Good morning Shepherd Families,

I hope you all enjoyed the hot, sunny weather this weekend. Here at Shepherd we are busy closing out this year and preparing for the next simultaneously. We are closing out employee evaluations, ordering supplies for summer and closing out this year’s budget, drafting a summer schedule, securing our professional development for pre-service and beyond, and hiring for vacancies. A huge shout out to Madame Gadie who closed out our partnership with Quebec with a beautiful showcase of students’ learning (all in twenty minutes). It was a lot of fun, and this coming week, we have 5th grade exhibitions to behold. It is such a busy time of year, but so exciting to witness the student growth. Our end of year data is coming in, and another huge shout out to the first grade teachers and all the tutors who assisted first grade students these last two terms. I have seen a lot of data, and their growth is STUPENDOUS. Stay tuned for a EOY achievement data presentation soon. Fifth grade reading proficiency rates will also knock your socks off:). So far, it appears that Shepherd students have not suffered significant learning loss, and we will be able to serve students in need of support during our summer acceleration program.

Since we are closing out a very unusual year, we want to take a moment to celebrate students as the move up to the next grade. These celebrations are for virtual and in-person students and their families, and should take place on the newly refurbished field. Here is the schedule for our moving up events:

PK 3 – Friday 6/18 from 10-11
PK 4 – Friday 6/18 from 9-10
K – Friday 6/18 from 2-3
1st – Friday 6/18 from 1-2
2nd – Tuesday 6/22 from 2-3
3rd – Friday 6/18 `from 11-12
4th – Thursday 6/24 from 2-3

Mr. Langrock is working to incorporate two developmentally appropriate field day events at each grade level to build class spirit and help them warm up to one another since some of our virtual students haven’t seen their in-person peers in 15 months. Each group will have popsicles, a few words from the homeroom teacher to celebrate students and close out the year, and two field day activities. Mr. Langrock is planning to do a more extended version with 5th graders to help them close out their time at Shepherd with an extra dose of joy.

We are all looking forward to seeing you in the coming weeks and are thrilled to the return to “business as usual” in late August. This coming Thursday and Friday, I will be in Los Angeles celebrating my daughter’s graduation from college. Please reach out to Ms. Rottman with any questions or concerns.

Thanks for everything!

Phyllis