Love is in the air at Shepherdstown Elementary! I love being back to school after such an extended winter break and unexpected snowy and freezing conditions! We have 1 more day to use as virtual learning, and Mother Nature is teasing us with its use this week and next! We are playing catch up and trying our best to instill the routines and best practices we taught and followed through with before the month of January! Teachers have not only had to make time to reteach those routines, but to also teach expected academic standards, progress monitor students in reading and math, and begin preparations in grades 3-5 for the WVGSA all during this return from school cancellations. The WVGSA tests will begin in grades 3-5 the week of April 28 and a calendar will be shared as we get closer.

Please be looking for a letter I sent home on February 4, 2025 for instructions on completing a survey electronically to have a voice in your opinion related to the conditions for learning in our school. This information is very insightful in our understanding of communication and implementing changes or continuing successful practices. You have until March 14th to complete the survey. Your participation is so helpful to me and our school community of leaders, so please take a few minutes and complete.

February 14-20 is known as Random Acts of Kindness Week, and it's one of my favorites to celebrate in school! February 17th is Random Acts of Kindness Day. We will be creating and sharing acts all of us can do, and not just during this celebration, but just bringing more attention to those we can do during this week. Maybe you and your child can think of something you can do for your teacher or classroom that he or she can share!

We are bringing Science Fair back to SES! Your 3rd - 5th grader was given a detailed presentation from Cheryl Lawrence of what a science fair project consists of and details for creating a project. We will hold our school science fair March 19th and parents can come visit the fair that evening at our SEA meeting. I cannot wait to see all the ingenuity and research our students show interest in! Next year we will compete in the fall and hopefully have students who move on and reach the experience of sharing their project at the county level.

Kindergarten Registration has been set for Monday, April 28, 2025. Please let families and friends know of this date and it will be publicized soon on the JCS website to begin the online process of registering. We are excited to meet the new class of Shepherdstown Elementary School!

I hope to see many of you at events at our school listed below such as PT conference night, SEA movie night, Maria's Taqueria, and our monthly S.E.A. meeting. When coming to our PT conferences on the 5th, please see me at the front entry table in which you can write a note of appreciation to any of our wonderful, dedicated, and hard working teachers!

May this month bring you much love, kindness, and happiness,

Mrs. Payne

2/5/2025 - Interims

2/5/2025 - Final Parent Teacher Conferences 5-7:00 p.m.

2/7/2025 - Jersey Day!

2/14/2025 - 2 hour early release for students

2/17/2025 - No School for Students

2/19/2025 - SEA - 6-7:00 p.m.

2/20/2025 - Shepherdstown Middle School Admin and staff visit 5th graders

2/21/2025 - SEA Family Movie Night

2/26/2025 - SEA Spirit Night at Maria's Taqueria from 3-9:00 p.m.

3/5/2025 - Spring Pictures

3/7/2025 - No School for Students

3/10/2025 - No School

My name is Kayla Boggess, and I am the Speech Language Pathologist at SES. I have a Masters of Science Degree From WVU in Speech Pathology and Audiology. I have worked In Jefferson County Schools since 2010, and I came to SES in 2015. As a Speech Language Pathologist, also known as an  SLP, I work with a variety of disorders or delays. In the schools we often work with articulation/phonological disorders, language disorders, pragmatic disorders, and fluency disorders. 

We also can work in other settings such as Rehab, hospitals, and Long Term Care. This usually entails working with swallowing disorders and cognitive disorders.

My favorite setting to practice speech therapy is in the schools because I love seeing the improvements made by the students, and I get to see how it carryovers into the classroom. 

I live at home with my husband, my 7 year old daughter,  6 year old son, and until recently, my 13 year old corgi named Rumsey. In my free time I am a girl scout co-leader for my daughters troop. I also enjoying decorating cakes, and reading books. 

My name is Kayla Boggess, and I am the Speech Language Pathologist at SES. I have a Masters of Science Degree From WVU in Speech Pathology and Audiology. I have worked In Jefferson County Schools since 2010, and I came to SES in 2015. As a Speech Language Pathologist, also known as an  SLP, I work with a variety of disorders or delays. In the schools we often work with articulation/phonological disorders, language disorders, pragmatic disorders, and fluency disorders. 

We also can work in other settings such as Rehab, hospitals, and Long Term Care. This usually entails working with swallowing disorders and cognitive disorders.

My favorite setting to practice speech therapy is in the schools because I love seeing the improvements made by the students, and I get to see how it carryovers into the classroom. 

I live at home with my husband, my 7 year old daughter,  6 year old son, and until recently, my 13 year old corgi named Rumsey. In my free time I am a girl scout co-leader for my daughters troop. I also enjoying decorating cakes, and reading books. 

This school year, your child’s WIN time educator has been using the UFLI Foundations program for reading and spelling instruction. Your child will be learning new concepts (sounds and letter patterns) to build their skills in reading and spelling words. The UFLI Foundations program includes Home Practice sheets to help families support their child’s learning at home.
Below are other ways to Fall in Love with Reading in 2025!! 

10 Fun Ideas to Supercharge Your Reading Skills! 

Encourage your kids to love their reading brains.  

💌Ways to “Fall in Love” with Reading 

• Read a recipe - cook or bake with an adult🥮 

• Play a word game like Scrabble®, Bananagrams®, or Boggle® ⌛ 

• Read to UFLI decodable stories to new dolls, action figures, stuffed animals 🧸 

• Read UFLI decodable stories to big and little family members or caregivers 

• Read UFLI decodable stories to yourself, in a mirror, in a funny voice 🐭 

• Write a postcard or letter to a family member, friend, favorite author, or celebrity! - example addresses: 

• LeBron James (basketball player) c/o Klutch Sports Group, LLC 50 W Broad Street, Suite 1800, Columbus, OH 43215 🏀 

• Taylor Swift (singer)                                                                            242 West Main Street PMB 412 Hendersonville, TN 37075 💃 

• Jane Goodall (scientist) The Jane Goodall Institute                1595 Spring Hill Road Suite 550 Vienna, VA 22182 🦍 

• Record a story – be a storyteller!🎤 

• Read UFLI decodable stories to or with a family member or friend who lives far away with FaceTime or video conferencing 💻 

• Visit your public library 📚 

As we are striving to achieve our Attendance Goals at SES, we are celebrating our overall successes! Sicknesses have taken a toll on our overall attendance in January and already in February, and I look forward to healthier fresh air days ahead!

In January, we celebrate our first in school snow day on Friday, January 17th to help encourage not only Friday attendances, but having fun with winter, together!

Friday, February 14, we will enjoy this shortened day with LOVING having all our students here for heart-felt Valentines and a school-wide Cupid Shuffle!

In March we are going to encourage how SILLY it is to miss school and have some goofy plans being created!

4th Grade, the BIG jump for responsibility, independence and reflection! The 4th Grade team strives to create engaging, creative and thought-provoking lessons, that not only provide content but encourage students to find out more.

In 4th Grade we encourage a growth mindset, the importance of learning from mistakes and reflecting on our struggles. We do this across the curriculum, giving the students a space to question, collaborate and find their voice. In math we use Building Thinking Tasks to initiate the students thinking not only about giving an answer but thinking about how to get to the answer and explain the processes. We connect the subject to the real world – whether planning out Santa’s Workshop to discover area and perimeter as an architect would. Or using string to create different types of lines, showcase art and recreate the Bayeaux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings as history states or creating 3D eyeballs to understand how the eye works and how it compares to an animal eye.

Every day we play, with numbers, with words, with thoughts, with ideas. We know words matter, through our poetry we have discovered the importance of choosing the right words, through mentor sentences and books we have grown our vocabulary and improved our writing. We have explored the Middle Ages, formed opinions, and discovered other people’s personal stories. We have learned how the world has changed through science, invention and people who wanted to change it for the better. Every day we find the passion in learning and discover inspiration.

At SES, we LOVE music! Whether we are singing, playing instruments, or strumming a ukulele we always enjoy creating musical moments together!

All State Chorus: Please congratulate Lily Clipp, Madison Mason, and Allison Plotner for making All State Children’s Chorus!

Ukulele Ensemble: Break out your Hawaiian shirts, we are singing and strumming to the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride from Lilo and Stitch.

3rd Grade Chorus: Do you hear it? We are singing “Listen to the Beat of My Heart” and “I Hear Music Everywhere” as we prepare for our Spring Concert.

4th and 5th Grade Chorus: We are rolling into the new year with the song Big Blue Marble. Did you know we can sing in Hawaiian and Hindi?

Band: What’s that you hear? That the sound of the band playing songs with 4 notes! “Down By The Station” is the focus of our next couple weeks.

Tone Chimes and Drumming: Complex rhythms are the name of the game. I’ve heard some spectacular lead rhythms from these musicians!

“Stay tuned” for more as we create some amazing music!

The SEA wants to thank everyone for a successful coin drive that raised over $700! And a big CONGRATULATIONS to our winners: Ms. Goff’s classroom for K-2 and Ms. Schuyleman’s classroom for 3-5! We also want to congratulate the 1st grade for winning the Box Tops contest for the first half of the year! Please keep scanning your receipts to help SES earn money and for your child's grade level to win for the second half of the year.

Come join the SEA for a FREE family movie night on Friday, Feb 21 where we'll be watching Encanto in the cafeteria. Bring your chair and blankets and we'll provide the popcorn and snacks!

You can always find the latest information on the "Shepherdstown Elementary School SEA (PTO)" Facebook page, and are welcome to reach out to the SEA Executive Board at shepherdstownSEA2024@gmail.com with any questions, comments or ideas!

The next SEA meeting is February 19 at 6pm in the cafeteria.

Shepherdstown Elementary proudly sent strong, capable, responsible and incredible 4th and 5th grade students to JCS Math Field Day. Mrs. Shiley, our gifted teacher prepared them after school for many weeks and they were extremely competitive and brought back some hardware!

4th Grade Team won first place as a team! Congratulations to Zachary Clayton, Christian Helmick, Madilyn Lemaster, and Colin Sharer! Individually, Madilyn Lemaster - 1st alternate; 2nd place Zachary Clayton and 3rd place Colin Sharrer.

5th Grade Team: Owen Clay, Lily Manzano, Melanie Chapman, and Isaac Merkel-Mason