Second Annual Adult Only Trivia Night!

PTO hosted the second annual Adult Only Trivia Nigh of Friday, April 4th.

Parents, Caregivers and even some of our beloved DEDP and DASA staff joined us for a fun filled night of trivia! We had 12 teams join us to socialize and test their trivia knowledge with Bob Carney founder of Ponder Trivia. We finished with a tie between teams U-Road Scholars and 6th Sense but the U-Road Scholars pulled out the win with the tie-breaking question. Congratulations!

Arts Equinox: A beloved Driscoll Tradition

Arts Equinox is a celebration of the arts and a beloved tradition in the Driscoll community. 

K-5 students enjoyed dozens of performers and in school workshops all mixed with grade-wide talent shows throughout the day.  Each grade also had 1-2 in house art projects as well as an all school project that BEEP-8th grade all contributed to. 

Here are some of the exciting things that happened in and around school on Friday, March 28:

•  Kindergarten saw performer/musician Jackson Gillman and participated in Kids for Kids for the first time. 

• 1st grade was treated to a puppet show by Cactus Head Puppets and zoom with Lindsay Moore featuring Sunbird.  

• 2nd grade had a beatboxing lesson with our very own Thomas Reid. 

• 3rd grade got to do a storyteller workshop and participated in a breakdancing lesson.

• 4th grade got to do bucket drumming with Jam time. 

• 5th grade participated in a painting workshop with author illustrator and Driscoll celebrity Matt Patterson. 

• Grades 3-5 finished off the day with a closing ceremony by Neon Lighthouse Band.

        Middle schoolers traveled to Tongwood, The Clayroom, Art with Amy, Brookline Arts Center, Craft Zone, House of Colors, Diana Stelin Gallery,  Brookline public library, The Studio in Newton and Hipstich to do hands-on projects.  They also had a step dance and a capella performances as well as participated in workshops like Pindell circles, Mime, graphic novels, clay building, spin art and more. 

     We hope many of you made it to one of the amazing Kids for Kids performances.  The students were truly magical up there. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped out in classrooms, greeted our performers, chaperoned and contributed to the green room. Special shout outs to Ms. Reyelt, Ms.Sheehy, Ms. Reid, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Crowe for all their help and organizing. 

Arts Equniox Eighth Grade Tiles And More!

At the end of last month, on October 30th, we celebrated the one year anniversary of the day we moved in to the new Michael Driscoll School.  Over the last year, our students and teachers have already made so many special memories in our new building.  It has always been the goal of the Driscoll PTO to find ways to preserve these memories and traditions for years to come.  We would like to highlight some of the ways that we have been able to commemorate last year’s Eighth Grade class, the first students to graduate from our new school.

---

Last year during Arts Equinox, each of our Eighth Grade students had a chance to create a piece of art, which was then transferred onto a 4.25 inch tile.  These tiles have been installed in the hallway outside the Main Office, on the way to the Nurse’s Office.

---

Last year’s Middle School Play, Seussical, was one of the high points of the year.  Before the final show, we took a photograph of all of the students who worked on the show, both on stage and behind the scenes.  That picture has been mounted outside the Theater, along with one of the props from the show (a fish from the song It’s Possible).

---

Finally, we managed to get a class photograph of all of our students at last year’s graduation just minutes before they crossed the stage to accept their diplomas from Mr. Youkilis (a couple of them were running so late that we were still arranging everyone on the staircase after the processional music had already begun!).  This class picture has been mounted across the hall from the Theater, next to the Cafeteria.

---

You may notice a lot of empty space in the pictures above – this is on purpose!  Our goal is to continue each of these new traditions on a yearly basis.  We will continue adding pictures and tiles to celebrate each year’s graduating class, and fill in the space as each grade passes through our halls.  In five or ten years, after our students have moved on to high school, college, and beyond, we hope they come visit Driscoll School again, where they can find their younger selves still waiting for them.

We would like to thank Mr. Youkilis for his support in making these additions to our new school, and our amazing art teacher Ms. Reyelt for helping our students turn their ideas into lasting works of art.  We would also like to thank our tireless custodian, Mike Jagodnik, for installing the pictures, and Karen King and the Public Schools of Brookline for putting up the tiles.  Finally, none of this would have been possible without the support of the Driscoll community, and their generosity in last year’s Family Giving Campaign.

The Ultimate Dragon Challenge 11/19/2024

The Driscoll PTO is excited to kick off the Ultimate Dragon Challenge fundraiser. This school wide community building event will happen Tuesday November 19 on the field during the school day. Please visit www.pledgestar.com/driscoll to create an account for the Ultimate Dragon Challenge and to donate. Our goal this year is to raise $20,000 which we will use to help support our teachers, school events, and other enrichment opportunities for our Driscoll community. 

Here is a video about the Ultimate Dragon Challenge https://youtu.be/p5tx1_jVI4Q

To create an account, donate, and share the fundraiser visit www.pledgestar.com/driscoll

To check the status of the fundraiser visit www.vikingcamps.com/driscoll

Thank you for your support!

The Driscoll PTO

Driscoll School Site Council Update

Congratulations to Kyle Cook and Leigh Simons, the newest member of the Driscoll School Site Council!

Kyle (she/her) and her husband Chris have three children at Driscoll (6th grade, 3rd grade and 1st grade). Kyle is an education researcher and faculty at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. She will bring her perspective as an elementary and middle school parent as well as her professional background in education to the site council role. New to Driscoll this year, she is looking forward to becoming more involved in the school community.

Leigh is a parent of a first grader and she considers Driscoll such an important part of her son's life. She is a strong believer in the public school system and on the site council she will support our teachers, students, administration, and families in sustaining Driscoll's vibrant community. Previously, she served as the BEEP PTO co-chair for 2.5 years, served on the District's wellness committee and on BEEP's site council. Professionally, her work is in public health, mental health, and substance use policy and she is a strong believer in social emotional learning and supports in the schools.

Many thanks to both for stepping up to serve in this important advisory role.

We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Jonathan Golden for his time served on site council for the past several years.  Your commitment and thoughtful care for the Driscoll community is greatly appreciated.