April 7, 2023

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

April 7, 2023 GMS Families,         The first week of the fourth quarter is in the books. The teachers are now preparing report cards and these will be made available to parents on Wednesday. As we do each quarter, an email will come earlier in the day with the password to access the report card and then the report cards will be sent via email later that afternoon         We have built up quite the pile in our lost and found. We ask that you take a moment to check if any of it belongs to you. On Thursday of vacation week we take whatever is left and will be donating it to a local not-for-profit organization. Please ask your child to check for any of their belongings or stop at GMS yourself to check. Lost and Found is located in our Vestibule, which is open until 6 pm each school day.      As the weather gets warmer, we want to remind everyone of the importance of water. The nurse does not have an unlimited supply of waters to give out, so the best course is for students to bring in their own reusable bottle. The school has two filling stations that can be used to keep them alert and hydrated.       To those that celebrate, we wish you a Happy Easter Weekend.  Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates April 12, 2023 3rd Quarter Report Cards Released April 14, 2023 Griffy Store at Recess April 24-18, 2023 April Vacation GMS News 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: Families in K-12, Preschool, and Private Schools: bit.ly/nhedfamily  Community Members: bit.ly/nhedcommunity 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 News from the SAU/ Superintendent News from the PTO 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 be going home soon and can be viewed here. Inventory photos will be shared on the GMS PTO page, so be sure to take a look with your student(s). Kids 'N Canvas: We are excited to bring Kids 'N Canvas to our GMS students on April 20th and May 9th. Students will be lead to duplicate an adorable spring painting on their own 8x10 canvas. Students will stay after school and must be picked up at 4:15pm. Limited spots are available here. Permissions slips were emailed with confirmations and are due back April 12th. Kids ‘N Canvas Flyer Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week is scheduled for the week of May 1st-5th (the week immediately following April vacation). During the week we will celebrate our amazing GMS teachers and staff! More information will be shared over the next couple of weeks on how the students and their families can help celebrate. To get started we are asking for the help with the donation of items to help make the week a success (link may be found here). We are requesting items be dropped off by 2pm on Friday, April 21st. Please reach out to Sarah Vasil (sarah_willis01338@yahoo.com) with any questions. Thank you in advance for your donations! Sweetheart Dance: The Sweetheart Dance is scheduled for Friday, May 12th from 6pm - 8pm. Join us for the next planning meeting on Thursday, April 13th at 4:15pm, 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: 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! 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 April Newsletter includes PTO news as well as some 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 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.  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. 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. 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/