November 15, 2024

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

November 15, 2024 GMS Families,            The short weeks often feel the longest, but we are looking forward to our first full, normal week in a long time next week. With Thanksgiving coming up we know that the pace of life only increases from here for a while, so we look forward to the quieter moments we can find, and wish the same for you.            The pace of life is no different here at the elementary levels. We have so many exciting events coming up that we are looking forward to including the Book Fair, The Polar Express, the PTO Holiday Store, and so much more. One way you may help is through volunteering at our Book Fair. If you have some time you can sign up HERE.          Finally, as we enter into the Season of Giving, next week will be our Make A Difference Food Drive in support of the Litchfield Food Pantry. We will send out reminders and will be collecting food next week until Monday the 25th. For ways you can help please check out the follow flyer: Food Drive Flyer            Please keep reading for more information about the upcoming season of Lego League, News from the PTO, Ski Club, Rec Basketball, and the latest edition of the Counselors' Corner. Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates November 21-22, 2024 Lions Club Vision Screenings November 27-29, 2024 No School- Thanksgiving Break December 2-6, 2024 Book Fair December 5, 2024 Book Fair Evening Hours 3:30-7:00PM GMS News Lego League  Next week students in grades 2-4 will be receiving a flyer to apply for this year’s Lego League. These will be due back on December 2. If your child is interested in joining this club be on the look out for this flyer and more information in the coming weeks. If you’d like more information please reach out to Mrs. Anctil. Lego League Flyer Counselors' Corner Please click below for the latest information from our School Counselors Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Perkins Counselors’ Corner Facilities Improvement Survey         The District Facilities Improvement Committee is still looking for input from the Litchfield community in regards to the school facilities in the district.  I encourage you to take a few moments and complete the survey found HERE.  Responses from this survey will greatly help the committee determine the right steps for the schools and the community. Paper copies are also available at each school and Town Hall. Thank you in advance for your input and help. The deadline has been extended until 12/4, though we encourage you to submit it sooner rather than later. SKI CLUB 2025 is here!  We are pleased to announce that we will be doing both Pat’s Peak on Fridays AND Crotched on Tuesdays! Kids can sign up for one or both programs! As we are not affiliated with schools, all Litchfield kids are able to attend, grades K-12! Both mountains are 37 miles from GMS and approximately 50-55 minutes. Both have a nice learners area, and a nice bar/restaurant for parents to visit while children are skiing or boarding! Full Pricing and details in comments Pat’s Peak Sign Up –  https://www.patspeak.com/plan-your-visit/lessons-rentals/learn-to-ski-ride-program/ Code is GMS2025 for Griffin, LMS2025 for LMS, and CHS2025 for Campbell Crotched Sign Up – https://www.crotchedmtn.com/plan-your-trip/ski-and-ride-lessons/products/slope-days Code is LIT2025 for all kids. Ski Club Coordinators: GMS Coordinator - Melissa Feeley - mkfeeley@gmail.com LMS/CHS Coordinator- Brian Stafford - brian.s.stafford@gmail.com News from the PTO Volunteering at GMS GMS has partnered with the Lions Club for a free KidSight vision screening for our students on November 21st and 22nd, and we’re looking for volunteers! Help is needed to guide students between their classrooms and the gym. Ideally, we need 2 full-day volunteers, but partial-day help is welcome.Volunteer Training is required. To volunteer, sign up here. Polar Express Join us for dinner and a private showing of the Polar Express at Chunky’s in Manchester on Tuesday, December 3rd, or Wednesday, December 4th! Tuesday has limited seats available (purchase your ticket here), and Wednesday has a waitlist (here). Tickets are $12 per person, plus the cost of food and drink. Each ticket includes a golden ticket, bell, and hot chocolate for children! Pajamas are encouraged! Holiday Store We are thrilled to announce that the GMS PTO Holiday Store will be open December 10th, 11th, 12 (13th reserved for inclement weather)! The store is open to K-4 GMS students to enjoy the joy of holiday shopping and pick out gifts for their loved ones. We are in need of volunteers to help the students pick out their perfect gift. Sign up now to volunteer (as teachers sign up for a slot we will add this information to the sign up genius). As we get closer to the store opening, keep an eye out for a letter and inventory form coming home and visit the Facebook page for a Holiday Gift Guide that will include photos and prices of gifts.  December PTO Meeting Please join us for our next meeting on Wednesday, December 11th 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! Looking forward to seeing you there! Monthly Newsletters - November 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 4th Grade Families! It is time to start thinking about the 4th grade yearbook. We are starting to collect photos for fall activities from past years and the current year. Please click on the flyer for more information.  Yearbook Advertisements 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. If you are interested in partnering with us for the upcoming publication, please fill out the sponsorship form. Please contact the yearbook coordinators at GMSyearbook2025@gmail.com with any questions. Thank you for your consideration and support! **All of this information and more may be found on our Facebook Page: GMS PTO NH 2024-2025.** News from the Community Litchfield Basketball Registration Final Call to register for Lil’ Dribblers, Instructional, and Co-ed Rec Basketball programs, open to boys and girls from Pre-K to 8th grade. Programs run from December to February. For more information about our programs visit www.LRBL.net.  Volunteer coaches are needed, please apply here. This Saturday, 11.16.24 is our Rec Assessments for registered participants in our 3rd thru 8th grade program (*2nd graders interested may attend).  Players should bring a ball and water.     10:00 - 10:45 - 3rd / 4th grade assessments at LMS     11:00 - 11:45 - 5th / 8th grade assessments at LMS The CAL (Campbell Athletic Leaders) are hosting a 5k Turkey trot on Nov 30th) they are looking for baskets to raffle off at the end but mostly runners! If you are interested in donating a basket from your business or personally please let me know and I will let the CAL club know. Here is the link to sign up for the run/walk if you’re interested. They are hoping to have runners signed up by 11/15 so they can order the shirts in time. The money raised will go to the NH mental health and sport organization in support of November being mental health awareness month. All runners will receive a free shirt. There will be a limited amount of shirts for anyone that wants to purchase one at the event that is not running. All proceeds from the shirts also go to the organization. The cost to run/walk is $30 cash/check can be brought race day or can be mailed to Campbell high school (please put Turkey trot in the notes) so the school knows what the money's for. Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know In order to balance out our bus routes, some adjustments have been made. Please see the updated lists below.  2024-2025 GMS AM Bus Schedule - Updated 10.2.24 2024-2025 GMS PM Bus Schedule - Updated 10.2.24 Back to School Paperwork Back to School forms are available and need to be completed on the portal. These forms MUST be filled out EVERY YEAR Here is a link to the PowerSchool Parent Portal  Here is a link  to the Portal Quick Reference Guide Chromebook insurance can now be paid through Titan (same for lunch) or by check (Please add student name and "CB Fee" on check memo so that it is applied to proper student) Gr 1-4 Chromebook usage fee is $5 Gr 5-12 Chromebook insurance fee is $20 and free/reduced is $10 From Nurse Alexa Hello GMS families! Back to school is a wonderful time of year, but it also means sharing more than just stories from our summer time vacations. Your students, and the staff, also begin sharing germs! And as we enter the cooler months, the more germs we begin to share. So I wanted to share a few friendly reminders to try and keep everyone healthy; ·         Please do not send your child to school if they are experiencing o    a fever (>100.4°)They must be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications o   Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours o   Continuous coughing not relieved by cough medicine o   Are overall not feeling well (headache, stomach ache, fatigue, etc.) ·         Practice hand washing ·         Practice covering a cough and sneeze ·         Drink lots of fluids ·         Get plenty of rest Linked below is a resource for helping prevent the spread of respiratory viruses. As always, you can reach out to the school nurse with any questions or concerns. https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/precautions-when-sick.html 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-E): 2:45 Yellow Group (Last Names F-N) 2:52 Blue Group (Last Names O-Z) 3:00 Buses: 3:10 targeted departure  Absence Reporting  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 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/