Good afternoon Shepherd families and friends,
BIG CONGRATS to this year’s Black History Bowl winners – Mason Smith, Sanjay Singh, and Sadie Bertania.
AND get your Gala and Auction tickets now and share any gift, party, service or product donations for the auction! Our goal is to raise $50,000 for our school!
In this week’s PTO Bulletin…
- Parent Teacher Conferences (no school for students) – Thurs, March 10th
- Professional Development Day (no school for students) – Fri, March 11th
- PTO Restaurant Night with Potomac Pizza – Mon, March 14th (Pi Day!)
- Gear Sale in front of the school – Wed, March 16th (8 am)
- Shepherd Gala and Auction – Sat, April 30th – buy your tickets NOW and help us with auction donations!
- Calendar of Events
Spring Gear Sale – Wed, March 16th
Our sale planned for yesterday got a bit thwarted by rain and wind, so we’ll be out again next Wed morning at 8 am in front of the school selling new items!
Complete the DCPS Panorama Survey
Please complete the DCPS Family Survey by April 1st. Dr. Hedlund and the Shepherd team greatly value the input and analyze the data carefully to respond to our community. It only takes 10 minutes! You can find the survey here.
GET INVOLVED AND SUPPORT OUR AUCTION!
We’re aiming to raise $50,000 this year and are looking for parties, experiences, and donated items for this year’s auction.
- Do you know how to make something special and can host a small group to learn?
- Can parents from your class to host a party together? Show off your hometown’s food, your favorite libation or get wild with a theme. Tickets to these parties will be auctioned off during the silent auction.
- Do you have a place or tickets to donate? Think concert, theater or game tickets, a vacation place, etc.
- Can you offer a service as a donation? Tax prep? Home design? Gardening? Home organization?
- Are you an artist, jeweler, potter, musician? Or a parent who has a cool hobby to share with parents or kids?
WE NEED YOU! Share any donated item or service info with us here.
BUY TICKETS AND GET READY TO BID!
Our Gala and Auction tickets are online for purchase! Click here to purchase.
Even if you can’t attend, consider buying an Angel ticket for a Shepherd teacher or staff member.
We’re also looking for parent and corporate sponsors – click here for more info!
THANK YOU to the EARLY BRONZE-level sponsors: Mueller, Varda, Yang, Bierdon, Bingham and Skapik families.
Parent Teacher Conferences – Thurs, March 10th
Teachers will be hosting our mid-year parent/teacher conferences on Thursday, March 10th. **Note: Friday, March 11th is a Professional Development Day. There is no school for students on Thursday, 3/10 OR Friday, 3/11.
Shepherd PTO Restaurant Night with Potomac Pizza – Mon, March 14th
Celebrate PI Day on March 14th with us at Potomac Pizza in Friendship Heights. Dine in or order via www.potomacpizza.com.
10th Annual Tolietry Drive
2nd-grade teacher, Mrs. McIntyre, is again leading the 10th annual Shepherd Toiletry Drive by collecting toiletry items to help women and children in need during Women’s History Month.
When: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 thru Friday, April 1, 2022
Where: Toiletry drive bin @ school main entrance
Please donate the following items:
Body soap, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, band-aids, deodorant, dental floss, feminine hygiene products, hair combs & brushes, cotton balls, baby powder, baby oil, and travel size mouthwash. Additional toiletry items not mentioned are also needed.
All items are donated to DASH-safe housing alliance.
Join the 5th Grade Promotion Committee
Please join us to discuss promotion 2022 (date, time, details still TBD). We’re trying to make this process more inclusive this year and assist in the planning and execution to honor our oldest Mustangs!
We will meet the first Thursday of the month – join the committee for the monthly calls on TEAMS here. The next meeting with be early April.
Black History Bowl Winners
BIG CONGRATS to Mason Smith, Sanjay Singh and Sadie Bertania – this year’s big winners!
Shepherd PTO Camping Trip – Sat, May 21-Sun, May 22, 2022
The PTO is hosting our second annual Shepherd Camping Trip at Cunningham Falls State Park in Thurmont, MD on May 21-22. The purpose of the trip is to allow Shepherd parents and children to get out of the city, enjoy nature, and get to know one another better.
The trip will begin on Saturday, May 21 at noon when we meet at the campsite. After folks set up their tents, we will organize a hike to a 78 foot cascading waterfall a few miles away. That evening we will cook our dinners, then convene for a campfire after dark. On Sunday morning after breakfast, we will organize one more activity (games or another hike) before heading home.
All children must be accompanied by an adult responsible for them.
Here is what you need to do to go on the trip:
- Reserve a campsite. Sites are $28.00 per night ($22.50 plus a processing fee and taxes). Each one accommodates up to six people and two cars, so families can share a site if they choose. The sites come with a picnic table, a fire pit and space for you to pitch a tent. No pets are allowed, but toys like bikes, scooters, and footballs are encouraged.
The PTO has reserved seven campsites in the Elderberry Loop camping area so that we can all camp together. We are releasing these to parents on a first come, first served basis – just contact trip coordinator G. Derek Musgrove ([email protected]) to arrange things. Once those sites are filled, we encourage parents to reserve a campsite through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website here. Again, to ensure that we are all in the same area, please reserve a site on the Elderberry Loop. If all of the sites there are filled, get a site on the adjoining Deer Loop. The sites will start to fill up fast in the weeks ahead, so please book your site with Derek or through the website now!
- Let us know you are coming so that we can coordinate. After you’ve reserved a site, please let us know you are coming by adding your name and site # to this Google spreadsheet so that we can coordinate. Please also note in the Google spreadsheet if you have camping equipment to share, and or space in your car for a ride share.
- Gather your gear. Campers must bring their own food and gear. If you need to rent gear, REI has great deals here. You can also reach out to other Shepherd families for loaners via the above mentioned Google spreadsheet.
NEW Masking update from the Chancellor
NEW! Students, staff and visitors will no longer be required to wear a mask when outdoors at our schools, effective immediately. Masks will continue to be required for all students, staff, and visitors while indoors.
TAP a TEACHER – NOMINATE HERE!
CONGRATS to Ms. Mack!!!
PTO wants your help in recognizing our amazing TEACHERS!
Once a month, a special teacher will receive a wishlist fund bonus, and letters will be shared with the selected teacher and school community at our monthly PTO meeting.
To recognize a teacher, submit a nomination here
NEW Ward 4 COVID CENTER OPENS – KN95 mask distribution now
The Ward 4 COVID Center opened up at 4704 13th Street NW.
DC residents can now pick up two free KN95 masks per day at any of the new COVID Centers. Seven COVID Centers are open across DC, and in addition to free KN95 masks they also offer free vaccinations, boosters, rapid tests, and PCR tests.
Find COVID Center locations and hours HERE.
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-Rijmen 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
Dorsett-Holliday Family
Musgrove Family
Singh Family
Mitchell Family
Francis Family
Carlyle Family
Joiner Family
Martin Family
Mokodean Family
Britton Family
Smith Family
Head Family
Gulczynski-Gupta Family
Goodman Family
Marrkand Family
Youssef Family
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
Parent Teacher Conferences/NO SCHOOL – Thurs, March 10th
Professional Development Day/NO SCHOOL – Fri, March 11th
PTO Potomac Pizza Restaurant Night – Mon, March 14th
March PTO meeting – Wed, March 16th at 6:30 pm
Ward 3 Ed Net call – Mon, April 4th at 7 pm
Spring Break – April 11th-15th
Records/Professional Development Day/NO SCHOOL – Mon, April 18th
Annual Shepherd Auction and Gala – Sat, April 30th
PTO Health and Wellness Fair – Thurs, May 12th
PTO Mama Lucia Restaurant Night – Thurs, May 12th
Shepherd Camping Trip – May 21-22