Granite Valley Family Newsletter
August 31st - September 4th
Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year!
I hope your summer has been filled with time to relax, and opportunities to enjoy family and friends. As we prepare to open our doors for a new school year, I am incredibly excited to welcome our students and families back to Granite Valley. To those joining us for the first time, we are so happy to welcome you to the Granite Valley community!
This year, our theme is Stronger With Every Step, a reminder that growth doesn’t happen all at once—it happens through the many steps we take each day. Every new challenge we tackle, every lesson we learn, every relationship we build, and every time we support one another moves us forward.
As we begin this journey, our commitment at Granite Valley is to create a school where students feel safe, supported, challenged, and proud to belong. We will continue to build upon our ROCKS values—Respect, Ownership, Communication, Kindness, and Scholarship—as we help our students grow not only as learners, but also as thoughtful, responsible, and caring members of our community.
I am looking forward to partnering with our families, staff, students, and community throughout the year. There will certainly be challenges along the way, that is part of learning and growing, but by remaining curious, communicating openly, and working together, I know we can make this an incredible year for our students.
Here’s to a wonderful year ahead and to becoming Stronger With Every Step!
August/September
Monday, Aug. 31st -
🎉FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - Grades 1-12
Trimester 1 Begins-
Monday, Sept. 7th -
No School - Labor Day
Thursday, Sept. 17th -
Picture Day @ GV
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures
If you have children at Quarry Hill and at Granite Valley you will want to drop off your Granite Valley students first and pick up your Granite Valley students first. Quarry HIll will be your second stop for drop off & pick up this year.
Arrival:
Cars will form two lines at the back of the parking lot; the aisle furthest from the building.
We will begin exiting students from buses at 8:35am.
Until the buses clear, students will exit cars at the back of the parking lot and walk up the sidewalk.
Cars will leave the parking lot on the left side of the middle aisle.
A staff member will be there to open the car door and greet each student.
After the buses clear, cars will pull up to the front circle.
A staff member will be there to open the car door, greet each student, and walk the student to the sidewalk.
Students will walk along the sidewalk. Students will enter through the main doors which are labeled Door 1 and Door 2.
Dismissal:
Cars will form two lines at the back of the parking lot; the aisle furthest from the building.
Once the double line is full, we will make four rows of cars, with row one starting closest to the grass with the wooden poles. Staff will be outside to assist with this process.
A staff member will come around to take down the name of your student(s) for approximately the first fifty cars.
We will begin car line dismissal at roughly 3:05pm, which is when the buses leave. Please note that this will take longer the first few days as students learn the process.
Cars will merge into a single line and slowly drive into the front circle.
Students will walk along the inside of the sidewalk to get into their car once it is stopped.
Please stay in your car and your child will enter from the passenger side when possible.
Once the car in front of you leaves, you can then exit the parking lot. Please do not pull around parked cars.
There will be lots of staff around to help each student and guide traffic!
Dismissal Changes:
If your child’s dismissal plan needs to change, please contact the main office at 413-267-4155 and send in a note. The office will then contact the classroom. Please do not directly contact the teacher, including through Class Dojo, as they are not always available electronically during the school day.
Nurse's Notes
🩺Just a reminder that any student who requires any prescribed medications or medical treatments during the school day must have a new medication order and/ or treatment plan written by a medical provider at the start of the new school year.
🩺The medication must be brought in to the school nurse by the parent/ guardian. This includes Epipens, diabetic medication and inhalers. It must be in its original packaging that is labeled by the pharmacy. Please do not send any medication in with the student.
🩺Nurse Wisnaskas will be available this week for medication drop off from 9a-12p. She will also be available during back to school night.
Please feel free to contact Nurse Wisnaskas with any questions at wisnaskasj@monsonschools.com
PE Rules
Hi Everyone!
My name is Mr. P. and I am the PE teacher here at Granite Valley! I hope you all had a joyous and relaxing summer! I am very excited for the upcoming school year to begin! Due to safety concerns, I will be implementing a major rule change this upcoming year. Sneakers will be required in order for your child to participate during PE this year. This rule is supported by the Monson Public School handbook on page 117. My number one priority in the gymnasium is to keep your children safe. If your child does not have a pair of sneakers, please reach out to me privately and we can then work something out. Thank you so much for your understanding with regard to this matter!
📜Student Handbook📜
The Monson Public Schools Student Handbook is designed to support students and families by providing helpful information about our schools, expectations, and daily practices. It serves as a guide to ensure a safe, respectful, and positive learning environment for all. We encourage you to review it together and refer back to it throughout the school year.
Food Services
Breakfast and lunch continues to be free for all students this year. Please review with your child what lunch they will be having for the day.
EXTEND Before & After School Care Program - Registration Open
Registration is now open for the 2026–2027 MPS Extend Before and After School Program!
Families can now register for the upcoming school year. Space is limited, so we encourage interested families to register early.
Learn more and register at:
www.monsonschools.com/extend
Contact Info.
Serenity Greenwood
Principal
Granite Valley School
21 Thompson St.
Monson, MA 01057
413-267-4155