We hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day weekend and an AWESOME first week of school!
In this week’s PTO Bulletin…
– Special PTO Board Election results
-T-shirt sales and Uniform Swap this Friday morning!
– Seeking Afterschool Club Leaders, Room Parents and PTO Committee Chairs
– Supporting the annual Shepherd 180 Fund
– Star Achievers Enrichment Programs Registration
– AND MUCH MORE!
Results from Special Election for Open PTO Board Positions
We’re very excited to announce that we have a full PTO Executive Board for this school year!
Derek Musgrove was nominated and elected as Co-President and Alexis White as Assistant Treasurer.
THANKS to Derek and Alexis for stepping up to volunteer.
To see the rest of the board members for this year, check out our page on the new school website!
Our first full meeting will be virtual on Wed, Sept 29th at 6:30 pm.
Shepherd T-shirt Sales and Uniform Swap this FRIDAY Morning!
We’ll be out in front of the school selling Shepherd spirit gear and hosting the uniform swap this Friday morning – Sept 11!
We’ll have some new and older t-shirt designs for sale, and can take cash or cards. Save yourself from the white shirts and get your kids Shepherd shirts!
Come look through the uniform boxes too – we have a TON of great, FREE stuff for the taking!
Ward 3 EdNet meeting – Mon, Sept 20th
It’s the first Ward 3 EdNet Meeting of the school year. Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network (W3EdNet) is an informal group of parent leaders, some school administrators and interested community members working to promote the interests of DCPS students and families in the Wilson feeder pattern and across the city.
As Shepherd is one of the feeder elementary schools, we always like to be a part of the conversations. All are welcome to join the call.
First meeting agenda: Student enrollment, number of Covid cases – Covid quarantine protocol, staffing challenges, technology challenges, and general concerns related to your school community.
Time: Monday, Sep 20, 2021 07:00 PM ET
Join Zoom Meeting
https://interactivestrategies.zoom.us/j/89428574590
Follow Shepherd PTO on FB and Insta
Keep up with the latest updates, events and fun things going on at Shepherd by following our FB page (@ShepherdElemPTA) and Instagram (shepherd_elem_dc)
Support the Shepherd 180 Fund
Help the Shepherd PTO fund lots of great events, initiatives, and extra circular efforts at Shepherd this year by donating to the 180 Fund.
It’s called the 180 Fund because there are 180 instructional days in the school year and your donation of a dollar a day per student helps the PTO support sending students on offsite field trips, funding teacher educational wish lists, putting on school plays and concerts, updating outdoor playground equipment, funding additional academic supports, and hosting school-wide events! This budget really helps us give our students even more unique, meaningful and enriching opportunities each year.
Any contribution is always much appreciated. And as a reminder, your contribution is 100% tax deductible. Thanks for your support – we’re looking forward to getting back to BETTER THAN NORMAL!
Seeking Leaders for Afterschool Clubs
Are you a gardening enthusiast wanting to pass on your green thumb? Do you love teaching your children how to cook or bake? Have a special hobby that you love to share with others? Consider leading an afterschool club for students this school year! Interested Shepherd community members should contact Dr. Hedlund directly with your club ideas at [email protected]. Please note that anyone wishing to volunteer at Shepherd must complete the DCPS Clearance process before a club can be initiated.
Seeking Class Room Parents!
We’d love to have parents get involved at the classroom level and be our liaison to the PTO. Ideally, we have at least one per class and we’ll have a Room Parent Orientation later in September. If interested, please fill out this Shepherd Volunteer Corp form here!
Interested in Volunteering? Give us 5
We’re looking for all types of volunteers and parent leaders – maybe you have 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days or even more time to give…we’ve got something for everyone if you like to help with events, volunteer behind the scenes, or lead a committee!
Check out all the PTO Committees and find one that might interest you to join!
Thanks to these AWESOME parents who’ve stepped up to lead PTO Committees this year!
Kate Snyder – Communications and Advocacy
Siri Warkentien – Fundraising and Grants
Dana Ju – Health and Wellness
We’re still looking for parents to lead the Family Engagement, Curriculum and Staff Support, and Facilities Improvement Committees.
If interested, please complete the form above or reach out to [email protected].
Check out our NEW school website!
We’ve overhauled and updated our school website!!
A HUGE SHOUT OUT to PTO Co-President, Taryn Losch-Beridon, for leading the charge, to Ms. Mack for all the updated content and school info, and Intrepid (BIG THANKS to Jack Robbins’ Dad!!) for their pro bono support for the web design template and technical capabilities.
If you’ve missed one of the recent emails from Dr. Hedlund or the PTO, check the site as we’re archiving all emails and newsletters there too.
Star Achievers Enrichment Classes Open
Be sure to check out the AMAZING enrichment programs offered by Star Achievers this Fall. Click here to see dates and times for each program offering. If you have questions, contact Director Byron Greene at [email protected].
Ordering MORE Shepherd Spirit Wear
Watch this space very soon for a link to our new Shepherd gear online store. We’ll have new designs, more choices and shipping directly to your home.
As Dr. Hedlund shared, students can wear Shepherd gear everyday in place of white uniform shirts and the gear sales benefit all the work the PTO does for our school community!
THANKS for all the Muscle Power!
Many thanks to Theo Francis, Simon Messing, Derek Musgrove, Frank Rijmen and others who’ve helped put together new outdoor picnic tables and an outdoor shed for the new playground equipment!
DCPS Reopen Strong Info
Check out all the info from DCPS about protocols, plans and processes for this school year here at the DCPS Reopen Strong site. Also, the site includes links to Mayor Bowser’s update on Aug 18 and the Chancellor’s latest email.
Signing up for the PTO Directory and Email list
Don’t miss out on the latest news from Shepherd PTO and from Dr. Hedlund! Our AtoZ Connect database has been updated to the newest version powered by Membership Toolkit. In order to keep you on the PTO email roster, we need all parents to re-register in AtoZ as soon as possible to confirm contact info.
Please create your family’s new account here, ideally using the same email you used for your initial AtoZ registration. You will then receive a verification email that you must acknowledge within 2 hours in order to authorize your account.
Upcoming School Calendar of Events
First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month – Wednesday, September 15th
Ward 3 EdNet meeting – Monday, September 20th at 7 pm
Back to School Night – Wednesday, September 22nd
September PTO Meeting (Virtual) – Wednesday, September 29th from 6:30 – 7:30pm
Walk/Bike to School Day – Wednesday, October 6th
Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School Day) – Thursday, October 7th
Professional Development Day (No School Day ) – Friday, October 8th
Holiday – No School Day – Monday, October 11th
No School Day – Tuesday, November 2nd
End of Term/No School Day – Friday, November 5th