TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK!
Reminder that this week we’re celebrating our amazing teachers and staff who’ve overcome many hurdles and challenges to support our students this year. Show them some love and support! The PTO will be providing snacks and treats to the teachers at school and those still virtual, but we encourage you to make a card, send a note, sing a song, make a sign or share your appreciation any way you can!
Shepherd PTO Spring Fling “Shaken & Stirred” Cocktail Making Class – Thurs, May 13 at 8 pm
We will be mixing up two different cocktails — a Strawberry Smash and a Bees Knees — both of which are a perfect way to ease us into the warm weather. Each ticket purchase will gain the adults in your household access to the cocktail class which will be hosted virtually. In addition, we will offer cocktail kits that will give you everything you need to mix up two of each of these delicious cocktails. Please place orders for kits by 8 am on May 10th.
Should you choose to raid your home bar and provide your own ingredients, you will receive a “shopping list” prior to the event to make sure you have time to gather everything you need. Get your tickets here.
Save the Date! Ms. Johnson’s Retirement Celebration “Drive By” – Fri, June 18th
As many of you know, our dear Ms. Johnson from PK3 is retiring at the end of this school year. We are currently planning a celebratory “drive by” for her that will take place from 4PM to 5PM on Friday, June 18th, at the school. Watch for more details to come in the next few weeks and, of course, if you’d like to contribute to the planning and/or set-up of the event, please let us know at info@shepherd-elementary.org.
Call for PTO Board and LSAT Representatives for Next School Year
It’s that time again…we are officially kicking off elections for SY2021-22! Many thanks to our volunteers on the Nominating Committee: Ana Ma, Autumn Jackson, and Kristin Harrison!
As was done for the last round of elections, this year’s elections will be held virtually via ElectionBuddy.com. If you’d like to put forward a nomination for one of the open positions/roles, please send these directly to the Election Committee by emailing elections@shepherd-elementary.org. The window for nominations will close at midnight on Friday, May 21st.
The PTO board member positions (1-year term) are as follows: Two (2) Co-President positions, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. For more details on the specific responsibilities for each role, please see pages 3-4 of the PTO bylaws here.
Voting will take place between May 24th and June 1st. All those individuals with current email addresses listed in the PTO AtoZ Connect database on or before May 21st will be eligible to vote. If you are receiving these emails, you are registered already, but please help get the word out to other parents who may not be registered.
Info from the Foxhall and MacArthur Working Group Planning Meeting
Thanks to those who joined Monday’s call with DCPS to learn more about the proposals for the new Foxhall and MacArthur school sites. Below is the presentation shared by the DCPS leadership and a link to the recording of the meeting for more info.
Foxhall MacArthur Public Engagement Deck_Shepherd.pdf
Ward 3 EdNet meeting – Mon, May 10 at 7pm
The May meeting will include Council Chair Phil Mendelson. This is an opportunity to have a conversation with him about reopening schools, school budgets, overcrowding in Wilson feeder schools, school oversight and governance, and other education topics.
We will be taking questions from the chat during the meeting, but would welcome any questions that you would like to share with us ahead of time. Please send them to w3ednet@gmail.com.
The registration link for the Zoom meeting is:
https://interactivestrategies.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlcuyvrz4qH9YNG1JcH1fNkOOnV2asiBdY
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
COVID-19 VACCINATION UPDATE
The Mayor recently announced that UDC, at 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, will be a walk-up vaccination site (no appointment needed). It will open starting Saturday, May 1st, and the exact schedule will be listed at https://vaccinefinder.org
Ward 4 Book Drive with Frazier O’Leary
Last year, we were able to distribute over 20,000 books to schools in Ward 4 because of the generosity of our community. Please contact Frazier at oman9@aol.com or 202-236-2184 if you have any to donate and so that we can arrange a pickup or dropoff. We are focused on elementary schools, but don’t turn any books away.
Upcoming Important Dates:
May 3-7 – Teacher Appreciation Week
May 10 – Ward 3 EdNet meeting – 7 pm
May 13 – “Spring Fling” ADULT cocktail-making class – 8 pm
May 19 – Shepherd PTO meeting – 6:30 pm
May 31 – Memorial Day Holiday
June TBD – 5th Grade Graduation
June 18th – Ms. Johnson’s Retirement Drive-by
June 24 – last day of school