Dear Families,
How wonderful it always is to welcome back so many smiling faces after the Winter Break. I hope you all had the opportunity to enjoy the many activities that this time of year lends itself to. The weather certainly brought just the right amount of snow for some wintry fun together. We will certainly enjoy our sledding hill this week during outside time. You know, it is very hard work climbing up a hill, dressed in full winter gear, pulling a sled, when you are a young child…but the reward is definitely worth the effort!
100 DAYS
Time sure flies by when you are learning, playing, and making friends. Can you believe your children are more than half way through this school year? The Kindergarten Program here at GCS always celebrates “100 Days of School” by sharing their special projects, games, and all they have learned about “ONE HUNDRED” with their families and other classrooms. Just prior to the break, their work was displayed in our beautiful new library and classes were given tickets for admittance to this special event. See their creative projects on display: www.grotoncommunityschool.org/hurray-for-100-days/. Congratulations to the Kindergarten children for all of their hard work and thank you for allowing us to share in their glory. We are hoping that small events such as this one are indicative of times ahead.
MASKS & GCS
While COVID-19 has certainly changed the way the world interacts and does business, it is so nice to see that we are slowly getting back to more normal times. We are hopeful that spring brings about more opportunities for families to be more present inside GCS. Even though the mask mandate has been lifted, we are continuing to ask children, staff, and families to wear them just a little longer. With so many of our families and staff either have just returned from travel or spent time in large gatherings or at special events during vacation, we are being extra cautious to ensure the health and safety of the school. We are hopeful that we will be able to relax both mask wearing and other opportunities for children to interact very soon!
ENROLLMENT
Along with 100 days in the school year, also comes registration for next year. While enrollment forms were due just prior to vacation, please feel free to send yours in if you haven’t already. It does take us a few weeks to sort out all of the many requests and needs. We will be in touch if we need further clarification on the information you provided, and hope to have final enrollment letters out later this month. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this project, as well as the many challenges that we have all encountered this school year.
SUMMER CAMP
While it is hard to think about the warm weather with all of this snow… Summer Camp Registration will also be coming next month. Please look on the school website for the summer schedule and calendar to help you with your planning (www.grotoncommunityschool.org/calendar/). We anticipate meeting the needs of full-day families with a Monday through Thursday full-time schedule. We will be offering two, half-day options as well.
COMMITMENT
As we have said many times before, we are so grateful and proud of our school and our families for all of your diligence and cooperation. We know that it has not been easy and we are so grateful for your patience and commitment. The staff all continue to be steadfast in their commitment, too, and we couldn’t have come this far without them.
SQUARE-1-ART
Please be on the look-out for your child’s Square-1-Art project order form to turn your child’s art project into some really fun items. Please look for samples in the entranceway later on this week. Orders will be due on Thursday, March 17th.
CURRENT EVENTS
Our thoughts are with those around the world in war and caught in conflict… if only everyone learned to solve their problems through negotiation and communication. After all, isn’t that what we teach our young children! A reminder that your children will hear and see things through social media, news, and being around adults. Answering their questions and reassuring their safety will be important in these current times. Feel free to reach out to us with questions or concerns.
THANK YOU!
We want to take a moment to thank the following families who helped stock the Staff Room with snacks & beverages in February: Ann Marie Abner, Ashley Coffey, Meagan Doyle, Carrie Eubank, Sarah Hall, Jenn Halloran, Laura Hankin, Leslie Howard, Gina Jackson, Josephine Kramer, Crystal Messamore, Katie Quinn, Ellen Sanchez, Erica Tamlyn & Meg Waite. It is very much appreciated by Staff.
We would also like the thank the many families who also made donations to the school last month: The Bradley family for office supplies & photo paper; the Congdon, Cook, Guaraldi, and Turner families for staff snacks; the Coutermarsh family for N-95 masks for staff; the Kennedy family for spare shoes, mittens & snow pants, and to Stephanie Morrison for covering library books for us.
Until next time,
Linda Kosinski, Director
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, March 14th Board Meeting – 7:30 PM
Thursday, March 17th Square-1-Art Orders Due
Friday, March 18th Curriculum Day – NO SCHOOL
