2nd Grade Welcome Handbook **Please keep this information somewhere safe, so you can refer to it all year.

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My name is Amy Samson, and Im excited to be your childs teacher this year! This will be my 19th year of teaching. I have a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Illinois State University and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education from Piedmont College. I am also endorsed to teach English as a Second Language (ESOL). I have taught in Illinois, Arizona, and Georgia. I have taught Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades. I have a daughter named Melissa, 4, who goes to preschool at Kids R Kids down the street from Meadowcreek. Im also married to Mr. Rollins, who works in the dental industry. We live in Duluth. Your child will be very busy this year learning several different types of writing styles, many different genres of literature, we will learn to regroup/ borrow in addition and subtraction, and begin multiplication at the end of the year. The first half of 2nd grade is a lot of K-1 review. The second half of 2nd grade can be very challenging as students prepare for more intense, upper grade work. Second grade is kind of a bridge year, as your child moves from learning to read into reading to learn. Its one of my favorite grades to teach, because I love getting to see how much kids grow and help them become independent learners! Classroom Policies I have a few classroom policies I am requesting your help and support with this year: 1-Behavior. I have high expectations of ALL my students for good behavior. I use an online points system called Class Dojo to help children stay on track throughout the day. You will be given a parent access code to your childs Class Dojo weekly online report at the end of the second or third week of school. You will be able to log on to view how your childs week went. This is an internet-only report, and I will be unable to send a paper version home each day. If you dont have

internet access, youll see a weekly behavior summary on the yellow conduct card in the Friday Folder. Children who earn enough Class Dojo points are able to choose several treats to enjoy the following week, such as a lunch date with Ms. Samson & a friend, a pencil, moving their desk next to a friend for a day, etc. On Fridays, you will always receive a yellow conduct card in your childs Friday Folder. On it, you will see a written summary of their behavior throughout the week. Please sign this each Friday and return on Monday in the Friday Folder. Please sign it each week, even if your child has consistent, good behavior. It lets him or her know youre always checking and that you care. 2-Birthday Treats. Please only send cupcakes or cookies. I do not have access to knives, forks, or plates to do a big cake. We also do not have birthday parties in our classroom, no exceptions. There is very little time and our day is packed with learning. Well pass the cupcakes or cookies out at lunch. Thanks for helping me with this by keeping birthday treats simple. 3-Lunch Dates. You are always welcome to eat lunch with your child. Our lunch time is 12:18-12:48. Sign in at the front desk for a visitor sticker and meet us outside the cafeteria. Unfortunately, the cafeteria will be the only place you can visit with your child when you come since Meadowcreek has a No Parents policy on the playground for safety reasons. You are welcome to visit our class if you make prior arrangements with me. Important: Please do not ask me personal or educational questions about your child in the cafeteria. There are many children present, some listening in, and I want to protect your childs privacy. We are also on a tight schedule and I wont have time to give you the attention you deserve. If you have concerns about your child or school, lets set up a time before or after school to talk privately.

4-Other Concerns: if you are very upset or worried about something, please talk with me first before you contact school administrators or other officials. Any school administratorat our school or the County officewill always ask you: Have you spoken with your childs teacher about this? If the answer is no, they will request you go back and speak with me. Please exercise your good parent judgment when your child brings home stories from our classroom or school. Often, what your child tells you at home may be missing details2nd grade children are still very concrete thinkers, and can be easily confused about what they heard or saw during the school day. Please get in touch with me so we can work on a solution together. If we cannot, then we can look at our other options. 5-Spelling. We no longer have a formal Spelling curriculum in Gwinnett County Public Schools. I know that sounds alarming, but I promise it isnt. Children in 2nd grade WILL learn spelling, but we are taking a different approach to this process. It looks very different from the traditional Spelling program you and I learned in school. Please read the informational letter about our new Word Study program (included in this packet). This is a school district policy and program, not a classroom decision I made. If you have concerns about this new curriculum, please get in touch with me so I can direct you to the appropriate people to voice your concerns. *Classroom Supplies. Your child will be able to keep crayons, glue, pencils, and scissors in his/her desk in a box. All other class supplies will be shared by the class. Please do not send in huge boxes of crayons or markers. These take up too much space in your childs desk and make them disorganized. *STAR Notebook. Each week, your child will come home with a STAR (Stuff To Always Remember) notebook. Inside the STAR notebook will be a homework folder, a bag for sending money/notes to school, a book bag, and a spiral notebook. Please send these to school each day, and

use the spiral notebooks to send notes to me when necessary. **Please

make sure your child knows to tell me when youve written me a note in the STAR notebook. Mornings can become busy and I may not always have time to check these right away.**
HOMEWORK

My class homework policy: I check homework on Fridays. I do not grade homework.

Many research studies have shown homework in primary grades has very little value. However, it may teach responsibility, some children like to do it, and many families expect it, so I send it. However, if completing any part of it becomes too long or frustrating, please feel free to stophomework that is frustrating loses its value. Homework should also be done with very little help or input from you or it also loses its value. *If you feel the homework is too hard for your child: it could be a red flag s/he is struggling academically and you may want to request a meeting with me so we can strategize ways to help your child. *If you feel the homework is too easy for your child: you are always free to supplement with materials you find on your own via the internet (I have several good homework helper and other extra practice websites on our class webpage) or from stores like The School Box (next to Target/Babies R Us in Duluth on Venture Drive). Unfortunately, I will be unable to supplement your child with homework myself. My copies budget is extremely limited. Im always happy to give ideas for ways you can challenge your child at home, but will be unable to send home extra work or worksheets. Thanks in advance for understanding this.

Grading In 2nd grade, children begin receiving letter grades: A=100-90 B=89-80 C=79-75 D=74-70 U=69 and below For work I do not take a formal classwork or test grade on, I use a check system: + = excellent work. = errors. - = your child either did not understand the assignment, did not complete it, or there were other problems. If your child receives a U (Unsatisfactory) on a quiz or test, I try to give him/her a chance to do better. After a 2nd attempt, if the grade is still a U, then that is what your child earned and the grade will remain.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Spanish Translations I try to translate as much as possible for Spanish speaking families. Unfortunately, I will be unable to translate Homework. Homework is weekly, and translating is very time consuming. Your child should be able to explain the homework to you, and should be able to do it independently. Communication I send home a monthly newsletter. It briefly tells you classroom news and skills we are working on in each academic area for that month. It will be in English and Spanish. If you need to get in touch with me, you have these options:

1-Phone message. Please call the school at 770-931-5701. The secretary will take a message and I will call you back, usually by the end of the day. 2-Email. My email address is amy_samson@gwinnett.k12.ga.us. If I am teaching or in meetings, I will be unable to respond to you, but I will always respond by the end of the day. 3-Written Note. Please put these in your childs STAR Folder or Friday Folder. I will get in touch with you either by writing or phone. 4-Website. Our class website address is www.samsonsuperstars.weebly.com. There is a Contact form on the website. You can leave me a message there and I will respond to you as soon as I receive it. Our Daily Schedule (can change) 8:20-8:50 Announcements, Morning Work, & Breakfast (students are tardy at 8:50) 8:50-9:40 CQI Writing 9:40-10:40 Readers Workshop 10:40-11:25 Specials** 11:30-12:15 Language Arts & Word Work 12:18-12:48 Lunch 12:50-1:20 Recess 1:30-2:30 Math Workshop 2:30-3:10 Social Studies/Science **Specials are on an 8-Day Rotation.** Day 1 Day 2 Science Literacy Day 3 PE** Day 4 Music Day 5 Math Day 6 Art Day 7 PE** Day 8 Social Studies

**Please make sure your child wears tennis shoes on PE days.**