Friday, October 8, 2021

October 8, 2021

 


Griffin Memorial School News
October 8, 2021
GMS Families,

It was only a four day week, but that didn't stop the students from achieving great things this week. Third and Fourth graders have excitedly begun the work for the Scarecrow Jamboree, while K, 1, and 2 continue their great work as well. At this point only a few Kindergartners are left to take the iReady assessments. These results have proven to be quite helpful in planning and programming for the students. These results act as a baseline that we will progress from. The results will be shared with parents as a part of conferences later in November. 

It has been quite a busy stretch to begin the school year. Everyone came back ready to learn and work and that is exactly what they have done. We hope that this long weekend provides the rest and relaxation that everyone needs and deserves. 

Be Well, Be Curious, Now What?, 
Dan Mitchell, Principal
Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates


October 11, 2021No School - Holiday
October 19, 2021

School Picture Day

October 29, 2021

Scarecrow Jamboree/ Pumpkin Fest

November 10, 2021Parent Teacher Evening Conferences
November 11, 2021No School Veteran's Day
November 12, 2021No School- Parent Teacher Conferences

GMS News

COVID Update

At this time we are reporting TWO positive cases within our school community.

From Mrs. Hayes

Soon classroom teachers will be completing the fall Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA). This assessment gives the staff insight into the students' strengths as well as areas in need of development and will assist in programming for social emotional classroom lessons and small group instruction. An introductory letter can be found HERE. Please reach out if you have any questions.

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

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:

  1. First View Parent Letter

  2. Registration Guide

  3. FAQs


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

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.  

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/


             

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