All School Morning Meeting – Fri, Nov 15thOur November All School Morning Meeting will take place on Friday, November 15th at 8:45 am. The third-graders will host the meeting this month! If you haven’t attended one of the morning meetings yet, we strongly recommend it. They are always lively, informative, fun and entertaining!Winter Weather is Coming Soon…Dr. Hedlund and Mrs. Rottman are looking to build up indoor recess options for those days it’s too cold or wet to go outside. If you have any new or gently used games or puzzles, please drop them off in the office.Kindness 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 22. 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 Wreaths ON SALE NOWThis year, the Shepherd ES PTA will be selling wreaths for the holiday season. Wehave partnered with Meadow Farm Nurseries to offer 20’ fresh Oregon fir … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
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 … Read More
PTO Bulletin
All School Morning Meeting – Nov 15thOur November All School Morning Meeting will take place on Friday, November 15th at 8:45 am. The third-graders will host the meeting this month! If you haven’t attended one of the morning meetings yet, we strongly recommend it! They are always lively, informative, fun and entertaining!Winter Weather is Coming Soon…Dr. Hedlund and Mrs. Rottman are looking to build up indoor recess options for those days it’s too cold or wet to go outside. If you have any new or gently used games or puzzles, please drop them off in the office.PTA Holiday Wreath Sale and Bake SaleComing soon…the PTA will be selling winter holiday wreaths after Thanksgiving. More details will be shared soon – but make plans to buy your wreath from us to support Shepherd Elementary! Thanks to Alicia Williamson, Heather Holdridge and Kristin Baldwin for helping us with this effort.Shepherd Gives Back!We’ll also be hosting a bake sale in early December 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.We’re looking for cub/boy scout troops and daisy or brownie troops to help usmanage … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
Yesterday was the best Halloween I have had in years! Thank you to all of you who cheered us on along the parade route. There was a lot of joy at Shepherd yesterday! Thank you all for your patience with Monday’s evacuation. Construction is supposed to begin on 11/4, and I have not received any additional information. I have strongly requested daily air quality reports and daily meetings with the project foreman. Please keep me informed of your concerns moving forward, and I will communicate everything I learn to you. Here at Shepherd we continue to emphasize social and emotional learning. On Monday, we will participate in a 90-minute Responsive Classroom training, and on Tuesday, we will attend a Turnaround for Children training on social and emotional learning. We will also be trained on differentiation, meeting students where they are and enriching or extending their learning. I deeply value these opportunities to learn with our experienced, exceptional staff. With a new month, we have a new IB Learner Profile, which is Thinker. As thinkers, we use creative thinking skills to better understand and take responsible action on difficult problems. We take initiative and make good choices. Thanks so much for … Read More
“Supper for Shepherd” @ Blue 44
Hi Mustang families, teachers and staff – It’s a busy week with Halloween and the school parade on Thursday…but just a quick REMINDER that we’re having our second“Supper for Shepherd” Restaurant Night tomorrow night (Tues, Oct 29 from 5-10 pm) at Blue 44 – 5507 Connecticut Ave NW. Reservations are strongly encouraged. You MUST bring in this flyer to help us earn 20% of every bill for Shepherd Elementary PTA. Shepherd October 2019.pdf THANKS for all your support for Shepherd this month! THE SHEPHERD PTA CREW
Message from Principal Hedlund
Last week’s Fall Fest was a tremendous success. Families and staff enjoyed the food, fun and perfect weather, and the Shepherd PTA raised more money than they ever have at this event. A huge thank you to all who attended and volunteered. A special shout goes to Ayana McIntosh who coordinated this year’s Fall Fest and brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm to this event. We are all grateful for your efforts on behalf of Shepherd. Please remember to check the Lost and Found, which can be found at the 14th Street Entrance to our building. With the fluctuating temperatures, it is overflowing with jackets and sweatshirts. We are hoping to donate items left after November 1, so please stop the Lost and Found this week, or ask your student to take a look. Thursday is Halloween and our Halloween Parade! Please feel free to cheer us on at 2:30 pm as we walk around the block, and come in costume if you can. You may sign your student out at the end of the parade. Remember no masks, no weapons and nothing too scary for the sake of our littlest Mustangs. Next Tuesday, October 29th, we will conduct our first … Read More
PTO Bulletin
Fall Fest Was Spectacular!WOW!!!!!!!You all really delivered for Shepherd this year at Fall Fest! And we want to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!Let’s break it down by the numbers:• $23,000 was made this year (blowing well past our 2018 gross amount of $18,000)• 70 family sponsorships were sold (also breaking our previous year’s number of 54)• 5 key corporate/organization event sponsors – The Parks at Walter Reed, MCN Build, Children’s National, Shepherd Park Citizen Association, and CM Brandon Todd (a BIG thank you to them!)• 100+ volunteers (parents, staff, teachers and neighbors) helped us make Fall Fest a massive success!!!• 65 beautiful, dry and sunny degrees!!• Priceless fun had when we met new friends, dunked Mr. Garner, Dr. Hedlund and others, decorated pumpkins and cupcakes, climbed the rock wall, bounced in the moon bounce, got a Shepherd tattoo, won a Beyblade battle, and played carnival games!A HUGE THANK YOU to Ayana McIntosh, Ronni Pearcy, Siri Warkentien, Simon Messing, Rajan Sedalia, Jasmine Riley, Yolanda Grate, Sanjay Singh, Karen Sloan, Taryn Losch-Beridon, Sharon Bovelle, Michael Robbins, Esther Ntim, Lauren Benning, Andrea Smith, and all the ROOM PARENTS!A SPECIAL thanks to Shepherd parent, Sharon Bovelle, for these wonderful pics that … Read More
PTO Bulletin
Reminder: PTA Meeting – This Wednesday, October 16th, 6:30 pm, Multipurpose Room AGENDA: Welcome Dr. Hedlund remarks and questions IB Parent Academy with Ms. Mack Approval of Sept PTO meeting minutes PTO Budget update – field trips for PK3 and PK4, STEM materials for K-5 classes, IB training for new teachers, teacher wishlists, more Shepherd gear, etc. Fall Fest update 180 Fund focus for November Upcoming fundraisers – Blue 44, Holiday family photo shoot NEED: Committee to help with holiday greenery sale Fall Fest Is Around the Corner! It’s almost here…and the weather looks GREAT for this year’s Fall Fest! So, get your tickets early so you don’t have to stand in the long line on Saturday! Those who buy tickets ahead of time will pick up tickets/packages at the event in the advance sales line. And…we still need volunteers for shifts at the different stations! Give us at least 30 mins of your time for your class station. During Fall Fest 2018, we raised more than $18,000 which helped fund a field trip for every grade, community events like Movie Night, Camp Fair and Jazz Night, and additional supplies and materials for our classroom teachers. Our goal is $20,000 this year! We encourage you … Read More
Message from Principal Hedlund
This coming week is Bullying Prevention Spirit Week at Shepherd, and you will see the fun daily activities we have planned. During Morning Meeting, Ms. Browne and Dr. Brown have been visiting each homeroom to discuss bullying with students and teach them what it is and what to do if they are being bullied or they see someone being bullied. In addition, Ms. Rottman is holding class meetings with specific homerooms that have struggled with playing fairly during recess and reinforcing that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated and assume the best intent of one another whenever possible. Students need to learn how to cooperate, how to be a friend, how to share and how to accept setbacks with grace. During the second quarter, we will be working on explicitly teaching these types of skills to students as an aspect of our work with Turnaround for Children. More to come as we get started. Last week, 5thgrade held its elections, and we have officers for the Shepherd Student Government (SGG).President/ Ise KambuiVice President/ Noemi MilamSecretary/ Ivori JenningsHistorian/ Henry Goldblatt This coming week homerooms will hold elections for homeroom representatives. There will be one homeroom … Read More
PTO Bulletin
All Your Fall Fest Information!On Saturday, October 19th, Shepherd Elementary School will host its fall fundraiser – Fall Fest! The event will be held at the school from 12-4 pm. There will be food, music, and games.Fall Fest is fun for everyone, and we need our school community’s participation to make this event great! Come take a station shift for 30 mins, buy tickets, buy new gear that will be on sale, bring your friends and family, come dunk Mr. Garner in the dunking booth, and meet new families! If you’d like to volunteer for this event, click here to sign up.During Fall Fest 2018 we raised more than $18,000! To be successful again this year, we need your help!Your dollars go toward classroom materials and supplies for teachers, IB training for new teachers, IB materials for our students, a field trip for every grade level, the music book and materials for this year’s Spring Musical, resources for social emotional learning initiatives and more.We encourage you to purchase a Family Sponsor Package and your donation of $100 will include the following:• 1 wrist band that includes UNLIMITED ACCESS to games, moon bounce, and rock wall!• 25 tickets• 4 beverage coupons• … Read More