Dear Driscoll Community,
As you may or may not know, 3rd grader, Mateo Goldman was diagnosed with Leukemia in the fall of 2016. He has been absent from school, getting treatment and care at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Our community misses Mateo every day and is committed to supporting Mateo and his family (Mom, Mandy; Dad, Nick; Brothers, Leo (5H) and Milo (KF); and little sister Violet who will be coming to Driscoll when she's old enough).
Last week, The Back to School Team from Dana Farber came to speak to 3rd grade, 5th grade and KF (Mateo’s, Leo’s, and Milo’s classes) to help them understand what Mateo has been going through and why he’s not at school. It was a great chance for all to learn, ask questions and see Mateo and his Mom who were skyping from Children’s. We learned that Mateo will not be able to return to school for several months while his immune system rebuilds and is strong enough to be able to protect him from illness and germs.
During Art Equinox, last Thursday and Friday, all classrooms received a container to decorate with their own #Mateotough design. The idea is to engage our whole community to raise money to donate to One Mission: Pediatric Cancer Charity which supports the medical communities, families and children who have been diagnosed with cancer. One Mission is near and dear to the Goldman Family and Driscoll is honored to give back in Mateo’s name to support their mission. You can help this effort by encouraging your children to earn, share, and contribute to this cause that helps so many families in vulnerable times. Donations are not limited to students and coins only. Feel free to send donations to school (checks can be made out to “One Mission”) to help fill these containers. Collections will start Monday, March 27th and continue through Thursday April 13th. Classes will display their #Mateotough design and progress at community meetings. Also, look for the #Mateotough booth to buy #Mateotough bracelets at the Driscoll Spring Fair, with all proceeds going to One Mission.
We also want to introduce another way we will help Mateo stay connected to Driscoll. Upon returning from April Vacation, check out the library for “The Special Delivery Dragon”. It’ll be a way to drop notes or items that will make their way to Mateo whether he is still in the hospital or home getting his care as an outpatient. We will work with teachers and classrooms to make sure the Special Delivery Dragon is busy making deliveries to Mateo each week!
Since Mateo will be home, but still needs to do his school work, students will encounter Mateo accessing Driscoll and his learning in many ways including the use of cool technology that will allow him to be as much a part of the classroom as possible. We’ll be sharing more information about this soon!
Thank you . Let’s fill those jars today!
For more information on One Mission, please visit http://onemission.org/To stay updated on Mateo and his progress and send support you can visit his facebook page #mateotoughSincerely,Carrie Hibbard, Guidance CounselorHeidi Cook, PrincipalThe Driscoll PTO and the entire #Mateotough team