Category Archive

DCPS is Seeking Your Feedback on Interim Principal Hedlund As you likely recall, Principal Hedlund was appointed to serve as the interim principal for Shepherd for this school year. Before determining whether to appoint her as Principal at Shepherd on a permanent basis, DCPS wants to ensure the community has an opportunity to share feedback and reflections on your experience working with her during this school year. Please send any feedback regarding your experience working with Principal Hedlund by Friday, February 7th. Letters should be sent via email to lead.dc@k12.dc.gov, with the subject “Community Input on Principal Hedlund.” All principal appointments are decided at the discretion of the Chancellor; however, anything you submit will be included along with other information from this year for the Chancellor and other senior leaders when considering next steps for the 2020-21 school year. Looking for Volunteers – Shepherd Jazz Night and Shepherd Gala and Auction SAVE THE DATE…our 31st annual Shepherd Jazz Night will be Fri, Feb 28th in the Shepherd Multipurpose Room and we’re looking for parent and teacher volunteers to help organize the potluck dinner, help with set up and clean up, decorate the room, and help with promotion!  For those who haven’t been before, the event includes … Read More

All School Morning Meeting is this Friday (Jan 24th) at 8:45 am in the Multipurpose Room and will be hosted by First Grade. Come join us if you haven’t been to one of the All School Morning Meetings yet! Monthly Breakfast for Faculty and Staff – Hosted by the Fifth Grade Families this Month – Fri, Jan 24th The Parent Engagement Committee has started a monthly breakfast to show gratitude for all the Shepherd ES teachers and staff who support our children every day. Below you will find a sign-up link for the remainder of the year. This month FIFTH GRADE is hosting. There should be NO NUTS or NUT PRODUCTS brought into the school. Items should be dropped off on the assigned date noted in the sign-up form between 7:30 am and 8:00 am to the teachers’ resource room. If you have any questions, please reach out to Lyly Yonkwa Rijmen at lylyyonkwa@gmail.com. Sign up here: Shepherd Teacher/Staff Appreciation Breakfast. STAR ACHIEVERS’ “NO SCHOOL DAY” – OPEN on Mon, Jan 27th and Tues, Jan 28th Star Achievers has partnered with Trak Sports to engage kids in a variety of exciting sports games and fun activities for ALL AGES (PK3-5th grade), including basketball, kickball, soccer, arts and crafts, and much … Read More

Shepherd Elementary Summer Camp Expo – TODAY!Join 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 expo will be held from 5-7 pm in the Atrium. The January PTA meeting will begin at 6:30 pm, so Shepherd families should feel free to attend the expo and then stay for the meeting (free childcare and pizza for Shepherd students whose parents are attending the PTA meeting will be provided). The Summer Camp Expo is open to everyone (you don’t have to be enrolled at Shepherd ES attend), so bring your friends and neighbors! See the full list of camps that will be present: https://www.shepherd-elementary.org/summer-camp-expo/.TONIGHT’S PTA MEETING – Wed, Jan 15th at 6:30 pmPrincipal Neal from Deal Middle School will join us at our meeting to talk about Deal, the transition to middle school, and answer any questions parents would like to ask! As one of the feeder schools to Deal, we love having Principal Neal come to Shepherd every year to do a “meet and greet” to share all of what Deal has to offer and … Read More

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