Posted October 19, 2021
Good afternoon Swigert Families,
We hope you all enjoyed the fall break and had the opportunity to engage in some family fall activities! We follow the DPS calendar for fall break during this window to allow for student teacher conferences and add in a day for professional learning and planning for teachers. We are excited to see our students and welcome them on Wednesday. Please remember to have your children wear a mask and pack an extra mask in their backpack. We are seeing more students forget their masks in the morning. As we delve into cooler weather please have your kids dress appropriately and in layers. We are seeing more items end up in lost and found label jackets, sweatshirts, lunch boxes and water bottles. It helps us return items to their rightful owners. We will eat and play outside as much as we can so these added layers help keep our students comfortable outside.
Many parents have asked me where we are seeing the impact from the pandemic There is not a single answer to this question and it is also student dependent. but we can share general trends. On a positive side students are progressing quickly with the beginning of the year starting in person and ability to keep it uninterrupted, high levels of engagement in their learning environment, more adept and flexible with their use of technology and overall evidence of a keener interest in understanding and improving our world.
In terms of areas for growth or general need- overall stamina in tasks- especially in writing, math fluency in facts and interpersonal development. Our general homework policy is to have students read at home daily. We want kids engaging with books that they are interested in – whether that’s being read to in the younger grades or Homework policy. If you are looking for some ideas for at home work here are a few:
Lexia- we bought a schoolwide license for Lexia. This online literacy program is differentiated to meet students where they are and also supports students with dyslexia. Students use exia as a center during their literacy block but they can also use it at home. They know how to log in and can do Lexia at home for extra literacy practice.. Here is the website:
Lexia Core5 Reading – Login and Student Program
Journaling and writing about their favorite part of the day, writing an imaginary story or creating a newspaper article about a current or school event. Writing letters to grandparents or aunts and uncles.
Researching about a specific topic of interest and creating a written piece or presentation about their topic to share with the family
Math fluency fact practice – kids need multiple at bats to build their fluency of math addition, subtraction and multiplication facts
Turn cooking into math- students can double and do fractions.
And always developing a love for literacy by having students read for pleasure, listen to audiobooks and spend time talking about what they are reading.
Check out the Denver Public Schools and Swigert online books
Swigert International School | Denver Public Schools Library Services (dpsk12.org)
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.org
Lifetouch will be back for retakes on Monday, November 1st. Order forms will go home on Friday, October 29th. You can also order online at mylifetouch.com, using Picture Day ID EVTX9S6ZJ.
If your child missed the original picture day, they will have their picture taken on retake day, even if you don’t place an order. If you want to order pictures, please either order online or use the form that will go home before retakes.
If your child already had pictures taken and you don’t want retakes, you don’t need to do anything. If your child already had pictures taken and you want retakes, please return the original photos by the morning of Monday, October 29th. Also notify your child’s teacher that the photos are in your child’s backpack/Friday folder so they know to look for them. If a student has already had a picture taken and the teacher doesn’t know that you want retakes (which they’ll know by the returned pictures), no retakes will be taken.
Class pictures will be taken on Monday, November 1st. Class picture order forms will go home on Friday, October 29th. You can also order online at mylifetouch.com, using Picture Day ID EVTVXKPR7.
Please see the attached Enrichment brochure for class lists and instructions for how to register. If you have any questions, please contact Shavon Glasper.
The Lunch menu is continuing to change based on availability, so we will keep you as updated as much as possible.
The menu for this week is:
Wed 10/20: Country Chicken Bowl OR Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
Thu 10/21: Spaghetti Marinara OR Spaghetti w/Meat Sauce OR Yogurt Basket w/Blueberry Muffin
Fri 10/22: Cheese Quesadilla OR Chicken Quesadilla OR Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich
The menu for next week is:
Mon 10/25: All Beef Hotdog OR Charro Beans & Rice OR PB&J
Tue 10/26: Grilled Cheese Sandwich OR Sloppy Joe OR Yogurt Basket w/Blueberry Muffin
Wed 10/27: Mac & Cheese OR PB&J
Thu 10/28:Cheesy Breadstick w/Marinara OR Yogurt Basket w/Blueberry Muffin
Fri 10/29: BBQ Chicken OR Vegetarian Chef Salad OR PB&J
If your child has a peanut allergy and needs Wow butter (or other food allergy that requires accomodation), please be sure you’ve completed the attached Meal Modification Form. Food & Nutrition Services requires this form even if you have an allergy/anaphylaxis form on file with the nurse. You can return the form to our kitchen manager or the front office. Please note: the kitchen is currently out of Wow butter. If your child has a peanut allergy and wants hot lunch, please ensure they will eat a different option!
Spelling Bee
Congratulations to the students who will be participating in the 21-22 Swigert Spelling Bee! The spelling bee will be held on Monday, November 8th at 1:30. Participating students should use the attached study guide. If you have any questions, please email Robin B.
3rd Grade:
Luke P (Montgomery)
Giulio M (Montgomery)
Caroline K (Montgomery)
Gia B (Mosley)
Lauren K (Mosley)
Mark S (Mosley)
Alma C (Epstein)
Emmanuel H (Epstein)
4th Grade:
Nisaar J (Burdette)
Asher A (Jones)
Mila M (Jones)
Bailey V (Curry)
Charlie R (Curry)
Sophie V (Mueller)
Sophia M (Mueller)
Evan K (Mueller)
Ava W (Mueller)
Cameron D (Mueller)
5th Grade:
Luca R (Mills)
Natalia L (Mills)
Murray K (Egan)
Davis J (Egan)
Alison S (Conarro)
Zev S (Conarro)
Leah P (Conarro)
Javier G (Adler)
Paloma A (Adler)
Georgia L (Adler)
Students at Northfield High are having a coat drive and have a donation box in the Swigert lobby. Please see the attached flyer for more information.