Mrs. Stine’s Class
Welcome students and parents
to the 2014-2015 school year!
About Mrs. Stine
 This marks my ninth year with Spring Grove Area School District at New
Salem Elementary. For the first six years of my teaching career, I had the
privilege to teach fourth grade. This marks my third year teaching third
grade. Every year has been exciting and memorable, as I have been
fortunate to teach such wonderful and unique students.
 I grew up in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh, but now
reside in York, Pennsylvania with my husband and two cats, Bella and
Sadie. I love to visit my family and friends back in Pittsburgh whenever I
have time. My hobbies include reading, redecorating my house, and
cooking.
Educational Background
I graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelors
of Science in Elementary Education and a minor in
Psychology.
During my senior year, I was chosen as one of the 60
Pennsylvania State University Elementary Education
majors to participate in a collaborative, year long student
teaching experience arranged between the Pennsylvania
State University and the State College Area School
District.
 In 2011, I received my Masters of Education from Penn
State York in Curriculum and Instruction.
Specials Schedule
 Day 1- Library Skills
Day 2- Library Enrichment
Day 3- Art
Day 4- Music
Day 5- Gym
Day 6- Wellness
Daily Classroom Schedule
What Supplies Will My Child
Receive?
Agenda book (Homework Planner)
Folders for each subject
A pencil case
Please no pencil sharpeners!
Pencils, erasers, markers, etc.
Books for Math, Social Studies, and Reading
Students may cover books
Please consider donating classroom supplies that we
frequently use throughout the year. If you are willing,
please take an apple cutout with you when you leave.
I thank you in advance for your continued support and
generosity.
Retraining
Retraining is the behavior policy I use in my classroom.
Clear expectations are taught and reviewed frequently
throughout the school year.
Retraining will occur during class or during recess.
If your child receives a retraining for that day, it will be
marked in their homework planner or they will receive a
retraining slip to be signed at home.
Retraining is provided for expectations, including but not
limited to:
 Morning routine
 Peer interactions
 Classroom behavior
 Hallway use
 Bathroom use
 Recess and lunch
Homework Policy
Homework is always due the next day unless assigned
for another specific day.
Students who do not complete their homework
assignment will receive retraining.
Parents will be notified about the retraining in their
homework planner.
Students may be asked to complete
assignments during recess or during their
own
time.
If there are extenuating circumstances that
prevented your child from completing their
homework (e.g. sickness) please send
in a note
with the homework assignment.
Please see homework policy handout.
100 Hour Challenge
Classroom Library
Students may borrow books from our classroom library.
Students will be held responsible for any books that are
returned damaged or lost.
If any books are returned damaged and/or lost, then you
will be responsible for replacing the book.
Homework Planners
Check and sign planner daily!
As a class, we will write down assignments for the day!
Students will not be penalized for not getting it signed.
The homework planner can be found inside your child’s
school binder.
If a student forgets their planner, homework assignments
will also be posted on our classroom website everyday
and periodically texted to parents through Remind 101.
There are no excuses for not knowing the homework
assignment!
Remind 101
Friday Folders
Every Friday, your child will bring home a manila file
folder, which will be a designated “Friday Folder”.
Contains important papers for you to view such as:
graded tests, weekly newsletters, permission forms, and
other valuable papers.
The weekly newsletter contains important upcoming
events and dates, as well as, what we will be studying
the next week.
Inside the Friday Folder, you will need to sign next to the
designated date and return it to school by the following
Tuesday. You may keep all the papers inside the folder,
unless it is a signed paper that needs to be returned to
school.
School Year Overview
 Science: This year science will concentrate on topics to help assist with the Science
PSSA testing in 4th grade. Topics that will be taught include: matter, moving objects,
animal classes, Pennsylvania’s energy supply, and more.
 Social Studies: This year your child will be studying the U.S. Government and
Pennsylvania history.
 Math: We will begin by reviewing place value. The basic skills we will cover
throughout the year include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, geometry,
and problem solving.
 Reading: We will continue to learn more about comprehension target skills such as:
main idea, summarizing (recount), story structure, compare and contrast, etc.

It is very important for your child to receive daily reading practice. I suggest at
least
15 minutes of silent reading every day for the 100 hour challenge.
 Spelling: You child will have a Spelling Test every Day 5. The spelling words are
located on your child’s Focus Wall.
 Writing: Students are required to write three different writing pieces this year: An
opinion piece, informative piece, and a narrative.
 PSSA’s: Tentative dates for this year’s ELA and Math PSSA’s will be in the middle of
April.
PSSA Samplers
Snacks/Birthday Celebration
 Due to the new Nutrition Policy #246, homemade snacks may not be
brought to school.
 The new policy requires all snacks and celebrations to be

pre-packaged and to contain a complete list of ingredients.
 You may also purchase a Birthday Basket through the cafeteria.
 If you donate snacks, please make sure there is enough to feed 23
students and do not contain any peanut products.
 We greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness in donating snacks to our
classroom. We always enjoy a great mid-morning snack!
 Great snacks include:
 Pretzels
 Goldfish
 Fruit Snacks
 Breakfast Bars
Breakfast and Lunch
 Lunch prices for this year are $2.25 for students.
 There are two lunch choices this year:
Regular
Alternate Sandwich
 The breakfast program will begin the first day of school. The price of
a meal will be $1.20 for students.
 Milk purchased separately will cost $0.50.
 Menus will not be distributed to your child every month. To access
the menu, please visit the district website where you can view or
print the new menu.
 Nutrition Department
 Please fill out the free and reduced lunch application!
Scholastic Book Orders
This year I will continue to send out scholastic book
orders.
There will be a different book order for each month.
Please send in checks written to Scholastic Book Club or
cash only!
Ordering books does take a bit of time, so following
these suggestions really helps me to get the order sent
quickly.
You may also order books directly online using our
classroom code: FMT2P
For more information, please read the book order
information sheet.
Volunteers
Any help that you can provide to the classroom is greatly
appreciated. I am always in need of extra helpers
around the classroom.
Please grab a volunteer packet on your way out at the
office to start volunteering.
You must have district clearances to volunteer in the
classroom or to chaperone a class field trip.
The school is also looking for more volunteers to help
out with the Junior Achievement Program.
Just in Case…What Should I
Do?
 What should I do if my child is going to be absent?
Contact the teacher through email or voicemail. If you are going to pick up
homework, please contact the school in the morning; before school if possible.
 What should I do if my child is going to be a car rider or is going to
leave for an appointment?
Send a note in to the teacher on the day they will be a car rider and/or going to
the appointment.
 What should I do if my child is having trouble with another student or
with a school subject?
Contact the teacher immediately! Please do not hesitate to contact the
teacher! You may detect something at home that I may not see present at
school!
 What should I do if my child needs to take medicine at school?
Send in a note along with the medicine to the school nurse. Cough drops are
not allowed to be consumed in class without a form filled out for the nurse!
Safety Concerns
When dropping off students before school, please park
in the playground area to form a car loop.
When dropping students during the day or if they are a
car rider in the afternoon, please park in the side parking
lot. Please DO NOT park in front of the school building!
When entering the school building, please do not let
anyone in the building behind you! Please close the
door and allow the other person to buzz in to the building
for security reasons.
The district will be performing a C.I.R.E. (Critical Incident
Response Exercise) drill in September.
Important Dates to
Remember
Bring a Friend to Lunch October 20th-23rd
Parent Conference October 20th-23rd
The sign-up process was changed to an
online format last year. I will keep you
posted on any updates.
Parent Visitation Day is November 20th for
grades 3-4
How to Get to Our
Classroom Website
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Go to www.sgasd.org
Click on the Our Schools tab
Click on New Salem Elementary
Click on the tab called Teacher’s Pages
Click on Mrs. Stine (Last one listed in second column)
You are now at our classroom website!
You can find homework assignments, spelling lists,
vocabulary words, educational websites, etc.
• Mrs. Stine's Website
Here’s to a Successful Year!
• New Salem Elementary is a fantastic place where I truly
enjoy being around such enthusiastic students, staff, and
parents. I feel very privileged to be a member of the New
Salem faculty and I look forward to working with you and
your child and helping them succeed and grow as
learners.