M u s t a n g  N e w s l e t t e r
          
In This Issue
Dates to Remember
Tuesday, 12/15:
Holiday Concert
6:00 PM

Wednesday, 12/16:
Winter Dance, 3:30 - 5:30 PM

Monday, 12/21 - Friday, 1/1:
Winter Vacation 
No school for students, teachers, or staff

Monday, 1/18:
MLK Jr. Day
No school for students, teachers, or staff

Friday, 1/22:
End of Term.  Students dismissed at 12:15 PM

Tuesday, 1/26:
Prospective Families Open House,  10:00 AM

Don't Forget!




Any items left in the lost and found will be donated to a  local charity on the last Friday of the month.


Shop for Shepherd!

Did you know that many local stores like Giant and Safeway will donate a percentage of your purchases to Shepherd?

Visit the PTA website to find out how:   Shop for Shepherd!



IB Learner Profile

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Dress Code

Shepherd Elementary is a uniform school. The uniform consists of a white top and navy blue bottoms. All students are expected to adhere to the uniform policy.

Spirit Day

Every Friday is Spirit Day! Everyone is encouraged to show their Mustang Pride by wearing the school colors, gold and green along with any other Shepherd apparel.

Star Achievers
Happy Happy Holidays 
Star Achievers Families -

We are winding down 
2015 and have the 
following news:

1.  Please pay tuition 
today or $10 a day late 
fees apply from Dec 5th!!!
December tuition is for 
the entire month - you will 
not pay any tuition in June which makes up for the vacation weeks you pay  for in December and 
Spring Break in March.

2.  Third graders have the option of participating in Chess - each Monday and Wednesday from 3:45 to 5:15pm.  Please sign and return the forms sent  home with your third  grader last week.

3.  If you would like your 
1st - 5th grade aftercare student to go to the 
School Dance on Wed.,
Dec. 16th, please sign the permission slip that was  sent home or pick one up  at the front desk.

Your child will NOT be 
able to attend without a signed permission slip!
Children in Pre-K 3  
Pre-K 4 and kindergarten 
will not be taken to the 
dance without a 
designated adult to 
supervise them - please 
email sesstarachieivers
@gmail.com for more information.

If your child does not attend the school dance, we will have pizza and a movie for them!

We are open Friday December 18th with arts and crafts for everyone!

Have a great vacation and enjoy the family time!

Claire Riley
Program Director

December 14, 2015 
 
A Message from Principal Brawley
Dear Shepherd Community,

Recently, we received preliminary data regarding our students' performance on the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessment taken last Spring. Although Shepherd students scored 22 percentage points higher than the district average in English/Language Arts and 15 percentage points higher than the district average in Math, our scores do not reflect the high expectations that we have for our students.

We are looking forward to receiving more detailed PARCC data from DCPS, including students' individual scores, in the near future. This information will enable our teachers to analyze trends in the data, which will inform how we adjust instruction to best meet the needs of our students.

After we return from winter break, we will host PARCC Information Sessions for parents in order to explain the difference between PARCC and the DC CAS, the interim assessments that are currently being used to measure student progress as well as ways that you can support your child at home.

Results for grades 3-8 are available at osse.dc.gov/parcc
 
Sincerely, 

Jade L. Brawley
Principal

Hour of Code with NOAA
Our students enjoyed each and every minute of the Hour of Code hosted by volunteers from NOAA.

International Festival
Thank You! Gracias! Merci!
Our International Festival was a HUGE success!
Thank you for coming out to learn about the myriad of countries and cultures that make up our rich school community.



Unit 3 Newsletters, Progress Reports and Winter Break Resources
This week, you will receive a lot of important information, including a newsletter for the current unit of study, an IB progress report with details about your child's performance as we have reached the mid-point for the second advisory along with ways that you can support your child over the winter break.
International Baccalaureate PYP Update

The themes for each grade level are as follows:

Pre School - Sharing the Planet 

An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.

Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Second, Third & Fifth Grade - How we Express Ourselves 

An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.

First & Fourth Grade - How we Organize Ourselves 

An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
Shepherd Holiday Concert

Shepherd's 
Annual Holiday Concert!

Tuesday, December 15th
6:00 PM
School Auditorium



A Message from the PTA
The December 16th Shepherd Construction Meeting with Councilmember Todd has been cancelled.  The meeting will be rescheduled early in 2016.  

The Shepherd PTA meeting for that evening has also been cancelled.  We look forward to seeing everyone at the Shepherd Holiday Concert on Tuesday, December 15th @ 6:00 PM.  The next PTA meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 20th @ 6:30 PM.

The Loose Change Drive raised over $1200! Congratulations to Ms. Trogisch's class for raising the most funds for the drive.  

Mark your calendars!  The Shepherd Spring Gala will be Saturday May 14th.  This year's gala chairs are Jennell Alexander and Laura Levine.   

Volunteers are needed for the following Gala committees:
-  Food and Beverage Committee
-  Auction Committee
-  Communications Committee
-  Sales Committee
-  Alumni Committee

Contact Jennell Alexander to volunteer!
(jennell.alexander@gmail.com)

SY15-16 Basketball Season
Game Schedule

Girls
12/15 - Shepherd vs. Takoma

Boys
12/17 - Shepherd vs. Whittier

Both away games begin at 4:00pm
  
Cheerleader Tryouts

Cheerleading Tryouts!!!

Who: Students in grades 1-5

When:  December 18th (Cheerleader Tryouts) 

Where: Shepherd Multi-Purpose Room

Time: 3:30 (Tryouts)

Sponsors: Coach Arrington and Coach Hamer

Violin Lessons
ALL SHEPHERD STUDENTS 
INTERESTED IN VIOLIN 
with Mr Giles - 
Sign up for the lottery now!

The lottery is for:

Beginner classes on Tuesday mornings from 7:30 to 8:20am 

intermediate classes on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:20am 

Lottery opens:  Monday, December 14th

Lottery Closes:  5pm Monday, January 4th.  

Cost of Lessons:  $160 for 12 lessons and a performance concert

There is a $50 deposit to borrow a violin from Mr Giles.

Once the lottery is closed, it will not be reopened.  All students will be given a number and each family will be contacted in order until the classes are full.

If your child took a class this Fall semester, you are NOT automatically enrolled again - you must re-enter the lottery each semester.

If you are a current intermediate student, you will be placed in that class again upon the approval of Mr Giles.  If you are a beginner student that wants to move to the intermediate class, please make that request via email.

To enter the lottery email sesstarachievers@gmail.com  with the name, age, grade, and daytime teacher of your student.  Indicate the class s/he would like to take - beginner or intermediate.  You will receive a confirmation of receipt. You will only be contacted if your name is selected. 




Letters About Literature 2015 Contest
Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest put on each year by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. This contest is for students in grades 4-12. 

Students read a book, poem or speech and write to that author (living or dead) about how the piece affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Please consider talking with your child to see if he/she is interested in participating. 

If your child chooses to write a letter to an author, you may mail their entry individually or drop it off to Ms. Tiffany in the library by Friday, January 8, 2016. Guidelines and the entry form can be found  here . Please feel free to contact Ms. Tiffany at  christina.tiffany@dc.gov  or stop by the library after school until 3:30 p.m. if you have any questions about the contest.

 
Shepherd Elementary | (202) 576-6140 | mustangshepherd2@gmail.com 
  http://www.shepherd-elementary.org/
7800 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20012