It was a short week, but a productive one for faculty and staff at Shepherd. On Monday, we participated in a Responsive Classroom training on logical consequences and spent time completing some important tasks, including grading. The majority of us spent Tuesday in professional development with the rest of the schools in our cluster and attended a Turnaround for Children training as a faculty. Early Childhood and Specials teachers attended training specific to their content area.
Having just read report card comments, I know that our students are working hard and achieving a lot. On Friday, I observed a 4th grade language arts classroom where students had a choice to either create a movie title or song to summarize a short story they had just read or select an animal to represent a group of characters in that story and explain their choice. Their work revealed a deep understanding of the text, their creativity, and their ability to collaborate. Last week, I also spent time with a special education teacher inside and outside of the classroom and observed the countless strategies she used to engage her student, including making her a character in the story they were reading. Earlier last week, I was in Pre-K 3 and observed students writing the letter g in the air, stating words that start with g and connecting g with other letters that have a circle in them (lower case g). Their ability to engage in challenging cognitive work was astounding. We are so fortunate to have talented, dedicated students and staff at Shepherd working hard to learn and grow. Thank you for your continued support. I am grateful to be a part of this community.
Phyllis
Report Cards
– Report cards for grades K-5 are sent home on Thursday, November 14. Pre-Kindergarten 3 and 4 follow a different timeline with GOLD reporting, and I have not received a final date on their send home date.
Winter Weather Arrival and Recess
– Reminder about arrival and recess with inclement weather: If the temperature and/or wind chill is 32 degrees or below, students will have indoor arrival in the multipurpose room (for 4th and 5th grade) and recess. Here is a link to DCPS Inclement Weather Guidance: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/inclement-weather-guidance
PTA Wreath Sale Starts This Week
This 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 sale proceeds will go to the Shepherd ES PTA. You can order a wreath at the school starting tomorrow between 8:00-8:45 am in the atrium. Also, you can place in-person orders on Thursday, Nov 14, Friday, Nov 15 and Friday, Nov 22 at the aforementioned time. If you can’t stop by during those times, you can also order by contacting Alicia Williamson at [email protected]. The wreaths are priced at $30 and will be available for pickup the first week of December after returning from Thanksgiving break. Payment will be accepted in cash, and via CashApp and Venmo. We’re thrilled to offer this service to the Shepherd ES community and hope to see you at school!
Chopped Viewing Party
Our own Shepherd parent, Kori Heyward, will be on the Food Network’s Chopped on Tuesday, November 19th. She will be having a premier party for her episode at Barcode 1101 17th Street NW (entrance on L Street), which will start at 7:45 and the episode airs at 9pm. She hopes to see you there! And if not, please tune in!
OTHER UPCOMING DATES
Tuesday, November 12th – Ward 3 Education Network meeting at 7 pm at the Chevy Chase Library
Friday, Nov 15th – All School Meeting at 8:45 am
Tuesday, Nov. 19th – Chopped Viewing Party!
Wednesday, November 20th – LSAT meeting (4:30 pm) and PTA meeting (6:30 pm)
Wed, Nov 27th – Fri, Nov 29th – NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving break)