Friday, March 5, 2021

March 5, 2021


Griffin Memorial School News
March 5, 2021
Dear GMS Families,                                                                                          
     We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable vacation. While we all needed a break and some rest, it was wonderful to welcome the students back and have their energy and enthusiasm fill the halls. We now enter one of our longest stretches of the school year, but if this week is any indication we will do great work during this time. 

If you have a child who will be eligible for Kindergarten this fall, you can begin the registration process by following this link Student Registration . By registering your child now you help us plan appropriately for class sizes and staffing needs.

Congratulations to all of the 150 students who earned spy pens for completing the Read Across America Reading Choice Boards!  It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm for reading.  There was also widespread participation with the dress up themes and activities celebrating reading, and Dr. Seuss specifically.  We were fortunate to have Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Clinton-Jones reading Dr. Seuss books to the school as well.  Thank you parents for your involvement!

Be Well, Be Safe, and Be Curious,
Dan Mitchell, Principal
Maura Clinton- Jones, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates


March 9, 2021No School - Town Voting

March 17,2021  12:00- 2:00

Litchfield Child Find

GMS News

Weekly COVID Numbers

Currently we have One positive case associated with the school community.  We continue to monitor the situation and will communicate out when necessary. 

Girls on the Run 

Attention 3rd and 4th graders! Registration is now open for girls on the run! The season starts the week of April 5th. Girls on the run is a physical activity-based youth development program designed to enhance girls’ social, emotional and physical skills. We will meet on Mondays and Thursdays at GMS from 3-430. We will end the season with a 5k celebration! We will be following covid guidelines. Register online at https://www.girlsontherunnh.org/Our-Locations

A message from Ms. Poli and Mrs. Hayes

Mrs. Hayes and Ms. Poli would like to thank all of the parents who joined them yesterday for the conversation on managing anxiety in kids.  This week's session was postponed until next Thursday March 11 at 10:30 am or 6:30 pm for a conversation about working with challenging behaviors.  We hope to see you there and have a wonderful vacation week.


News from the SAU/ Superintendent

No News At This Time

News from the PTO

Next PTO Meeting

Our next virtual GMS PTO Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:30pm (postponed from March 9 due to no school that day).  We will be discussing Teacher Appreciation Week, Yearbook and 4th grade activities, and planning for some virtual spring events.  The Zoom information is: 

Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86290160582?pwd=cFJBNWdtRnI0ZkQ2NXRsekkyY0llZz09

Meeting ID: 862 9016 0582

Passcode: 344883

As always, please let us know if you have any questions!  - Heidi Ames (hames@mooreames.com) and Jenny Eisenbeis (jeisenbeis@gmail.com). 

PTO Sponsored Blood Drive

The GMS and LMS PTOs would like to host a blood drive in town in May in conjunction with the Red Cross. Let us know if you have interest in donating blood here in Litchfield by filling out this quick survey. Eligible students, staff, parents, guardians, and members of the community are all invited to participate. Those who fill out the survey will be given first priority to sign up once the date has been decided. Thank you!

Interest Survey Link: https://forms.gle/Z2tP1veogFcmSzcT8 

News from the Community

The Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains have a few events coming up in the local area.
Repeated News and Announcements

A Note from Mrs. Seabrook

The children are having tons of fun playing at recess, either in or out of the snow. As a result, their masks are getting quite wet and often need replacing after recess. 

If possible could each student have an extra mask in their backpack to provide a replacement if necessary after recess?

I do have paper masks here, but children are always more comfortable in their own masks.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

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:

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

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 athttps://griffinnhnews.blogspot.com/
              












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