Dear Families,Have you ever wondered when is the appropriate time to discuss social media use with your child/ren? While social media users are required to be at least 13 years of age according to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), many children become aware of social sites and apps much earlier. Driscoll families are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the different forms of social media that students are exposed to so they can support safe, responsible and respectful citizenship in a digital world. At Driscoll School, we follow the Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship Curriculum. In addition to learning more about useful media resources, families can also find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) by visiting Common Sense Media HERE.Principal’s CornerNovember 2017Dr. Suzie Talukdar
October Principal's Corner
Happy October!Over the last month, it has truly been an honor to see so many families at the Driscoll School. Whether it was at the back to school night picnic or at morning and afternoon drop off and pick up, the pleasant greetings and smiling faces are just a few of the many things that makes this community so special.I look forward to seeing many of you during this week and next at Driscoll Open House. The schedule will be as follows:Grade 1 and Grade 2: Monday, October 2 from 8:00 am – 9:00 amGrade K and Grade 3: Wednesday, October 4 from 8:00 am – 9:00 amGrade 4 & Grade 5: Friday, October 6 from 8:00 am – 9:00 amGrades 6-8: Tuesday, October 10 from 8:00 am – 9:40 amFor K-5 Open house, parents/guardians will gather in the theater for a brief welcome by school leaders, PTO leaders and introduction of specialists between 8:00 am and 8:20 am. At 8:25 am, families will travel to their child’s classroom or other designated location for a brief presentation. During that time students will enjoy time at the playground, which will be supervised by staff. At 9:00 am, families will say goodbye and students will return to their classrooms. Additional details regarding Grades 6-8 Open House are forthcoming.It is important to remember that Open House is a time for general questions about the school year. If you have individual questions about your child, please contact your child’s teacher via email or phone to set up a time to talk.
Principal's Corner: Race Equity Leadership Conference
3/27/17If you tried to write me an email last week, you received an auto-reply informing you that I was at the Race Equity and Leadership in Schools conference, hosted by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I attended with the PSB leadership team, including senior staff and all principals. Although it was hard to be away from Driscoll for a few days in a row, especially during Arts Equinox, the time was well worth it.The goals of the conference were the following:
- Deepen [our] understanding of why this work on race, equity, and leadership matters and explore the changes needed to ensure a more inclusive future;
- Understand the many causes of individual, institutional, and systemic racial inequality, past and present;
- Identify concrete strategies for building inclusive institutions and build your toolkit to teach it, model it, and practice it.
Through listening to speakers, conversation, and reflection I do feel like we worked toward a deeper understanding of the importance of explicit race and equity work and we did have time to consider the changes needed to be more open and inclusive. I appreciated an opportunity to further my own understanding of individual, institutional and systemic racial inequalities. And, I most certainly walked away with concrete strategies for moving forward. Though a week is never enough time to grapple with these critical issues, it’s a start.Among the most memorable sessions for me was Karen Mapp’s session on family engagement. The moment she began to speak and share her thoughts on family engagement my wheels were turning about how I could bring this important work back to Driscoll in the form of improved family engagement--rethinking Open House, supporting parents in thinking about how to support learning at home, making sure our expectations and standards for students are clear, etc. etc. etc. I look forward to sharing these and other important ideas with you, with our PTO and I hope you’ll see some of the impacts soon.I’m so proud to be from a district where there was a significant investment in this work.My Best,HeidiHeidi CookPrincipal, Driscoll Schoolheidi_cook@psbma.org617-879-4250 (Main Office)driscoll.brookline.k12.ma.us