Friday, May 21, 2021

 

 Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School

 

 

 

Thank you so much Shannon R. for taking these pictures and sending them to me! Again, it was an amazing field trip!

I want to take this opportunity to say a huge and humble thank you for all the cards, notes, and generous gift cards that came in this week. I also love the mugs and Alaskan Native Art! I feel so lucky to have had such an wonderful group of kids this year, and that's because of the roles you play in their lives. I will always remember this cohort as being kind, caring, and most of all, resilient! I look forward to seeing them walking the halls next year, and possibly being able to teach them again! More on that below!

 

This last week was pretty epic...

We squeezed in as much as I could while keeping the sanity. We built scribble bots, finished Robinson Crusoe, and launched Lunar Landers off the roof of the school! The kiddos cleaned out their desks and cubbies, so you should have seen some artwork and school supplies come home yesterday and Wednesday. I hope you liked the space art and island posters!

Moving ahead...

There has been some talk around town (Weller), that I may not be returning next year. Yes, my wife has received a promotion at her work that will require us to move out of state, but I am happy to report that we will be able to stay in Fairbanks for at least another school year so...I look forward to see you and your kiddos next year! No, we do not know what classes look like yet, or which teachers are teaching what grades! We will know more just before the Ice Cream Social in August. See dates below! In the meantime, if you know of any family or friends returning to Weller next year and they have not registered yet, please let them know that the more kiddos we have enrolled (before August), the more teachers and services stay here at our school!

I am working on finalizing grades and report card comments today. Those should be available (online), early next week. In the meantime, you may check using the link provided below.

ACCESS TO PowerSchool (GRADES AND REPORT CARDS)

To view your child's current assignments and grades that have been recorded, report cards, and other grade book information click the following link and log in using your parent credentials: PowerSchool Log In

DATES TO REMEMBER

Monday, August 16, 2021

-Ice Cream Social!

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

-First day of school!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Saturday, May 15, 2021

 

 Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School

 

 

 

Well...we made it back in one piece! A huge thank you to all the volunteers (parents, grandparents, uncles) that made it to our Angel Rocks Educational Excursion. The day was fabulous and the weather couldn't have been better. All in all, we had 10 volunteers join us and Mr. Bragonier (ELP teacher here at Weller).  Every student completed the hike, round-trip! It was especially great that one of our parents (not sure if you want me to mention a name), drove their trailer out so we could have a home base, handwashing station, and emergency shelter if needed. The Otterpops and Gatorades were a hit. While everyone did their part in some form (s'mores, balloons, chaperoning) all of you played an integral part in the magical day.

 

This week...

Is the final week of the 2021-2021 school year! I have to say that despite all of our challenges, I have enjoyed this group of kiddos tremendously. I have received many compliments from both staff and parents, about how kind, compassionate, and caring they are. We started online and it was not ideal, but when we came to the classroom in January we hit the ground running and never looked back. This students have grown, learned, and discovered their resiliency in unprecedented ways. Thank you for always being supportive, understanding, and flexible at home. This type of success doesn't happen without parents/guardians like you!

We will be finishing up projects, cleaning out desks/cubbies, tidying up the room, and sending home work that has been completed. We will have some extra outside time and of course, an epic water balloon battle on Thursday (the last day of school). I will also try to fit in an egg drop engineering project, and launch them off the roof! Finally an art project called Mt. Fuji! 

 

Here is a little stat to be proud of: To date, the kids have completed 173 writing prompts and we will finish with four more this week! More to come...

 

Monday looks like:

8:00 - 9:10

Arrival/Breakfast

Writing Prompt

Class Meeting

New Jobs

Math Part 1

9:10 - 9:40

Mrs. Dershin

9:45 - 10:00

Snack

Read Aloud – Robinson Crusoe (abridged, kid-friendly version)

10:00 - 11:00

Math Part 2

TDL

11:00 - 11:30

Math Block

11:30 - 12:05

Lunch

12:05 - 12:35

Class Novel – The Big Wave

12:35 - 1:05

Recess

1:05 - 1:10

Clean up

Pack up

Dismissal

ACCESS TO PowerSchool (GRADES AND REPORT CARDS)

To view your child's current assignments and grades that have been recorded, report cards, and other grade book information click the following link and log in using your parent credentials: PowerSchool Log In

 

DATES TO REMEMBER

Thursday, May 20, 2021

-Last day of school.

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Monday, May 10, 2021

 

 Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School

 

 

 I hope you and your family had a nice Mother's Day weekend!

 

This week...

As you know, we have a big field trip this Friday. I think that the kids are very excited. That, combined with spring weather, and two weeks of school left, will be a challenge to keep kiddos focused, but I am confident that we will finish strong! Beyond our TDL, I have some fun lessons planned for this week and next. Mars Lander, Mt. Fuji, and Spirit Masks to name a few.

 

As for this Friday, we are scheduled to leave school around 9:30 AM and we will return between 6:30 PM and 7:00 PM. I will reach out today and tomorrow to confirm and talk logistics with volunteers/chaperones who indicated they are interested in going. I recently learned that background checks have been delayed due to the AK court systems being down (evidently there has been cyber attack?), so I have been given permission to have family members come, even if their application is not fully processed.

Current TDL:

Create an Island (Poster, Scroll, Flag)

Current Events

Cereal Box Book Report

Spring Haiku

Summer Haiku (finalize Seasonal Haikus document)

Emotions Art

Horizon Art

Diamante Poems

Superhero Story

State Report Poster

 

Monday looks like:

8:00 - 9:10

Arrival/Breakfast

Writing Prompt

Class Meeting

New Jobs

New Seats

Math Part 1

9:10 - 9:40

Mrs. Dershin

9:45 - 10:00

Snack

Read Aloud – The Return of the Indian

10:00 - 11:00

Math Part 2

TDL

11:00 - 11:30

Math Block

11:30 - 12:05

Lunch

12:05 - 12:35

Current Events Presentations

Class Novel – The Big Wave

12:35 - 1:05

Recess

1:05 - 1:10

Clean up

Pack up

Dismissal

HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper

MATH HOMEWORK

None to take home this week...

ONGOING INFORMATION

ZOOM

Here is our class' meeting ID and password:

https://zoom.us/j/6240846454?pwd=UmVuUHdUaWVKRFZmTTdqWVN0UmpDZz09

Meeting ID: 624 084 6454

Passcode: ROOM23

ACCESS TO PowerSchool (GRADES AND REPORT CARDS)

To view your child's current assignments and grades that have been recorded, report cards, and other grade book information click the following link and log in using your parent credentials: PowerSchool Log In

 

CLASS WEBSITE

If you have not yet, please browse our class' website: www.wellerwhales.org. It has a lot of great resources and we will use this from time to time. I am currently making adjustments and enhancements on some pages, but the site is full and live.

READING LOGS (In-Person)
Reading logs are a regular part of our class and the students' overall reading grade. Students will receive 5 points for each day that they read a minimum of 20 minutes at home. The purpose: for students to read each day (not 100 minutes over the weekend or 40 minutes on Tuesday to catch up for Monday). I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs or they can submit through our GC. If a student reads for 5 days or more, they will receive a ticket for the "Prize Box" drawing. We draw prizes weekly, on Fridays at the end of the day.

ClassLink/GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ClassLink is the portal in which students can access their Google Classroom. Once they log into their Chromebook, kids can access the bookmarks folder on their Chrome browser and click on ClassLink. That will bring them to the apps page where they will find Google Classroom. You can find the landing page for ClassLink right here: ClassLink

DATES TO REMEMBER

Friday, May 14, 2021

-Angel Rocks Educational Excursion!

 

Thursday, May 20, 2021

-Last day of school. Can you believe it? Two weeks!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Monday, May 3, 2021

 

 Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School

 

 

 

Pie n' Poetry was a huge success. A special thanks to those that sent in some pie. We had apple, cherry, pumpkin, key lime, and chocolate cream! I am so proud of the kids' poems and cannot wait to send them home soon. Mrs. Weckesser and school board president even visited us for some presentations and they were very impressed.

 

This week...

With about 3 weeks of school left, we will continue with our TDL campaigns. I have been updating grades and will enter scores in PowerSchool this week (everyone is doing really well). Currently, students are working on many different things, at different times, and at different paces. Personalized learning at its best in here.

Did someone mention a field trip? Well, we are going to spend the day at Angel Rocks on Friday, May 14, 2021. It will be an all day event (until about 7 PM). I sent home some information and a permission slip Friday. Please let me know if you did not get it. I am super excited about it and so are the kids!

Current TDL:

Create an Island (Poster, Scroll, Flag)

Current Events

Cereal Box Book Report

Spring Haiku

Summer Haiku (finalize Seasonal Haikus document)

Emotions Art

Horizon Art

Diamante Poems

Superhero Story

State Report Poster

Lantern Poems

 

Monday looks like:

8:00 - 9:10

Arrival/Breakfast

Writing Prompt

Class Meeting

New Jobs

TDL

9:10 - 9:40

Mrs. Drershin

9:45 - 10:00

Snack

Read Aloud – The Return of the Indian

10:00 - 11:00

Class Novel – The Big Wave

TDL

11:00 - 11:30

Math Block

11:30 - 12:05

Lunch

12:05 - 12:35

Current Events Presentations

12:35 - 1:05

Recess

1:05 - 1:10

Clean up

Pack up

Dismissal

HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper

MATH HOMEWORK

None to take home this week...

ONGOING INFORMATION

ZOOM

Here is our class' meeting ID and password:

https://zoom.us/j/6240846454?pwd=UmVuUHdUaWVKRFZmTTdqWVN0UmpDZz09

Meeting ID: 624 084 6454

Passcode: ROOM23

ACCESS TO PowerSchool (GRADES AND REPORT CARDS)

To view your child's current assignments and grades that have been recorded, report cards, and other grade book information click the following link and log in using your parent credentials: PowerSchool Log In

 

CLASS WEBSITE

If you have not yet, please browse our class' website: www.wellerwhales.org. It has a lot of great resources and we will use this from time to time. I am currently making adjustments and enhancements on some pages, but the site is full and live.

READING LOGS (In-Person)
Reading logs are a regular part of our class and the students' overall reading grade. Students will receive 5 points for each day that they read a minimum of 20 minutes at home. The purpose: for students to read each day (not 100 minutes over the weekend or 40 minutes on Tuesday to catch up for Monday). I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs or they can submit through our GC. If a student reads for 5 days or more, they will receive a ticket for the "Prize Box" drawing. We draw prizes weekly, on Fridays at the end of the day.

ClassLink/GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ClassLink is the portal in which students can access their Google Classroom. Once they log into their Chromebook, kids can access the bookmarks folder on their Chrome browser and click on ClassLink. That will bring them to the apps page where they will find Google Classroom. You can find the landing page for ClassLink right here: ClassLink

DATES TO REMEMBER

Friday, May 14, 2021

-Angel Rocks Educational Excursion!

 

Thursday, May 20, 2021

-Last day of school. Can you believe it? Three weeks!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman