Posted October 25, 2022
Dear Swigert Families,
We are excited to host Halloween Events this Friday including parties, our annual costume parade and PTA sponsored Trunk or Treat. Please see details below regarding each event. If your family doesn’t celebrate Halloween please email me directly and I will make sure your child has engaging activities to participate in during these times- Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net.
I wanted to update you on our last SAC meeting and next steps regarding Healthy Start Times for next year. At the SAC meeting last week parents and staff had the opportunity to ask questions and hear from two DPS School Board Members, Director Anderson and Esserman. There were several issues discussed regarding the proposed changes to Swigert’s start and end time for 2023-2024 including busing, safety issues, and after school care. The shift would be from 7:40am to 2:40pm. The board members shared that there is still an opportunity for this issue to be brought up again this fall for review or adjustments. We are creating a letter and email writing campaign if you are interested in advocating for a change or pause for the 2022-2023 school year. We will be sending out next steps via email on Thursday, 10.27. If you are interested in reading the notes, please review here. If you are interested in reading more about the initiative, please see this website. DPS Healthy Start Time.
Finally, I was quite moved and overwhelmed with the community support shown to our Kindergarten Student Pippa and the Robinson Family on Friday afternoon. Pippa is such a light and going through a challenging battle with cancer. A huge heartfelt thank you to all those who showed up to support, donate and shave their heads- students, parents and staff included. We raised over $3,000 for St Baldricks. I don’t have the words, but I wanted to say thank you.
St. Baldrick’s Foundation | Childhood Cancer Research Charity (stbaldricks.org)
Here are a few photos from the event. 
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
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