Happy First Day of School! We are so excited to welcome our students back to school today, with a special welcome to all of the new families who have recently joined the Driscoll community. We also want to welcome back our students who are returning from last year at the Remote Learning Academy, many of whom haven’t been in the building on a regular basis since March 2020. Our building felt empty without you, and we are so glad to have you back again.
We understand that today is different from any other First Day of School. While there have been encouraging signs about the days ahead, the COVID-19 pandemic does not show any signs of coming to an end anytime soon. The extremely contagious Delta Variant is a reminder that we must remain vigilant, especially since many of our students are still not eligible for a vaccine until their 12th birthday. But our teachers and staff have had a year of experience working under these conditions now, and their dedication to our students has been nothing short of inspiring.
One thing that will never change is the Driscoll Parent Teacher Organization’s commitment to supporting both our students and teachers, and for finding ways to come together as a community to build lasting memories. One of our primary goals this year is to rebuild a strong sense of community among Driscoll students and families. To that end, here are some of the events we have planned over the next few weeks:
We will be offering our traditional “Coffee and Kleenex” for Kindergarten parents after they drop off their children on their first day of school. This will be held on the blacktop outside the cafeteria after drop-off on Wednesday, September 1st and Thursday, September 2nd (weather permitting; otherwise we will move inside to the cafeteria). All families are welcome, not just Kindergarteners: we know how hard it will be for some of our returning RLA families to say goodbye this year!
We will be holding our annual New Family Breakfast again this year, on Tuesday, September 14th. Right now, we are still in the process of deciding if this will be in person or via Zoom. All Driscoll families are welcome!
Starting in October, we will be re-starting our popular “First Tuesday” Coffee with the PTO series, held at 8 AM on the first Tuesday of every month. We are very much hoping to offer this in person again this year. Stay tuned for information about this year’s guests. Our plan is to offer speakers who can support our families in the unique challenges they will be facing this year, both socially and academically. We also want to help the Driscoll community stay informed about the ongoing construction project outside our walls.
As the year goes on, you will hear more about some of our regular programs, such as Driscoll After School Activities (DASA), Science Solstice, Arts Equinox, the Spring Fair, and more. We are still in the process of figuring out what programs will be feasible to offer in terms of COVID restrictions, and what programs we will have enough parent volunteers to offer.
As always, the PTO exists to find ways to get our families involved in our school community. We understand how busy everyone is, but there is always a place for each of our parents to volunteer with the Driscoll PTO in a way that fits their schedule. You will hear more about some volunteering opportunities in the days to come. In the meantime, we are already looking for parents to volunteer as a Room Parent for their child’s class. Communication between families and teachers will be more important than ever this year, and Room Parents provide the direct support that our teachers depend on.
