Good evening Shepherd families and friends,
Looks like weather will be cooperating tomorrow, so we’ll be out in front Wednesday morning selling gear by 8 am!
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…
- Gear Sale in front of the school – Wed, March 16th at 8 am
- PTO meeting – Wed, March 16th at 6:30 pm
- Rescheduled “Coffee and Convo” with Dr. Hedlund and 2nd Grade Families – Tues, March 22nd at 8:45 am
- Deal Middle School Open House – Saturday, March 26th at 10 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
Come get your new Spring gear in front of the school at 8 am tomorrow! Cash and cards accepted!
Complete the DCPS Panorama Survey
We’ve had more than 129 responses, but the goal is 69% of family participating!
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, Skapik and Bradley families.
Just a friendly reminder…
to respect everyone’s choices as we begin another phase of the pandemic.
Masks are optional. Respect is mandatory.
Starting March 16, wearing a mask at school is an individual decision. Please be kind and respect everyone’s mask choice.
PTO Meeting Wed, March 16th – 6:30 pm
Just a reminder that we’ll be gathering on Wednesday night on our TEAMS link for our March meeting. We’ll be covering an update from Dr. Hedlund, the upcoming Auction and Gala, Health & Wellness Fair, awarding this month’s TEACHER APPRECIATION AWARD and more!
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.
After School Clubs are BACK OPEN!
Some clubs have restarted and some are new! But we have a few with spots open, so join now!
Performance Club for grades 3-5 (Mondays at 3:30pm)
Gardening Club for grades 2nd-5th (Thursdays at 3:30 pm)
Chorus (Tuesdays at 3:30)
Pokemon Club for grades 3rd-5th (Fridays at 3:30 pm)
Lego Club for grades 3rd-5th (Wednesdays at 3:30 pm)
Complete the Strengthening School Behavioral Health Survey
From now until March 31st, schools are being asked to administer a brief (less than 10 minute) online survey of students, families, and school staff about their perceptions of school behavioral health services. For your reference, additional information about the survey can be found here. Dr. Brown and the rest of the mental health support staff thanks for your feedback!
Alice Deal Middle School Open House and Auction
SAVE THE DATE! Alice Deal Middle School will be hosting open houses for prospective families from 10-12 noon on Saturday, March 26th and Saturday, April 2nd with student led tours and a Q&A with Principal Neal. Check out the school’s site for more info.
And check out Deal’s online auction and Family Trivia Night happening this Saturday, March 19th from 7:00-8:15 pm! Check out here for more details.
Shepherd Elementary 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 (derek.musgrove@gmail.com) 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.
RESCHEDULED Coffee and Convo with 2nd Grade Families
Dr. Hedlund is looking forward to meeting with the 2nd grade families next week! The rescheduled date will be next Tuesday, March 22nd at 8:45 am.
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
Hayes 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
March PTO meeting – Wed, March 16th at 6:30 pm
All School Morning Meeting – Fri, March 25th
Ward 3 Ed Net call – Mon, April 4th at 7 pm
Deal Feeder School Chat for Shepherd 5th grade families – Tues, April 5th at 6:30 pm
Spring Break – April 11th-15th
Records/Professional Development Day/NO SCHOOL – Mon, April 18th
3rd Grade Coffee and Convo – Tues, April 19th
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