February 20, 2026 GMS News

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

February 20, 2026 GMS Families,             We have made it to February Vacation! Whether you are going away or staying close to home, we hope that you have a restful vacation. When we return we will be in the month of March and a time of year that brings a lot of change, events, and opportunities. March is a month that magic tends to happen and learning and growth really take off, so we are excited to see what comes when we all return.           For the past two weeks, we have had our own GMS Olympics to go along with the amazing athletes in Italy. Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals have been awarded for such achievements as song guessing, reading, paper airplane distance and accuracy, coloring, and a scavenger hunt. It was a great way to spend the last two weeks before vacation. Congratulations to our medal winners and thank you all for taking part in this fun time.             As mentioned, March is a busy month as well, please pay close attention to the Upcoming Dates section below, so you don't miss out on any important event coming up.      Have an amazing vacation week and we will see you all again on the other side of it.       Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates February 23-27, 2026 Winter Break March 10, 2026 No School- Town Voting; Kids' Vote at CHS March 11, 2026 Spring Photos March 17, 2026 Wear Green for St. Patrick's Day March 19, 2026 Spring Parent Teacher Conferences 3:30- 8:00 PM March 23, 2026 Litchfield Child Find GMS News Family Art Activity Night The National Art Honor Society from Campbell High School will be hosting a family art activity night from 5:00-7:00pm on March 19, 2026. This is the night of the spring parent teacher conferences, many families may already be planning to visit GMS that evening. The event will take place in the art room at GMS; there will be several art activities to explore. Our CHS students can't wait to share their love of art with the younger students of Litchfield. If you plan to attend please complete this quick survey so that we can make sure we have enough supplies and art guides for the event https://forms.gle/uCSFke68MpZXPd1y 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 Monday March 23, 2026 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** Kindergarten Registration Registration for the 26-27 Kindergarten class has begun. Your child must be 5 on or before September 30, 2026. Registration is a multi-stepped process and begins with a pre-registration form that gives us basic information. You will receive an automated email with information about the next step as your request is processed. You can start gathering documents now that will be needed - birth certificate, immunization and physical exam record and 3 documents that prove your Litchfield residency. The link to registration and explanation of needed documents  is provided here: https://www.litchfieldsd.org/StudentRegistration1.aspx  and can be found on the main page to the Litchfield School District website. Counselors' Corner Be sure to check out the January edition of our Counselors' Corner Newsletter to hear all of the news and information from Mrs. Hayes and Mrs. Perkins. Counselors’ Corner PTO News Kids N’ Canvas We are excited to bring Kids 'N Canvas to our GMS students on March 26th and March 31st. Students will be guided to duplicate an adorable painting on their own 8x10 canvas. Students will stay after school and must be picked up at 3:45pm. Registration is now open and we are currently on a waitlist for both dates. To be added to the waitlist, please click here.  March PTO Meeting Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:30pm IN PERSON. This will be the second of our two in person meetings for the year. 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! February 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 CALLING ALL 4th GRADE FAMILIES - YEARBOOK UPDATE Tiger Cubs We are now collecting Tiger Cub photos and messages for the yearbook. It is a GMS tradition to feature our students as “Tiger Cubs” with a special family message accompanying a baby photo of each 4th grade graduate. Click on this link for more information and submission instructions. Photo collection  It’s time to start sending in those photos for the yearbook! At this time, we are collecting photos from CURRENT and 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 appropriate Google Forms  PAST CURRENT 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@gmailcom 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 Litchfield Senior Social Litchfield Youth Soccer Registration A friendly reminder from Litchfield Youth Soccer that Spring 2026 Recreational Soccer registration is currently open until March 21st for a guaranteed spot on a team!   Birth Year Divisions & Saturday Game Times:  Cubs (Born Oct. 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022): 8:00-8:45 AM  Instructional (Born Oct. 1, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2021): 10:15-11:15 AM  4v4 (Born Oct. 1, 2017 – Sept. 30, 2019): 9:00-10:00 AM (1 practice per week)  7v7 (Born Oct. 1, 2013 – Sept. 30, 2017): 11:30 AM-12:30 PM or 12:30-1:30 PM (1 practice per week) We can't wait to see you back on the field, register here! Litchfield Flag Football Registration The Litchfield Youth Flag Football League is excited to announce that Spring Flag Football registration is now open! Register anytime between now and March 22 to secure your spot for an exciting season filled with fun, teamwork, and friendly competition. Special Bonus: Anyone who registers between now and March 1 will be entered to win a FREE season registration — we will reimburse the registration fee for one lucky participant. Information Flyer REGISTER HERE: https://playpass.com/litchfield-youth-flag-football-league Lacrosse Registration Litchfield town lacrosse registration is now OPEN for boys and girls, grades 1-8. Please visit our website at www.litchfieldlacrosse.net to access all information! Early bird registration, $25 off!!! Any questions? Email the president, patireland33@gmail.com Registration Flyer 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/