Good afternoon Shepherd families and friends,

As we’re getting back to normal, we’re excited to announce a few upcoming events highlighted below – the School Halloween Parade and Shepherd Fun Race. We look forward to seeing everyone back in person again soon!

Reminder that we have our Oct PTO meeting tonight at 6:30 pm. Join us via TEAMS here.

In this week’s PTO Bulletin…

• DCPS Town Hall – TONIGHT (Wed, Oct 20th) at 5 pm
• October PTO meeting – TONIGHT (Wed, Oct 20th) at 6:30 pm
• SAVE THE DATE – Halloween Parade and All School Morning Meeting on Oct 29th
• Shepherd’s first-ever Fun Race – Sat, Nov 13th
• THANKS to our PTO Committee Chairs and volunteers
• Supporting the Annual Shepherd 180 Fund
• Calendar of Events
• AND MUCH MORE!

DCPS Town Hall – October 20th

Join DCPS leadership for a Town Hall on “Creating Safe Environments in DCPS” on Wednesday, Oct 20th at 5 pm. Register here.

PTO Meeting TONIGHT at 6:30 pm

Join us via TEAMS tonight to hear from Dr. Hedlund as she shares beginning of the year (BOY) data, details about upcoming events and committee updates.

School Halloween Parade – Fri, October 29th

It’s BAAACCCKKK this year! YAHOOOO!

Save the date to come watch the cutest and best Halloween parade in the city!

Parade time is 2:30 on Fri, Oct 29th. Students and teachers will parade around the perimeter of the school. Parents will be able to sign their children out at the end of the parade.

Save the date – All School Morning Meeting

This month, the 4th graders will be hosting the All School Morning meeting on Friday, October 29th at 9:15 am. Join and watch their presentation focused on Indigenous People Heritage. A link will be sent prior to the event.

Shepherd Fun Race to Fundraise – Sat, Nov 13th

In lieu of our annual Fall Fest Fundraiser this year, we’re planning a COMPETITIVE TEAM Fun Race!

We’re excited for this year’s Fall FUNdraiser and our first community building event…and looking forward to gathering in small family groups or teams as we hit the streets around the school to look for clues to complete the mission and reward the winning teams with GREAT prizes!

11 am start time on Sat, Nov 13th – entry is $50 per team. Link coming soon to register. Watch this space for more details soon!

Interested in Volunteering?

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

Crystal Satterfield – Facilities Improvement

We’re now only looking for one more parent to lead the Curriculum and Staff Support Committee.

Check out all the PTO Committees and find one that might interest you to join!

Complete the form above or reach out to [email protected].

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 [email protected]. Our first TAP recipient will be honored at the October PTO meeting. TAP a teacher today!

What does IB mean?

Interested in knowing more about Shepherd’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program and how it’s implemented in the elementary grade levels?

Check out our site here to learn more.

Shepherd is one of only 3 IB-accredited elementary schools in DCPS and the only IB elementary school that feeds into Deal Middle School, also an IB school. Definitely something to be proud of at Shepherd! Ms. Mack is our AMAZING IB coordinator, so reach out to her if you have more questions.

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

Marks-Fagen Family

Holdridge-Ma Family

Varda Glover Family

Yang Family

Steele Family

Escalante Family

Gallagher Family

Rodell Family

Prabhu-McDonald Family

DeAngelo Family

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.

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

Tues, Nov 16th at 5:30 pm – Check in our Social Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health

Click here to register for these free sessions.

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)

Upcoming School Calendar of Events

DCPS Town Hall – Wednesday, October 20th at 5 pm

PTO Meeting – Wednesday, October 20th at 6:30 pm

All School Morning Meeting – Friday, October 29th at 9:15 am

Halloween Parade – Friday, October 29th at 2:30 pm

No School Day – Tuesday, November 2nd

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

Picture Day – Tuesday, November 9th

Veteran’s Day/no school – Thursday, November 11th

Shepherd Fun Race – Saturday, November 13th at 11 am

Staff breakfast/Coffee and Chat with Dr. Hedlund with Kinder families – Tuesday, November 16th at 8:45 am

PTO Meeting – Wednesday, November 17th at 6:30 pm

All School Morning Meeting hosted by 3rd grade – Friday, November 19th at 9:15 am