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.

VOTE TUESDAY, MAY 8

TWO IMPORTANT BALLOT QUESTIONS ON MAY 8: these relate to the operation of Brookline Schools and we encourage you to take the time to vote.  It is our hope that this information on the ballot questions will support you in deciding how you want to vote on them.  Regardless of how you decide to vote – we urge you to vote and show your children how to participate in civic life!  This is a long but important – please read!

The two questions are both related to overriding the property tax laws of the state which limit increases in property tax increases to 2 1/2 percent annually.  The Select Board of Brookline voted to place two questions on the ballot on May 8th (the full text of the questions is at the bottom of this email):The first question asks voters if they want to permanently increase the Town’s tax levy limit by $6,575,425 in order to fund costs in Brookline Schools ($5,873,642) and in municipal departments ($701,783).A Yes vote will fund the current school budget plus:

  1. increased school staff to maintain class size and services to keep up with enrollment growth (20%);
  2. Contractual increases in teacher salaries (56%),
  3. services for special education (9%);
  4. classroom supplies, intervention support for struggling learners, transportation, and equity professional development (26%)

A No vote will require the School District to make cuts in current operations to fund contractual obligations.  Superintendent Bott projected these in a January School Committee Board presentation which include:

  1. Eliminating 20 positions across the district which would reduce teachers in several schools, reduce paraprofessional support, and reduce professional development for teachers;
  2. Eliminating transportation from South Brookline to the high school, new funding for basic supplies classrooms,  and limiting the district’s ability to use new strategies to resolve conflicts;
  3. Reducing student support in mental health, behavior, and decreasing support for struggling students; and
  4. Reducing professional development for teachers, limiting curriculum coordination and improvements, and delaying technology purchases.

The second question asks voters if they will temporarily increase property taxes to fund some of the costs of the High School expansion through a debt exclusion.A Yes vote will fund the expansion of the High School to accommodate increasing high school enrollment.A No vote will cancel the expansion of the High School, which will result in more students in the current BHS building, increased class sizes and insufficient space for the library, cafeteria, performances, and out of date science facilities.The estimated tax impact of passing both overrides for a median value property in Brookline over a four year period is $1,039 for a single family, $344 for a condo, and $2,263 for commercial.Please read carefully and decide!  And please vote on May 8th!

OPEN PTO LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

​​​Open PTO LEADERSHIP POSITIONS for 2018-2019. We have some great opportunities for anyone looking to help our Driscoll kids, work with wonderful parents or gain new skills.  Our current openings are:

  • PTO Executive Board:  1 co-chair, 1 secretary

  • Spring Fair:  2 co-chairs​

  • Early Release Movies:  1 or more co-chairs

  • Volunteer Coordinator: 1 or more co-chairs

If you’re enthusiastic, interested, or just curious, contact: driscollpto@gmail.com or talk to a PTO Executive committee member-- Alice Speck (outgoing co-chair), Ryan Garms, Patricia Salic, Marina Burdenko, or Principal Talukdar.  We are looking forward to hearing from you!

The Spring Fair Needs You!

SPRING FAIR ON MAY 23rd: The Spring Fair needs YOU! This beloved community event revolves around volunteer support. It takes around 200 volunteer hours to make this event run smoothly. We will need volunteer support from 9:00am-9:00pm the day of the fair. Please consider donating your time and energy to this fabulous end of year event! Sign up sheet HERE. Contact driscollspringfair@gmail.com  for more information.Sign up by Friday, May 4 (9pm) and we will enter your name to win a free Spring Fair wrist band good for all of the rides!For anyone looking to become even more involved, we are in desperate need of new volunteers to help take over the leadership of this event.  This will be the last year for some of our Spring Fair co-chairs, and they would love to pass the torch off to some new parents to make sure this event continues to bring joy to our families in the years to come.  Please email us at driscollspringfair@gmail.com and let us know that we can count on you!

What's Growing in the Driscoll Garden

WHAT'S GROWING ON? Our carrot, snap pea and lettuce seeds have sprouted outside - see if you can spot them. The after school garden class has been learning all about seeds, as we get the raised beds going for the season. Honestly, I’m geeking out about some amazing seed facts. We learned two-thirds of all calories consumed by humans come from the endosperm within seeds. The students enjoyed eating the illustrative sample endosperm (popcorn). And that power-packed sack-lunch a mother plant puts in every tiny pebble-baby-spaceship (a.k.a. seed), is what makes it possible for the embryo to travel great distances of space and time - like the 32,000 year old Silene embryo from Siberia that was germinated in 2012, and then grew to produce it’s own seed. But time isn’t as kind to humans, so we must move on next week, past germination to growth and nutrient cycles, as we nurture our growing voyagers/vegetables.

Let’s all nurture our other voyagers, our students. There is so much potential at Driscoll, to create an awesome outdoor experiential learning environment for the entire school community. But, a lone turd does not a compost pile make. WE NEED YOUR HELP! to make it happen. Become a garden committee member, and share the green glory, and corny humor. Corn!All kidding aside, there are many ways to help, and most of them don’t involve gardening. Creating and maintaining a successful school garden program requires an organized leadership committee to apportion the many tasks involved. It’s a lot of work for a simple gardener, but pieces of cake for a skilled team. You have the skills - bring them. YOU! CAKE!The next Driscoll Garden committee meeting will be Wednesday May 9th, 8:00 am (location TBD). Contact us to get involved: driscollschoolgarden@gmail.com

From the Amy Neale Library

From the Amy Neale Library
 
On May 8, Caldecott Honor winning author/illustrator Melissa Sweet will visit Driscoll for a full day, speaking to students in grades K-5.  Driscoll students are in for a treat! Melissa Sweet is a highly sought after speaker and an incredibly talented illustrator.  Her presentations for K-3 will focus on her picture books (You Nest Here with Me for K &1, Balloons Over Broadway for grades 2 & 3).  Grades 4 and 5 will learn about Driscoll Student Book Award nominee Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White.  This is a must read for fans of Charlotte’s Web!   If you would like to order a book for Ms. Sweet to sign when she is at Driscoll, please print and fill out the form in your child's folder (or on the library's upcoming author visit page) and return by Thursday, April 12.
 
This program is made possible by the Family Giving Campaign and annual book fair.
 
Questions? Contact Ms. Reid, librarian, at anne_reid@psbma.org

The Driscoll Garden Team is Growing

What’s Growing On?The Driscoll Garden team is growing. We had a good turn out Wednesday, for our (re)kick off meeting. We are laying the groundwork for the next phase of garden program development. We are organizing a formal leadership committee to apportion the many tasks involved. We also discussed: articulating a focused mission and goals; utilizing an incremental approach to curriculum integration; ideas for fundraising and community events; and the new after school gardening class.The new parent-lead after school garden class begins this week, and has several students registered. We will be amending the soil, planting the beds, and taking stock of maintenance needs as we make observations in the garden. We will discuss the needs of plants, the differences between native/natural and domestic/cultivated, and relate that to what we know about expected behavior in our community in order to agree on rules for our class and visitors to the garden.Parents have already stepped up to fill some garden committee positions, but there are still opportunities for those willing to help on the committee or to take on specific tasks. Please help us to create an awesome outdoor experiential learning environment for the whole school. Contact us to get involved: driscollschoolgarden@gmail.com

SAY YES.....PTO SECRETARY!

SAY YES.....PTO SECRETARY: The PTO Executive Committee is seeking a Secretary for the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The Secretary is a 3 year term and the position includes both record keeping and communication. The Secretary records the meeting minutes at the Executive Committee meeting each Monday, and records and distributes the minutes at general PTO Board meetings. The Secretary also helps recruit committee chairpersons, and help keep the calendar of events for the PTO. If you think this may be the right fit for you, please email the pto: driscollpto@gmail.com. It's not as hard as you may think it is. Let Alice or Patricia take you out for a coffee and give you the details--it's a fun position--we promise!

Your Family Giving Campaign Dollars at Work

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Dear Parents, Can you believe it's already April? With the amazing Arts Equinox behind us, we're gearing up for Teacher Appreciation (stay tuned for details on how you can get involved) and Spring Fair (5/23 with rain date 5/31).Recently the PTO Executive Committee went through our teacher grants process. It happens twice per year where we are able to give a total of $10,000 to support our amazing teachers. We're sorry we don't have an eye pleasing infographic to share this information, but you should know that this was all made possible through the generosity of our parents through the Family Giving Campaign, and that our teachers are thrilled. Here are the details:

  • Dinan Messiqua, (Special Education Teacher, LAHB Program, Driscoll School): Reserach Institute for Learning and Developement: Annual Learning Differences Conference: Executive Function, Metacognition, and Emotion: Promoting Students’ Engagement in The Classroom Harvard Graduate School of Education.
  • Courtney Hart and Courtney Pelletier: Promoting Diversity Through Reading. By receiving this grant, 6th, 7th, & 8th grade students will have access to a larger variety of books with culturally and racially diverse characters and/or written by diverse authors. Particularly, some of these books will be used with the 7th grade reading/writing unit that focuses on historical fiction book groups. Due to the material that's currently available, the unit ends up focusing on Holocaust/World War 2 literature. While this is an important topic and is definitely discussed during this unit, this grant allows for more books that touch on other difficult times within history, both fiction and nonfiction, at multiple reading levels.
  • Kyle Tompkins: Building a Mini-Maker Cart. A child in upper elementary today will be entering the prime of their careers in 2040 - we have NO idea what the world will be like then. Therefore it is crucial to develop timeless skills such as curiosity, creativity, and the ability to learn on one’s own. The creation of a mini-maker cart will promote these ideals within the classroom. The design thinking process is and problem based learning opportunities are important for students future success, and the activities conncected with them need materials.
  • Angela Harvey: 2nd grade biography unit. By receiving this grant, I will be able to purchase books that will enhance our 2nd grade biography unit. I will focus on purchasing books that are racially and culturally diverse, in addition to being age appropriate. I will share these books with my 2nd grade team. Our students should have access to books, within our classroom, that meet their needs as readers as well as global citizens.
  • Olivia Reyelt: Theater Visual Arts Displays. The final stage of a student's creation is the exhibition. The visual arts that the Driscoll students create produces a positive experience and energy, not only for the students themselves, but also for the wider Driscoll community. Producing and displaying the artwork of our students celebrates their diversity and individuality and variety creating a stronger and more caring community. Student inspiration often comes from students seeing their work alongside their peers' work, generating new questions for themselves as artists and promoting greater curiosity. With more space for hanging student work there will be a greater connection and collaboration between art, music and drama.
  • Courtney Pelletier and Courtney Hart: Middle School English Books. By recieving this grant the middle school English teachers will be able to buy new copies of class books that need to be replaced. In addition, the teachers will be able to purchase new, high interest books that will promote reading for all of our students. The students will be exposed to new reading materials through book groups, individual book choice, and whole class text. The teachers will purchase high interest books in genres that are currently lacking sets, such as fantasy and graphic novels.
  • Tara Kelly: Leveled Reading Resources. A significant amount of teaching literacy in the Learning Center focuses on a systematic phonological approach. It is important, however, that we balance our teaching approach using a combination of both controlled and uncontrolled text. These books offer greater content diversity. Additionally, these resources are highly engaging and help bridge the transition between the mainstream classroom and the Learning Center. Moreover, our students benefit from reading multiple books in a series with familiar characters.
  • Mackenzie Snow, Sarah Cuddihy, and Danielle Trimarchi: First Grade Sensory Tools. Students would be able to use these tools to help improve their focus and stamina throughout the school day. Flexible seating such as move and sit cushions, kick bands and rocking camp chairs are designed to give students the feeling of a lot of movement. This movement provides an outlet for energy that allows them to maintain their focus without distracting those around them. Providing our students with the choice to use these tools will increase their self-awareness, as well as help them to develop strategies to monitor their on-task behavior. Our goal is that they would have access to the tools they need to do their best learning and feel successful in the classroom.
  • Jen Doubilet, Lisa Berk, and Allison Lenk: Word study manipulatives and games. This grant will allow us to provide an opportunity for our students to practice phonics concepts with a multisensory approach.Phonics skills need to be practiced frequently for students to internalize and apply to their reading and writing. These materials and games will also provide a transfer to the classroom as we will lend them to classroom teachers.
  • Joesphine Bouquet, Bianca Medina, and Susie Planert: 4th Grade Author Visit: Anita SIlvey. As we embark on our annual Explorer Project, a visit from Anita Silvey will help provide students with an example of the process of researching a famous explorer. She researched the life of and wrote a book about Jane Goodall, and sharing her experience helps inspire students to engage in the research process. Students will also have the opportunity to ask her questions about her experiences. We found that when she visited last year, students were highly motivated to embark on their own research and writing projects. 
  • Marianne Taylor: 8th Grade Play. The 8th grade play team is requesting more money for costumes and sets. The budget is currently very slim for the type of production we would like to put on. The extra money would help us with our current stipend and matterial shortages. We really want to put on a steller production of Lion King this year!! 
  • Francesca Stark: Driscoll Bird Sanctuary. Two years ago a Bird Sanctuary started to form little by little outside the kindergarten wing doors. This year we will add to it with bird feeders, seed, and plants. These things will enhance the beauty for the community and livability for the birds.
  • Anne Reid and Courtney Pelletier: Author Visit for Grades 6-8: Alan Gratz. Author visits inspire students to read, write, and understand the creative process. Meeting authors makes the writing process, books and authors themselves accessible to students. Author Alan Gratz will be invited to Driscoll to speak with students in grades 6-8 in November 2018. His book Refugee is taught as part of a refugee unit in Ms. Pelletier’s 6th grade ELA class. As a result of this visit, students will learn about the writing process from a published author (and former middle school teacher). Students will also gain knowledge and perspective on both historical and present day refugee crises.
  • Christine Sevigny, E. Mackie, A. Ehrlich: Bus to Plimoth Plantation Grade 3. A trip to Plimoth Plantation would provide an equitable hands-on learning experience. All third graders benefit from experiental learning. How life differed in 1620's Massachusetts is a difficult conept for third graders to grasp as they are still struggling to develop their ability to take another's perspective. Experiential learning, educational conversations, and tangible examples will solidify three major units of study for 3rd Graders. They will have the opportunity to talk with Wompanoag individuals, ask questions and dispel misconceptions. They will see their State as it existed centuries ago. They will interact and explore Pilgrim life.

In addition to these larger grants we did some other giving too:

  • We purchased new jerseys for the gym teachers to use in class and more gaga balls for recess.
  • Earlier this year we made sure that kids could get books at our Annual Book Fair who would otherwise not have the opportunity.
  • We've made sure each of our teachers who spend the night at Farm School gets a small stipend.
  • We've hosted a handful of coffees this year.
  • We welcome teachers back in September with lunch from Stoked Pizza.. the teachers look forward to that each year, and we'll definitely do it this September too.
  • We rent the Teen Center and pay for a bus for the 8th grade graduation party.
  • We fund part of the 8th grade play.
  • We pay for the garden maintenance.

Last, and really wonderful for our community are the events we put on. Each event has a budget, some small, some large. These events make Driscoll unique and are only possible by the hard work of our parent volunteers, and contributions to the Family Giving Campaign.

  • Most recently we had Arts Equinox. Have you asked your child about what was their favorite part of this year's two day celebration? Kids for Kids (always a hit), beat boxers, Moth Podcast, all of the performers, the Mandalas, paint Night room, and more! Did you know that Arts Equinox has a $10,000 budget? We are grateful for all of the hard work that goes into Arts Equinox, and our children love it.
  • Science Solstice
  • Fall Fling Family Dance
  • Science Fair
  • Teacher Appreciation (May)
  • Spring Fair is next month, and we are so excited! Did you know that the Spring Fair is meant to be a fun community event, and isn't a PTO fundraiser? While we hope to earn a little money each year, some years we barely break even. When you purchase your wrist bands, or tickets, those proceeds go to pay for the rides, activities, food vendors, and insurance. Last year the PTO made approximately $1000 from the Spring Fair and that was because it was well attended by our school, and the larger community, the weather was gorgeous, and our event chairs did an amazing job with organizing. Fun fact that you'll hear more about soon.. this year we will have a Dunk Tank! We think this will be a fun way to make a little extra money--and add an element of surprise! Hope for good weather, and stay tuned for details.

If you read all the way to the end THANK YOU! The PTO is grateful to our parents who make all of these wonderful things possible. We'll kick off the Family Giving Campaign again next October. Thanks to chair of the 2017 Family Giving Campaign, Carla Sevilla, and all of the classroom captains and volunteers who made it a success. Warmly,The Driscoll PTO