Many in the community have reached out to ask what we can do to honor the memory of retired Greenbriar kindergarten teacher Mary Porcaro, who recently died in a traffic accident. Though she retired in June 2021, Mrs. Porcaro still had a very strong presence at Greenbriar up until the time of her death. Here are several opportunities to remember Mrs. Porcaro:

Butterfly Art Installation

The Greenbriar community is planning a butterfly art installation in the front hall around the idea of butterflies and the following quote: "A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam...And for a brief moment, its glory and beauty belong to our world...And although we wish it could have stayed, We are thankful to have seen it at all." Students have been invited to create butterflies throughout this week at school to add to the installation. We'll share photos of the installation on social media and in the upcoming Gazette.

Memory Book

Since she made an impact on so many children and families, we'd like to collect tributes and memories about what Mary meant to our community and compile them into a book for her family. All families and staff are invited to write or draw thoughts to be included in this book. A few guidelines...

• Please keep submissions to 8.5x11 size and one-sided.
• Feel free to include photos, drawings, and words.
• Hard copy submissions can be sent to the school with students. Electronic submissions can be emailed to ghiltz@northbrook28.net or uploaded to this folder. 
• Please share your submission by March 24th.

Candlelight Path

The Greenbriar PTO and staff are organizing a way to honor Mary by inviting families to walk a path around Greenbriar from 7 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, March 19. There will be activities along the pathway to honor Mary’s kindness. More details will be shared in the coming days.

Mary's family plans to hold a celebration of life event on May 9th, Mary's birthday. We will share more details as they become available.

Longer term, we are discussing the idea of honoring Mary's love of the outdoors, nature, and her students, with something related to our new outdoor classroom at Greenbriar which will be dedicated in the spring. 

REMINDERSea

r a mask at pickup and drop off