5/25/23

Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/25/23

Friday, May 26th Schedule

8:30-9:00-Silly String (Lap-A-Thon Reward)

9:00-? Field Day (Parents are welcome to attend)

12:00 8th Grade Clap Out

12:10-Dismissal

Publishing Party

Thank you to everyone who attended the publishing party for the class book "Third Grade is Terrific."

Spring Music Program

Wonderful School Year

Thank you for a great school year! I have truly enjoyed getting to know each of the students. I have watched each child make academic and behavioral improvements. I hope that all families have a wonderful summer break.  This will be my first summer without any children living at home. I will be working a few hours a week at The Learning Center, cleaning out closets, reading lots of books, and enjoying time outside playing golf. 

A few things students can do over summer break included reading, reading, reading.  Also, students can continue to practice the basic math facts. Lastly, have students practice their cursive handwriting. Students have learned all of the lowercase and uppercase letters. Most importantly, I hope everyone has fun!

5/18/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/18/23

Math

Students are learning about shapes. The class has discussed what makes a shape a quadrilateral. Students have also learned about specific types of quadrilaterals such as squares, rectangles, trapezoids, and parallelograms.

Science

In science class, third grade students continue to learn about climate. 

Reading/Language Arts

The class continues to read The Boxcar Children. Next week the class will watch the movie.

As a writing activity, students wrote letters to the future 3rd graders about all the fun and exciting things that happen in class. Next week, the students will read the letters to the second graders in Mrs. Meisenheimer's class.

FAST Testing

The results of the FAST testing spring screening results in both math and reading have been included in the take home folder.

Publishing Party

The third grade class has published a book entitled Third Grade is Terrific. On Tuesday, May 23rd from 2:00-3:00 PM, I plan on celebrating the students accomplishment with a publishing party. Students will walk the red carpet and read aloud their section of the book. Refreshments will be served afterwards. Please make sure you RSVP to me by Thursday, May 18th.

Clean Out Day

The third grade class will be cleaning out desks and lockers at the end of the day on Thursday, May 25th. Students should bring an empty book bag to school to bring all of their things home.

Important Dates

Friday, May 19th-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, May 23rd-Publishing Party 2-3 PM

Wednesday, May 24th-Spring Music Concert 6PM

Friday, May 26th-Field Day 9 AM

The last day of school is Friday, May 26th. The school will dismiss at 12:10 PM. No lunch will be served.

5/11/23

 Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/11/23

Reading/Language Arts

The class is reading The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner. It was originally published in 1924. As we read each chapter the class is completing reading, language, and writing activities. When we finish the whole book, the class will watch the movie. 

The results of the Unit 5 Benchmark test have been included in the take home folder.

Science

The class has been learning about different climates around the world. Students have studied the polar, temperate, and tropical climate zones.

Math

The class has been working on measuring to the nearest inch, 1/2 inch, and 1/4 inch. The students have also been working on telling time and figuring elapsed time.

Biography Bash

The 3rd grade class will host a Biography Bash on Friday, May 12th from 2:00-3:00 PM in the gym. Parents, grandparents, and special guests are invited to come and check out the projects and learn some interesting facts.

Publishing Party

The third grade class has published a book entitled Third Grade is Terrific. I will be hosting a publishing party to celebrate this accomplishment on Tuesday, May 23rd from 2:00-3:00 PM. Each student will share their portion of the book with the audience. Refreshments will also be served. I

Important Dates

Thursday, May 11th-Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

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

Friday, May 19th-Spirit Day $1

Tuesday, May 23rd-Book Publishing Party 2-3 PM

Wednesday, May 24th-Spring Music Concert 6 PM

Friday, May 26th-Field Day 9 AM

Friday, May 26th-Last Day of School 12:10 PM Dismissal

5/4/23

Burg's Buzz

nburg@crestonstmalachy.org

5/4/23

Reading/Language Arts

This week the class has been taking the Unit 5 Benchmark test. Please look for the results next week. I have also been FAST testing students in reading.

Math

The third grade class is working on fractions. Students have determined and drew the whole unit when given one part. Also, students have represented fractions less than one and greater than one on a number line.

Science

This week the class has been sharing their Google Slides presentations on severe weather. I am really impressed with the effort students put into this project.

Biography Book Report Projects

The biography book report projects are due on Friday, May 5th. I am so excited to see what the students have created this year. Please have your child return the book, report form, and project to school. As a reminder, the Biography Bash will be held on Friday, May 12th from 2:00-3:00 PM in the gym.

Creston Arts Center Field Trip

Each class at STM will be going to the Creston Arts Center to participate in an art activity. The third grade class time is from 10:30-11:00 AM. Each class will walk to and from the center. Please note the students will be using dye, which can stain clothing and shoes. Please don't wear new clothing that might get ruined.

Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

The third grade class has been invited to participate in "On the Trail of Iowa Corn" put on by the Iowa Farm Bureau in Greenfield on Thursday, May 11th. The class will ride the trolley to the ISU Neely-Kinyon Research Farm south of Greenfield, and then we will go to the Adair County Fairgrounds for lunch that will be provided (ham sandwiches, cheese sticks, apple slices, and a rice crispy treat). There are more activities after lunch. We will then ride the trolley back to Creston returning by 2:30 PM. There is no cost associated with this field trip. Please complete and return the permission slip back to school by next week.

Important Dates

Friday, May 5th-Spirit Day $1

Friday, May 5th-Biography Book Reports Due

Friday, May 5th-Creston Art Center Field Trip

Thursday, May 11th-On The Trail of Iowa Corn Field Trip

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

Friday, May 19th-Spirit Day $1

Wednesday, May 24th-Spring Music Concert

Friday, May 26th-Last Day of School (3 Hour Early Dismissal)

Lap-A-Thon

Lap-A-Thon Fun

 

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