It’s BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT! We look forward to seeing everyone virtually!

In this week’s PTO Bulletin…

– All School Morning Meeting – this FRIDAY at 9:15 am!

– Upcoming DCPS Parent University sessions

– TAP a teacher program

– First PTO meeting – next Wed, Sept 29th at 6:30 pm

– Seeking Afterschool Club Leaders, Room Parents and PTO Committee Chairs

– Supporting the annual Shepherd 180 Fund

– AND MUCH MORE!

THIS FRIDAY – ALL SCHOOL MORNING MEETING

Be sure to join virtually this Friday, Sept 24 at 9:15 am to see the fifth graders host our first ALL SCHOOL MORNING MEETING of the school year to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Join here to watch!

Upcoming DCPS Parent University Sessions

Join families across the District and DCPS Central Office teams to learn how we can collaborate to enrich your child’s education.

Families are encouraged to ask questions and offer solutions. Together, we will walk away with activities to try or useful information to accelerate our children’s educational development. All sessions are virtual.

Sept 26 at 5:30 pm – Making the Most of Your Parent Teacher Conferences

Oct 6 at 5:30 pm – Social Emotional Development and Learning During Challenging Times

Click here to register for these free sessions.

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!

THANKS to our 180 Fund DONORS

MANY, MANY THANKS to the following families:

Richards family

Frias family

Raglani family

Jabaily-Messing family

FIRST PTO MEETING – WED, Sept 29th

MARK YOUR CALENDARS – our first PTO meeting of the new school year will be next Wed, Sept 29, at 6:30 pm. Join us here on MS TEAMS to participate.

Monthly Teacher and Staff Breakfasts and “Coffe and Convo” with Dr. Hedlund

Many thanks to the PK4 families for organizing a breakfast spread from Panera for our wonderful Shepherd staff yesterday…and an extra special thanks to PK4 for coordinating the first staff breakfast of the school year! 

Each month, families from a designated grade level come together to organize and deliver breakfast to school so that our staff can have a great start to their day. PK4 families also had the opportunity to meet as a small group with Principal Hedlund in the morning to learn about grade-appropriate development milestones and to chat about how the school year is going so far this year. 

Next up in October will be a Staff Breakfast, as well as Coffee and Conversation with Dr. H, by/for PK3 families. More details to follow soon from the Room Parent Network as October 19th draws nearer.

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)

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!

TAP a TEACHER!

Every day at Shepherd Elementary School teachers go about the job of teaching and molding our children into smart, confident, socially-conscious human beings. Every now and then, we parents get to witness this magic taking place. The PTO has created a vehicle for parents to share these wonderful experiences with the rest of us. 

The Teacher Appreciation Program, or TAP, is an opportunity for a parent, or a small group of parents, to write a letter of appreciation recognizing a teacher who has been especially helpful…or if they have a special way with the class that you admire, tell your story to the rest of the school! TAP gives parents an opportunity to recognize a teacher at Shepherd for their great work and dedication. 

Once a month, a special teacher will receive a wishlist fund bonus, and letters will be shared with the selected teacher and school community. To recognize a teacher, please send your letter by e-mail to [email protected]. Our first TAP recipient will be honored at the October PTO meeting. TAP a teacher today!  

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.

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.

THANKS SHEPHERD AMBASSADORS

Many thanks to our Shepherd Ambassador Families who volunteered and donated their time, along with Ms. Holt and Ms. Hagan, to connect with our newest Shepherd families (all 55 of them!) this year. Thank you to the Robinson-Head, Stearns-Smith, Rijmen, Jones , Smith, and Beridon Families for your time and dedication… and for sharing a little bit of what makes Shepherd special with our new families!

Upcoming School Calendar of Events

Back to School Night – Wednesday, September 22nd

ALL SCHOOL MEETING – Friday, September 24th at 9:15 am

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

PK3 Teacher Breakfast and “Coffee and Conversation” with Dr. Hedlund – Tuesday, October 19th

No School Day – Tuesday, November 2nd

End of Term/No School Day – Friday, November 5th