Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
WOW! That was a full week! Back in the swing of things, and Mr. Shultz came on Tuesday instead of Monday due to some car trouble. In case you missed us, you can find it right here. Simply find the date at the bottom of the video player. We are on (1/10, 1/11, 1/12, and 1/13) Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings towards the end of the newscasts. It was a fun and educational experience for our class. Big thanks to Mr. Mike Shultz.
A special thanks to Mrs. Wendy Connelly, who came in and volunteered her time to do an art lesson with the kiddos, while I conducted Universal Screenings. I am just about finished with the reading and math assessments, and I am so pleased with the progress that they are making. We will discuss this more during Student-led P/T Conferences in February.
PTA has asked me to post this: I will be there with the K'NEX Bridge Building Kits, and there will be a lot of special guests and exhibits.
- Pearl Creek PTA presents STEM Night: Thursday, February 2, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
- Cost: all activities are FREE (dinner available for a fee).
- Join us at STEM Night! Pearl Creek PTA is happy to bring together dozens of community and school volunteers to expose our students to the many different aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in Fairbanks. Hands-on activities and demonstrations will keep everyone busy! Activities include circuit building, permafrost tunnel, dinosaurs, fossils, drones, raptors, emergency services, nursing, science fair information, and much, much more.
- PTA will be starting the book drive for the spring book giveaway. Students can bring in gently used books and drop them off in the box by the kaleidoscope. The giveaway will be just before spring break. Keep an eye out for more details coming home.
Last week, the kids and I talked about new years resolutions, goal setting, and they also offered bits of advice for their fellow classmates. I wanted to share just a few here, as we all may benefit from their wonderful insights!
My advice is:
"Never wear socks for three days in a row."
"Don't sneeze in the wind."
"Pick up stuff if you drop it."
"Drink coffee every morning."
"Wear shoes to gym inside and boots outside, so you don't wreck your shoes like I did."
"Do a lot of gymnastics and drawing, and never ever wear socks with sandals."
"Not to run during fire alarms."
"Listen to teachers and not play around."
"Don't lose your homework in your backpack."
"Don't eat all your Halloween candy."
"Make sure you get enough sleep, 10 hours."
"Let your dog out before you let it into your bed."
"If you have Mr. Sassman, always write in complete sentences."
"Don't talk in the hall or Mr. Sassman will make you practice walking in the hallway."
"Practice your spelling words."
"Try your best, if life is good for your teacher, life is good for you."
"Don't get Mrs. McEwen mad."
"Never kiss a plant."
"Eat candy, cupcakes, and pizza whenever you can."
"Never slip in gym, because if you do, you will get trampled."
"Don't eat too much chocolate."
"Eat more food to bulk up."
I enjoyed reading these tremendously :)
This week: Book Reports will start. The kids should have a book picked out and started by Friday. I will send them home with a list of books that they may choose from. Please help them attain the book if it is not available here at the Pearl Creek school library or our classroom collection. Due to the short week, I would like to revisit the 4th Grade No Excuse Spelling List. I will send the kids home with those words, and we will have a quiz on Friday. Please keep in mind this may be easier for some than others), but it is imperative that all students learn/reinforce their knowledge of these benchmarked words.
We will also be exploring States of Matter in more depth. Experiments and such...should be a blast!
Quick note about field trips: As you may have noticed, there are three performances that we are signed up for. I tallied up the amount each student will need for these, as some parents have asked, and if you could send you child in with $20, that will cover the total balance of the shows. In the near future, I will also be scheduling a parent meeting (night) to discuss Twin Bears (3-day overnight camping trip in the spring and the rest of the year's filed trips). I am super-excited for this by the way...
In January:
Figurative Language
DOL
Zentangle
States of Matter
Book Reports
Folk Tale Triramas
STEM
Pen Pals
Tuesday looks like:
9:00 - 9:10
Class Meeting
New Jobs
9:10 - 10:25
Spelling
Reading Comprehension
Book Reports Discussion
10:25 - 11:00
PE
11:00 - 11:40
Read Aloud
Pen Pal Letters
Cursive
Typing Agent
Kahn Academy
11:40 - 12:10
Lunch
12:10 - 12:40
Recess
12:40 - 1:55
Math Block - Topic 10
1:55 - 3:30
States of Matter
*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
By Friday, January 20, 2017
-- Cursive Handbooks (should be up to letter "M")
-- Pen Pal Letters (we still have a few kiddos finishing up)
HOMEROOM HOMEWORK
By Friday, January 20, 2017
-- Spelling Practice (No Excuse Spelling Words List One) (See the options I sent home with the kiddos)
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)
DUE ON
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
-- Practice 10-1
Thursday, January 19, 2017
-- Practice 10-2
Friday, January 20, 2017
-- Practice 10-3
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
-- Practice 10-1
Thursday, January 19, 2017
-- Practice 10-2
Friday, January 20, 2017
-- Practice 10-3
*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 LOGSReading 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 benefiting 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
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
Thursday, February 2, 2017
STEM Night @ Pearl Creek 5:30-7:30 PM
Friday, March 3, 2017
Portland Cello Project - TBD
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
