Each month, the Bulletin will feature parent resources courtesy of Dr. Persephone Brown, our wonderful School Psychologist.  These resources provide tips to help with your physical, social and emotional well-being.  Take a few moments to read or listen to some of these pieces and know we're here for you and your students.    

Family Relationships & Upliftment

• Family Life:  Love to Know
• 100 Inspirational Quotes

Ted Talks for Women's Health 

• Mental Health and Women
• Mental Health is Declining and Black Women are Hit Hardest 

Ted Talks for Men's Health

• The Black Male Mental Health Struggle
• Mental Health Crisis in Men

Music for the Soul and Your Mental Health

• 2022 International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert
• Song and Lyrics by Relaxing Jazz Music

Children's Resources

• Kids of the COVID Generation: The Road Ahead
• 28 Must-Read Banned/Challenged Multicultural Children's Books
• Scary Podcasts for Kids

Family Holiday Fun

• Step Afrika

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.

Pre-K 3 Families: Please mark your calendars for a "Conversations with Principal Russell" on Tuesday October 18th at 8:45 am.  It's a great opportunity to chat with Principal Russell and get to know other Pre-K 3 families.

Our October PTO Meeting will be held Wednesday, October 19th.  We will hold an in-person session at 5:30 pm in the Shepherd Cafeteria.  

We will also offer a virtual option as well. A virtual meeting link and call-in number will be provided next Wednesday.  

The agenda will include:

• PTO Kudos
• October's TAP nomination
• Upcoming Events - Fall Fest!
• Principal Russell's Report
• PTO Treasurer's Report
• PTO Committee Highlights

Please mark your calendars!  Fall Fest, the PTO's annual fall FUNdraising effort, is returning to Shepherd and will take place on Sunday, October 23rd from 12 pm - 4 pm.  

For those families that haven't been to Fall Fest before, 14th St. between Jonquil and Kalmia will be closed for the festivities.  There will be bounce houses, a DJ, carnival games, arts & crafts, cotton candy, popcorn, snow cones, and more!  

We will send out a special announcement when you can start to purchase your tickets.  In the meantime, please check our Fall Fest Website for more information. 

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)

Please mark your calendars for the school's Halloween Parade on Monday, October 31st.  Students will parade in costume with their classes around Shepherd Field and the blocks surrounding the school.

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 Ms. Brown's 4th grade classroom.  If you can serve in this role, please email communications@shepherd-elementary.org

A quick reminder that 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!

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)