Ahhhhh, the sweet smell of vacation has arrived. There are times where no amount of training can prepare you and this week was certainly one of those. What got us through this week was the support of this community. Words cannot express how thankful we are for each and every one of you. The community of Litchfield is as strong as any and second to none. As we continue to work through the events of this week, please let us know if the school can support you, your family, or children in any way.
This week our town suffered a tragedy with the loss of the incomparable Mrs. Gee. She was an employee at GMS for over 24 years. Our community will be coming together for a benefit Spaghetti Dinner sponsored by our schools and the Lions Club. First Student has donated a shuttle bus to allow for additional parking at LMS. This will be on March 7, from 4:00-7:00 pm. More details coming soon!
Spring Student and Class picture day will be Wednesday, March 13th. Please watch for a Picture packet with information to come home with your child around March 7th.
Please continue reading for information about Lego League, Girls on the Run, and the new system for reporting an absence starting when we return in March.
May your well earned vacation be relaxing, restful, and all that you need it to be.
Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE,
Counselors Corner
As our community processes the loss of our staff member, some students may continue to need additional comfort and support. Many families have reached out for resources to support their student at home. This booklet from the Coalition to Support Grieving Children gives parents/guardians practical advice and tips. Books are also a great way to help elementary children understand the loss of someone they know; see this list for suggested titles.
If you would like additional information or help from our counseling department, please reach out to Mrs. Hayes or Mrs. Carroll.
GMS Lego League
GMS Lego Club will be starting In March and running through June for grades 2-4. Mrs. Anctil, Mrs. Kazangian and Mrs. Follis will be running the club on Mondays until 4:15. If your child is interested in participating, they can apply at this link: https://forms.gle/MFhUd3ULzkn7SRNB8 Applications are due at the end of the day March 4. Spots are limited.
Girls On the Run Spring Session
At Girls on the Run, we inspire girls to recognize their inner strength and celebrate what makes them one of a kind. Each session is led by trained volunteer coaches who guide and mentor the girls through dynamic discussions, activities and running games. Lessons are fun and engaging and teach specific skills and strategies such as how to manage emotions, help others, make intentional decisions, and resolve conflict. Girls can then use these strategies at home, at school and with friends. The program culminates with all participants walking or running a celebratory 5K event, which gives them a tangible sense of accomplishment, as well as a framework for setting and achieving life goals.
The 8-week program is for girls in 3rd, and 4th grades of all fitness abilities.
Practice Times: Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:30 PM
Start Date: April 1
Location: Griffin Memorial School
5K Celebration Event: June 1 (Concord, NH)
To learn more about Girls on the Run, registration or financial assistance, please visit our website:
https://www.girlsontherunnh.org/
GOTR Flyer
Absence Reporting Changes Coming Soon
At Litchfield School District, one of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all our students arrive safely at school each and every day.
To enhance our existing absence-checking procedure, we are introducing a new, more efficient student absence reporting system called SafeArrival. This new system will reduce the time it takes to verify student attendance, make it easy for you to report your child’s absence and easy for staff to respond to unexplained student absences.
With SafeArrival, you are asked to report your child’s absence in advance using any of these 3 convenient methods:
Using your mobile device, download and install the SchoolMessenger app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store (or from the links at https://go.schoolmessenger.com). The first time you use the app, select Sign Up to create your account. Select Attendance then Report an Absence.
Use the SafeArrival website, https://go.schoolmessenger.com. The first time you use the website, select Sign Up to create your account. Select Attendance then Report an Absence.
Call the toll-free number 1-833-516-0370 to report an absence using the automated phone system.
These options are available 24 hours/day, 7 days a week. Future absences can be reported at any time.
In addition, we will use the SchoolMessenger Communicate automated notification system to contact parents whose child is absent when the absence was not reported in advance. The automated notification system will attempt to contact parents at multiple contact points until a reason is submitted for the absence. If our system is unable to reach the designated contacts, office staff will follow up.
If you report your child’s absence in advance using the SafeArrival toll-free number, website or mobile app, you will NOT receive these notifications.
Starting March 4, when we return from Vacation, please report absences in advance using SafeArrival instead of sending notes or calling/emailing the school.
Starting March 4, staff will begin using the SafeArrival notifications to let you know if your student is absent (when you haven’t reported the absence in advance).
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we implement this new system.
***Please Note that Sign Up may not be available until early next week***
SafeArrival Sign Up
SafeArrival FAQs
SafeArrival Report an Absence
Kindergarten Pre-Registration
Go to the Litchfield District Web page and click the "Student Registration" icon in the middle of the page. There are a number of documents required as part of the process. The documents should be emailed to: jwilcox@litchfieldsd.org
If your child is currently enrolled in our 4yr old PK program, you do not need to re-register for Kindergarten. Please be sure to share this with any family that you know has a kindergartner for next year but may not already be connected to GMS.
Pre-Registration for the 24-25 PreSchool program will begin March 17th.
LITCHFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT FREE COMMUNITY CHILD FIND PROGRAM
FOR ALL LITCHFIELD RESIDENTS
AGES TWO ½ YEARS (2.5) THROUGH FIVE YEARS, 11 MONTHS (5.11)
Who are suspected of having vision, hearing, speech, coordination and/or developmental concerns.
GRIFFIN MEMORIAL SCHOOL
Tuesday March 12, 2024
9:00-11:00 am
We encourage parents of preschool age children to set up an appointment if they have any concerns.
For more information or to schedule an appointment please contact
Courtney Bradish at 424-5931 x 1243 or email cbradish@litchfieldsd.org
**No child will be seen without an appointment**
**Bring birth certificate and proof of residency**
Counselor Corner with Mrs. Hayes
Please enjoy this update from our School Counselor, Mrs. Hayes.
Counselor Corner Newsletter
News from the SAU/ Superintendent
February 14, 2024
PRESS RELEASE: New Superintendent Appointed
The Litchfield School Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Brian O’Connell as the new Superintendent of the Litchfield School District effective July 1, 2024.
With an extensive background in education and a proven track record of leadership, Mr. O’Connell brings a wealth of experience to Litchfield School District. He most recently has served as the Principal of Bow High School for seven (7) years. Mr. O’Connell is committed to fostering a positive and inclusive learning environment for all students, promoting collaboration among teachers and staff, and engaging with parents and the community to ensure the success of the District..
The Litchfield School Board is confident that under Mr. O’Connell’s leadership, the District will continue to progress toward the highest level of academic excellence. The entire Litchfield School District looks forward to welcoming him and working together to create a bright and successful future for our students and a strong collaborative relationship between the District and the Litchfield community.
The School Board would like to thank the Superintendent Selection Committee and members of the community who were integral in the selection process. We would also like to thank Dr. Jette for his contributions to the Litchfield School District over the past six (6) years.
News from the PTO
Kids 'N Canvas
We had the pleasure of hosting 120 students over two days of Kids ‘N Canvas. We appreciate the interest around this event. A program this size is not possible without the help of volunteers. Thank you to all of our LMS, CHS, and parent volunteers. A special thank you to mom and LMS Art Teacher, Laura Dionne for sharing her talent with our GMS community. Funds raised through this program support events and appreciation for our teachers and students. Thank You!
Boys Night Out - Let’s Catch a Wave
We are excited to announce this year’s Boys Night Out - Let’s Catch a Wave is scheduled for Friday, March 15th. Ways to help make the night a success will be shared after school vacation week. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amber MacAulay at macaulayrdh@gmail.com or Michelle Gill at mgill422@gmail.com. We’re looking forward to another fun event!
March PTO meeting
Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, March 19th at 6:30pm in the GMS Learning Commons (library). 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!
Sweetheart Dance
We are excited to announce the Sweetheart Dance is scheduled for May 3rd. Planning will begin soon! If you are interested in helping, or joining the committee please reach out to Katie LaBrie at Katie: bardsleykatie@gmail.com, Erika Charbonneau at Erika: erikacharb@gmail.com or any member of the PTO. We look forward to another successful dance!
Monthly Newsletter - February
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
Registration for the spring baseball season is now open! To register, please visit www.litchfieldbaseball.org and sign up today. Deadline to register is March 15th. Please contact Andy Ruggles at andy.ruggles@litchfieldbaseball.org with any questions.
The Litchfield Lacrosse Association has opened up registration for the spring 2024 season! Please see the flyer for more information!”
Lacrosse Flyer
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.
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
