Sunday, April 1, 2018

Mr. Sassman's 

4th Grade Class Blog

I hope you and yours had a nice holiday weekend, whatever it is
that you do, or do not celebrate :)

Get ready...

I AM

By Mr. Sassman's Fourth Grade Class

I am creative and adventurous

I wonder when someone will pick me up

I hear kids everywhere

I see color and envy its beauty

I want to explore 

I am creative and adventurous

I pretend to dance on a sea of floating trees

I feel the coarse grains dragging on my feet

I touch the hearts and minds of people when I am at my best

I worry about being dull

I cry when I am sharp

I am creative and adventurous

I understand that one day, I will be no more

I say stay positive and focused

I dream of expressing my feelings

I try to sing but I am speechless

I hope to bring joy and imagination alive

I am creative and adventurous

The kids and I came up with this little piece...can you guess what I AM? They will write two pieces in this format. One that describes an object, and the other...they will interview a classmate and write a: HE IS/SHE IS about them. Oh, just wait, this is going to be amazing!

Last Week:

We had a great week! We kicked off poetry month a bit early...I just couldn't hold back! It is one of my favorite units of the year. We will have a poetry slam at the end of April, featuring "Pie and Poetry." More details to follow.

We also ventured out to Frog Pond with our buddies for some sledding and to find inspiration for Spring Haikus. Most kids have finished drafting and typing those up. 

Expository books are coming along nicely and I can't wait to send home our Warm & Cold Tree Art! Second round of Pen Pal letters went out :)

The Read-a-Thon officially ended Friday and it is time to send in donations please. I have received a few already and thank you so much. I am so proud of how hard all the kids have worked. 

This week:

Please send in an empty cereal box with your student this week if you have not yet. We will be wrapping them in preparation for their book reports. I know that most, if not all, students are still reading their books, but we prep their boxes this week. If you missed it, the kids should have chosen a Newbery Medal or Honor book to create a cereal box book report.

Spring testing season is here...ugggg. We have MAP sessions this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Please make sure your student has had a good night's rest and hearty breakfast in preparation for test-taking. Thanks.

***Please note if this applies to your kiddo: After school Book Club is now on Tuesdays...Thanks

I have posted some additional field trip dates down below and added our testing dates FYI.

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2018 from 5:30 - 6:30, we will have a Twin Bears Volunteer Meeting. This will be our last meeting before our big trip. If you are planning to volunteer, please, please, please try and make this meeting. Friendly reminder: please get cleared by the District's background check system if you have not yet.

This will be the one and only time I post this, as I do not see our class blog as a means for this type of business...but...I just wanted to inform you that Pearl Creek is slated to lose two teachers next year (I am one of those teachers), due to budget cuts. Of course I do not want to be involuntary transferred to another school, but there is a larger issue here. If this happens, class sizes here will rise significantly (in excess of 30 kids per class in some cases), and that is not good for anyone. I am informing you of this because, as a teacher, I have testified in front of the school board, Borough, and I have written letters to Juneau opposing this, but I have had little to no impact on reversing this course of action. 

If you do not want to see this happen, it is up to you as a parent and your student(s) to do something. You have the largest impact (by far), to influence school board members and legislators. Tell your stories. 

I have started my career here at Pearl Creek and have loved every minute of it, and I have a deep love for the kids at this school and this community. It will be hard to leave, but I cannot do so in good conscience, without telling you that you have the power to help make a change in the road we are about to go down as a District. Please let your voices be heard.

Thanks for listening...

Fourth quarter looks like - in brief:

April Poetry Month Pie and Poems

Cereal Box Book Reports

Pacific Rim

Pen Pal Letters

DOL

GeoNotes

Expository Essay Writing

Folk Tale Triramas

Read LIVE

Cursive Handbooks

Organism Trading Cards

Monday looks like:

9:00- 9:10

New Jobs
Class Meeting

9:10-10:25

Expository Book Writing
Warm & Cold Tree Art
10:25-11:00
PE - Fitness Testing
11:00-11:40

DOL

Read Aloud/TDL

11:40-12:10

Eat

12:10 - 12:40

Play

12:40 - 1:55

Math Block

2:00 - 3:25

Poetry - Haikus and "I AM" poems

IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS

By Friday
--Spring Haikus
--I AM

HOMEROOM HOMEWORK

--None (Testing Week)

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if your child is in my math class)

We have finished our curriculum-based workbook for the year. No math homework this week. I have ordered new books that we will start and I will send them home with the kids at the end of the school year for them to use and practice with over the summer. 

***Please note that Math, Specials, Lunch, and Recess are Intermediate schedules and stay in blocks. At times, curriculum, instruction, and homework may be adjusted 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.

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 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. They must login using these credentials:

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

Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)

DATES TO REMEMBER

Wednesday, April 4, 2018
MAP Testing (Measures of Academic Progress) - ELA

Thursday, April 5, 2018
MAP Testing (Measures of Academic Progress) - MATH

Monday, April 16, 2018
PEAKS (Performance Evaluation for AK Students) - ELA

Tuesday, April 17, 2018
PEAKS (Performance Evaluation for AK Students) - MATH

Friday, April 20, 2018

PEAKS (Performance Evaluation for AK Students) - SCIENCE (fourth graders only)

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Field Trip to Morris Thompson Cultural Center/Mock Trial at the Courthouse

Wednesday, May 9 through Friday, May 11, 2018

Angel Rocks Hike and Twin Bears Camping Trip - Details to follow

Monday, May 14, 2018

Birch Hill Hiking and Picnic
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Bowling (Arctic Bowl) and hike to Pioneer Park

It's a good life!

--Mr. Sassman