Posted October 18, 2022
Dear Swigert Families,
I hope everyone enjoyed some respite and enjoyed the fall colors over fall break. It was great seeing parents in the building for conferences over the past few weeks to learn more about your child’s progress and next steps. Our calendar committee voted to attach a planning day to this weekend for planning purposes and believed it was better to extend a break then to create another. If you are interested in planning our calendar we will reach out in March for input. As an innovation school we value these planning days to support our professional learning as a staff as well as much needed time to plan our IB units.
We will cap off Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing this video of students and staff sharing Hispanic individuals who inspired them in one way or another: HispanicHeritageMonthVideo.
Finally, I would like to invite you to attend our SAC meeting on Wednesday at 5:30 in the library if you are interested in hearing more about the Healthy Start Times. We invited the DPS School Board and two members responded they are potentially coming – Auon’Tai Anderson and Carrie Olson. Swigert staff and families would like to hear more about the rationale for the shift and what potential there might be for changes.
There will also be a virtual option:
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78106894596?pwd=BNE0xAIbB41PGAJnokEqaZa6L1POvs.1
Meeting ID: 781 0689 4596
Passcode: 1gs8R3
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
Hello NDIZ Families,
Innovation begins with listening to our customers– you and your child. Thank you for agreeing to help us name and take action to innovate schools in the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone (NDIZ). (Swigert, McAuliffe International, McAuliffe Manual, and Northfield). We are renewing our application for innovation status at both the Zone and School Levels. Our applications are due on November 17th.
First Round of Feedback: Thank you so much for your feedback on our Northeast Denver Innovation Plan. I made many adjustments in the plan based on family feedback on October 3rd.
Second Round of Feedback: If you did not get a chance to join a session, I would appreciate your feedback… read full letter here.
We are so excited to host our in-person Scholastic book fair! Our book fair will be open to families at the following times:
Monday 10/24 closed in the AM 3:00-4:00 PM
Tuesday 10/25 7:45-8:30 AM 3:00-4:00 PM
Wednesday 10/26 7:45-8:30 AM 3:00-4:00 PM
Thursday 10/27 7:45-8:30 AM 3:00-4:00 PM
Friday 10/28 – open during Trunk or Treat 5:00-6:30 PM
We will also be allowing students to shop during school hours when their class visits the book fair. If you would like your child to have the opportunity to shop, consider using the E-wallet. You can find more information on the attached flyer or on our homepage. The E-wallet allows you to add money into your child’s account for use at the book fair. They are unable to spend over the amount issued on the E-wallet. There is also an opportunity for others to add money to the E-wallet (perfect for grandparents).
Please visit our homepage for more information at
https://www.scholastic.com/bf/swigert1
We are still looking for volunteers. Click on the link to sign up.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CA5AC29A5FA7-swigert2
1: Choose your favorite book.
2: Design your own cover or do your best to replicate the cover.
*Include the title and author of the book
*All entries should be on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper
*Include your name, grade, and teacher on the back
3: Submit entry to your teacher by October 21st
We will select one First Place winner from each grade level, and they will receive a prize. All artworks will be displayed at the Book Fair. This is a hugely popular and fun event! Please encourage your students to participate. Questions? Email karyn.gaudy@gmail.com
Hispanic Heritage Month
As we wrap up Hispanic Heritage Month at Swigert, we wanted to share a video featuring Swigert students and staff celebrating Hispanic and LatinX individuals they admire and the IB attributes these individuals embody. Check out the video here!
Help us bring Hispanic Heritage Month conversations home. You can ask your child:
-Who is a Hispanic or LatinX person from history or from today that you admire? -Why do you admire this person? Which IB attribute do they demonstrate?
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.
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/
Key Dates
Oct 23 Fall Clean-Up
Oct 26 Picture Re-takes (by sign-up only)
Oct 26 Planting Seeds Kick-Off
Oct 28 Halloween Celebrations
Nov 7-11 Food Drive
Nov 21-25 Thanksgiving Break