PTO Bulletin

Shepherd PTOPTO Bulletins

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DCPS REOPEN Town Hall – Wed, March 3 at 5 pm

Join DCPS Leadership as they share updates on In-Person and Virtual Learning in Term 3.

Register here to join.

Family Panorama Survey – SHARE YOUR VOICE!

We currently have 170+ responses to the family survey — thank you! Please help us obtain a complete data set by completing the survey as soon as possible. Share your comments here.

DCPS Performance Oversight Hearing – Tues, March 9 at 9 am

Sign up to represent Shepherd at next week’s DCPS Oversight Hearing. See more details here. We’ll be sharing messaging later this week.

Supporting Mr. Garner

Mr. Garner is continuing to improve and hopefully heading home from rehab soon. If you’d like to help him or his family, Dr. Leonard is collecting funds through CASH APP, his name on the app is $dreducator. Money will be spent on food, groceries, home items that are needed, etc.

Ward 3 EdNet Meeting – Mon March 8 at 7 pm

Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn will be on hand to talk about reopening, school budgets, and overcrowding.  Mr. Kihn will begin with some remarks and then we will have a Q&A session.

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The Ward 3 – Wilson High School Feeder Pattern Education Network (W3EdNet) is a group made up of PTO Board and LSAT members as well as other interested community members.  We aim to work together to support schools in the Wilson feeder pattern, host community events of common interest, and advocate for better schools across the city.

When: Monday, Mar 8, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://interactivestrategies.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0tc-mspj4oHdJjQujXH-JETTBO90AOk9H7

Future W3EdNet Dates:

Monday, April 5 — TBD

Monday, May 10 — Council Chair Phil Mendelson

DPR Survey for Shepherd Community Center Planning and Programming – DEADLINE MARCH 25

Thanks to those that offered in-person and written testimony for the DPR hearing last week and offered feedback on the Community Center.

DPR moved forward with a survey without community input and it is framed unfairly. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ShepherdParkSurvey

Please consider the following when you complete the questionnaire:

The objective of our negotiation as a parent body with DPR is to obtain fair and open access to specified areas of the DPR center both during and immediately after school, which will give Shepherd flexibility for student enrichment programs after hours, e.g., having the space dedicated such that our basketball teams may train and play games in the wonderful new gym, etc.

Wherever possible in the survey, please consider indicating times that you would be interested in using the facility (e.g., weekends, weekday evenings after 6PM, etc.) which would not conflict and, indeed, would support the position of our advocacy team that the DPR center (and field), with the exception of the fitness room, should primarily be available to Shepherd students on weekdays (including after school) during the entire school year.

Further, we call attention to the portion of the survey regarding DPR provisioning of after school childcare services and ask you to consider the implications of expression of interest in establishment of a DPR program. In the event DPR decides to formally run an aftercare program from the facility (typically done via subcontract to poorly vetted third-party vendors), this would not only limit (or potentially) eliminate any possibility that the gym space could be exclusively used by our basketball team (i.e., no hosting of games) and would potentially jeopardize operation of the SESSA moving forward.

GIVEN DPR’S HISTORICALLY LOW SURVEY RESPONSE RATE, YOUR ANSWERS CAN SHAPE THE OUTCOME OF THIS QUESTIONNAIRE.

Grant awarded to Madame Gadie

Congrats to our amazing French teacher, Madame Gadie, as she’s recently been awarded a grant by the Government of Quebec to support Shepherd students. For this project “Le Coin Francophone,” the government of Quebec will supply our library with French books. The objective is to promote the French language and its cultures among students. CONGRATS!

Women’s Shelter Toiletry Drive with Mrs. McIntyre

We’re helping Shepherd’s own Mrs. McIntyre with the 9th annual Women’s Shelter Toiletry Drive to help women and children in need during Women’s History Month in March.

When: Monday, March 1, 2021 thru Thursday, April 1, 2020

Where: Toiletry drive bin @ main entrance of the school

Please donate the following items:

Body soap, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, band-aids, deodorant, dental floss, feminine hygiene products, hair combs and 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.

Shepherd Field Replacement – starts March 11

The DC Department of General Services (DGS), on behalf of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), has hired a Contractor that will be replacing the field surfacing and work is scheduled to start on Thursday, March 11th.  They anticipate that the work will take approximately 30 days to complete, weather permitting.  Please note that no Saturday work is currently scheduled to occur, however, if for some reason Saturday work is needed, they will provide as much notice as possible.

Upcoming dates:

March 3 – DCPS Town Hall – 5pm TONIGHT

March 5 – Parent Teacher Conf – NO SCHOOL DAY

March 8 – Ward 3 EdNet meeting – 7pm

March 9 – DCPS Oversight Hearing by City Council – 9am

March 11 – Ward 4 Education Alliance meeting – 7 pm

March 14 – Daylight Savings Time Starts

March 24 – Shepherd PTO meeting – 6:30 pm