Welcome to the First Day of School (and an extra special welcome to all the new families who have just joined the Driscoll community)! While today looks very different than other first days of school, some things have not changed. The Driscoll Parent Teacher Organization remains fully committed to supporting both our students and teachers, and offering opportunities to come together as a community to build lasting memories.
The programs offered by the PTO this year will need to be different than in previous years, or even when we first shifted to Remote Learning in the Spring. We will not be sending out daily Virtual Announcements emails (whew!), or offering Virtual Story Times with our teachers. We understand how busy our students and teachers will be in the days to come, and we don’t want to overwhelm their already full schedules!
We will also need to make changes to many of the programs traditionally offered by the PTO, as there is just no possible way to deliver results worthy of our students’ time while respecting the safety requirements necessary to keep our community safe. For example, right now there are no visitors allowed in the school building; this means that we cannot invite the outside performers and parent volunteers which many of our programs depend on. While we are heartbroken not to be offering these programs this year, we know that they will be back as soon as it is safe for them to return. In particular, we will not be able to offer ongoing programs such as Driscoll After School Activities (DASA) or Early Release Movies, at least through the Fall and Winter months. We have also made the tough decision to cancel some of our yearly events, including the Fall Fling Dance, PTO Game Night, Science Solstice, and International Potluck. As we get farther into the school year, we will make decisions about our Spring programs, such as the Science Fair, Arts Equinox, and Spring Fair. We are also trying to imagine new ways to keep the spirit of these Driscoll traditions alive while respecting the current need for safety and social distancing.
We are certainly not taking the year off, though! We have been tirelessly working to find new ways to keep our community connected. Here is a sneak peek at 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 – although this year it will be a socially distant version, so you’ll need to bring your own coffee (we will have bottles of water and hand sanitizer, though!). This will be held on the blacktop outside the gym after drop-off on Wednesday, September 16 and Thursday, September 17. All Kindergarten families are welcome!
- We will be holding our annual New Family Breakfast on Zoom this year. More information, including the Zoom link and date, will be included in next Monday’s Weekly Bulletin email.
- 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 on Zoom. 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 (is anyone else completely lost when their children ask for help with their math assignments?).
One thing that will never change is the fact that the Driscoll PTO is always looking for ways to get our families involved in our school community. We understand how busy everyone is, this year especially, but there is always a place for each of our parents in the Driscoll PTO. 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. If you are interested in volunteering as a Room Parent, you can email our Room Parent Coordinators, Kim Loscalzo and Amanda Sullivan-Kramer.