October 2025 Kitelet
Dear Families,
Happy end of October! Time sure does fly… it is hard to believe we are just about two months into our school year. I hope you all enjoyed your brief touch-in phone call with your child’s teacher now that the school year is well under way. It is always nice to have a one-on-one to ensure good communication, growth, and common goals. Many thanks to our teachers for their extra time and effort at this important time in your child’s development.
HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS!
Classrooms are buzzing with excitement as we celebrate all things fall and Halloween! Children have been identifying signs of fall, and classrooms are full of pumpkins. Children have been cleaning them out, estimating and counting pumpkin seeds, baking fall treats, investigating spiders, and enjoying festive exploration in our sensory bins. Our lofts have been transformed into spooky fun, filled with imagination and laughter, and orange is popping up all around. From creative crafts to exciting and fun stories, the spirit is alive and well throughout our school! Leaves are everywhere, and the cold weather is upon us.
FILL A BUCKET (OR A BOX)
It is a tradition here at GCS during this time of year that we emphasize our teachings of caring, sharing, and empathy, to have a school wide pajama days, along with collecting breakfast food items that will fill the shelves at Loaves and Fishes, our local food pantry in Devens. Most children here at GCS really do not know the true struggle and hardship that some young children face of not having a healthy breakfast to start their day! If you’ve seen the news lately, you may be aware of the concern that government funding has been temporarily suspended for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and therefore, many food pantries around the country are in desperate need of assistance. Please help to instill perspective values, as well as kindness and caring, by HELPING your child with this life lesson. A shopping trip together to pick out some special breakfast food items, or taking a few minutes with your child to look in your own cabinets to share, would be a wonderful lesson to help teach. Boxes are lining the hallway – Let’s see them fill up! Donations will be accepted until Tuesday, November 4th.
FALL FIX-UP HIGHLIGHTS
As we savor the last days before the end of daylight savings, and the warmer sunshine begins to fade away for this year, we are so grateful to our Board of Director’s Building & Grounds member, Jesi Clinton (Bradley is in the Aqua Room), for leading a wonderful group of volunteers during our Fall Fix-Up event. We were able to accomplish many small playground tasks together such as sanding and painting/sealing one of our playhouses and outside benches, fluffing up mulch for safety landings, repairing fairy/construction vehicle gardens, preparing our greenhouse for the colder weather, putting away the rain barrels, and power washing sandbox deck boxes were just some of the many tasks we were able to complete. Thank you for lending us your precious time for a much-needed work day on a beautiful Saturday morning… So much was done with many hands: Kaitlyn Brokaw, Ryan Brown, Jesi Clinton, Scott Csaplar, Laura Hankin, Scott & Kristina Hepburn, Jenny Herron, Wayne Johnson, Linda Kosinski, Jason Lambert, Haley Poirier, Denielle Recco, Derek Silvia, Lisa Stafford, Jazz Steiss, and Steve & Melissa Sulprizio. The Board is also currently looking for someone to step in as Jesi’s Co-Chair for Building & Grounds. Contact boardofdirectors@grotoncommunityschool.org for more information if you think you might be interested.
FIRE SAFETY
October is Fire Safety Month, and we are so grateful to Groton Fire Fighters Aaron Doherty (Charlie is in Purple Pre-K) and Chris Quigley (Logan is in the FD Pre-K) for spending a morning with us and sharing many safety tips, along with showing us many pieces of equipment and protective gear that they use when fighting fires. While Groton does not get the SAFE grant for visiting schools any longer, both dads took time out of their busy schedules to help teach fire safety and prevention. We are so fortunate to now have our spacious Community Room for gatherings such as this. Learning begins now for children, and we are so grateful to Aaron and Chris for helping us instill prevention and safety in a fun and hands-on way!!
MOVEMENT WITH JENN
We will begin our new Creative Movement Program with Jenn Luth in our Community Room on Fridays beginning on November 7th. We are so excited and can’t wait to use this space for a fun and specialized movement program.
NUTCRACKER READING
Please join us for a special reading of the Nutcracker from 4:30 – 5:00 on Friday, November 14th. This is being brought to us by parent Lindsay Moncreiff Parker (Sloane is in the TTh AM Blue Room) and dancers from the Acton School of Ballet & Commonwealth Ballet Company. Please RSVP at the front desk if you plan to attend with your child(ren) or would like your Full Day child to attend.
A CHAPTER OF GIVING
Get yourselves ready for some competitive bidding during our exciting virtual auction, A Chapter of Giving, from Sunday, November 16th to Saturday, November 22nd, to benefit GCS. Keep your eyes open and check out teasers that are coming your way. Area businesses and families have been so generous, classrooms are working hard on fun and creative items that will be hot commodities, and some teachers even have a few exciting opportunities up their sleeves. Thank you to our Room Parents for coordinating classroom projects and to all of you for your participation. There will even be a school wide collaborative art piece up for bidding. The project is led by talented Teacher, Monique Meehan, and each class is collectively taking part – you do not want to miss it.
LADIES NIGHT OUT
Save the date for a special GCS evening on Thursday, December 4th from 5:00 – 8:00 PM at Facets here in Groton. Located at 30 Hollis Street, owned and operated by GCS friend and past parent, Tracey Smith. FACETSetc is a specialized boutique offering a wide range of customized jewelry and artisan gifts. Come browse, do some holiday shopping, mingle with friends, and share a drink and a tasty treat. We will have a few surprises as well.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to the Crowley family on the birth of their daughter, Isabelle (sister, Brenna, is in the Purple Room).
THANK YOU!
Thanks to the “Stock-the-Staff-Room” volunteers for October treats for the Staff: David Bushery, Jack Carlson, Sarah Cleary, Jillian Doyle, Liz Esielionis, Danielle Jaffee, Gloria Johnson, Carly Kelley, Rhenise Lucot, Bethany McGuiggan, Stephanie Scampini, Kimberly Stebbins, Erica Tamlyn & Catherine West. The Staff really do appreciate your efforts!
We’d also like to thank families for their various donations within the past month: The Catanese family for Pull-Ups, the Gehlot family for a tricycle, the Braide-Moncoeur family for pastries, the Stella family for pretzels, and the Wilson-Hernandez family for a cake.
Until Next Time.
Linda Kosinski, GCS Director
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Oct. 27th – Nov. 4th
Breakfast Food Drive
for Loaves & Fishes
Thursday & Friday,
Oct. 30th & 31st
GCS PJ Days
Monday, November 10th
Board Meeting
7:30 PM
Tuesday, November 11th
Veteran’s Day
No School
Friday, November 14th
A Reading of the Nutcracker
4:30 – 5:00 PM
November 16th – 22nd
“A Chapter of Giving”
Online Auction
November 26th – 28th
Thanksgiving Recess
No School
Thursday, December 4th
Ladies Night Out at FACETSetc
5:00 – 8:00 PM