GVS Family Newsletter

I will not be in school tomorrow, so I am sending out the newsletter a day early.

Happy Friday (tomorrow), and I hope you have a great weekend!

Kristen

Grantham Village School

75 Learning Drive

Grantham, NH 03753

603-863-1681

frontoffice@gvshawks.org

Principal: Kristen Reed

kreed@gvshawks.org

We love every minute with our GVS students!

Arrivals after 8:30 are marked tardy.

Unless prior arrangements have been made with Mrs. Reed, student drop off should only be happening at the front entrance/playground.

Only students who are registered for the Before School Program (BSP) may attend the BSP. Those students who are registered should not be dropped off before 7:30 am. There is no staff on duty to watch children who are dropped off before 7:30.

• Tuesday, September 30 - Lion's Club Vision Screening
• Thursday, October 2 - Lion's Club Vision Screening
• Tuesday, October 7 - Grantham School Board meeting - 6:30pm
• Friday, October 10 - No School for Students - Teacher Work Day
• Monday, October 13 - No School - Holiday
• Thursday, October 23 - GPTG Community Movie Night at 6:30pm
• Monday, November 3 - Photo retakes: Proofs that come in beforehand will have a code listed that is unique to your student for potential reorders. If you have any further questions, please let us know by emailing us at frontoffice@gvshawks.org

Happy Fall Y’all!

The Lion’s Club is coming next week for vision screening. If your child is signed up, please be sure they are here on Tuesday!

Thanksgiving and Christmas help sign ups are available. If you need extra help this year, please reach out to either Kris Widman or myself.

Have a great fall weekend!

By Dr. Eileen Kennedy - Moore, author of Growing Friendships - A Kid’s Guide to Making and Keeping Friends

As the school year settles in, you might be hearing about kids being unkind to each other - and sometimes it's your child who's involved.

Insults. Exclusion. Gossip. Ignoring. Taunting. Hitting. Kicking. Shoving. The list of ways that kids can be mean to each other is long, varied, and heart-breaking.

Sometimes, meanness happens impulsively, in the heat of the moment. Kids feel angry or hurt and lash out in ways that they wouldn't if they were calmer. Sometimes the meanness is unintentional, the result of a misunderstanding or outside circumstances.

What's more concerning is when children are deliberately mean.

School-age children definitely know right from wrong. If you ask them questions such as, "Is it OK to call someone mean names?" or "Is it kind to hit someone?" they know the answer is no. But kids who know better and are usually kind to their friends can sometimes act in casually cruel ways due to what I call "empathy blind spots."

Empathy blind spots happen when children decide that certain people's feelings don't "count" and therefore feel justified in being mean to them. Empathy blind spots allow kids to make excuses for being unkind. They insist:

• "He's so annoying!"

• "She's weird!"

• "Nobody likes him!"

Believing these excuses, they tell themselves that the mean behavior is acceptable, unavoidable, or even righteous.

Research on moral development shows that parents can play an important role in helping children think through wrong-doing in a way that helps them grow and learn. This involves a delicate balancing act between helping children recognize when and how they have hurt someone but also encouraging them to believe that they can move forward in positive ways.

Here are some ideas for how to help your child move beyond empathy blind spots:

1. Acknowledge your child's thoughts and feelings

Your child first needs to feel heard and understood in order to be able to hear and understand other views. While it's tempting to leap straight to making your point, slowing down and acknowledging your child's view of things will create a connection that quiets the "But… but… but…" justifications running through your child's mind and helps your child be more open to correction.

You could say:

• "It bothers you when she does that."

• "You don't like him because…"

• "I understand that lots of kids were doing the same thing."

2. Vividly describe the other child’s feelings.

Perspective-taking is a skill that children develop only gradually. You can help by painting a vivid picture of how the other child might be feeling. Go for the heartstrings!

You could say something like:

• "It must be lonely for him to be the new kid and have no one to sit with at lunch."

• "If I'd been in that situation, I would have felt so scared and embarrassed! It's horrible to feel like everyone is looking and laughing at you!"

Sometimes you may need to explain the other child's circumstances to encourage empathy:

• "He wears the same shirt a lot because his family doesn't have much money. That's not something he can change. I bet he feels hurt and angry when kids tease him about his clothes."

• "She talks and moves constantly because she has ADHD, so it's very hard for her to sit quietly. It must be so hard to feel like kids are always yelling at her and telling her she's annoying for something she can't control!"

You may also be able to draw connections to your child's own experiences:

"Remember last year, when those kids were making fun of you and saying that you stink at soccer? You felt helpless, hurt, and angry, especially when they kept saying, 'Can't you take a joke?' I bet that's how your classmate is feeling now."

3. Clearly state your expectations.

Effective parenting involves a combination of warmth and limits. We need to have reasonable expectations for how our children behave and to communicate these clearly.

You could say, for example:

• "You don't have to like him, but I expect you to be kind to him."

• "Even if other kids are being mean, I expect you to do the right thing."

• "You're in charge of you. Even if she does something bad, I expect you to make good choices."

4. Find ways to move forward.

While we need to correct bad behavior, we don't want to leave our kids stuck believing they're "bad" people. Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is what happens next.

In some cases, you may need to encourage your child to apologize. Try asking:

• "What could you do to make him feel better?"

• "How can you let her know that you're sorry for what you did?"

You may also need to help your child brainstorm what to do the next time a particular situation comes up. Social situations can be complicated. For instance, being the only one to speak up directly when someone is being bullied could make your child become the target. It might make more sense to report what's happening to a teacher.

Sometimes children justify excluding other kids because those kids disrupt group activities. Figuring out how to balance the needs of the group, the rights of an individual, and moral values takes thought and effort. The answers aren't necessarily simple or obvious.

But you can help your child figure things out by asking questions such as:

• "What could you do in that situation that's fair to everybody?"

• "How could you respond when he does that to give him a chance to be included but also let everyone else enjoy the game?"

Thinking through these issues outside the heat of the moment can prepare your child to make kinder choices.

P.S. These four steps are just the beginning. If you'd like more specific strategies for supporting your child through peer conflicts, the Kid Conflicts: How Parents Can Help workshop goes deeper into practical approaches for the three most common scenarios parents face. Learn more here.

Statement of Purpose:

At Grantham Village School, our first priorities are the safety and the social and emotional health of our

staff and students. The dress code is intended to provide guidelines for dress that promote a safe and

respectful environment for all.

Statement of Policy:

Staff members who suspect attire is not in compliance with the dress code policy will send students to the nurse or principal to assess. Parents/guardians may be asked to bring appropriate clothing for students to wear.

Listed below are items that are not permitted:

• Sunglasses indoors, except for medical exceptions.
• Half shirts or tops that expose the midriff when arms are raised to shoulder height.
• Clothing that is disruptive to the educational process, such as shirts or other articles with inappropriate sayings or gestures, clothing that references drugs, alcohol, tobacco products, gang membership, discrimination, hate speech, violence, illegal activities, or includes a sexually suggestive message or picture.

Other Guidelines:

Appropriate attire includes the coverage shown in the diagram below, and must not be sheer or

see-through. No visible undergarments.

• Headwear (e.g. baseball hats, hoods, knit hats, headbands, scarves, etc.) may be worn, as long as it does not disrupt instruction and student’s eyes are visible. It is at the discretion of the school staff to determine if headwear is disruptive and/or worn appropriately during class. The staff can ask that the headwear be removed and put away, with the exception of headwear worn for religious or cultural purposes, as documented in a note from a parent or guardian.

• Footwear with soles appropriate for outdoors and playground use must be worn at all times. Maximum heel height is one inch. Open-back footwear is highly discouraged for indoor or outdoor use. Improper footwear increases the likelihood of injury.
• Labeling your child’s clothing is highly recommended, as jackets, boots, hats, mittens, sweatshirts, sweaters, and rain and snow gear often end up unclaimed in the Lost-and-Found area. Unclaimed items are regularly given to local service organizations.

Toys and electronic devices from home shall not be used during school. Please keep all personal items at home unless there is a specific request for a classroom or school activity.

Beginning September 12, 2025 and running through April 24, 2026, students have the opportunity to challenge themselves with a variety of grade-level-appropriate math problems.

Every two weeks, a new set of problems is available. Please find the current math challenge attached or in the front office. The current challenge is due by noon on September 26, 2025.

For more information and to see a list of last year's winners, check here. For questions, please contact our math interventionist, Ms. Sam Hutchins, at shuthincs@gvshawks.org.

If any student would like to start practicing for the Spelling Bee, there is a free app from Scripps called Word Club. Using the app, you can study the grade level lists and the Words of the Champions list. Parent word nerds will love it too!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/word-club-spelling-vocabulary/id1479862742

We love our new playground too. It's pretty awesome.

However, we please ask that you refrain from visiting it during school hours for the safety of our students. We appreciate your cooperation!

The Town of Grantham is a small but tight-knit community. Who better to provide input to the master-plan committee than the parents of the one and only school in town? Please contribute to the future of Grantham by giving your feedback to town hall via this survey. The deadline is October 15 and only takes a few minutes to complete. Please and thank you!

Sat. October 25 from 3:00-6:00 at The Grantham Rec Park, 19 Shedd Rd. - Join the Community for the BIGGEST Trunk or Treat in the area! Its sure to be a HOWLING good time.

For More Information Click HERE

Join in the fun and help us make this Trunk or Treat THE BEST YET. Read more about registering your "trunk" and sign up HERE

Grantham Recreation will accept donations of Halloween Candy starting on Wednesday, Sept. 10th. Donated candy will be distributed to the homeowners along Routes 10 and 114 who entertain the largest volume of trick or treaters on Halloween. Thank you for helping offset the Halloween candy costs for your neighbors along the Trick or Treat route.

Candy Donations can be dropped off in the donation bin located in the Town Hall lobby during regular business hours.

5:00-7:00 pm

Route 10. Downtown Grantham.

Be sure to visit the Town Building, Fire Station, Library, and the United Methodist Church on your trick-or-treating travels.

For more information, click HERE

You’re invited to join the Grantham Village School CHaD HERO Team – The GVS Hawks!

This October, we’re teaming up for the annual CHaD HERO run/walk to show that kids can give back to

kids and that our GVS community can make an impact for our region’s only children’s hospital and for

the kids and families who need it most.

About the CHaD HERO:

The HERO takes place on Sunday, October 19th and is a family friendly community event that supports

the patients and families of Dartmouth Health Children’s and the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth

Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD). This is the event’s 20th year!

To participate you can choose from the Half Marathon, 5K Run, 5K Walk, or 1-Mile Fun Run, or sign up to Volunteer. Plus, all participants receive the CHaD HERO t-shirt and celebrate with a full festival with kids activities right on the Dartmouth Green!

Anyone and everyone are welcome to join the team - current GVS students, staff, parents, families

and friends. Join us or support us with a donation today!

To join the team:

1. Go to chadhero.org and click “register now”

2. Choose any participation type – run, walk, volunteer or do your own virtual activity

3. Select “Join a Team” and search for GVS Hawks

4. Register for $0! (fundraising minimums apply for those 13+).

​On CHaD HERO Day participate as you wish but we'll plan to do a team photo during the day. Stay tuned for details!

Questions? Contact the CHaD HERO at chadhero@hitchcock.org or Andrea Denhart, GVS parent, at

andrea.denhart@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your support! HEROES together!