Sunday, November 2, 2014

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

What a day! Pumpkin Carving, Halloween Parade, and Electronics Party (Marble Jar Reward)! 

 

Stack the States and Time for Kids App!!! 

I hope you ended last week with a HAPPY HALLOWEEN, and that you enjoyed your weekend/festivities! It was a great week, and as you can see from the pictures, pumpkin carving was a success!

THANK YOU to everyone who attended parent-teacher conferences! We had a 100% turnout (pretty amazing) and the outlook for quarter 2 is optimistic! Moving forward now...

We have a new student joining our class this week and his name is Isiah Lapp! We will be sure to catch him up to speed on the classroom policies and procedures, but in the meantime, we will give him a nice, warm welcome to our little community!

New desks are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday...it should be brilliant! I can hardly wait!

STATE PROJECTS start this week! Here we go! 

Monday looks like:

9 - 9:20

New Jobs

Planners

Class Meeting

9:20 - 10:55

StoryTown

States Project Phase 1 - Meeting and picking states with Mrs. Hammer's Class

10:55 - 11:30

Library

11:30 - 12:00

DOL

12:00 - 12:30

Lunch

12:30 - 1:00

Recess

1:05 - 2:15

Math Block: EnVision Math Topic 5-1

2:15 - 2:30

Recess Part II

2:30 - 3:30

Reading Group/Literacy Development: Charlotte's Web

Homework due Wednesday, November 5, 2014

-- StoryTown Lesson 2 Workbook (in-class)*

Homework due Wednesday, November 5, 2014

-- States Project Phase 1 (in-class)*

MATH HOMEWORK DUE THIS WEEK (only if you are in my math class)

Homework due Tuesday, November 4, 2014

-- Reteach/Practice 5-1 Arrays and Multiplying 10 and 100

Homework due Wednesday, November 5, 2014

-- Reteach/Practice 5-2 Multiplying by Multiples of 10 and 100

Homework due Thursday, November 6, 2014

-- Reteach/Practice 5-3 Breaking Apart to Multiply

*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 before you have signed their planner. 

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, November 11, 2014 (AM)
Field Trip to Anne Wein Elementary School for Alaskan Native Educational Activities - arts/crafts, bracelet making, canoe making. Two parent volunteers needed please.

Friday, December 5, 2014 (AM)
The Nutcracker - Herring Auditorium Lathrop High School time. One parent volunteer needed please.

Please Note: We can always use more volunteers in and out of the classroom, but it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are interested in attending or helping out as a chaperone on a field trip, you must be cleared with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District...see me for a packet

Thanks so much and check back for updates!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

Halloween Carnival was a huge success and a great time was had by all! Thank you for to everyone who participated, showed up, helped out, and/or enjoyed the festivities!

Parent/Teacher Conferences are Monday and Tuesday this week, and I look forward to meeting with you. If you have any questions about your scheduled appointment, call or email me.

I would love to carve pumpkins this Friday at school, so if you could send your child in with a pumpkin (or drop one off), that would be great. Extras are also welcome, as we could always use the additional supplies for these types of activities. This will only work if we have enough. Students will be able to bring them home to enjoy afterwards. Feel free to come by and help! Please let me know if you can make it.

This Friday, October, 31, 2014, there will be a Halloween costume contest in school, and like other years, students should be prepared to be in school/class all day. Face covering masks or full make-up costumes are prohibited during school hours, per school policy.

One more note about Friday. The students have filled their "Marble Jar," earned a class celebration, and voted on an Electronics Party. For one hour, Friday afternoon, the students will be allowed to play games on their electronic device from home. This will be the ONLY time allotted for this activity and it will be monitored. The students will not be allowed to access the internet on their device as the school has blocks on personal devices. It is my understanding that the game Minecraft, is the major attraction! We can talk more about this tomorrow and Tuesday if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. 

Wednesday looks like:

9 - 9:20

Class Meeting

9:20 - 10:55

StoryTown

iPads: Stack the States 

iPads: TFK Online Edition - Learn to Code

10:55 - 11:30

Music

11:30 - 12:00

DOL

12:00 - 12:30

Lunch

12:30 - 1:00

Recess

1:05 - 2:15

Math Block: EnVision Math Topic 4 Review

2:15 - 2:30

Recess Part II

2:30 - 3:30

Laptops: Typing Agent

Read Aloud: Charlotte's Web

Homework due Friday, October 31, 2014

-- Time For Kids: Learn to Code

-- StoryTown Lesson 2 Workbook (in-class)*

*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 before you have signed their planner. 

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 27, 2014 and Tuesday, October 27, 2014

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Sign up with the Mrs. Lisa Corbett at the front office if you have not done so already. If you need to adjust your time or schedule with her, simply stop by or call. Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all.

November TBD
Field Trip to Anne Wein Elementary School for Alaskan Native Educational Activities - arts/crafts, bracelet making, canoe making.

December 5, 2014 
The Nutcracker - Herring Auditorium Lathrop High School time TBD.

Please Note: We can always use more volunteers in and out of the classroom, but it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are interested in attending or helping out as a chaperone on a field trip, you must be cleared with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District...see me for a packet

See you tomorrow or Tuesday and check back for updates!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

We started off our week with a lesson on R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!! 

Art Specialist visit: Woppers and Watercolor phase 1!

Art Specialist visit: Woppers and Watercolor phase 2!

Art Specialist visit: Woppers and Watercolor final product!

Read Aloud with parent volunteer Kristin Machacek - Island of the Blue Dolphins.

This week we had the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District's Art Department Specialists visiting the school. Our session was with Mrs. Barbara Santora on Thursday and you can see from the pictures above, it was a huge success. Students may bring home their work after they have been on display in class!

GREAT FIRST QUARTER!!! Fourth grade has proven to be a challenge and all of students have impressed me with their commitment and dedication to learning and being a part of our extraordinary classroom community. Furthermore, now that I have seen what we are capable of, I have expectations with new heights and ambitions far beyond my wildest dreams! Let's not let the walls of our classroom confine our learning. Let's explore our community, the world, the universe! Let our minds rain with knowledge, growth, laughter, and kindness!  

So...the second quarter, I have plans for even more work and I strongly believe that we can accomplish our goals! Beyond our daily/weekly/monthly routines (i.e. DOL, TFK, Nat Geo, StoryTown), we have some projects planned, and we will need parents/guardians to help out at home (and in school). More details to follow regarding the larger assignments.

-- My State Report and Presentation (STARTING WEEK OF 11/3/2014)

-- Science Demonstrations: States of Matter (Starting December) 

-- Step Books: Newbery Books (Fundraiser/Read-a-Thon)

-- Cursive Packets (On-going during read aloud)

-- Astronomy Studies: Moon Journals (TBD)

-- Pen Pals (TBD)

Grades are due Wednesday, October 22, 2014. You should see a report card come home within the following week. If you do not receive one (they are distributed in your child's mailbox - sealed), please email me :)

Halloween Carnival will be this coming Friday, October, 24, 2014 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM at the school. It is an annual fundraiser for many classes and the PTA. Sky Lanterns to be launched at 7:30 PM sharp. Please come out and bring the family.

The following Friday, October, 31, 2014, there will be a Halloween costume contest in school, and like other years, students should be prepared to be in school/class all day. Face covering masks or full make-up costumes are prohibited during school hours, per school policy.

The students have worked hard all semester and they have filled their Marble Jar! Now it is time reap the benefits of being awesome! We will be brainstorming class rewards and voting this week. Let's think of something fun and creative! I would also like to have a class party on Friday, October 31, 2014 with food, music, and other snacks for the kids! Perhaps the class party is the reward??? For those of us with allergies...let's start planning now, so all can enjoy and partake in the much deserved festivities!  

Monday looks like:

9 - 9:20

New Jobs

Planners

9:20 - 10:55

DOL

StoryTown Lesson 2

Counselors

10:55 - 11:30

Library

11:30 - 12:00

National Geographic Explorer: Seahorses

12:00 - 12:30

Lunch

12:30 - 1:00

Recess

1:05 - 2:15

Math Block: EnVision Math Lesson 4-5

2:15 - 2:30

Recess Part II

2:30 - 3:30

Goal Setting Writing Assignment

Homework due Wednesday, October 22, 2014

-- 1st draft Goal Setting for the Second Quarter (in-class)*

-- National Geographic Explorer: Wild Ways and Just the Earth

Homework due Thursday, October 23, 2014

-- Final draft Goal Setting for the Second Quarter (in-class)*

Homework due Friday, October 24, 2014

-- My Insect Report Part 2

-- Time For Kids: Mission to Mars

*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 before you have signed their planner. 

Dates to Remember:

Friday, October 24, 2014 is the annual Halloween Carnival at Pearl Creek 

This is an annual fundraiser. There will be a spaghetti dinner, baked goods, a haunted hallway, Sky Lanterns, and other fun activities for the kiddos! Come one, come all! Costumes encouraged!

Monday, October 27, 2014 and Tuesday, October 27, 2014

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Sign up with the Mrs. Lisa Corbett at the front office if you have not done so already. If you need to adjust your time or schedule with her, simply stop by or call. Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all.

Please Note: We can always use more volunteers in and out of the classroom, but it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are interested in attending or helping out as a chaperone on a field trip, you must be cleared with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District...see me for a packet

Have a wonderful week and check back for updates!

Mr. Sassman

Sunday, October 13, 2014

Mr. Sassman's 4th Grade Class Blog

I hope you enjoyed the little video, these were just a few nice moments with Mrs. Irving!

Last week we started working on Halloween Haikus and additional themed poems. I look forward to sharing some of these wonderful works with you at parent-teacher conferences! Our Current Events presentations were amazing, and this is the final week of reports.

This week we have the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District's Art Department Specialists visiting the school. Our session is with Mrs. Barbara Santora on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 9:15 am. It should be exciting!

WOW that went quickly! The end of the first quarter is October 17, 2014. Friday is the final day to turn in late work and final assignments, so please check PowerSchool. I will be making some time (TDL) during school this week for students catch up and ask for additional help, but I would appreciate your support at home as well.

Monday looks like:

9 - 9:20

New Seats

Social Skill Building

Planners

9:20 - 10:55

Themed Haikus

TDL - To Do List

Counselors

10:55 - 11:30

Library

11:30 - 12:00

Current Events - Dylan 

12:00 - 12:30

Lunch

12:30 - 1:00

Recess

1:05 - 2:15

Math Block: EnVision Math Lesson 4-1

2:15 - 2:30

Current Events - Jett

2:30 - 3:30

TDL - To Do List

Read Aloud 

Homework due Thursday, October 16, 2014

-- Climate in the United States (in-class)*

Homework due Friday, October 17, 2014

-- States and Capitals Quiz 26-50 (in-class)*

-- My Insect Report Part 2

*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 before you have signed their planner. 

Dates to Remember:

Friday, October 17, 2014 is the last day of the first quarter
Final day for all missing assignments to be turned in.

Friday, October 24, 2014 is the annual Halloween Carnival at Pearl Creek 
This is an annual fundraiser. There will be a spaghetti dinner, baked goods, a haunted hallway, Sky Lanterns, and other fun activities for the kiddos! Come one, come all! Costumes encouraged!

Monday, October 27, 2014 and Tuesday, October 27, 2014

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Sign up with the Mrs. Lisa Corbett at the front office if you have not done so already. If you need to adjust your time or schedule with her, simply stop by or call. Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all.

Please Note: We can always use more volunteers in and out of the classroom, but it is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If you are interested in attending or helping out as a chaperone on a field trip, you must be cleared with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District...see me for a packet

Have a wonderful week and check back for updates!

Mr. Sassman