4th Grade Introduction Side

All 4th Graders are required to make a single slide PowerPoint. The slide is your opportunity to introduce yourself to Mrs. Cameron and Mr. Sorensen. You will present your slide to them at lunch one day on the last week of school. Your slide must represent you and your personality yet be mindful that this may be their first impression of you. And you never get a second chance to make a first impression. 

Slide should include:
Your name and any nic names you go by
Your hobbies
Your talents
Favorite part of SWAS
Your favorite subject
Optional: 
A question for them? 
Random fact or information

Click HERE to turn in your slide

Natural Disaster Project

Click here to visit the Natural Disaster Site

We have started our Natural Disaster Project! I've created a blog to organize and store all the information they will need for this project. Due dates, links for research, rubrics. Please check it out!

The students have studied several different types of natural disasters and are now starting research for the major pieces of the project.

There are 3 products the students will create by the end of the quarter:

1- An essay containing information about their natural disaster, a persuasive component discussing the importance and how to be safe during the disaster, and a bibliography citing all their texts used.

2- A commercial for a Safety Kit. Their group will make a safety kit to sell (hypothetically) that will help people protect themselves and their homes during the natural disaster. They will produce a video commercial that students from across the district will view and vote on.

3- An infomercial on their Safety Kit. On presentation night June 2nd their team will perform a short live infomercial style presentation of their Safety Kit, as well as be asked questions and receive feedback from experts and community members.


There is SO much your children will learn this quarter that is not related to Science:

-Collaboration Skills
-Communication Skills
-Self-regualtion
-Use of technology for learning
-Real World problem solving and innovating

I am very excited about the project and can't wait to see how much they will learn and grow over these next few weeks!

Please don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions: choffman@washoeschools.net

Book Talk Assignments

	Quarter
Sami	2
Jonah	4
Merryn	4
Braden	2
Maddison	1
Alex B.	1
Kaylie	3
Rayne	3
Christopher	2
Sabrina	4
Riana	3
Nicholas	2
Emily	4
Sydney	3
Millie	3
Adi	1
Gabe	1
Kielee	1
Thomas	2
Quinn	2
Rya	3
Victoria	1
Liam	2
Alexis	2
Avery	4
Bryce	2

Here is a list of the students and the quarter they are assigned to do their book talk. A Book Talk is a 15-20 minute presentation to the class on a book they have read. Books must be at a 4.0 reading level or higher. They are required to type an outline of their presentation and turn it in the week before they present. They will also make a visual aid on PowerPoint, Prezi, Gloster or PowToon and use this during their presentation. 

To view and print a copy of the Book Talk Directions and Rubric Click Here

Hard copies of these documents are available in class as well. 

Quarter 2:

Outline due December 11th. Presentations December 14-16.

Quarter 3: 

Outline due March 11th. Presentations March 14-15

Quarter 4: 

Outline due May 27th. Presentations May 31- June 2.

*Presentation dates are subject to change based on unforeseen circumstances with the students or teacher. 

October Newsletter

Happy October!

            Can you believe we are a quarter of the way through the year already? This has been a wonderful start. I just love your children so much! They are binging me laugher and joy every day! I am LOVING the Family History Projects. I can’t believe the time and energy that went into their projects. I will be posting pictures for you to see some of the amazing things they have done. We talked today as they started presenting their projects about work expectations. In SWAS we have high expectations for them as preparation for the future. They need to make sure to take pride in their work to get the grades they want. As they do this they will find strategies (like spell check, and peer editors) to help them with skills they are not so strong with.  Here are a few things that will help you help your child stay successful and reach their fullest potential:

·        Check agendas. Know what assignments/projects your child is responsible for.

·        Check Infinite Campus regularly. Know how your child is preforming.

·        Talk to your child about test corrections and makeup work when necessary.

·        Go through the Purple Friday Folders with care weekly. Separate grade work and keep it in a safe place. I suggest a plastic tub). Have them correct work that has low scores.

·        Communicate with the teacher when you have concerns… with anything

·        Get your child involved in extra-curricular activities. Interactions with kids their age, competing with others, dealing with conflict/resolution situations outside of school are things that will help your child become self-confident. Self-confidence and success are dependent upon each other.

The second quarter we are going to be diving deeper into Multiplication and Division. Keep up with the Daily Fact practices with multiplication. Knowing the facts quickly allows them to do more complex problems more easily. In Science we are learning about magnetism and gravity. We are learning though hands on experiments and observations as well as text book reading. We are about to start a new Social Studies unit on Nevada history. They will be learning about our great state, its symbols, geography, and rich history both from the pioneer’s point of view as well as from the Native American’s point of view. In reading we are doing to start reading a class novel called Patty Reed’s Doll. It is a wonderful story about the Donner Party told from the perspective of a girl’s doll as they journey West. As they read they will be learning how to compare themes and messages among different texts, like historical facts from Patty Reed’s doll compared to facts in the Social Studies Text book.

Lastly, I am SO SO excited about our second annual Fall Fair! This is a really fun day that just my class has.  On Friday October 23^rd all morning long the students will be rotating though fun Fall centers that are parent lead. The students get to dress up in their costumes that day which makes it even more fun! There will be relay races, a doughnut eating contest, a skeleton memory game, mummy decorating, a Fall craft project and a pumpkin math activity. I need parent support in order for this day to be a success. If you are able to help please click on the link and sign up for an activity that sound fun to you. They will be in groups of 4-5 rotating every 20 minutes from 9:00-11:30. I can’t wait for all the fun! This is one of my favorite days of the year!!  After lunch the students will be doing a class activity and then passing around treats and watching Percy Jackson: The Lightening Thief. We are reading the book right now in class and will be done by then. You are more than welcome to attend the party and please feel free to sign up to send in or bring something for the party. *See email or blog for links to sign up

Upcoming dates to remember:

October 5-9: Conference Week 12:50 release every day

October 14^th: NO EARLY RELEASE. Due to high school finals week

October 18^th: Run for Education Sparks Marina

October 15^th-23^rd: Grassroots Book Fair in Library

October 21^st: Whitehead Fall Carnival, time in the evening TBA

October 23^rd: Hoffman’s Class Fall Fair 9:00-11:30, Halloween Party 1:00-3:00

October 26^th-30^th: Fall Break NO SCHOOL

November 2^nd: Return to School

November 6^th: Field Trip to Carson City Museum

November 11^th: (Wednesday) NO SCHOOL Veteran’s Day

November 25^th-27^th: Thanksgiving Break NO SCHOOL

Fall Fair 2015

Fall Fair was a hit!!!! The kids had a great day! They enjoyed all the fun activities

and really enjoyed all the treats in the afternoon as we watched Percy Jackson The Lightening Thief (though we all agree the book was better!) 

I want to thank all the parents and grandparents who helped with the Fall Fair Activities:

 Mr. and Mrs. Keller, Mrs. Danen, Mrs. Dishman, Mrs. Boharsik, Mrs. Alano, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Colcock, Mrs. Conforti, Mrs. Santos, Mrs. Knight. 

You all made this wonderful day happen! Thank you VERY much!  

Pumpkin Math Activities

Pumpkin Art

Spooky Realy Races

Mummy Decorating

Happy Kid!!!

Skeleton Memory

Doughnut Eating Contest

Great times with good friends!

Dressing Godzilla up as a mummy

October birthday creatures! 

Book Projects and Book Talks

Each quarter the students are required to do a Book Project. There are about 15 different types of projects the students can choose from. They are to read a book at a 4th grade level or higher and complete a project by the end of the quarter.

Once a year the students will do a Book Talk or Book Presentation (same thing)
They will receive the directions and do three things: Create and outline of the book, make a Visual Aid, and Read a passage from the book. They will be scores on their Outline, Visual Aid, Reading from the book, and Overall Presentation Skills.

**Note- The quarter your child does his/her Book Talk they WILL NOT do a separate Book Project. 


To get a copy of the Book Talk Directions Click HERE

Infinite Campus App

There is a VERY easy way for you to see your children's assignments/grades/attendance often!

On your smart phone just type in Infinite Campus to find the app. On my Android, it's called Campus Portal.  Download the app, enter your IC login and password and the code below for the District ID. And voilà... instant access. Under settings you can set up to be notified (or not) when assignments/attendance/grades are updated.

**Note: If you don't know your Infinite Campus login information please call the school office and they can help you.  775-626-5200

Infinite Campus Mobile Application

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Infinite Campus has a mobile application available for both Android and IOS mobile operating systems

Please use the following District Code to access the app for your smart phone: MJCFXT

This is what the main menu will look like on Campus Portal...very easy to use!

(Food Service has now become a separate App: My School Bucks. 

You will have to download this one separately. See note below) 

This is how graded assignments will look.You can see the missing assignments have the

triangle with the exclamation point to easily see what your child is missing. 

This is what the icon looks like for the My School Bucks application. 

On this app you can put money into the hot lunch account for your child as well

as view their current balance.