Once Upon a Book - Book Fair Starts Dec 3

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Once Upon A Book, the Driscoll Book Fair, happens Dec. 3 - 7 in the library.

We are open before, during, and after school each day!

We are still in need of volunteers, and also paper grocery bags, that can be dropped off in the libraryWe need many parent/adult volunteers, especially during the busy times before school and after school. We also have an evening shopping time on Wednesday Dec. 5 from 5-7 p.m., with a special story time reading by Dr. Talukdar.  Sign up here to volunteer.Thanks for your support!- The Book Fair Team (Nadine Abu-Jawdeh, Meg Brackley, Erin Kelly, Claudia Olivetti, and Anne Reid)

Nov 14 Game Night!

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Wednesday, November 14th from 6:30 - 8 PM in the Cafeteria

The Driscoll PTO will be sponsoring the first Driscoll Game Night in the Driscoll Cafeteria, and we'd love to see your family there!  We'll be bringing some of our favorite board and card games - Ticket to Ride, Apples to Apples, Battleship, Rat-a-Tat Cat, Connect Four, Zingo, and more!  Or bring one of your favorites from home and teach your friends how to play!

If you don't have time to eat before you come, feel free to bring your dinner with you!  The 8th grade will also be selling food to raise money for their class.

First Tuesday Coffee with the PTO

Thanks to our Brookline School Committee members and Superintendent Andrew Bott for speaking today at our second monthly First Tuesday Coffee with the PTO!If you would like to learn more about the Brookline School Committee (including meeting notes, presentations, and updates) please visit the Brookline School Committee website. You can find topics such as:

  • Current and future Building Projects, including meeting presentations
  • Subcommittees and contacts
  • Policies and Documents
  • How you can have your voice heard
 

Poster Contest for Students - Due November 14

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The Driscoll Book Fair (December 3 - 7) Invites Students to design a poster for "Once Upon a Book Fair"

Driscoll students are invited to design a poster to help people get excited about this year's Book Fair! The theme this year is "Once Upon A Book Fair" and information on the poster contest is below. Two designs will be chosen, one each from grades K-4, and  5-8.Poster entries are due November 14

Poster Contest Guidelines:

  • Pick up the entry form at the Library, in the main office, or Download the Form Here and turn it in to the main office by November 14
  • The words “Book Fair 2018” and the theme “Once Upon a Book Fair” must be incorporated into the design.
  • Only one entry per student, or students can work together and submit a design as a group
  • Design must be original work, hand drawn on the entry form (see above)
  • Posters are photocopied, so black and white only please.
  • One design will be chosen from the two judging categories: K-4 and 5-8.
  • Prize: winners will get to pick one book to keep and one to be added to the library in their honor.
  • All students who submit an entry will be entered into a drawing for a gift card.

 Adults: We need many volunteers to help make the Book Fair a success! Please join us in setting up the library, helping on the sales floor, working the cash registers, and more. It is a fun and easy volunteer activity and we’d love to have you!You can sign up to volunteer through this link

Want to know more about the book fair?

See more information about the book fair on the Book Fair info page

Early Dismissal Day Movies for Fall 2018

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Four times in the fall and four times in the spring of each year, the school day ends at 12:30 PM to allow time for parent/teacher conferences.  As both a convenience to parents and an important fundraising opportunity, the Driscoll PTO offers students a chance to watch a movie in the theater and get picked up at their normal time.Sign up now through November 9 for Early Dismissal Movies.

Questions about how it works?

More Information can be found on the Early Dismissal Movie Page

Family Giving Campaign

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The PTO's annual fundraiser has started! Our goal is $40,000 and 100% participation amongst Driscoll families. Please give an amount that is meaningful to your family.Donation envelopes will be sent home later this week, and you can give online via driscollpto.org. Your donations fund teacher grants, and PTO events like Fall Fling, Arts Equinox, Science Solstice, author visits, library books, and more! You'll be hearing from Family Giving Campaign Chair, Alice Speck, and our classroom captains throughout the month-long period of giving, and on 11/8 for our 3rd Annual Dial for Driscoll where parent volunteers reach out to all of our families!Please give now, and give generously. Have questions? Email alice.speck@gmail.com

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First Day of School

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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

We are excited to see you all for the first day of school!  Please refer to our parent handbook for Driscoll 101!

First Day of School Procedures

The first day of school is an exciting day and we cannot wait to see you! For 1st-8th grade students, the first day will be on Thursday, September 6th. For Kindergarten students, the first day is eitherThursday, September 6th or Friday, September 7th (not on both days) and will be dismissed at 12:40. Your first day assignment was sent with your kindergarten class information. All Kindergarten students come to school on Tuesday, September 11th.For all Driscoll students, the school day is from 8am-2:30pm Monday-Thursday and from 8am-1:40pm on Fridays. On their first day, students should arrive between 7:45AM and 7:55AM.  There will be many signs and friendly staff members helping every student get to where they need to go.Students should go to the following meeting places when they arrive on the first day (not to their classrooms).

  • Kindergarten will meet in the library (look for a sign with your teacher's name).
  • 1st grade will meet in the cafeteria (look for a sign with your teacher's name).
  • 2nd-5th grade will meet on the tennis courts (look for a sign with your teacher's name); in the case of rain, 2nd-5th grade students will wait in the main lobby/hallway near the library and main office until 7:50am and then proceed to classrooms.
  • 6th-8th grade will meet in the theater.

Just after 8:00AM, once all students are gathered together, K-5 students will line up with their teacher and walk to their classroom together as a class. Kindergarten parents will spend a short time in the classroom with their children to help ensure a smooth transition. 6th-8th grade students will start their day with a meeting in the theater.

DAILY HOURS AT SCHOOL

REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS

Pre-Kindergarten:Monday to Friday: 8:05 am to 12:15 pm

Kindergarten to 8th Grade:

  • Monday to Thursday: 8:00 am to 2:30 pmFriday: 8:00 am to 1:40 pm

EARLY DISMISSAL DAYS

  • Parent Conferences (8 days/year) 8:00 am to 12:40 pm (lunch is served)
  • Day before Thanksgiving and Last Day of School: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm (lunch is NOT served)

LUNCH AND RECESS BREAKS

Students at each grade level from kindergarten through eighth grades will enjoy 20 minutes to eat lunch each day. With regard to recess, students in Grades K - 5 will have 29 minutes/day (or approximately 145 min/week) and students in Grades 6 - 8 will have 22 minutes/day (or approximately 90 min/week).

SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS

The Town makes automated phone calls to advise families of any cancellations.

Meeting with Superintendent Bott

Dear Driscoll School Community,As a first step in the Driscoll School Renovation and Expansion feasibility study that was moved forward by the Select Board and School Committee this past Wednesday, two Driscoll community forums have been scheduled for next week. These forums will be attended by me and members of the School Committee. The community forums are scheduled for:

  • Thursday, June 21 @ 6:30 p.m. in the Driscoll School library
  • Friday, June 22 @ 8:15 a.m. in the Driscoll School library

I look forward to seeing you next week to hear your concerns, answer your questions, and engage in an important conversation about this process.Sincerely,Andrew J. BottSuperintendent

Bob Thomas is Retiring!

Dear Families,Bob Thomas, Driscoll's Educational Technology Specialist and Computer Teacher extraordinaire is retiring after 19 years. Bob is loved by students, staff, and families. Please join us for an adults only celebration in honor or Bob on June 19th in the Library from 3pm-5pm. RSVP with a suggested donation $10 HERE. On behalf of the Driscoll Staff and the Driscoll PTO, we are looking forward to celebrating Bob's retirement with the community.Warmly,Driscoll Staff and Driscoll PTO

Library News

Books Due Back at the Library

The end of the year is approaching, so it is time to get those library books back to the library!  All library books are due back this week, on your child’s normal library day. If you are not able to find a book, please contact me so that we can make arrangements to find a replacement for the library.

Summer Reading

Driscoll Summer Reading is going online this year!  In an effort to go green and make summer reading materials available wherever you may travel this summer, all the great Driscoll summer reading resources will be posted online.  The summer reading page (featuring icons designed by Driscoll students) will include summer reading requirements for each grade and links to reading lists, reading logs, reading bingo, and even writing bingo sheets - all wonderful, fun ways to keep those reading and writing skills up over the summer!  The link to this page will be emailed out to families.Students will visit the library over the next two weeks for Summer Reading Assemblies.  They will learn about summer reading expectations for their grade, hear from the public librarian Miss Caroline about their fabulous summer reading program, and browse books from the summer reading list to make a list a books they want to read this summer.  Happy Reading! Ms. Reid, Librarian  anne_reid@psbma.org

The Latest from the Driscoll Garden

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What’s Growing On?We are recovering from a great Spring Fair. Thanks to our volunteers, and all those who stopped by the garden to learn about and support the garden program. We shared 150 salads grown organically in our school garden by students. We are composting the plates and forks. Fairgoers also helped paint 120 pickets that we will use to make a mini-picket fence to brighten up the garden and protect flower seedlings.  The fence will be installed within the next two weeks.Our Wednesday after school class was chaotic, occurring right before the start of the fair.  We tried our luck at bug racing, and we also did an exploration activity I’m thinking of calling Who’s In My Pile - basically we met organisms that inhabit garden material piles. Various insects, invertebrates, cephalopods, amphibians, and reptiles were observed, handled and discussed.We have begun signing up families for summer garden maintenance/harvesting. SIGN UP your family to get hands-on with your Driscoll Garden, and reap the rewards. You can choose one or more weeks to be responsible for monitoring, watering, weeding, harvesting, and eating. Victor will conduct an orientation class in June, and be on-call all summer to answer questions and help solve problems.The next garden committee meeting will be Wednesday June 6th, 8:00 am in the cafeteria. There is so much potential at Driscoll, to create an awesome outdoor experiential learning environment for the entire school community. Let's keep growing!Contact us to get involved: driscollschoolgarden@gmail.com.

THANK YOU!

THANK YOU: Hands down the best Spring Fair yet!We are grateful for our amazing Spring Fair Team: Connie Clauson, Lakia Rutherford, Jennifer Klaus, and Desmond Hall! Huge shout our to our Janitors Larry and Tom! Thanks to our parent & teacher volunteers...we couldn’t do this event without you. Another huge shout out to our Dunk Tank Participants: Superintendent Bott, Dr. Talukdar, Ms. Hibbard, Ms. Keach, Mr. Youkilis, Ms. Bouquet, Mr. Iadarola, and our very own PTO Co-Chair, Ryan Garms!! Thanks to Steve & Kates Camp for sponsoring the Dunk Tank!

Calling All Volunteers!

The Few. The Brave. The Bouncers. The Spring Fair Inflatables need YOU!!! The Moonwalk and Chaos Obstacle course MUST have volunteer adult safety monitors or they CANNOT open! We need one adult per hour to time kids entering the Obstacle Course so they can move through without colliding with someone else. The Moonwalk needs one to two adults per hour to divide groups into "Bigs" and "Littles" (so the little kids don't get squished), time the rotations, and monitor safe behavior while bouncing. A loud voice and firm hand on the stopwatch is a plus, but not required! If this sounds like you, sign in here and add your name to the list!
A heartfelt Thank You to everyone who has signed up to volunteer so far. Overall, we are looking good! If you haven't signed up yet but want to, there are still opportunities available in all areas!

Spring Fair Ticket Sales!

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Spring Fair Tickets and Bracelets on sale now!  Don’t miss out on the action standing in line the day of the Fair!Visit our pre-Fair ticket table outside the Main Office before or after school on Friday, May 18, Monday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 22. Main Office table will be open before school only the day of the Fair!Bracelets are $35 and include all rides, games and most activities. Tickets are $1 each and can be used to purchase food, individual rides and activities. (Dunk Tank  is not included in bracelet price).

What’s Growing On?

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What’s Growing On?Last week, 2G explored soil in the garden as an extension of their spring science unit.  They especially enjoyed meeting Misters Squiggles, the red wriggler composting worms. This week we plan to host 2Har and 2S for the same extension activity.  Also this week, we will host the 4th grade Girl Scouts as they tour the garden and help construct a potato tower.The after school garden class planted some more seeds last week. They planted the “seed tape” they made the previous week - a method of insuring proper spacing of small seeds.  They also planted seeds for a flower border, and constructed some temporary fencing to protect these new seedlings. They always enjoy using tools.The garden program will be taking part in the Spring Fair - stop by our table for a garden activity, salad samples to supplement your cotton candy, horticultural advice, and information on the Driscoll School Garden Program. It will also be a good opportunity to sign up for slots on the summer maintenance calendar, so your family can help sustain (and consume!) this season’s crops. No experience is necessary, as an orientation class and on-call horticultural help will be available.There was a small, but productive, Garden Committee meeting last Wednesday. We are making progress filling administrative rolls, but need as much help as we can get. Contact us to get involved: driscollschoolgarden@gmail.com. There is so much potential at Driscoll, to create an awesome outdoor experiential learning environment for the entire school community. There are many ways to help, and most of them don’t involve gardening. You have skills. Become a garden committee member. The next Driscoll Garden committee meeting will be Wednesday June 6th, 8:00 am in the cafeteria.