Hi Shepherd families, Looking forward to seeing everyone this week! Here is a helpful guide for parents and caregivers to support virtual learning. The guide contains information about Canvas, student schedules, requesting a device, family wellness and more. Below is also a DCPS Tech FAQ for a quick review. SY20-21 DCPS Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions.pdf Expanded Meal Sites For Students While learning at home is taking place, student meal service will be free at 47 DCPS schools around the District. Meals consist of an entrée, fruit serving and/or vegetable serving, and a milk. DCPS students may visit any DCPS meal site of their choosing to receive a free meal. DCPS meal service is open every Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Review the list of all locations at coronavirus.dc.gov/food. Technical Support For Families We know that technical questions or troubleshooting needs may arise when learning at home. DCPS and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) are partnering to provide a family-facing technical support center. The Family Call Center will launch on Monday, August 31. We can be your first point of contact re: tech issues on the school level. Instructional Coach Ms. Moorefield (K-1st grade – crystal.moorefield@k12.dc.gov) Assistant Principal … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Dear Families, This has been a very busy week for Shepherd staff as they have been working to set up their virtual classrooms and learning how to do so almost simultaneously. We also spent some time with Ms. Mack, our International Baccalaureate Coordinator, on a virtual IB program. Yesterday we spent the morning launching two book studies for the year. Staff will be reading the Responsive Classroom text, The Power of Our Words, which offers practical tips, real-life anecdotes and concrete examples on how to use your words to build a positive classroom community and increase student engagement. We also will be reading Glenn Singleton’s Courageous Conversations About Race: A field guide for achieving equity in schools, which explains the need for candid, courageous conversations about race so that educators may understand why achievement inequality persists and learn how they can develop a curriculum that promotes true educational equity and excellence. We are excited about learning together to build a kinder, more equitable school community, and I will provide highlights along the way. Please see below for important information for Monday. Everything your student(s) need to participate will be on Canvas; please see the log in instructions. If you are experiencing log in … Read More
Virtual Open Houses Cancelled for August 27th
Due to updates in Aspen in prep for school starting on Monday, DCPS students can log in to Canvas, but they will not be able to link to a classroom by the time we’d scheduled open houses this afternoon. We are cancelling our open houses this afternoon for that reason. Our apologies for the late notice, and we will see everyone on Monday morning!
PTO Bulletin
Hello Shepherd Parents and Families, We are less than a week from the first day of school now and I know many of us are getting nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time. Class assignments should be rolling out from Dr. Hedlund by mid-day tomorrow (Wed, Aug 26) and teachers will be doing class huddles virtually on Thursday and Friday this week. Just a reminder to come with grace and patience these first few weeks – this is all new to everyone (teachers, staff, students and parents) and it will take a bit of time to get everyone online, in a routine, and back working together. We’ll get it figured out. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to all our teachers and staff who have been working HARD this week! We HIGHLY recommend listening to some of the previous and upcoming Parent University sessions – links to previous sessions below to help understand Canvas (the new learning platform), the new class schedules, how to support your Pre-K student, etc. DCPS PARENT UNIVERSITY SESSIONS Here are a few links to previous Parent University sessions: What can I expect from DCPS for learning at home? Supporting my early childhood DCPS student Accessing CANVAS … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good afternoon families, It was wonderful to see so many of you on Zoom this week. Your thoughts and questions are invaluable to our planning. Please continue to provide input, and we will have listening sessions again the second or third week of school. I have a lot of information to share this week! You will find out your homeroom teachers by close of business on Wednesday, August 26th. I will get that information out as soon as possible. Living Through History DCPS students in every grade and across every subject will kick off the school year with the Living through History cornerstone. Cornerstones are high-quality, powerful lessons that are embedded in the DCPS curriculum. Students will act as global citizens by documenting, sharing, advocating, and reflecting on their personal experiences during the pandemic and a time of increased awareness and response to racial injustice. During the cornerstone, elementary students will create class time capsules. There will be more details on Living through History in the coming weeks. Health Forms Please email your health forms to Ms. Brooks at robyn.brooks2@k12.dc.gov. Thank you! Meal Assistance District of Columbia Public Schools offers healthy meals every school day. Your children may qualify for free meals or for reduced price meals. To check your availability or apply, click here. Mr. … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good afternoon Shepherd families, It has been a real treat to see so many of you pick up student belongings. Everyone is bursting with ideas on how to make things better, especially our students. I have been collecting some terrific ideas that we will start sorting through next week. I also want to give you the opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions. To that end, Ms. Rottman and I will be hosting two Zoom sessions next week on Wednesday, August 19th at 3:00 pm and Thursday, August 20th at 3:00 pm. Please join us if you can. On Wednesday, August 19: Topic: Opening of school listening session Time: Aug 19, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 869 8836 4655 Passcode: d4tyXG On Thursday, August 20: Topic: Opening of school listening session Time: Aug 20, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 857 3783 4123 Passcode: VY3hXx Attached please find a presentation Ms. Rottman made to share the Shepherd Elementary Quarter 1 Virtual Learning Schedule. It reviews your feedback from spring listening sessions, DCPS requirements and schedules by grade. We will be reviewing this presentation during the listening sessions. Please reach out with … Read More
PTO Bulletin
Hi Shepherd friends and family, It’s now mid-August and that means school will be starting (virtually!) soon…on MON, AUG 31! You’ll start to see more updates coming from the PTA and Dr. Hedlund soon…here are a few quick ones to share. Enjoy those last few days of summer! Liz Bradley Shepherd PTA President SHEPHERD COMMUNITY CENTER An update from DGS on the Community Center is attached below. Check out the pics of the new basketball court and the great space we’ll have access to when the project is completed. Dr. Hedlund has been onsite to do walk throughs recently and is pleased with the progress and the updated indoor space it will give our students. The project is still expected to be completed by Fall of this year. Shepherd Construction Update_August 2020.pdf ELECTIONS We want to thank you for your patience. Things are very different this year. Returning families may recall that we delayed our election, scheduled for May 2020. Last year’s Board members have remained in their roles and we have been working on transitioning, but that transition remains in flux. We anticipate setting an election date soon. There will also be tremendous changes and challenges ahead, so we … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Dear Shepherd families, I hope this email finds you well, and it was wonderful to speak with a number of you this week as you picked up your student’s belongings. If you would like to pick up your student’s belongings, please sign up here. Thanks to Ms. Rottman, we have a draft schedule for virtual learning. Once Superintendent Jackson approves our schedule, I will share it with families. Please know that we carefully reviewed our notes from listening sessions and incorporated your feedback. Key concepts behind the schedule include: All students have the same break and lunch times Students receive instruction from 9-3 Wednesdays will look different with specials and time for family/student check-ins The student experience will be more consistent from grade to grade and day to day and week to week Also, find the grading policy for school year 2020-2021 attached. This document was just released yesterday. SY 20-21 PreK_12_Grading Guidance.pdf I also wanted to share the policy regarding learning/pandemic pods because I have received a number of questions about scheduling students. The focus for DCPS educators is on ensuring outstanding instruction every day for every student and ensuring equity of access through materials and technology. DCPS recognizes the challenges of … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Hi Shepherd families, I hope this finds you well. We are attending School Leadership Institute this week to prepare for the opening of school and are learning a lot more detailed information on the systems and structures that will be in place. Please look for more communication from me at the end of this week, and thank you for your patience. The majority of students took belongings home with them in March, but that is not the case for all of you. We will be having curbside pick up for students’ belongings from Friday, August 7 until Friday, August 14. There is a time slot for pick up in the morning and one for the afternoon. Please sign up here so we can have your student’s belongings ready for you. Thank you, Phyllis
Message from Principal Hedlund
Good afternoon Shepherd families, Today, in consideration of guidance from DC Health, Mayor Bowser announced that we will start School Year 2020-2021 virtually with all students learning at home. This will apply for all grades — Pre-K through 12 — and last at least through Term 1 from August 31 to November 6. Summer Bridge for students in grade 3 will also be virtual. You can watch this short video DCPS prepared for our students and families for additional information. You can access sample student schedules here. Now that we are no longer working with hypothetical scenarios, we can dig in and start planning for school year 2020-21, and I hope and believe it will end with us all back in the building together. I certainly would enjoy my “first” Field Day, gala and live promotion ceremony. Late spring field trips would be another bonus. We will get there! Next week, we will be attending School Leadership Institute and will learn a lot more about the resources DCPS staff has been creating for the last several months. The previews I have seen are exciting, and Shepherd staff has become seasoned virtual educators and communicators, which will make the opening of school less stressful than the … Read More