🐾 WHAT IS A SUPER PAW? 🐾

A Super Paw is a special recognition given to students who go above and beyond in showing our Wildcat Way!

This month, we’re looking for students who are going above and beyond with Communicating with Respect. 💬🐾

Keep an eye out for those Wildcats who are using kind words, listening to others, and showing respect in the way they communicate!

IT’S WILDCAT WEDNESDAY! ❤️🩶

The first Wednesday of every month is all about showing our Shep Wildcat pride! Students and staff are rocking their maroon and steel - and we’re loving the energy!

OFFICER MARK ENJOYS LUNCH WITH STUDENTS! 🍎👮‍♂️ Our School Resource Officer, Officer Mark, is taking time to connect with students over lunch at Shep! 💙 These simple moments - sharing a meal, talking, laughing, and getting to know one another - help build positive relationships and strengthen our school community. We’re grateful for Officer Mark and the time he invests in getting to know our students! 🐾

AUGUST COMMUNITY MEETING 🐾 What a great way to kick off our first community meeting of the school year! Our students and staff came together to build community, celebrate one another, and review important expectations. 🌟 Highlights from today: • Students had the opportunity to meet our staff and Kosmo! • Mrs. Miller and Officer Mark were interviewed! • Students learned about the expected use of breaks and fidgets. • We introduced Super Paws 🐾 - our recognition for students who go above and beyond! • We wrapped up our meeting by singing the CATS song together! What a fantastic start to the year! We are excited for all that this school year will bring. 💙🐾

MEET OUR LEARNING SUPPORT TEAM! 🐾💙

Left to right: Miss Loveless, Mrs. Taccard, and Miss Patchett

Our learning support team plays an important role in helping our Wildcats learn, grow, and feel successful at school. They support students in so many ways - providing targeted instruction, encouragement, problem-solving, and helping students build the skills they need to thrive.

We are so grateful for the care, expertise, and support they provide to our students every day! 🌟🐾

BUILDING CONNECTIONS OVER LUNCH! 🐾🍎

Sometimes the best reward is simply spending a little extra time together! Today, some of our Wildcats enjoyed lunch with Miss Pighetti as a special reward for their hard work and positive choices.

We love creating opportunities to connect, celebrate, and build relationships with our students! 💙🐾

WILDCAT WAY LESSONS IN OUR CLASSROOMS 🐾

At Shepherdstown, we follow CATS - Communicate with Respect, Act Responsibly, Take on Challenges, and Stay Safe!🐱

Today, Miss McDonnell’s 2nd grade class was learning all about what it means to Stay Safe as part of our Wildcat Way lessons. Our Wildcats are building the skills and habits they need to make safe, responsible choices throughout the school day! 💙🐾

MEET OUR LIBRARY TEAM! 📚 Mrs. Powell and Mr. Roberts Our library team helps students discover a just-right book and build the skills they need to become confident, capable digital learners. 💻📖 We are so grateful for all they do to make our library a place where curiosity comes to life!

BREAKFAST IS A GREAT WAY TO START THE DAY! 🥛🍎 Breakfast is a great way to fuel up and start the school day ready to learn! At Shepherdstown, we’re excited to offer breakfast FREE for everyone! Here are some highlights: 🍎 Students can choose up to 5 items 🍓 At least one item must be a fruit 🥨 If students don’t want to eat breakfast right away, they can take items to enjoy as snacks later, including Scooby Snacks, Goldfish, crackers, Craisins, and cheese sticks! 🥛 Milk is also available We’re proud to make sure our students have access to nutritious choices to help them have a great start to their day! ❤️

WHAT IS A POWER BAR? 🔤⚡

Mrs. Goldsborough's Class is learning about Power Bars in CKLA!

Power Bars show students how common a spelling pattern is for a particular sound. A longer bar means the spelling is more common, while a shorter bar means it appears less often.

Students use Power Bars to help them read and spell unfamiliar words. Pretty POWERful learning! 📚🐾

📚 CKLA BEGINS! Our students are diving into CKLA, our core ELA program, and learning the routines and habits that will help them become confident, capable readers and writers! Students are practicing routines such as partner reading and air writing as they build foundational skills, strengthen their reading habits, and learn how to actively engage with their learning. We’re excited to see our students grow throughout the year. 📖✏️

MEET OUR ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT TEAM Meet our English Language Development Team, Mrs. Robison and Mrs. Foster! 💙 Every day, they help so many students at Shepherdstown grow more comfortable and confident with vocabulary, communication, and language acquisition. Just as importantly, they create a warm, welcoming environment where students feel loved, valued, and supported.

SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW 🐾

Our benchmarking team is working 1:1 with students this week to get to know their strengths and see what they know! We are so grateful for our team and the time they are investing in getting to know each of our Wildcats.

The information we gather helps us better understand our students and guide our instruction so we can meet their individual needs. 📚💪

MEET OUR READING SUPPORT TEAM 📚 Left to right: Ms. Sands, Mrs. Hennessy, and Mrs. Wells. ❤️📖 We are so fortunate to have a dedicated team supporting our students as they grow as readers! Thank you for the care, encouragement, and expertise you bring to our students each day!

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY MEETING? 🐾

A time where the whole school comes together to learn from each other and celebrate one another! 💙

Last Friday, our Wildcats held our first practice community meeting! Students came together by grade level to practice what it looks like to follow our CATS expectations in a community meeting.

We also learned about the CATS Clap - a golf clap that helps us celebrate one another while keeping our volume at an appropriate level. 👏

🚌🐾 WILDCAT WAY BUS TRAINING! 🐾🚌

Our Wildcats had a great opportunity to learn how to follow CATS on the bus! Students practiced how to Communicate with Respect, Act Responsibly, Take on Challenges, and Stay Safe while riding to and from school.

A special thank you to Ms. Karen, one of our wonderful district bus drivers, for sharing important information and helping our students understand what it means to be a safe and respectful Wildcat on the bus! 💛

OUR WONDERFUL STAFF! 🐾

Behind every great school is an incredible team! We are so fortunate to have a staff that brings dedication, kindness, energy, and a genuine love for our Wildcats to Shepherdstown each day.

Here’s to another great school year together! ❤️🐾

🐾 WILDCAT CAFETERIA TRAINING! 🐾

Our Wildcats are learning what it means to CATS in the cafeteria! Students are practicing our cafeteria expectations so everyone can enjoy a safe, respectful, and positive lunch experience.

Mrs. Lawler, our school counselor, along with a group of staff “actresses,” shared fun examples and non-examples to help students see what following our cafeteria expectations looks and sounds like. 🎭

We’re learning to Communicate with Respect, Act Responsibly, Take on Challenges, and Stay Safe- even while we eat! 🍎🥪

We’re also encouraging our Wildcats to practice and learn their student lunch PIN numbers so they can confidently enter them at lunchtime! 🔢🐾

💙 MEET OUR LIFE SKILLS TEAM! 💙

Left to right: Ms. Zeiger, Mrs. Rishel, Mrs. Skelly, Mrs. Davis

Our Life Skills Team is an important part of the Shepherdstown family, supporting our students as they learn, grow, build independence, and reach their full potential.

Their dedication, patience, and commitment make a difference in the lives of our Wildcats every day. We are so grateful to have such a caring and supportive team at Shepherdstown! 🐾