Originally delivered on 3/15/2023 3:04 pm

SUBJECT: Shepherd PTO Bulletin - 03/15/2023

March 15, 2023

Happy March!


In this week's bulletin....


- 18th Annual Spring Gala & Auction 

- Weekly Gala Planning Meetings

- Shepherd Cheer Fundraiser

- DCPS Panorama Survey 

- Strengthening School's Behavioral Health Survey

- Upcoming Events

  • March PTO Meeting
  • Circus Circus for PreK-4, K, & 1st Grades
  • March All School Morning Meeting 
  • Shepherd's Spring Musical: Aladdin, Jr! 

- Ways to Give Back

  • Shepherd PTO Board Nominations
  • Box Tops for Education

- Community Offerings

- Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)

- Shepherd 180 Fund

- Other Important Dates



18th Annual Spring Gala

Only 2 weeks until the 18th Annual Shepherd Gala on April 1st! The gala is Shepherd’s biggest fundraiser of the year and a great opportunity for the community to celebrate Shepherd Elementary!  This year’s auction has $30K in donated items and priceless teacher opportunities.  Even if you cannot attend the event, registering with the Handbid site will allow you to virtually bid on items like:

  • A message to your child on the Shepherd Elementary marquee
  • Special Day Out with Ms. Scott or Ms. Caola
  • Principal, Assistant Principal, and Music Teacher for the Day 
  • Gift cards to many local retailers
  • Tickets to multiple sporting events
  • A $1000 gift certificate for orthodontics and much more!

Ticket sales will close on March 24th and can be purchased here! To purchase tickets, please navigate to the "Buy Tickets" option at the top-right of the landing screen.  

Please reach out to the Gala Committee if you have any questions or would like to volunteer!

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 meets weekly on Thursdays from 4pm - 5 pm.  Please join us virtually here if you can! 

DCPS Panorama Survey

Attention Shepherd ES Families! DCPS has launched the 2023 Panorama Survey, which measures social emotional learning, satisfaction, and engagement across staff, families, and students. Share your perspective by completing the survey: bit.ly/dcpsfamily. The survey will close March 31st.   

Strengthening School Behavioral Health Survey

Thru March 31st, schools are being asked to administer brief online surveys of students, families and school staff regarding their perceptions of school behavioral health services. The Shepherd ES Community is strongly encouraged to participate in the surveys to enhance its ability to make data-driven decisions about meeting the behavioral health needs of students, as well as helping DCPS and other stakeholders understand the behavioral health needs of schools across the city. If your family is interested in providing valuable feedback, please complete the survey here.     

UPCOMING EVENTS
March PTO Meeting

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

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

You can join us virtually here Or dial: ‪(US) +1 417-448-6041‬ PIN: ‪833 208 511‬#

Circus Circus for PreK-4, K and 1st Grades

PreK-4 is hosting a Family Engagement night on Thursday, March 16th.  The theme is "Circus, Circus." Families with students in PreK-4, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade are invited. Please consult with your teachers on your grade's activity and recommended costume. Feel free to accessorize with face makeup, bright hair accessories, jewelry, etc. We hope to see you there!

March All School Morning Meeting

The March All School Morning Meeting will be held Friday, March 31st at 9:00 am. It will be hosted by Kindergarten and the meeting will be a celebration of International Women’s Day, Mardi Gras, and Earth Day and will feature the IB Learner Profile Attribute of the month: Thinker and Approaches to Learning: Research Skills. You can connect virtually to the event here.  

Shepherd's Spring Musical: Aladdin, Jr.

Please save the date for Shepherd's Spring Musical: Aladdin Jr! Performances will be held on March 30th and 31st at 6:00 pm. Ticket information will be released shortly.  All ticket sales will proceed Shepherd Elementary’s curriculum and music/drama programs so that the school can continue producing these incredible creative performances.  

WAYS TO GIVE BACK
2023-2024 PTO Board Nominations

Do you have a passion for communications and engagement? Are you a strong financial analyst? Are you good with documenting rules and procedures? We are starting to look ahead to our 2023-2024 PTO Board elections and will have some board positions that will be vacated. If you would like to consider applying for one of the many rewarding positions, you can find more information on the responsibilities here or email questions to elections@shepherd-elementary.org.  More information about elections will be released in the coming months!

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!

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. Montgomery as our February TAP winner!

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

Rijmen 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

March PTO Meeting 

Circus, Circus for K and 1st Grade

Spring Musical: Aladdin, Jr.!

Spring Musical: Aladdin, Jr.!

March All School Morning Meeting

Dates

Wednesday, March 15th

Thursday, March 16th

Thursday, March 30th

Friday, March 31st

Friday, March 31st


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