Originally delivered on 2/1/2023 3:56 pm

SUBJECT: Shepherd PTO Bulletin - 02/01/2023

Shepherd PTO Bulletin - February 1, 2023

Happy February !


In this week's bulletin....


- 18th Annual Spring Gala & Auction - Last Day for Discounted Tickets!

- Weekly Gala Planning Meetings

- Deal Feeder School Chat with Shepherd

- Classrooms Going Global

- Upcoming Events

  • 3rd Grade Coffee & Conversations with Principal Russell
  • February Open House
  • February PTO Meeting
  • February All School Morning Meeting
  • 2nd/3rd Grade Bingo & Bites Night 

- Ways to Give Back

  • Teachers' Lounge Refresh & The Makerspace - This weekend!
  • Facilities Improvement Help Needed

- Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)

- Shepherd 180 Fund

- Other Important Dates

  • February 20, No School, Presidents Day
  • February 21-24, No School, Winter Break



18th Annual Spring Gala - Last Day for Discounted Tickets!

Please mark your calendars for Shepherd's annual gala on April 1st! This 'no-kids' event & auction is Shepherd's largest fundraiser and a fun evening that brings the community together. We have some exciting format changes this year.  First, we've secured a new venue!  This year's event will take place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 901 G Street NW. In addition, tickets will now cover an open bar for the entire evening and heavy hors d'oeuvres from Occasions Catering

As always, there are different levels of ticketing: 

  • Angel Tickets - Tickets purchased by families allowing Shepherd teachers & staff to attend for free.  Early bird discounts are applied to Angel Tickets through 2/1/2023.  
  • Early-Bird General Admission Tickets - Discounted tickets for the event that starts at 7:15 pm.  Early-bird discounts is applied to GA Tickets through 2/1/2023.  
  • VIP Sponsorship levels  - Tickets that include admission to the VIP reception beginning at 6:30 pm and various perks depending on the level of support (for example, recognition on the Shepherd Elementary website).

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here! To purchase tickets, please navigate to the "Buy Tickets" option on the landing screen for the event.  

Weekly Gala Planning Meetings

As the biggest fundraiser of the year, the Spring Gala takes a corps of community volunteers to be successful. Responsibilities range from event logistics to sponsorships & donations to communications.  All ideas are welcome!  The team will meet weekly on Thursdays from 4pm - 5 pm.  Please join us virtually here if you can! 

Deal Middle School Feeder Call

Alice Deal Middle School will be hosting a virtual chat for prospective Shepherd students and their families on Wednesday February 15th at 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity for 5th grade parents to chat with Deal administration. You can attend virtually here.  

Classrooms Going Global

Classrooms Going Global has launched for the school year. Each homeroom at Shepherd has a country partner for the entire school year. Students will get to learn about their country partner leading up to International Day in the spring! 

This is the first year parents will be able to visit the classroom and we are looking for volunteers to share stories, travel photographs/videos, cultural wear, games, recipes, and other global experiences with our students connected to their class' country partner. It is our hope that this program will inspire curiosity about the world. If would like to support a classroom, please fill out this signup genius. This signup genius includes the country partner for each classroom.

UPCOMING EVENTS
February Open House

The next Open House for prospective families will be held February 7th from 9:30 am - 10:30 am.  You can register to attend here. Please share with any families who may be interested.  

3rd Grade Coffee & Conversations with Principal Russell

"Coffee & Conversations with Principal Russell" for 3rd Grade families will be held on Tuesday, February 14th at 8:45 am.  It's a great opportunity to chat with Principal Russell and get to know other 3rd Grade families. We hope you can make it.

February PTO Meeting

Please mark your calendars!  The February PTO Meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 15th.  

This will be a virtual-only event and will begin at 5:30 pm.

Please connect via this meeting link or dial: +1 301-715-8592 Passcode: 948645 (Meeting ID: 890 6492 6863)

February All School Morning Meeting

The February All School Morning Meeting will be held Friday, February 17th at 9:00 am. The meeting will be a celebration of Black History Month, International Mother Language Day, IB Learner Profile Attribute of the month: Principled, and Approaches to Learning: Self-Management.  You can connect virtually to the event here.  

2nd/3rd Grade Bingo & Bites Night

4th and 5th Grade Bingo night was a hit! Now 2nd and 3rd grade families are invited to the next monthly Bingo & Bites Night hosted by the Shepherd PTO and Staff Family Engagement Committees. Bingo will take place in the Multi-purpose room on Thursday, March 2nd from 5:30 - 7:00 pm

This is a family event so all students must be accompanied and supervised by an adult. While the game will be targeted for 2nd - 3rd graders, siblings are welcome to attend. Some light snacks will be provided. If you feel inclined to bring dinner, please remember, Shepherd is a nut-free facility.  

WAYS TO GIVE BACK
Teachers' Lounge Refresh & The Makerspace - This weekend!

This weekend, the Facilities Improvement Committee will be tackling updates to the Teacher Lounge and Makerspace.  

What: We need parents to help prep, paint, and clean up. 

When: Wednesday, February 1 through Sunday, February 5.  Do you have a few hours after school/work? Or have availability over the weekend? Any time you can give to this group effort will go a long way. 

If available to volunteer, please email amy.zettle@gmail.com and let her know when you have some time to help, and she'll provide you with the details.

Facilities Improvement Committee Help

The Facilities Improvement Committee is looking to move forward with preparing for its support to Shepherd's Outdoor Learning space.  Help is needed from our PTO community!  One of the recommended learning spaces are moveable seats cut from a large tree trunk. We have a fallen tree identified on a family's property, but are looking for an experienced parent with a chainsaw to help us turn a downed tree into a classroom experience.  If you can assist, please email info@shepherd-elementary.org.

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.

Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)

Congratulations to Ms. Caola and Dr. Wilson as our January 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.

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!

Many, Many Thanks to our 180 Fund Donors!

Archer Family

Arellano Family

Beridon 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

Fessler Family

Frias Family

Gilberg-Prince Family

Goletiani Family

Goodman Family

Henderson-Parker Family

Homer Family

Howard Family

Jabaily-Messing Family

Joswick Family


Ju Family

Krill Family

Landau Family

Learmonth-Davies Family

Lipton-Marnon Family

Ma-Holdridge Family

Marchand Family

Marrkand Family

McNeil Family

Mokodean Family

Molseed Family

Pariser Family

Prabhu-McDonald 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

Youssef Family 

Zettle Family


Upcoming Events

Teacher Lounger & Marker Space Makeover

Open House for Prospective Families

3rd Grade Coffee and Conversations

Deal Feeder Call

February PTO meeting

February All School Morning Meeting

No School

2nd/3rd Grade Bingo & Bites Night 

Dates

Wednesday, February 1st - Sunday, February 5th

Tuesday, February 7th

Tuesday, February 14th

Wednesday, February 15th

Wednesday, February 15th

Friday, February 17th

February 20th - 24th

Tuesday, March 2nd

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