October 15, 2021

 

Griffin Memorial School News

October 15, 2021 GMS Families, Today we marked the return of the Griffy Store. Thank you to the PTO volunteers who made this possible. The students seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to do a little shopping while at recess. Scarecrow Jamboree and Pumpkin Fest are right around the corner. All of the third and fourth grade classes have had their lessons, and now the excitement of their ideas are taking over. This year we have created a website for students and parents to reference and get ideas. Please click below to get more info. Scarecrow Jamboree Information On Tuesday November 2 at 6:30PM, we will be having a community forum and listening session. This event will be held by school administration, district administration, and the design team that will work to develop plans for the future of GMS. You all have so much to give to this process, so we encourage you to come out and share, listen, and learn as we begin this very important work.  Be Well, Be Curious, Now What?,  Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates October 19, 2021 School Picture Day October 29, 2021 Scarecrow Jamboree/ Pumpkin Fest November 2, 2021 GMS Building Project Community Forum  - 6:30 PM November 10, 2021 Parent Teacher Evening Conferences November 11, 2021 No School Veteran's Day November 12, 2021 No School- Parent Teacher Conferences GMS News COVID Update At this time we are reporting TWO positive cases within our school community. Scarecrow Jamboree Third and fourth grade students began speaking about the 39th annual Scarecrow Jamboree in classes this week.  They learned about the history of scarecrows and considered some possibilities for their scarecrows through curated videos.  2 of these videos will be linked on the Scarecrow Jamboree website, which is coming soon.  Some classes will begin thinking about scarecrow designs, writing about what they hope to create, and recording a screencast.  Jamboree will take place on October 29, 2021.  All scarecrows can be dropped off from 4 - 6:00 on October 28, 2021.   News from the SAU/ Superintendent Community Engagement Opportunity The Litchfield School District has scheduled a Community Listening and Information session on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, at the Griffin Memorial School Gymnasium beginning at 6:30 pm.  This is one of several community forum events that are scheduled to present information on, and gather community input for, the elementary school in Litchfield. Planning and design team members will be in attendance to present information to the community, listen to ideas, hear concerns, and answer questions.  This session will be interactive and engaging. All members of the Litchfield Community are invited to join us to discuss our community’s elementary school. Be well, Mike Jette, Superintendent of Schools News from the PTO The PTO will have their monthly meeting this Tuesday at 6:30 via Zoom, and Agenda can be found HERE. Pumpkin Festival will be on Friday, October 29th from 6-8pm!  For more information please see this flyer: Pumpkin Fest Flyer {Griffy Store} Have you heard... the Griffy Store is back!  To keep the store running we need VOLUNTEERS during recess times. ****All volunteers need to go through the school district's Volunteer Training in order to help at the store. Please contact Maura Clinton-Jones at mclintonjones@litchfieldsd.org. If you are a returning volunteer please make sure your documents are updated. All volunteers need to demonstrate proof of vaccination. More information about volunteering can be found here: https://www.litchfieldsd.org/VolunteersStudentTeaching.aspx Additional Info: • Grand Re-Opening Day is October 15, 2021 (rain date; Oct 22th).  We will post pictures of inventory so you can help your students plan.   • To start the year, all students will be limited to two items. • Any questions, feel free to email gmstigersden@gmail.com or message us.  News from the Community The Litchfield Recreational Basketball League (LRBL) is excited to announce registration for the 2021-2022 season is now open for our three programs: Travel, Recreational and Instructional for students in grades 1 through 8.  Additionally, we are seeking interested Coach candidates to apply. For more information about each program and details about the schedules please visit www.lrbl.net. Register Today: https://tinyurl.com/yawjfddc We also invite you to come warm up at our free open gym times. See the schedule attached.  Questions can be emailed to lrblboard@gmail.com Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know The Litchfield School District launched the First View Bus Tracker Parent App at the beginning of September 2021.  Unfortunately, driver shortages delayed the uploading of certain information into the bus tracker system that allows the buses to be tracked along the routes.   As of 9/24/2021, we are working with First View to address this issue and hope to have the parent app working accurately soon.  First View has received parent user feedback and they are working to determine and correct any issues.  Additionally, First View has added a new feature to their app.  First View recommends updating the Parent App on your phones to ensure you have the most up to date version.   Thank you for your patience while we navigate through this issue.    Please check back periodically for updated information.  App Use Instructions  To access the bus tracker app, download the First View app, go through a short registration and you will be able to access information on your child's bus, such as live tracking, predictive stop times, and more.  Please read the guides provided and follow the registration guide that contains the code for your child's or children's school (found on page 2), which you will need to submit during the registration process. To access the information, please click on the links provided: First View Parent Letter Registration Guide FAQs 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.   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. 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/