Happy New Year, Mustang families!We have a lot going on already as we kick off January with a BANG! Hope to see you atMovie Night tomorrow or the Camp Fair and PTA meeting next Wednesday! Community Movie Night – TOMORROW – Doors open at 6:15 pm (moviestarts at 6:30 pm)Bring your friends, family and neighbors to come watch “Christopher Robin”tomorrow (Friday, Jan 11). Bring chairs or a sleeping bag and join us in theMultipurpose room. Entry is free and concessions and Shepherd gear will be on sale. AHUGE thanks to Shepherd Park Citizens Association for sponsoring! SCHOOL SPIRIT TASTES GREAT!Restaurant Night at Chipotle in DT Silver Spring – Tues, Jan 15 form 5-9pmGet out for dinner with the family and show this flyer to help us make some $$ forShepherd PTA!Chipotle-flyer.pdf NO SCHOOL DAYS with Star Achievers – Jan 22 and 23, 2019Come have fun for the ultimate play date on the upcoming days off from school!Register here: https://www.sesstarachievers.com/ PTA Meeting and Summer Camp Fair – next Wed, Jan 16Summer Camp Fair will be in the Atrium from 5-7 pm and the PTA meeting willstart at 6:30 pm in the Multipurpose Room. DCPS Soliciting Feedback on SY 2019-20 Calendar ProposalsDCPS … Read More

Hi Mustang Families!TONIGHT – December PTA meeting at 6:30 pm. Childcare and pizza for the children will be provided.AGENDA: Minutes approval from Nov meeting and budget update Shepherd STAR Rating overview with Principal Brawley Other updates from Principal Brawley Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE) speaker on parent advocacy (Rachael Berman) DCPS budget process – next steps and suggested requests DCPS/DPR Community Center update and conversation to develop a statement Shepherd Spring Auction – updates and next steps Teacher Wishlist and PTA Teacher Assistance funds timing and next steps Upcoming events: Mama Lucia Restaurant Night (tomorrow – Dec 20), Movie Night (Jan 11), Summer Camp Fair (Jan 16) and Jazz Night (March 1)TOMORROW: Mama Lucia’s Restaurant NightEat dinner and support Shepherd! Mama Lucia’s will donate 20% from every dine-in or take-out order from 4-9 pm. Make sure to show this flier! Will have copies at the meeting tonight too. Mamma Lucia Flyer.pdf

Hey Mustang Families – we’re on the countdown to winter break…and we’ve got a busy week next week! Spirit Week, PTA meeting and Teacher/Staff holiday party, and Mama Lucia’s Restaurant Night out!LYNCH CREEK FARMS HOLIDAY GREENS FUNDRAISER – DEADLINE THIS SUNDAYDeadline is Sun, Dec 16 to get your holiday wreath, centerpiece or mini tree! Shepherd PTA gets 10% of every purchase – help us reach our goal!!HOLIDAY SPIRIT WEEK @Shepherd – Dec 17-21Mon – Dec 17 – Ugly Sweater DayTues – Dec 18 – Winter Hat and Sock DayWed – Dec 19 – Classroom Door Decorating ContestThurs – Dec 20 – Snowflake Day (wear something with snowflakes or that is blue and white)Fri – Dec 21 – Winter Pajama DayMon, Dec 17 – Monthly Teacher/Staff Breakfast ReminderIt’s time again for the monthly Teacher and Staff breakfast – thanks to all who’ve signed up for this one! Bring in items on Monday morning between 7:30-8:30 am in the Resource Center room behind the main office. Click here to sign up!Wed, Dec 19 – PTA meeting and Teacher/Staff Holiday PartyHoliday party for teachers and staff from 4-6 pm – we’ll be in the Special Ed room next to the Art Room. To … Read More

Hi Mustang Parents – a few more important messages to be aware of related to the school and budgets! Stay tuned for more info! NEW DC School STAR Report Card Rating Tomorrow, OSSE and DCPS will be releasing a new School Report Card system, including a STAR Rating, and Principal Brawley will be coming to the Wed, Dec 19th PTA meeting to talk about the new program and Shepherd’s rating. See here for more.  Dec 12 DCPS Budget Engagement Community Forum – Janney Elem at 6 pm Parent, Grandparents and Community Members – we are going to need your support as we fight for more budget Shepherd in the FY20 budget! The first community forum is on Wed, Dec 12 at 6 pm at Janney Elementary. The School Advocacy Committee is working on draft testimony and talking points. We will be sharing very soon how you can support – but mark your calendars to attend, ask questions, and push for more support for Shepherd Elementary! If we don’t show up, we won’t get what we want! Below is the timeline for how and when the final DCPS budgets get approved. Click here for more info. Parent and Community Input Begins (November and December)The Chancellor kicks off the collaborative … Read More

Helloooo Families!We have a lot cooking at Shepherd this week! Easy ways to contribute to a few families in need, make a little $$ for the Shepherd PTA, and enjoy a night off!BAKE SALE – TODAY – from 3:30-6 pm in the AtriumPlease donate baked goods and drop them off anytime before 3 pm TODAY in the Resource Center room behind the main office area. Mark your Tupperware/tins and we’ll leave them back there for pick up on Tues., Dec 4.This effort is a long-standing Shepherd Elementary tradition and is part of our Shepherd Gives Back effort. We’re donating the money raised to support the Shepherd Park Citizen’s Association (SPCA) Holiday Hope and a Home children’s program! If you can’t donate baked goods or come by for the sale, we’d gladly take financial donations to support the cause.Potbelly RESTAURANT NIGHT – TUESDAY from 5-8pmCome join us on Tuesday, December 4th, from 5 to 8PM at Potbelly’s, located at 917 Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring for dinner in or takeout for your evening meal. Potbelly’s will donate 25% of sales to Shepherd Elementary for every sale with a presented flyer. Don’t forget to bring a copy of the attached flyer with … Read More

Good evening, Mustang families!Hoping you all had a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving holiday!And now back to our regularly scheduled program…TOMORROW (Monday, Dec 2) is the first of our monthly teacher/staffbreakfasts and tomorrow it is provided by the 3rd grade families. Seehere for sign up and dates for the remaining breakfasts! Drop offfood/drinks in the teacher’s lounge anytime before 8:45 am. We lovedoing something extra special for our teachers and staff!FRIDAY (Dec 6) is the Annual Shepherd Bake Sale! Sign up here todonate a baked good – remember, no peanuts or peanut products! Allproceeds will go to help Shepherd families in need during the holidayseason. Many thanks to Jasmine Riley for leading this effort!MANY THANKS!The Shepherd PTA team

Hi Mustang Families,We hope you all enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving and are ready to kick off a busy December with us and join in the many activities we have going on during the next few weeks!And speaking of holidays, go buy a wreath or some garland from Lynch Creek Farms for your home…we’re getting 20% back on every purchase and our goal is $1000!Paint, Sip and Support – THIS Fri, Nov 30 at 6:30 pmJoin 25 of your parent friends and Mr. Garner for an evening of painting (and wine!) to support Shepherd! $30 per person and max is 25 people to fit in the art studio comfortably. Sign up before all the spots are taken! Snacks and wine will be provided; but feel free to bring a bottle to share! Meet in the Art Room by 6:30 pm.Parents’ Night Out @Shepherd – Fri, Dec 7 at 6:30-10 pmEnjoy a night out while the kids have fun with their friends! We’re working with Star Achievers to provide childcare and we’ll have fun arts and crafts, sports activities in the multipurpose room, and an Incredibles 1 and 2 movie screening!$40 for the first child and $30 for a sibling – open … Read More

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and a lovely and restful time with your family and friends. The Shepherd PTA would like to THANK YOU for ALL your support and hard work so far this year and say one more time how thankful we are to have such an engaged and supportive parent community! Cheers!All the best,Liz BradleyShepherd PTA PresidentShopping for Shepherd – AmazonBefore you start getting crazy online on Black Friday and Cyber Monday on Amazon, make sure you have Shepherd’s Amazon Smile link in your browser. .5% of every purchase goes back to Shepherd…every little bit helps!End-of-the-Year DONATIONS – SUPPORT SHEPHERDAs you finish year-end donations or have an employer that is doing corporate matches or an employee giving campaign, we’d love for you to consider Shepherd PTA as one of your charities of choice. Donate to the 180 Fund and your teachers and children will thank you! The Shepherd Elementary School PTA is a 501(c)(3) tax- exempt organization. Tax ID No. 47-0879109.Monthly Teacher and Staff Breakfast – Mon, Nov 26 – Second GradeHey Second Grade Families – it’s your turn this month to bring in the monthly teacher and staff breakfast. Here is the sign-up link and many … Read More

Hello Mustang Parents,The results from our Parent PTA Survey we fielded in Sept/Oct told us you want to hear more about what the PTA does and spends money on during the year. So, in response…here is a short overview of our activities and efforts so far this year! We really appreciate your support, engagement, response, and confidence as we’ve gotten started and are now moving quickly.We have A LOT planned for the rest of November and December, so make sure to scroll down to the calendar!Many thanks and appreciation,Liz BradleyLaunched the PTA Teacher Assistance Program:GOAL – Formalize and bring more equity to teacher requests for PTA support, includes classrooms, specials, teams, special projects, etc.Q1 requests funded:PK3 – supplies/materials for both classesPK4 – magazine subscriptions for both classes; VGA Smart Board cord for Mrs. HoltPE – basketball pump for Mr. LangrockMusic – 30 headphones for keyboards in the music roomSpecial Education – reading intervention program for grade levels K-5Q2 forms due on Dec 15; we have a budget of $1000 per quarter to fulfill requestsFunding Teacher Wish Lists:We did SO WELL at Fall Fest, that we’re able to increase the amount we had budgeted and can now begin to fulfill Wish … Read More

Well, you’re getting the Wednesday PTA Bulletin on Thursday thanks to Halloween! Hope everyone had a FUN and SAFE night…and we hope you all stop by tomorrow evening for a movie, popcorn and snacks at school!“Coco” Movie & PJ Night – TOMORROW – Friday, Nov 2 – 6:15 pm (doors open)Come join us for a low-key movie night to watch “Coco” at school tomorrow, Friday, Nov 2. We invite you to wear your PJs, bring a blanket or a folding chair, buy some popcorn and come have fun! Doors open at 6:15 pm and movie starts at 6:30 pm in the Multipurpose room. The event is FREE and open to all! Concessions and Shepherd gear will be on sale, and donations are welcome.Bulb Planting – Saturday, Nov 10 – 9 am-noonBring your whole family to the fall bulb planting at Shepherd. We will be planting bulbs, weeding, cleaning, and preparing the gardens for the winter. We will have a few shovels and gloves, but feel free to bring your own and/or a package of daffodils, tulips, hyacinths to add to the mix. Thanks to Simon Messing and Julia Marnon Lipton for organizing!Lynch Creek Farms Holiday FundraiserLynch Creek Farms offers elegant, … Read More