Dear Driscoll Community,
As you may or may not know, 3rd grader, Mateo Goldman was diagnosed with Leukemia in the fall of 2016. He has been absent from school, getting treatment and care at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Our community misses Mateo every day and is committed to supporting Mateo and his family (Mom, Mandy; Dad, Nick; Brothers, Leo (5H) and Milo (KF); and little sister Violet who will be coming to Driscoll when she's old enough).
Last week, The Back to School Team from Dana Farber came to speak to 3rd grade, 5th grade and KF (Mateo’s, Leo’s, and Milo’s classes) to help them understand what Mateo has been going through and why he’s not at school. It was a great chance for all to learn, ask questions and see Mateo and his Mom who were skyping from Children’s. We learned that Mateo will not be able to return to school for several months while his immune system rebuilds and is strong enough to be able to protect him from illness and germs.
During Art Equinox, last Thursday and Friday, all classrooms received a container to decorate with their own #Mateotough design. The idea is to engage our whole community to raise money to donate to One Mission: Pediatric Cancer Charity which supports the medical communities, families and children who have been diagnosed with cancer. One Mission is near and dear to the Goldman Family and Driscoll is honored to give back in Mateo’s name to support their mission. You can help this effort by encouraging your children to earn, share, and contribute to this cause that helps so many families in vulnerable times. Donations are not limited to students and coins only. Feel free to send donations to school (checks can be made out to “One Mission”) to help fill these containers. Collections will start Monday, March 27th and continue through Thursday April 13th. Classes will display their #Mateotough design and progress at community meetings. Also, look for the #Mateotough booth to buy #Mateotough bracelets at the Driscoll Spring Fair, with all proceeds going to One Mission.
We also want to introduce another way we will help Mateo stay connected to Driscoll. Upon returning from April Vacation, check out the library for “The Special Delivery Dragon”. It’ll be a way to drop notes or items that will make their way to Mateo whether he is still in the hospital or home getting his care as an outpatient. We will work with teachers and classrooms to make sure the Special Delivery Dragon is busy making deliveries to Mateo each week!
Since Mateo will be home, but still needs to do his school work, students will encounter Mateo accessing Driscoll and his learning in many ways including the use of cool technology that will allow him to be as much a part of the classroom as possible. We’ll be sharing more information about this soon!
Thank you . Let’s fill those jars today!
For more information on One Mission, please visit http://onemission.org/To stay updated on Mateo and his progress and send support you can visit his facebook page #mateotoughSincerely,Carrie Hibbard, Guidance CounselorHeidi Cook, PrincipalThe Driscoll PTO and the entire #Mateotough team
PTO Spotlight with 6/7th Grade English Teacher, Courtney Pelletier:Q: How long have you been at Driscoll? Tell us what you did before coming to Driscoll.A: This is my second year teaching at Driscoll. Before coming to Driscoll I taught 7th grade English for four years in Aurora, Colorado. I also taught high school for one year in Indonesia.Q: Tell us how you decided to become involved in education.A: I have always loved working with kids. After completing my undergraduate degree I knew I wanted to become a teacher and attended Northeastern University to earn my Master's in education.Q: What is your favorite part of the teaching day? What is most important to you as you spend your days with children?A: My favorite part of the teaching day is talking to kids about great books! I love when students come into my classroom excited to tell me about the book that they're reading. It's so important to make connections with my students and reading is the perfect way to do it.Q: Fun Fact! What's something we should know about you that we don't?A: When I'm not teaching I'm usually outside. Hiking, skiing, camping, and scuba diving are some of my favorite activities
PTO Spotlight with Driscoll Math Specialist, Jenna Laib!Q: How long have you been at Driscoll? Tell us what you did before coming to Driscoll.A: This is my sixth year at Driscoll. Before that, I taught 4th grade in Billerica, MA. I also worked as a math coach and math specialist at a school in Newton and several other schools in Brookline.Q: Tell us how you became interested in math and all things supportive and enriching.A: Math has fascinated me for as long as I can remember! I love searching for patterns and discovering connections. When I was a kid, I liked playing with numbers and solving puzzles. Later, as a classroom teacher, I found myself fascinated not only by math but by my students’ mathematical thinking. There are so many ways to make sense of the same problem or idea.Q: What is your favorite part of the teaching day? What is most important to you as you spend your days with children? A: I like that my schedule is always changing; I am all over the building! You might see me teaching in a 2nd grade classroom, then with some 7th graders in a small group, and later meeting with teachers. That said, my favorite thing to do might be one-on-one math interviews with kids. Driscoll students teach me so much!Q: Fun Fact! What's something we should know about you that we don't?A: I am very close to my siblings, even though they live on three different continents, and we aren’t all biologically related. My sister and stepbrother both live in Boston (North America), my brother and his wife live in England (Europe), and my two brothers-in-law live in Algeria (Africa). We are grateful for tools like Skype that allow us to stay in touch!
