Shepherd PTO Bulletin - December 21, 2022 Happy Holidays!
In this last Bulletin of 2023....
- Holiday Health Tips From the Health/Wellness Committee - Staff Holiday Appreciation Thank You! - DCPS Test to Return Requirement - IB Community Directory - Boundary and Student Assignment Advocacy Committee - Upcoming Events - Facilities Improvement Committee
- 2nd Grade Coffee and Conversations with Principal Russell
- January PTO Meeting
- January Morning Meeting
- Health & Wellness Fair/Summer Camp Expo
- Ways to Give Back - Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP) - Shepherd 180 Fund - Other Important Dates - Coat Drive Ends: December 21st - No School: December 23rd - January 2nd |
Holiday Health Tips From the Health & Wellness Committee Brighten the holidays by making your health and safety a priority. Take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy—and ready to enjoy the holidays. - Wash hands often to help prevent the spread of germs. It’s flu season! Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds.
- Bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: light, warm layers, gloves, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots.
- Manage stress. Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and out of control. Some of the best ways to manage stress are to find support, connect socially, and get plenty of sleep. Ask for help.
- Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your children in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to their height, weight, and age. Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip and encourage passengers to do the same.
- Get exams and screenings. Ask your health care provider what exams you need and when to get them. Update your personal and family history.
- Get your flu and Covid-19 vaccinations and boosters, if eligible. Vaccinations help prevent diseases and save lives. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year.
- Practice fire safety. Most residential fires occur during the winter months, so don’t leave fireplaces, space heaters, food cooking on stoves, or candles unattended. Have an emergency plan and practice it regularly.
- Prepare food safely. Remember these simple steps: Wash hands and surfaces often, avoid cross-contamination, cook foods to proper temperatures and refrigerate foods promptly.
- Eat healthy, stay active. Eat fruits and vegetables which pack nutrients and help lower the risk for certain diseases. Limit your portion sizes and foods high in fat, salt, and sugar. Also, be active for at least 2½ hours a week and help kids and teens be active for at least 1 hour a day.
- As we get out there for fun family outings at the ice rink or down the slopes, always be sure to wear your helmets and other safety gear.
Enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones!
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Staff Holiday Appreciation Thank You! Thank you to all the families that helped make our staff holiday appreciation event a huge success! The PTO was able to host an in-person holiday event with food, drinks and a live raffle and distribute gift cards to the staff. Thank you to the parent community for the generous donations that made the in-person event and raffle a success! Also, a huge shout-out to the planning committee (Madeline Ramos, Hahva Gallagher, Jodi Arellano, Amy Zettle, Stephanie Bingham), Shepherd's Admin team (Principal Russell, AP Coles, and Ms. Mack) and Mix Bar & Grill in Silver Spring for helping to bring these events together! |
| DCPS Test to Return Requirement All students and staff need to provide proof of a negative COVID test before returning to school on January 3rd. Shepherd will distribute the tests prior to winter break. Families should take the tests on January 2nd and upload results here. |
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IB Community Directory As an IB school, we want the community to be involved in the learning process! This school year, we are launching our first IB community directory. If you work with an organization or have a skill set that you are willing to share with our students, please fill out the survey here. Teachers will gain access to the survey results and will reach out to you if your organization or skills are connected to what they will be teaching in class. We are excited about the field trips, virtual visits, and other learning experiences that will come from this initiative. |
Boundary and Student Assignment Advocacy Committee As discussed at November's PTO meeting, the Shepherd PTO is looking for participants to serve on DCPS' Boundary and Student Assignment Advocacy Committee. This committee will be influential in the planned DCPS Boundary Study to include feeder patterns such as Deal and Jackson Reed (formerly Wilson). Some details for participation are: Commitment lasts from January 2023 – December 2023. Monthly in-person meetings. No meetings in July & August Committee members have to be able to attend the monthly meeting, plus at least 1 of 3 town hall meetings. They will also engage with different stakeholders outside of meetings. Meeting Locations will be moved around to make them more accessible There will be more in-depth engagement for schools in feeder patterns that would be affected
If you’re interested in applying, please let Amber Romine know ASAP azromine@yahoo.com or 202-669-5148 |
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| Facilities Improvement Committee Meeting The Facilities Improvement Committee will be meeting Thursday January 5th at 12:00 pm to discuss priority improvements for the school and exterior grounds. If you would like to join the meeting, please reach out to Amy Zettle at amy.zettle@gmail.com or you can join virtually here. The agenda will include: - Improvements/Enhancements to the ECE Playground
- Teacher's Lounge Refresh
- Multipurpose Room
- Outdoor Learning Center
Also, please be on the lookout for a Community Painting Day at Shepherd where volunteers will tackle the IB Maker Space and staff lounge. The committee is currently looking at weekends in early February. |
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| 2nd Grade Coffee and Conversations with Principal Russell "Coffee & Conversations with Principal Russell" for 2nd Grade families will be held on Tuesday, January 17th at 8:45 am. It's a great opportunity to chat with Principal Russell and get to know other 2nd Grade families. We hope you can make it. |
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| January PTO Meeting Our January PTO Meeting will be held Wednesday, January 18th. We will hold an in-person session at 5:30 pm in the Shepherd Cafeteria. We will also offer a virtual option as well. Please connect via this meeting link or dial: ‪(US) +1 234-759-0374‬ PIN: ‪579 099 938‬# |
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| January All School Morning Meeting Please join us for the January All School Morning Meeting hosted by 1st grade on Friday, January 27th. The agenda will focus on a Celebration of Africa, Kindness Week, the IB Learner Profile Attribute of the month: Balanced, and Approaches to Learning: Self-Management. You can virtually access the morning meeting here. |
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Health & Wellness Fair/Summer Camp Expo Please mark your calendars for Sunday, January 29th from 12 pm - 3 pm. This year, Shepherd will be combining their annual Health & Wellness Fair and Summer Camp Expo. More information will be forthcoming! |
| 2022 End of Year Appeal As we approach the end of ‘22, we have so much to be thankful for at Shepherd. One of the most important things we are grateful for is our teachers & staff! This dedicated team challenges, inspires, and advances our children’s intellectual, social and emotional development. They make Shepherd a safe and nurturing environment for our kids. The Shepherd PTO would like to give back to the teachers & staff who give so selflessly to our children every day. The current teacher and staff lounge is in need of renovation - to include new appliances, furniture, and paint. A lounge makeover would create an inviting space where teachers can consult, socialize, and recharge. If you have the ability, would you please consider a $22 donation to the Shepherd PTO by the end of 2022? All $22 donations are tax deductible and will be earmarked for the lounge upgrades and related teacher appreciation activities. Donations can easily be made here. We greatly appreciate your consideration of this request and hope you have a safe & happy month of December. |
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| PTO Board Looking for Used iPad or Tablet The PTO Board is asking the community if any families would be able to donate an iPad or similar tablet device. This device would be used to ensure quicker and more efficient onsite sales for events, gear, and spirit wear. If you have a device that you think would fit our need, please email info@shepherd-elementary.org. Thank you! |
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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. |
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| Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP) Congratulations to Ms. Brenda Brown and Mr. Max Chamovitz as our December TAP winners! 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. |
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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 child care at events, 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! |
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Many, Many Thanks to our 180 Fund Donors! |
Archer Family Arellano Family Biswese Family Bowie Family Boykin-Chase Family Bykowski Family Carroll Family Cannon Family Cartmell-Mayorga Family Clair Family Coble Family Daly Family Davies Family D'Angelo Family Fagen Family Faulman-Coffey Family Frias Family Goletiani Family Goodman Family Henderson-Parker Family Homer Family Howard Family Jabaily-Messing Family
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| Joswick Family Ju Family Krill Family Landau Family Learmonth-Davies Family Lipton-Marnon Family Ma-Holdridge Family Marchand Family McNeil Family Molseed Family Pariser Family Raglani Family Riley Family Roberts Family Romine Family Sanders Family Snyder-Johnson Family St.Clair-Flemming Family Tivol-Kaufmann Family Tyson Family Walejko Family Williams Family Zettle Family
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Upcoming Events No School Facilities Improvement Committee Meeting 2nd Grade Coffee with Principal Russell January PTO Meeting January All School Morning Meeting Health & Wellness/Summer Camp Expo |
| Dates December 23rd - January 2nd Thursday, January 5th Tuesday, January 17th Wednesday, January 18th Friday, January 27th Sunday, January 29th |
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