November 21, 2025

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

November 21, 2025 GMS Families,               We were pleased to welcome so many at this this week's Community Forum. This was by far our best attended event as the work of addressing our building concerns continues. Much work continues and decisions need to be made but we appreciate the participation of the many of you. Please look forward to future community forums and opportunities to participate in the near future. If you are interested, the slide deck from this week's forum can be viewed HERE. Additionally, to keep you informed about the Building Project we created a website to help keep you best informed of all information. It can be found HERE or by going to www.griffinmemorialschoolproject.com. We hope this provides the information you need to make the most informed decision when the time comes.             As the holidays are among us and times get busy there are more and more times where you may need to dismiss your child early from school. In order to streamline this process, we remind you to please send a note in to the classroom teacher with your child's first and last name and approximate time they will be dismissed. This will allow us to be best prepared to have them ready, especially accounting for recess, lunch, and specials.          PE is in need of small water bottles for PE classes.  If interested in sending some in, they can be dropped off with Mrs. Girzone in the gym.           This will be our last newsletter before break so we want to wish you all a restful and peaceful Thanksgiving Break. We are so thankful and grateful for the trust and support that you extend and show us each and every day. Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates November 26-28, 2025 No School- Thanksgiving Break December 5, 2025 Disney Day at GMS December 9-11 PTO- Holiday Store December 22, 2025- January 2, 2026 Holiday Break GMS News Counselors' Corner Be sure to check out this month's edition of our Counselors' Corner Newsletter to hear all of the news and information from Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Perkins. Counselors’ Corner PTO News Polar Express Join us for dinner and our own private showing of The Polar Express at Chunky’s in Manchester! Choose from two magical evenings: Monday, December 1st or Tuesday, December 2nd. Ticket sales will go live TONIGHT (Friday, 11/21) at 6pm! The cost is $15 per person plus the cost of food and drink. Each child's ticket includes a golden ticket, hot chocolate, and a bell! Come in your coziest pajamas and get ready for a night of holiday magic! Holiday Store We are thrilled to announce that the GMS PTO Holiday Store will be open December 9th & 10th! December 11th will be reserved as an inclement weather day, a make-up day for students, or an additional shopping day for those who would like to shop again. The holiday store gives our K-4 students the chance to experience the joy of holiday shopping for their loved ones. Stay tuned for upcoming volunteer opportunities to help students shop! As a reminder for those who signed up to wrap gifts, please be sure to drop off all wrapped items on November 23rd between 3:30pm - 5pm or on November 25th from 5:30pm - 7pm. November Newsletter 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 December PTO Meeting Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, December 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! We look forward to seeing you there! CALLING ALL 4th GRADE FAMILIES - YEARBOOK UPDATE Photo collection - PAST years It’s time to start sending in those photos for the yearbook! At this time, we are collecting photos from PAST years. Please note that all photo submissions should have current 4th-grade GMS students only. We’d love to include your treasured snapshots! Here's how to submit photos: If you have a Google email account, please use the Google Form  If you do not have a Google email account, please email photos directly to gmsyearbook2026@gmail.com Please do not submit photos from Facebook, as they do not transfer well. Please also note that we will try our best to include as many submitted photos as possible, but reserve the right to select images based on space, image quality, and subject matter. We also strive to ensure that each student is represented equally. Help us make this year’s yearbook full of amazing memories! Yearbook Sponsorships Each year, the GMS PTO is proud to present our graduating 4th graders with a yearbook that captures their special memories from their time at GMS. If you’re a business owner and are interested in partnering with us for the upcoming publication, please fill out the sponsorship form.  Please contact the yearbook coordinators at gmsyearbook2026@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 2025-2026.** Community News Toys for Tots The Litchfield Police Department is proud to support Toys for Tots this holiday season! They are collecting new, unwrapped toys to help bring joy to children in need. Donation bins are located at GMS, LMS, CHS, and the Town Hall. Donations will be accepted through December 10th. Let’s come together as a community to make sure every child experiences the magic of the holidays! Community Blood Drive Mission: Find more blood donors! Join us to help save lives December 1st from 12:30pm to 5pm at Open Doors Church, hosted by GMS and the GMS PTO. Score a classic pair of Red Cross x PAC-MAN socks when you come to give blood Nov. 17-Dec. 7, while they last. Ready to begin? Book: https://rcblood.org/3IHwtdX Code: LitchfieldNH Christmas in Litchfield Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know 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. 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 The parent portal in now open on Powerschool. Please see below in the News from Tech section, for instructions about completing your annual verification. As a reminder, these must be completed EVERY YEAR. MUST UPDATE AND CONFIRM POWERSCHOOL INFORMATION ANNUALLY.Please click the links below for updated information regarding powerschool and Chromebook information. A reminder that all parents PowerSchool Portal Information for Parents Back-to-School and Chromebook Insurance 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      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  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/