Hi Shepherd families and friends – just a reminder that Parent-Teacher Conferences are Thurs, Oct 7th (no school day for kids), Fri, Oct 8th is a professional staff development day (no school for kids) and Mon, Oct 11th is a holiday for all! See everyone back on Tues, Oct 12th!
In this week’s PTO Bulletin…
- Walk to School Day Pics
- Introducing Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)
- Review DCPS calendar proposals for upcoming years
- Star Achievers Aftercare Open Board Positions
- Upcoming DCPS Parent University sessions
- Seeking PTO Committee Chairs – Facilities Improvement and Curriculum and Staff Support
- Supporting the Annual Shepherd 180 Fund
- Calendar of Events
- AND MUCH MORE!
Walk to School Day Success!
YAY! The rain held off today and we were able to once again host the annual Walk to School Day! Thanks to the many walking captains, volunteers, parents, staff and students who participated! If you’ve got pics, send them our way – info@shepherd-elementary.org
Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant Update
Thanks to the hard work of Siri Warkentien, we’ve now got the supplies and the $3K in grant money from the Whole Kids Foundation to kick start our new Garden Club and supplement what the 2nd graders will learn this year about the plant lifecycle. Watch this space for more soon!
Did you miss last week’s PTO meeting?
Click here to see the slides from the meeting and Ms. Brown’s presentation on Mental Health Wellness.
Next PTO meeting is Wed, Oct 20th at 6:30 pm.
Feedback on the School Calendar Options
The DCPS calendar proposals for the calendar years 2023-2026 are out for review. Share your feedback on proposed options by Oct 22. View the proposed calendar options and survey here.
New This Year – 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 pto@shepherd-elementary.org. Our first TAP recipient will be honored at the October PTO meeting. TAP a teacher today!
Shepherd Star Achievers Open Board Positions
Star Achievers, the before and after care provider for Shepherd Elementary, is actively seeking new board members to join the SESSA board of directors. The board, led by parents and Shepherd Park community members, meets once a month and works closely with Dr. Hedlund and Star Achievers staff to ensure our young scholars have enriching and engaging programming and activities during before and aftercare.
The time commitment is minimal, usually no more than 1-2 hours per month. We greatly encourage new community members and parents of young our scholars at Shepherd to join the board.
It’s a great way to be involved in sustaining and growing the before and aftercare program and ensuring the students have strong and engaging enrichment activities such as soccer, robotics, basketball, theater, violin and homework assistance.
Please reach out to: weerasinghat@gmail.com if interested.
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:
Snyder-Johnson Family
Arellano Family
Kunce Family
Bradley Family
Bennett Family
Beridon Family
Tivol Family
Lyles Family
Faulman-Coffey Family
Johnston-Gruetzmacher Family
Archer Family
Lipton-Marnon Family
Richards Family
Frias Family
Raglani Family
Jabaily-Messing family
Ju Family
Walton-Prather Family
Marchand Family
Zettle Kreisberg Family
Weerasingha-Cote Family
Yonkwa/Rijimen Family
Boykin-Chase Family
Romine Family
Roberts Family
Monthly Teacher and Staff Breakfasts and “Coffee and Chats” with Dr. Hedlund
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)
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
Robyn Showanes – PR/Community Engagement
Jodi Arellano – Room Parent Coordinator
Cendrine Robinson – Family Engagement
We’re still looking for parents to lead the Curriculum and Staff Support and Facilities Improvement Committees.
Complete the form above or reach out to info@shepherd-elementary.org.
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.
Tues, Oct 26th at 5:30 pm – DCPS Journey to become a Whole-Centered, Anti-Racist District
Click here to register for these free sessions.
Upcoming School Calendar of Events
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 Chat” with Dr. Hedlund – Tuesday, October 19th
No School Day – Tuesday, November 2nd
End of Term/No School Day – Friday, November 5th