Mrs. Stec
Welcome to our 4th grade class! Your son or daughter is part of a vibrant learning community where individual differences are highly valued and students are encouraged to collaborate. I look forward to learning and growing with your child!
- Contact Information
- Meet Mrs. Stec
- Mrs. Stec's Class Google Classroom
- 2023-2024 Teacher Letter
- ParentSquare
- Classroom Supplies
- Our Schedule
- 2023 - 2024 Student Information Form
- Succeeding in Fourth Grade
- ELA
- Mrs. Smith
- Useful Links
Contact Information
Meet Mrs. Stec
My Family
I grew up in a loving family of six consisting of my mom, dad, and three sisters. My family has always been very close and to this day, I call my mom to and from work. I attended the Council Rock School District and graduated high school in the year 2004. My husband, Ed, and I are high school sweethearts and have been together since we were 17 years old. Ed proposed at our favorite pizza place and we married on July 13, 2013. Skip ahead three years later and we welcomed our first child on October 30, 2016. We named him Nolan and he is the love of our lives! Nolan loves to learn new things, he loves to play baseball (Go Phillies!) and he is one of the best artists around! Nearly three years after having Nolan, we found out we were expecting our second child and Nolan found out he was gaining a sister! On September 12, 2019; Landyn was born! Landyn loves following her brother all around and she loves to sing and dance! Family has always and will always be a top priority in my life!
My Education
I attended Bloomsburg University and graduated with a dual degree in Elementary and Special Education in the year 2008. After graduation, I was hired at Marlborough Elementary in August of 2008 and have been here ever since! I continued my education at Holy Family University where I earned my Master’s Degree as a Reading Specialist. From there, I earned my Master’s Plus 30 additional credits at Gratz College where I learned a lot of useful strategies to help with classroom management and cooperative learning. Each year is a brand new experience creating lifelong memories I will never forget!
My Favorites
Food: Pizza
Candy: Take 5 candy bars
Gift: Dunkin’ Donuts Gift cards & Amazon Gift Cards
Activity: Spending time with friends and family
Color: Blue
Classroom Item(s): Sanitizing Wipes, Tissues, Dry Erase Markers
Quote: "A teacher plants the seeds of knowledge, sprinkles them with love and patiently nurtures their growth to produce tomorrow's dreams."
And the list goes on and on… :)
Mrs. Stec's Class Google Classroom
2023-2024 Teacher Letter
ParentSquare
We are excited to announce that we adopted a new form of school-to-home communication at Upper Perk called ParentSquare. This communications platform is designed to keep parents and guardians informed and encourage greater engagement and connection within the Upper Perkiomen School District. ParentSquare sends emails, texts and phone calls to parents at the frequency and in the language you want while storing everything that's been sent to you in a convenient and easy-to-use app (or website, if you prefer). Plus, you'll find tons of other features that allow you to stay connected and easily do more than ever before, including:
- Submitting online forms and permission slips
- Reminders for district, school and classroom events
- Instant alerts for weather closures or delays
You will be hearing more about ParentSquare over the next few months. We anticipate a full implementation to Parent Square for the 2024-25 school year.
For the upcoming 2023-24 school year, all district wide and school specific communications will be sent via ParentSquare using the parent and guardian contact information we have on file for you in Skyward. In addition, specific groups, such as athletics, will be using ParentSquare exclusively this school year to assist with a smoother transition.
All district information will continue to be sent to you via email, call and/or text in addition to the ParentSquare Platform. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices). Each parent/guardian in the Skyward system will receive notifications.
If you have any questions or need any help, we're here for you! Check out our UPSD ParentSquare Parent Help Page to view our FAQs or contact parentsquare@upsd.org if you need any additional help.
Classroom Supplies
Our Schedule
The snapshot below will hopefully help you to prepare for what a typical day for your child will look like. A more detailed schedule will be provided individualized to your child once the school year begins. We will run on a five day cycle. Check out the special’s link by clicking on the word "special" in our schedule below to see which day your student has each special!
Please note we will be having a working, PEANUT FREE working snack around 10:30 am daily. This should be a healthy and mess free snack that comes along to school daily.
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Monday-Friday |
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8:25- 8:55 |
Entrance/Homeroom |
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9:00-9:40 |
Writing |
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9:45-10:25 |
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10:30-11:00 |
Shared Reading |
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11:00-12:00 |
Guided Reading |
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12:00-1:05 |
Lunch/Recess |
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1:10-2:40 |
Math |
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2:40-3:20 |
Science/Social Studies |
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3:20-3:30 |
Dismissal Prep & Dismissal |
2023 - 2024 Student Information Form
Please complete the 23/24 Student Information Google Form linked below.
23/24 Student information form
Succeeding in Fourth Grade
ELA
"The best way to become a better reader is to practice each day, with books you choose, on your just-right reading level. It soon becomes habit"
The Daily 5
It won’t be long until you hear your child talking about “The Daily Five.” The purpose of this letter is to inform you on what The Daily Five is all about, so you understand how your child’s literacy block is structured.
The Daily Five is a way of structuring the reading block so every student is independently engaged in meaningful literacy tasks. These research based tasks are ones that will have the biggest impact on student reading and writing achievement, as well as help foster children who love to read and write. Students receive explicit whole group instruction and then are given independent practice time to read and write independently while I provide focused, intense instruction to individuals and small groups of students.
The 5 components of the Daily Five.
- Read to Self
- Work on Writing
- Read to Someone
- Listen to Reading
- Word Work
There are very specific behavior expectations that go with each Daily 5 component. We will spend our first weeks working intensely on building our reading and writing stamina, learning the behaviors of the Daily 5 and fostering our classroom community. I will also spend time learning about your child’s strengths and greatest needs as a reader in order to best plan for each student’s instruction.
Your child will be taught to select “Good Fit Books” or books they can read, understand and are interested in, which they will read during Daily 5. They will be spending most of their time actually reading, which research supports as the number one way to improve reading. I anticipate the motivation and enjoyment of reading will skyrocket when this gift of choosing their own books is accompanied by extended practice and specific reading instruction for each individual child.
As you can see, I am excited about giving your child the opportunity to be involved in a structure that will have a positive effect on their education.
Please think of our classroom as you visit garage sales or clean your own child’s bookcase. It is my goal to make our classroom library as appealing as your favorite bookstore for browsing.
Mrs. Smith
One big change at the Upper Perkiomen 4th and 5th Grade Center will be the departmentalization of our teaching staff. I am so excited to introduce my teaching partner to you, Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith will be giving your child all of their Math, Science, and Social Studies instruction this year. Any specific questions regarding Math, Science, and Social Studies can always be directed to her at msmith@upsd.org. Click the link below to access Mrs. Smith's teacher page!
Useful Links
Worldbook On-line
Kids Spell
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Use this to help practice your spelling words. It counts towards your spelling contact as long as you print your work.
Spelling City
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Use this to practice your spelling words. It counts towards your weekly spelling contract as long as you print your work.
