Good afternoon families,
Your children are enjoying being back in school. They are having a lot of fun and learning a lot. Most importantly, they are learning how to be back together again. Please continue to encourage them to maintain their distance from one another and wear their masks at all times; this is a great way to support our work in the building. We are working around some staff absences, which have been unavoidable; substitute teachers are few and far between, and staff members are demonstrating their grace and flexibility as we cover each other. Hug a teacher today (virtually).
Back to School Night
Back to School Night is Wednesday, September 22nd from 5:00-6:30 pm. It will be virtual. Your teacher will be in touch about scheduling since they will provide multiple sessions for our many families who have more than one student at Shepherd. The Leadership, Wellness , English Learners, Special Education and Specials teams will pre-record a message, which I will send to all of you so you can connect faces with names. In addition, I will be offering two building tours for families who were unable to attend our Open House on August 27th. Please sign up for a tour here.
Staffing Shifts
Ms. Taylor will be leaving us to pursue an internship related to her graduate study in social work. We have a new educational aide in the onboarding process now. We have interviewed several candidates for the 1st grade position; Ms. Saxton and Ms. Lawal are both involved in this process. Our temporary teacher for Art will hopefully start next week; he also is currently in the onboarding process. I will launch the process to hire a temporary librarian as soon as I possibly can. Dr. Wilson returns to her fourth graders next week.
School Communications
This year teachers will communicate every Friday. Please let us know if you are not receiving communication.
Upcoming Dates
Back to School Night 9/22 5:00-6:30 pm
PK4 Coffee & Conversation 9/21 8:45-9:15 am Multi-purpose room, enter from doors on Jonquil
With appreciation,
Phyllis