January 29, 2021

 

Griffin Memorial School News

January 29, 2021 Dear GMS Families,                                                                                                  Well that was certainly the coldest drop off and dismissal of the school year. Thankfully we had a little help from another well bundled assistant.....                    Seriously though, we want to thank you for your cooperation in making both drop off and dismissal move quickly and seamlessly this morning. Also, a big shout out to other members of the staff who stepped up so those on duty were not exposed to the elements for too long.              Today's blog is probably the largest of the year. There is much information in it, so please read completely. Today you will find information about Lego league, Ms. Poli's upcoming parent series, report cards, Breakfast Wars, and a note from Dr. Jette.  Be Well and Be Curious, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton- Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates February 6, 2021 Litchfield Deliberative Session - 10:00 AM (School Warrants 1:00) March17,2021  12:00- 2:00 Litchfield Child Find GMS News Weekly COVID Numbers Currently we have Two positive case associated with the school community. One case has no impact on our in person school community and therefore there is no further impact related to it. We just learned of the second case minutes ago, but believe that the impact will be limited. We will be contacting those that we determine to be impacted by it as soon as possible. We continue to monitor the situation and will communicate out when necessary.  Report Cards Report cards will be sent home next Friday. These will also be available on the Parent Portal. When viewing on the parent portal, there are a few steps you will need to take in order to view the report card correctly displaying competency scores as opposed to traditional grades (which we don't use). Using computer for Portal On left, click on Quick Links > Current Grades and Attendance Click on Standards Grades tab Click on black triangle next to class name-- you will then see the grades for each standard -- the Work Study Practices show as 1, 2, 3, or 4 Using app for Portal: Click on the name of the class Click on Standards tab Parent will then see the grades for each standard -- the Work Study Practices show as 1, 2, 3, or 4   To familiarize you with the new report card, we have created THIS PRIMER. This primer is based on a third grade report card. The other grades will still look similar though the competencies will be a bit different at each grade. If you have any questions or need any assistance with understanding this new report card, please reach out to Mr. Mitchell. A message from Ms. Poli Hello GMS parents...It is not easy being a parent with so much going on this year.  We want you to feel as supported and as connected as possible.  We would like to present parents with an opportunity to receive support on a wide range of topics.  The topics that can be addressed may include anxiety, isolation, motivation, friendships, self-care, etc.  We hope to provide a 30 minute virtual session/per week.  Look for a follow-up email and survey next week.  We hope to see you there!  Breakfast Wars Are Coming!!!! Litchfield Food Services is starting a new tradition and friendly school v. school competition.  It is called Breakfast Wars!  We are encouraging everyone to help show support for your school and help them win the coveted Golden Fruit Basket!  All you need to do is purchase breakfast at your school!   Breakfast is offered every day at each school, and it is offered to all remote students as well.  A combination of fresh fruits, whole grains, proteins and milk are offered to our students to fuel them for a day of learning!  Start times for each school are CHS - 7:00 AM; LMS - 7:15 AM; GMS: 8:05 AM.   Here is a slideshow that explains it even more: CLICK HERE We hope you partake in this fun game and help your school win! First Lego League Don't forget that the deadline to get your application in is this Sunday, January 31. The FIRST Lego League curriculum has a lot of coding involved with it this year. The program is for students grades 2-4 who have a passion for Legos, engineering, computer coding and creativity thinking. The club will meet remotely on Wednesday afternoons for one hour; there will not be any in-person meetings. Participating students will be able to borrow lego kits from the club. Space is limited and participants will be chosen by lottery just as they have in the past. Incomplete applications will not be considered. To apply please complete this google form with your child: FIRST Lego League Explorers Application Please contact Kristin Starrett with any questions or concerns; kstarrett@litchfieldsd.org News from the SAU/ Superintendent An Update and an Apology - Last Monday morning, we had to call a late hour school delay due to water pouring out of the ceiling in the main hallway of GMS.  We thought a pipe had burst and we needed the time to shut things down and clean up the mess.  I did not want another full day disruption to an already fractured school year, and there was no way to quickly pivot to remote learning.  We had to make in-person learning work, and our staff and students responded by pulling together and getting the job done. As the water was being mopped up, we discovered that the school had run out of heating oil over the weekend.  This caused all 3 boilers to shut off, and as the heating pipes cooled down the aged vitriolic fittings shrunk and water escaped into the ceiling void.  Gallons of escaping water resulted in the flood.  Our Facilities Director has taken immediate steps to ensure we don't have another oversight with our fuel levels.  On behalf of all involved, please accept my sincere apology for the hundreds of last minute scrambles that happened across the district on Monday morning.  We are committed to better performance going forward. News from the PTO No News at This Time News from the Community No News At This Time Repeated News and Announcements Child Find Litchfield School District will be hosting our annual "Child Find Program"  Wednesday  March 17, 2021 from 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM. This program is open to all Litchfield residents regardless of enrollment at GMS. If your child is between the ages of 2 1/2 to 5 years 11 months, and you have concerns about their development, vision, hearing, coordination or speech, please reach out to Courtney Beach  to schedule an appointment by calling 603-424-5931 x 1120 or emailing cbeach@litchfieldsd.org. From the Learning Commons I am excited to announce that the Litchfield School District now has the SORA app available to all students.  This is a library of ebooks and audiobooks that can be borrowed from any computer, tablet or Smartphone. I have included a couple of videos to get you started. SORA overview Parent Information If you search using Litchfield's zip code (03052), you can add two collections to the Litchfield School District one:  NH State Library and NH Schools Shared Digital Collection.  Please help your children to be able to take advantage of these book borrowing opportunities.  They could find the SORA app in their Google apps as well and will need to log on using their Litchfield School District Google account.  If you have any questions, please let me know by contacting me at mprevelturmel@litchfieldsd.org. Enjoy! Melina Prevel-Turmel A Message for Families This past year has certainly presented many challenges that may be difficult for adults and this can be even more true for children. Although we may work hard to insulate our children from troubling events happening in our world, they are perceptive and can be impacted by things they do not fully understand. The National Association of School Psychologists offers the following tips on Helping Your Child Cope with Challenging Events. If you would like any additional support for your family, the following resources are available: Jennifer Hayes, GMS School Counselor (424-5931 x1106) Marie Polichronopoulos, GMS School Psychologist (424-5931 x1160) Waypoint Family Services (603-518-4000) LifeStance Health (603-883-0005) NH Substance Misuse & Addiction Helpline (1-844-711-4357) Crisis Text Line (Text 741741) If you or a family member is showing any of the Warning Signs of Suicide, please get help as soon as possible by calling the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or Crisis Text Line (Text 741741). Absence Reporting Email The GMS office now has a dedicated email address to use to report your child tardy or absent:  GMSabsences@litchfieldsd.org. You can also find it on the Griffin Memorial School homepage, on the top, left side under “ABSENCES”. When you send an email please include the following information:                 *Child’s first and last name                 *Teacher                 *Reason for absence If you would prefer to leave a voicemail message when your child is absent or tardy you are still welcome to call 424-5931 and then hit “6” when you hear the automated message. Please remember to include the above information in the voice message. Please note that when you email or leave a voice message saying that your child “will be out” then the absence is recorded as unexcused. Please tell us the reason for the absence so it is documented correctly. Don't forget to join the GMS SEL classroom with Mrs. Hayes and Ms. Poli.  Click the link  to join  https://classroom.google.com/c/MTQyODg4MjYzNDIy?cjc=333dr33 Music Google Classroom We ask all students to please go on and accept the invitation for the Music Google Classroom. All students must do this regardless if you have had music already, are currently having music, or haven't yet had your music block. Once all students are enrolled in the Classroom, we will then be able to synchronize with the publishers online platform. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. End 68 Hours of Hunger 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 on Monday morning. The program is sponsored by “End 68 Hours of Hunger,” a local, private food program whose mission is to help families feed their children over the weekends. 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 as well as easy to prepare and we do our best to accommodate food allergies when necessary. Guaranteeing your child’s confidential participation in the program is also a top priority. For additional information or to sign up, please contact Jennifer Hayes, GMS School Counselor, at 424-5931 x1106 or jhayes@litchfieldsd.org. 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 Unified Classroom feature of this system. 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

229 Charles Bancroft Hwy. Litchfield, NH 03052 (603) 424-5931 Past Editions of the GMS School News can be found at: https://griffinnhnews.blogspot.com/