Originally delivered on 9/21/2022 10:57 am

SUBJECT: Shepherd PTO Bulletin - 09/21/22

Shepherd PTO Bulletin - September 21, 2022

Happy September!


In this week's PTO Bulletin...


- Shepherd Survey on Diversity & Inclusion Celebrations

- Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)

- Upcoming Events

  • 1st PTO Meeting - TONIGHT 
  • Pre-K 4 Conversation with Principal Russell
  • 1st All School Morning Meeting
  • Family Photo Fundraiser 

- Ways to Give Back

  • Room Parent needed for Ms. Brown's 4th Grade Classroom
  • Committee Volunteers & Event Coordinators
  • Box Tops for Education
  • Amazon Smile

- Shepherd 180 Fund

- Other Important Dates

    - Book Fair: October 3rd - 7th

    - Fall Fest: October 23rd  

Shepherd Elementary Survey on Diversity & Inclusion Celebrations

Shepherd Elementary wants to hear from you! Shepherd wants to make sure it is providing inclusive programming.  Are there any heritage months/days that you would like incorporated into the school year at Shepherd?  Are you interested in supporting diversity and inclusions months/days at Shepherd through all-school meeting and other opportunities?  Please see the attached survey and leave your thoughts!

Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)

The Teacher Appreciation Program, or TAP, gives parents an opportunity to recognize a teacher at Shepherd for their great work and dedication. TAP invites parents to write a letter of appreciation recognizing a teacher who has been especially helpful or admirable in the classroom. 

Once a month, a special teacher will be selected from the nominations to receive a Wishlist fund bonus.  The recognition letters will also be shared with the selected teacher and school community.

TAP a teacher today by submitting a nomination here.

UPCOMING EVENTS
First PTO Meeting TONIGHT

Tonight is our first PTO Meeting of the year! We will hold an in-person session at 5:30 pm in the Shepherd Cafeteria. This is our first in-person PTO meeting in over 2 years and we are looking forward to seeing families in person.  

We will also offer a virtual option as well. Please use this Google meeting link or call-in number below.   

‪(US) +1 252-772-1496‬ PIN: ‪800 102 963‬# 


The agenda will include:

  • PTO Introductions
  • PTO Overview and Purpose
  • Principal Russell Introduction
  • SESSA Update
  • PTO business and upcoming events
  • PTO Committee Chairs
  • Small Brainstorming Activity


We hope you can join us!

Conversations with Principal Russell

Pre-K 4 Families: Please mark your calendars for a "Conversations with Principal Russell" on Tuesday September 27th at 8:45 am.  It's a great opportunity to chat with Principal Russell and get to know other Pre-K 4 families. 

1st All School Morning Meeting

All-school morning meetings are an important part of Shepherd's IB Programming and a great opportunity to celebrate Shepherd's diversity! The September All School Morning Meeting will focus on Hispanic Heritage Month. The event will be on Friday, September 30th from 9:00-9:15am. All families are welcome to view virtually! If you would like to attend, please access the Microsoft Teams link here.

Family Photo Fundraiser

Sessions are filling up! Join Shepherd PTO to raise money for Shepherd and have beautiful family photos ready for your holiday cards and gifts! 

We are partnering once again with the AMAZING Katie Jett Walls for morning and afternoon mini-sessions on October 22nd, November 5th and November 6th.  

Morning sessions will be held at the Woodend Audubon Sanctuary, and afternoon sessions at the Meadows at Meadowbrook Stables.

Each 10-minute session will be $50 and all proceeds directly benefit Shepherd Elementary’s PTO.   

Please sign up for a session here.  After signing up, please visit the Shepherd PTO PayPal Account to pay for your session.  

Can't wait to see our gorgeous Shepherd families for the photo sessions!

(Photo courtesy of Katie Jett Walls)

WAYS TO GIVE BACK
1 Room Parent Still Needed!

Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered for a Room Parent role! Room Parents are critical liaisons between the teacher/school and families.  Responsibilities include sharing class specific information and school events with families; organizing parent help for class activities; helping with fundraisers; and encouraging PTO participation. We are still looking for 1 room parent for the following classroom:

  • 4th - Brown

While we have the other classrooms covered, we are still accepting any and all room parent volunteers.  We can have more than 1 room parent per classroom.  If you are interested in serving as a room parent, please complete this volunteer form.   

PTO Volunteers Needed

The school year is quickly approaching and the Shepherd PTO is looking for volunteers to support its annual engagement, advocacy, and fundraising activities!  

Like many public schools, Shepherd relies on its parent community to help bring out the best in our classrooms and community. We recognize that your time is precious and there are a variety of ways to help from your office, on weekends, or during the school day.  For the 2022-2023 school year, we especially need 

  • PTO Committee Chairs/Volunteers
  • Event Coordinators
  • Recurring Activities Leads.

If you have time and/or special skills that you would be willing to donate, please complete this volunteer form.   

Any questions can be directed to communications@shepherd-elementary.org. 

Box Tops for Education

The Box Tops for Education app is a quick and easy way to give back to Shepherd.  Simply follow these steps:

  • Download the "Box Tops for Education" App
  • Create an Account
  • Search for "Shepherd Elementary" under "Find a School."  Then select the Shepherd school associated with 7800 14th Street NW.
  • Scan paper receipts into the app within 14 days of purchase. The app will automatically recognize Box Top Products
  • Sit back and watch Shepherd's earnings grow!
Amazon Smiles

You can contribute to the Shepherd PTO just by shopping at Amazon through the Amazon Smile program. Register your existing Amazon account by going to smile.amazon.com. Choose Shepherd Elementary as your charity. Then simply bookmark and shop through the dedicated Amazon Smile URL. Amazon will donate .5% of the price of eligible purchases to Shepherd. Most of the things you already buy from Amazon are eligible!

Looking for More Ways to Give Back?

The Shepherd Website has a comprehensive list of ways to contribute through donations, volunteering, shopping, and sponsorships. Please visit the website for a complete list of vendors and more information on how you can help enrich the Shepherd experience.

Time to Support the 2022-2023 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!

Many, Many Thanks to

Archer Family

Arellano Family

Biswese Family

Boykin-Chase Family

Carroll Family

Clair Family

Coble Family

Daly Family

Davies Family

Frias Family

Goletiani Family

Goodman Family



our 180 Fund Donors!

Howard Family

Jabaily-Messing Family

Krill Family

Landau Family

Ma-Holdridge Family

Marchand Family

Raglani Family

Riley Family

Sanders Family

Snyder-Johnson Family

Tivol-Kaufmann Family

Tyson Family

Walejko Family

Upcoming Events

1st PTO Meeting 

Pre-K4 Coffee and Chat with Principal Russell

All School Morning Meeting

PTO Family Photo Fundraiser #1

Fall Fest (more details to come)

PTO Family Photo Fundraiser #2

PTO Family Photo Fundraiser #3

Dates

Wednesday, September 21st

Tuesday, September 27th


Friday, September 30th

Saturday, October 22nd

Sunday, October 23rd

Saturday, November 5th

Sunday, November 6th

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 (@ShepherdElemPTO) and Instagram (shepherd_elem_pto)

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