“When parents and teachers collaborate on behalf of children, they create windows of light for generations that follow.”   ~ Anonymous

We hope your Thanksgiving holiday was tasty and restful.  Now starts the busy holiday season for many of us.   At Driscoll we are fortunate to have a thriving positive school culture, which is the foundation of solid, supportive, and caring relationships between all members of the school community.    Students have a voice in developing the school climate in their classrooms and throughout the building.     Skills such as cooperation, sharing, turn taking, and listening are explicitly taught in the early grades and continue to be modeled and reinforced throughout the grades.  Teachers use class meetings, small cooperative group projects, partner work, and other activities to help promote healthy, respectful peer relationships.   Advisory, community meetings and interdisciplinary programs help to provide further opportunities to expand and build upon existing relationships.  Driscoll’s guidance counseling program offers a range of services to students: informal observations, social groups, and short or long-term therapy with students, parents or families with outside therapists.    Students and staff members’ work together to solve issues and concerns in a manner that gives students a sense of pride and ownership in their day-to-day life at Driscoll.   There is a cooperative spirit at Driscoll!     Assistants and teachers support the students in the classroom; supervise in the cafeteria and on the playground.  They problem-solve issues with the students using positive reinforcement.  Teachers respect the talents and commitment of our teaching assistants, interns and our volunteers.  There is an atmosphere of mutual respect enabling our students to feel safe; they are allowed to make mistakes, take risks, and ask questions.   Many staff at Driscoll work with students for multiple years and they know them very well.   They establish a rapport with each student and act as gatekeepers to assure that all students are included.

Reminders this week:

December 1, 2015 – Giving Tuesday – Early Release Day – Dismissal 12:40pm

December 2, 2015 -  Picture Retake Day 

December 3, 2015 -  Evening Conferences

December 4, 2015 -  K-2 Community Meeting – Understanding Our Differences

Thank you for contributing to our school community.  We look forward to the exciting events planned this month.  

Regards, David and Eileen