Department of Education 603 Bright Futures Survey
The New Hampshire Department of Education wants to hear from you. The 603 Bright Futures Survey is an opportunity for you to have your voice heard. These surveys will gather actionable feedback around learning models, school climate, family and community engagement, and other topics in order to understand the successes and challenges of the recent school year and plan for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. We have partnered with Panorama Education to support us with the 603 Bright Futures Survey. If you have any questions about the survey program, please reach out to Panorama at support+nhed@panoramaed.com.
The 603 Bright Futures Survey is also a way for schools to gather their Special Education Family data in support of NHED's federal reporting for Indicator 8. This year, all schools and families are eligible to participate. Please feel free to share the survey with your community.
Survey questions were developed with input from a cohort of school leaders and should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. The survey window runs from March 13 to April 28.
Survey Links:
Lunchroom News
Beginning April 1, 2023, the price of breakfast and lunch will be increasing at each school. Breakfast will be $2.00; Lunch will be $3.00 at GMS, $3.25 at LMS and $3.50 at CHS. Please contact lcrowley@litchfieldsd.org with any questions or concerns.
UA Flex Week Volunteers Needed
Later this Spring we will be holding an exploration week for our students as part of their UA Flex week. The GMS Unified Arts Team is looking for business owners, hobbyists, or entrepreneurs whose profession or hobby could connect to our students and would be willing to present a 40-minute presentation to elementary level students. Some possible topics could include:
Music, Visual Arts, Film, Theatre/Dance, Physical Education, Science & Technology, Library Sciences, Culinary Arts, or any other arts related topics
Your presentation can be hands-on or simply demonstrative, and should be age appropriate for 6-10 year olds. We hope to show our students how these unified arts skills are used in everyday careers and hobbies. If you are interested in learning more information, please fill out the form below to the best of your ability, and we will be in touch soon!
Form Link: https://forms.gle/wAekY4cCuu8XKf9d6
Tech Tips
Online we can have healthy relationships that enrich our lives. Consider some of these ideas as you and your family use technology together.
News from the SAU/ Superintendent
With winter weather around the corner, a message has gone out reminding parents and staff of the procedures we will follow to delay or cancel school due to inclement weather. Our goal is to make a decision based upon current safety conditions the morning of the event no later than 5:00 AM. The school district will provide 6 methods of notification of school cancellation or delay: Facebook, email, text, website, and WMUR followed by a final phone message. We will not be contacting any other media outlets, so please be sure to monitor these 6 methods.
News from the PTO
Boys Night Out "Let's Glow Crazy" recap: THANK YOU to each and every volunteer who helped make the night a success! We hope everyone who joined us had a fun night!
April PTO meeting: Join us for our next PTO meeting on Tuesday, April 11th at 6:30pm via Zoom. At this meeting we will be accepting nominations for all board positions and discussing the upcoming spring events and activities. We hope to see you there!
Griffy Store: The Griffy Store will be open on Friday, April 14th, during recess. To volunteer at the store please sign-up here! Inventory forms will go home in April.
Kids 'N Canvas: We are excited to bring Kids 'N Canvas to our GMS students on April 20th and May 9th. Students will be guided to duplicate an adorable spring painting on their own 8x10 canvas. Students will stay after school and must be picked up at 4:15pm. Registration is now open. Registration cost is $15 and includes all supplies. Space is limited and spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. Kids ‘N Canvas Flyer
Sweetheart Dance: The Sweetheart Dance is scheduled for Friday, May 12th from 6pm - 8pm. Join us for the next planning meeting on Thursday, April 6th at 5:45pm, virtual. Meeting link will be posted on the GMS PTO Facebook page. If you have any questions please reach out to event chairs: Katie LaBrie at bardsleykatie@gmail.com or Erika Charbonneau at Erikacharb@gmail.com.
Attention all 4th Grade Families: Here are some links to submit photos for this year's yearbook!
You can send current pictures of this year using this form. Pictures from sports, playdates, performances, scouting, and class parties are great additions to the yearbook!
It is a GMS tradition to feature Baby Ads in the 4th grade yearbook! Please use this form to submit a baby ad for your 4th grader! Choose a photo, leave a brief message (we cap the number of characters for space) and your little cutie will be featured in the yearbook.
Do you have pictures of your child through their years at GMS? Please share them on this form!
Baby Ads and Through the Years Pictures are due TODAY - Friday, March 31st
Only current 4th grade students can be included in the photos submitted for the yearbook. No siblings/friends from other grades. These will NOT be shared online and will only be used for the 4th grade yearbook.
Newsletter: Our March Newsletter includes PTO news as well as fun ideas for home!
Attention all GMS Volunteers: GMS would like to apply for a Blue Ribbon Award this year and in order to do so, we need to keep track of volunteer hours. We are currently using a Google form to track. Please be sure to enter any time you may have spent volunteering this school year. Some examples include baking for the back to school breakfast bash, volunteering in the library, planning/coordinating an event, etc. Thank you to our volunteers for all that you do!
PTO March Newsletter
News from the Community
Litchfield Baseball and Softball
Registration for the spring baseball season is now open! To register, please visit www.litchfieldbaseball.org and click on the registration banner. Deadline to register is TODAY, March 24th. Please contact Andy Ruggles at aruggles17@gmail.com with any questions.
Registration for the spring softball season is now open! To register, please visit www.litchfieldgirlssoftball.com and click on the registration banner. Deadline to register is April 1st. Please contact Steve Webber at steve.webber@litchfieldgirlssoftball.com with any questions.
Kids’ Clothing Thrift Sale
This Saturday, March 25 th , there will be a Kids’ clothing sale at the Litchfield Community Church Presbyterian located at 259 Charles Bancroft Highway. It will run from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the downstairs hall. All new or gently used clothing will be $1.00 per item. As children out-grow their clothing before they out-wear them, this is a good time to shop for those new sizes. Come and see the collection of styles and sizes available.
Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know
Registration for Kindergarten for this fall has begun.
You must use a laptop or desktop computer. Please use Chrome or Safari as your browser, not Internet Explorer.
Please go to the Litchfield School District website (litchfieldsd.org) and click on the Orange tab on the top, left-side of the page.
After completing this short form you will receive an email with further instructions on setting up an account. Please note that it may take several business days before your account becomes active.
You will need to provide the following documents in addition to completing the registration forms:
1. Child's birth certificate
2. Proofs (3) of residency
3. Proof of guardianship
4. Proof of immunizations and most recent physical
All forms and document submissions should be completed as soon as possible.
Please call Griffin Memorial School @ 603-424-5931 if you have questions about registering for Kindergarten.
Blue Lights
You may have seen that in the past few months blue lights have been installed both inside and outside of all three schools in the Litchfield School District. These lights are designed to flash in an emergency, offering a visual alert that there is an emergency situation going on. When you are in the building and see the blue light flashing you should listen for information given over the intercom. If you are outside of a school building and you see the blue light flashing you should not enter the building.
Free Summer Camp Opportunity
Please see the flyer below for opportunities for free summer camp sponsored by the State.
Summer Camp Opportunities
From Food Services
All schools offer breakfast every morning to our students! The cost of breakfast is $1.75, and is open a half hour before school begins! If you have any questions regarding the school breakfast program please reach out to Food Service Director lcrowley@litchfieldsd.org for more information!" For Kindergarten families, please use THIS LINK to place a daily order for breakfast.
Hannaford Helps
Do you shop at Hannaford? If you do then please help Hannaford support GMS by just doing your regular grocery shopping!!
Shopping In-Store
SHOP – Look for shelf tags on over 1,500 participating products.
CHECK OUT – Collect your School Dollars from an associate at checkout.
DEPOSIT – Drop your School Dollars in the Hannaford Helps Schools collection tower in-store.
Hannaford To Go
SHOP – Look for the apple icon on over 1,500 products online.
CHECK OUT – Receive your School Dollars with your receipt.
DEPOSIT – Drop your School Dollars in the Hannaford Helps Schools collection tower in-store, or send them to school with your child.
End 68 Hours of Hunger and the Litchfield School District 2022-2023
The End 68 Hours of Hunger Program 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.
Each week, bags containing food will be provided to students at school. Students will bring the bag home on the bus or by whatever mode of transportation they have at the end of the day. If you prefer, parents may pick up the bag at school. Please contact your GMS School Social Worker Jada Tessier for further information jtessier@litchfieldsd.org.
End 68 Hours of Hunger Sign Up
Pick Up Procedures
Those utilizing parent pick up are asked to fill in the large loop at the designated time. Please have the colored pick up slips that were sent home, as these act as verification for our staff. If you arrive early for your designated time, you will be directed to a waiting line in the parking lot until your group time.
Pink Group (Last Names A-G): 2:45
Yellow Group (Last Names H-O) 2:52
Blue Group (Last Names P-Z) 3:00
Buses: 3:10 targeted departure
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.
