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Weekly PTO Bulletin 


Have news or events to share? Email us at driscollbulletin@gmail.com by Thursday at 5pm to submit. 

Important This Week:

School Committee and School Site Selection Meetings: This Thursday, September 08. More details below under Community News. 

 
Driscoll News:

PTO New Parent Breakfast: Tuesday, September 13, from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. in the Driscoll Library. Please join us to enjoy a scrumptious breakfast. Meet other families new to Driscoll, learn about the many events and programs organized by Driscoll's Parent Teacher Organizations as well as opportunities to volunteer to help out with those events. Children are welcome! (Though Driscoll students are expected to go to class by by 8 a.m.)
ROOM PARENTS:  We look for a parent or two in each classroom who serves as the “Room Parent.”  This parent helps the teacher organize special events for the class during the school day.  Room parents sometimes organize “Thank You’s” for the teacher as well.  If you’re interested in the role, please email driscollroomparents@gmail.com.  The Room Parents meet regularly with the principal and with the PTO Room Parent Coordinator.  We thank you for considering this role!
Back-to-School Picnic: Wednesday, September 14 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. (rain date, Thursday, Sept. 15).  Bring the whole family (with appropriate colored t-shrits), bring your own dinner (homemade or take-out), find the Driscoll field, find the shirts that match your child's, sit down and enjoy!  A great way to re-connect with old friends and meet some new ones. Kids (and parents!) wear t-shirt with color by grade:  K-red; 1st-orange; 2nd-white: 3rd-green; 4th--blue; 5th--red; 6th--stripes; 7th--white; 8th--black.
PTO Board Meeting: The first meeting of the year will be Tuesday, September 20 at 8:00 a.m. Cafeteria.  PTO board meetings are open to anyone in the Driscoll community.  Only board members may vote.   


Community News:

SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the Walsh School Committee Room, 5th Floor, Town Hall. The meeting includes a Joint Meeting with the Board of Selectmen, which will take place at 7:00 PM in the Selectmen's Hearing Room, 6th Floor, Town Hall.
SCHOOL SITE SELECTION MEETINGS: On Thursday, September 8th the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee will hold a public meeting to hear the presentation of the Elementary School Site Selection Study by Jonathan Levi Architects. The meeting will take place at Brookline Town Hall, at approximately 7:00 p.m. On Wednesday, September 14th, the School Committee will host an Open House to provide information on the 9th School Selection Study, answer questions, and solicit input from community members. The meeting will take place at 8:00 a.m. Location is to be determined. For up to date information, please visit the Brookline Schools website.
PSB STAFF EMAIL ADDRESSES On June 8th, the email addresses of all employees of the Public Schools of Brookline will change. New email addresses will be firstname_lastname@psbma.org. For example if your child’s teacher is Jane Doe, then her new email address will be jane_doe@psbma.org. For all teachers and staff members, the part of the email address before the @ symbol remains the same. The existing brookline.k12.ma.us email addresses will continue to work and get to our staff through the summer and into next school year, so our staff will not miss any emails that you send to them. We are changing email systems because our currently existing system is no longer reliable and has suffered a number of outages this year.
Do You — or Someone You Know — Want to Run the 2017 Boston Marathon? The Brookline Education Foundation is seeking runners for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  Receive amazing training and camaraderie from Team Brookline and support excellence in the Public Schools of Brookline at the same time!  Contact Team Brookline at http://www.teambrookline.org for more information today.  The deadline for applications is September 30, 2016.
FREELANCE PLAYERS RETURNS TO DRISCOLL!
Calling all young actors-experienced or not! Come join the fun! The Driscoll Freelance Troupe and the Freelance Players are returning to Driscoll, starting the week of September 12th. Both Freelance companies rehearse and produce an original musical each season. 
The Driscoll Freelance Troupe is for students in 3rd through 6th grades and rehearses on Fridays, 3:30-5:45pm. The Players is for students 7th grade and up and rehearses on Wednesdays, 4:00-6:30pm. Tuition is $520 and some financial assistance is available. For more information call Kippy Dewey: 617-274-6065 or go to www.freelanceplayers.org
Breakfast of Champions, Thursday, September 22nd, 7:30 – 10:00 am., Coolidge Corner Theatre
Hear Robert Kraft talk about building a winning business.  Take your photo with the New England Patriots Superbowl Trophy. Enter to win 2 club seats at the New England Patriots Home Game that night.  Cheer recipients of the Chamber’s Best of Brookline Business Awards. Enjoy breakfast. Get swag. Hosted by the Brookline Chamber of Commerce www.brooklinechamber.com. Tickets: www.tinyurl.com/breakfastofchampionsbrookline  $20pp Chamber Members/$30pp Non-Members. Space is limited. Questions: Debbie@brooklinechamber.com, 617-739-1330 
SAVE THE DATE FOR “SCREENAGERS” – OCT. 5 On Oct. 5 at 7 pm, B-PEN (with funding from Brookline Community Foundation and Coolidge Corner Theatre) presents a free community showing at the Coolidge of “Screenagers,” an award-winning documentary on the impact of technology, screens, and social media on the lives of adolescents. The 68-minute film will be followed by a moderated discussion for parents and kids on strategies for finding balance in a digital world.


Classifieds:

FALL FARM League: The next step after T-ball. For our 1st and 2nd Graders & new to baseball 3rd graders. REGISTRATION is Open. TEAMS WILL FILL ! Don't Delay! Brooklineyouthbaseball.org
BE THE PARENT YOU WANT TO BE! Training in Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving parenting approach. Do you ever feel frustrated with your child? Find yourself shouting often and imposing punishments or rewards in reaction to challenging behavior? Do you wish you had a more effective parenting approach that also helps to build a better relationship between you and your child? Think:Kids Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach provides parents with concrete tools to better understand and parent their kids (ages 3-18) in the face of day-to-day challenges – e.g., getting to school, homework, screen time, sibling relationships – and more serious challenges. It’s based on the understanding that many kids lack the skill, not the will, to behave well – specifically skills related to problem-solving, flexibility and frustration tolerance. For more information and to register for the upcoming evening or daytime CPS training in Brookline, please visit: BeTheParentYouWantToBe.weebly.com

MEDIAGIRLS, an eight-week program for 6th and 7th grade girls, will run at the Brookline Teen Center on Tuesday afternoons from 3:15 pm to 4:45 pm starting September 27th. Participants learn to challenge pop-culture messages aimed at girls; engage in thoughtful discussions about current media trends, make new friends in Brookline, and write inspiring content for girls on the MEDIAGIRLS blog and social media. Space is limited to 12, and only a few spots are open. Limited scholarships available. Visit www.mediagirls.org to learn more and register.

PRIVATE FLUTE LESSON: Flute Instructor, Kanae Kimura:  Master of Music at The Boston Conservatory, Music teachers' license in Japan, speaker of English and Japanese, is available to tutor all levels of flute for 2016-17 academic year – from beginner to college applicants. For trial lesson and fee information, please contact: kanaekimuramusic@gmail.com or visit my website: http://kanaekimuramusic.wix.com/flute

Based in Coolidge Corner, the Maestro Musicians Academy serves ages 4-104 and specializes in teaching all instruments in both private and group instruction. We care deeply about the unique parent-teacher-student relationship that establishes the foundation for success in our lessons and our unique Parent tested, Child approved philosophy means that we offer a free trial lesson for anyone seriously considering us. For more information, please contact Daniel at 857-756-5230 or lessons@maestromusicians.com. Find out more about The Maestro Musicians Academy at www.maestromusicians.com. 

PIANO INSTRUCTION - 3 blocks from Driscoll. Learn Jazz/Blues/Classical, theory, sightreading from a Berklee & New England Conservatory graduate with 30+ years teaching experience. Build a high quality musical foundation with a patient, upbeat, and caring instructor. Beginners especially welcome. Have a positive and successful learning experience. Gloria Jasinski, phone: 617.566.9704, email: piano566@comcast.net


 
 

Upcoming Events
(more calendar links here)
SEPTEMBER
05


Labor Day
No School
SEPTEMBER
13


New Parent Breakfast
7:30 - 8:30 am
SEPTEMBER
14


Back to School Picnic
5:00 - 7:00 pm
SEPTEMBER
20


PTO Board Meeting
8:00 am

Important Links

Support the Driscoll PTO
 




Principal's Corner
(read on driscollpto.org here)
 

Dear Families,

I hope you had a smooth and enjoyable start to the school year.  Changing from a summer to a fall routine can be tricky—we will all need some time to settle in!  I know in my house, it will take us a little while to get used to a much earlier “get out the door” time in the morning, and I’m sure that’s the same for most of you! 

It can also be confusing for students (both younger and older) to move from summer routines to school routines for other reasons too:  changes in the level of structure, dramatic changes in evening daylight hours, changes in flexible and fun time spent with friends and family, and others.

Here are some ideas that might help with the transition to school.  Talk with other parents and share what works for your kids!  

  • Do as much as you can the night before.  Make lunches, lay out clothes, pack the backpack, even set out breakfast items (maybe not the milk!) on the table to make the morning routine a little simpler and help younger kids have some independence and control in the morning.
  • A few minutes of quality time in the morning could actually help move things along.  Before rushing into the morning routine, take a few minutes to talk about what your child dreamt about, to read a short story or to share a joke or even just a hug or a little time on a parent’s lap.  This start might set the child up to move forward with the less exciting tasks of the morning.
  • Give your child a little extra time in the morning at school.  Breakfast starts at 7:30 and parents are welcome to buy breakfast along with their children!  Sitting together and eating breakfast in the cafeteria can be a nice way to start the morning together.  5th-8th grade students can start with some morning movement in the gym as early as 7:20 (starting on Monday, the 13th)  This has been a wonderful way to get many reluctant, tired middle school students going each morning.

I’ve been talking with parents and teachers about other ways that we can support the morning transition for students.  We know that a solid start to the morning is a critical component of a successful school day and that having a consistently successful morning routine has a major impact on student learning overall.

We are here to support you in this process!  Talking about these changes with your children and then sharing questions/suggestions with your child’s team here at school might help if the transition is difficult.  We are here to support you to make sure your child is ready to learn at Driscoll!

Warmly,

Heidi

 

 

 

 













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