Friday, August 27, 2021

August 27, 2021


Griffin Memorial School News
August 27, 2021

GMS Families,

Here is your first Friday blog of the school year. These last three days have been a whirlwind but we are ready and excited to welcome the students back on Monday. Meet and Greet was a great success, it was so nice to meet all the new students and see their smiles and feel their energy.

Yesterday's blog was meant to give a broad overview of how things will operate this year; we hope that in today's blog we can convey more specifics of this school year. We think the best way to do this is to just a bulleted list. We know that this may not answer every question that you may have, but we hope to answer some. As always please reach out with any questions you may have.

This Year:

- Lunches will take place in the classroom with the exception of one or two classes per grade level.

- Recess will not be sectioned off by class, but rather whole grade. That means students won't have to stay in separate areas for the week - they are free to use any designated recess area and play with whatever friends they would like.

- No grade level is divided for lunch/recess this year, however, kindergarten and 1st grade students will be combined at recess time.

- Specials will continue to operate on a block schedule, so your child will have 8 or 9 days straight of a special before switching to the next. Specials will also take place in the Specialists' Classroom, with the exception of SET.

- Drop off and pick up will remain the same. Drop off begins at 8:05. Pick up is as follows: 2:45 Pink Parent Pick Up, 2:52 Yellow Parent Pick Up: 3:00 Blue Parent Pick Up, 3:05 Bus Call. 

It is of utmost importance that you arrive for your assigned pick up time. If it is unavoidable and you arrive early you will be directed to the staff parking lot where we ask that you park behind the colored cone that matches your child’s pick up group. 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 was sent two labeled, colored pick up slips. Please place one of these slips in your passenger window when you come for parent pick-up. The students will be dismissed by color 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.

- Since masks are not required during recess, students are encouraged to come in with a lanyard or fanny pack to store the mask in during recess.

We are sure that other questions will come up and more details will need to be added as the year progresses. This blog will be the avenue which we share these with you. We recognize that sometimes the email version of this blog has formatting issues and that it appears like code. The version that is texted to you is from another platform and doesn't tend to experience these same issues. We encourage you to view the texted version if the email version is off. We apologize for this inconvenience as it is an issue we have yet to discover a resolution to.

Be Well, Be Safe, Be Curious, and See You Monday!

Dan Mitchell, Principal
Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates
August 30, 2021First Day of School
September 3 - 6No School - Labor Day Break
September 22, 2021

Open House - PreK - Grade 1

More info coming!

September 23, 2021

Open House - Grades 2 -4

More info coming!

October 19, 2021School Picture Day



GMS News

Bus Routes

Bus Routes for the upcoming year can be found here: Bus Routes

News from the Kitchen

For information regarding Free and Reduced Lunch Applications please see THIS FLYER. Though lunches are free for all students this year, completing the application, for those who qualify, is still very important.

Girls on the Run

This year we will be offering a Fall session of Girls on the Run. For more information please refer to THIS FLYER.


News from the SAU/ Superintendent


News from the PTO

No News At This Time

News from the Community


Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know

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 “2” 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.

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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