MR. SASSMAN'S 4th GRADE CLASS BLOG: October 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

PARENT-TEACHER

CONFERENCES THIS

MONDAY AND TUESDAY!

OCTOBER 26th and 27th!

Report Cards went home last Friday, October 25, 2015. Please check with your student!!!

This Wednesday, in the afternoon, I will be kicking off the start to my Masters project: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Integration in our class. Our first lesson is called Towers and features the Engineering Design Process. It is a fully integrated (incorporating all STEM fields in one lesson) STEM lesson. It should be engaging and exciting. Feel free to come in and get involved!!!

I would like to do pumpkin carving with the kiddos on Thursday so please send your student in with a pumpkin on Wednesday...I am hoping to have a total of 15, one for every two students so they may work with a partner. Thank you!

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015

I would like to take the opportunity for class fundraising during the carnival because attendance is usually excellent. The plan is to sell grocery bag holders and to create an obstacle course (class project)...We will need two more parent volunteers along with their student(s) for booths that night. Thanks so much in advance! We can also meet up. AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO KARA BECK AND JAMIE BOYLE for making so many bags to sell! Hopefully we sell out, and this will get us started for our proposed Angel Rocks hike and Twin Bears Camping Trip in the spring!

SCHOOL COSTUME POLICY for Friday, October 30, 2015

Please help students celebrate in a comfortable and school appropriate way. Each teacher will determine when costumes are aloud for their class. Students must be able to participate in regular school activities including PE and recess if they wear their costume all day.

NO all over face paint during school day
NO fake or toy weapons

For our class: Costumes will be allowed to be worn throughout the day. Masks and accessories will be restricted until the afternoon. The students filled the marble jar and elected to have a classroom Halloween Party and this would be an appropriate time for full costumes. I would like to get pizza and snacks for the event and we will celebrate with costumes and activities that the students design and choose. Please send in $5 with you student for food and festivities. Thank you.

I have registered the domain and started forwarding the class blog at www.puffinclassblog.com to make things a bit easier to follow. The blog will stay the same, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING. This is just another (shorter name) way to access the same page. The site address is also and still www.mrsassmansclass.blogspot.com, this is just an FYI.

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE check your child's planner for homework and correspondence!

Wednesday looks like:

9:00 - 9:10

Planners

Class Meeting

9:10 - 11:40

Pen Pal Letters

StoryTown Lesson 4

Counselors

11:40 - 12:10

Lunch

12:10 - 12:40

Recess

12:40 - 2:00

Math Block Lesson 4-6

2:00 - 3:30

Recess Part II

Towers (STEM: The Engineering Design Process)

*Please note that Math, Specials, Lunch, and Recess are Intermediate schedules and stay in blocks. At times, curriculum instruction will be shuffled to accommodate different initiatives. For example, Monday 8-24-15, we had a special Pearl Creek Garden Tour at 10:20 am - 10:50 am, so English/Language Arts was moved to the afternoon.

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if you are in my math class)

Homework due Thursday, October 29, 2015

-- Reteach/Practice 4-6
Homework due Friday, October 30, 2015
-- Topic 4 Review

*Please keep in mind, projects or tests we have in class may have to be brought home to be finished or to study. Please ask your child if they have completed their work before you have signed their planner.

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 26, 2015 and Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, October 30, 2015 (5:30-7:30 PM)
Annual Pearl Creek Halloween Carnival
Class Party - Marble Jar Reward Celebration

Wednesday, November 18, 2015 (5-7 PM)
States Pot Luck - more details to follow

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Quarter two starts this week and we are back to some routine
lessons: spelling, DOL, TFK, and StoryTown. I will be placing a strong
emphasis on handwriting this quarter, specifically proper written conventions and
presentation (two of the Six Traits of Writing). We will also be plugging away
at our states reports!!!

Last week was a busy one. It was the last day of the first quarter on Friday, and most students turned in their late work. We capped it off with a nice pancake breakfast too :)

Couple of housekeeping items here:

Report cards are due to come out this week, so please look for them in your student's mail.
Martha Redbone Roots Project was an AWESOME field trip! The students enjoyed the beautiful music and culture exchange!
Our class has started drafting pen pal letters. We are writing to a third grade class at Cedar Grove Elementary School in Randolph, New Jersey. We are eager to finish those up this week and send out a care package. If you would like to add something to the box of goodies, please send it in with your student.

We finished up Charlotte's Web last week and it was
an amazing reading experience for the class.
We will be starting our class book logs this week.

Our class has filled the marble jar and it's time for a celebration (reward)! The students have elected to have a Halloween class party. We will coordinate this with the annual Pearl Creek Halloween Carnival on Friday, October 30, 2015. Our class party will be during the day and more details will follow. Our roles at the carnival will be different.

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL - FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2015

I would like to take the opportunity for class fundraising during the carnival because attendance is usually excellent. The plan is to sell grocery bag holders and to create an obstacle course (class project)...We will need two to three parent volunteers along with their student(s) for booths that night. Thanks so much in advance! We can also meet up. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO KARA BECK AND JAMIE BOYLE for making so many bags to sell! Hopefully we sell out, and this will get us started for our proposed Angel Rocks hike and Twin Bears Camping Trip in the spring!

REMINDER: PARENT-TEACHER

CONFERENCES NEXT

MONDAY AND TUESDAY!

OCTOBER 26th and 27th!

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE check your child's planner for homework and correspondence!

Monday looks like:

9:00 - 9:10

Planners

New Jobs

New Seats

Class Meeting

9:10 - 11:40

DOL

StoryTown Lesson 4

Spelling Lesson 4

11:40 - 12:10

Lunch

12:10 - 12:40

Recess

12:40 - 2:00

Math Block

2:00 - 3:30

Recess Part II

PenPal Letters

Book Charts

TFK: Exploring Space

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to call or email me anytime to discuss things further. I hope you find this information helpful and useful.

FOR Friday, October 23, 2015
-- GeoNotes Lesson 4 (in-class)
-- Pen Pal Letters (in-class)
-- StoryTown Lesson 4 (in-class this week and next)
-- States Report Phase 2 (in-class this week and next)
-- Spelling Packet Lesson 4 (homework)
-- TFK: Exploring Space (homework)
-- States and Capitals Quiz Two (FRIDAY in-class)
-- Spelling Quiz (FRIDAY in-class)

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if you are in my math class)

Homework due Tuesday, October 20, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 4-2
Homework due Wednesday, October 21, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 4-3

Homework due Thursday, October 22, 2015

-- Reteach/Practice 4-4
Homework due Friday, October 23, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 4-5

Dates to Remember:

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

We are currently working on our times tables and skip counting in math.
You can practice these skills at home or in the car with you kiddos.
It is such a helpful and useful skill to acquire, so please help when you are able!!!
They really do enjoy it too!

WE HAVE A FIELD TRIP THIS MONDAY!!! I apologize for the late notice, but if you would like to join us, I have two open chaperone spots. The performance will be: Martha Redbone Roots Project. You can find her online at http://www.martharedbone.com/ if you are interested in checking her out beforehand. If you could also send the kiddos in with $9 (I know...expensive right? Rates have increased due to budget cuts) for transportation and the show, it would be greatly appreciated. We will leave Pearl Creek at 9:20 am and the show will be at West Valley High school.

The Pearl Creek PTA Equal Exchange fundraiser ends Friday, October 16. Please remember to turn in your catalog orders by Friday. The PTA depends on the funds raised each fall to support student activities and staff mini-grants each year. Thank you for your help

WHOA!!! Time Flies! This is the last week of the first quarter and time to turn in late work/re-dos! I have allotted time for the kiddos to work in class this week to catch up. I also have enrichment materials for those that are able. All of the work that I have received has been graded, recorded, updated, and returned to the students so PowerSchool should be complete and up-to-date.

Pillow Making was a HUGE success!!! THANK YOU to everyone who helped out, brought in sewing machines, donated fabric and materials...YOU ROCK!!!

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE check your child's planner for homework and correspondence!

Monday looks like:

9:00 - 9:10

Planners

Class Meeting

9:10 - 11:40

Field Trip to West Valley High School - Martha Redbone Roots Project

11:40 - 12:10

Lunch

12:10 - 12:40

Recess

12:40 - 2:00

Math Block

2:00 - 3:30

Recess Part II

Group Read - Charlotte's Web

States Project Phase Two Begins

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to call or email me anytime to discuss things further. I hope you find this information helpful and useful.

*** STATES AND CAPITALS QUIZ ONE WILL BE THIS FRIDAY ***
*** NO EXCUSE SPELLING WORDS LIST ONE QUIZ WILL BE THIS FRIDAY ***

HOMEWORK NOTE: I am giving the kiddos until this Friday for work to be finished and turned in to complete their first quarter grades. THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE FIRST QUARTER. Only math homework will be assigned. We are diving into PHASE TWO of our States Projects, and that will be in-class work all week. Students may utilize this last week to make up or redo assignments if so desired (AT HOME OF COURSE :)

ASSIGNMENTS TO CHECK FOR: You can also double check on PowerSchool for these. This is a scaled down list of all the assessments that have been done this first quarter.

Friday, October 16, 2015
-- StoryTown Lessons 1, 2, and 3 (in-class)
-- Finish States and Capitals 1-25 and 26-50
-- Finish No Excuse Spelling Words Lists One and Two
-- Time for Kids (total of 3)
-- White Out Write Out (in-class writing)
-- States Project Phases One and Two (in-class)
-- GeoNotes 1, 2, and 3 (in-class)
-- Animal Migrations
-- Insect Packets (total of 3)
-- Spelling Packets 1, 2, and 3
-- Quilt Tiles (in-class)
-- Summer Essay (in-class writing)
-- Retolds 1, 2, and 3
-- Planners signed by parents/guardians

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if you are in my math class)

Homework due Tuesday, October 13, 2015
-- Topic 3 Review Packet 2
Homework due Wednesday, October 14, 2015
-- NONE (TEST WAS TUESDAY)

Homework due Thursday, October 15, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 4-1
Homework due Friday, October 16, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 4-2

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 12, 2015 (Leave at 9:15 AM)

Martha Redbone Roots Project
Field Trip at West Valley High School

Monday, October 26, 2015 and Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, October 30, 2015 (5:30-7:30 PM)
Annual Pearl Creek Halloween Carnival
Class Party - Marble Jar Reward Celebration

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

I have to admit...I wish there was after the past week!

What a difference ten days makes!

Student council speeches!!! Big crowd!

Three kiddos from our class ran for student council office this week and gave excellent speeches on Friday morning. While not every student was victorious, all acted with class and respect for one another. I could not be more proud to have these fine students in our room. You are all winners in my book and keep staying involved (there are also Student Council Committees that need leaders).

Pillow Making

We will be making pillows THIS Monday, October 5, 2015. This has started to become an annual tradition at Pearl Creek and the students really enjoy it. Each student will need ONE full yard of fabric, which can be bought at Michaels or Joann Fabric here in town. Kids will also need one package of pillow stuffing. I have included pictures below. Thanks so much. Currently, we have about 3 volunteers, but we could still use some more help and sewing machines. I anticipate this project running from 9:00 - 11:00, and our goal is to get them all done in one day. I would also ask that you pick up ONE ADDITIONAL FULL YARD OF FABRIC, so we can make grocery bag holders as a class fundraiser. Perhaps we can get all the sewing done in one day for those. I believe they are fairly simple and look like the picture below.

Example pillow fill. You can find at
Fred's, Wal-Mart, Sam's...

Final pillow example.

Fundraising for our class trips and activities.

AS ALWAYS, PLEASE check your child's planner for homework and correspondence!

Monday looks like:

9:00 - 9:10

New Jobs

New Seats

Planners

Class Meeting

9:10 - 11:00

Pillow Making

No Excuse Spelling Words List Two

11:00 - 11:40

Library

11:40 - 12:10

Lunch

12:10 - 12:40

Recess

12:40 - 2:00

Math Block

2:00 - 3:30

Recess Part II

Group Read - Charlotte's Web

States Project Intoduction

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to call or email me anytime to discuss things further. I hope you find this information helpful and useful.

HOMEWORK NOTE: As you know, last week was a bit hectic with snowstorms and power outages. I extended due dates for last week's assignments, but we will make another push for this week. I am giving the kiddos until this Friday for work to be finished and turned in without being late. THERE ARE ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT IN THE FIRST QUARTER and I do not anticipate giving homework next week. We are starting our States Projects this week and that will be in-class work through the end of the quarter. Students may utilize the last week to make up or redo assignments if so desired.

FOR Friday, October 9, 2015:
-- Finish StoryTown Lesson 2 (in-class from last week)
-- Finish States and Capitals 26-50 (in-class and at home if not finished from last week)
-- Finish No Excuse Spelling Words List One (last week's) and Two (this week's)
-- Time for Kids: Searching for Sharks (only if not finished from last week)
-- White Out Write Out (in-class writing)
-- States Project Phase One (in-class)
-- Planners signed by parents/guardians

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if you are in my math class)

Homework due Wednesday, October 7, 2015
-- Practice 3-2/Practice 3-3
Homework due Wednesday, October 7, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 3-4

Homework due Thursday, October 8, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 3-5
Homework due Friday, October 9, 2015
-- Reteach/Practice 3-6

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 5, 2015
Pillow Making - Volunteers and Sewing Machines Needed Please!!!
9-11 am

Monday, October 26, 2015 and Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Parent/Teacher Conferences

If you are interested in attending or helping out as a chaperone on a field trip, you must be cleared with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District...see me for a packet. If you would like to simply help out in class or volunteer, just let me know!

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman