Originally delivered on 4/3/2024 3:02 pm

SUBJECT: Shepherd PTO Bulletin - 04/03/2024

Shepherd PTO Bulletin - April 3, 2024

In this week's PTO Bulletin...

- 19th Annual Spring Gala with Updates

- Spring Gala Angel Tickets

- Recruiting for the 2024-2025 PTO Board/LSAT

- DCPS Impact Aid Survey

- Upcoming Events

Spring Beautification Day
Ward 3 EdNet Meeting
K/1st Grade Bingo Night
April LSAT & PTO Meetings

- Giving Back Opportunities

Online Gear Storefront
Teacher Appreciation Program (TAP)
180 Fund

- Other Upcoming Important Dates

April 15th - 19th (Spring Break) - No School

19th Annual Spring Gala & Updates

The PTO is thrilled to announce we have secured a location for our 2024 Spring Gala! This 'no-kids' event & auction is Shepherd's largest fundraiser and a fun evening that brings the community together.

Date: May 18, 2024
Time: 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Jinya @ Walter Reed, 1155 Dahlia St. NW

Tickets are selling out! Please purchase your tickets here.

If you can personally donate items for our auction, just complete our simple online donation form!

More information on how you can support the auction is available in this letter that will be sent out to families in the next couple of weeks. You can also visit our website to learn more about sponsorship levels.

If you would like to volunteer, please sign up here. UPDATE: We have added a volunteer slot to our Sign-up Genius: Photographer! We are hoping there is a talented member of our community might be willing to take a few pictures during the event (the time commitment would be minimal). More information can be found here.

If you have any questions, please email sesgala@shepherd-elementary.org.

We hope you can join us on May 18th!

Spring Gala - Angel Tickets

Each year at the Gala, we ask families to consider purchasing Angel Tickets that would allow our hardworking teachers and staff to attend free of charge.

If you would like to purchase an Angel Ticket for a teacher or staff, please visit the Handbid site here.

If you are teacher or staff who would like to request an Angel Ticket, please email sesgala@shepherd-elementary.org.

Also, teachers and staff members are eligible for a "plus one" Angel Ticket if they donate a special experience with students that can be auctioned off at the Gala. Some examples of special experiences could be a "Hike in Rock Creek with 5 students" or "Provide Picnic Lunch for 3 students."

To donate a special experience, please email sesgala@shepherd-elementary.org.

2024-2025 PTO Board/LSAT

The PTO Executive Board and LSAT are critical teams dedicated to an overarching goal of developing a strong and vibrant sense of community at Shepherd.

Many of the PTO Executive Team members are term limited in their roles and will not be able to be reelected. So we are reaching out to the Shepherd community asking you to consider running for office! Voting for the 2024-2025 school year is scheduled for early May 2024. Please note: Time commitments for each position are only about 2 hours per week.

Please consider running for the PTO Executive Committee or the LSAT. The positions are:

Co-President (2)
Vice President
Treasurer
Assistant Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
LSAT Parent Representative (4)

Please reach out to Michelle Toussaint at elections@shepherd-elementary.org to suggest a nomination, ask a question, or express interest in any of the roles.

DCPS Impact Aid Survey

The SY23-24 Impact Aid Survey is available starting November 1, 2023. Each year, DCPS asks all families to complete the Impact Aid survey to generate additional federal funds for DCPS. This year, the surveys will be fully electronic using the Seamless platform. All eligible applications received by December 22nd will be submitted as part of the initial application due on January 31, 2024. Using the linked surveys, all DCPS families should complete one survey per child, not household, in their preferred language. While December 22nd is our initial deadline, families will have until April 30, 2024 to complete the survey. All additional eligible surveys will be included in our application amendment due June 30, 2024.

Upcoming Events

Spring Beautification Day

Please mark your calendars for Spring Beautification Day. This year's event will take place on Saturday April 6th (rain date April 7th) starting around 9:30am.

Volunteers are needed for a few fun projects including:

Removal of non-native invasive shrubs
Building of a terraced fruit tree garden
Weeding, lots of weeding
Planting around 200-300 plugs of flowers

Bulbs and a few tools will be available, but volunteers are asked to bring garden gloves and garden tools.

For any questions, please email Simon Messing at zbk_amadeus@yahoo.com.

Ward 3 EdNet Meeting

W3EdNet is made up of PTO, HSA, LSAT, and other interested community members from schools in the Jackson Reed High School feeder pattern. The W3EdNet seeks to build ties among their school communities, share information among school leaders, and promote a better public school system for all Washingtonians.

The next W3EdNet meeting will host Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) Paul Kihn on Tuesday, April 9 at 7pm.

The DME will address us on the Mayor's budget for next school year, particularly "around the education and workforce cluster investments." He will then take questions from the audience. Register in advance for this meeting here to get a Zoom link.

Please click here to RSVP to Bingo Night!

April LSAT & PTO Meetings

Please mark your calendars. The April LSAT and PTO Meetings will be held Wednesday April 24th at 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm respectively. More information to come!

Giving Back Opportunities

Online Gear Store

Our Shepherd Elementary gear storefront is now available for orders under "Giving Back to Shepherd" on the Shepherd website. After you've completed your purchase, gear will be delivered directly to your child's classroom within 7 business days. The PTO will still host in-person events throughout the year, but the gear store will provide a convenient alternative to those sales.

Please note, if you select gear and it cannot be added to the bag, it is likely sold out.

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.

Shepherd 180 Fund Appeal And Bonus Incentive!

Help the Shepherd PTO fund lots of great events, initiatives, and extra curricular 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!

Thank you to our 180 Families!!

McIntosh Family

Daly Family

Neal Family

Ma-Holdridge Family

Batler-Landau Family

Archer Family

Riley-Keck Family

Krill Family

Tivol-Kaufmann Family

Howard Family

Coble Family

Kunce Family

Faulman-Coffey Family

Arellano Family

Walejko-Markham Family

Boykin Family

Kane Family

Snyder-Johnson Family

McNeill Family

Marchand Family

Raglani Family

Romine Family

Fagen Family

Kasargod-Staub Family

Zettle-Kreisberg Family

Mainor Family

Marnon Family

Kim Family

Gilberg-Prince Family

DeAngelo Family

Hatcher Family

Jabaily-Messing Family

Hoehn Family

Humphries Family

Jackson Family

Bassin-Reimer Family

Head Family

Bowie Family

Warkentien-Moncton Family

Ross-White Family

Boyd Family

Roberts Family

Hechter Family

Miller Family

White Family

Toussaint Family

Ju Family

Jones Family

Monninger Family

Lewis Family

Mayorga Family

Britton Family

Pau Family

Garn Family

Cooper Family

Mokodean Family

Frias Family

Maser Family

Prabhu-McDonald Family

Fessler Family

Goodman Family

Rijmen Family

Scott Family

Molseed-Foley Family

Reddy Family

Nguyen-Stevens Family

Masters Family

Beridon Family

Vaagen Family

Queen Family

Youssef Family

Markand Family

Henry-Meme Family

Kominakos Family

Godwin Family

Hauge Family

Hayes Family

Upcoming Events

Circus Night (PreK-1st Grade)

End of Term (No School)

Spring Beautification Day

K/1st Grade Bingo & Bites Night

Spring Break

Dates

Thursday, April 4th

Friday, April 5th

Saturday, April 6th

Thursday, April 11th

April 15th - April 19th

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_elementary)