Dr. Talukdar will be leaving Driscoll at the end of this academic year. What happens next?
MakerSpace Tour-February 13
What’s new at Driscoll? A MakerSpace!
Stop by for Coffee and a Tour of the space on Wednesday February 13th, 8 -9 a.m. A makerspace is where students interact with all sorts of materials and each other to solve a problem or achieve a goal while using 21st century learning skills including collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. We invite you to come to our new makerspace (Room 117), enjoy some coffee, and learn more about the design process. This event is sponsored by the Enrichment & Challenge Support (ECS) department, supporting all students through innovation.
Driscoll Science Fair Deadline is Feb 26
Save the date for the Driscoll Science Fair - Saturday, Ma
rch 2, 2019.
Join your classmates for a fun and educational day at the Science Fair. All participants will have a chance to share their projects with judges and the top middle school finishers will move on to the regional competition. Learn more at https://
The deadline to register is Tuesday, February 26th, 2019-----------------------Who: Any registered Driscoll School StudentWhat ages: Kindergarten - 8th grade (even younger children can do beautiful projects!)When: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 9 am-Noon.Where: The Driscoll Gymnasium (3-8 grades) & Cafeteria (for K-2)How: Projects are to be carried out and made by children during non-school time
9th School Update and Listening Session at Driscoll School
Dear Driscoll School Community,As you might know, the Town of Brookline is currently conducting a 9th School Alternative Site Study, which will involve a comprehensive study of several potential siting locations for a 9th school. This study will reexamine locations previously studied as well as include additional locations, including the possibility of identifying multiple sites and/or combining sites to address Brookline’s enrollment driven need for additional classroom capacity.Driscoll School is one of several Brookline Schools to be included in this study as a potential multiple site solution. HMFH Architects have been contracted to assist with the evaluation of all sites under consideration. One very important aspect of this study will be to involve and solicit ideas and valuable input from the School Communities being studied. For this reason, we invite you to attend a Driscoll School “Listening Session” scheduled for Wednesday, January 17th from 8:10 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. in the Driscoll School Library.We will begin the Listening Session with a brief summary concerning the purpose and scope of this 9th School Alternative Site Study but then quickly invite all in attendance to share their ideas, concerns and suggestions on how the Driscoll School location or other locations could prove to be the total or partial solution to Brookline’s growing classroom capacity problem.Pip Lewis, principal architect for HMFH will join me and other Town officials at this meeting. We look forward to listening to your ideas and engaging everyone in beneficial dialog that may help us shape recommended solutions to this challenging issue. To help you follow our progress, please use the website link (https://www.brookline.k12.ma.
YOUR INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROCESS IS IMPORTANT TO US!
Sincerely,Joe Connelly9th School Alternative Site Study Project Manager
Community Meeting Schedule Announced
Community Meeting 2017-18
Community Meeting is a time when K-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade students come together to celebrate our community, to sing songs, and share things we have been working on. Parents and Guardians are always invited to join us at Community Meeting!
We usually start with a song, and the grade level or class that is hosting will then present the theme for the meeting. The rest of the meeting is filled with singing and sharing led by the class or grade level who are hosting. We usually end the meeting with our beautiful Driscoll School Song, written by music teacher Emma Catlett.
Our goals for community meeting are the following:
-Provide students with a safe space to practice making presentations to a large group
-Allow students to lead each other (adults do a lot of work to prepare students, but during the meeting, the adults take a "back seat" to the students)
-Provide students with an opportunity to work on being good audience members
-Build community (parents, students, teachers) across grade levels
-Allow students to see what goes on in other classrooms, including grade levels that are above or below their own.
All meetings are in the theater and start at 8:10 AM and end by about 8:40 AM. We ask parents/guardians to sit in a particular grade-level section so that classes can sit together. When the meeting is over, we let families leave first so that kids can walk out in line with their class.
We look forward to seeing you there! The schedule is below, but is subject to change based on the MCAS schedule. Please watch your teacher’s newsletter and the calendar to find out when your child will present!
K-2 Community Meetings: 11/3, 12/1, 1/5, 2/2, 3/2, 3/9, 4/6, 5/4, 6/8
3rd-5th Community Meetings: 11/17, 1/19, 2/9, 2/16, 3/16, 4/13, 5/18, 6/15
News from the Library
From the Library
Library Hours
Please visit! Our beautiful library is open to families before school daily (at 7:45) and after school until 2:45 Monday-Thursday (though may be closed after school some days for meetings). Before and after school hours are a great time for families to browse and check out books with their children. It is also an excellent time for older students to use the library to check out books, do research, or read. Please note, students in grades K-3 must be with a parent or adult caregiver during before/after school hours.
Sign up for a Family Library Account
Driscoll families are invited to sign up for a Family Library Account. While students are limited to 1 to 3 books checked out a time (depending on their grade), a Family Library Account allows parents and caregivers to borrow up to 10 books at time from any section of the library during before and after school hours.
Library Website and Catalog
Visit the library website to check the library calendar, search for a book in the library catalog, or access databases, audiobooks and ebooks.
Volunteer
Be a Library Volunteer! Parents help shelve and process books. Visit the library website for information about signing up to be a volunteer.
Questions? Contact Ms. Reid, Librarian, anne_reid@psbma.org
2017 Open House Driscoll Schedule
Dear Families,I am writing to you with information regarding Driscoll School Open House. This event is a wonderful opportunity for parents and guardians to learn more about curriculum and instruction, daily schedules, teacher expectations, units of study, math and literacy, assessments, and more. Classroom teachers will offer brief presentations and respond to general questions families may have.While this event has historically taken place during evening hours, this year’s Open House will occur during the school day. Please note that finding an evening time has proven to be quite challenging this year due to holidays, programming and other scheduling conflicts. Therefore, the Driscoll School has chosen to explore a daytime model similar to ones successfully used at other elementary schools in Brookline.The schedule for Open House at the K-5 level 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 amBetween 8:00 am and 8:20 am, parents/guardians will gather in the theater for a brief welcome by school leaders and introduction of specialists. At 8:25 am, families will travel to their child’s classroom 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. 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.Please note that information about Open House for grades 6-8 will be sent out early next week. Open House for the middle school grades will also occur during the school day. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you in advance for your patience and flexibility.I look forward to seeing you soon!Sincerely,Suzie--
Dr. Sujan S. Talukdar Interim Principal Michael Driscoll SchoolDriscoll Principal Transition
Dear Driscoll Families,As you all know, Driscoll School has a significant transition on the horizon.A school leadership transition can be bumpy, but I am absolutely thrilled that my colleague, Dr. Talukdar will lead the Driscoll School as the interim principal for the 2017-2018 school year!Dr. Talukdar and I have always had an excellent working relationship and I believe that will be a real asset to the Driscoll Community! Here are some of the ways we are already working together to ensure a smooth transition:
- Dr. Talukdar and I will be visiting classrooms together this week. This will give me an opportunity to talk with students about the transition and to introduce Dr. Talukdar at the same time.
- Dr. Talukdar and I will have a chance to review former and current School Improvement Plans and we will have a chance to discuss the strengths of Driscoll School and the areas of improvement that have been identified.
- I will ensure that Dr. Talukdar understands the work we have begun this year, including the group that has been meeting about issues of equity at Driscoll.
- I will ensure that Dr. Talukdar understands our current policies, procedures and ways of working so she has a good understanding of what’s happening now as she leads going forward.
I will always hold a very special place in my heart for Driscoll and I will do whatever I can to ensure the success of Driscoll students into the future. If there is anything specific you think would be helpful in this time of transition, please let me know.Warmly,Heidi