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.

2/26/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

2/26/26

Science

There will be a test on Friday, February 27th, that covers living things and their environment.

Math

The next concept the 3rd grade class will be working on is addition and subtraction.  This will include using math properties, mental math strategies, and estimation.

Reading/Language Arts

This week, the third grade is reading the narrative nonfiction selection Octopus Escapes Again by Laurie Ellen Angus. The reader follows Octopus spending her day trying to find something to eat. Meanwhile, she also has to escape predators trying to eat her. The comprehension skills reviewed the central idea, text/graphic features, and figurative language. The grammar skill continued to focus on adjectives. Students worked on adding -er and    -est as well as more and most to adjectives when comparing. The class covered the prefix of un- as the vocabulary skill. The decoding skill focused on words with -er, -or, -ir, and -ur.

Reading Incentive Program Calendars

February calendars are due back to school on Monday, March 2nd. Please make sure a parent totals the amount of minutes read and signs the calendar. A calendar for March has been included in the take home folder. March is the last month for tracking minutes at home.

National Reading Month

March is National Reading Month. Last week a calendar went home with the dress up days planned for the month. This week, a Bingo card is being sent home. If your child completes a square on the sheet, have your child X it out, and an adult should sign the square. When your child has a BINGO (up and down, across, or diagonal), he/she can return the sheet and get a prize. The Bingo sheet will then be sent back home. Each time your child gets another BINGO, he/she can return to get a prize. The goal is to complete all of the reading tasks by the end of March.

Late Slips

As a reminder, with the start of the 3rd trimester on Monday, March 2nd, the third grade students start late slips.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, March 9th, through Thursday, March 12th. Please sign up for a time on JMC if you have not already done so.

Important Dates

Saturday, February 28th-STM Foundation Gala

Monday, March 6-3rd Trimester Begins

Wednesday, March 4th-1 Hour Dismissal

Friday, March 6th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, March 9th-Thursday, March 12th-Conferences

Friday, March 13th-NO SCHOOL

Monday, March 16th-Friday, March 20th-Spring Break

2/19/26

 Burg's Buzz

2/19/26

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Reading/Language Arts

Module 6 focuses on animal behaviors. This week, the students are reading This is Your Life Cycle by Heather Lynn Miller. In this multi-genre text (narrative nonfiction and fantasy), the students learn about the life cycle of a dragonfly through a talking insect who hosts a game show. The comprehension skills covered text and graphic features, the author's purpose, and the author's craft. Students worked on identifying adjectives as the grammar skill. The vocabulary skill focused on the prefixes of uni-, bi-, and tri-. The decoding skill worked on vowels + r words.

Science

The class has been learning about how an environment can affect the living things living in it. Some changes to the environment include wildfires, mudslides, hurricanes, drought, significant changes in temperature, and humans cutting down trees for building homes, highways, and businesses.

Math

The third graders continue to work on measurement. Students have been measuring length to the nearest 1/4. The class also continues to work on fractions.

Reading FAST Testing

Results for reading of the winter screening of FAST testing have been included in the take-home folder. The results are yours to keep.

Late Slips

Late slips will start in third grade, starting with the third trimester on Monday, March 2nd. A late slip is what a student receives when he/she does not complete his/her homework on time. This is what is followed in fourth through eighth grades at STM. This is started at this point in 3rd grade, so students understand the expectations. A note has been included in the take-home folder outlining how the late slip policy works. Please reach out if you have any questions.

National Reading Month

In March, the third-grade classroom will be celebrating National Reading Month. Included in the take-home folder is a list of dress-up days planned throughout the month. At the end of March, there is also a trip planned to The Latest Edition Bookstore. More information will be sent home about that at a later date.

Important Dates

Friday, February 20th-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, February 24th-Mrs. Burg Absent From School

Tuesday, February 25th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 27th-End of the 2nd Trimester

Saturday, February 28th-STM Foundation Gala 5 PM

Monday, March 2nd-Late Slips Start

2/12/2626

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

2/12/26

Math

Students worked with fractions that were greater than 1 on a number line. The class has also been covering measurement. Students have measured to the nearest 1/4, 1/2, and 1 inch.

Science

The students are learning about traits that help living things survive. The class has also learned about the advantages of animals living in groups. These advantages include obtaining food, defending themselves, and coping with changes.

Reading/Language Arts

Students read the narrative nonfiction selection Brothers at Bat by Audrey Vernick. This story focuses on a family of sixteen, with twelve of those being boys who all play baseball. The boys formed a semi-pro baseball team that was coached by their father. Due to World War II, the team disbanded because six of the brothers went off to war. Eventually, all the brothers return home and continue playing baseball. In 1997, the family was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The comprehension skills focused on text structure, figurative language, and point of view. Students worked on using the suffix -ment as the vocabulary skill. The decoding skill covered contractions. Students also worked on verb tense as the grammar skill.

The results of Module 5 testing have been included in the take home folder. These are yours to keep.

Valentine's Day Party

There will be a Valentine's Day party in the afternoon on Friday, February 13th, at school. Students can bring valentines for their classmates.

K-3rd Grade Mass

Kindergarten through third grade will lead the Mass on Wednesday, February 18th. This is Ash Wednesday. If your child has a part, it has been included in their take home folder.

St. Malachy Foundation Gala

The St. Malachy Foundation Gala is scheduled for Saturday, February 28th. Here is the finished product for the silent auction item.

Important Dates

Wednesday, February 18th-Kindergarten-3rd Grade Lead Mass

Wednesday, February 18th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 20th-Spirit Day $1

 

2/5/26

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
2/5/26

Science

Research on plant and animal adaptations has been completed. Now each student is busy writing their informational essay. These will be available for parents to view at conferences.

Math

The class continues to work with fractions. Students have identified the number of parts in the whole. The class is also working on putting fractions on a number line.

Math FAST Testing

The results of the math winter screening have been included in the take home folder.

February Book Order

A February Scholastic book order has been included in the take home folder. Please take a few minutes to review the flyer. All orders are placed online at Scholastic Book Clubs.

Dictionary

Each 3rd grade student received a dictionary as a gift from the Creston Elk's Lodge. Also, included in the take home folder is a drug awareness coloring book from the Elk's.

Valentine's Day Party

Valentine's Day will be celebrated at St. Malachy School on Friday, February 13th. Students may bring valentines for their classmates to the party. If bringing valentines, please have your child bring one for each student in the class. A class list was sent home last week. The students will be decorating bags next week.

Important Dates

Friday, February 6th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, February 11th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 13th-Class Valentine's Day Party

Wednesday, February 18th-Ash Wednesday Mass (K-3 Leads)

Wednesday, February 18th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 20th-Spirit Day $1

1/29/26

Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

1/29/26

Math

The next topic the third-grade class will cover is fractions. Students will learn how to read and write fractions.

 

Reading/Language Arts

This week's story, Running Rivals by Jake Maddox, is a realistic fiction story about a girl returning to the track after an injury. As she struggles with her racing times, she gets help from her biggest rival. The students will be working on these comprehension skills, monitoring and clarifying what was read, literary elements, and the author's purpose. The decoding skill is working with homophones. Students will also work on the Greek root "bio" and the Latin root "vid" as the vocabulary skill. The grammar skilled focused on subject/pronoun verb agreement.

Science

Students continue to research plant and animal adaptations.

Fill Me With Love Activity

A heart was sent home last week to be filled with things that your child loves. Please return the completed heart to school by Monday, February 2nd.

Reading Incentive Program

A February reading calendar has been included in the take home folder. Please calculate January minutes and return to school on Monday, February 2nd.

Book Order

The preorder deadline for purchasing Bella Bean on Blueberry Lane by Terri Stephens-Higgins is quickly approaching. The deadline is Friday, February 6th. Terri will be the guest author when the class visits the bookstore at the end of March.

Valentine's Day Party

The class Valentine's Day party will be held on Friday, February 13th. A container for holding the valentines will be made at school during art class. If bringing valentines, please bring one for each student in the class. A class list has been included in the take home folder. Valentines do not be brought to school early. Please have your child bring his/hers to school on the 13th.

Important Dates

Friday, January 29th-Dress to Impress Day

Friday, January 29th-Mass at 1:30 PM at Holy Spirit Church

Wednesday, February 4th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 6th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, February 11th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Friday, February 13th-Class Valentine's Day Party 

1/22/26

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

1/22/26

Catholic Schools Week

St. Malachy School will be celebrating Catholic Schools Week from Sunday, January 26th-Friday, January 31st. Each day, there will be a dress up day and a fun activity taking place. I also need students to return the note about who will be their special guest at the Mass at Holy Spirit Church on Friday, January 30th.

Silent Auction Item

Last week, a note went home about the third grade silent auction project. Each student will be creating a greeting card that contains a Bible verse. If your child has not returned their note to school, please help him/her pick out a Bible verse and get it turned in to me. Additionally, please submit donations for the project as well.

Music

Learning to play the recorder is a skill that third graders learn in music class. If you haven't paid the $5 to cover the cost, please submit it.  Mrs. Warner cannot start the children playing the recorders until all students have paid. If you have a recorder already at home, please feel free to have your child bring it to use.

Fill Me With Love Activity

February is quickly approaching, so included in your child's take home folder is a heart for your child to fill up with all their favorite things. Items can be drawn on the heart, stickers can be used, and photographs or pictures printed off the Internet can be glued to the heart. The heart should contain your child's name, and then cut out. Please return the hearts to school by February 2nd.

Reading/Language Arts

In addition to FAST testing, the students also worked on a research and writing project. Students were assigned a habitat, then they researched a plant and an animal that lived in that habitat. Students had to identify and explain two adaptations the living things had to help them survive in their environment. Students then organized the information into a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion.

The results from testing in Module 4 have been included in today's folders. The results are yours to keep.

Math

The students will be assessed on the topic of finding area on Monday, January 26th.

Important Dates

Friday, January 23rd-Spirit Day $1

Sunday, January 26th-Catholic Schools Week Mass

Monday, January 27th-Out of this World 

Tuesday, January 28th-Winter Olympics

Wednesday, January 29th-Wild West

Thursday, January 30th-St. Malachy Day

Thursday, January 30th-Talent Show Begins at Noon

Friday, January 31st-Dress to Impress

Friday, January 31st-Special Guest Mass Begins at 1:30 PM

1/15/26

 Burg's Buzz

1/15/26

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Math

The class continues to find the area of shapes. Students have found the area of regular and irregular shapes.

Reading/Language Arts

The class is now working on Module 5, which focuses on stories about teamwork. The story we are currently reading is Soccer Shootout by Jake Maddox. Berk was the goalie on last season's state championship game, but a new player is trying out for the team as the goalkeeper. When the coach gives Ryan the position at goalie, Berk is given the position of the sweeper. When it looks like the team might not win the championship, the coach suggests putting Berk back in at goalie. Berk comes up with a plan that brings Ryan and him together as teammates. The comprehension skills focused on the author's purpose, literary elements, theme, and author's craft. Students worked with the diphthongs of oi and oy and the decoding skill. The grammar skill covered subject/verb agreement. The students also covered the suffixes of -er and -est.

Science

Students are learning about animal adaptations.

Music Class

A note has been included in the take home folder pertaining to ordering a recorder for your child. If you already have a recorder from a previous child at St. Malachy, your current third grade student may use it. The cost of ordering a recorder through Mrs. Warner is $5. Please send the money to school with your child.

Mass

The 3rd grade class will lead the liturgy on Wednesday, January 21st. Parts have been included in the take home folder. Please practice speaking parts at home, especially since there is no school on Monday, January 19th.

FAST Testing

I will be testing each child's fluency on FAST on Tuesday, January 20th. There will be a substitute teacher in my room that day, so I can test each student individually. The remaining tests will be taken next week as well.

St. Malachy Foundation Gala

The annual gala is scheduled for Saturday, February 28th. Each classroom is responsible for a silent auction item. Homeroom parents Jordan Wardenburg and Kaitlin Dorsey have come up with the idea to make a wooden gift card holder. There is a note in the take home folder with more information about this project. Parent help is needed to complete the project. Each student will be creating their own greeting card to put on the holder. On the greeting card will be a Bible verse. Please complete the form coming home, and have your child return it back to school by Friday, February 6th.  Also, monetary donations are being accepted to help cover the costs.

Catholic School Week

Catholic Schools Week is quickly approaching. There are several notes in the folder pertaining to events happening during this week. There is a note about volunteering for the Mass at Holy Spirit Church on Sunday, January 25th. There is also a note about who will be your child's special guest at the mass on Friday, January 29th. The guest will need to pick your child up at St. Malachy School and bring them to Holy Spirit Church that afternoon.

Book Order Form

Last week, a book order form went home about purchasing the book Bella Bean on Blueberry Lane, written by Terri Higgins. She will be the featured author in March. Please get those orders in by February 7th.

Important Dates

Monday, January 19th-NO SCHOOL (Teacher Professional Development)

Tuesday, January 20th-Fluency FAST Testing (Substitute Teacher)

Wednesday, January 21st-3rd Grade Leads the Mass

Wednesday, January 21st-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Wednesday, January 21st-PTO Meeting

Friday, January 23rd-Spirit Day $1

1/8/26

 Burg's Buzz
nburg@crestonstmalachy.org
1/8/26

Reading/Language Arts

The final play that the students will read in Module 4 is "Two Bear Cubs" by Robert D. San Souci. In this drama,  Mother Grizzly warns her two cubs to not to go downstream, but after eating berries, the cubs decide to nap on a rock where they are not supposed to go. As the cubs sleep, the rock "grows" into a mountain. Not able to find her bear cubs, Mother Grizzly gets help from the other forest animals in searching for them. Once Hawk sees the cubs asleep, all of the animals try to climb the mountain. Each is unsuccessful until help comes from an unlikely source. The comprehension skills cover elements of drama, literary elements, and theme. The students also work with the Latin roots aud- and vis- as the vocabulary skill. The decoding skill focused on the vowel sound heard in talk, raw, cross, and fault. The grammar skill introduced students to using quotation marks to identify when someone is speaking.

Math

Topic 6 focuses on finding the area of shapes. Students first used unit squares to find the area of regular and irregular shapes. Students also measured area using nonstandard units.

The class will continue to work on multiplication and division. This week, students took a five minute timed test over both operations. The timed tests have been included in the take home for parents to review. Again, if your child has not yet mastered multiplication and division, any additional practice at home would be greatly appreciated.

Science

The next unit of study for the third grade class is organisms and their environment. Students have been learning about how plants are affected by the lack of or excess of water, the amount of sunlight, and the nutrients in the soil. The class also learned how the environment can affect animals such as their chemicals and nutrients in their diet or air temperature.

Talent Show Tryouts

This year during Catholic Schools Week (January 25th-30th), there will be a talent show. The talent show will take place on Thursday, January 29th. If a student wants to be in the show, he/she must try out. Tryouts will be the weeks of January 12th and 19th. There are sign-up sheets in the hallway outside of the classroom. Talents may include singing, dancing/tumbling, magic tricks, playing an instrument, or telling jokes. 

The last time STM held a talent show was when this class was in kindergarten, so it is time again to showcase those talents!

Book Order Form

I celebrate National Reading Month in March with the 3rd grade students. This year, the class will have the pleasure of listening to Terri Higgins, a Creston resident, read aloud her book Bella Bean on Blueberry Lane. Coming home in the folder is an order form to purchase a copy of the book. Orders are due back by Friday, February 7th.

Important Dates

Friday, January 9th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, January 14th-1 Hour Early Dismissal

Tuesday, January 20th-Fluency FAST Testing (Substitute Teacher)

Wednesday, January 21st-3rd Grade Leads the Mass

Friday, January 23rd-Spirit Day

Sunday, January 25th-Friday, January 30th-Catholic Schools Week