Dear GMS Families, It was amazing to have the students back this week. From the meets with our remote students to having our in person students in over two days, the energy was present and exactly what we needed. As we go into next week and this school year, we will all learn so much. Our teachers have been working tirelessly to plan how to reach all our students, engage them in learning, provide them meaningful learning experiences, and give them the attention they all deserve. This is no easy task, but one our staff has risen to the challenge of. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we all work through the many aspects of schooling this year together. This week we were able to see our new pick up and drop off routines in action. We learned much about these in the first few days and have already added tweaks to make this as smooth a process as possible. Kudos to the many parents who utilized drop off and pick up. Your cooperation was noticed and greatly appreciated. As the year gets under way, you may find yourself needing to reach out to school staff about a particular issue or with a specific question. We have created THIS handy chart that should help you determine who to reach out to. Every day we are learning there are new questions that need to be answered and new puzzles that need to be solved. We are doing our best to answer these questions and will communicate them with you as soon as possible. While ideally, they will be sent out weekly with this blog, we also know that sometimes information will need to be shared more timely. Please make sure to pay attention to your email for updates. Hopefully as things begin to settle we will be able to send information to you on more regular, weekly basis. Finally, please remember to follow the procedures laid out in the District Daily Health Screening Form. This does not need to be sent in but rather followed each day for any student attending in person. Everyone doing their part will help us create a safe, healthy, and comfortable learning environment for all.
Be Well and Be Curious,
Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton- Jones, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Dates | Monday, September 7 | No School- Labor Day | | Tuesday, September 8 | No School- State Primary Election | | Wednesday, September 9 | First Day of School for All Learners |
GMS News Parent Pick Up To account for the increase in parent pick ups this year as well as to be able to offer a contact-less pick up process, the following will be the procedures for parent pick up. Parent pick up will occur in four shifts based on the alphabet. It is of utmost importance that you arrive for your assigned pick up time. If it is unavoidable and you arrive early we ask that you wait in the staff parking portion of the lot until your assigned time, colored signs will be used to show which group is currently picking up and where to wait if you are early. When it is your assigned time, please enter the large loop, pull as far forward as possible, and then wait outside your driver’s side door. Each family is being given two labeled, colored pick up slips. If you are having someone other than you picking up your child please provide them one of these slips. Please hold this pick up slip while you wait (think airport valet),or you may place it in your passenger side window. The students will be dismissed by group and will be reunited with their parents. Once all students in a group are safely secured in a vehicle then the entire group will leave. No car will be allowed to move until all students are safely secured. The group times are as follows: Last Name Color Time A-D Pink 2:45- 2:52 E-L Yellow 2:53- 3:00 M-Q Blue 3:01- 3:08 R-Z Purple 3:09- 3:15 Powerschool Parent Portal This summer we switched our Student Information System to Powerschool. As part of Powerschool, you are able to access the Parent Portal in the Infinite Campus feature of this syste. Please follow the link below to set up you parent portal account. Please contact the main office if you have an issues creating an account. For Parents - Directions for Parent Access A Letter from our nurses Please click on the LINK to find a letter from the three district nurses. News from the SAU/ Superintendent Dress Code For the new school year, a committee of students, parents and staff drafted a new dress code that better articulates expectations for student and staff appearance at school. Please review this with your Litchfield student to ensure they are dress code compliant when attending school. Please follow the link below for a copy of the dress code. dress code A Message from Food Services Dear Litchfield Parents, I am working very hard to get the school lunch program up and running in the next few days, and will take the time at the end of my day to deliver student numbers for K12PaymentCenter. If you do not receive an email from me, on Sept 9th, all students will receive a foodservice letter and "ID Card" with their student number on it. It will be included with all the other paperwork that goes home on the first day of school! Thank you for your patience! Some FAQ's: 1. How do I get my balance from MySchoolBucks transferred to K12PaymentCenter? All balances that were on MySchoolBucks have been transferred into our new meal charging system, Meals+. There will not be a balance on k12paymentcenter until either a transaction or payment is made. 2. What was my student's balance last year? The balance is included when the student number is requested! 3. Does k12paymentcenter have an app? Yes it does!!! Search K12PaymentCenter wherever you download apps from! 4. Do I have to use K12paymentcenter? No. You can still send checks/cash in with your student's First and Last name and teacher on it! Thank you for your understanding Lauren Crowley
News from the PTO The first PTO meeting of the year will be held virtually on September 15 at 6:30 PM. More information will be coming shortly
News from the Community No news to share at this time
Repeated News and Announcements
Recess Protocols Recess is such an important aspect of the elementary school experience. In an attempt to provide recess during this time of awareness and precaution recess will follow certain protocols and procedures. Further, our schoolyard will be divided into four areas that classes will access on a weekly basis. These area assignments will have to be reviewed and reassessed at the time of inevitable snow cover. Please see below for the detailed protocols.
A Message from the School Nurse We are facing unusual times while returning to school during this pandemic. Here is some information on our health guidelines for families on COVID-19 for the 2020/21 school year. I hope you will find this helpful. Please do not hesitate to call me @ 424 5931 ext. 1108 at any time. Here are things you can do @ home to prepare for this school year. Practice Hand Hygiene-regular thorough hand washing for at least 20 seconds. Review mask policy and practice taking masks of and on while only holding the ear loops. Please note that “Gators” are not acceptable for school use. Practice physical distancing - 6 feet apart. Please send in a reusable water bottle, as our water fountains are inaccessible. Practice respiratory etiquette. Cough and sneeze into elbows. Please keep your child home when they have any signs of COVID-19.
Fever > 100, Cough or shortness of breath Loss of taste or smell Headache Sore throat Muscle or body aches or fatigue Runny nose or congestion Stay Healthy and safe! Susan Seabrook, RN School Nurse, GMS
Masks and Other PPE When it comes to wearing masks the scientific evidence is clear and decisive: Masks prevent individual droplets expelled by breathing from being spread to others. The purpose of masks is not to filter out droplets for the wearer, but rather to prevent a wearer’s breath droplets from being spread to others. Therefore, we will require masks to be worn on each school campus when six feet of distance cannot be maintained. This includes entry and exit from the building, in hallways, and during passing periods. While lines will be spaced out during passing, we cannot confirm that 6 feet will be able to be maintained. While desks will be 6 feet apart to allow for mask removal, there may also be times in the classroom where masks will need to be worn (i.e. small group work, morning meeting, etc.) Some parents have inquired about their child wearing other PPE, mainly face shields. Face shields can be worn but only with a mask as well. A face shield alone does not provide the protection or mitigation that a mask does. If you choose to send your child with a face shield as well as a mask that is more than acceptable. | 
Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE August 15, 2024 GMS Families, As Green Day once said "Summer has come and p...
Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE August 23, 2024 GMS Families, Monday brings the beginning of the 24-25 school year...
No comments:
Post a Comment