December 1, 2023

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

December 1, 2023 GMS Families,           We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. We made it through the crazy month of November and here we are at December already. Believe it or not yesterday was our 60th Day of school, which means we are already 1/3 of the way through the school year. So much has already been accomplished but so much more is still to come...         December is no slower or calmer than November. It is filled with special events and activities all month long. Starting next week we will have our Scholastic Book Fair going. Each class has a designated day to go, which has been communicated to families, but on Thursday night we will have a special family shopping time from 3:30 to 7:00.        To add to the excitement we will also have Disney Day on Tuesday and Picture retakes on Thursday. If you weren't able to get pictures the first time you may go then. If you'd like retakes please bring back the old photos and follow the procedures of the photo company.         There is so much more happening in December so please make sure to check this weekly newsletter to be kept up to date on all the events and happenings this month. Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates December 4-8 Scholastic Book Fair December 5 Disney Day December 7 Picture Retakes and Make Ups Book Fair Night Shopping December 12-15 PTO Holiday Store GMS News SAVE THE DATE!  THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR WILL BE AT GMS DECEMBER 4TH-8TH DURING LIBRARY CLASSES WITH A FAMILY EVENT THURSDAY, DEC. 7TH 3:30-7:00. More information will be sent home, but you can also go to the school's book fair website by clicking here: book fair website VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THE BOOK FAIR RUN!  Please sign up here if you can help out: book fair volunteer sign up To help you plan accordingly, here is the class schedule: Mon., Dec. 4  Morning: Smith, Kazangian;    Afternoon: Beach, Elliot Tues., Dec. 5  Morning:  Levesque, Minervini, Leary;  Afternoon:  Sweetser Wed., Dec. 6  Morning:  LaPlante, Allen, Ashe;  Afternoon:  Webster, Adamakos Thurs., Dec. 7 Morning: Patten, Quimby;    Afternoon:  Doucette, Hall Fri., Dec. 8  Morning:  Sibona, Mic, Cohen;   Afternoon:  Anctil, Gould CALLING ALL CREATIVE MINDS The Finding Nemo Jr. production is looking for help with designing, painting and constructing set pieces, props and costumes please complete this form if your student is interested: https://forms.gle/6RqVqcPqYKy8gjAf9 Meeting dates will be 11/15, 11/28, 12/5, 12/13 from 3:00pm-4:15pm Contact Kristin Starrett, our art teacher if you have questions kstarrett@litchfieldsd.org News from the SAU/ Superintendent News from the PTO Polar Express at Chunky's Reminder to those with pre-purchased tickets for the December 6th and December 7th shows: doors open at 5:15pm and the movie starts at 6:15pm. We look forward to seeing you there! Don't forget to wear pajamas!  December PTO meeting Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, December 12th at 6:30pm via Zoom. A link will be provided as we get closer to the date. 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! Holiday Store The planning committee is happy to announce the Holiday Store will be open the week of December 11th. The holiday shop is open to K-4 GMS students where they can shop for their family this holiday season. The following letter and inventory form will be heading home. Please visit our Facebook page prior to the store opening to see photos of items being sold.  If you would like to volunteer at the store you can sign up now.   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. 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! Ski Club Calling all school ski club parents and students! 2024 sign ups are live! On the day NH received its first snowfall atop Mt. Washington, now is the time to think snow! This year we will be doing all three schools at Pat's Peak, grades 1-12 Friday nights 1/5-2/2. CHS PTO Santa Breakfast The CHS PTO will be hosting a Breakfast with Santa on December 9th. Please see the flyer for more information Santa Breakfast Info GMS Lessons: 5:30pm Sign up here: https://www.patspeak.com/plan-your-visit/lessons-rentals/learn-to-ski-ride-program/ code: GMS2024 2024 Rates: Lift Only: $185 Lift/Rental: $260 Lift/Lessons: $285 Lift/Lessons/Rental: $360 Waiver to pick up pass in December: https://forms.gle/ogQgkUYiUuUJecdn8 Please feel free to reach out to the coordinators below with any questions Melissa Feeley - mkfeeley@gmail.com Brian Stafford -  brian.s.stafford@gmail.com News from the Community Community News – Music Program “MARK 209” will perform a Christmas Concert From the Heart of Nashville At Litchfield Community Church 259 Charles Bancroft Highway Wednesday , December 6, 2023 7:00 – 8:30 PM Admission: Adults $5 / Kids are FREE 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. 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/