4/27/23

 Burg's Buzz

4/27/23

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Math

The next topic the third grade class will be studying is fractions. Students have identified equal and unequal parts, wrote unit fractions, and have represented multiple copies of a unit fraction.

Reading/Language Arts

This week the class read Mountains: Surviving on Mt. Everest by Michael Sandler. In this nonfiction selection, the reader learns information about Mt. Everest, the first people to make the climb to the top, the equipment necessary to make the climb, and follow Temba Tsheri's journey to the top of the mountain. The lesson 24 weekly assessment results have been included in the take home folder. Students identified text and graphic features that help to better understand the information given as the comprehension skill. The class also reviewed comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs as the grammar skill. The vocabulary strategy was understanding analogies. The phonics skill focused on the suffixes of -less, -ness, and -able.

Next week the third grade class will be taking the Unit 5 Benchmark test.

Science

Students continue to work on their severe weather projects by creating a Google Slides presentation. I hope to have the students present their slides to the class next week.

FAST Testing

FAST testing for reading and math started this week and will continue into next week as well. Results will be sent home after all of the data has been collected and reviewed.

Spring Clean Up Day

The spring clean up day postponed from last week has been rescheduled for Friday, May 28th. Students need to bring work gloves, a rake (labeled with last name), and $1 donation for potting soil and flowers for the school's entrance.

Lap-A-Thon

Lap-A-Thon will take place on Monday, May 1st during scheduled PE times. Donations sheets were sent home in last week's take home folder.

Art Field Trip

On Friday, May 5th each class will be getting to go to the Creston Arts Center to complete an art project. Each class will have a scheduled time to walk to and from the Creston Arts Center. There is a permission slip to fill out in the take home folder.

Important Dates

Friday, April 28th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, April 28th-Spring Clean Up Day

Monday, May 1st-Lap-A-Thon

Friday, May 5th-Biography Book Report Projects Due

Friday, May 5th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, May 12th-Biography Bash 2:00-3:00 PM

   

 

4/20/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/20/23

Science

The third grade students are working on severe weather projects. The students have been researching the following types of severe weather that include blizzard, thunderstorm, hurricane, or tornado. Students have started creating a Google Slides presentation.

Math

One of the third grade standards is being able to add and subtract fluently through 1,000. Students need to be able to demonstrate the process of regrouping when adding and subtracting. Obviously getting the correct answer is important, but just as valuable is being able to explain how you got the answer to the problem.

The topic 9 assessment will be next week covering this concept.

Reading/Language Arts

This week the class is reading Dog-of-The-Sea Waves by James Rumford. In this realistic fiction selection, students follow five brothers as they explore the Hawaiian Islands. The youngest brother, Manu, rescues an injured seal. Upon returning to their native land, the seal rescues the brothers. The comprehension skill reviewed the author's purpose and the mood of a story. Students learned about complex sentences as the grammar skill. The phonics skill focused on the prefixes of un-, pre-, re-, and bi-. The class also worked on the shades of meaning of words as the vocabulary skill.

This week students also read and analyzed the poetry of Jack Prelutsky.

The lesson 23 weekly assessment results have been included in the take home folder.

Spring Clean Up Day

Friday, April 21st is spring clean up day at STM. 3rd grade students need to bring work gloves and a rake. Please make sure the rake is labeled. Rakes can be dropped off by parents if necessary. Third grade will be doing their part of the clean up in the afternoon. Students should wear clothes that can get dirty. Each student is also asked to bring a $1 donation to purchase potting soil and flowers for the entrance to the school. Students can wear sweat pants if they wish. The $1 Spirit Day is for wearing a hat.

Mass

The third and fourth grade will lead the mass on Wednesday, April 26th. Parts have been included in the take home folder. Any student not getting a part will be invited to sing the "Sanctuary" during mass. This is completely voluntary and up to the student to decide.

Biography Book Report Projects

Just a reminder that the biography book report projects are due on Friday, May 5th. That is two weeks away. Students should also practice their presentation at home prior to May 5th. Students will be able to bring the report form with them when they present. They don't have to have the information memorized, but should be able to give the audience eye contact throughout. They also should be able to pronounce all of the words. I talked to the class about practicing in front of family, their stuffed animals and dolls, or in the mirror.

All School Field Trip

Permission slips were sent home in last week's take home folder for the all school field trip to the Capital and Civic Center. If not returned, please get it back to school as soon as possible. Along with the permission slip, $5 needs to be brought to help cover the cost of transportation. On the day of the field trip, each student will need to bring a sack lunch.

Important Dates

Friday, April 21st-Spring Clean Up Day

Wednesday, April 26th-3rd/4th Grade Lead Mass

Thursday, April 27th-All School Field Trip

Friday, April 28th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, May 1st-Lap-A-Thon/Picnic Lunch

Friday, May 5th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, May 5th-Biography Book Reports Due

4/13/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/13/23

Math

The class has now moved onto subtraction. Students have used the strategies of using place value and a number line to solve problems.  The algorithm has also been introduced.

Reading/Language Arts

This week the students read The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman by Darcy Pattison.  In this fantasy selection, the reader follows Oliver's journey from Uncle Raymond's home in South Carolina to his niece Tameeka's home in California through reading letters of his journey. The comprehension skill covered sequencing. Students worked on the suffixes  of -er, -ful, and -ly as the phonics skill. The grammar skill focused on possessive nouns and pronouns. The vocabulary skill covered the suffixes of -er and -est.

ISASP Testing

This week students in grades third through eighth grade took the ISASP tests. Tie third grade students took a Reading, Math, and Language Arts/Writing tests. Parents will be informed when the results are in.

Spring Clean Up Day

St. Malachy School will have its annual spring clean up day on Friday, April 21st. Students in grades 3rd-8th are asked to bring a rake and work gloves. Students should also wear clothes that can get dirty. Each student is asked to bring $1 to help cover costs of soil and flowers for the entrance of the school.

All School Field Trip

Preschool through eighth grade students will be taking a field trip to the Civic Center to see the production of "Air Play" on Thursday, April 27th. There is a permission slip in the take home folder. Please return it back to school along with $5 to help cover transportation costs. Students will also need to bring a sack lunch.

Important Dates

Friday, April 14th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, April 21st-Spring Clean Up Day

Wednesday, May 26th-3rd/4th Grade Lead the Mass

Thursday, April 27th-Preschool-8th Grade Field Trip

Friday, April 28th-Spirit Day $1

Monday, May 1st-Lap-a-Thon

Friday, May 5th-Biography Book Report Presentation Due

4/6/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

4/6/23

Reading/Language Arts

This week was spent taking the practice ISASP tests in preparation for the actual testing that will take place on Monday, April 10th-Thursday, April 13th.

April is National Poetry Month, so the class read and analyzed poems from Shel Silverstein this week. 

Math

Students have been adding using the algorithm to regroup two and three numbers together.

ISASP Testing

Iowa Statewide Assessment of Students Progress testing (ISASP) will take the place during the week of April 10th-14th. The third grade students will take three assessments including reading, math, and writing. The PTO will provide snacks for the students. Students should get a good night's sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time ready to take the test. Please just encourage your child to do their best on each of the tests.

Please remember to get your child's letter sent back to school. I know each student will appreciate getting a note from their parents before the testing.

Important Dates

Thursday, April 13th-Seder Meal and Crosswalk

Friday, April 14th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, April 21st-Spring Clean Up Day

Wednesday, April 26th-3rd/4th Lead the Mass

Thursday, April 27th-All School Field Trip

Friday, April 28th-Spirit Day $1

3/30/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

3/30/23

Science

The third grade class is learning about different types of severe weather.

Math

The next chapter the third grade class will be working on in topic 9 is adding and subtracting fluently through a thousand. Students have practiced using partial sums to add.

Reading/Language Arts

The class read The Journey: Stories of Migration by Cynthia Rylant. In this informational text, students learn about the migration of locusts and whales. The comprehension skill covered compare/contrast. Students also worked on word roots. The phonics skill covered the spelling changes to words using -s, -es, -ed, and -ing. Students also worked on less common plural nouns. The grammar skill reviewed using adjectives and adverbs to compare.

The lesson 21 weekly assessment results have been included in the take home folder.

April is National Poetry month, so time will be spent reading, analyzing, and writing different types of poetry. Each week in April, the class will focus on a different poet.

Biography Book Report Project

Third grade students are being assigned a biography book report project.  All of the information has been included in a packet in the take home folder and has been explained to your child. The question form and project are due back to school Friday, May 5th. The students will present their information and the project to the class on this day.

Parents, grandparents, and special guests are invited to the class "Biography Bash" on Friday, May 12th from 2:00-3:00 PM. Projects will be set up in the gym for viewing. Students will be there to answer questions.

Reading is Better with a Buddy Day

To end our month long celebration of National Reading month, students can bring a stuffed animal to school on Friday, March 31st. The stuffed animal should be able to fit in the child's backpack when bringing it to school. Students will get to read with their "buddy" on this day.

Reading Incentive Program

March calendars need returned back to school by Monday, April 3rd. Awards will be given for the month of March. Since March is the last month of the reading incentive program, the end of program awards will also be given.

Important Dates

Friday, March 31st-Reading Is Better with a Buddy Day

Thursday, April 6th-Seder Meal/Crosswalk (Wear a white Shirt)

Friday, April 7th-NO SCHOOL (Good Friday)

Monday, April 10th-ISASP Testing

Friday, April 14th-Spirit Day $1

3/23/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

3/23/23

Math

The class is preparing for the topic 8 (addition and subtraction strategies). Students have completed the review and have been working on practice assessment. The test will be on Monday, March 27th.

Reading/Language Arts

This week the class is reading the historical fiction story Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. In this selection, Jacob puts an advertisement in the newspaper looking for a wife and mother for his child after his wife died. Sarah, from Maine, answers the ad. She comes to visit the prairie for a month to visit Jacob, Anna, and Caleb. Since the story in our textbook isn't the whole story, I am reading the book aloud to the class. I also plan on reading the other two books in the series Skylark and Caleb. The comprehension skill reviewed story structure. Students also worked on base words with the endings of -ed and -ing as the phonics skill. The class continued to work on using adverbs as the grammar skill. Students worked on comparative and superlative adverbs. The vocabulary skill covers the prefixes of non-.

In the take home folder are the results of the lesson 20 weekly assessment and the unit 4 benchmark test.

Science

The third grade class continues to learn about weather. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade had the pleasure of having Channel 5 meteorologist Brandon Lawrence give a presentation about weather. The students thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.

Book Order Form

This past Monday I sent home a note with each third grader about parents ordering a copy of the class book that the students are writing. Please get pre-orders in by Friday, March 31st.

Important Dates

Thursday, March 23rd-PTO Meeting

Friday, March 24th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, March 24th-"Books Knock Our Socks Off" Day

Friday, April 7th-Good Friday (No School)

Monday, April 10th-ISASP Testing Begins

Friday, April 14th-Spirit Day $1

3/9/23

 Burg's Buzz

3/9/23

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

Reading/Language Arts

This week the class took the Unit 4 Benchmark Assessment. Please look for the results after spring break.

Students also worked on their individual pages for the class book that we will be publishing at the end of the month.

Science 

The class continues to learn about weather. Students have been predicting weather based upon patterns. After spring break, a meteorologist from channel 5 will visit the third grade classroom.

Math

This week students have worked on estimating sums and differences.

Spring Break

There is no school from Monday, March 13th-17th due to spring break. I hope everyone has safe travels to and from their destinations. If staying in Creston, I hope you are able to relax.  School resumes on Monday, March 20th.

Important Dates

Tuesday, March 21st-Meteorologist Presentation

Thursday, March 23rd-PTO Meeting 6 PM

Friday, March 24th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, March 24th-Mrs. Burg Absent in PM

Friday, April 7th-NO SCHOOL (Good Friday)