August 8, 2025

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

August 8, 2025 GMS Families,                 This is not a welcome back newsletter, I repeat, this is not a welcome back newsletter! There is still plenty of Summer to be had, but we did want to start communicating so you can start preparing for the upcoming school year and all that it will bring. Letters have been going out from teachers and from the main office so we know you are at least thinking about the school year. If you haven't gotten something in the mail yet, you will soon.  We have been working hard getting ready for your return and are excited for all that will be accomplished this year.               For those of you that are new, and as a reminder to those returning, this newsletter will coming out each week on Fridays at 5:00 PM. It will be sent via email, text, and on Facebook. Please be sure to read it as it provides important information and updates regarding the school, our partners, and events. Your attention is greatly appreciated.             The layout of the newsletter will remain the same each week with an opening section, Upcoming Dates, GMS News, PTO News, Community News, and Repeated News. Please read below for a description of each.            In preparation for the school year, please find information below regarding our lunch program as well as Powerschool. Families MUST confirm their information and approvals in Powerschool annually. We ask that you verify this information prior to the beginning of the school year. This goes a long way to the smooth transition and beginning of the school year. Information about accessing the Parent Portal, to confirm this information, can be found below.  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, cut through the parking lot,  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      May your remaining days of Summer be wonderful and go by slowly Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates August 22, 2025 Meet the Teacher 1:30- 2:30 (Last Name A-L 1:30 Tours; 2:00 Meet the Teacher; Last Name M-Z 1:30 Meet the Teacher; 2:00 Tours) August 25, 2025 First Day of School Auaugst 25, 2025 Litchfield Child Find 12:00- 2:00 August 29 & September 1, 2025 No School- Labor Day Break September 11, 2025 Lions' Club Vision Screening September 16, 2025 Student Picture Day September 16, 2025 GMS Open House- 6:00 PM PreK, K, Grade 1 September 18, 2025 GMS Open House- 6:00 PM Grades2-4 GMS News This section of the newsletter will contain information from school based programs and departments. Please check here for information from our school nurse, tech department, counseling department, administration, upcoming events, etc.  From Food Services Please see the attached links in regards to our food services. They explain the meal prices for this year as well as qualification and application information for the free and reduced meal program. 2025 NH Public Release Food Services Letter Free and Reduced Instructions (English) Free and Reduced Application (English) Free and Reduced Application (Spanish) News from Tech Please click the links below for updated information regarding powerschool and Chromebook information. A reminder that all parents MUST UPDATE AND CONFIRM POWERSCHOOL INFORMATION ANNUALLY. PowerSchool Portal Information for Parents Back-to-School and Chromebook Insurance From the Health Office As many of you know, Nurse Alexa will be out at the beginning of the year to spend time with her new child. In her absence we have arranged a regular schedule of three different nurses. In order to ensure consistent communication and ease any confusion, we ask that if you need to email the school nurse your please email: gmsnurse@litchfieldsd.org this will go to all of the sub nurses and ensure that whoever is in on that day will get the information needed.  Community Child Find 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 Monday August 25, 2025 12-2:00 pm 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** Girls on the Run at GMS We believe that every girl is inherently full of power and potential.  As the leaders of their lives, these are the girls that will change the world.  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: September 15 Location: Griffin Memorial School  5K Celebration Event: November 15 (Concord, NH)  To learn more about Girls on the Run, registration or financial assistance, please  visit our website:  https://www.girlsontherunnh.org/  No girl will be turned away for financial reasons. GOTR-NH is a 501© 3 organization. Contact Rachel Maynard: 603-778-1389 PTO News Our GMS PTO will send weekly information about upcoming events, drives, meetings, and initiatives. This will be included in this section weekly. Community News From time to time Community partner organizations will ask us to communicate to families about upcoming events. This may include local sports leagues, town events, charitable organizations, etc. We will provide this information in this section. If you would like your organizations' event featured please reach out to Mr. Mitchell to learn about the approval process.  Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know There are certain pieces of news or information that either require and extended run in our newsletter or remain permanently for easy reference. This section contains this information. It is a go to for information about Free and Reduced lunch, Absence reporting, dismissal and drop off procedures, etc.  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 now use a more efficient student absence reporting system called SafeArrival.  This  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. SafeArrival Sign Up SafeArrival FAQs SafeArrival Report an Absence From Nurse Alexa ·         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.  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/