October 2, 2026

 

Griffin Memorial School News At GMS, We THRIVE

October 2, 2026 GMS Families,         Despite today's surpise weather we are in fact in the month of October. It will be an exciting month full of learning and special events. The month wraps up with our 44th annual Scarecrow Jamboree. We hope families received the email last week and have been signing students up for their creative entries. I know the judges are excited to see what this year will bring.        In a few weeks (October 19-23), we will celebrate Great Kindness Week. This is a special week where we celebrate all the ways we can show kindness. To make it even more special, each day has a fun theme to go along with it. In order for you to prepare and make the most of these days, you can find the themes in the following link:  Kindness Week Days         Though it is just October, it is also time to start thinking about November. If you are new to the school, we do something special during the month of Novemeber to honor our Veterans. In addition to our Veterans Day Assembly which will be on November 10 at 9:00, we also display our Wall of Heroes. This display is a way to recognize the service and sacrifice of those within our extended community and families. If you are a veteran or know of one who should be displayed on this wall, please complete our form to add them to our wall. There is no need to resubmit if you have in previous years. Our wall is over 200 Veterans strong, and we are excited to see how many more we can add.  Wall of Heroes Submission Be Well, Be Curious, and THRIVE, Dan Mitchell, Principal Maura Clinton-Jones, Assistant Principal Upcoming Dates October 6, 2026 Tiger Tribe Kick Off 3:00 - 4:00 PM October 9 & 12, 2026 No School- PD Day and Columbus Day October 13-16, 2026 School Lunch Week October 14, 2026 Bring Your Stuffy to School/Work Day October 19-23, 2026 Great Kindness Challenge Week GMS News Upcoming Vision Screenings The Hudson Lions Club will be at GMS on Monday, October 26th to conduct vision screenings on all students. The vision screening involves your child looking at some blinking lights for a few seconds. During the screening no physical contact is made with your child and eye drops are not necessary. If your child does NOT pass the vision screening you will receive a letter telling you so.  Please email svasil@litchfieldsd.org if you DO NOT want your child to be screened. If your child does not attend school on 10/26 due to their preschool schedule and you would like to bring your child in on 10/26 to be screened please also email svasil@litchfieldsd.org to coordinate this. From the School Counselors We are excited to share this month's Counselor's Corner newsletter with you!  Our updates will now be shared on a monthly basis, packed with valuable resources, strategies, and insights to help support your child at home and school.  We encourage you to read through and stay connected with us throughout the year!  Counselors’ Corner Art Club for 3rd and 4th Grade Students The fall Art Club applications are open. Art Club will be Tuesdays after school. Projects this session will be in support of the play. Art Club participants will work on costumes, props and set design for the upcoming Seussical Jr. play. If your child is not interested in helping with the visual arts for Seussical Jr, a second session of Art club will be offered later in the school year. If you have questions please email Mrs. Starrett, kstarrett@litchfieldsd.org. Here is a link to the application form: https://forms.gle/5sNcFRskqmJGPoKa8  PTO News Griffy Gear We are excited that our Griffy Gear sale is back again this year! There are several items available in a variety of sizes and colors for both children and adults. Online orders can be placed until October 10th. October PTO Meeting Please join us for our first meeting on Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30pm via Zoom. Come meet the board and learn about the PTO! At this meeting, we will hear school updates from Mr. Mitchell & Mrs. Clinton-Jones as well as updates about the PTO events and happenings. A link will be provided on the PTO FB page as we get closer to the date. We look forward to seeing you! **All of this information and more may be found on our Facebook Page: GMS PTO NH 2026-2027.** Community News “Kids and Adults” Clothing Thrift Sale The Kids and Adults Clothing sale will be held on September 17th 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 clothing 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 Fall season. Come and see the collection of styles and sizes available for Kids and Adults. Spirit of Litchfield is hosting their Fall Fest on October 3 at Roy Memorial Field. Click the link for more information, we will see you there! Spirit of Litchfield Fall Fest Repeated News/ Long Term Info to Know From the Nurse's Office To keep our whole community healthy, please keep your student home if they are sick:  o    a fever (>100.4°)They must be fever free for 24 hours without fever reducing medications o   Vomiting in the past 24 hours o   Diarrhea more than two bowel movements above what a child normally experiences in a 24 hours period o   Respiratory virus symptoms are worsening or not improving and are not better explained by another cause, such as seasonal allergies.  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  Friendly reminders: The weather is getting colder please send your student to school with a sweatshirt. Also,  don't forget to send a water bottle daily! If your student has allergens please consider bringing in a packaged treat for them to have stored in my office for those special birthday occasions celebrated throughout the year labeled with their name. Feel free to reach out to Mrs. Vasil with any questions or concerns. Spirit Days Throughout the year we like to mix in some fun through Spirit Days. In order to give you a chance to plan and prepare for these days we have created THIS LIST. Hopefully a little preparation allows you to express your best spirit on those days. Reminders will be included in the upcoming dates section of this newsletter and more information will be coming regarding the special weeks we have planned.  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 NOT park in the parking lot and walk 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 Food Services Free and Reduced Meal Applications are available for families needing to apply.  Families can apply online HERE, or can fill out a paper copy, available at each school.  Families can apply at any time during the school year, all information is confidential, and there is no penalty for applying and not qualifying.  For any further information or assistance, please contact Lauren Crowley, SNS, Dining Services Director.  Free and Reduced Instructions Free and Reduced Application Free and Reduced Public Release End 68 Hours of Hunger and the Litchfield School District 2026-2027 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 Jess Carroll, School Social Worker, at jcarroll@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/