The Family Giving Campaign is Back!

The Driscoll PTO Family Giving Campaign raises money each year to cover teacher grants, classroom materials, guest speakers, and community events (e.g. Spring Fair, Science Solstice, Arts Equinox) that fall outside the school budget.

Our fundraising goal for this school year is $30,000, with a suggested donation of $100 per student. Our goal is for 100% of Driscoll families to participate in the Family Giving Campaign. Donations in any amount are welcome and appreciated!

DONATE TODAY! You can give via Venmo @DriscollPTO, or donate via PayPal. 

All contributions to the Driscoll PTO are tax-deductible and will be acknowledged with a receipt for tax purposes. Our tax ID is 04-3500659. Please also consider using your employer’s matching grant program. For more information, please email driscollgiving@gmail.com.

Driscoll School Council Election: The Results Are In!

Yesterday was the deadline to vote in the election for parent representatives on the Driscoll School Council. Now the votes have been counted, and the four new parent representatives are:

C. Scott Ananian
Karina Caban
Jonathan Golden
Nicole McClelland

We want to give our sincere thanks to all five of the candidates, and extend our best wishes to Andrew Feldman. It was an overwhelmingly strong field, and any of the candidates would have made outstanding contributions to the School Council.

We also want to extend our gratitude to outgoing parent representatives Rich Day, Dan Deutsch, Patricia Salic, and Amandeep Singh for their two years of service on the Council. The last two years have been incredibly challenging for our community, and your continued dedication to our students was more important than ever.

Finally, we want to thank all the members of the Driscoll community who voted in the election. It is truly a sign of the strength of our community, and it is so wonderful to see the enthusiasm on display for our children's school experience.

It's Time to Vote for School Council!

It is time to vote for your representatives on the Driscoll School Council!

This year we have five candidates in the election for parent representatives on the Driscoll School Council.  As a reminder, the school council meets regularly with the school administration and teachers to shape school policies and programs, identify the needs of students, and review the school budget. This year we are looking to fill all four parent representatives for two-year terms.  Below, you can find some brief biographical information provided by each of the candidates.

The election will run through the end of school (1:40 PM) on Friday, January 14, 2022.  You may vote for up to four candidates.  Each parent/guardian is entitled to one ballot entry.

Ballots will be passed out to teachers to include in student take-home folders.  If you would like a paper copy mailed to you as well, please call the school at (617) 879-4250.  You may send your ballots in with your student, or email your vote to driscollpto@gmail.com. You may also mail your ballot to: Driscoll School, ATTN: David Youkilis, 64 Westbourne Terrace, Brookline, MA 02446.

 If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Youkilis at 617-879-4250 or david_youkilis@psbma.org, or the Driscoll PTO at driscollpto@gmail.com. Thank you to these five fine candidates for their participation and willingness to serve!

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C. Scott Ananian: C. Scott Ananian is parent of a Driscoll 3rd grader and 1st grader, both of whom attend the Driscoll Extended Day Program. Scott is a Brookline Town Meeting member, member of the Brookline Advisory Committee, was treasurer for the Campaign for Driscoll/Build Brookline's Future, and is a software developer for the Wikimedia Foundation, which is the custodian of Wikipedia and other collaboratively-edited educational projects. Scott received his PhD from MIT in 2007 and has spent over a decade working on robust and reliable systems to allow kids to discover, share, and learn.

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Karina Caban: Karina Caban is a high achiever who is currently enrolled at CSU where she is pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Addiction Services. Through workplace experience, she has gained crucial knowledge, skills, and personal attributes that help inspire and shape her mission of engaging, advocating and serving others.

Karina currently works for the Department of Mental Health as the Complaint Officer managing the review, assignment, and investigation of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital complaints. In her role, she collaborates with the Human Rights Officer to identify and investigate human rights violations and abuses. Prior to joining the Department of Mental Health Karina was the Program Manager for the Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities. In her role, Karina helped inspire and shape the Commission’s mission of engaging, advocating and serving the residents of Boston with disabilities. Karina was also the Operations Coordinator in the Homeless and Recovery Services Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission that is governed by a seven-member board of health appointed by the Mayor of Boston to protect, preserve, and promote the health and well-being of all Boston residents, particularly those who are most vulnerable.

Karina has a passion for working and caring for the underserved. As a METCO student mom being an effective advocate, is of top priority presenting information and making requests in a focused way will assure that our children have access to necessary services that may not be available unless we request them, point out their importance, then actively work to get them.

In her spare time, Karina enjoys spending quality time with her 5-Year old daughter, baking, getting crafty, or watching a movie.

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Andrew Feldman: Hello! My name is Andrew Feldman, and I am the proud stepdad to Grace, a 6th grader, and Micah, a 4th grader. We live very close to Driscoll, and since the pandemic, I have been fortunate enough to be able to walk my kids to school each morning and then to explore the surrounding neighborhood on foot. In fact, this year, I’ve walked 3,000 miles all around Brookline and Boston. I think it has truly allowed me to learn the area and community.

I grew up in New York and moved to Boston in 2009 to pursue a career in financial consulting. I met my partner, Jordanna, in 2015 through a local fitness group called November Project, and I officially moved to Brookline in 2018. 

The opportunity to lend my professional skills in financial analytics (budgeting and corporate financial planning), and more, in service of the school and its fabulous community is too good to pass up. Please consider voting for me as a parent representative for the Driscoll School Council; it would be a privilege to contribute back to a community that has given me so much.

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Jonathan Golden: My name is Jonathan Golden and I am a parent of a 2nd grader in 2S.  As a high school history teacher at Gann Academy in Waltham for over 20 years, I have held a range of strategic leadership positions including History Department Chair, Director of Academic Operations, and Assistant Head of School.  My administrative duties included the design of professional development, day to day operations of the school, mentoring of new teachers, and close cooperation with the facilities staff.

I am a graduate of Princeton University with a PhD from Brandeis University.  I serve as a Brookline Town Meeting Member for Precinct 11 and I am a member of the Community Engagement Committee for Brookline’s Commission for Diversity Inclusion and Community Relations.  I am a board member of Brookline Interactive Group and have had experience on a variety of non-profit boards.

I am excited by the possibility of serving on the Driscoll School Council to help develop and support the School Improvement Plan and the transition to a new building.  Drawing on my professional experience, non-profit work, and public service, I would welcome the opportunity to help the wonderful Driscoll School community progress from strength to strength.

Thank you for your consideration.

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Nicole McClelland: I'm Nicole McClelland, parent of a Driscoll first-grader and long-time resident of the Corey Hill neighborhood. I live by the sledding side of Corey Hill with my husband and daughter.

I'm an active volunteer in Brookline town government and have served as a Town Meeting Member for Precinct 11 since 2016. I was proud to be a part of the core campaign team for the successful Driscoll override campaign in 2019. I also serve on the Brookline Commission for Women.

In our neighborhood, I help co-lead the Corey Hill Neighborhood Association, and have been glad to join together with neighbors and community members recently to form the Driscoll Area Safety Team, which is focused on making the roadways and sidewalks in our school zone safer for all, especially Driscoll students, pedestrians and bikers.

My applicable professional background in publishing and licensing management includes experience with budgets, long-term planning, and operations. More importantly, I love the Driscoll community, and hope to join the School Council as part of a team of people working to support our students and school administration, and in making Driscoll the best it can be.

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Winter Session of DASA Cancelled

After much discussion with both Principal Youkilis and Nurse Dewing, the Driscoll PTO has decided to cancel the Winter Session of Driscoll After-School Activities (DASA).

This was not an easy decision for us to make, or one we made lightly.  While there were no issues during the Fall Session of DASA, we find ourselves faced with a different set of circumstances now.  COVID numbers are rapidly rising, with the highly contagious Omicron variant spreading across the country.  We are expecting those numbers to continue to rise in the weeks to come as a result of people traveling for the holidays.

We want to make it clear that our decision to cancel DASA does not indicate a lack of faith in the safety of our students at school.  Social distancing, mask wearing, and other safety precautions have been working, and will continue to work in the weeks to come.  However, as an after-school program, DASA has some important differences.  DASA classes include children from different grades, which means a positive case could affect multiple classes.  DASA students who are identified as a “close contact” are also not eligible for the “Test to Stay” program, which means than any unvaccinated students might need to quarantine at home for upwards of a week.  Our priority has always been keeping our students in school for their learning hours during the school day.

Thank you for your understanding.  We are still hoping that we will be able to bring back DASA for the Spring Session, although we will wait until later in the year to make a final decision.  Refunds will be issued over the next week or two, although we do ask for some patience. 

Buy Driscoll Merchandise!

Have you noticed an increase in people wearing Driscoll hooded sweatshirts recently?  Are you interested in buying a Driscoll hat now that the weather is getting colder?

Starting at this year’s Fall Fling Family Dance, the Driscoll PTO has begun selling merchandise as another way to raise money for PTO programming.  In previous years, Driscoll merchandise has been sold on a very limited basis as a way of raising money for 8th grade fundraisers.  However, we have heard from many of our families that they would like a year-round way to purchase Driscoll clothing, and have been working to find a high-quality vendor to make this possible.

This doesn’t mean that the 8th grade will no longer have the option to sell merchandise for their fundraisers as well!  Keep an eye out for more “limited edition” items, like Class of 2022 or student designed logos, as well as special items, such as pajama pants.

If you are interested in purchasing any Driscoll merchandise, you can email your order to driscollptomerch@gmail.com.  Here is a list of what is currently on sale:

-        Hooded Sweatshirts, in red or gray: Adult ($35), Youth ($30)

-        Baseball shirts: Adult ($15), Youth ($15)

-        Sweatpants: Youth ($28)

-        Hats: $20

-        Water Bottles: Steel ($20), Plastic ($15)

DASA Returns!

Registration for DASA'S FALL SESSION opens
Thursday, September 9th at noon!

After needing to put a hold on the program last year due to COVID-19, we are happy to bring back Driscoll After School Activities (DASA) this fall, starting September 30th. There have been some changes in schedule, so please check our listings on the website driscollafterschool.weebly.com and discuss options with your child!

CLASSES include 3D Printing, Dance, Knitting, Minecraft, PuddleStompers, Tae Kwon Do and Yoga!

IMPORTANT TIPS!
1. If you have not done so, create your FamilyID account now. We strongly suggest you create an account before registration day to avoid missing out.

2.Set an alarm. Classes fill within minutes. Some of our classes are extremely popular, and we will have numerous parents trying to register simultaneously for the same spots. If you have filled out all the appropriate information, your registration should go through without a hitch. It does for 99% of registrants. If your registration is stalling, you may be stuck in a queue. START OVER FROM THE BEGINNING. Registration is done only when you press pay button.

Good luck!

DASA website:
driscollafterschool.weebly.com

Happy First Day of School!

Happy First Day of School!  We are so excited to welcome our students back to school today, with a special welcome to all of the new families who have recently joined the Driscoll community.  We also want to welcome back our students who are returning from last year at the Remote Learning Academy, many of whom haven’t been in the building on a regular basis since March 2020.  Our building felt empty without you, and we are so glad to have you back again.

We understand that today is different from any other First Day of School.  While there have been encouraging signs about the days ahead, the COVID-19 pandemic does not show any signs of coming to an end anytime soon.  The extremely contagious Delta Variant is a reminder that we must remain vigilant, especially since many of our students are still not eligible for a vaccine until their 12th birthday.  But our teachers and staff have had a year of experience working under these conditions now, and their dedication to our students has been nothing short of inspiring.

One thing that will never change is the Driscoll Parent Teacher Organization’s commitment to supporting both our students and teachers, and for finding ways to come together as a community to build lasting memories.  One of our primary goals this year is to rebuild a strong sense of community among Driscoll students and families.  To that end, here are 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.  This will be held on the blacktop outside the cafeteria after drop-off on Wednesday, September 1st and Thursday, September 2nd (weather permitting; otherwise we will move inside to the cafeteria).  All families are welcome, not just Kindergarteners: we know how hard it will be for some of our returning RLA families to say goodbye this year!

• We will be holding our annual New Family Breakfast again this year, on Tuesday, September 14th.  Right now, we are still in the process of deciding if this will be in person or via Zoom.  All Driscoll families are welcome!

• 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.  We are very much hoping to offer this in person again this year.  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. We also want to help the Driscoll community stay informed about the ongoing construction project outside our walls.

As the year goes on, you will hear more about some of our regular programs, such as Driscoll After School Activities (DASA), Science Solstice, Arts Equinox, the Spring Fair, and more.  We are still in the process of figuring out what programs will be feasible to offer in terms of COVID restrictions, and what programs we will have enough parent volunteers to offer.

 As always, the PTO exists to find ways to get our families involved in our school community.  We understand how busy everyone is, but there is always a place for each of our parents to volunteer with the Driscoll PTO in a way that fits their schedule.  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.

Driscoll Celebrates AAPI Heritage Month

May is AAPI Heritage Month, as we celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in our community. Driscoll School has always been deeply connected to these cultures because of our Mandarin program, the only K-8 school in Brookline where every student has the opportunity to learn Mandarin starting in Kindergarten. One of our students' favorite Driscoll traditions is the annual Lion Dance on Lunar New Year (which we were even able to celebrate "virtually" this year).

To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, our Mandarin department has put together a video Read Aloud of the Caldecott Award winning picture book "A Big Mooncake for Little Star" by Grace Lin. Thanks to all of the teachers, specialists, and staff members who each joined in to read a page or two! Here is the link for the video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K8k9KbT9Hi8LmvB5cvKh2zW_s2r0YfsU/view

Our Mandarin teachers and K-8 students have also been working to make a poster to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, which is now on display outside the Library. Middle school students used what they learned in Mandarin class to research members of the AAPI community and wrote introductions in both English and Mandarin. K-5 students cut their own hand shaped paper and wrote down their goals for a better community. They even put a mirror in the middle of the poster to show that students can see themselves among these people. Both students and teachers found this to be an empowering and meaningful learning experience, and everyone had a great time making the poster!

We want to thank all of our students who worked so hard this month, and everyone who joined in the Read Aloud video. Special thanks to parent volunteer Marina Bottiglieri for all her help making this happen! Most of all, we would like to thank Wang Laoshi and Wu Laoshi, since none of this would have been possible without their dedication and leadership!

Congratulations, Principal Youkilis!

On Tuesday, Superintendent Marini announced that Mr. Youkilis will be the new permanent principal of Driscoll. The PTO Executive Board wanted to follow up on this message, offering our congratulations to Mr. Youkilis and sharing our excitement about what this news means for the Driscoll community as we look ahead into the future.

It seems fitting that this announcement was made as we celebrate National Assistant Principals Week, as Mr. Youkilis has served in that role since 2010, making him one of the most familiar faces around Driscoll. Mr. Youkilis has played a key role in many of our most popular PTO programs over the years, handing out prizes at our annual Science Fair, reading books during the Book Fair and Virtual Storytimes, and even volunteering for the Dunk Tank at the Spring Fair.

This last year has challenged our community on so many levels, as we have dealt with social distancing requirements, virtual teaching, and the cancellation of many of our favorite programs. Mr. Youkilis stepped into the Interim Principal role at a time when we needed someone who was familiar with the needs of our students. His kind demeanor has been a touchstone for parents and teachers this year, and his years of experience with the building have proved invaluable as we have tried to figure out how to adapt a hundred year old building to the current pandemic requirements. He has also been deeply involved in the construction process as we start to build the new Driscoll School. The next couple of years will not always be easy, as we deal with the construction of a new building and the ongoing readjustment as students return to the building. But we sincerely believe we have the right person leading us through this difficult period, and our community will continue to grow stronger with each challenge we face together.

We would also like to thank the parents, educators, and students who were a part of this process, particularly those on the Principal Search Committee. From the initial work done by the Search Committee, to those who joined the small panel discussions, to those who participated in the Zoom meetings with the candidates, we thank everyone for taking the time to make their voice heard.

Science Night - April 13th!

One of our students' favorite events every spring is the Driscoll Science Fair. Given current COVID restrictions, we are unfortunately not able to gather together in person to celebrate science in our traditional way. Instead, we are very excited to announce that this year the Driscoll PTO will be hosting an online Science Night on Tuesday, April 13th from 6:30 PM - 7:50 PM. Kids will be building their own Spin Art Machines from scratch, and will be learning about electronics, energy, and centrifugal force along the way. All ages are welcome! Kits including the materials for this project are $15 each (scholarships available from the PTO for any families who cannot afford to participate) and will be delivered to you prior to the event.

Sign up by March 22nd at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdxU13UiTpGYlGK8ThVzempaMLV4Y9OIyeN1K8EIhxwyayPpA/viewform?usp=sf_link

BOO! Driscoll Boo Bags!

Surprise your student with a spooky treat bag from a Driscoll 8th grader. Although Halloween may seem a little different this year, we can still cast our community web. Support 8th grade graduation activities, by purchasing a Halloween treat bag. Your elementary student will receive a ghoulish treat (allergy free available) from an 8th grader to brighten the festivities. Delivered straight to your door!

Help cast a spell and charm both graduation for 8th graders and Halloween for the greater Driscoll student body.  Sign up HERE! Suggested donation is $10 per bag.

Driscoll BOO Bags
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYMfrlZ-2laOUgrzQoUeqyhnApdPOsFVCRULXSieWgUUxL9Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year!

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.

Spring Fair Memories

If this school year had gone as originally planned, we would have joined together to celebrate our annual Spring Fair on May 20th.  While we all understand how important it was to close school and flatten the curve of this virus, we also feel a deep sense of disappointment to miss such a beloved tradition for the Driscoll community.  For those new to Driscoll, Spring Fair was an annual outdoor carnival, with rides, games, music, food, and more (plus the chance to dunk your teacher into the Dunk Tank!).

As a way of celebrating the spirit of Spring Fair, we asked our families to send us their favorite Spring Fair memories. Below you can find some great reminders of what Spring Fair means to the Driscoll community. We can’t wait to make some new memories at next year’s Spring Fair. We hope you can join us!

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From Kim Loscalzo: “Ellie loves the swings.”

From Kim Loscalzo: “Ellie loves the animals too.”

From Kim Loscalzo

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From Amanda Sullivan-Kramer

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From Dena Lerra (and yes, that is current PTO co-chair Sheryl Steeves in the ice cream truck!)

From Dena Lerra

From Dena Lerra

From Dena Lerra

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From Casey Hatchett: “Group of current 6th graders at 2018 spring fair.”

From Casey Hatchett: “Spring Fair 2019”

Brookline Police and Dylan Hatchet at Spring Fair

Madeline Hatchett and her mom

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Dr. Talukdar in the Dunk Tank

Trying to dunk Dr. Talukdar!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

This is National Teacher Appreciation Week, “a special time to honor the men and women who lend their passion and skills to educating our children.”  This week, we will be focusing on how much we appreciate our amazing teachers (and for those of us at home right now trying our best to stand in for them, we have a greater appreciation for them than ever)!

You may have already heard from your Room Parents about how you can show your gratitude to your individual classroom teachers.  In addition to that, we would like to collect short messages of appreciation from as many families as possible, which we will run each morning this week in our Daily Announcements and post on this page. You can highlight one particular teacher or share the love around! Don’t forget about all of our teachers (Mandarin, Music, Library, PE, ECS, Specialists, etc.). Messages can come from children or parents. Send us a short email at driscollpto@gmail.com (just a sentence or two is enough), and we can show our teachers how much we value them (and miss them!).

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“We love and miss all the Driscoll teachers tremendously.  The video Ms. Goldberg made with the staff brought us the happiest tears and made our hearts so happy.   Thank you for all the care, time and support you give our children especially during this crazy time.  We can’t wait to see your smiling faces in person again.  Virtual hugs to all of you.  Ellie would like to give a special shout out to Ms. Stillman, Ms. Snow, Ms. M and Ms. O‘S  and all her specials teachers.
     Love, The Loscalzo Family.”
 
“My son said it perfectly - he wouldn't know where to start! So many wonderful teachers, we are so incredibly lucky and grateful for the amazing work they do each and every day.” – Heather Caldwell, mother of Louis Kaufman

“Thank you to the entire Driscoll staff for your fantastic Can't Stop the Feeling lipsync video! I can't quite explain how watching your children's teachers and administrators groove to Justin Timberlake makes you feel like the world is going to be okay, but it had that effect for me.  Thank you to the countless teachers such as Ms. Achilli, Ms. Soltani, Wu Lao Shi, Ms. Pritchard, Ms. Bouquet, Mr. Stone, Ms. Goldberg, and Ms. McConnell who have gone out of their way to support my children as learners and as human beings during this time.” – Rebecca Blouwolff, mother to Jonah and Liora

“I want to say thank you to Ms. Snow and Ms. O'Sullivan and Ms. Lenahan and Ms. Kimbro and Mr. Fraelli. Actually every teacher I know because they are all very nice. I love learning at Driscoll and I miss everyone.” – Stella, from 1S

“Words cannot express how grateful we are for the wonderful teachers at Driscoll.  We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful school community.  Thank you for all the time and effort that you put into our children and for truly caring about their education and overall growth and well-being.  A huge shout out to Ms. Stark for all that she does for 5S.  Her investment in her class, the Driscoll community and environment is extraordinary.  Also, many thanks to Ms. Klatzker who despite her own adversity has displayed compassion and caring for her students.  We can’t wait to see the halls of Driscoll light up with smiles again.  Miss all of you!  Love, The Vazirani Family”

“We are so grateful and appreciative of all that all of you do for our kids.  The work you all put in every day in person and on-line, in "normal" and "abnormal" times- it is just overwhelming.  Both Grace and Micah love Driscoll and all the teachers they've had there- especially Ms. Lenahan, Ms. Snow, Ms. Kuniholm, Ms. Bouquet, Ms. Reid, and Ms. Sullivan.  Watching all of you dancing and singing made us smile and we can't wait to see everyone in person...whenever that may be!  Thank you for teaching and supporting our kiddos and us! - Jordanna, Andrew, Grace, Micah and Adam”

“We cannot say thank you enough to Mrs. Harrington and to all of the teachers who support her class, including Ms. Tang, Ms. Murphy, and Ms. Reid. Everyone has gone above and beyond in this crazy time, and we would not be learning and growing without you! -The Mayers family”

“Thank you so much to all my teachers for helping me go through this year and for reaching me so many things. I can't even name them all. I especially say thank you to Mrs. Sevigny for giving me so much fun homework. I learned so much! Love, Sasha Levinson”

“Thank you so much to the Driscoll teachers and staff! We are grateful for all of your hard work, kindness, and fun dances and messages during this time!” - The Chen Family (Theo and Christopher, pictured below)

Presenting our First Virtual Kids for Kids!

We are very excited to announce that we will be holding our first (and hopefully last!) Virtual Kids for Kids this year, in honor of Arts Equinox.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Kids for Kids, it is a special time where each grade level joins together to share their talents with one another. Some ideas are: singing a song, playing a song on an instrument, telling a joke, performing a small skit, doing a dance, showing a magic trick, etc.  While we normally limit Kids to Kids performances to grades 1-5, this year we thought everyone should have a chance to participate, so we will be accepting submissions from K-8.

We have decided that the easiest way for everyone to be able to participate is for families to send in videos of their children’s performances, which we will post here on the Driscoll PTO website.  While this is not a perfect solution, it seems like the best way to include as many of our students as possible while giving them the best possible conditions for their performances.  We ask that everyone try to limit their performances to around 2 minutes each, just like in school.  We hope that this also gives our students a chance to be a little more creative too, since they have the ability to edit their performances if they choose.

Once you have recorded your performance, you can send it in to driscollpto@gmail.com.  (If you have problems emailing such a large file, you might find some help at: https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-send-videos-through-email-4582875, or you can set up an account at www.dropbox.com.  If you are still having problems, just let us know and we will figure out a way to help).  We will be posting all the videos on YouTube, where they will be posted as Unlisted Videos; this means that they will not be searchable, and can only be viewed by people with a direct link.  But you should be aware that by sending a video, we cannot guarantee completely privacy (although we will do our best to limit anyone from outside the Driscoll community from having access).  For more information about unlisted YouTube videos, you can read: https://learn.g2.com/what-does-unlisted-mean-on-youtube.

Once we have all the videos loaded, we will embed them all onto the Driscoll PTO website, where they will be divided up by grades.  Each grade’s performances will be posted on a password protected webpage.  The deadline for sending in your videos is Friday, May 8th.  We will post the videos over the weekend, and they will be available to view sometime during the week of May 11th.  We are also looking into way to share the viewing experience with the students in each grade (possibly a Zoom session where the host can share the videos for everyone to watch together), although we don’t want to make any promises yet.  This is a completely new experience for us, so we want to thank everyone in advance for your patience.  We can’t wait to see what our students have in store for us!

Door Decorating Challenge

Thanks to everyone who submitted pictures of their artistic doors. Now it is time for the Driscoll community to choose our favorite!

Take a look at all the entries below, then submit your vote using the form at the bottom of the page. We will be accepting votes until Sunday, April 19th, at which point the winner will be announced. Best of luck to all of our contestants!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner: “Race Car Door” by Sawyer, from 4M!

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Ms. Longmore’s door looks good enough to eat!

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Lisa, from 1S

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“Party Face” by Ellie L., from 1S

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Alice, from 4M

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Stella, from 1S

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Sasha, from 3S

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Adam from 3M, and “Bob” the skeleton

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“Race Car Door” by Sawyer, from 4M

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Sofia, from 2H; and Saiya, from 2S

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Arts Equinox Virtual Student Art Gallery

One of our favorite parts of Arts Equinox is the student art gallery, where each student picks out one piece of their art to display around the halls of Driscoll, turning the school into almost an art museum.  While this is obviously not possible right now, many art museums have taken their collections online, and we are following their lead!

Have your child pick out one of their favorite pieces of art that they have created this year (it can be something they made earlier in the year at school, something they have already made at home, or something expressly created for this purpose).  Take a picture of it and send it to us at driscollpto@gmail.com, and we will post it here as part of our Virtual Student Art Gallery.

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Cut paper art, from Calista in 4B!

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Unicorn Ghost, in fuse beads, by Aria in KL

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Sonic the Hedgehog, in fuse beads, by Jay in 2Har

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Check out this amazing chalk art, by Olivia D. in 6-1

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Even Ms. Longmore is getting into the act!

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These two pictures are from Sasha in 3S!

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Gerald from “Elephant and Piggie,” from Stella in 1S

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