Posted February 6, 2023
Dear Swigert Families,
Just a reminder that the DPS School Choice window closes on Tuesday, February 14th. If you have an incoming ECE, Kinder or outgoing 5th grade student you will need to fill out a school choice application. Here is the website with more information: https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/. And speaking of February 14th, we look forward to celebrating Valentine’s Day with our students. All parties will be at the end of the day and students are welcome to bring cards for the entire class. I know teachers are sending out class lists to make sure all students are included. This Friday we are going to have a spirit wear or wear blue day. Please encourage your child to wear blue or Swigert swag.
I wanted to highlight our arts integration program. Each grade level team has two arts integration projects tied to their units of study throughout the year. The goals of arts integration are to increase student engagement, encourage students to show their learning in a different way, add more art to the student day and stamp their understanding of the major concepts of the unit. Over the past month we have had several grade level art projects coming to fruition including the fourth grade Social Action posters displays at the Stanley, our fifth grade immigration series shared at the Central Park Library, and our first graders just finished their changemaker collages. You can learn more about these integrated projects on our website:
One of our fourth grade students, DaVida Jones, was on Denver’s Nine News yesterday performing with her Drill Team in honor of Black History Month You can watch her and the team here: Nine News Story
Some fun accidental twinning at Swigert:
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
We are scheduled to host International Night on Thursday, May 11th this year. This is a community event where we love to recognize, honor, and celebrate different cultures from around the world. International Night is always made better by involving our students and their own backgrounds, traditions, and interests. If your student/family (or your student’s extra curricular group) would like to present, host, or demonstrate something at International Night, please reach out to Tabitha Jones at tabitha_jones@dpsk12.net. Examples of past student performances have included Irish Dancing, Drill Team, Japanese Flag Making, Mexican Folk Dancing, Capoeira, Bollywood Dancing, Polish Dancing, Craft Making, etc.
Some of you may already know that one of our 2nd graders lost her baby brother the weekend before last. We’re sharing the GoFundMe information for her mother, in case anyone would like to donate to help her family out. Our hearts go out to this family in their time of tragedy.
Please see the attached February edition of the Eaglet Post, our very own Swigert student newspaper! And thank you to parent Karyn Gaudy, for running the club.
Congratulations, Ms. S, for being awarded the Culturally Sustaining Collections Grant of $2,000!
The purpose of the Culturally Sustaining Collections grant is to support Denver Public Schools’ commitment to advancing asset-based cultural and linguistic responsive practices by infusing school libraries with books that provide affirming, authentic representation of the identities, home languages, and lived experiences of our students.
Ms. S., thank you for pursuing this opportunity to increase authentic, diverse representation in your library collection and for ALL you do to support Swigert’s students’ love of reading and continual access to a high quality digital and physical library collection.
Thursday, February 16th: Come purchase dessert at Pozzetti Gelato on Central Park Blvd and say “goodbye for now” to a cherished Swigert family!! Javier and Adriana, owners of Pozzetti Gelato on Central Park Blvd will be moving to Cincinnati at the end of February with their children Juan Diego (also known as “Juandi” from Ms. Draper’s 1st grade class) and older brother Juan Andres (from Ms. Colter’s 3rd grade classroom). Let’s show them our Eagle support and wish them well. They will be truly missed!
Click here to participate in KHC
Swigert International School students are Being the Torch and illuminating ways for our community to become healthier with Kids Heart Challenge! So far, we have raised $361.67 towards our $10,000.00 school goal. 7 Students have started Finn’s Mission and can take a health challenge and learn hands-only CPR!
Bonus Fun!
We hope everyone will join Kids Heart Challenge and complete Finn’s Mission to learn the life-saving skill of hands-only CPR. The class that raises the most will get an extra jump rope day in PE! And any student who raises $50 will qualify to get a special ON COURT experience with the Denver Nuggets!
Heart Heroes are teaching the kids the importance of making healthy choices, being a leader, and kindness. Click the Heart Hero below to hear their message to students.
Register to Participate in Kids Heart Challenge!
1. If you haven’t already registered for Kids Heart Challenge, click on our school’s Kids Heart Challenge link: http://www2.heart.org/site/TR?fr_id=7560&pg=company&company_id=392740 or download the Kids Heart Challenge app for iPhone or Andriod.
2. After registering, you can email or post to social media from the KHC website or app. How to Register for KHC Video.
3. Students who are registered and have an online donation by Monday will be entered into a drawing with other students across the country for a Large Squishmallow or a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate and earn some of this year’s Heart Heroes!
Join us Thursday 2/9 from 5-6:15 for our next Social Emotional Series event focused on Gifted Students and Relationships. This is open to students in 5th grade and higher and/or adult family members. Here is a registration link (not required, but helpful for email reminders): https://tinyurl.com/yu569spw
ENGLISH Presentation- You can join us by going to this link on Thursday 2/9: Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/5yt8jubb
Flyer en español
SPANISH Presentation- You can join us by going to this link on Thursday 2/9:Google Meet para sesiones en español:
https://meet.google.com/tcx-nihb-sju
We are in need of sweat pants/stretch pants in various sizes to keep on hand in the nurse’s office. We use these so that when kids spill on themselves, slip in the mud, or have any other type of accident they have something clean and dry to put on. Our current supply is dwindling pretty low, so if you happen to do a closet clean out at home and have sweats or stretch pants that are still in good condition, we would be happy to take them! You may drop them off at the front office or send them in with your student to drop by the front office. Even the older students have a need, so sizes from very small to young adult are welcome. Thank you!
Swigert will be hosting an Art Show for Kindergarten through 2nd Grades on Thursday, March 23rd, from 5:30 – 7:00 PM.
We hope to see you there!
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.
Choice for the 2023-24 school year 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 has changed. It is open now through February 14th, just like the DPS application. 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!
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 14 Choice & UPK Close 4PM
Feb 16 Pozzetti Gelato
Feb 20- 21 No School (President’s Day)
Feb 23 ECE Art Show
Mar 6-7 PTA Dine & Donate Chook Chicken
Mar 9 Kdg & 2nd Grade Concerts
Mar 22 Swigert Spirit Night – Urban Air
Mar 23 Kdg-2nd Art Show
Mar 27 – Apr 3 Spring Break
Apr 29 Swigert Auction
May 11 International Night
May 20 Swigert Night at the Rapids