Early Dismissal

5/1/25

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/1/25

Reading/Language Arts

This week the third grade class is reading The Bumpy Ride by Sharon Katz Cooper. In this informational text, students learn the history of the bicycle starting in 18 . The comprehension skills reviewed included making and confirming predictions and author's purpose. Students worked with the prefixes re- and un- and the suffixes -less and -ness as the decoding skill. The vocabulary skill covered the prefix of ex-. The class was introduced to possessive nouns and pronouns.

Students will be presenting their biography projects during language arts time on Friday.

Science

Now that students have learned about engineers and the design process, the plan is to put the skills into action. The students will be presented with the following problem. Students will be challenged to build a shelter from given supplies such as toilet paper tubes, paper plates, straws, aluminum foil, craft sticks, wax paper, and tape. Each supply will cost an amount. Students will be given a budget of $10 to purchase their supplies. Their shelter will be successful if it can stand on its own, keep dry on the inside, and stay on budget.

Math

Students have been working on estimating sums and differences. The class has also been working on addition and subtraction word problems.

Biography Projects

The time has finally arrived. The biography projects are due tomorrow, Friday, May 2nd. Upon arriving at school on Friday, students should bring their project to the classroom.

The Biography Bash will be held on Tuesday, May 6th, beginning at 2 PM in the gym. Parents, grandparents, and other family members are welcome to come and view the projects.

FAST Testing

I will be testing students' reading fluency for the spring screening of FAST during the afternoon of Wednesday, May 7th.

On the Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

The third grade class has been invited to the "On the Trail of Iowa Corn" event taking place on Thursday, May 15th. This event is sponsored by several Adair County organizations. It takes place at the Neely-Kinyon Research Farm, which is south of Greenfield, and at the Adair County Fairgrounds. It is a day of learning about corn and all its uses. Every year that I have attended, I have learned something new. Also, lunch is provided.

For this trip, we will be using parent as drivers/chaperones. I will be one of the drivers. I have had one dad volunteer to drive. I need one more parent who can drive for this field trip. The car being driven needs to be able to hold at least five children in the backseat. Also, anyone driving has to complete the required online training required by the Diocese before the field trip. Please let me know if you would be willing to volunteer.

Important Dates

Friday, May 2nd-Spirit Day $1

Friday, May 2nd-Biography Projects Due

Tuesday, May 6th-Biography Bash 2 PM in Gym

Wednesday, May 7th-Fluency FAST Testing

Thursday, May 8th-Glow-A-Thon

Thursday, May 15th-On the Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip