Meet the Teacher Day August 26, 2010

Thank you to our amazing teachers:


Our teachers arrived at school in early August and renovated; rejuvenated and rearranged their classrooms to insure that they were prepared for students and parents alike on Meet the Teacher Day. The school looks terrific, thanks to those efforts - each and every room is beautifully decorated and when the students arrived, they were thrilled with the fresh changes. The teachers matched the enthusiasm of the children as they warmly greeted all their new students.

Not to be forgotten, the support staff, who went way beyond the call of duty over the summer to make sure the teachers accomplished their goal - including painting the classrooms and moving thousands of boxes! A special thank you to Ernest Cullinan, the neatest painter in the world.



Thank you to our amazing PTA:



Tiffany Tecce, Maggie Kelly, Kim Lynn, Julie Jarvie and Laraine McCormack sweetly kicked off our new school year by providing a delectable luncheon for the staff on Opening Day. It was a wonderful and genuinely appreciated welcome back to school for all of us.

Continuing with their fantastic efforts; on Meet the Teacher day, our PTA was represented by Tiffany Tecce , Kelsey Tecce, Jeffrey Busch, Elijah Busch, Laurie Musilli and David Crays. Tiffany Tecce designed a brilliant new Miller-Driscoll T-shirt. A red, white and blue tie-dye with a cheerful message that everyone loves - be sure to check them out. The Miller-Driscoll Handbook, along with other neat accessories were available for the children and parents.

A special thank you to Tiffany Tecce who has been with us throughout the summer and then delivered the bus tags for the children to school this morning. Tiffany has helped us in developing the school calendar as well as being an integral partner in our school re-organization.

We are grateful to all the parents of the PTA who collegially partner with us to enrich the educational experience of all our Miller-Driscoll students. Thank you to all the parents who came to our school today contributing to the rich beginning of this new school year. Please continue to visit, volunteer, and share in the family activities offered throughout the year because embracing the theme of "United We Stand" is sure to greatly benefit our students and our community.

Congratulations

We are proud to join Dr. Gary Richards in recognizing three members of our Support Staff for 100% Perfect Attendance.

Juan Carvajal

Jose Castro

William Fry

We appreciate and thank them for their hard work and dedication to our schools

Planning Ahead for Student Success

Our Miller-Driscoll Leadership Team gathered for a two day Leadership Academy in the new central core of Miller-Driscoll on August 17 and 18. It was an exciting opportunity for the leadership team as this was the first opportunity in this new year to share their unified vision of student needs and how the combination of their experience and ideas could be used to improve student achievement. The goal for the two days of study and collaboration was to examine our Strategic Action Plan for 2010-2011 as a spring-board for school improvement.

The members of the team included Cheryl Jensen-Gerner, Leslie Pearson, Dr. Sheelah Brown and Instructional Leaders: Language Arts- Susan Schroeder and Barbara Quist; Writing- Erica Tucker; Math- Lauren Feltz; Technology-Bryan Ennis; Social Studies-Sal Giaimo and Jen Simeonidis; Science-Jane Giresi; Library/Media- Barbara Clancy; Special Education Ellen Giannino and Erica Mueller. Our Grade Level Team Leaders: Kindergarten- Maryann Mougin and Pam Sullivan; Grade One-Jeanine Hussey and Kim Gallagher; Grade Two-Lauren Jankowski and Leigh-Ann Solottolo.

Arlene Gottesman, our Assistant Superintendent of Schools, and Lynn Driver, our District Testing Coordinator, presented Wilton's results on the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) to the group. An examination of these assessments showed that our students scored above the mastery goals set by the state. Together we were proud of our accomplishments - our students - and felt fortunate that now we can utilize all the resources that Miller-Driscoll has to offer for further improvement. As a group, the team determined that one area for refinement is our students ability to comprehend connections to self, other texts and the world in their reading.

Also discussed - professional development for teachers which was folded into our academic school calendar to ensure that all staff members are apprised of new curriculum initiatives. The summer curriculum work was developed by the Leadership team members across the disciplines. It is critical that goal-setting, planning, standards, and assessment is guided by student needs and must be coordinated with the corresponding professional development opportunities for teachers.

At the close of the Leadership Academy, the team was proud of its accomplishments - the collaborative planning of what is sure to be an energized and successful school year for Miller-Driscoll school.

Ready, Get Set ,Go

• Meet the Teacher /August 26, 2010 /All K-2

A-L 9-9:45am M-Z 10-10:45am

• School Starts /August 30, 2010



• Labor Day /September 6, 2010 NO School

• Photo days/September 7 and 8, 2010



• Library Volunteers /September 8, 2010 9:30am



• Rosh Hashanah /September 9, 2010 NO School



• Grade 2 Open House /September 13, 2010



• Kindergarten Open House /September 14, 2010



• Grade One Open House /September 16, 2010



• Kindergarten Extended Day /September 16-17, 2010



• First PTA Meeting /September 20, 2010 9:30 am

Welcome Back to School - Mrs. Jensen-Gerner

Parent letter - back to school -

A Sign of Things to Come

Please drive by Miller-Driscoll School to see our cheerful new signs welcoming our students back to school. The signs, in our school colors of red, white and blue, are located at the Belden Hill and Wolfpit Road entrances. Our new logo celebrates the union of Tilford W. Miller and Ina Driscoll Schools. The triangle has three sides to honor the past accomplishments and traditions of Miller and Driscoll Schools, and the future success we will share together. The joining of these two excellent schools will only enhance and strengthen our outstanding reputations as the foundation of the Wilton Pubic Schools.