Posted October 11, 2022
Dear Swigert Families,
Fall is in full swing and it’s wonderful to be in an in person rhythm at school. It is so invigorating. With the cooler temperatures kids are coming in layers and leaving their layers on the playground. Our lost and found is beginning to grow, please label all extra clothes so we can return them to their rightful owner.
We’ve been able to bring back regular fieldwork and hosted our first grade level presentation of learning last week. Our fifth graders wrapped up their unit of where we are in place and time- studying how movement creates change- with a wax museum. Students chose inspiring historical and present day figures who have impacted society and made a change. Then they researched, created monologues, and embodied their person for the wax museum. It was inspiring to see who students selected- from Claudette Colvin, Albert Einstein, Alex Morgan, Jackie Robinson, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and so many more! They shared the remarkable stories of how people change the world for the better – in small ways and major ways.
For Hispanic Heritage Month, teachers are integrating stories and histories throughout their morning meeting and our art teacher, Ms Delap, is using Hispanic artists as mentors through her lessons. The students studied poetry and Yesenia Montilla is an Afro-Latina poet and created art based on her poetry. The student art is on on display in the hallway near the gym if you are in the building or interested to take a look.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
Friendly reminder that there is NO SCHOOL for students on Friday (14th), Monday (17th), and Tuesday (18th). Enjoy your Fall Break!
The Planting Seeds Committee is a diverse group of Swigert parents, caregivers and staff members committed to further embedding International Mindedness, diversity and equity in our school’s work. The Committee meets once a month for an hour. Please join us for our kick-off meeting on Wednesday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will set the monthly dates based on group members’ calendars. Please RSVP here.
DPS Nutrition Services has started selling a la carte snacks during lunches to 4th-5th grade students in all DPS schools. These snacks include cookies, crispy rice treats, chips, etc. Students purchase the snacks by entering their lunch number in the same way they purchase school lunches, and all students with a positive balance in their account or cash can purchase. Swigert was not able to opt out of this entirely, but we have put the following parameters around the selling of snacks. We are working on limiting snack purchases to one day a week. Students will be limited to purchasing one snack each. On the DPS website it says that families can regulate which items students are able to purchase on the “My School Bucks” app, so if you wish to regulate the ability of your child to buy snacks, this seems like the best way. We have reached out to Nutrition Services about exactly how to do this and we will communicate that with you when we hear back. See district policy and information on this practice at the link below. If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please contact Sheryle_Clardy@dpsk12.net.. https://foodservices.dpsk12.org/meal-prices-policies/a-la-carte/
Hi, I am Emma and I am a Swigert fifth grader. I am an avid horseback rider and I will be selling tickets to my horse show. The show is 2 hours long and has trick riding, dressage, bareback riding, and more. The proceeds go to help the program. I will be selling under the yellow dome this Thursday, October 13th between 3:20 and 4:20. Come to the stand for more information and get your tickets. See you there, I hope. The tickets are $12.00 a piece.
To sign up to host your trunk, click here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e044aacaa2ba2f58-swigert
Swigert will be hosting a food drive to stock the shelves of our food bank. Please bring in the following items the week of November 7th to help support our families. There will be collection boxes outside each classroom door. We ask that donated items are canned or boxed, rather than bagged.
ECE/Kinder: Peanut or Sun butter / Jelly
1st: Canned vegetables / fruit
2nd: Canned Chicken or Tuna
3rd: Cereal
4th: Pasta / Pasta sauce
5th: Granola bars / Mac and Cheese
If you want picture retakes, head to the Bloom dashboard and sign up. They will be held after school on Wednesday, October 26th from 4-5pm and will be by pre-registration only.
Swigert currently has an opening for a Special Education Paraprofessional position. This would include working closely with one student who has special needs throughout the day. Please email me directly at shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net if you are interested or know someone who is interested. Thank you!
As a part of the music curriculum, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are learning to play the soprano recorder. The 3rd grade classes are starting their recorder unit now. The 4th and 5th grade classes will have their recorder units later this year. We have found that many parents like to purchase the recorders so students can practice at home as well as at school. We will be ordering 3-piece Yamaha recorders. Each recorder (including shipping) costs $5.00.
Students may also wish to purchase a copy of Recorder Express for $6.00. This book is supplemental to the work the students are doing in class.
Here are some helpful practice hints:
If you choose to purchase a recorder, sign into your account at myschoolbucks.com. From there, click on “Products,” then “Recorders-Swigert.” You will have the option to choose a recorder alone (standard), recorder and book, or book alone. Your student will receive their recorder during music class.
If you would like a recorder for your student but are unable to afford one at this time, please contact Krystie in the front office.
Thank you for your continued support of your child’s creativity in music!
Tour season is starting to ramp up for DPS School Choice. We’d love to support our 5th grade families in any way we can as you start to tour middle schools. We have made a webpage with the 6 Central Park enrollment schools with links to their tour sign ups. Let us know if you have any questions that we can help find the answers for!
https://swigert.dpsk12.org/middle-school-info/
Planting Seeds Committee Kick Off
The Planting Seeds Committee is a diverse group of Swigert parents, caregivers and staff members committed to further embedding International Mindedness, diversity and equity in our school’s work. The Committee meets once a month for an hour. Please join us for our kick-off meeting on Wednesday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. via Zoom. We will set the monthly dates based on group members’ calendars. Please RSVP here.
The Yearbook Cover Contest is back! This year’s theme is “Out of this World.” Please see the attached rules and the example from last year’s yearbook for a student-drawn front-only cover, or the example from 20-21 for a Digitally-created example. .
We have a bunch of arts integration painting projects throughout the year and we are in need of square or round plastic containers for water. Please bring in any that you have in the next couple of weeks. 🙂
On 10/18 Northfield Boys’ Soccer Team will be hosting an IN-N-Out (16-wheeler) Hamburger truck at Northfield High School from 3 pm-5 pm.
75% of proceeds will go towards the Boys Soccer Team and 25% will towards IN-N-Out “Help Us Prevent Child Abuse” Foundation.
We have only 2 weeks to presell – 800 tickets at $10 each which includes Hamburger/Chips/drink (the price of food!!!).
Please see the attached flyer. To order, go to https://www.myschoolbucks.com/ver2/prdembd?ref=ZZI5ZQ2XQU04MZG_ZZ5WEULVQDRP2LE
We’d love to connect with you as much as possible. You will be automatically added to our weekly Swigert Eagle newsletter that comes out every Tuesday during the school year. Please also visit our website at www.swigert.dpsk12.org to learn more about Swigert and events that are coming up. You can also join our “Friends of Swigert International School” private Facebook page – www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofswigert. When requesting to join, please include a note to say you are a new family. We post pictures of events at school, interact as a school family, and you can see friendly reminders of upcoming events.
Who to contact if you have questions about:
| Registration | Daphne Jolley | DJolley@dpsk12.net |
| Technology and events | Richard Fisher | Richard_Fisher@dpsk12.net |
| Daily School Life | Emily Pool | Emily_Pool@dpsk12.net |
| Instruction, Programing, etc. | Shelby Dennis Amber Holthus-Pera | Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net Amber_Holthus-Pera@dpsk12.net |
| Health | Nurse Hoang Tran | Hoang_Tran@dpsk12.net |
| IB Program/Service Learning | Caroline Dane | Caroline_Dane@dpsk12.net |
Key Dates
Oct 14-18 Fall Break
Oct 14 Yearbook Cover Contest ends
Oct 26 Picture Re-takes (by sign-up only)
Oct 26 Planting Seeds Kick-Off
Oct 28 Halloween Celebrations
Nov 7-11 Food Drive