Dates To Remember. Shepardson NOVEMBER Message from the Principal. November 6 Picture Make Up Day. November 13 PTO. November 16 STEM Night

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1 Dates To Remember November 6 Picture Make Up Day November 13 PTO November 16 STEM Night November 17 NO School November Thanksgiving Break November 30 Garlic Knot Message from the Principal Greetings, Shepardson families! NOVEMBER 2017 Philanthropy, as defined by Webster, is the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. Here at Shepardson, we are all deeply invested in instilling the idea of helping others and helping the world into our students. There are many ways that we do this we teach them to be kind to everyone, to help clean up their classroom or school grounds when they can, and by teaching them lessons of how they can help on a bigger scale as well. Last year, we held a student-organized carnival that raised $600 for Catholic Charities and their work in supporting the homeless in Fort Collins. It was incredibly heart-warming to see the kids so excited and willing to help others. We plan to continue this with different philanthropic events each year. continued on next page Shepardson Principal Alissa Poduska Office Phone Fax Number P A G E 1 Advertising in this newsletter does not imply endorsement by Poudre School District.

2 Message from the Principal continued For the month of November, we plan to help kids understand this idea of helping others on a large scale, reaching all the way out to a region in Kenya called Samburu. We have decided to partner with the Samburu Youth Education Fund. This organization was created locally by a professor at CSU and his desire and passion for education for all children. The Kenyan educational system is much different than what our kiddos are privileged enough to have here in Fort Collins. Students in Kenya attend school kindergarten through 8 th grade. If they want to attend high school, they need to pay tuition. There are many families that cannot afford this for their children, so they rely on scholarships from organizations like this one. It costs just shy of $800 to send one student to school for one year in this region. This touched the hearts of our staff because we believe all children should have the opportunity and access to the education they want and deserve. We are excited and ready to help make a difference! continued on next page P A G E 2

3 Message from the Principal continued This Samburu Youth Education Fund is our beneficiary for this year s big No Shave November Most Amazing Beard Contest. As you might remember, we have done this contest for the past two years. The way it works is we recruit all our male employees to not shave for the entire month of November. We will have buckets with their mug shots attached up in the front office. If a student likes one or more of their beards, they give them pennies. If they want to vote against someone s beard, they give them silver coins or dollar bills. The silver counts against that guy, for example if a student puts in 10 pennies for Mr. U but another student puts in a dime, Mr. U is now at zero. It s a fun way for all kids to participate simply by finding change or dollars around the house and helping to reach our goal of $800. Thank you in advance for helping by sending change to support our efforts! In addition to this philanthropic event, our students had the opportunity to meet a man by the name of Apin this week. Apin is from Samburu and was a recipient of a scholarship from this fund himself. He spoke with the kids about what life and education is like in Samburu, and was also able to show them some really great pictures. We were very excited about this cultural learning for all our kids, so be sure you ask them about it. Sincerely, Mrs. Alissa Poduska, Principal P A G E 3

4 In This Issue Principal Picture ReTake Day Turkey Round Up PTO Shepardson 4k Run Vision & Hearing Image of 4k Run Morning Fresh Dairy Counselor CSU Poem Contest Vision and Hearing Screening Calling all Volunteers! Vision and Hearing Screening is being held November 13, 2017 from Please be there at 8:45 am for a short training session to make the process go smoothly! P A G E 4

5 15 th Annual Shepardson STEM 4K Fun Run and Walk! What a great event! Over 200 runners participated in the 15 th annual Shepardson STEM 4K Fun Run and Walk on Sunday, October 8, 2017! We appreciate the support for this fun event that promotes healthy living and the Shepardson P.E. program. Check out the photo gallery, age group results and overall results at Congratulations to the Overall Race Winners! Male Winner Leo Cole 15:57 Female Winner Lauren Schutt 18:41 P A G E 5

6 Counselors Dear Family Members, With all the recent natural disasters and tragedies occurring in our nation and world, as well as the current 24-7 media reporting cycles and easy access to the news, it is difficult to feel that we are sheltering our children. We want to ensure that our children feel safe and protected, yet it s hard to know how, especially when the events are troubling and upsetting for us as adults. Following is an adapted article, from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network ( that offers tips for taking care of our children in the wake of being exposed to tragic events via television, the internet, social media, peers, etc. We hope it supports you in feeling confident as a parent and guardian in a world where we and our children receive more info and news than ever before. --Patti Young and Angela Mitchell, Shepardson School Counselors continued on next page P A G E 6

7 Counselors continued Following is an adapted article, from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network ( Tips for Parents on Media Coverage While the media (television, radio, print, and the internet) can help inform and educate you and your children about the tragedies and disasters, media coverage unfortunately also has the potential to upset and confuse. As parents, you can protect your children by helping them understand media coverage while limiting their exposure to distressing images. The impact of media coverage will be different depending upon whether you are: A family who have loved ones in the affected area A family who has been affected by a recent loss or trauma in the past A family not directly threatened who is viewing news about the impact of this event on others (individuals killed, injured, or suffering) continued on next page P A G E 7

8 Understanding Media Exposure Counselors continued Media coverage can produce increased fears and anxiety in children. The more time children/teens spend watching coverage of the tragic events, the more likely they are to have negative reactions. Graphic images and news stories of chaos, injury, and death is especially upsetting to children. Very young children may not understand that the coverage and repetition of images of the events is a replay. They may think the event is continuing to happen or is happening again. What Parents Can Do to Help Limit Your Children s Exposure to Media Coverage The younger the child, the less exposure she/he should have. You may choose to eliminate all exposure for very young children. Play DVDs or videotapes of their favorite shows or movies instead. Consider family activities away from television, radio, or internet. Watch and Discuss with Children/Teens Watch what they watch. Discuss the news stories with them, asking about their thoughts and feelings about what they saw, read, or heard and correct any misunderstandings or confusion. Ask older children and teens about what they have seen on the internet or what they have heard through social media technologies (text, Facebook, Twitter), in order to get a better sense of their thoughts, fears, concerns, and point-of-view. Seize Opportunities for Communication Use newsbreaks that interrupt family viewing or newspaper/web images as opportunities to open conversation. Be available to talk about children s feelings, thoughts, and concerns, and reassure them of their safety and of plans to keep them safe. continued on next page P A G E 8

9 Counselors continued Monitor Adult Conversations Be careful of what you and other adults say about tragedies and disasters, or the media coverage, in front of the children; children often listen when adults are unaware and may misunderstand what they hear. Let Your Children Know about Successful Community Efforts You may want to share positive media images, such as reports of individuals helping those in need. Reassure your children/teens that many people, organizations, and governments are working to help the people. This will give them a sense that adults are actively taking steps to protect those that are currently suffering. Educate Yourself Learn about children s reactions to traumatic events. For more information, visit the National Child Traumatic Stress Network ( P A G E 9

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11 November PTO Meeting Monday, November 13th 7:00pm in the Media Center More information and dates can be found on Have questions Shepardson STEM Family Nights Shepardson STEM has partnered with several restaurants to bring you a night off from cooking while giving back to your school! Each participating restaurant will donate a portion of sales back to Shepardson STEM Elementary. This money will go into the PTO budget and be used for things for our kids and their teachers. Below you will find the calendar for the school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact John Wallace at johnwallace93@gmail.com. Thank you for your support! Don't forget to mention Shepardson STEM when ordering! Thursday, November 30, 2017 The Garlic Knot Thursday, January 25, 2018 The Garlic Knot Thursday, February 22, 2018 The Garlic Knot Thursday, March 29, 2018 The Garlic Knot Thursday, April 26, 2018 The Garlic Knot Thursday, May 31, 2018 The Garlic Knot * Wednesday, November 8th - Larkburger P A G E 11

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