We are excited to begin our two year term as PTSO Co-Presidents of Shepard Middle School, and we welcome you to the 2012-2013 school year. We look forward to working with our principal, Mr. Michael Shapiro, and the rest of the Shepard staff. We are also excited about working with all of our wonderful volunteers who make the PTSO run so smoothly.

The goal of the PTSO is to enhance each child’s education by perpetuating the relationships between the parents, the staff and the students. The PTSO provides programs and raises money to enrich the academic and cultural environment at school. We have over 100 talented volunteers on our board who work hard all year to coordinate our many events and programs. Thank you to all of our volunteers who make our Shepard community such a success.

The success of our PTSO manifests in many ways. Some of the programs we offer are Reality 101, International Fair and Health Fair—students learn how to manage a budget and various life circumstances, or background of their ancestral country or health issues. We are continuing to enhance our Environmental and Philanthropy committees, to provide awareness and knowledge to our students with regards to the school’s goal to be environmentally and socially responsible in our community. We will again have SPARTAN Fee day, which gives our Shepard families the opportunity for one-stop shopping for PTSO items.

We are very excited to continue the use of our PTSO Webstore. We have been working hard to manage an online site where you can pay for dances, membership, yearbook and many other PTSO events and services.

Our fundraisers, including Special Lunch, Membership, Spiritwear, and Book Fair, raise enough money to purchase the many needed items that keep our school current. A flip camera, listening stations, tablets and remotes for the Promethean boards are a few of the past purchases the PTSO was able to contribute with the money raised from various committees.

The PTSO is a great way to meet new people and become involved in the Shepard community. We encourage you to come to the PTSO meetings or contact either of us personally if we can help you in any way. We along with the Shepard PTSO Board look forward to a great school year!

Jenny Jones
(847) 236-9141 jennyjones628@aol.com

Sharyl Fishbein
(847) 945-9353 shayfish213@gmail.com