Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Last week...
Was a short and sweet one. Salmon Dissection you say? WHAT! It was awesome and I have the pictures to prove it!
Even though I would have rather been with the kiddos on Friday, the Professional Development for District employees I attended was powerful and engaging. Check out the keynote speaker here: George Couros
We are more than halfway through the first quarter and the kids are rockin' their TDLs.
For your convenience, below is a copy of our Q1 TDL (To-Do-List). I printed copies for all the kids and can send one home for you if needed.
This week...
We will make a big push to progress through our To-Do-Lists as there are a lot of assignments on there. DOL and Spelling Packets will be sprinkled in, along with our class novel, but I will be giving the kiddos a lot of time to work on their tasks during class. Mrs. Young and I will be here to help, guide, and differentiate where needed. I will also be meeting with students one-on-one to go over where they are at with their progress.
Friday, October 4, 2019 (Sorry for the late notice, I just found out we were approved for this)
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "We Banjo 3." I have 2 spots for chaperones. The cost of the trip is $5 per person including chaperones, first come, first served style. If you are able, can you please send in some $$$ with your child this week, to pay for the show and transportation. We will be leaving Weller around 9:30 AM and returning around 11:30.
We Banjo 3 (Band's Web Site)
See them play here! (Video Link)
Per usual, I got a fair amount of grading done last week, and yet again, I have a medium-sized stack of papers to get through today and tomorrow (that stack just doesn't disappear, it seems to re-grow), so please be patient and keep checking Power School periodically.
Here is the link to Power School: https://premier.k12northstar.org/public/
Last week, I finally heard back from the District about P/T Conference sign-ups, and they are opening up a digital format through Power School, but not until the week before...yes I have already given them grief about the need to open it up earlier. As soon as I have more information, I will be sure to provide you with an update. Thanks for your patience, and if you are not pleased about this, feel free to contact the district and let them know wink wink...Parent voices are far more potent than teachers on these types of things.
Please check out the "Dates to Remember" section at the bottom of the blog...I have added a lot of stuff with more yet to come.
The First Quarter Plan:
Monday looks like:
- Non-fiction Narrative Writing - Summer Break Reflections
- State Reports and Poster Board
- States Potluck
- Spelling
- Life Sciences
- The United States - Geography, Mapping, Economy, States Reports
- Red Bird Math
- enVision Math
- Daily Oral Language (DOL)
- Q1 Book Reports
- Reading Logs
- Cursive Handbooks
- Class Novel
- Art
- Pen Pals
- And much, much, more...
Monday looks like:
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Class Meeting - New Jobs
Student of the Week Presentation - Eve (maybe Wednesday?)
9:00 - 9:30
Gym
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:00 - 11:30
New Seats
Snack/Read Aloud
DOL
TDL
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 12:30
Recess
12:30 - 1:45
Math Block - Lesson 2-5
1:45 - 2:00
Break/Movement Activity
2:00 - 2:45
Charlotte's World Wide Web
2:45 - 3:00
Clean Up
Stack Chairs
Mailboxes
*Please note that math, specials (PE, music, and library), lunch, and recess are part of a fixed schedule 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
Check out our TDL right below! End of Q1 is October 18th, 2019!
HOMEWORK
ONGOING
--Reading Logs (ongoing)
--The end of the first quarter is approaching quickly. Your kiddo may bring home some work from their TDL to complete if they need (or you would like).
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
DUE ON
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 2-5
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 2-6
Thursday, October 3, 2019
***A brief note about homework. It is my philosophy that homework is an opportunity for students to practice skills that they have learned in school that day/week. The benefits are proven and tremendous. I try to keep things simple: 20 minutes of reading practice (reading logs), 20 minutes of math practice (worksheet), and 5-10 minutes of spelling (1 page per night). If your student is working on homework for more than an hour each night (Monday - Thursday, none on the weekends), please contact me so we can discuss things further. It is not my intention to make life impossible for you at home.
DUE ON
--Practice/Reteach 2-5
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 2-6
Thursday, October 3, 2019
--Topic 2 Review
Friday, October 4, 2019
--Topic 2 Take Home Test***A brief note about homework. It is my philosophy that homework is an opportunity for students to practice skills that they have learned in school that day/week. The benefits are proven and tremendous. I try to keep things simple: 20 minutes of reading practice (reading logs), 20 minutes of math practice (worksheet), and 5-10 minutes of spelling (1 page per night). If your student is working on homework for more than an hour each night (Monday - Thursday, none on the weekends), please contact me so we can discuss things further. It is not my intention to make life impossible for you at home.
***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 and check PowerSchool regularly.
ONGOING INFORMATION
READING LOGSReading logs are a regular part of our class. Students will receive "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).
Reading 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.
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. Simply 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. All passwords have been reset and synched to their individual defaults for the start of the school year. Please do not make any changes. It is as follows:
Username: s#@student.k12northstar.org (for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org)
Password: s#g (for example: s123456g)
DATES TO REMEMBER AND FIELD TRIPS
This Friday, October 4, 2019 (Sorry for the late notice, I just found out we were approved for this)
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "We Banjo 3." I have 2 spots for chaperones. The cost of the trip is $5 per person including chaperones, first come, first served style. If you are able, can you please send in some $$$ with your child this week, to pay for the show and transportation. We will be leaving Weller around 9:30 AM and returning around 11:30.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
--Picture retakes if your kiddo missed them.
Friday, October 18, 2019
--Early Dismissal
--End of Q1
--FALL FESTIVAL (5 PM - to whenever)
Our class will be facilitating "The Gauntlet!" What is that? Just ask, and how you can help.
Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1, 2019
--Parent/Teacher Conferences (please sign up online when it opens up, I will post the link as well)
Friday, November 8, 2019
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "The Sound of Music." More details to follow.
Friday, December 6, 2019
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "The Nutcracker." More details to follow.
Friday, January 31, 2020
--Field Trip to UAF's Davis Concert Hall to see "Bach to the Future." More details to follow.
Friday, March 20, 2020
--Field Trip to Herring Auditorium at Lathrop HS to see "Eileen Ivers." More details to follow.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - Friday, May 15, 2020
--Angel Rocks Hike and Twin Bears Educational Excursion. We will have several meetings throughout the year about this as it is a 3-day overnight camping trip, and yes we will need volunteers!
Even more to come...
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
