GVS Family Newsletter

Grantham Village School

75 Learning Drive

Grantham, NH 03753

603-863-1681

frontoffice@gvshawks.org

Principal: Kristen Reed

kreed@gvshawks.org

When you come to GVS to drop something off or pick up your student, please ring the doorbell on the wooden post to the left of the main door. A GVS staff member will communicate with you through the "talk box".

Changes to protocol for safety:

• If you are picking up your child, you will let the office know (by communicating through the "talk box"), and you will be asked to wait for your child outside.
• If you are dropping something off for your child, you will let the office know (by communicating through the "talk box"), and you will be asked to leave the item(s) near the front door, or you will be buzzed into the foyer to leave it there. Office staff will make sure your child gets what you have dropped off.
• If you need to have direct contact with office staff, you will be buzzed into the foyer to communicate through the window.

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.

We continue to have children dropped off before our staff is outside for morning recess. Sometimes a parent may be out there with his/her own children, which may make it confusing.

To try to alleviate confusion, we have added a sign.

If the side saying "NO Staff on duty!" is facing forward, please do not drop your child off on the playground.

Note: Our morning duty staff members flip the sign in the morning when they walk out with the morning program kids. It is very possible that they may get distracted in forget. If in doubt, please ask the person/people outside. Thank you!

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.

We sincerely apologize for the hiccups this year regarding transportation due to the state-wide shortage of bus drivers.

This is just a friendly reminder that the permanent bus schedule goes into effect on Tuesday, October 14th. There are several changes, so please be sure to look over the new stops, as some have been removed and times have changed.

Pickup Patrol has been updated to reflect this change, as well. You will now only see Routes A or B as bus dismissal options. Please update your plans accordingly!

The attached email communication was sent to all parents on Thursday, October 9th. If you have questions regarding transportation, please reach out to Brenda Molloy at (603)863-9689 or via email at bmolloy@gvshawks.org.

4th graders at GVS are learning about figurative and literal meanings

of a great heart. We are also getting ready to read a book in our unit called Love That Dog. As a celebration of our learning and reading we are sponsoring a pet food and supply drive for the Upper Valley Humane Society. We are hoping you might consider donating to the cause!

Here is how you can help:

• When: The drive is taking place now until the end of the first week of November

• What: We are accepting donations of

• Gift cards to Chewy, Amazon, Walmart, Price Chopper

• Kongs (All sizes)

• Nyla Bones (All sizes)

• Cat lick mats

• Mouse food

• Carefresh bedding

• Timothy hay

• Wet kitten food

• Dry kitten food

• Spray cheese

• Low sodium broth

• Pumpkin puree

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Grade 4 Grantham Village School

• Monday, October 13 - No School - Holiday
• Friday, October 24 - 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

Photo retake day is Monday, November 3. The photographers will only be here for an hour or so, so make sure your student is at school first thing that morning if you plan to have your child's photo retaken. Please notify the office and your child's teacher if your student will participate in retake day.

If you preordered photos and want a retake, please send your photos back to school with your student so that we may return them to the photographers. Pre-Ordered photos have not yet been delivered to the school and will arrive prior to retake day.

This year students in grades K-4 will be learning about Ecosystems with their Four Winds lessons taught by our amazing group of volunteers. An ecosystem means all the living and nonliving things in a place and all the ways they’re connected.

Pic 1. We kicked off the year with our September lesson "Signs of Leaf Eaters". Students examined a variety of leaves with visible signs of damage. Students looked for similarities between types of damage, some grades were asked to sort the leaves by the types of damage as seen below. Different types of leaf eaters create different patterns of damage depending on how they feed on the leaf.

Pics 2 & 5: Students went on a search around school grounds looking for their own signs of leaf eaters. Ms Monica's 4th grade class was amazed to find not 1, but 2 of these very cool swallowtail caterpillars.

Pics 3 & 4: Mr Cota's class was also lucky enough to find some caterpillars eating away .

The final part of the lesson focused on how leaf eaters fit into a food chain. Our puppet show talked about how plants (producers) get their energy from the sun. Plant eaters (consumers) get energy from consuming plants. The plant eaters (herbivores) are consumed by larger predators (omnivores or carnivores) who in turn are consumed by even larger predators.

Pic 6: This week our volunteers gathered in the outdoor classroom to prepare for October's lessons on "Life in the Dirt". Here are some of our volunteers showing off their creative sides with mud paintings of life in the dirt.

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

GPTG is our local parent group. They put on amazing activities and fundraisers throughout the year and are some of the unsung behind-the-scenes people who make things happen for our students and staff.

Please note that the original newsletter sent out via C-folders had a type-o; correct date, incorrect day of the week. We hope to see you and your family for a movie under the stars on FRIDAY, October 24th. Movie-type snacks will be available for purchase.

For more information or to join the GPTG, please check them out here.

And thank you, GPTG, for all you do!

The Grantham Parent Teacher Group (GPTG) would like to invite anyone interested in showcasing their business to be a sponsor for our 2025-2026 GVS Student and Family Directory. This is a fantastic opportunity to enhance visibility to families in our community while simultaneously supporting our wonderful school.

Thank you for considering this partnership.

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!