COTTAGE NAMES

To enhance a sense of community and to promote friendships among the children, the Kindergarten, Grade One and Grade Two classrooms, in close proximity to each other have been designated as "cottages." The concept of a cottage at each level mirrors best practice to provide students with a personal identity and a sense of belonging. The team concept will give teachers opportunities for collaboration, collegial scheduling and curriculum sharing. Teachers in Kindergarten and Grade Two selected the names of the cottages referencing authors of children's books by Eric Carle and Jan Brett. The Grade One teachers chose titles of children's books around themes they intend to explore.

Kindergarten:

Ladybug Cottage-S-1

S. Reed,K. McGee, M. Mougin, M. Burdick, M. Dec, M. Margolin

Caterpillar Cottage-S-2

C. Maxwell, M. Horowitz, P. Sullivan, M. Dentice

Firefly Cottage -S-3

S. Giamio, B. Iannucci, C. Lyons, R. Reeves, TBA


Grade One:

Wonderful Happens Cottage-N-1

K. Gallagher, J. Rider, B. Ennis, L. McCormick

Curious Kids Cottage -N-2

A. Badolato, L. Feltz, A. Young, D. Sanzone, E. Slavinsky, T. Cook, D. Nelson

Mulberry Cottage-N-3


J.Hussey, S. Arbucci, A.Packard, E. Racz


Grade Two:

Hedgie's Cottage-C-1

J. Scholz, A. Sweeney, L. Connell, K. Constantino, S. Margid, L. Salottolo

Comet's Cottage-C-2

C. Vickrey, D. Miller, J. Simeonidis, K. Adams

Daisy's Cottage-C-3

R. Casl, L. Malat, J, Giresi/TBA, J. Bisceglie, M. McGann, L. Jankowski

Quick Tips for Summer Reading

Notes from our Reading Teachers and Librarians

TO SUSTAIN READING SUCCESS

SUMMER READING IS VITALLY IMPORTANT

1. Have your child select library books they would like YOU to read aloud to them.

2. Visit a bookstore and the library to help your son or daughter select books.

3. Encourage your child to read in bed. Some parents even allow their children to stay up later if they are reading in bed.

4. Purchase an inexpensive camera and notebook. Have your youngster create a picture journal of summer experiences.

5. Lead by example. Show your children that you too, love to read books, magazines, and newspapers.

6. Enjoy the rich programs at the Wilton Library.

Fun Summer Resources

http://www.readwritethink.org/

http://www.readingrockets.org/

www.scholastic.com/summerreading/index.htm

http://www.summerlearning.org/

Remember to return your Summer Reading Journals on the first day of school.

Meet the Teacher Day

Exciting News

"Meet the Teacher Day"
Thursday
August 26, 2010

We are delighted to announce that our new school design at

Miller-Driscoll will allow us to accommodate families to come to "Meet the Teacher Day" according to the first initial of their last name. Please come and enjoy this opportunity to see your child's classroom and meet the teacher.

ALL Kindergarten, First and Second Grade students will visit school during one of 2(two) sessions depending on the first letter of their last name.

9-9:45 am

ALL Kindergarten, Grade One and Two Students

Initials A-L

Please arrange your visit to ensure that parking will be available in consideration of all students for each session. Adhering to the schedule will ensure that parking spaces will be accessible to all our families for each time period.

10-10:45am

ALL Kindergarten, Grade One and Two Students

Initials M-Z

We are looking forward to meeting all our students on "Meet the Teacher Day."

Unity Celebration

Miller-Driscoll School
June 16, 2010

Our Miller-Driscoll students formed a circle and joined hands today in celebration of the unification of our schools. The Red, White, and Blue balloons, the Unity banner, and the Miller-Driscoll bracelets all contributed to the Last Day Celebration. It was a celebration of what has been and what will be. All Kindergarten and First Grade students and teachers, Para-professionals and Special area teachers took part in the festivities. The Administrators, Cheryl Jensen-Gerner, Mary Skowronski, Sheelah Brown, Gary Richards, Superintendent of Schools, Arlene Gottesman, Assistant Superintendent and First Selectman Bill Brennan completed the circle.

Karin Brooks, Jen Eyikan, and Hazel Usher, our Art teachers, helped students design white t-shirts imprinted with red and blue hands to signify the joining of the schools. Our Music teachers, Melina Arcano, Jennifer Judge, and Karen Mattera, led the children in songs they had learned throughout the year. First Grade teacher, Jeanine Hussey, set the tone for the ceremoney by singing an outstanding rendition of "America the Beautiful," while Erica Racz, another Grade One teacher, dressed as and symbolized the Statue of Liberty.

We are so appreciative of the work of our event planers. Marie Jarboe chaired the committee which was completed by PTA Co-Presidents Tiffany Tecce and Andrea Klancko, Driscoll Interim Assistant Principal Mary Skowronski, Miller parent Susan Salko, and Driscoll parent Maria Haljun. The Celebration and Calendar Committee made the logistical arrangements, and the PTA contributed the bracelets, the balloons, and the new red and blue pencils for our students.

Our school colors for the 2010-2011 School Year are red, white and blue. Our school theme for the 2010-2011 School Year is "United We Stand."

As we celebrate and honor what has gone before us, we look forward to that which lies ahead.

Happy Get Together

Our Miller-Driscoll Social commitees with the help of Kinderkids held a wonderful barbecue after the school day on Monday, June 14th. It was a happy time for all our staff members; teachers, para-professionals, and custodians. Teachers and staff members contributed delectable salads, desserts, fruit and beverages. Kinderkids staff members,secured the grill for a special Wilton Fireman, Stephen Czarnecki who made delicious hot dogs and hamburgers. Special thanks to Lynn Tyler, Gail Lilly, Dolores Tufariello, Emily Dowden and Patty Terravona who made all the arrangements.
The lunch was a welcome interlude from the hard work the staff has accomplished to provide a smooth transition to our new school organization.

A Letter to Parents: 3

M_D__Parent_Letter_-_6.2.10__final_ -

A Letter to Parents: 2

Below is a copy of the Letter to Parents from May 18th 2010.


Letter to Parents: 2 -

A Letter to Parents: 1

Below is a copy of the letter to parents from May 2nd 2010.



Letter to Parents: 1 -

Report from Subcommittee "Celebrations"

The Calendar and Celebrations Subcommittee has been meeting every week to plan some exciting and fun activities for our students. The members of the Celebrations Committee are: Maria Haljun, Andrea Klancko, Susan Safko, Mary Skowronski, Tiffany Tecce and Chairperson Marie Jarboe.

• On the last day of school, June 16, 2010, the current kindergarten and first grade students will gather on our front lawn to hold an End of the Year Unity Celebration.


• The music and art departments are assisting in the plans for the day.


• Our school colors will be red, white and blue.


• The Miller-Driscoll School theme for 2010-2011 is "United We Stand."


• A Unity Banner will be signed and displayed in our Library/Media Center at the beginning of the school year.

Miller-Driscoll Elementary School

Miller-Driscoll Administration

There will be a principal and two full-time Assistant Principals.

• 
  
  Cheryl Jensen-Gerner will continue as Principal.


• 
  


• 
  
  Dr. Sheelah Brown will become a full-time Assistant Principal


• 
  


• 
  
  We are in the process of interviewing candidates for the other Assistant Principal. We are fortunate to have many highly qualified candidates from which to choose.

Miller-Driscoll School

The April 27, 2010 Steering Committee meeting began with a review and a debriefing of Committee agreements. All questions and clarifications were welcomed and examined by the participants regarding the school design. Packets were distributed with maps that included the three potential grade level and multi-grade options. The potential options for the organizational models were reported and discussed by each group. The committee members reached consensus using a blind ballot resulting in a unanimous decision to organize Miller-Driscoll School by grade level.

Organization

• Miller-Driscoll will be organized by grade level and the entire building will be divided into North, South and Central.
• Kindergarten classrooms will be called the South Side (former Driscoll side).
• First Grade classrooms will be called the North Side (former Miller side).
• Second Grade classrooms will be in the middle, which will be called Central.
• The Pre-School will be self-contained and located on the North side of the building in the current Miller Cafeteria core.

The meeting continued with small group discussions about the direction of the subcommittees.

It was decided that the subcommittees would meet every week.

The Subcommittee members began their weekly meeting on May 4, 2010. After this May 4 meeting, other staff members and parents not currently on our Steering Committee will be added to each of the subcommitees.



The subcommitte members will add tasks and develop a timeline for task completion.



Facilities-Group 1 ( Operational decisions)

a. Cafeteria and Playground schedules

b. Logistics of drop off, pick up and bus rooms



Facilities -Group 2 (Schedule for Room Movement)

a. Determine supplies needed such as boxes

b. Determine impact of specials that will be moving, (Music, Reading, SPED)

c. Cleaning and packing schedule

d. Movement and placement of computers

e. Extended School Year impact



Communications/Media

a. Information shared with parents, staff and community

b. Schedule for Communication updates

c. Newspapers

d. Signage



Calendar and Celebrations

a. End of the Year Celebration

b. Meet the Teacher

c. Open House

d. Beginning of the year celebrations

e. Halloween parades

Reorganization Steering Committee

At the second Reorganization meeting on April 13, 2010, Cheryl Jensen-Gerner distributed the packets containing the school design options. The three organizational options included: 1. Grade level model, 2. Multi-grade design 3. a combination model of Kindergarten all together and Multi grades for Grade One and Grade Two.



The teachers on the committee felt that collegiality, the extension of curriculum beyond the classroom, placement and the social needs of the children would be best served within the same peer framework. One parent surveyed some children and felt that the children would have a nurturing and safe environment with their peer age models. A parent and a teacher supported the Kindergarten/Multi-age model. One administrator spoke about the Multi-age model. Following an in-depth discussion and a question and answer period, the committee moved to determine and prioritize the next tasks to be implemented. Subgroups were assigned to study the future needs of the reorganization.



Subcommittees were formulated:

1. Communication/Media

2. Calendar and Celebrations

3. Facilities- Group 1

4. Facilities -Group 2

The Journey

The journey began on February 24, 2010, when the Board of Education voted to restructure Miller and Driscoll Schools into one school. Our building will be referred to as Miller-Driscoll School.



A steering committee was immediately formed of parents, administrators, paraprofessionals, and teacher volunteers in order to ensure that the reorganization would be designed with information generated from all members of our school community. This steering committee was asked to identify and prioritize key implementation tasks for the organizational approach. The first meeting was held April 6, 2010. Members from the Administration are: Heidi Carlin(SPED), Arlene Gottesman, Cheryl Jensen-Gerner, Fred Rapczynski(Pre-School), Ginny Rico, Mary Skowronski, and Sheelah Brown. Parent representatives are: Jeffrey Busch, Maria Haljun, Bernadette Hess, Andrea Klancko, Susan Safko, Tiffany Tece and Elizabeth Torkelsen. Teacher representatives are: Lauren Feltz, Jane Giresi, Jeanine Hussey, Beverly Iannucci, Carol Maxwell, and Leigh-Ann Salotollo. Mary Henwood, our School Psychologist, Marie Jarboe, our School Secretary and Kathy Franks, our Reading Paraprofessional.



At the April 6, 2010 meeting, the committee purpose was to :

a. Design an organizational approach

b. Identify key implementation tasks

c. Identify subcommittees/tasks/ establish the timeline