Posted January 17, 2023
Dear Swigert Families,
As I reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., I am inspired by his persistent and unrelenting work to make the world a more just and peaceful place. I wanted to share a lesser known speech he made for middle school students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967. He believed that young people are an important part of social change and can make a difference in our world. In the speech, he asked the students about their blueprint, “What is your Life’s Blueprint?” He shared three things he wanted kids to include in their own life blueprint:
If you want to listen, here is the link: Martin Luther King, Jr., “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?” – YouTube
I wanted to share a few highlights of events and student presentations this week. This winter, fourth graders at Swigert International School asked themselves, “What social or environmental issue is most important to me and what can I do to help create positive change?” Students chose a variety of issues, including racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, gun violence, animal rights and global warming. They crafted a message and created social action posters to share their call to action with the community. The project deepens students’ understanding in their IB unit of inquiry: Government impacts the way we live and we can impact our government. As citizens, we have the right and the responsibility to voice our opinions about issues that matter to us. The posters will be on display at the Stanley Marketplace from January 19th through February 2nd.
Our fifth graders created art pieces called agamographs as part of their last unit to show different perspectives on issues they were passionate about. The student art work will be on display in the Sam Gary Library January 6th-20th, stop by and check out the student work. Here is a website that explains the history and significance of agamographs. Yaacov Agam – Kings Gallery – Jerusalem – Yaacov Agam Kings (kings-gallery.com)
Our kindergarten students took their history unit to the road last week and visited the Morrison History Museum. They loved learning more about different dinosaurs and fossils.
Thank you so much for all for your generous donations for the refugees from Nicaragua. It’s been so amazing to see the outpouring of generosity and how engaged our fifth grade students are with the project. The fifth grade is collecting donations and sorting daily. We have already made two deliveries and will do one more on Friday.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
In partnership with Denver Public Schools, Swigert does a social emotional screening for all students to check in on their emotional well being. We will be doing this screening for all third, fourth and fifth grade students beginning January 23rd-February 17th. Please see attached letter and email Kimberly Irk, Kimberly_Irk@dpsk12.net if you do not want your child to be screened. BESS Letter- Information
We have our CMAS schedule set for April for our third through fifth grade students. Please try and schedule trips and appointments around these times and dates. We will send out more information as we get closer, but want you to have it on your calendar. Please reach out with any clarifying questions.
Due to possible weather, we are moving the SAC meeting from tonight to January 31st.
We’re halfway through the month of January and the Climate Activism team would like to remind you about our climate monthly challenge to pick up a piece of trash every day. If your Swigert student participates they can fill out this google form to be entered into a raffle to earn a prize. Thanks for participating!
Choice for the 2023-24 school year opens at 10 AM this Friday, January 13th and will close at 4 PM (DPS time) Tuesday, February 14th. All students who will be entering ECE, Kindergarten, or 6th grade (and, for siblings, 9th grade) need to have a Choice Form completed. Students who are currently in Kindergarten through 4th grades only need to have a Choice Form completed if you/they are choosing to change schools. If you do not complete a choice form for a student in K – 4th, they will roll back into Swigert for next year. It doesn’t matter if you complete the form on the first or last day of the window, but you MUST hit submit by 4 PM on February 14th or you will have to wait until 2nd Round, which greatly reduces your likelihood of getting into your school of choice.
There seems to be a glitch in the system, which sometimes shows students don’t have siblings even when they do. Please submit your application even if that is incorrectly marked. We always go through and ensure siblings are getting the correct priority. If the student you’re applying for has a different last name than the sibling, please email djolley@dpsk12.net to ensure that student is on the radar.
The DPS process remains the same: you must complete a Choice Application. However, in addition to the DPS form, you must also complete the Colorado Universal Preschool (UPK) application, which provides 15 hours of free preschool to every ECE student. This does not mean that you can only have 15 hours free; the rest is based on income, just as it has been in the past. Please see the attached UPK letter for more information. The UPK application window is open now through February 15th. The UPK application is where you’ll be able to input sibling information and school choices.
For DPS’ Choice, go to dps.schoolmint.net. If you already have an account (which most of you reading this will, from getting your older child(ren) into Swigert), you can either log into your old account, if you still have access to the email you used, or you can create a new account. Any students you have already choiced into a DPS school will show up on your existing account, but you don’t have to create a choice form for them unless you want to – or they are in ECE, K, or 5th grade. There is also a box you can select to create a new student, meaning new to the account. Even if they are currently in DPS, create a new student if they aren’t already on your account. For ECE only, you will not be able to select schools through DPS. The only option you can choose is UPK.
DPS no longer offers paper registration. However, if you have difficulties with the process, Daphne will be happy to help you. Just come by the office during the hours from 9 AM – 3 PM on any school day; if those times don’t work for getting to the school, then feel free to call 720-424-4802 for help. You wIf your child is entering ECE or Kindergarten (and isn’t currently attending a DPS ECE), please be sure to bring proof of age: Birth Certificate, Passport, or signed hospital/religious birth paperwork.
Please be sure you fill out BOTH applications!
Hello Families,
Thanks so much for your support on our Refugee Relief Drive. We are grateful for your generosity! We received word that about 100 refugee students will be starting school in the Denver area this week. We are asking for donations of backpacks specifically for the remainder of the drive this week (ending this Friday, 1/20). We will be distributing the backpacks to our classrooms so each class can be in charge of loading a backpack or 2 with school supplies. It takes a village and we are grateful for ours!
With Gratitude,
Caroline Dane
IB Coordinator
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” – Desmond Tutu
The 1st and 3rd grade concerts are coming soon!
The 1st graders will present “A Continental Concert” and the 3rd graders will present “Mother Nature” on Thursday, February 2.
At 5:45 PM, 1st grade students will meet in their classrooms. Their concert begins at 6:00 in the gym.
At 6:25 PM, 3rd grade students will meet in their classrooms. Their concert begins at 6:40 in the gym.
Dress for this concert is nice clothes.
If you cannot make it to the evening concert, you may attend the dress rehearsals: Wednesday February 1 and Thursday February 2 during the school day (time TBD).
See you there!
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
Feb 2 1st & 3rd Grade Concerts
Feb 14th Choice Closes 4PM
Feb 15th UPK Application Closes 4PM
Feb 20- 21 No School (President’s Day)
Feb 23 ECE Art Show
Mar 9 Kdg & 2nd Grade Concerts
Mar 27 – Apr 3 Spring Break
Apr 29 Swigert Auction