Shepherd PTO Bulletin 08/24/22

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

Please find the full bulletin here In this week’s PTO Bulletin… – Back to School Supplies – COVID Testing  – Star Achievers Service Temporarily Suspended – Shepherd Gear – Upcoming Events Shepherd Elementary Open House – August 25th PTO Welcome Playdate & Uniform Swap – August 28th – Volunteer Opportunities Room Parents Needed Committee Volunteers & Event Coordinators – Shepherd 180 Fund – Other Important Dates     – 1st Day of School (K – 5th grade):  Mon August 29th     – 1st Day of School (PreK-3 & 4):  Thurs September 1st     – Labor Day Holiday:  Mon September 5th

Shepherd PTO Bulletin 08/17/22

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

Please access this week’s PTO Bulletin here. In this week’s PTO Bulletin… – Welcome Assistant Principal Coles – Back to School Supplies – COVID Testing  – Back to School Supplies – COVID Testing  – Visitor Parking Passes Needed – Upcoming Events Beautification Day – August 20th PTO Welcome Playdates & Uniform Swap – August 21st & 28th Shepherd Elementary Open House – August 25th – Volunteer Opportunities Room Parents Needed Ambassadors for New Families Committee Volunteers & Event Coordinators – Shepherd 180 Fund – Other Important Dates     – 1st Day of School (K – 5th grade):  Mon August 29th     – 1st Day of School (PreK-3 & 4):  Thurs September 1st     – Labor Day Holiday:  Mon September 5th Welcome to Assistant Principal Coles! Ms. Shamayne Coles is joining the Shepherd Community as Assistant Principal. Ms. Coles is a native Washingtonian, now residing in Southern Maryland and formerly served at Myrtilla Miner Elementary School. With over seventeen years in education, Ms. Coles served as a classroom teacher in DCPS for thirteen years, an Academic Coordinator for one year, and most recently, Math Instructional Coach for five years. Beginning her teaching career in 2005, at Savoy Elementary … Read More

Shepherd Bulletin 08/10/2022

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

A link to the bulletin can be found here In this week’s PTO Bulletin… – Welcome to New Families – Back to School Supplies – Upcoming Events Beautification Day – August 20th PTO Welcome Playdates & Uniform Swap – August 21st & 28th Shepherd Elementary Open House – August 25th – Volunteer Opportunities Ambassadors for New Families Committee Volunteers & Event Coordinators – Shepherd 180 Fund – Other Important Dates     – 1st Day of School (K – 5th grade):  Mon August 29th     – 1st Day of School (PreK-3 & 4):  Thurs September 1st     – Labor Day Holiday:  Mon September 5th Welcome New Shepherd Families We want to extend a warm welcome to all new Shepherd Elementary Families and of course a Welcome Back to those currently in our community! These Shepherd Bulletins are released weekly during the school year as a way for the PTO community to remain informed on news, correspondence and events.   Please encourage any new Shepherd Families to register for A to Z connect so they can receive these weekly bulletins and stay connected to the PTO. Back to School SuppliesIt’s Back to School season! Principal Russell recently released the list of … Read More

Shepherd Bulletin 08-03-22

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins, Uncategorized

Happy Summer! Please find the PDF of this week’s Bulletin here. Welcome Interim Principal Russell On July 21st, Ms. Tyra Russell was named Interim Principal for Shepherd Elementary.  Ms. Russell began her teaching career in 2007 working with beginning readers and early childhood education students. In 2009, she began teaching at The Academy Charter School in New York as a founding kindergarten teacher. In 2016, Ms. Russell moved to DC to accept the Assistant Principal position at Savoy Elementary School within DCPS. During her time there, she had the opportunity to work closely with the principal on responsibilities including balancing the school budget, recruiting, and maintaining talent, coaching regarding English Language Arts (ELA) and Math curriculum, and providing teachers with productive observations and feedback to continue student success at Savoy.  Please join us in welcoming Principal Russell to the Shepherd Community! Welcome New Shepherd Families We want to extend a warm welcome to all new Shepherd Elementary Families and of course a Welcome Back to those currently in our community! These Shepherd Bulletins are released weekly during the school year as a way for the PTO community to remain informed on news, correspondence and events.   Please encourage any new Shepherd Families … Read More

Message from Principal Russell

Principal RussellPrincipal Newsletters

Dear Shepherd Community,Greetings! I hope you all are enjoying a restful and relaxing summer with your families and I am excited to meet you in person very soon.I officially joined the Shepherd community on July 24th and have spent the previous few days getting to know staff, recruiting and interviewing for our vacant positions. We are welcoming an energetic group of new hires and I feel lucky to lead such a hardworking and caring staff. New staff bios will be featured on the website in the coming weeks, so please stay tuned to learn more about the new hires of 2022!Below please find some updates as to where we are so far this summer and where we are going.VacanciesWe still have a few remaining vacancies to fill. Those include, (2) paraprofessional, (2) custodians, World language teacher, 2nd grade teacher and 5th grade ELA teacher.Class ListsI am still working on finalizing class lists that Dr. Hedlund passed over. I hope to have them out by the week of 8/12. I’d ask you to refrain from contacting your child’s new teacher until the week of August 22nd. Our teachers need the summer break to recharge and refocus so that they can continue … Read More

Message from Principal Hedlund

Dr. Phyllis HedlundPrincipal Newsletters

Principal's Newsletter

Dear Families, Happy Friday! We only have fourteen school days left, and we are grateful that the heat has subsided. It was hot out there during recess. So many thanks to Ms. Pereira and our talented students who performed so well at Lights! Camera! Action! In the multipurpose room last night. Students obviously enjoyed showcasing their talents, and the audience was enthusiastic and appreciative. Thanks to Ms. Murali and Ms. Mack who supported with tech and taping for streaming. Today, Madame Gadie took a group of fifth graders to participate at a Model UN debate at the Ronal Reagan building. They represented France. Our spirit weeks are coming, our spirit weeks are coming! The first one starts on Monday, June 6th. Here is what is in store: June 6 — Dress for the beach June 7 — Crazy Hat/Wacky Hair Day June 8 — Shepherd Spirit Day June 9 — FIELD DAY June 10 — Pajama Day June 13 — Crazy Sock Day June 14 — Twin Day June 15 — Shepherd Spirit Day June 16— College Spirit Day June 17 — Pajama Day Field Day in on Thursday, June 9th on the lower field and gymnasium. PK 3, PK … Read More

PTO Bulletin

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

Shepherd Elementary School logo

Good morning Shepherd families and friends, We’re getting to the home stretch of the school year – but don’t let up yet! We’ve got a list of activities to send us home over the next few weeks! In this week’s PTO Bulletin… Shepherd Musical – Thurs, June 2nd at 6 pm (come watch!) Spirit Weeks – June 6th-June 18th Fifth Grade Exhibitions – June 8th Field Day – Friday, June 9th PK4 Move Up Ceremony – June 10th 5th Grade Promotion – June 22nd at 4:30 pm Calendar of Events Shepherd Musical – Lights! Camera! Action! -TONIGHT at 6:00 pm Join us to see our first live action performance in several years by our Shepherd Stars! Come cheer on your friends and watch them sing, dance and put on a great show! Come watch in person or live on TEAMS here. FIELD DAY – Thursday, June 9th The annual Shepherd FIELD DAY IS BACK! We’re excited to see everyone out on the field again playing games, bouncing balls, running, hula-hooping, and enjoying some popsicles! More details coming soon Spirit Weeks! We’ll have TWO SPIRIT WEEKS to close out the school year…get ready to have fun and be creative! June 6th … Read More

Message from Principal Hedlund

Dr. Phyllis HedlundPrincipal Newsletters

Principal's Newsletter

Dear Families, Happy Memorial Day weekend — our official kick off to summer! Summer means fun, and now that testing is over, Mustangs are geared up to have some fun. What is in store? Two spirit weeks, field day, moving up ceremony for PK 4, field trip for 2nd grade and exhibition AND promotion for our fifth graders. And other celebrations that have not yet been finalized . . . stay tuned. A savvy fifth grader negotiated not one but two spirit weeks to end the year, one the week of the 7th and the other the week of the 13th. Here is what is in store: June 6 — Dress for the beach June 7 — Crazy Hat/Wacky Hair Day June 8 — Shepherd Spirit Day June 9 — FIELD DAY June 10 — Pajama Day June 13 — Crazy Sock Day June 14 — Twin Day June 16 — Shepherd Spirit Day June 17 — College Spirit Day June 18 — Pajama Day Through exhibitions and in alignment with our IB into action for social justice initiative, our fifth-grade students are becoming expert fundraisers and social activists — we certainly need them. One of the exhibition groups is … Read More

Message from Principal Hedlund

Dr. Phyllis HedlundPrincipal Newsletters

Principal's Newsletter

Dear Families, Many thanks to Ms. Mack for all of her hard work this week as she served not only as test coordinator, technology coordinator, and IB coordinator but also as principal designee. I have been out with Covid this week with mild symptoms and have been working remotely. I am so grateful for her support of the Shepherd community every week but especially this week when I was unable to be in the building. I look forward to returning to school next week! We have been averaging one to two confirmed Covid-19 cases a day. If you are concerned about your student, please have them wear a mask in school. Masks remain optional per DCPS policy. Unvaccinated close contacts must quarantine between 5-10 days; vaccinating your children means they do not have to miss school unless they test positive for Covid-19. Our Panorama student, staff and family survey results are here. As I reported last week, Shepherd has seen significant gains in the Loved, Challenged and Prepared indicators for our students. Students are happy to be at school, and we all should feel happy about that! Have a good weekend, and I will see you next week! Principal Hedlund … Read More

PTO Bulletin

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

Shepherd Elementary School logo

Good afternoon Shepherd families and friends, We’re getting to the home stretch of the school year – but don’t let up yet! We’ve got our camping trip this weekend and our Shepherd Musical coming up in early June! And we’re hoping to do Field Day towards the very end of the school year too! In this week’s PTO Bulletin… May PTO Meeting – Wed, May 18th at 6:30 pm Shepherd PTO Camping Trip – May 21-22 All-School Morning Meeting hosted by PK3 – Fri, May 27th Memorial Day (no school) – Mon, May 30th Shepherd Musical – Thurs, June 2nd Calendar of Events May’s PTO Meeting TONIGHT – 6:30 pm Join us tonight at 6:30 pm on TEAMS for our PTO call to hear about the GREAT results of the recent student, parent and staff Panoramic Survey from Dr. Hedlund and updates as we wrap up the year with the Camping Trip, the Spring Musical and PTO and LSAT elections. Shepherd PTO Camping Trip Details We’re going CAMPING! Here are the details for this weekend’s camping trip – arrive at Cunningham Falls State Park between 1-2 pm on Saturday and gather in the parking lots next to Hunting Creek Lake … Read More