News from the PTO
On behalf of the PTO, we’d like to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season! We look forward to seeing you after the new year!
Happy Grams
“not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse”
Happy Holidays from the PTO
This week, students were sent home with a candy cane mouse from the PTO. Place on your tree or eat and enjoy. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped to assemble.
January PTO meeting
Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, January 9th at 6:30pm via Zoom. We hope you will join us as we hear updates from Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Clinton-Jones as well as updates about the PTO events and happenings!
Monthly Newsletter - December
Be sure to read our monthly newsletters where we will highlight important dates and upcoming events, and we'll introduce you to our Executive Board and Coordinators.
Calling all Fourth Grade Families
Please take a moment to verify you have filled out and signed the Permissions/Agreements form in PowerSchool for your student.
- Go to https://litchfieldsd.powerschool.com/public/
- Navigate to your fourth grader's name in the top left corner
- Click "Forms" in the left navigation bar
- Click the "All Forms" tab
- Click the "Permissions/Agreements" form, fill it out completely, sign, and submit
This is required for your student to appear in the yearbook. Thank you for your time.
Yearbook Ads
Each year the GMS PTO is proud to present each of our graduating fourth graders with a yearbook that captures memories from their last elementary school year at no cost to families. In an effort to support our publication we are soliciting advertising partnerships with local businesses. Please see the letter linked below and consider sharing it with your workplace or submitting an advertisement for your family-owned business. Thank you for your support!
GMS Yearbook Ad Form
Attention all GMS Volunteers
For the 2022-2023 the GMS community volunteered over 2300 hours!! We'd like to keep track of volunteer hours again this year. 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, shopping for items to donate, etc. Thank you to our volunteers for all that you do!
News from the Community
From CHS Students
CHS will be hosting a movie night showing The Polar Express at the Campbell High School Learning Common on Friday, December 15th at 6pm. Everyone in the community is invited to attend! There is no admission fee, but there will be concessions and decorating sugar cookies for $1.
For their senior project a senior is collecting toys for the Toys For Tots organization. She will be collecting these until next Friday the 15th. You can send them in with your student or bring them into the school and drop them off in the box provided. Thank you and I hope you choose to support her senior project.
GMS Daisy Troop
New Kindergarten Daisy Troop is still looking for members and will meet every other Wednesday. Please visit Girl Scouts of Green and White Mountains and join Troop 64205. Contact Sarah at 207-615-6921 for more details
LRBL MESSAGE
The Litchfield Recreational Basketball League (LRBL) is excited to announce registration for the 2023-2024 Recreational, Instructional, and Lil' Dribblers season is now open for boys and girls 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://shorturl.at/BZ035.
Questions can be emailed to lrblboard@gmail.com
Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know
To help you organize and plan for this year, we have created a list of all of our intended Spirit Days. We will remind you as they get closer, but in order to prevent the scramble that sometimes comes with these days, we hope to give you as much time as possible to prepare. The days can be found HERE. These flyers are also available on our Facebook and Instagram pages for your reference.
School and District Text Messaging
You can take advantage of our Text Messaging Service. Our school utilizes the SchoolMessenger
system to deliver text messages, straight to your mobile phone with important information about events, school closings, safety alerts and more. You can participate in this free service* just by sending a text message of “Y” or “Yes” to our school’s short code number, 67587.
You can also opt out of these messages at any time by simply replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.
SchoolMessenger is compliant with the Student Privacy PledgeTM, so you can
rest assured that your information is safe and will never be given or sold to anyone.
End 68 Hours of Hunger and the Litchfield School District 2023-2024
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.
If you’d like to sign up for the program or need additional information, please contact Taryn Staples, School Social Worker, at tstaples@litchfieldsd.org.
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.
Morning Drop Off Procedures
During the morning drop off, both buses and cars will utilize the big loop. As vehicles pull in please pull as far forward until all cars have stopped. Then you can let your child out of the car. Please then wait until the cars in front of you move before pulling forward. Please DO NOT pass a stopped car or stop at the front door if there is space in front to pull forward. We also ask that you avoid parking in the parking lot and walking your child to the door, this adds pedestrian traffic to car traffic. Our attempt is to make this a safe and fluid process. We understand that some back ups do occur, but this procedure ensures safety of all and limits the length of any delay.
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.
