Good morning Shepherd families and friends,
A HUGE THANK YOU to our GOLD-LEVEL Gala and Auction sponsor – Blue Path Labs!
And BIG CHEERS to the BRONZE-level family sponsors: Mueller, Varda, Yang, Bierdon, Bingham, Skapik, Bradley, Boykin, Francis/Liberto, Zettle, Ma, Lewis/Taylor, Snyder/Johnson, Robinson, Gallagher and C. White families.
We’d still love more family sponsors – click here for more info!
Also, Principal Selection and PTO meetings this evening! See info below on how to join both meetings.
In this week’s PTO Bulletin…
- DCPS Principal Selection meeting – TODAY at 5:30 pm
- April PTO meeting – TODAY at 6:30 pm
- BIG DEAL Day and Flower Market at Deal Middle School – Sat, April 23rd at 10 am
- All School Morning Meeting hosted by PK4 – Fri, April 29th
- Shepherd Gala and Auction – Sat, April 30th – buy your tickets NOW and register to bid if you can’t attend!
- Teacher Appreciation Week – May 2nd-6th
- PTO Restaurant Night at Mama Lucia – Thurs, May 12th
- Shepherd PTO Camping Trip – May 21-22
- Calendar of Events
BUY TICKETS AND GET READY TO BID!
Are you getting excited to bid in the auction?
We’ve got something for everyone with more than 130+ auction items – tickets to concerts, theatre productions, summer camps, restaurants, museums, games, yoga classes, paddle boarding and more…plus donations for home design services, legal services, a distillery tour and tasting, a weekend at Bethany Beach, a party to “knit and nosh”, a backyard BBQ and bourbon party hosted by several amazing Shepherd families, and a true Louisiana crawfish boil!
Get your Gala and Auction tickets now! Click here to purchase.
And remember you can always just register to bid online even if you can’t attend the event
April PTO meeting tonight at 6:30 pm
Join us here on TEAMS tonight (Wed, April 20th) for this month’s meeting. Dr. Hedlund will join us, and we’ll talk about the upcoming Gala/Auction, Teacher Appreciation Week, PTO Elections, and more.
Seeking Volunteers for Teacher Appreciation Week!
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 2nd-6th and we really want to show our teachers and staff some LOVE! A HUGE SHOUT OUT to Ingrid Andersson for taking the volunteer lead! If you have some activity or gift ideas and/or can help us, please email pto@shepherd-elementary.org
Principal Selection Community Meeting at Shepherd ES
Shepherd ES is seeking family, community, and staff input as we begin the process of selecting a new principal for the 2022-2023 school year. Join us to learn about the selection process and to share your ideas about the qualities needed to be a leader at Shepherd.
Join us Wednesday, April 20th @ 5:30pm
The meeting will take place online via Microsoft Teams at bit.ly/ShepherdInfoSession. You can also participate via phone at +1 202-539-1291, Conference ID: 509189776#
Can’t attend the meeting? Share your ideas by email at joel.popkin@k12.dc.gov or by phone at 202-615-9153.
At Shepherd, we are committed to the advancement of students’ academic, emotional, social and physical well being. We, as a community, will provide students with a safe, supportive, creative, and flexible environment in which children think and learn globally and act compassionately.
BIG DEAL DAY and flower market at Deal Middle School – This Saturday!
Deal Middle School’s first ever Flower Market is this Saturday, April 23! We will feature flats of flowers, vegetables, and herbs in a new Flower Market at the school. The market opens at 10 am.
We will also have mulch (VA Pine & Fines and Rappahannock Mini Nuggets only). Pre-order your flowers and plants thru Wednesday April 20 and pick up at Deal MS (3815 Fort Dr NW) on Saturday. OR purchase on site at Deal on Saturday.
While you’re there, enjoy Deal’s Big Deal Day, with 20+ student-led businesses selling goods and services and live student-performed music. We hope to see you there!
Pre-order here: https://dealmulchsale.square.site.
TAP a TEACHER – NOMINATE HERE!
CONGRATS to Ms. Holt, Ms. Murali and Madame Gadie – this month’s Teacher Appreciation Program honorees!
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.
Spring Musical – Lights! Camera! Action!
SAVE THE DATE for the return of the Shepherd Musicals! June 2nd at 6 pm in the Multipurpose room and streaming on TEAMS. Watch this space…more details soon
Seeking PTO Nominating Committee Members
We’re looking for 3 parents (not related to anyone on the current PTO Board) to run our Nominating Committee and Elections in May.
And if you’re interested in running for a position, check out the details of the positions here.
If you can volunteer to help, please email pto@shepherd-elementary.org.
Looking for Parents for the Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Board
DCPS is looking for parents and caregivers from across the District to join Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee’s Parent Advisory Board for School Year 2022 – 2023.
Parents and caregivers who serve will learn more about DCPS priorities and provide input on the implementation of policies, programs, and new initiatives.
Get more info here. Applications are due by April 29, 2022 at 11:59 pm
Health and Wellness Fair CANCELLED for this year
Due to staffing shortages with vendors, we’ve decided to cancel the fair for this year. We’ll look to bring it back next year! Thanks to Dana Ju for her hard work in spearheading this event.
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
PTO and LSAT meetings – Wed, April 20th
BIG DEAL DAY at Deal Middle School – Sat, April 23rd at 10 am
All School Morning Meeting – Fri, April 29th
Annual Shepherd Auction and Gala – Sat, April 30th
PTO Mama Lucia Restaurant Night – Thurs, May 12th
4th grade “Coffee and Convo” with Dr. Hedlund – Tues, May 17th
May PTO meeting – Wed, May 18th
Shepherd Camping Trip – May 21-22
All School Morning Meeting – Fri, May 27th