10/22/26

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
10/22/26

A Note from Mrs. Burg

I look forward to meeting with parents at conferences next week to discuss their child's progress.

The PTO has new STM gear for sale. Here is the link to check out it out. https://stmalachy-pto-2026-27.spiritsale.com/

Halloween Parade

The annual Halloween Parade will take place at 1:15 PM on Wednesday, October 28th. Students should bring their costume to school and will change into it before the parade. Parents can take their child once the parade is over. School dismisses 1 hour early since it is a Wednesday.

Dress Code Change

Beginning November 1, shorts will no longer be allowed per the dress code policy.

Science

In addition to learning about motion, students have also learned about speed. The class has learned how to calculate speed by dividing the distance traveled by the time it takes.

Reading/Language Arts

In Module 3, students will listen to, read, and view informational texts and media that present information about important US places, documents, and symbols.

This week, students are reading The US Constitution by Norman Pearl. In this informational text, students read about what the Constitution is, how it formed, and the parts that make it up. Students identified the central ideas and details from the story. Other comprehension skills covered included the text structure of sequencing and identifying text/graphic features. The grammar skill focused on verb tense, which included present, past, and future. Students also worked on the suffixes -y and- less as the vocabulary skill. The decoding skill had students working on three-letter blends (spl-, scr-, spr-, and str-)

The results of Module 2 have been included in the take-home folder. These are assessments that will be discussed at conferences next week.

Math

The class used the Associative Property of Multiplication to group factors to learn that they can multiply the factors in any order to find the product. For example, (2 X 3) X 5=2 X (3 X 5). Students also worked on solving one-step word problems using the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication.

The Topic 3 assessment covering the factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 will be completed next week.

Olivea and Nora R. both passed the subtraction facts on XtraMath.

Reading Incentive Program

I will be handing November calendars out at your scheduled parent/teacher conference time. October calendars are due back to school by Tuesday, November 3rd. Minutes read need to be calculated, and a parent needs to sign the calendar.

Yard Sign

Eva was the first student to be sent home with the yard sign this school year. She did a fabulous job on the Module 2 testing in reading. Way to go, Eva!

Important Dates

Monday, October 26-Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:40-7:00 pm

Tuesday, October 27-Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:40-7:00 PM

Wednesday, October 28-Halloween Parade 1:15 PM

Wednesday, October 28-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, October 28-Parent/Teacher Conferences 2:40-4:00 PM

Thursday, October 29-NO SCHOOL due to Conferences

Thursday, October 29-Parent/Teacher Conferences 8-11:00 AM

Friday, October 30-NO SCHOOL

Monday, November 2nd-NO SHORTS POLICY BEGINS

10/15/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

10/15/26

A Note from Mrs. Burg

The Green Valley State Park Field Trip was a success! Thanks to Mr. McCabbe for planning a fun day for the students!

Students need to make sure homework is being completed on time. Please make sure the assignment book is getting reviewed and signed every day. We have discussed in class that it is each student's responsibility to get it done.

Reading/Language Arts

This week's story is Dear Dragon by Josh Funk. In this fantasy story, written as letters in poetic form, George, a human boy, and Blaise, a dragon, write letters back and forth for a school project. Each character visualizes the letter from their perspective. At the end of the year picnic, the characters are surprised when they find out who they have been writing letters to all year. The comprehension skills covered include visualizing, understanding characters, elements of poetry, and point of view. Students worked on long and short vowels as the decoding skill. The grammar skill focused on action verbs. The vocabulary skill worked on the suffixes -y and -ly.

Science

The class has learned about motion. Students have identified changes in position through a frame of reference, things in view that do not move.

Math

The students are working on the factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8. At this point, students need to practice the basic facts. Students might not have all of the facts memorized, but they have been taught strategies to get the answers. Flashcards are an option. There are many resources available online as well.

Several of the students have passed operations on XtraMath this week. Jackson and Simeon passed multiplication. Eva and Nora W passed subtraction. Kate and Berklee passed addition.

October Book Order

If you want to order from the October book order for your child, the due date is Friday, October 16th. Please use the following link to search and pay for books.  Scholastic Book Clubs  

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Conferences are scheduled for Monday, October 26th through Thursday, October 29th. Parents are asked to sign up through JMC. There is a paper in take home folder that explains how to sign up.

Halloween Parade

This year's Halloween parade will take place on Wednesday, October 28th, beginning at 1:15 pm. Students will bring their costumes to school to change into them before the parade. There is also a 1 hour early dismissal on this day.

Important Dates

Friday, October 16th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, October 16th-Fancy Hat Day

Wednesday, October 21st-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Monday, October 26th-Parent/Teacher Conferences (3:40-7:00 PM)

Tuesday, October 27th-Parent/Teacher Conferences (3:40-7:00 PM)

Wednesday, October 28th-Halloween Parade 1:15 PM

Wednesday, October 28th-1 hour early dismissal

Wednesday, October 28th-Parent/Teacher Conferences (2:40-4:00 PM)

Thursday, October 29th-NO SCHOOL

Thursday, October 29th-Parent/Teacher Conferences (8:00-11:00 AM) 

Friday, October 30th-NO SCHOOL

10-8-26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

10-8-26

Science

The next topic the 3rd grade students will be learning about is motion and how it relates to force.

Math

Students continue to work on the basic facts and continue to pass operations on XtraMath. JP and Vanessa both have passed subtraction, and Olivea passed addition. A big congratulations to Adelynn for passing the division facts!! She now gets to move on and play Prodigy.

                             

The students have been learning how to use the Distributive Property of Multiplication. Students have practiced breaking arrays into two separate arrays. Then students have to write multiplication problems for each array and add them together.

Reading/Language Arts

In the story Upside Down Boy, the students are working on figurative language and text and graphic features as comprehension skills. The grammar skills are focused on singular and plural nouns. Students worked on adding -s and -ed to plural nouns. The vocabulary skill covered the prefix dis-. The decoding skill covered long i.

The class also covered poetry. Discussions included how poems use sounds and rhythms of words to show images and express feelings.

FAST Testing

Included in your child's take-home folder are the results of the fall FAST testing.

National School Lunch Week

October 12th-19th, the cafeteria will be celebrating National School Lunch Week. The theme is "Big Top Circus." On Monday, October 12th, the students are asked to wear mismatched clothes. For Thursday, October 15th, students can bring a stuffed animal to school. Fancy Hat Day is on Friday, October 16th.

Green Valley State Park Field Trip

The Green Valley State Park field trip is scheduled for Monday, October 12th. The bus will leave STM at 9:45 AM. The temps will be chilly in the morning, so students should bring a sweatshirt. Students will need a sack lunch with a drink. Students should wear clothes that can get dirty. Students must wear tennis shoes. The bus will return to STM around 2:00 PM.

Mass

The 3rd grade class will lead the liturgy on Wednesday, October 14th. Mass parts are being sent home in take-home folders this week. I will practice the speaking parts with your child at school, but please also practice at home. All practice will help with fluency. One of the things that changes in third grade is that students no longer have assistance with the microphone.

Coin Wars

From Monday, October 12th-Friday, October 16th, Creston High School FBLA is putting on Coin Wars. There will be a container in the third grade classroom for students to bring in their coins. There are awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place per school. All money will be donated to the FBLA service projects.

October Book Order

The October book order is in the take-home folder. All orders should be placed online. The order is due by Friday, October 16th.

Important Dates

Monday, October 12th-Green Valley State Park Field Trip

Wednesday, October 14th-3rd Grade Leads Mass

Wednesday, October 14th-1 Hour Dismissal

Friday, October 16th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, October 21st-1 Hour Dismissal

10/1/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

10/1/26

A Note from Mrs. Burg

On Friday, October 2nd, there is a 3 hour early dismisssal due to the Creston High School Homecoming parade. Lunch will be served at school. It is a Spirit Day. Pay $1 to wear sweats. Students are asked to wear Creston gear to support the Panthers. There is no school on Monday, October 5th, due to teacher professional development. 

Math

Topic 3 will cover the factors of 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 in multiplication. Students will also be taught the Distributive Property of Multiplication. The property breaks apart a multiplication fact into the sum of two other multiplication facts.

   

Congratulations to Alaina for passing the addition facts on XtraMath. Jackson and Simeon have passed the subtraction facts, and Adelynn the multiplication facts.

Reading/Language Arts

The second story in the second module is The Upside Down Boy by Juan Felipe Herrera. In this memoir, Juanito is bewildered by his new school and misses country life. Everything he does feels upside down, but with the help of his teacher and his loving family, Juanito finds his voice and makes a place for himself in this new world. The class will focus on this story for the rest of this week and next week.

Science

There will be a test on force on Tuesday, October 8th.  A study guide will be completed on Friday and sent home with students.

Virtus: Protecting God's Children-Empowering God's Children

This year, our school is participating in a Virtus program  called Empowering God's Children through the Diocese. It is intended to teach children about boundaries and how to keep themselves safe. A note is being sent home in the take home folder. It only needs to be returned if you do NOT wish to have your child participate. I plan on teaching the lesson on Wednesday, October 14th.

 

Reading Incentive Program

Students in third grade will be participating in a reading incentive program in the months of October through March. The goal of the program is to get students reading at home and to develop lifelong readers. Each month, a calendar will be sent home with students. Please keep track of the number of minutes read each day. This can include what the child reads individually and the reading parents and students do together. At the end of the month, please calculate the number of minutes read, sign, and return the calendar to school. The goal during October, November, and December is 400 minutes. The goal will increase to 500 minutes in January, February, and March.  Please return the calendar each month, even if your child does not meet the goal. I track students' minutes each month. There will be an award for the student who reads the most minutes in each month. At the end of the program, I will award the top two students who read the most minutes throughout the entire six months. There will also be an award for any student who meets the goal in all six months.

There is a note and calendar in the take home folder. This is not something students are required to participate in.

Important Dates

Friday, October 2nd-Spirit Day $1

Friday-October 2nd-3 Hour Early Dismissal

Monday, October 5th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher PD)

Wednesday, October 7th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Monday, October 12th-Green Valley State Park Field Trip for K-4th

Wednesday, October 14th-3rd Grade Leads Mass

Wednesday, October 14th-1 Hour Dismissal

Friday, October 16th-Spirit Day $1

9/24/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

9/24/26

A Note From Mrs. Burg

The third graders have had some new school learning experiences. The students have had to complete study guides, correct them, and study for tests. Besides studying for spelling tests, this is probably your child's first experience preparing themselves for tests. The first couple of times, it can seem overwhelming, but it does get easier for the students. One of the things I really stress to the students is their handwriting. If they expect an adult at home to help them, that adult has to be able to read the answers that are written down.

Science

The class has been learning about magnetism. Students have experimented with how like poles repel and unlike poles attract.

Reading/Language Arts

Module 1 testing results are in the home folder. These are yours to keep. 

In Module 2, students will listen to, read, and view a variety of texts and media that show the importance of words and how they express ideas and feelings.

Our first story in this module is Dear Primo-A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh. In this realistic fiction story, two cousins, Charlie and Carlitos, write letters back and forth comparing and contrasting their individual words since Charlie lives in America and Carlitos in Mexico. The comprehension skills covered include identifying text/graphic features, determining point of view, and comparing and contrasting characters and setting. Students worked on identifying nouns as the grammar skill. The vocabulary skill focused on the prefixes re- and pre-. The decoding skill covered long o.

Math

The 3rd grade students continue to work on the multiplication facts that use the factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. Please practice problems with these factors in them at home. We have been doing lots of practice at school. The factor of nine is the hardest for the students. The reason nine is included with this first set of factors is because of the strategies that are used. The digit in the tens place is one less than the other factor used. The digit in the ones place then is the digit that makes the product add up to nine. For example, 4 X 9=36 because one less than 4 is 3, and 3 + 6 =9. There is also the hands trick for the nines. I have attached a video explaining it. Hands Trick for Multiplying By 9

Congratulations to Eva, Jack, and Holly for passing the addition facts on XtraMath.

Important Dates

Friday, September 25th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, September 30th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, October 2nd-3 Hour Early Dismissal (Homecoming)

Monday, October 5th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

Wednesday, October 7th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

9/17/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

9/17/26

A Note From Mrs. Burg

Can you believe it's already the 18th day of school? I am definitely ready for the rain to stop and the sun to shine again. I hope the balloons can go up this weekend.

Speaking of balloons, one of the balloonists is supposed to come to STM on Friday morning to show his balloon to the students. What a cool experience for our student body. I hope the weather cooperates for this neat experience.

The dress code was revised at the end of the last school year. It went into effect for the 2026-2027 school year. There are some of the same dress code expectations for Preschool-8th grade. Then, there are some by grade bands. I don't like to keep including this in the blog, but I am still having to have conversations with students about the dress code. I have talked to the whole class and have spoken to individual students privately. Please know that no one is in trouble over this. I am just doing my job to enforce what has been established. I am sending home a copy of the dress code policy. I have highlighted the expectations that seem to be causing the most issues. There are items of clothing your child wore last year that they are not allowed to wear this school year due to the change in dress code. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. I will provide any clarification necessary.

Math

The class has started learning multiplication facts. We will start with the factors of 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. I will teach the students strategies to go along with each factor. An example of this is that the factor of 2 is addition doubles, so 2 x 6 = 6 + 6. Also, the product of anything times 2 is an even number.

Dollar Tree and Walmart both have flashcards that you can purchase. There are resources that you can buy on Amazon. There are a plethora of online games. My piece of advice for parents is that students need to practice at home. We will play games and practice daily at school, but any additional practice at home will benefit your child with their basic multiplication facts now and division facts when we learn those later down the road. Five to ten minutes before bed or when driving to school each day can be of great help in mastering the facts.

One of the resources that I use with the students is Flash Card Math. Students can practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division on this website. All facts can be practiced, or a specific fact can be worked on. Also, time limits can be set.

  

   

Congratulations to Simeon, Nora W, JP, and Vanessa on passing the subtraction facts on XtraMath. Adelynn passed the subtraction facts. Super job by her!

Science

The class has learned about types of forces. Students learned about friction and gravity.

Reading/Language Arts

This week, the class is reading Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt. In this fantasy story, a squirrel learns to face his fears and embrace new adventures, while still keeping a predictable schedule. Comprehension skills that the class worked on included theme, point of view, and text and graphic features. The vocabulary skill covered suffixes of -ful and -less. Students identified and wrote compound sentences as the grammar skill. The decoding skill focused on long a and long e words.

 

FAST Testing

I will be assessing students' reading accuracy and fluency through FAST Testing on Friday, September 18th. Mrs. Sorden will be the substitute teacher in the room while I individually work with each student throughout the day.

School Picture Day

School picture day is scheduled for Thursday, September 24th. A form was sent home in last week's take home folder. If you have not returned the form, please return it before picture day next week. One check can be sent for multiple children.

Important Dates

Friday, September 18th-Mrs. Burg FAST Testing (Substitute)

Friday, September 18th-Balloon Visit

Wednesday, September 23rd-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Thursday, September 24th-School Picture Day

Friday, September 25th-Spirit Day $1

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)