Kindness Club T-Shirt Sale – until Jan 20thThe Shepherd Kindness Club designed shirts that will be available to purchase online through Mon, January 20 and will arrive the last week of January. Shepherd will be participating in The Great Kindness Challenge in February. Students may wear these items throughout that week to celebrate our participation in the Great Kindness Challenge.T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, and hoodies are available for purchase in youth and adult sizes at the following link: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/ses-kindness-clubWith the money earned from t-shirt sales, the Kindness Club, in conjunction with the PTA, will purchase art materials to create a kindness mural on the wall by the playground entrance, design a buddy bench for the new playground where students who are looking for a friend to play with can sit and when others see they need a friend can invite them to play, and to purchase items for the Great Kindness Challenge (pencils, bracelets, stickers, etc.) in February.Shepherd Elementary Summer Camp Expo – Wed, Jan 15thJoin us for the 3rd annual Shepherd Elementary Summer Camp Expo!Meet representatives from a variety of local camps, ask questions, participate in fun activities, and learn about the array of options for the summer!The 2020 … Read More

Winter Concert – Thurs, Dec 19th and Fri, Dec 20thFor the Winter Concert on Thursday, December 19 at 6:30 pm, students who are in the concert should arrive no later than 6:15 pm. They should wear blue bottoms and a white shirt; school uniform works. Students in grades K-5 should report to the Atrium and look for signage on where to assemble. PK3 and PK4 students should go straight to the Multipurpose Room. The more students we have present the better our concert will be! Please let your homeroom teacher know if your child will not be in attendance.PTA Meeting – TONIGHT (Dec 18th) at 6:30 pmAGENDA• STAR review – Dr. Hedlund• Construction update – groundbreaking, updated timeframe, handling of issues, etc. – Dr. Hedlund• Nov minutes and budget review – Andrea/Karen and Liz• Highlights of PTA purchases this school year – Liz• LSAT meeting updates – Liz• IB evaluation update – Ms. Mack• Recess update – PTA budget for Playworks might be needed; requesting more games, puzzles for the indoor recess cart• PTA Bylaws review/update – need help• Need parent help for upcoming events: Summer Camp Fair (Jan 15), Jazz Night (Feb 28) Health/Wellness Fair (end of March) and … Read More

IB Corner with Ms. MackAs many of you all may know, Shepherd is in its self-study year for our upcoming IB Evaluation in December 2020. The self-study year is a chance to reflect as a school on our IB program’s strengths and weaknesses over the past five years. Here is a link to the survey. We want to hear from Shepherd parents on how we can improve our program! As always, if you have any questions please email me at avani.mack@k12.dc.gov.Our learner profile attribute of the month is knowledgeable! Knowledgeable – we develop and use our understandings in a variety of subjects. We explore local and global issues and ideas. Below are some ways to teach this learner profile attribute at home.• Explore local or global subjects that are interesting and appropriate to your child’s age• You can ask the questions below about what they’ve learned in school.o Why do you think this is important to know?o Do you think there are such kinds of things in the world?On November 18th, during International Education Week, we kicked off our Mini Embassy Adoption Program. Our Mini Embassy Adoption Program is an opportunity for teachers to globalize their lessons and to make … Read More

Basketball Team Tryouts – THIS WEEKTryouts for the girls’ team will be on Wednesday, December 4th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Boys’ tryouts will be on Friday, December 6th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Tryouts will take place in the multi-purpose room on both days. Only 4th and 5th graders are eligible.To try out, your child must complete the DCPS Consent for Athletic Participation (AT-13) found here. Filling out the form and attending tryouts, however, does not automatically guarantee a spot on the team. Go Mustangs!Please contact Mr. Clayborn at john.clayborn@k12.dc.gov if you have specific questions or concerns.Annual Shepherd Bake Sale – Fri, Dec 6thWe’ll be hosting our annual bake sale this Friday, December 6th from 3:30-6:30 pm and will be looking for donated baked goods (NO NUTS OR NUT PRODUCTS, PLEASE!) as we aim to raise money to help our Shepherd community for the holidays.Get into the holiday baking mood early and enjoy calories for a cause! Please sign up to contribute a baked good item for drop off on Fri, Dec 6th.We’re looking for cub/boy scout troops and daisy or brownie troops to help us manage the sale. If your group is interested, please reach out to the … Read More

Kindness Club Food DriveAwesome news! The Shepherd Kindness Club collected more than 600 canned items during the food drive, which will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank! Kudos to Mrs. Zepeda, the Kindness Club and to the entire Shepherd community.Discounted YearbooksYou have until Saturday, November 30th to get your 5% discount on the Shepherd Elementary School yearbook. See the following link to order: https://tr5.treering.com.Basketball TryoutsPlease note that basketball tryouts will take place after Thanksgiving Break during the week of December 2nd.Tryouts for the girls’ team will be on Wednesday, December 4th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Boys’ tryouts will be on Friday, December 6th from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Tryouts will take place in the multi-purpose room on both days.To try out, your child must complete the DCPS Consent for Athletic Participation (AT-13) found here. Filling out the form and attending tryouts, however, does not automatically guarantee a spot on the team. Go Mustangs!Please contact Mr. Clayborn at john.clayborn@k12.dc.gov if you have specific questions or concerns.Breakfast for Faculty and Staff – Hosted by the Third Graders – Monday, Dec. 2ndThe Parent Engagement Committee is starting a monthly breakfast to show gratitude for the Shepherd ES teachers and staff … Read More

International Education Week – November 18th-22ndJoin Shepherd ES as we celebrate cultures from around the world! Eat delicious foods from Cameroon and the Philippines! Share a special object from your own culture with your classmates during morning meeting! Throughout the week, we will all learn more about what it means to be a global citizen.• Monday – Mini Embassy Adoption Kick-Off Day• Tuesday – DCPS International Food Day• Wednesday – DCPS International Food Day• Thursday – Share Your Culture Day• Friday – Schools Around the WorldKindness Club Food DriveThe Kindness Club is holding a food drive for the Capital Area Food Bank. The food drive began last week and will run through Friday, November 22nd. The club is also collecting monetary donations for the food bank at the following link: https://giving.capitalareafoodbank.org/story/Kindnessclub.Each classroom has a box or bin outside their door to accept donations. There will also be a box in the atrium for a central drop off point.PTA Holiday Wreath Sale – on Sale Through Nov 26thThis year, the Shepherd ES PTA will be selling wreaths for the holiday season. We have partnered with Meadow Farm Nurseries to offer 20’ fresh Oregon fir wreaths to the Shepherd school community. All … Read More

Hi Mustang families – please join us tonight as we welcome DCPS leadership at our PTA meeting. We’ll start at 6:30 pm and have childcare available from Star Acheivers. Winter wreaths, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies and jackets will be on sale too. See you this evening! Liz and the PTA board AGENDA Principal Hedlund welcome and updates/highlights PTA budget update and Oct PTA meeting minutes review LSAT meeting highlights PTA STEM purchase updates Responsive Classroom training in Dec for 5 teachers Community Center update  DCPS Tech update – 3rd grade computer implementation Fall Fest recap and feedback Grants Committee update – gardening, play equipment, committee working on identifying others Winter Holiday concert and needs from the PTA  with Ms. Periera Student Government update with Ms. Periera 2020 events: Camp Fair (Jan), Jazz Night (Feb), Talent Show (March – TBD), Gala and Auction (April) – looking for leads and committee members Upcoming Events: Winter greens fundraiser – through Nov 26   Annual Shepherd Bake Sale – Fri, Dec 6th from 3:30-6:30 GALA and AUCTION planning meeting – Wed, Dec 4 at 5 pm (will have a conf line) Ed Fest – Sat, Dec 14 from 11-3 (need teachers, students and parents)     Shepherd teacher/staff holiday … Read More

All School Morning Meeting – Fri, Nov 15thOur November All School Morning Meeting will take place on Friday, November 15th at 8:45 am. The third-graders will host the meeting this month! If you haven’t attended one of the morning meetings yet, we strongly recommend it. They are always lively, informative, fun and entertaining!Winter Weather is Coming Soon…Dr. Hedlund and Mrs. Rottman are looking to build up indoor recess options for those days it’s too cold or wet to go outside. If you have any new or gently used games or puzzles, please drop them off in the office.Kindness Club Food DriveThe Kindness Club is holding a food drive for the Capital Area Food Bank. The food drive began last week and will run through Friday, November 22. The club is also collecting monetary donations for the food bank at the following link: https://giving.capitalareafoodbank.org/story/Kindnessclub.Each classroom has a box or bin outside their door to accept donations. There will also be a box in the atrium for a central drop off point.PTA Holiday Wreaths ON SALE NOWThis year, the Shepherd ES PTA will be selling wreaths for the holiday season. Wehave partnered with Meadow Farm Nurseries to offer 20’ fresh Oregon fir … Read More

All School Morning Meeting – Nov 15thOur November All School Morning Meeting will take place on Friday, November 15th at 8:45 am. The third-graders will host the meeting this month! If you haven’t attended one of the morning meetings yet, we strongly recommend it! They are always lively, informative, fun and entertaining!Winter Weather is Coming Soon…Dr. Hedlund and Mrs. Rottman are looking to build up indoor recess options for those days it’s too cold or wet to go outside. If you have any new or gently used games or puzzles, please drop them off in the office.PTA Holiday Wreath Sale and Bake SaleComing soon…the PTA will be selling winter holiday wreaths after Thanksgiving. More details will be shared soon – but make plans to buy your wreath from us to support Shepherd Elementary! Thanks to Alicia Williamson, Heather Holdridge and Kristin Baldwin for helping us with this effort.Shepherd Gives Back!We’ll also be hosting a bake sale in early December and will be looking for donated baked goods (NO NUTS OR NUT PRODUCTS, PLEASE!) as we aim to raise money to help our Shepherd community for the holidays.We’re looking for cub/boy scout troops and daisy or brownie troops to help usmanage … Read More

Fall Fest Was Spectacular!WOW!!!!!!!You all really delivered for Shepherd this year at Fall Fest! And we want to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!Let’s break it down by the numbers:• $23,000 was made this year (blowing well past our 2018 gross amount of $18,000)• 70 family sponsorships were sold (also breaking our previous year’s number of 54)• 5 key corporate/organization event sponsors – The Parks at Walter Reed, MCN Build, Children’s National, Shepherd Park Citizen Association, and CM Brandon Todd (a BIG thank you to them!)• 100+ volunteers (parents, staff, teachers and neighbors) helped us make Fall Fest a massive success!!!• 65 beautiful, dry and sunny degrees!!• Priceless fun had when we met new friends, dunked Mr. Garner, Dr. Hedlund and others, decorated pumpkins and cupcakes, climbed the rock wall, bounced in the moon bounce, got a Shepherd tattoo, won a Beyblade battle, and played carnival games!A HUGE THANK YOU to Ayana McIntosh, Ronni Pearcy, Siri Warkentien, Simon Messing, Rajan Sedalia, Jasmine Riley, Yolanda Grate, Sanjay Singh, Karen Sloan, Taryn Losch-Beridon, Sharon Bovelle, Michael Robbins, Esther Ntim, Lauren Benning, Andrea Smith, and all the ROOM PARENTS!A SPECIAL thanks to Shepherd parent, Sharon Bovelle, for these wonderful pics that … Read More