GMS Families, It was another amazing week of learning here at GMS. We were able to get around to most classrooms to talk with the students about the power of "Now What?" The students seemed excited about the theme and are looking forward to discovering all the "Now What" moments they will have this school year. Drop off and pick up continue to get smoother and smoother each day. As we get a better handle of the exact timing of the bus departures we will update our bus lists to reflect more accurate times for your planning purposes. Thank you for your patience with this. One aspect of dismissal that hasn't been discussed yet, but was put into place last year is that of early dismissals. We understand that there may be times when you need to pick your child up prior to the end of the day. If this is the case we ask that this take place before 2:30. After 2:30, the first group of parents have arrived and we have begun our regular dismissal procedures, so it becomes very difficult for all involved. So if you require an early dismissal please come to the vestibule prior to 2:30 and we will be happy to accommodate this for you. Open House will take place on September 22 and 23 this year. This event is a parent only event in order for you to learn about your child's classroom experience and hear from the teacher. This is meant for general information purposes and in a group, specific student based conversations will not be able to be had. To limit the crowd size we will breakdown the times by alphabet. You can see the breakdown below in the upcoming events section. If you have two children on the same night, we ask that you join the younger child's class in the 6:00 block and then join the older class at 6:30. Our Specialists only attend one night. If you need to speak to one of the specialists and it is not your student's night, you are welcome to join that night to speak to them. The nights they are attending are as follows: Sept. 22: PE, Music, Library ; Sept. 23: Art, SET. Further, our School Nurse, Mrs. Vail-Naylor will be attending on Thursday Sept.23 so if you have a question for her and are a Wednesday family you may stop by to meet with her. Soon the students will begin taking the iReady assessments. These assessments give the teachers great insight into the students and will assist in programming for ELA and Math in order to best meet each student at his or her level. An introductory letter can be found HERE. Please reach out if you have any questions. Keep reading for more information regarding the PTO, End 68 hours of Hunger, and a way to support our troops. Be Well, Be Curious, Now What?, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Dates
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| | September 22, 2021 | Open House - PreK - Grade 1 6:00 A-K; 6:30 L-Z | | September 23, 2021 | Open House - Grades 2 -4 6:00 A-K; 6:30 L-Z | | October 19, 2021 | School Picture Day |
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GMS News Support Our Troops Specialist Steven Moore-Miller (United States Army) is currently deployed overseas (his son Hayden is in Mrs. Allen's second grade class). He has been gone since March-April 2021 and is expected to return sometime in January 2022. In an effort to boost the morale of the soldiers and to let them know that we are thinking of them, we would like to collect some goodies/supplies to send over. The end of a deployment can be tough and the time can really go by slowly so we are hoping this will give them the boost that they need to finish strong. There are approximately 150 other soldiers with him (two women soldiers). We placed one box in the vestibule for your donations or you could send something into school with your child. Also, you could "Sponsor a Soldier Box" by sending cash in an envelope labeled, "Soldier Box". It costs approximately $13.00 to send one box and we are hoping to send several! We are hoping to send the boxes out at the beginning of October. - Thank You! Below is a list of ideas for donations: -Handmade cards -Candy (no chocolate - it does not travel well) -Slim Jims -Mixed nuts -Gum -Sunflower seeds -Granola bars -Trail mix -Tuna packets -Powdered drink mixes -Hot sauce -Bath Towels -Baby powder/Foot powder -Bars of soap -Deodorant (non-aerosol) -Razors -Sunblock (lotion) -Toothbrushes/Toothpaste/Floss -Chapstick -Hand warmers -Dryer sheets -Lens cleaning cloths -Small nerf footballs (it's always fun to have different team logos on them) -Holiday/Xmas Decorations/Santa Hats/Stockings End 68 Hours of Hunger End 68 Hours of Hunger and 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 to school on Monday morning. 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 and easy to prepare. If your child has any food allergies, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate this need. Nut products are included for those who are not allergic, but children are informed that they are not to open the bags until a parent can review the contents. The bags are delivered to schools and students will take the bags home with them on the bus or at parent pick-up. If you would like to pick up the bags yourself, arrangements can be made for pick up at the front office. If you are interested in joining the program or learning more, please contact Elin Pelland, School Social Worker, at 424-2133 x 2215 or at epelland@litchfieldsd.org. News from the SAU/ Superintendent We have simplified our weekly reporting around COVID-19. The new spreadsheet will be posted to our website every week: LINK. Further NH-DHHS has updated their definitions for cluster and outbreak. These definitions can be found below. A cluster in the school or childcare setting: Multiple cases comprising at least 10% of students, teachers, or staff within a specified core group* OR at least three (3) within a specified core group* meeting criteria for a school-associated COVID-19 case; with symptom onset or positive test result within 14 days of each other§ , AND NO likely known epidemiologic link to a case outside of the school setting. An outbreak in a school or childcare setting: Multiple cases comprising at least 10% of students, teachers, or staff, within a specified core group* OR at least three (3) cases within a specified core group* meeting criteria for a probable or confirmed school-associated COVID-19 case with symptom onset or positive test result within 14 days of each other§ ; who were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting (i.e. household) outside of the school setting; AND epidemiologically linked in the school setting or a school-sanctioned extracurricular activity. Finally we have a desperate need for a CHS Spanish Teacher in addition to many other positions. Please click this LINK and help us fill these positions. Strong! News from the PTO 1st Meeting of the School Year! We look forward to seeing you at our 1st meeting on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 6:30 pm on Zoom. A link will be provided on the PTO Fb page to join. PTO Directory & Volunteer Form! Friendly reminder, please sign up for the 2021-2022 GMS PTO Family Directory and to volunteer. (The QR Code is no longer working.) Please note the directory will NOT be posted on Facebook - only those that sign up will be emailed a link. Please fill out the directory information by September 15th to be included! News from the Community
Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know 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 Bus Routes Bus Routes for the upcoming year can be found here: Bus Routes 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. | 
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