Category Archive

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

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

Dear Families, Earlier this week we learned that we passed our IB evaluation that was conducted in early December. The team reported that we had addressed the recommendations from the last evaluation and issued us commendations and recommendations on our program. I have attached the report for those who are interested. Our IB Coordinator, Avani Mack, did an outstanding job of documenting our work and coordinating interviews and documents required for the process. Thank you to her, our entire staff and all families who participated. It is wonderful to have good news! Term 4 Many of you are aware that the Mayor relaxed some restrictions in her Covid-19 situational update on March 15th. You can find the Mayor’s presentation here. Guidelines for schools were included, notably removing the cap on cohort sizes. I am awaiting further guidance on what that means for Shepherd Elementary and will communicate as soon as there is clarity. Regardless, the demand for in person learning seats is very high. 69% of the 259 families that completed the survey responded that they would send their children to school if they were offered a seat for in person learning. When we analyzed the data, demand was high across all … Read More

Dear Families, I hope everyone enjoyed checking in with teachers today and learning about their child’s progress. This past week, after meeting with the LSAT, I submitted our SY 2021-22 budget for approval. As a reminder, we are budgeted to open business as usual in the fall. Over the next several weeks, the LSAT will meet as the Recovery Community Corps. Shepherd will receive funding to run a summer program for students who are below grade level. The staff has already launched a tutoring program for those students. We currently are working with first grade and will start tutoring students in Kindergarten and second grade next week. By the end of March, all K-5 students below grade level in reading will receive tutoring from Shepherd staff. Students who are below grade level will receive an invitation to attend a summer program at Shepherd Elementary in early April. Staffing will be comprised of teachers, instructional aides and a summer school principal. DCPS supplied us with several models and time frames to evaluate for Shepherd. These efforts will continue through tutoring next school year. We will be publishing dates for the Recovery Community Corps if you would like to attend. Please stay … Read More

Good afternoon families, Wow! Wow! Wow! That was truly amazing. We did justice to this year’s theme for Black History Month. There was so much rich information shared this morning, and I am sure many of you were teary-eyed like me. Thank you to Derek Musgrove and Michael Wallace for their participation, and another special shout out to the committee who made it all come together seamlessly for the community: Ms. Johnson, Dr. Leonard, Ms. Mack, Ms. Moorefield, Ms. Murali, Ms. Pereira and Ms. Rottman. Parent Oni Jones created the theme of Black History in the District for this year’s celebration. The meeting was recorded, and we are analyzing media releases now to uphold family’s wishes and edit as needed. A link is forthcoming. I have several announcements this week: Parent Teacher Conferences Parent teacher conferences will take place virtually on Friday, March 5th. Your homeroom teacher may have already reached out or will do so soon. Please use the following links to sign up for a conference with a Specials teacher: Ms. Blake–Library Madame Gadie–French Senor Hernandez–Spanish Ms. Pereira–Music Coach Langrock–P.E. Family Panorama Survey We currently have 121 responses to the family survey — thank you! Please help me … Read More

Dear Families, It was strange to have three virtual days this week. Only our CARE students entered the building on Wednesday. I look forward to getting back on track next week and welcoming children back on Monday. I know today’s communication was complicated; thank you for your patience. Synching the virtual and in-person students is burdensome, but necessary for all classrooms using the simulcast model. Many staff members who have returned to the building received their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, and the rest of staff members who opted for immunization will receive their second dose tomorrow. There were sore arms, low grade fevers and some body aches and pains, but we are glad to be on the other side of it. I look forward to the day when all of us who would like to be immunized are. We will have another opportunity to offer input on reopening, and once I have more details, I will invite staff and family participation. Many of you want your voice heard, and I welcome all interested families to join this committee. Other big news is the budget was released on Thursday, February 18th. You can find it here. Shepherd’s budget was reduced … Read More

Hi Shepherd Families! Happy Valentine’s Day! Happy Presidents’ Day! I hope you enjoyed a restful long weekend.  Black History Month We are hosting two all-school meetings to celebrate Black History Month, and this year we are focused on Black History in the District. The all-school meetings will take place on 2/19 and 2/26 from 9:00-10:00 am. Look forward to an invitation to both events soon. We will be taping these events for those of you who cannot attend live. In addition, we are running a school-wide Passport to Black History in the District. Families can go visit the sites on the attached, document their visit and send their pics to us here: Scavenger Hunt Photos.  We will have a slideshow at all school meetings to celebrate participation.  Dr. Brown shared the following resources: In great honor and loving remembrance Remembering Hank Aaron, one of the greatest MLB players everMLB is devastated by the passing of Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, one of the greatest players and people in the history of our game. He was 86. Don’t forget to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/mlb Follow us elsewhere too: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLB Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlb/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlb TikTok: https …www.youtube.com Hollywood legend Cicely Tyson recounts life, career in new memoir96-year-old stage and screen icon Cicely Tyson opens up to … Read More

** UPDATE: All students will be virtual on Monday, Feb 1 due to inclement weather Dear Families, This week we will welcome more students back to Shepherd Elementary, and we are so excited to see them. There have been a lot of grade level meetings with families this past week and communication shared, but please see the chart below to see grade-by-grade shifts that are being made to accommodate in-person learning. Please note that we made two hires this week. Our new instructional aide who will work with Ms. Johnson in PK 3 is Ms. Scott who is an experienced early childhood educator who has experience in conducting in-person learning during the pandemic. In addition, we hired another experienced educator, Ms. Russell, as a long-term substitute for Mr. Mack who will be out until April 1st.  Also, the good news is Mr. Garner’s condition continues to improve. Please reach out with any questions, and we will be checking in throughout the transition to see how things are going. Your feedback will be invaluable. Black History Month Planning – Feb 3 at 4 pm We met last Wednesday, but would love to have more people involved. Our theme is A Celebration of Black … Read More

Dear Families, Term 3 starts on February 1, and next week, staff will close out Term 2 and prepare for all the changes headed our way. On Thursday, Jan 28th, your child will not have synchronous (live) instruction if his/her homeroom teacher is returning to the school building to teach in person Term 3: Ms. Conte, Mr. Spriggs, Mr. Morris, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Rajwani, Ms. Saxton, Ms. Murali, Dr. Wilson and Mr. Clayborn. Please check their Canvas pages for asynchronous learning options that day. They will be here at Shepherd preparing their classrooms. On Friday, January 29th, there will be no school for students, and teachers will participate in professional development and complete Term 2 grades. At this time, in person learning and CARE seats for Term 3 are full. We will not be offering any more seats until further notice. PK 3 CARE will not open on 2/1, but we hope to have it up and running by mid-February. Staffing Updates Mr. Garner is making slow but steady progress in his recovery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is in good spirits. Ms. Hipps will have her last day at Shepherd on Friday, January 29th. We … Read More

Good afternoon Shepherd families,  Honestly, it feels more like a month than a week since we returned to school. It has been an emotionally devastating week to watch the desecration of our democracy as citizens of the United States and the District of Columbia and the systemic racism that enabled it. As I listened to the discussion our Wellness team facilitated with the students, I was overwhelmed with our children’s capacity to make meaning out of chaos, their ability to express their emotions and their genuine uncertainty about what the future holds, yet they are hopeful, brave and wise beyond their years. This generation will a generation of old souls.  Staffing Update  You may have noticed that there were no art classes this week, and I waited to share this news until I had the permission of his family. Our deeply beloved Mr. Garner suffered a major stroke a little over a week ago. He was in critical condition and underwent surgery, but his health is improving daily. At this time, he is in good spirits and resting comfortably, and his blood pressure is under control. Mr. Garner’s family asks that we pray for him. Ms. Pereira is putting together a video … Read More