9/10/26

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
9/10/26

A Note from Mrs. Burg

The Channel 5 meteorologists' weather presentation was a huge success! Students learned about weather through some fun experiments. There will be a news segment on Channel 5 next Wednesday about the visit to St. Malachy School. Students are also bringing home information in the take-home folder about doing experiments at home for the opportunity to receive a prize package.

There have still been discussions about dress code in third grade. Athletic gear and t-shirts are not allowed on mass days. Also, no denim on mass days. One of the other issues is the length of shorts and skirts. According to the dress code policy, the length must fall within six inches of the knee when seated. When standing, there must be adequate coverage of the front, back, and sides. Students should not have to constantly pull these items down to meet the requirements. I do not enjoy discussing dress code with students, but it is one of my responsibilities as the teacher.

Water bottles should only have water in them. Students should not be adding flavors or have sports drinks in their water bottles.

I will attend the Iowa vs. Iowa State game in Iowa City on Saturday. Go Hawks! To support the in-state rivalry game, students and staff are asked to wear their favorite team on Friday, September 11th.

Science

The 3rd grade class has been learning about balanced and unbalanced forces in science.

Reading/Language Arts

This week's story was Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout by Megan McDonald. In this realistic fiction story, the reader follows Stink, Judy Moody's younger brother. Stink has to be able to identify specific frogs by the sound they make in order to participate in the First Annual Frog Neck Lake Frog Count. The comprehension skills covered literary elements and figurative language. The vocabulary skill focused on the prefix non-. Students also worked on long-vowel words that followed the vowel-consonant-silent-e pattern. The class worked on identifying the four different types of sentences. Students also had to be able to identify which punctuation went at the end of the four types of sentences when given examples.

Math

Students continued to work on understanding multiplication and division. The class worked on solving multiplication and division word problems.

At this time, memorizing multiplication and division facts is not required. Students need to understand that multiplication is the combining of equal groups and division is the separating of the total amount into equal parts.

The Topic 1 assessment covering the processes of multiplication and division will be taken by the students on Friday, September 11th.

Another student has passed the addition facts on XtraMath. Congrats to Jackson!

Green Valley State Park Field Trip

Please return all necessary forms and money for the Green Valley State Park field trip scheduled for Monday, September 14th for the kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade students. Students will need to bring a sack lunch with a drink for this field trip. Students should wear clothes that can get dirty, and tennis shoes are a must.

Important Dates

Friday, September 11th-Spirit Day $1 (Wear your Iowa or Iowa State Gear)

Monday, September 14th-Green Valley State Park Field Trip 

Wednesday, September 16th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, September 16th-PTO Meeting, 6 PM

Friday, September 18th-FAST Testing (Substitute Teacher)