As we prepare to move into the new Driscoll School in the Fall, the Driscoll PTO has been finding ways to both say goodbye to the current building and get our students excited about the new school. One of our most exciting opportunities has been the creation of a Time Capsule, which will be walled up underneath a staircase in the new building. It will be in place for twenty-five years, and will not be opened until 2048 (and if you want to feel really old, ask your kids how old they will be in 2048!).

We asked all of our students to give us suggestions about items to include in the Time Capsule, and each grade was given the opportunity to include one item of their choice. While we were limited by space and weren’t able to include all of their suggestions (some of our favorite rejected ideas: the back of the art room, an empty chocolate milk container, the Spring Fair, or “maybe a piece of paper that says in all caps “DRAMA”).

We wanted to share the contents of the Time Capsule with the Driscoll Community, along with a letter that will let students in twenty-five years understand what we included. We hope you enjoy this as an end of the year treat!

Hello Driscoll School Class of 2048!

In June 2023, as we prepared to move into the new Driscoll School, the Driscoll PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) worked with students and teachers to put together this time capsule. We hope it gives you an idea of what it was like to attend Driscoll School twenty-five years ago.

Each grade was given the opportunity to include one item in this time capsule:

Our Kindergarten students put together a collage with pictures of “some of our favorite places in the old Driscoll School.”
Our First Graders love to read, so they have included one of their favorite books from their classroom library: A Big Guy Took My Ball! from the Elephant & Piggie series, which they all signed.
Every Spring, our Second Graders put on the play Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock. They included the script so you could perform it too!
Our Third Graders love learning about nature. This year, each class raised trout, which they studied before taking a field trip to a local park where they released their fish into the wild. To remember this project they included diagrams of their trout, which each student signed, along with some of their observations.
Our Fourth Graders love to read too, so they have included a copy of one of their favorite read-aloud books, Because of Winn Dixie, which they also signed.
One of the most popular units for our Fifth Graders is learning about the Revolutionary War. Students are randomly assigned the identity of a person who was alive in Boston at the time, and play the part of either a Patriot (who is in favor of the Revolution) or a Loyalist (who remains loyal to England). At the beginning of the week, they are given 100 shillings and are taxed according to their activities (for example, eating a sugary snack cost two shillings). They chose to include a packet of shillings, along with some other information about this activity.
Our Middle School wing is decorated with posters reminding students of the Driscoll Middle School Values (R.I.C.K. – Responsibility, Integrity, Community, and Kindness). Our Sixth Graders wanted to include one of these posters, which they all signed.
Our Seventh Grade wanted to include a “Trapper Keeper” with a Dragon Book academic planner inside, which they used to carry around their Chromebook computers and other school supplies (of course, most of their Trapper Keepers were much more beat-up than this one!). To make it more personal, they each signed the planner on the page with their birthday.
Our Eighth Grade chose a playbill from this year’s Eighth Grade play, Willie Wonka Jr., signed by the cast and crew, along with an important prop: the Wonka bar which included Charlie’s Golden Ticket.

We also chose other items from around the school, to represent as many parts of the Driscoll experience as possible. These include:

Three books from the Driscoll Library. Hot Dog was the winner of the Mock Caldecott program for students in grades K-3. A Rover’s Story was the winner of the DSBA (Driscoll Student Book Award) for students in grades 4-5, and Six Crimson Cranes was the winner for students in grades 6-8. We also included the voting sheets for the two DSBA winning books, which students used to choose their favorite books.
A student designed sticker from the KEEP Club (Kids Expect Environmental Protection), an environmental club made up of students in 5-8 grade, as well as a copy of their “Scrap the Cap” petition to encourage the Whole Foods grocery store chain to stop using plastic caps.
Some of our students wanted to “add a stack of masks to remind us of how we got through COVID-19,” along with a package of home COVID Tests. Also from the Nurse’s Office, we included a “Lost Tooth Holder” for students who had wiggly teeth fall out during the school day.
One of the many “LGBTQ Safe Zone” stickers that teachers have posted on their classroom doors, to represent our GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) student group.
A copy of the Middle School newspaper, The Dragonian.
A long-sleeved Driscoll School T-shirt, sweatshirt, water bottle, and pencil case.
A flyer advertising the Spring Fair, along with ten ride tickets.
An “MCAS Testing” poster, which was hung around the halls during standardized testing.
The sign from our METCO office, to represent all our students who live in Boston and travel to school in Brookline. METCO (The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) provides the opportunity for children from racially segregated schools in Boston and children from racially isolated schools in towns like Brookline to learn together in an integrated public school setting. It is the nation’s largest voluntary school desegregation program, and is an essential part of the Driscoll community.
A student created poster for our first annual Juneteenth Celebration, hosted by our Young African American and Latino Scholars program.
A copy of the “Driscoll Diaries: Celebrating 100 Years of Memories” book, put together in 2011 by the Driscoll Centennial Committee.
A Spanish fan to represent our Spanish language classes, along with messages in Spanish from some of our students.
A ladle from the Cafeteria, signed by our Cafeteria Manager, and a lunch tray.
And finally, a piece of a brick from the original Driscoll School.

We hope you have enjoyed this look into the past of Driscoll School! It has always been a special place for our students, as we hope it continues to be for you, and generations yet to come.