May 5,2023

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

May 5, 2023 GMS Families,           Welcome back, we hope your vacation was everything that you needed it to be. We are now in the final stretch of the year, and the point were time seems to speed up. As you will see below, we have a lot of events and moments crammed into a very small time period. Please continue to check with this newsletter for important dates and information.          Staff Appreciation Week was the best way to return from a vacation. A special thank you to our PTO and the many parents, businesses, and community partners that contributed in any way to making this week so special. We have the greatest staff and you all made sure we felt it.         Be sure to continue reading to find out more information about Memorial Day, the Fishing Derby, what's going in with the PTO, and how you can help our students reach a whole new level of creativity with the upcoming UA Flex Week. Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates May 9, 2023 PTO Kids and Canvas May 11, 2023 Chorus Concert May 12, 2023 Sweetheart Dance May 29, 2023 No School- Memorial Day Memorial Day Parade 10:00 AM June 9, 2023 Relay Recess June 12, 2023 4th Grade Celebration June 13, 2023 Field Day GMS News UA TEAM To prepare for our Spring Arts week at the end of May one of our special guests has requested some items that the students can use to create their own creative simple machines. If you are curious about our visiting artists' work here is a LINK. Here is a list of supplies needed can be found HERE. If you have any of the items listed around the house or if you are willing to purchase an item to send in, items will NOT be returned. News from the SAU/ Superintendent News from the PTO Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week: THANK YOU to everyone who donated items and volunteered their time to make this week a success for our amazing GMS teachers and staff! May PTO meeting: Join us for our next PTO meeting on Tuesday, May 9th at 6:30pm via Zoom. At this meeting we will continue with Executive Board nominations and follow with a vote. If you are interested in a position, please reach out to a board member or email Erica at ericaeagan@gmail.com.  Griffy Store: The Griffy Store will host one more store opening on Friday, May 12th, during recess. Everything will be 25 cents as we host our End of Year Sale. Supplies are limited. To volunteer at the store please sign-up here! Inventory forms will be going home soon. Inventory photos will be shared on the GMS PTO page, so be sure to take a look with your student(s). Sweetheart Dance: Join us for a Night In the Fairy Garden on Friday, May 12th from 6pm - 8pm. To help make this event a success, please consider donating an item or volunteering the night of the event. If you have any questions or would like to help 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 May Newsletter includes PTO news as well as a fun word search and May days to celebrate! 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! May PTO Newsletter News from the Community Litchfield Fishing Derby Litchfield Fishing Derby will take place May 6 from 8am to 11am at Parker Park, rain or shine! The  event is open to ages 4-15 with prizes offered in many categories. This sponsored by the Litchfield Conservation Comm. and Recreation Comm. Fishing Derby Flyer Memorial Day Parade and Program: This year’s Memorial Day Parade and Program will be held on Monday, May 29th, starting at 10:00 A.M. Groups and individuals are invited to march inthe parade. Marchers and floats are asked to meet at the Litchfield Middle School parking lot at 9:30 A.M. The Parade will begin at the Litchfield Middle School andend at the Historical Society Building. The Memorial Day Program will begin at this time. The Scouts will perform the Presentation of Colors. The Campbell High School Chorus and Band will be performing. The program will close with the placement of service wreaths and the playing of TAPS. The Historical Society’s “Civil War Room” and other furnished rooms will be open to the public after the program. 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/