March 27, 2026

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

March 27, 2026 GMS Families,               This week was a wonderful celebration of reading as we recognized Read Across America Week. It was filled with themes, activities, and student messages promoting and encouraging the love of reading. The best part might have been yesterday, when for 15 minute we Dropped Everything And Read. Thank you to Mrs. Prevel-Turmel and the planning committee for creating such a fun week for us all. If your child completed their Reading Choice Board, be sure to turn it in be Wednesday for a prize.              It is hard to believe, but the third quarter closes next Friday. Report Cards will follow the next week. It is also time to start thinking about next year. The placement process is intentional and takes some time, but believe it or not it starts now. As part of this process we Please use THIS FORM to provide information, that you feel is important, as we begin the process of placement for the 2025-2026 School Year. We do not accept teacher request so Please refrain from naming or requesting specific teachers or staff, but rather provide your child's strengths, needs, concerns, and any other factors you feel are needed in order to best place them for next year. Please complete by Wednesday, April 8.             As we look forward to next year, we also will be reviving our work towards a bond vote for a construction project to address the needs of GMS. There will be the first of a series of community forum on April 14th at CHS. More information will be coming from Superintendent O'Connell's email and in the coming weeks. We hope you are able to join us and have a voice in this process. Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates April 3,2026 Quarter 3 Ends April 6, 2026 Pre School Registration Begins April 9&10, 2026 First Grade Field Trip- Beaver Brook April 14, 2026  GMS Building Project Community Forum 6:00 at CHS April 13-17, 2026 Junk to Funk- Artist in Residence GMS News From the School Counselors The newest edition of The Counselor's Corner is out now. March/ April Counselors’ Corner Upcoming Volunteer Trainings It is now that time of year where Field Trips become a part of the school experience. If you are considering chaperoning a field trip this spring and you have never attended a volunteer training, we will be holding trainings on the following dates: *Weds., March 18 at 7:00am *Tues., March 24 at 7:00am or 6:00 PM *Thurs., April 2 at 7:00am or 6:00 PM Prior to attending a training you need to do the online reading and complete 4 forms. Information on the reading and forms can be found here: Volunteer Directions. Please reach out to Mr. Mitchell or Mrs. Clinton-Jones if you are in need of this training and we can arrange for your attendance. 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. PTO News March 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. April PTO Meeting Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, April 14th 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. At this meeting we will also be accepting nominations for all board positions. If you have any questions about board positions, please reach out to Erica Ruggles at ptonhgms@gmail.com.  CALLING ALL 4th GRADE FAMILIES - YEARBOOK UPDATE Tiger Cubs – Deadline March 31 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 – Deadline for past photos is March 31 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 – Deadline March 31 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! Community News CHS Presents Anastasia “Kids and Adults” Clothing Thrift Sale The Kids and Adults Clothing sale will be held on April 11th at the Litchfield Community Church Presbyterian located at 259 Charles Bancroft Highway. It will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the downstairs hall. All new and gently used clothes are $1.00 per item. As children out-grow their clothing, this is a good time to shop for those new sizes and the new Spring season. Come and see the collection of styles and sizes available. Healthy Kids Running Series The Healthy Kids Running Series is about to begin again. For more information please check out THIS FLYER. Presentation with Judge John Broderick The CHS chapter of REACT will host A discussion on mental health awareness withDartmouth-Health Senior Director, External Affairs and former N.H. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. We hope you will join us for this important discussion. More information can be found HERE. 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/