Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
Introducing...
Thank you for the nice messages and your understanding while I was out last week. Zoe Deshka Sassman is the newest addition to our clan and we are all home, happy, and healthy! I will be back at school this week, as it is a busy one. I may take a few afternoons off to help at home, but Mrs. Young will be here to cover things.
This is the last week of the first quarter and there is an early out on Friday. Dismissal is 1:30 PM and the Weller Fall festival is later that night from 5 - 7:30 PM. For your convenience, below is a copy of our Q1 TDL (To-Do-List). I have printed additional copies for all the kids and I can send one home for you if needed. Just shoot me an email: john.sassman@k12northstar.org. If students are not done with certain items on the current TDL, some assignments may carry over to the second quarter, so please don't worry!
The tentative date for our State Reports Potluck has been set for Friday, November 22nd from 5:00 - 7:00 PM. I am still confirming that the gym is available to reserve, but I wanted to get this out there. I will be sending home flyers with details about the event and posting updates here in the next few weeks.
We currently have 7 pumpkins, so thank you. We will do pumpkin carving in class (don't worry, I have done it several years with my kiddos) on Friday morning. We will carve as many as we receive. I will also pick up a few from Costco this week. They are a pretty good deal there and the quality is nice. Ideally, I would love 3-4 parent volunteers to help out. This would include carving, cleaning, roasting seeds, and will take up most of the morning.
Pillow Making: How does Friday, November 22nd sound? I know, I know, I said December, but why not November? We will need 2-3 volunteers with sewing machines and 2-3 volunteers who can help with stuffing and cutting fabric. I will send home more information in a flyer (this week), but here is the info for now. If you could please, pick up 1 yd. of fabric (of your child's choice) from Joann's Fabric and a small bag of Poly-fil? That is all they will need to complete the project. If you are unable to obtain said materials, for whatever reason, simply send me a quick note, and I will make sure your kiddo is all set up, no questions asked. We will keep the pillows here at school for SSR and school assemblies. |
| Small Bag of Poly-fil |
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| 1 Yard of Fabric |
Last week...
As you know was a crazy one! The kids had a lot of time for their State Reports, and Posterboards are well underway. TDLs are coming along nicely and I will be able to get a lot of grading done before and after school. Final grades are not due until the following week, so I will be entering grades and completing report card comments up to then.
As always, here is the link to Power School: https://premier.k12northstar.org/public/ so you may log on and check your student's grades and progress.
This week...
Stay the course will continue to be our theme this week, but I have a few activities and art projects to coincide with the annual Weller Fall Festival. I will be putting up as much art (and Cereal Box Book Reports) as possible before the festival, to proudly display all the talent and creativity in our room. If and when you make it to the festival, be sure to check for your student's work.
That reminds me: I would love to have 2-3 parent volunteers who can help out with our class "booth" during the Fall Festival. I will take care of the setup and breakdown, but I need some adults and kids to help manage things during the night. You could volunteer in shifts, or be our "Rock" all night! I will take what I can get. I will, of course, be here helping, but I will also be filling in for Mrs. Weckesser as acting Principal in the building, so there may be times when I will be pulled away.
Okay...P/T conference sign-ups are opening on Friday, the 18th...and yes, I have already given them (the District) grief about the need to open it up earlier. I will send out a special email from PowerSchool (like you get on Sundays when a new blog post is published) as soon as I get the word (link). Come to find out, we are the only elementary school piloting this program this year. Again, 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, PLEASE, PLEASE be on time for your appointment. There are times when I will be booked up with three appointments in a row and I may have to reschedule so that we can have a meaningful conference about your child. I purposely included natural breaks in the day, but please respect those slots.
Please keep checking the "Dates to Remember" section at the bottom of the blog...I would also like to add: Please get "cleared" by the District to volunteer for any future field trips. It is a relatively simple process but takes some effort. It should be noted that it is free, and good for two years.
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
- Rorschach Haikus
- Butterfly Art Kit
- And much, much, more...
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| New seats this week! |
Monday looks like:
8:30 - 9:00
Arrive
Writing Prompt
Morning Announcements
Class Meeting - New Jobs
Student of the Week Presentation - Emily
9:00 - 9:30
Gym
9:30 - 10:00
Music
10:00 - 11:30
New Seats
Weekend Share out (Listening/Communicating/Relationship Building with new neighbors)!
Snack/Read Aloud
TDL
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 12:30
Recess
12:30 - 1:45
Math Block
1:45 - 2:00
Break/Movement Activity
2:00 - 2:45
Charlotte's Internet (We will finish this week)
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! The end of Q1 is this Friday, 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 to (or if you would like).
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
DUE ON
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 4-1
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 4-2
Thursday, October 17, 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 4-1
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 4-2
Thursday, October 17, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 4-3
Friday, October 18, 2019
--Practice/Reteach 4-4
***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 grades 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
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
--Picture retakes if your kiddo missed them.
Friday, October 18, 2019
--Early Dismissal at 1:30 PM
--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, November 22, 2019
--State Reports Potluck!!! More information will come home in a flyer, but you heard it here first!
It will be from 5:00 - 7:00 PM!
Friday, November 22, 2019
--Pillow-making Extravaganza
It will be in the morning from 9:30 AM - to 11:30 AM!
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
