Sunday, February 7, 2021

Sunday, February 7, 2021

 

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Weller Elementary School

 
 
This week...
We will dedicate some time in the mornings for Student-led Parent-teacher Conferences coming up on the 15th and 16th. I sent an email out on Friday with a link to a tutorial video on how to sign up. Here it is again: Parent-teacher Conference Sign-up Video Tutorial. It is less than two minutes and will help guide you. Please let me know what you prefer, in-person (at school), telephone, or via Zoom (the link and info to the meeting room are at the bottom of this blog post). I ask that your child be present, so they can take the lead. Again, we will be preparing for them this week. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised! One last note here...please be on time for your appointment. I often have back-to-back appointments and we want to respect everyone's time slots as best we can. Thanks so much.
 
We are almost done with My Side of the Mountain and Where the Red Fern Grows, just in time for Ms. Nuss' full-time student-teaching campaign to begin. Starting February 22, Ms. Nuss will be "taking over" the class for three weeks as "lead teacher," planning, prepping, and delivering our class' curriculum, while I take a step back to observe and guide where needed. This is a regular part of a student-teacher's internship, as I had to do when I was in the UAF program. I am confident in her abilities and she has been working hard all year to build rapport and the skills she needs for this endeavor.

Picture Day! We will be able to have picture day this year. Our class' day and time are: Thursday, February 25, 2021 at 10:10 AM. If your kiddo misses for some reason, I believe there will be a make-up day. I will let you know, when I know.
 
Valentine's Day is coming up and the kids have asked if they can bring in "stuff" for the occasion. I said yes, as long as we can follow the plan:

1. If you bring for one, bring for all.
2. Please bring your "stuff" in by Wednesday, so we can fill individual baggies and let them sit idle until Friday afternoon (germs and all).
 
Please keep in mind that this is optional and not required.
 
Student names:
Wells
Adden
Kenai
Mika
Kevin
Chelal
Davarius
Cat
Eathan
Bria
Nathan
Thor
Anna
Marlee
Lucas
Charlie
 
Monday looks like:
8:00 - 9:10
Arrival/Breakfast
Writing Prompt
Class Meeting
New Seats/New Jobs
P/T/C Prep
9:10 - 9:40
Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain
9:40 - 10:15
Snack
Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows
10:15 - 11:30
Math Block - Topic 10-6
11:30 - 12:00
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00
TDL time
Recess
1:00 - 1:10
Clean up
Pack up
Dismissal

*******Please note now that we are back to in-person instruction***********
-Kids should be reading for 20 minutes every night, and recording it in their reading logs. I will have a folder filled with them by the door. They may also continue with their digital reading logs too. Either one works for me. If they fill 5 days a week, they will get a ticket for the weekly prize box drawing on Fridays.
-Kids will receive about 20-30 minutes of classwork to complete each night that we have school.  This can include math, spelling, GeoNotes...Please work with them on this if they need help. I would like for students to have no more than 40-50 minutes of work each night. Please let me know if this expectation is beyond reach and we can talk about how your child can be successful. Please again, I don't want tears along the way or any surprises at the end of the quarter!

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.
 
The Third Quarter Plan:
  
New Additions/Finishing Up
  • State Reports and Posterboards
  • Poetry - Winter Haikus, Diamantes, What I love about Winter, and more...
  • Class Novel - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
  • Read Aloud - Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
  • Art - Warm and Clod Trees, Space Art
  • New Year Resolutions and goal-setting
  • Advice to a fourth-grader
  • Student-led Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • Long Division
  • Fractions
  • The Rock Cycle
  • Cereal Box Book Reports
  • Superhero Stories
  • Newton's Laws of Motion
  • STEM Kits
  • Current Events
The Staples
  • Spelling Packets
  • Cursive Handbooks
  • Reading Logs - SSR
  • EnVision Math
  • Daily Oral Language (DOL)
  • Weekly Geography

HOMEWORK
-Reading Logs each night and record it online or on paper

MATH HOMEWORK
Due Tuesday, February 9, 2021
--Topic 10-6 (Practice side, evens only)
Due Wednesday, February 10, 2021
--Topic 10-6 (Practice side, evens only)
Due Thursday, February 11, 2021
--Topic 10-7 (Practice side, evens only)
Due Friday, February 12, 2021
--Topic 10-8 (Practice side, evens only)
 

ONGOING INFORMATION
ZOOM
Here is our class' meeting ID and password:

CLASS WEBSITE
If you have not yet, please browse our class' website: www.wellerwhales.org. It has a lot of great resources and we will use this from time to time. I am currently making adjustments and enhancements on some pages, but the site is full and live.

READING LOGS (In-Person)
Reading logs are a regular part of our class and the students' overall reading grade. Students will receive 5 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). I have a yellow folder by the classroom front door filled with new reading logs or they can submit through our GC. If a student reads for 5 days or more, they will receive a ticket for the "Prize Box" drawing. We draw prizes weekly, on Fridays at the end of the day.

READING LOGS (Remote Learning)
Reading Logs are required and will count towards the students' overall reading grade. Kiddos will receive 5 points for each day that they read during the school week. They can be turned in either digitally in our Google Classroom or by paper during our drop off and pick up days.

ClassLink/GOOGLE CLASSROOM
ClassLink is the portal in which students can access their Google Classroom. Once they log into their Chromebook, kids can access the bookmarks folder on their Chrome browser and click on ClassLink. That will bring them to the apps page where they will find Google Classroom. 

DATES TO REMEMBER
Monday, February 15th, 2021 - Tuesday, February 16th, 2021
-Parent/Teacher Conferences (No school)
These are student-led so your kiddo will need to be present as well. More to come on this.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021
-Teacher Professional Development Day (No school)

Monday, March 8, 2021 - Friday, March 12, 2021
-Spring Break (No school)

 
It's a good life!

Mr. Sassman

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