There are still a number of families who have not completed the confirmation process online. This is for all families and emails went out a few weeks back. In order to get to the home stretch and goal of 100% completion, we will be doing a drawing next Friday. All families who have completed the process will be eligible to win gift cards to many local establishments. We hope this gets us to the finish line... More information can be found HERE
On Tuesday November 2 at 6:30PM, we will be having a community forum and listening session. This is the first of several community dialogue sessions to seek input from parents, taxpayers, and citizens on the future of the Griffin Elementary School facility. The district is in the early stages of exploring several options to deliver a high quality educational facility for Litchfield elementary aged students. This is a continuation of a year-long process looking at potential renovation or new construction that was set in motion by voter approval of study funding at the 2021 district annual meeting last March. The primary focus of this session will be a focus on the educational program and how or if the current school building can support the desired program. Based on community feedback during and following this session, subsequent community dialogue sessions in December and January will be progressively more focused on a desired path forward. We welcome participation by any interested citizen.
The book fair is coming! Mark your calendars! The students will be coming during the day on one of the following dates: Nov. 4-10. Your child's teacher will let you know when.
Also, please see the home page for a book fair flyer and online shopping. THE BOOK FAIR NEEDS VOLUNTEERS IN ORDER TO RUN! If you are able to help, please sign up on the following link:
GMS book fair home page
Finally, We would like to thank you all for your generous care package and cash donations to SGT Moore-Miller and his Army Unit. We were able to mail 20 boxes full of snacks, toiletries, games, magazines, etc. Thank you again for your generosity - it was greatly appreciated!
GMS News
COVID Update
At this time we are reporting ZERO 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.
From the Lunch Room
"Beginning Nov 1st, food services will be transitioning back to the 'normal serving line' cafeteria set up that was in place pre-covid. This will mainly impact the classes that currently eat in the cafeteria. Your student will select the meal they ordered in the morning (hot lunch or yogurt meal) and will select their milk, and fruit/vegetable in a normal cafeteria serving style. They will then need to be "rung out" at the register, meaning they will need to learn their lunch PIN number. The PIN number will be sent home by Friday to those classes that currently eat in the cafeteria. The other classes should have their PIN numbers by early next week at the latest. When we eventually go back to everyone eating lunch in the cafeteria, this should (hopefully) help the process go a little more smoothly. We are asking you to please help your child learn their PIN at home. If you have any further questions, please contact Lauren Crowley, Food Service Director at lcrowley@Litchfieldsd.org or 603-546-0300 x3112
From the Art Room
Monday October 25th is International Artist Day. This is a day to celebrate all forms of art-- painting, sculpture, music, theater, photography, architecture and more! Please join us in celebration of the young artists in our school community, here is a link to our online art gallery https://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=2731
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
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.
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