Dear GMS Families, This past week we celebrated both Volunteer Appreciation Week and Administrative Assistants' Day. It is appropriate that we celebrate these two groups in the same week, because they are the backbone of this school and community. Though this year has been strange and volunteer opportunities have been different, we are so appreciative of what all our volunteers have been able to do to keep and make GMS so special. Likewise the work, passion, and creativity that Mrs. Leary, Mrs. Wilcox, and Mrs. Siperek have shown on a daily basis have not only kept us operational but have allowed us to thrive. Words cannot properly express our gratitude and thanks to you all. When we return from a well earned vacation, time will seem to speed up as we race to the end of the school year. We have many special events and end of the year activities planned that will make the time fly by. Please be sure to check this blog weekly, as many important updates and details will be shared in the coming weeks. Remember you can still purchase your Kylie's Angels bracelets by clicking HERE. The support that you have already shown has been tremendous and there will be more chances to show you support coming in the future.
Be Well, Be Safe, Have a Great Vacation, and Be Curious,
Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton- Jones, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Dates | June 14, 2021 | Relay Recess- More information coming soon! | | June 15, 2021 | Fourth Grade Recognition- More information coming soon! | | June 16, 2021 | Field Day | June 17, 2021 | Current Last Day of School |
GMS NewsWeekly COVID Numbers Currently we have 3 positive cases associated with the school community. We continue to monitor the situation and will communicate out when necessary. From Mrs. Prevel-Turmel and the Learning Commons GMS has a new book subscription through Scholastic called BookFlix. There are many fiction books paired up with nonfiction books along with activities and further information links. Many of the books are read aloud, which is helpful to our younger students. I hope that this resource helps foster the love of reading and learning! You can access it with the following link: https://digital.scholastic.com/site/launch/bkflix?ucn=600072475 The username is gms1 and the password is flix.
________________________________________________________________ 4th Graders it is voting time for the New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award! The Voting link is on the library Google Classroom. You have until April 30th to vote for your favorite book. If you have read at least one of the 2020-2021 nominees, please make sure that your voice is heard and vote! American Red Cross Blood Drive Griffin Memorial School along with the GMS PTO is partnering with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive through the Pint-Size Hero program. This program will introduce students to the importance of blood donation and will provide lifesaving blood products for hospital patients. Our students will have the opportunity to show leadership and help save lives by recruiting blood donors for our upcoming blood drive. Each student who recruits an adult to donate will be recognized as a Pint-Size Hero with a fun gift from the Red Cross. You can support this program by donating blood, recruiting other donors or volunteering at the blood drive. Please schedule your blood donation appointment at redcrossblood.org using sponsor code LitchfieldNH, by downloading the Blood Donor App. Litchfield Schools Blood Drive Thursday, May 27, 2021 1:00pm to 7:00pm Open Doors Christian Fellowship 359 Charles Bancroft Highway Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. We hope you will join us and help save lives! Pint Size Hero Flyer
News from the SAU/ Superintendent Update on Masks - We have received a few questions about how the Litchfield School District is responding to the expiration of NH’s mask mandate. It is important to remember that the mandate went into effect just before Thanksgiving. Our school reopening plan established masks as a critical component of success back in August. Again, we were ahead of the curve and have been successful delivering in-person learning 5 days a week thanks in part to masking. Therefore, we will continue to require staff, students and visitors to wear masks on campus for the duration of the school year. This summer, we will evaluate our reopening plan for next school year and determine the role of masking in that future plan. For student athletes and athletic spectators, we will continue to follow NHIAA mask rules and honor our commitments to our local team cohort. If the NHIAA is requiring masks as part of tournament play, we will train and compete accordingly to ensure any athlete fortunate enough to compete in a tournament is fully prepared for the competitive experience. News from the PTO Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week: May 3rd - 7th GMS PTO is super excited to share with you Destination: Appreciation! Our teachers will be flying through a week of fun activities and events planned for them. And we need YOUR help! To help and sign up, please follow this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/.../10c0d49a4a829abface9... In addition to the Sign-up Genius, here are additional ways for students and families to participate: Monday (5/3): Bring your teacher their favorite snack, candy or special treat. Check with your room parents for their list of favorites. Thursday (5/6): Write and deliver a postcard to your teachers, staff, and bus drivers expressing your gratitude for them. Here is an optional printable postcard for you to use here. In addition to your teachers, staff, and bus drivers, we invite each grade to write a card for the following departments: Office Staff - Kindergarten Unified Arts (PE, Music, Library, Art, and Computer) - 1st Grade Reading/Math/Enrichment Tutors - 2nd & 3rd Grade Cafeteria/Recess Monitors - 4th Grade
Friday (5/7): Wear your orange and black or Griffy gear to show your GMS school pride.
News from the Community
No news at this time
Repeated News and Announcements A Note from Mrs. Seabrook I am aware that many students have seasonal allergies and our pollen counts are beginning to rise. If your child has seasonal allergies, it should be documented by their medical provider. Unfortunately many seasonal allergy symptoms are also symptoms of COVID 19. Your child will need a COVID test to return to school unless their allergies are documented by their provider. I am asking parents to be proactive and obtain a note from their child's provider stating that they have seasonal allergies to hopefully prevent a COVID test in the future. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me @ 424-5931 ext 1108 or email me @ sseabrook@litchfieldsd.org. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 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 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 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
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