APRIL PTO MEETING – TOMORROW (WED, APRIL 21) at 6:30 pm Joins us on TEAMS for our monthly chat with Dr. Hedlund, hear about the latest on the new DCPS Foxhall and MacArthur school sites and the Shepherd Park Community Center, and get more details about the upcoming Spring Fling events. SPRING FLING EVENTS – VIRTUAL BAKING CLASS THIS SATURDAY, April 24 at 5 pm Does your family like to watch baking shows? Or do you or your kids like chocolate chip mini cookie cakes with vanilla buttercream frosting? Then join us for a Shepherd school-wide virtual family baking class hosted by Tiny Chefs! This event is great for the whole family and proceeds go to Shepherd PTO. Unfortunately, the “add-ins” ingredient kits and Shepherd aprons and chef hats are sold out. But you can still get tickets for the virtual event here! Listening Session for Shepherd Recreation Center – Thursday, April 22 from 7:30 to 8:30 pm The purpose of this listening session is to ascertain the community’s interest in the use of the Shepherd Park rec center with ANC Commissioners Green and Whatley. Please join the meeting to help us continue to push to secure dedicated space in the Rec Center for … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Dear Families, Thank you for your patience as we completed our plans for Term 4 and launched our plans for the summer. There are a lot of logistics in place, and we were moving quickly to fill seats and communicate changes. If we made an error that impacted your family or miscommunicated something along the way, I am sorry. I provided the Term 4 shifts again at the end of this message, and Ms. Rottman is in the process of sending grade level emails to families returning to the building. Please continue to reach out if you have any questions, and thanks again. Happy Spring Break! Just a reminder that DCPS is not in session next week for students. Monday is a professional development and records keeping day. Tuesday through Thursday are Spring Break, and Friday is Emancipation Day. I am excited to share that Ms. Romero will be out for maternity leave in early May. This week, she helped us interview and hire Ms. Brenda Brown who will serve as a temporary teacher in her absence. Ms. Brown has been teaching for 14 years, and her last role was as a third through fifth grade Math teacher. She has … Read More
PTO Bulletin
Shepherd’s Spring Fling Family Engagement Events – April – June Let’s get together to have fun, see each other and raise a little money for next school year! SAVE THESE DATES! Sat, April 24th at 5pm – virtual family baking class hosted by Tiny Chefs, add-ins include ingredient kits and Shepherd aprons and chef hats to be purchased. Appropriate for all ages. Get your tickets and ingredients here. Thurs, May 6th at 8 pm – Adults-only “Shaken AND Stirred” cocktail making class hosted by the Quarantine Cocktail Club. End of May – School “photos” to be taken outside in front of the school marquee to make sure this year doesn’t fly by without your sentimental (and cheesy!) annual school picture. Each student will sign up for a specific time. JUNE OUTDOOR EVENT – We have some clearance from DCPS to start to do things together OUTSIDE! So, we’re planning a gathering IN PERSON FOR LATE JUNE! If you’d like to help plan, email [email protected] SHEPHERD WINS “Lettuce Grow” Farm Stand grant project FROM WHOLE KIDS FOUNDATION Thanks to the amazing grant writing by Shepherd parent, Siri Warkentien, we’ll be receiving our first farm stand with initial seedlings, as well as future seedlings, nutrients, and pH test kits. Our … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
More Updates on Term 4 Good afternoon families, Given all the changes we will undergo in Term 4, I wanted to outline the shifts by grade level for your review. Since Spring Break is the week of April 12th and some families may be traveling during that time, the majority of the students will return to the building on April 26th. Grade/Class Start Date Capacity Changes PK 3 CARE 4/19 Students who started in CARE before break will return on 4/19 PK 3 IPL 4/26 New students start when Ms. Johnson Returns on 4/26 PK 4 CARE 4/19 Term 3 CARE students return on 4/19 PK IPL Hunter 4/29 When Ms. Hunter returns on 4/29, her students will return, either transferring out of the CARE classroom to her classroom or returning to school PK IPL Holt 4/29 Ms. Holt’s students who are in PK 4 CARE will stay in CARE, and her students returning to the building can start CARE on 4/29. They will stay in CARE until 5/17 when Ms. Holt returns to the building. K IPL Rajwani 4/26 New students start 4/26. Term 3 students return 4/19. Classroom capacity increases from 10 to 23. K CARE 4/26 New students start … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good morning families, At this point, many of you know both PK 4 teachers will return to the building in Term 4. I am so excited to have them here with us, and we eventually will be able to serve any PK 4 student who would like to return to school. The dates are a bit staggered, however. On April 29, Ms. Hunter will begin teaching in the building with Ms. Conte. Her students who are currently in CARE will be moved to her classroom in the A Wing, and any students returning to school in Term 4 will return to be in her classroom on 4/29. On April 26, Ms. Person will join Ms. Taylor in the CARE classroom, and Ms. Holt’s students who would like to return to school will learn virtually with Ms. Holt until she returns in person on 5/17. At this point, there will no longer be a CARE classroom as Ms. Hunter’s students will be with her, and Ms. Holt’s students will be with her. Both teachers will accommodate families who choose to remain virtual, and there will be more details on that soon. For Kinder families, we have openings if you are interested in … Read More
IB Newsletter
UPCOMING EVENTSStay up-to-date on all upcoming IB events April- Earth Day, Poetry Month, and Math MonthFriday, April 2nd- Classrooms Going Global Morning MeetingFriday, April 9th-Classrooms Going Global Morning MeetingApril 12th- 16th- Spring break for studentsThursday, April 22nd – Earth DayFriday, April 23rd- Classrooms Going Global Morning MeetingFriday, April 30th- Earth Day All-School Meeting FEATURED IB FAMILY CONNECTION RESOURCE 6 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day IB PROGRAMME OF INQUIRY AND IB POLICIES Click here IB LEARNER ATTRIBUTE OF THE MONTH: INQUIRER Click here APPROACH TO LEARNING SKILL OF THE MONTH: THINKING SKILLS Click here for family resource HAS YOUR CHILD TAKEN ACTION IN HIS OR HER COMMUNITY? Click here to nominate your child for an IB award Shepherd’s Virtual IB Programme Overview VideoWatch this video to find out more about Shepherd’s Virtual IB Programme! Contact Shepherd’s IB Coordinator, Avani Mack, for more information.
PTO Bulletin
TONIGHT’S WEBINAR on COVID and the Pediatric Population with Dr. Bud Wiedermann – 7-8 pm Stephen Whatley, ANC4A03 Commissioner, and Children’s National RIC will host a webinar around COVID and some of its impacts on the Pediatric Population. Our speaker will be Dr. Bud Wiedermann from the Infectious Disease program at Children’s National. Dr. Wiedermann is a national expert in pediatric infectious disease and a noted educator. We anticipate a talk of around 20-30 minutes with about 10-30 minutes for questions at the end. Please use the chat function for questions. Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George will give the opening remarks. Click here to join! Spring Egg Hunt – Sat, April 3 at Shepherd Community Center On April 3rd from 11am to 1pm, DPR will be hosting a Spring Egg Hunt and Basket Decorating Activity at the Shepherd Park DPR location for a small group of children ages 2 to 5 years old. Participants will participate in an egg hunt on different sides of the School building then join inside the center to decorate in baskets and partake in prepackaged refreshments. You’ll never know what you will get if you find that special egg! Due to Phase 2 restrictions, the activity requires registration … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good afternoon families, This morning we had another FANTASTIC all-school meeting. Students shared all that they had learned during Women’s History Month. I certainly learned some new information today and was impressed with the creativity with which teachers explored content with students. Outstanding work, students and staff! It is going to be a gorgeous spring weekend. Spring is here, and spring break is almost here. After Spring Break, we enter Term 4 and will be welcoming more children to our school building. Information about cohort sizes should be communicated through Central office soon. We will be contacting you in more detail next week about our plans and your intentions. Please stay tuned. Wednesday is the last day for our toiletry drive. Please deposit any donations at the bin in between the two doors at our main entrance. One of our parents directed me to this resource, which connects you to a volunteer who will assist you in securing a vaccine if you are eligible. Thank you, Phyllis
PTO Bulletin
Monthly PTO meeting – TOMORROW – Wed, March 24th at 6:30 pm Join us on TEAMS for this month’s PTO meeting featuring updates from Dr. Hedlund on Term 4, Spring family engagement events planned for April and May, and more mental health resources to be shared by our own school psychologist, Dr. Brown. NEW Shepherd ONLINE GEAR SALE EXTENDED until Mon, March 29! All of you who’ve been asking about buying gear – especially stuff for adults…here you go! New adult and youth options with some of your favorite brands like Nike and Adidas! Youth options include t-shirts, hoodies, and masks, also find stadium chairs, blankets, winter hats and tumblers…all shipped directly to your home. Place orders by MON, March 29. Orders shipped after March 29. Get your new swag here! Shepherd’s Spring Fling Family Engagement Events Let’s get together and raise a little money for our school as we plan for Term 4 and next school year! SAVE THESE DATES! Sat, April 24th at 5pm – virtual family baking class hosted by Tiny Chefs, add-ins include ingredient kits and Shepherd aprons and chef hats to be purchased. Appropriate for all ages. Thurs, May 6th at 8 pm – Adults-only “Shaken AND Stirred” cocktail making class hosted by the … Read More
PTO Bulletin
Get Your NEW Shepherd GEAR – PLACE ORDERS BY MARCH 22 All of you who’ve been asking about buying gear – especially stuff for adults…here you go! New adult and youth options with some of your favorite brands like Nike Adidas! Youth options include t-shirts, hoodies, and masks, also find stadium chairs, blankets, winter hats and tumblers…all shipped directly to your home after the end of the sale. Place orders by MON, March 22. Get your new swag here! DPR Shepherd Rec Center Survey – please respond by Thurs, March 25 Thanks to those that offered in-person and written testimony for the DPR hearing last week and offered feedback on the Community Center. DPR moved forward with a survey without community input and it is framed unfairly. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ShepherdParkSurvey Please consider the following when you complete the questionnaire: The objective of our negotiation as a parent body with DPR is to obtain fair and open access to specified areas of the DPR center both during and immediately after school, which will give Shepherd flexibility for student enrichment programs after hours, e.g., having the space dedicated such that our basketball teams may train and play games in the wonderful new gym, etc. Wherever possible … Read More