GES Grey Wolf Gazette
January 21, 2022
CONVAL COMMUNITY FORUM
ConVal High School in the Lucy Hurlin Theater.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7pm
Your ConVal School Board and Administration are moving forward in planning the next ConVal Community Forum on Tuesday, January 25th. We are excited about providing you this opportunity for a constructive, open, informative and meaningful dialog. With an activity such as this there are lots of things to know so you can be prepared for participating in and making this a successful experience. To learn all about this activity and to view the agenda (via link at the end) please see below:
CONVAL SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY FORUM
Your ConVal School board and administration are pleased to announce their second ConVal Community Forum. Below are the details about this forum.
Where and when is the Community Forum?
ConVal High School in the Lucy Hurlin Theater. Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at 7pm.
What is a community forum?
A community forum is a meeting where people can discuss, share knowledge, and talk to each other about topics of mutual interest.
Why do we need a community forum?
School board meetings, being business meetings, provide a limited venue for The ConVal School Board and Administration to engage with our community. We believe in being open and transparent in all of our activities. We believe in ensuring that the ConVal community is engaged and informed. A community forum is one mechanism to achieve these goals.
How do I attend the Community forum?
We are providing two ways for the public to attend the community forum. You can come to the Lucy Hurlin Theater at ConVal High School to attend in person or you can attend the forum via a live stream feed from the forum.
How is the Community Forum organized?
We have selected two important topics to be presented. Each topic will start with a presentation and after the presentation there will be an opportunity for either audience to ask questions. Each question will be answered by the presenter or by a member of the School Board or Administration. After the two selected topics are over we have allowed time for the audiences to ask questions on any other school district relevant topic. There will be a moderator that will control the flow of information and activities at the community forum.
How are questions presented?
After each of the prepared topics are presented the in-person audience will have an opportunity to ask questions directly to the moderator who will direct the question to the appropriate person to answer. Members of the audience that are remote and on the live-stream will be able to submit their questions via email to community forum members. These folks will select questions from the emails received and give to the moderator who will direct the question to the appropriate person to answer.
What are the selected topics?
The first topic to be presented will be on the ConVal District budget. Being “budget season” there is a lot of activity happening that is important to share budget information with the community in preparation for district wide voting on March 8th. There will be two sections that will be presented. 1) Budget process and 2021 final tax bills and 2) Proposed budget and warrant articles.
The second topic to be presented will be on the expansion of the ConVal Pre-K program. Why do we need Pre-K, what does Pre-K accomplish, what measurements do we track, why do we want to expand Pre-K. Pre-k budget information.
How do I attend remotely via live stream and how do I submit questions?
The live stream will be done as a YouTube event. This will mean that the community forum will be recorded as a video on YouTube so that not only can it be viewed as it is taking place, but it can be viewed at any time after the community forum is completed as it will be on YouTube servers forever. The link to access this YouTube feed click on this link ConVal Community Forum or copy and paste the following into your browser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWR78WOKlnU
To send in a question via email please use the following email address Forum@conval.edu.
Why should I attend the ConVal community forum?
It is your money, it is your school district, it is the education of your children, and it is your community. Be involved. Make a difference.
NEWS FROM PRINCIPAL ROY
Happy Friday!
Dear Greenfield Families and Friends,
How is it already January 21st? As we move into the fourth week of the long winter season, I am thankful that the days are getting longer again. I do love winter and spending time outside in the cold, crisp air skiing and snowshoeing, but I'm definitely more of a fair weather winter enthusiast than I used to be! Give me temps in the high 20's-low 30's, sunshine and blue skies and I'm all in! I'm still waiting for a big snowstorm to bring us some natural snow this year!
As many of you are aware, we are in the midst of a COVID-19 surge and GES has experienced several positive cases over the last few weeks. I cannot stress enough how important it is for families to monitor children for ANY symptoms and to keep symptomatic children home until they can be tested. We are seeing many positive cases with mild symptoms of scratchy throats and headaches. If your child presents with ANY of the following symptoms please keep them home and call the school and schedule a rapid test.
- Headache
- Muscle pain or aches
- Sore or scratchy throat
- Cough
- Congestion or runny nose
- Fever or chills
- Fatigue
- Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting
- Loss of smell or taste
The ConVal District updated its guidance on Monday 1/10/22. You can find updated guidance regarding isolation and quarantine after a positive exposure or test result below.
Effective immediately, we will be emailing families to notify you of any potential close contacts that occur in school instead of calling individual families. Please don't hesitate to call me or the school nurse if you have any questions after being notified of a potential close contact. Please monitor your child for symptoms after receiving notification. Students who may have been exposed at school may continue to come to school as long as they do not have any symptoms.
If your child has been fully vaccinated, please send a photo or copy of the vaccination card to our school nurse, Alaina Slocomb at aslocomb@conval.edu for our school records. Per the updated guidance, anyone who is fully vaccinated does not need to quarantine if a close household contact tests positive for COVID-19, as long as they are asymptomatic.
As part of our efforts to keep students and staff IN school as much as possible this year, we are able to perform rapid COVID tests for symptomatic students and staff. If your child develops symptoms at home, you now have the option to have your child tested at GES. Please keep them home and call our school nurse to schedule an appointment. If your child develops any symptoms while at school, we can test them here as well. We must have parent permission to perform a rapid test at school. If you have not already done so, please follow the directions below to sign your child up and provide consent to test.
To get started, please fill out the consent form with your permission to perform a COVID-19 test for your student at Greenfield Elementary School. This process should take no more than 5 minutes to complete using a computer or a smartphone.
1. First, click here https://testcenter.concentricbyginkgo.com/minor-consent/
2. Then, enter this access code: K06QO0
3. Finally, enter your child’s information, and you’re done!
Note: If you need to provide consent for more than one child at GES, please complete the process once for each child using the same code. If you have children in other district schools, please use the code sent from the principal where your child attends.
Only students with completed consent forms are able to participate in testing. Testing empowers us to make these informed decisions about in-person learning and allows students, teachers, and staff to come to school with peace of mind.
Per our Reopening Plan, any child who is symptomatic with new or unexplained symptoms should stay home until they are tested for Covid-19 and receive a negative result.
Winter Weather and Outdoor Play:
We do go outside for recess every day unless it is dangerously cold or raining. As long as the "real feel" temperature outside is above 10 degrees, we will be outside at recess! Please be sure to send in appropriate winter gear for your child. This includes, snow pants, boots, jacket, gloves and a hat. You are welcome to have your child keep their gear here at school if you have an extra set. While we do have some extra gear, we are running low on gloves and mittens. If you are cleaning out used gear and happen to have any extra gloves or mittens, we will happily take them to restock our supply of extras here at GES!
Winter Benchmark Testing:
All students in grades K-4 will participate in winter benchmark testing in Math and Reading between January 31 and February 18. Students will be assessed using a variety of tests, including Aimsweb, NWEA-Measures of Academic Progress and PNOA (Primary Number and Operations Assessment). Teachers use the data to identify gaps in learning and develop lessons and interventions to support students. Results from the assessments will be shared with families no later than the end of the second trimester in March.
It is important that you check and update your children's after school pick up plans in Pick Up Patrol each day, especially if they have plans that may change on a daily basis. We will follow the plans that are entered in Pick Up Patrol. It's your responsibility to make sure the plans are correct. Thank you for your help!
In case you missed the news, morning snack/breakfast and lunch are free for all ConVal students this year, however if your child gets only milk at either meal there is a charge of $0.50. Please be sure to add money to your child's lunch account to cover the cost of milk if needed.
You can find the latest elementary menus here:
https://conval.linqnutrition.com/Menus.aspx
The Grey Wolf Gazette is now available on our website under the "What's Happening" button. You will be able to find previous editions by clicking on the View All News button. No more scrolling through your email to find the newsletter.
Have a wonderful weekend!
~Colleen
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES-PLEASE CHECK AND ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR!
1/24-2/4/22: Special: Library with Mrs. Mack
1/24-2/18/22: Winter Benchmark Testing K-4 (Math and Reading)
2/7-2/18/22: Special: PE/Health with Mrs. Parker! Don't forget your sneakers!
2/21-2/25/22: February Vacation
CONVAL DISTRICT NEWS
GES has a facebook page! You can find the link here:
https://www.facebook.com/Greenfield-Elementary-School-532738607668635
The ConVal School District has news blog to serve as a hub for the latest updates, information and news about the district’s schools, students, faculty, events and accomplishments.
The blog, ConValNews.com is integrated into the schools and District’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and will automatically broadcast news blog content onto these platforms, connecting directly with the district community.
With a clean, user-friendly and mobile responsive layout, the news blog allows for easy navigation throughout. It can be accessed on computers, cell phones and tablets. Community members can subscribe and be notified by email when new posts are published.
Parents/guardians, students, staff, and community members should still utilize the district’s main website, Convalsd.net, to access the District-wide calendar of events, contact information, school committee meeting notices and minutes, important documents and notices and to view general information about the district and its schools.
First Friends Preschool News
Community Events
Scan the URL code below to subscribe to ConVal News!
Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club! Find out more about Before & After School Care at GES!
News from the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club!
Looking for Before or After School care for your children? Check out the Boys & Girls Club! They have different options to meet the needs of all our families-come one day a week or all 5! They also have a punch card for occasional use! The Club is up and running and accepting registrations for before and after school care at GES. The program will once again serve Greenfield, Francestown and Hancock students. Before school care is available from 6:00am-8:20am and After School care is available from 3:20pm until 6:00pm. Registration information can be found on the Club’s website www.svbgc.org If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Alyssa Nykanen at anykanen@svbgc.org or Catherine Kendall at ckendall@svgbc.org.
Connect with us!
Email: croy@conval.edu
Website: https://ges.convalsd.net/
Location: 860 Forest Road, Greenfield, NH 03047, USA
Phone: 603-547-3334
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Greenfield-Elementary-School-532738607668635
Twitter: @ges_royc