Friday, April 1, 2022

April 1, 2022

 


Griffin Memorial School News
April 1, 2022
GMS Families,
        When April Fools Day falls on a Friday in an elementary school you never know what to expect. We did have our fair share of Brown E's and the fourth graders even learned about Marshmallow Farms, Hahaha. Luckily, it has been pretty tame and the learning continued.
       The real joke may have been the weather this week. We saw freezing temperatures and warm rain at the end. This is a reminder that NH Spring weather is extremely unpredictable. In order to prepare for whatever recess may through at us, it is not a bad idea to through an extra shirt, set of paints, and socks in your child's backpack during this time. We have some extra clothes in case of emergency, but these supplies are limited.
       Tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day. To commemorate this day we will "Light It Up Blue" for Autism on Monday. We ask everyone to show their support by wearing something blue this coming Monday.
        April is a month of growth and promise. It brings rain, but also warmer days and the promise of Spring. We wish for you all to have a happy, safe, productive and lively month of April. We are excited to see what it brings...
          
Be Well, Be Curious, 

Dan Mitchell, Principal
Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal

Upcoming Dates
April 4, 2022Wear Blue to Light it Up Blue for Autism Awareness
April 5, 2022End of Third Quarter
April 11, 2022Reports Cards Available on Parent Portal
April 25 - April 29, 2022April Vacation

COVID Update

At this time we are reporting  1 positive cases within our school community.  To track daily numbers you can always check HERE where the district lists our daily impact. Additional information about updated protocols will be coming soon from the Superintendent's Office.

Pre K

0

Kindergarten

0

First Grade

0

Second Grade

0

Third Grade

0

Fourth Grade

0

Other/ Non Grade Specific

1

GMS News

Upcoming Child Find

Litchfield School District will be hosting our annual Spring Child Find Program on Friday May 6th 2022 from 12:00-2:00 PM.

If your child is between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5 years 11 months, and you have concerns in the area of vision, hearing, speech, coordination/ motor or development, please contact Courtney Beach at cbeach@litchfieldsd.org or 603-424-5931 x 1120  to set up an appointment for screening. No child will be seen without an appointment.

From the Health Office

Spring is approaching and with that comes allergies for some of us. You may already know many of these symptoms crossover with COVID. If your child has been previously diagnosed with seasonal allergies by their medical provider, please make sure that you get a letter from them to document this and send it in to the school for us to have on record. While we still need you to keep your children home when they are sick, our goal is not to exclude them if we don’t have to. That is why this documentation is important for us to have here at school.

Thank you to those of you who have donated water bottles for the kids, it is appreciated. I hope the warmth of today is here to stay and we can all enjoy a little more fresh air!

News from the SAU/ Superintendent

Bright Futures Survey

The New Hampshire Department of Education wants to hear from staff, families, and community members in your school community! The 603 Bright Futures Survey is available  now through April 29th. 

The 603 Bright Futures Survey is also how schools will gather their Special Education Family data in support of the NHDOE's federal reporting for Indicator 8. This year, all schools and families are eligible to participate.

Survey Links: To access the surveys, please visit the appropriate link(s) beginning Monday, March 14, through Friday, April 29, 2022

* Please note that "Community Members" are those who do not have students enrolled in New Hampshire public schools. Those who do should complete the family surveys instead..

News from the PTO

Spring Events!! More information on these events will soon follow! If you are interested in helping out, please email Jenny Eisenbeis at JEisenbeis@gmail.com. We would love to have your help!!

  • Griffy Store: April 8th. Inventory forms are going home and can be found here (see attached). Inventory photos will be posted on the GMS PTO Facebook Page.

  • Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week: May 2nd - 6th. More information will be shared over the next couple of weeks on how the students and their families can celebrate.

  • Sweetheart Dance: Friday, May 6th

  • Boys Night Out: Friday, May 13th

4th Grade Yearbook Photos - Due Friday, May 13!

• 4th grade Photos: Use this form. You can include sports and activities outside of GMS if you would like.

• "Through the Years" Photos: Use this form to submit pictures of your 4th grader from their earlier years at GMS!

Be Sure to Check Out the April Newsletter HERE

News from the Community

We are happy to announce Healthy Kids Running Series is returning to Litchfield this spring! 5 fun races to shake off the winter blues and get your child up and moving, for children ages 2-14. Sign up today at  https://healthykidsrunningseries.org/race-locations/litchfield-nh/

Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know

Kindergarten Registration Has Begun!

Please register your child as early as possible. It is very important for our planning for appropriate class sizes and staffing needs. To attend Kindergarten, your child must be 5 years old on or before September 31, 2022.

All Student registrations are a 3 part process. 

To Begin, click on the following link: https://ecollect.accelaschool.com/litchfield 

1) After you complete and submit the preregistration information, it will need to be verified. Once verified, an email with further instructions will be sent to the address included in the preregistration. If you don’t receive the email within 3 school days, please check your spam or junk mail. 

2) Follow the instructions from this email and complete the information on several additional registration forms. 

3.) Bring Proof of Residence, an Original Birth Certificate, Proof of immunizations and a recent physical to the school. These items will be photocopied and your original paperwork returned to you. A list of acceptable items can be found here: Required Documents .Registration is not complete until all forms and documents have been verified. You will be notified via the email you provide when registering if there is missing or additional information needed.

Children who already attend Griffin Memorial do not need to re-register for the next school year.

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

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

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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