We have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks: Parent Teacher Conferences this coming Friday, Fall Fest on Oct 19 and Halloween.

We have encouraged our staff to schedule conferences as needed to ensure they can meet with all families before, on, or after that date. Our building will be open with regular hours 7:00 am-7:30 pm on Friday, October 11 for conferences. We look forward to sharing your child’s progress with you! Fall Fes is in two weeks, and I know the PTA has a lot of great activities for families to enjoy. Make sure to volunteer and I will see you there.

Back by popular demand is the Halloween Parade. At 2:30 pm on Oct 31, our students will parade around the block in costume and can be dismissed afterwards if their parents are present.

This past week, Ms. Pereira, Ms. Mack and I launched Shepherd Student Government (SSG) with our fifth graders. There will be elections for officer roles next week: President, Vice President, Secretary and Historian. We then will seek a homeroom representative in homerooms K-4. Representatives will rotate at the end of the second and third quarters to offer room for more voices and opportunities to develop more student leaders. In addition, fifth graders will practice leadership skills when some of them conduct tours for our prospective families at our open house later this month and during the year.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support of the Shepherd community. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

With gratitude,

Phyllis

Upcoming Events
Hispanic History Bowl
October 10
4:00 pm multi-purpose room

Parent Teacher Conferences
October 11, 2019
LSAT and PTA Meetings
October 16 – 4:30 pm (LSAT) and 6:30 pm (PTA)

All School Meeting
October 18 – 8:45 am

General Announcements
Tuesday Take Home Folders: Recently teachers received a class set of yellow Take Home Folders. We will use these folders to send home flyers and important information from the office, PTA, etc. each Tuesday. Hopefully this will be a way to help our teachers send home less information each day and our families will only have to sift through a folder with information other than homework once a week.

Before and After School Clubs for Students:
Several of our staff members are offering special programming for our students. There are a few new options, so check out below.

Kindness Club
Is your child interested in changing our school and community by being a part of The Kindness Club at Shepherd? We will be recognizing acts of kindness at Shepherd, participating in The Great Kindness Challenge, giving back to those in need, and more! Kindness Club is for students in grades K-5 and begins the week of September 30. Kindness Club will meet in Mrs. Zepeda’s room (A101).

Kindergarten – 2nd Grade: Tuesdays from 3:30 – 4:30

3rd Grade – 5th Grade: Thursdays from 3:30 – 4:30

Please contact Mrs. Zepeda via email at sarah.zepeda@k12.dc.gov

JOIN THE CULTURE CLUB!
Do you enjoy learning about different cultures from around the world? Activities will include:
Playing geography and culture games
Art and craft activities
Tasting different foods from countries studied
Participating in special presentations
We will meet each Friday at 3:30-4:00 PM in Madame Gadie’s Room. Club sponsored by Madame Gadie and Ms. Johnson and open to ALL (Spanish and French) students 2nd to 5th grade. Only 15 spots available.

Mustang Chorus
3rd-5th Graders
Weekly on Tuesday mornings 8:00-8:30
Starting: October 1st, 2019
Open to all 3rd – 5th grade students interested
Located in the music room

Shepherd Elementary School has an exciting opportunity for our 3rd through 5th grade students this 2019-2020 school year. We will be starting a “Mustang Chorus” for any student that is interested and would like to be part of it. We will sing a variety of different genres throughout the year including: Broadway, Pop, Movies, Gospel plus many more. Music is very crucial part of the school year. Having the chance to do an extracurricular within the music room is a great chance. The students will get more than one opportunity to be student leaders. I believe that there is music in all students. It’s my job to find the music within them and help nurture it so they can make a stronger development with that music. If you are interested, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15r846HXTEGLd3Tw-JoD6UYywmEELbhzGkXE3cAlKbjE/edit Or contact Miss Pereira directly at anna-marie.pereira@k12.dc.gov

Yearbook Club
We are looking for 6-8 self-motived and responsible students who are creative thinkers, risk-takers, and enthusiastic about Shepherd Elementary School. Using computers and digital cameras, Year Book Club members will have the opportunity to learn how to use our year book making software, take & upload digital pictures, and apply basic design/layout techniques to create a book of memories for all to enjoy.

The Year Book Club will only meet on the following dates from 3:20 – 4:20 pm:
October 16, 2019
November 20, 2019
December 18, 2019
January 15, 2020
February 19, 2020
March 18, 2020
April 15, 2020
May 20, 2020

If you are interested, please contact Mrs. Holt by Friday, October 4, 2019.

Shepherd Girls United – S.G.U. for 4th and 5th Grade Girls
Our Mission: Self-Esteem, Sisterhood and Service. Sisterhood developed through mentorship where 5th grade girls will serve as mentors to 4th grade girls.

Start Date: November 12, 2019
End Date: May 29, 2019
Wednesdays from 3:30p.m. – 4:30p.m.
Application Distributed: October 11, 2019
Application Deadline for S.G.U is due: October 18, 2019

If you have any questions, please contact: Dr. Wilson, Ms. Scott, Ms. Browne, Ms. Romero, or Ms. Harvey

Bullying Prevention Month
October is Bullying Prevention Month. All month, students will learn what bullying means and how we can prevent it. They will also learn the different roles in bullying: the bully, the victim, the bystander, and the ally. Most importantly, students will learn strategies for being assertive to students who bully and how to report bullying to adults.

OTHER UPCOMING DATES
– Ward 3 Ed Network meeting – Oct 7 at Hearst Elem at 7 pm
– Book Fair – Oct 15-19
– LSAT and PTA meetings – Oct 16
– All School Meeting – Oct 18 at 8:45 am
– Fall Fest – Sat, Oct 19 from 12-4 pm @ Shepherd
– Fundraiser Photo Session – Oct 27
– Blue 44 “Supper for Shepherd” Restaurant Night – Oct 29