Posted May 16, 2023
Dear Swigert Families,
Wow, May is definitely in full swing! Students are busy working on culminating projects, end of year reflections and presentations of learning. We look forward to seeing families on Friday for our annual field day and over the next two weeks as we embark on student led conferences.
This is an exciting time to be a fifth grader at Swigert. As part of their IB learning, our fifth grade students create a culminating exhibition unit on a topic they are passionate about. Each student participates in a collaborative, transdisciplinary inquiry process that involves identifying, investigating and offering solutions to real-life issues or problems- from poverty, health care, homelessness, to climate change. From their research, our exhibition groups work on tangible ways to raise awareness and enact change. You will see several of these action items coming to fruition below including an on campus blood drive for Children’s Hospital from a health care group and a drive for used sports equipment from an education student group.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
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 Monday May 21st.
Check our our student and staff Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month video and learn about Asian Pacific Islanders that embody IB learner profile traits.
Field Day is this Friday! Please ensure your child(ren) wear sneakers and weather-appropriate clothes for running. Please apply sunscreen to your child(ren) before the event, as well as ensuring they bring their water bottles to school.
ECE will have their own Field Day from 9:30 – 10:15 (or so).
Kdg – 2nd Grade will have field day in the morning, 8:45 – 11:00
3rd – 5th Grades will have field day in the afternoon, 12:45 – 3:00
Lunch will be BBQ served outside (for students and staff only). Parents are encouraged to attend and cheer their children on. Feel free to bring a lunch to join your child for a picnic lunch before/after field day, too!
We are all moving classrooms and offices next year. We wanted to make the big shift this summer instead of moving in pieces over the next few years. I wanted to share a link so you can begin to visualize. Our ECE wing will grow into the current kindergarten rooms. On the north side, Kinder and first grade classrooms will be on the first floor, second and third graders on the second floor and fourth/fifth graders will be on the third floor. The current Spanish room will be a welcome area where families can check in.
Here is a visual:
Check out what is going on in Gifted Programming Here: GT Spring Newsletter
The Swigert playground has always been a place where kids play, and adults can connect after school has ended for the day. This is still our hope. It is however important to know that there are some guidelines that need to be respected at all times. When the school day ends there are still 2 different programs that use the outdoor space. Discovery Link, our after school care provider uses the playground and is promised 1 play structure for their exclusive use. If you are asked by a Discovery Link staff member to switch play structures, please respect their request. We also share all facilities with our partner school. While their day is in session, until 4:00, DDS has priority for any space on the grounds.
Finally, please be aware that Swigert does not provide any supervision for students playing on the blacktop after school. If you choose to use the space for play, please make sure you are supervising your student at all times. And make sure that you are respectful of any staff member making a request of you, or your child.
Hi Swigert families,
We are a group of fifth graders doing our exhibition project on Access To Healthcare so we are helping people get what they need. We know many people do not have the blood they need when it comes to healthcare. So, for our action piece we are hosting a blood drive. Please help us achieve our goal of filling up the sign up sheet by donating blood. If you are able to participate, you can follow this link to sign up!
Thank you, Addie, Abby, Sophia, and Mila
Swigert Elementary School will be hosting a Children’s Hospital Colorado Mobile Blood drive on Thursday, May 25!
Blood donation does not cost money and requires little time. It does, however, make a big difference.
Your donation will help give the patients at Children’s Colorado a better chance for a healthy life.To make a donation appointment, please click on the link.
To read more, including eligibility requirements, please click here.
Some of our students now have smart watches and we want to reiterate our school policy. Smart watches are ONLY used as watches during the school day. Students should not be calling home or using apps at anytime. If they need to call home during the day they need to ask permission from a staff member.
As the warmer weather sets in we are seeing different selections for clothing that don’t align with our policy on student dress. These policies are in place to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students. Please remind your kids of this at home and we will follow up here.
We are pleased to announce that EPI School Supplies are now available to order for the 2023/2024 School Year! Why order school supplies online?
To order, simply go online using this link https://www.educationalproducts.com/shoppacks/ to complete your order for your child next fall. The Swigert School Code is SWI028 (three letters, three numbers). Please note, supplies will be delivered directly to Swigert. The final day to order is June 30. Ordering by June 30th will ensure discounted pricing and will also ensure that your child’s supplies arrive in time for the start of the 2022-2023 school year.
Feel free to email Hana Oglevee with any questions about the school supply sale (helizabethschaefer@gmail.com).
Hi. We are 5th graders and we are doing a drive to help the homeless and women. Our drive will work by making hygiene kits that will be donated to the Colorado Coalition for the homeless. We will also donate feminine products to The Pantry Collective to help women who can’t afford these products. Our plan is to get the whole elementary school to donate different types of hygiene products. The class with the most things will get a PJ stuffy party.
We would appreciate it if parents could donate the following products from May 22- May 26
ECE- combs and lip balm
Kindergarten: shampoo and conditioner
1st grade: toothpaste and toothbrushes
2nd grade: lotion and body wash/bar soap
3rd grade: first aid items
4th grade: deodorant and shaving supplies
5th grade: feminine products
It’s almost time for the spring book fair! This fair runs from May 22nd -May 24th and it’s a BOGO so it’s a great time to stock up for summer reading. Look for the flyer in your child’s Friday Folder this week to preview a few of the titles we will have for sale.
We are also looking for volunteers to help set up, work the registers, and break down the fair. I know May is a crazy month, but if you have an hour to spare to help we would truly appreciate it. You can sign up here :
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CA5AC29A5FA7-book
Saturday, May 20th is Swigert Night at the Rapids. Come join your fellow Eagles as the Rapids take on Real Salt Lake. Tickets start at $25. Use our link to be seated in the Swigert section and $5/each ticket purchased is donated to our PTA.
https://rapids.spinzo.com/?group=swigert-international-school-rb3b
Objective: To help motivate students to read over the summer while also raising money to support the school.
Why a reading challenge? It is common for students to have some loss of their knowledge and learning skills over the summer, something commonly called the “summer slide”. Programs like this have been proven to help students retain more of their skills over the summer and start the school year better prepared for learning at the next grade level.
Why fundraising? With anticipated budget shortfalls this year, additional fundraising is necessary. By combining student reading with pledge donations, we hope to continue to fund the programs we value so strongly at Swigert like IB and support for paraprofessionals. **Please note that pledge donations are encouraged but not required to participate in the reading challenge.
When: The program runs from June 3, 2023 – August 20, 2023.
How it works: Your student can either track minutes read or use our fun summer reading BINGO card to track reading. At the end of the summer, you will enter the total number of minutes or BINGOs logged and your student will earn raffle tickets based on the total. You will have the option to make your suggested donation to the school also based on total amount read by your student. Prizes: For each 10 hours spent reading or one completed BINGO, your student will receive one raffle prize entry. For example, if your student reads 50 hours total over the summer, they will receive 5 raffle entries. 8 BINGOs = 8 raffle tickets. There is no limit to the number of entries your child can have. Raffle drawing and recognition for all participants will happen during a special assembly at school in the fall. Raffle prizes will include: $50 GameStop gift card, $50 Tattered Cover gift card, a class pizza party, a class popsicle party, and the opportunity to throw a pie in Mr. Fisher’s face and more!
Look for a link to sign up in Friday folders and future Eagle Posts soon!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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
May 19 Field Day
May 19 5th Grade Dance
May 20 Swigert Night at the Rapids
May 22-24 Scholastic BOGO Bookfair
May 29 Memorial Day; No School
Jun 2 Last Day of School; Noon Release