November 13 , 2026 | GMS Families, Having a Wednesday off always makes for a strange week. Throw Friday the 13th into the mix, and well... Despite that we still had a memorable week. On Tuesday over 50 local Veterans joined us in our annual Veterans Day Assembly. The students took part in patriotic songs, heard some poems, and learned the story of one of our own Veterans among us. This is always a meaningful assembly and we thank those that come out every year to make a difference to our students.
Though it was Wednesday, we still want to extend our thanks and appreciation to all the Veterans among us. We recognize your service and sacrifice and know we would not enjoy the freedoms we have without it. Thank you for your service.
Next week is the only five day week we have in the month of November so we look forward to the progress we will achieve. Looking towards the future, we will be holding a Community Forum regarding the GMS building project that will be on the March ballot. This forum will be on December 1 at 6:00 PM at CHS. More information will be included in Superintendent O'Connell's weekly newsletter, including a way to presubmit questions. We hope you are able to join us and be part of this upcoming, consequential vote.
Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates November 20, 2026
| Griffy Store and Recesses
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| November 24, 2026
| Kindergarten Thanksgiving Balloon Parade
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| November 25-27, 2026
| No School- Thanksgiving Break
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| | December 1, 2026 | Community Forum- 6:00 PM CHS |
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GMS News THE BOOK FAIR WAS A SUCCESS! Thank you for your volunteer and financial support with the book fair, which is a fundraiser for the library. Over $12,000 was spent of which the library can keep 25% to be used for library purchases! We also had two local businesses, Bradley Tree and New England Small Tube, that donated money to help students who needed it to purchase a book. If you did not make it to the book fair or would like to see more options than what we had at school, you can go to this link until Nov. 15th. Upcoming Food Drive
We are excited to share that next week, the GMS Student Council is hosting the Pack the Pantry Food Drive to support the wonderful End 68 Hours of Hunger program!
For anyone unfamiliar with their mission, End 68 Hours of Hunger is an amazing non-profit that puts together weekend food packages for local school-aged children facing food insecurity. Their name comes from the roughly 68-hour gap between free school lunch on Friday afternoon and free school breakfast on Monday morning. This is a time when vulnerable kids in our community might otherwise go without enough to eat.
To help fill these weekend packs, we are collecting non-perishable and canned goods all next week, and we would love your help. See the flyer for items that are most needed. Thanks in advance for your support! From the School Counselors Self-esteem plays an important role in a child’s growth, resilience, and happiness. Check out this month’s Counselors Corner newsletter for quick, actionable tips on boosting your child's confidence—plus an inside look at our current SEL lessons! Upcoming Parent Forum Our school district is currently participating in the NH Department of Education's Program Approval and General Supervision (PAGS) process. As part of this process, the Bureau of Special Education Support (BSES) is gathering feedback from families and caregivers of children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to help ensure that students receive the supports and services they need. The BSES, in coordination with the Parent Information Center of NH (PIC), is inviting families of students with IEPs to participate in a virtual, one-hour focus group. This event is organized, facilitated, and managed by PIC. Participation in the focus group is confidential and no personally identifiable information is shared with the NH Department of Ed or the Litchfield School District. To ensure confidentiality, pre-registration for the focus group is required. If you are unable to attend the focus group, or feel uncomfortable participating, you can still share your experiences. Register for the focus group and select "send me a survey" and PIC will send you a link to an online survey. PIC manages and coordinates the survey and all responses are confidential. We want to hear your feedback about our district's special education system and processes. Your perspective matters and your voice is crucial for identifying strengths and areas for improvement. This is a meaningful opportunity to share your experiences and help shape the future of special education in the Litchfield School District. Event Details: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 from 6:00 - 7:00. Registration link - https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/6r7zv6x PTO News November PTO Meeting - in person
Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, November 17th at 6:30pm IN PERSON at GMS. We have two planned in-person meetings this school year, and this is the first one. We hope you will join us as we hear updates from Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Clinton-Jones, as well as updates about the PTO events and happenings! Looking forward to seeing you there! The Grinch at Chunky’s
Get into the holiday spirit and join us for dinner and our own private showing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at Chunky’s in Manchester on Tuesday, 12/8 or Wednesday, 12/16. Ticket sales will go live Wednesday, 11/18 at 6pm. The cost is $15 per person plus the cost of food and drink. All children's tickets will include a candy cane. As always, pjs are encouraged! November Griffy Store
The next Griffy Store of the year is right around the corner on Friday, 11/20. The store will open outside during recess with a variety of items for the students to shop for 2 items (e.g. educational tools, classroom supplies, and more). Inventory forms will be sent home with students prior to the store opening, so stay tuned. To keep the store running we need VOLUNTEERS during recess times. Please consider volunteering for one of the slots. You can sign-up here! Holiday Store The holiday season is upon us, and we need our amazing Holiday Wrapping Elves to help wrap gifts for the GMS Holiday Store which gives our K-4 students the chance to experience the joy of holiday shopping for their loved ones. Please sign up here to pick up items to wrap. Thank you for helping make the holiday magic happen! More details about the store will be shared so stay tuned! Calling all 4th Grade Families
Now is the time to start saving photos to send to us for the yearbook. As you think about photos, please note that all photo submissions should have current 4th grade GMS students only. To submit photos from the Scarecrow Jamboree, please click here. To submit photos from Pumpkinfest, please click here. To submit photos from previous years, please click here. Please reach out to Melissa Frappier at gmsyearbook2027@gmail.com with any questions. **All of this information and more may be found on our Facebook Page: GMS PTO NH 2026-2027.** Community News Boston Marathon Miles for Miracles Fundraiser- 12/12/26 @ 5pm, Northside Grille For: Keleigh & Meriden Morin Meriden is a 4th grader at GMS in Mrs. Cohen’s class with a rare genetic disorder. She has been receiving care at Boston Children’s Hospital for almost 10 years. Her mom Keleigh is running her second Boston Marathon on the Boston Children’s Miles for Miracles Team. What & Where: Raffles (Pokémon basket, World Market Candy Basket, S’mores Basket, & so much more), Litchfield Apparel, new Litchfield ornaments, & a donation station generously hosted at the Northside Grille. Link for direct donations: https://secure.childrenshospital.org/site/TR/ActiveEvents/ActiveEvents?pg=personal&px=3125037&fr_id=2760 Spirit of Litchfield Tree Lighting The Spirit of Litchfield Tree Lighting is coming up in a few short weeks. More information can be found in the link below. See you all there... Spirit of Litchfield Tree Lighting |
Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know From the Nurse's Office To keep our whole community healthy, please keep your student home if they are sick: o a fever (>100.4°)They must be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications o Vomiting in the past 24 hours o Diarrhea more than two bowel movements above what a child normally experiences in a 24 hours period o Respiratory virus symptoms are worsening or not improving and are not better explained by another cause, such as seasonal allergies. o Are overall not feeling well (headache, stomach ache, fatigue, etc.) · Practice hand washing · Practice covering a cough and sneeze · Drink lots of fluids · Get plenty of rest Linked below is a resource for helping prevent the spread of respiratory viruses. As always, you can reach out to the school nurse with any questions or concerns. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html Friendly reminders: The weather is getting colder please send your student to school with a sweatshirt. Also, don't forget to send a water bottle daily! If your student has allergens please consider bringing in a packaged treat for them to have stored in my office for those special birthday occasions celebrated throughout the year labeled with their name. Feel free to reach out to Mrs. Vasil with any questions or concerns. Spirit Days Throughout the year we like to mix in some fun through Spirit Days. In order to give you a chance to plan and prepare for these days we have created THIS LIST. Hopefully a little preparation allows you to express your best spirit on those days. Reminders will be included in the upcoming dates section of this newsletter and more information will be coming regarding the special weeks we have planned. Morning Drop Off Procedures During the morning drop off, both buses and cars will utilize the big loop. As vehicles pull in please pull as far forward until all cars have stopped. Then you can let your child out of the car. Please then wait until the cars in front of you move before pulling forward. Please DO NOT pass a stopped car, cut through the parking lot, or stop at the front door if there is space in front to pull forward. We also ask that you NOT park in the parking lot and walk your child to the door, this adds pedestrian traffic to car traffic. Our attempt is to make this a safe and fluid process. We understand that some back ups do occur, but this procedure ensures safety of all and limits the length of any delay. Pick Up Procedures Those utilizing parent pick up are asked to fill in the large loop at the designated time. Please have the colored pick up slips that were sent home, as these act as verification for our staff. If you arrive early for your designated time, you will be directed to a waiting line in the parking lot until your group time. Pink Group (Last Names A-E): 2:45 Yellow Group (Last Names F-N) 2:52 Blue Group (Last Names O-Z) 3:00 Buses: 3:10 targeted departure Absence Reporting At Litchfield School District, one of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all our students arrive safely at school each and every day. To enhance our existing absence-checking procedure, we now use a more efficient student absence reporting system called SafeArrival. This system will reduce the time it takes to verify student attendance, make it easy for you to report your child’s absence and easy for staff to respond to unexplained student absences. With SafeArrival, you are asked to report your child’s absence in advance using any of these 3 convenient methods: Using your mobile device, download and install the SchoolMessenger app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (or from the links at https://go.schoolmessenger.com). The first time you use the app, select Sign Up to create your account. Select Attendance then Report an Absence. Use the SafeArrival website, https://go.schoolmessenger.com. The first time you use the website, select Sign Up to create your account. Select Attendance then Report an Absence. Call the toll-free number 1-833-516-0370 to report an absence using the automated phone system.
These options are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can be reported at any time. In addition, we will use the SchoolMessenger Communicate automated notification system to contact parents whose child is absent when the absence was not reported in advance. The automated notification system will attempt to contact parents at multiple contact points until a reason is submitted for the absence. If our system is unable to reach the designated contacts, office staff will follow up. If you report your child’s absence in advance using the SafeArrival toll-free number, website or mobile app, you will NOT receive these notifications. SafeArrival Sign Up SafeArrival FAQs SafeArrival Report an Absence Food Services Free and Reduced Meal Applications are available for families needing to apply. Families can apply online HERE, or can fill out a paper copy, available at each school. Families can apply at any time during the school year, all information is confidential, and there is no penalty for applying and not qualifying. For any further information or assistance, please contact Lauren Crowley, SNS, Dining Services Director. Free and Reduced Instructions Free and Reduced Application Free and Reduced Public Release End 68 Hours of Hunger and the Litchfield School District 2026-2027 The End 68 Hours of Hunger Program and Litchfield Schools are pleased to inform you about a free, confidential food program which provides students with meals from Friday after school until they return to school on Monday morning. If meeting the weekend nutritional needs of your child is challenging at this time, we would like to help meet that need. All food is non-perishable and easy to prepare. If your child has any food allergies, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate this need. Nut products are included for those who are not allergic, but children are informed that they are not to open the bags until a parent can review the contents. Each week, bags containing food will be provided to students at school. Students will bring the bag home on the bus or by whatever mode of transportation they have at the end of the day. If you prefer, parents may pick up the bag at school. If you’d like to sign up for the program or need additional information, please contact Jess Carroll, School Social Worker, at jcarroll@litchfieldsd.org |
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