Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog
Weller Elementary School
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| Mrs. Young starts her full-time student-teaching this week! |
But really...
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| I am confident that she will do an excellent job with y(our) kiddos! She has been with us all year and knows our classroom very well. She also has some awesome lessons planned. |
Last week...
Whew! Thank you so much for attending our Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences. I thought that they went great and we have some real momentum going into the end of the third quarter/beginning of the fourth. This is always one of my favorite times of the school year. Note: If you were away or missed your appointment, let's set a time to catch up.
The results are in and they were almost unanimous. Our Marble Jar Classroom Reward is: Ice Skating at The Big Dipper again! I will get to planning and send out some info soon.
Even though it was a short week with the kids, we had a jammin' time. Finally, Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Motion made it to our class. I have posted several collages and even some slow-motion videos of the "Exploding Canisters!" Did someone say yoga? Well, we have been practicing our poses during our mid-afternoon brain breaks. Again, pics below. Lastly...How bout' them pancakes?
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This Week...
As part of her student-teaching internship, Mrs. Young is required to "Take over the class" for a few weeks and that starts tomorrow. She has been with us all year and has done a great job, so I am confident that it will be a smooth transition. This is a State and University requirement for all prospective teachers. She will also be responsible for publishing the blog. Please keep in mind, that I will still be in the building, should the need arise, and guide her through the process but I am supposed to be as "Hands-off" as possible to give her the most effective experience possible. She will be your primary point of contact for issues and academics, but of course, CC my email on all matters, please. With that said...here is Mrs. Young!
Well folks, Mr. Sassman is a wizard at teaching kids to love school and that is a wonderful starting spot for a teacher to come into the class--
I am looking forward to a great week full of science mysteries, amazing stories, writing projects, creative games for learning, leap year math, and more. We will start learning about plants in Alaska, their parts, how they survive in the Arctic, and how plants have helped people here. We will continue reading The Phantom Tollbooth an imaginative book for read-aloud, and will begin Number the Stars, a realistic, World War II story as a-whole class novel. Finally, we will include some nutrition and exercise activities to keep kids healthy and moving. Research has shown that what kids eat and how much they exercise affects their concentration, helps them remember what they learn, and allows them to make connections . . .
On your radar...
As you know from conferences, our Twin Bears/Angel Rocks Parent Informational Meeting is coming up tomorrow, Monday, February 24th from 5-6 PM. Hope to see you there.
The Science Fair projects are due Tuesday, February 25, 2020. Judging is the following day, and school-wide viewing is Thursday the 27th. Parent viewing is Wednesday the 26th from 3-7 PM.
Monday looks like:
8:30 - 8:50
Writing Prompt
Morning Meeting
8:50 - 9:20
Music
9:20 - 9:50
Gym
9:50 - 11:30
Snack/Read Aloud - The Phantom Tollbooth
TDL--Persuasive Essays/Current Events
Parts of a Paragraph
11:30 - 12:00
Recess
12:00 - 12:30
Lunch
12:35 - 1:50
Math Block
1:55 - 2:10
Freewrite/SSR
Brain Break/Aces Wild
2:10 - 3:00
Current Event Presentations
Clean up, pack up, stack up, 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.
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| Some students have elected to present earlier than what this calendar shows... |
IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS - QUIZZES - TESTS
DUE BY FRIDAY
Lantern poems
First paragraph of persuasive essay
Plant sketches (in science notebook)
ONGOING
--Reading Logs (ongoing)
--If your child needs additional time or help with in-class assignments, please let me know. I will be doing weekly check-ins with the kids on their progress and I may be in contact with you if we need to send some work home.
MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK
11-3 Reteach
11-3 Practice
11-4 Practice
11-5 Reteach
***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.
11-3 Reteach
11-3 Practice
11-4 Practice
11-5 Reteach
***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 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
Password: s#g
User Name for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org
User Pswd for example: s123456g
User Name for example: s123456@student.k12northstar.org
User Pswd for example: s123456g
DATES TO REMEMBER AND FIELD TRIPS
***DATE CHANGE******DATE CHANGE***
New Date is now Monday, February 24, 2020 - sorry for the change but it was necessary.
--Twin Bears/Angel Rocks Educational Excursion and Camping Trip, "Parent/Guardian Information Night." It will be from 5-6 PM in room 22 (next to ours), with some time built in for questions. I will have a lot of information for you, and we will need all hands on deck for the trip. This meeting will be the first of two. The second meeting will be in March and it will be for volunteers that have signed up and been cleared through the district. Your help and these meetings are critical to our success. Thanks so much!
Friday, March 6, 2020
--End of Q3. Early dismissal at 1:30 PM.
Monday, March 9, 2020, to Friday, March 13, 2020
--Spring Break - No School
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!
Friday, May 15, 2020, to Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Early dismissal at 1:30 PM and final three days of the school year.
It's a good life!
Mr. Sassman
