October Kitelet 2024
Dear GCS Families:
Greetings from the front offices of GCS and Happy Fall – or should we say “not”, as the weather certainly has us on our toes. Make no mistake, the teachers and children are all loving the days of beautiful sunshine and extra warmth on the playground. It has been a glorious start to the school year, and we have enjoyed meeting many new families and welcoming back all of those that are returning for another year of fun and learning. Thank you for your patience, as we have had many new names to learn along the way. The first couple of months of school have been packed full of opportunities for you as well, to get to know your child’s teachers, other families in their classrooms, all of us on the Administration Team, and even the Board of Directors.
PEACE POLE
Last week our Peace Pole Rededication was a highlight, as we all gathered as a school to honor our most important lessons for young children: a commitment to fostering Peace, Kindness, and Caring throughout the year. We know our important role in shaping children for a lifetime, and it is something that we take very seriously. Our theme for the school year is “A Sense of Belonging”, and we are building lessons and activities into classrooms and within our staff trainings for all to explore our personal and unique qualities. Be on the lookout for these fun learning opportunities in classrooms as we work in partnership to promote strength, resilience and confidence in our young children.
FALL FIX-UP
We were graced last weekend with some beautiful sunshine as many helping hands worked together during our Fall Fix-Up to prepare the grounds and playscape for the change in weather and seasons. Staff, Board and family members gathered to spread mulch for safety under our climbing structures, clean out gardens from the summer plantings, tend to our rain barrels and stow hoses for the colder months, and many other tasks. We are grateful for all of those that gave some of their time to be with us and for the guidance and leadership of Jessica Barie, our Building and Grounds Chair on our Board of Directors. We are also so appreciative of her husband, Dan Barie, for doing some very important safety repairs on our large climbing structures. Jess and Dan’s children have all moved on from GCS, but they have continued to stay on with us at GCS to share their time and talent. We couldn’t be more grateful!!
GREENHOUSE
We were honored to welcome back past GCS Teacher Shelley Grove recently for special story times and greenhouse projects with many classrooms. Shelley shared her passion for gardening and the GCS Greenhouse with children and teachers, guiding planting for our Winter Garden with spinach, kale, and carrots. Engaging in gardening and greenhouse activities is the perfect way to develop awareness of life cycles and the environment. Classes are tending their crops, and looking forward to special recipes to use them later on.
FIRE SAFETY WEEK
Thank you to the Groton Fire Department and especially to Chris Quigley and Aaron Doherty (both of their sons, Logan and Charlie, are in the Yellow Room), for sharing their time, knowledge, and safety skills with us. It was an exciting time here at GCS, as there is nothing like being able to climb into a real firetruck to see all of the tools and equipment first hand, and to experience flashing lights and sirens up close. The children were also shown how firefighters dress for safety, one piece of clothing and equipment at a time, so that they would not be frighted if they ever came face to face with one in an emergency.
GROTON COMMUNITY HOME TOUR
We are so excited to be hosting a wonderful Groton Community Home Tour on Saturday, November 23rd. The Board of Directors and Room Parents, and all of us here at GCS, are working hard to bring an exciting event to the community, while also running our biggest fundraiser. We need your help… either working the day of as a volunteer, baking for our bake sale, donating to your child’s classroom Chance Basket, or attending the event for a day of fun! You will notice that the front entrance will slowly showcase aspects of this event over the next several weeks. Please check out the Home Tour page on our website (www.grotoncommunityschool.org/home-tour/ for more information on how you can get involved. It is such an amazing event and you don’t want to miss it!!
THANK YOU!
We’d like to thank our Fall Fix-Up volunteers who gave us part of their Saturday last week to help with some much-needed tasks in and around the playground: Madiha Ashour, Dan & Jess Barie, Brian Borek, Kaitlyn Brokaw, Hao Cai, May Chaar, Greg Doyle, Peter Gollands, Laura Hankin, Chris & Justine Mannix, Kaitie Noe, Debbie Penney, Jon Platt, Lisa Stafford, Melissa Sulprizio, Andy Tirella, and Seth West. Many hands made light work… Thank you!
Thanks to the families who donated clothing items and to Brie Weider for coordinating the drive for the Lowell Wish Project.
Thank you to the Yellow Room for Fun Friday Sunshine of Dunkin Donuts, coffee, fruit & treats for the Staff and to our Stock the Staff Room volunteers who have provided thoughtful snacks & beverages for the Staff in October: Madiha Ashour, Crystal Doherty, Sarah Helfgott, Kristina Hepburn, Princess Hernandez-Wilson, Kristen Lampros, Caitlin Mahoney, Maggie Miller, Danielle Recco, Erica Tamlyn, Erin Tito, Samantha Wall, Catherine West, and Betsy Whitney.
We’d also like to thank the following families for generously providing snacks for the Staff over the Summer months: The Akers/Reis family, the Babin family, the Doherty family, the Gehlot family, the Guaraldi family, the Smith/Kanniard family, the Taylor family and the Wilson/Hernandez family.
Finally, we’d like to thank the families who have made donations to the school recently: The Anthony family for matching games; the Babin family for shoes; the Bellorado family for storage shelves & bins; Richard Chalmers for a large roll of paper; the Clarke family for spare clothing, a basketball, art supplies & plastic bags; Jessica Crowley for coffee K-Cups; the Farrington family for books, toys & puppets; Madame Katy Niose for a Mr. Rogers book; the Laurano family for craft supplies; the Martinez, Merryman & Phinney families for spare clothing; the Peters/Raynor family for a large bean bag chair, toys & curriculum materials; the Sinagra family for toys & curriculum materials; and the Weber/Johnson family for an assortment of greeting cards.
Until next time,
Linda Kosinski, GCS Director
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Week of October 28th, Breakfast Food Drive for Loaves & Fishes
Wed. & Thurs., Oct. 30th & 31st, GCS PJ Days
Monday, November 4th, Board Meeting – 7:30 PM
Monday, November 11th, Veteran’s Day – NO SCHOOL
Saturday, November 23rd, Groton Community Home Tour
Wed. – Fri., November 27th – 29th, Thanksgiving Break – NO SCHOOL