Posted April 18, 2023
Dear Swigert Families,
We have officially entered Colorado springtime, with snow on Friday and sunshine and 80’s by Monday. There is a lot happening within and outside our school walls and I love seeing how our immersive and connected IB units come to fruition for Swigert students. Our Kindergarten students are finishing up one of their favorite science units focused on insects. They tied it together with a fieldwork trip to the Denver Museum of Nature Science, where they visited the new bug exhibit – what a thrill. Throughout the unit they researched and examined live mealworms on their desks and took scientific notes as the worms turned into beetles. Next week our students turn into entomologists as they share their insect books to the community. From firsthand experience, I can tell how excited they are to share their insect knowledge.
I have a few updates for you this week regarding our innovation plan and next steps. On Monday, April 10th the DPS School Board voted along with the Superintendent to return all NDIZ plans back to schools for revision. We can choose to revise our plan based on their recommendations, vote and resubmit at the end of May. I will work closely with our staff and SAC to determine our next steps and share any pertinent information with the community. Please reach out if you have any specific questions or input. We greatly value and appreciate our innovation status and being a part of the NDIZ Innovation Zone. The flexibility provided as an innovation school is a major part of our ability to be an IB school and support the IB program for our students and staff.
Community Input – Please fill out our SAC community survey – your input matters
Each year our school accountability committee (SAC) designs a survey to seek input from the community regarding our school programming. We want to hear what is working, not working and any suggestions you might have moving forward. Please take this short survey before Tuesday, April 25th.
SAC Election
Our School Accountability Committee- a committee that provides strategic input to the school regarding budget, staffing and programing- is holding their yearly election for new parent representatives. he SAC (School Accountability Committee) is holding parent representatives elections. We have two parent openings for the 2023-2024 school year, please read through the bios of interested individuals and vote for two. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
Swigert’s auction, GAINING ALTITUDE: A CLASSIC COLORADO AFFAIR, is just two weeks away on April 29th! Buy your tickets now at gainingaltitude.givesmart.com for the opportunity to win Taylor Swift Tickets, an African Safari, Teacher Experiences, Class Baskets, and dozens of other experiences, tickets, and travel opportunities! All proceeds raised support our IB programming, Spanish program, and paraprofessionals. Follow our Facebook (Friends of Swigert International School) and Instagram (@swigertinternational) accounts for more sneak peeks and information!
Please note the following dates and times:
April 24 – 28: Spirit Week
SATURDAY, APRIL 22ND: LAST DAY TO BUY TICKETS AT PRESALE PRICING
SUNDAY, APRIL 23RD: TICKET PRICES INCREASE TO $175/COUPLE AND $90/SINGLE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26TH: BUY-A-SHARES GO LIVE AT 10 AM
FRIDAY, APRIL 28TH: SILENT AUCTION GOES LIVE AT 10 AM
We have heard your requests! This summer, join us for a “Get ready for 5th grade” summer program. In a small group setting, students will work with current Swigert 5th grade teachers to review 4th grade concepts and get a sneak peek at some 5th grade fun. We will be offering a literacy group and a math group, with the option to participate in one or both. The program will run for five weeks total, four weeks during the month of June and one week in August. This way, students get to enjoy their summer with the month of July off and they can get some quick refreshers in August before school starts. If you are interested in more details, please check out this link!
Luckily, I was wrong about the final deadline to order being last week. We actually have until April 28th to order. Go to yearbookforever.com, type Swigert into the school field, and choose between Hardcover and Softcover. They’re listed as separate schools, but they’re both for us.
If you think you’ve already ordered a yearbook, you can check by email through yearbookforever.com (be sure to check under both choices!), or contact Daphne to look for you.
In celebration of the 5th graders’ years of hard work and imminent transition to middle school, we will host a 5th-grade dance on Friday, May 19 from 6 – 7 p.m. in the school gym. Information about volunteer opportunities will be emailed to 5th-grade parents in early May. Please mark your calendars for this fun event!
Hello 5th grade families! I cannot even believe it is time to think about our 5th grade exhibition and continuation ceremony. I am working on the video that will be played at the ceremony. I would love to get from every family a baby/toddler/younger picture of your child and then a more current 5th grade one to be used in the video.
You can upload them to this google drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1q_CyAsLuY5R2nE6htPh3_zrLuIx6WHGf?usp=share_link
Or feel free to just email them to me at emily_pool@dpsk12.net. Thank you so much and cannot wait to celebrate with you as our kids launch to middle school!
GTSA Highlights:
For more information, please see their letter (attached).
Swigert has Kiss ‘n Go lanes on both the east and west side of the school. We are challenged due to the United Construction Project using additional parking spots near the school, limiting our overall parking capacity. We are working with United to figure out a better plan. However, we still need to keep the Kiss and Go Lane’s moving so please do not park in an undesignated parking spot. These areas, indicated with a yellow curb, are designed for parents who want to quickly pull into the parking lot, let their kids out, and then continue on to work. If a space is not available, please continue to make circles in the lot until you connect with your student. Thanks for your understanding.
Do your kids attend a Central Park area school? Interested in local, state, national
education issues? Then you’ve got to check out the Central Park Ed News –
CPEDNews.org!
It’s a new online source focused on local schools, Denver Public Schools and larger
education issues. We’re interested in readers and writers. Let us know what you think
and if you’d like to contribute!
CPEDNews.org is a project of The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities.
The Swigert Auction theme this year is Gaining Altitude: A Classic Colorado Affair. As a countdown to the event on Saturday, April 29th, please join us in our Colorado-themed spirit week!
Monday, April 24th: Colorado Sports Teams – Avs? Nuggets? Broncos? Rockies? Buffs? Rams? Rapids? Rock those jerseys and/or team colors and show us who you support!
Tuesday, April 25th: Colorado Cozies – PJ Day!
Wednesday, April 26th: Colorado Colors – We want Swigert to look like one big Colorado state flag! So show up in your red, blue, and yellow!
Thursday, April 27th: Stock Show Rodeo Ready – Colorado cowboys and cowgirls get out those blue jeans, boots, and hats!
Friday, April 28th: Swigert Spirit Day – Cap the week off in your blue and white in support of the best school in the state!
As a staff, we start the class placement process in May for the following school year, and there are many factors that we consider. Grade level teachers, administrators, and our mental health team work together to decide on the best placement for every child. We know your child well, and consider things such as kids who might benefit from being in class together, kids who may need to be seperated, academic needs, and social/emotional needs. We also try to balance classes as far as gender, diversity, etc. We ask that you please trust the process. We know your children well and we will very thoughtfully place them with whom we think is best. The school policy is that we do not take teacher requests from parents. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to the admin team.
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
Apr 29 Swigert Auction
May 4 Swigert Service Day
May 5 No School for students
May 11 International Night
May 20 Swigert Night at the Rapids