Sunday, October 30, 2016

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog


Just a little friendly reminder. Last Friday was a
special occasion, but please no candy in the
classroom. Thanks!


THANK YOU to everyone who came out to the Halloween Carnival. It was a night of fun, good food, great company, lots of activities and candy, and successful fundraisers. As you may know, the PTA organizes the event for kids and families to come together for a night of enjoyment. The event also allows classrooms to raise money for school activities and trips, which is a secondary goal. Our class successfully completed the Engineering Design Process as a group (ASK, IMAGINE, PLAN, CREATE, IMPROVE) to create an awesome obstacle course. I was so proud of their hard work and for running it all night. As a class we raised almost $300. We will donate half to the Pearl Creek PTA because they are awesome, but because they support our school in countless ways. The rest will go towards our Twin Bears Camping Trip in the spring.

One More time: We have a short week coming up due to Parent-teacher conferences (tomorrow and Tuesday). I look forward to meeting and discussing your wonderful student. But really, I am one lucky teacher.



Academically: I hope we are able to finish up our State Research Reports this week. I have computers checked out every morning, so the kids will have plenty of opportunities to do so. Next week we will be hitting our poster boards pretty hard, so this is important for our time frame. KEEP IN MIND: Our POTLUCK is quickly approaching, November 17th from 5-7 PM. I will remind you at Parent-teacher conferences. Please try to make it, it is becoming a fourth grade tradition and has been very fun.



MATH: This week we will be finishing up Topic 5. Due to the short week we will start Topic 6 next Monday. Topic 6 focuses on multiplying using Expanded Algorithm across 4 digit numbers (partial products), and Standard Algorithm (the way we learned to multiply :)! 

Wednesday looks like:
9:00 - 9:10
Class Meeting
9:10 - 10:25
State Reports
10:25 - 11:00
Music
11:00 - 11:40
Read Aloud
11:40 - 12:10
Lunch
12:10 - 12:40
Recess
12:40 - 2:00
Math Block
2:00 - 3:30
STEM - Brooklyn Bridge Building

*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.

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.

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
ON Friday, November 4, 2016:
-- State Report Research Projects 

HOMEWORK (homeroom)
Short Week = No Homework

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)
Homework due Thursday, November 3, 2016
-- Topic 5 Review
Homework due Friday, November 4, 2016
-- Topic 5 Take Home Test

*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. 

ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGS
Reading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "points" for 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).
The logs will be due on a rolling basis and should have dates read on them. I will give credit as they are turned in and filled out correctly (please initial these). The points students receive will be added to their overall reading grade, counting towards their final grade.
It is simple, if students read and turn in their logs, they will see their grade improve significantly while naturally benefitting in fluency and accuracy. If they do not, they will not be given a "0" on the assignment, they simply will not receive any points.
Please look for these to come home this week. I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs. Email me with any questions or concerns please.

GOOGLE DRIVE
You can access all of your student's digital assignments online and work at home if you would like. Just go to www.gmail.com and type in their email address and password. Then find the Google Menu (where you will find the Drive, Docs, and Slides) icon in the top right corner (it is a nine square grid next to their s-number). This is where they will make their Google Slides Presentation for their Biography Book Reports. It is as follows:

Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)

DATES TO REMEMBER

Monday, October 31, 2016 and Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Parent/Teacher Conferences















Thursday, November 17, 2016
States Reports Pot Luck - Sassman and Hammer  

Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Field Trip - Alaska Room at Anne Wien Elementary 

Thursday, December 15, 2016
Field Trip - West Valley High School Performing Arts Center
"Amahl and the Night Visitors" - Two volunteers needed

Friday, January 27, 2016
Field Trip - University of Alaska - Davis Concert Hall
"A Children's Symphony" - Two volunteers needed

Thursday, February 2, 2017
Field Trip - Herring Auditorium
Versa Style Dance Company - Two volunteers needed

It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman