Posted January 9, 2024
Dear Swigert Families,
I am often asked what it means to be an International Baccalaureate (IB) school and how that plays out. Swigert’s IB Program strives to put students at the center of the learning by using student interests, curiosities and background knowledge to steer the direction of each unit of inquiry. We truly strive to create authentic units that provide multiple opportunities for students to become critical thinkers, go deep in engaging topics, give back to the world around them and develop an international mindset. I wanted to share some highlights of our fieldwork this week. Fieldwork can include speakers coming to Swigert or our students going out into the community. The fieldwork is always tied to what the students are currently studying, stamping their understanding and hopefully sparking interest and engagement.
Field Work
As an IB school we engage in integrated fieldwork, meaning all of our trips and presentations are tied to the current unit of study. Our kindergarten students are finishing up their history unit. They are studying and learning about things from the past. As part of their unit, they built time machines that brought in artifacts from the past on a daily basis, including CD players, typewriters, dial phones, etc. Our Kindergarten students participated in two outside fieldwork opportunities. One, they went to Balfour Senior Center to talk to seniors about their past. Early this week they headed to the Morrison History Museum to study dinosaurs – a true kinder fan favorite and fossils.
Our fourth graders are in the middle of their government unit and they brought fieldwork to school. Last Thursday, Colorado State Senator James Coleman spoke to the fourth grade students about government. He shared about his daily job and his why, as well as answering at least a dozen questions from some eager fourth graders.
On Thursday this week, our third graders will also stamp their learning about immigration by hosting a Naturalization Ceremony. They will be a part of this official ceremony where the Mayor and Representatives from Senator Bennet’s office will officiate as 20 immigrants officially become American citizens. We are so excited to host this special event.
As always, please reach out with any questions or clarifications. Have a wonderful week.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
Many parents have had questions regarding recent Gifted Testing and their child’s Magnet Eligibility status. Mrs. Dennis and I thought it would be helpful to talk through what it means to be ME, school choice implications, and answer your questions. If you would like for info, please see the information below:
Virtual Magnet Eligibility Question and Answer Session: If your child recently became ME through one of our Gifted and Talented Assessments and you have questions regarding this designation or school choice options, come join our Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Mrs. Bresnahan, for a zoom session on Tuesday, January 16th from 4:30 – 5:10. If you plan to come or would like to come but cannot make the talk, please fill out this form so we can better prepare and share resources with those who cannot make it. Video call link: https://meet.google.com/knx-kqvi-urx
PTA Meeting Wednesday, January 10th 6-7pm in the library. Our meetings are open to anyone (member or not). We will discuss committee updates, upcoming events, and Shelby’s Principal’s Report. Hope to see you there.
There will be a virtual option PTA Meeting Wednesday, Jan 10 · 6–7 PM Google Meet joining info Video call link: https://meet.google.com/vsn-bggk-mum
Swigert has Kiss ‘n Go lanes on both the east and west side of the school. 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. We are also struggling with the lack of parking due to the construction at our neighbor, United Airlines. Please do not double park in the parking lot. We can also utilize the bus lane (on the Syracuse side) in the morning because our morning buses have already dropped off by 7:50. There is often parking in the Sam’s Club parking lot if you need to park and pick up. If you would like to have a longer stop, please go ahead and pull into a parking space, or pull alongside a curb so that other parents can continue on with their day.
Thank you for understanding.
Please join us for our next Diversity and Inclusivity Working Group meeting: Monday, January 22, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Swigert Library. If you are interested in meeting families of all backgrounds committed to celebrating diversity, building International Mindedness and making Swigert even more inclusive, please join us! Please RSVP to shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net.
We are preparing for our science fair on March 1st. We have a Zoom parent information session scheduled for January 11th at 6 pm. To join, please use the following link: Science Fair Parents Q&A Session Thursday, Jan 11, 2024 6–7 PM Google Meet joining info Video call link: https://meet.google.com/ene-beto-vdf
Or dial: +1 407-986-7261
PIN: 278312806
For further details or to sign up, please visit our website: https://www.swigertsciencefair.org/home
1st and 3rd grade families:
The 1st and 3rd grade concerts are coming soon!
The 1st graders will present “Storytelling” and the 3rd graders will present “Immigration” on Thursday, February 1.
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 January 31 and Thursday February 1 during the school day: 10:25 (3rd grade) and 2:10 (1st grade).
See you there!
Does your Swigert student have a talent they want to share? Have them sign up for our first ever talent show! Important information and dates below.
Dates:
1/30 – Auditions (3:30-5:30 in The Nest)
2/13 – Rehearsal (3:30-4:30 room 304)
2/21 – Dress Rehearsal (3:30-5:30 in the gym)
2/22 – SHOW NIGHT! 5:30 PM in the gym
Please join us for the opening of our Swigert art exhibit:
4th Grade Social Action Posters
Stanley Marketplace:
In the Walkway Above the Denver Biscuit Company
2501 Dallas St, Aurora, CO 80010
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Open house, come when you can!
The posters will be up from January 17 to February 7, so you are also welcome to come any time during the exhibit.
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The Social Action Posters were created as an Arts Integration Project in our Who We Are unit of inquiry.
NEW Central Park School Guide Now Live!
DPS school choice process starts Jan. 11! And the new Central Park School Guide can help! The guide lists the 16 public schools that serve Central Park and offers a detailed description of each school’s education program/focus, performance and demographics.
Sign up for our free, weekly news roundup at www.CPEdNews.org! CPEdNews.org is a project of The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities.
SchoolChoice opens on Thursday at 10 AM!
It’s School Choice time for our incoming fall 2024 ECE4, Kindergarten, and 5th grade families. Current ECE families, friendly reminder that you DO need to fill out choice forms as your seat at Swigert isn’t guaranteed for kindergarten (we promise we do our best to make sure you get a kinder spot)! Go to https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/ for all the details or feel free to reach out to Emily Pool if you have questions.
5th grade families, we’ve put all the local middle schools on our website for easy access while you’re scheduling tours – https://swigert.dpsk12.org/middle-school-info/
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:
| ROLE | NAME | |
| Instruction, Programing, etc | Shelby Dennis Amber Holthus-Pera | Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net Amber_Holthus-Pera@dpsk12.net |
| Daily School Life | Emily Pool | Emily_Pool@dpsk12.net |
| Registration | Daphne Jolley | Djolley@dpsk12.net |
| Technology and events | Richard Fisher | Richard_Fisher@dpsk12.net |
| Health | Nurse Hoang Tran | Hoang_Tran@dpsk12.net |
| IB Program, Service Learning | Caroline Dane | Caroline_Dane@dpsk12.net |
| Swigert PTA | Cortney Dickey | president@swigertpta.com |
Key Dates
January 9th: SAC Meeting
January 10th: PTA Meeting
January 11th: Swigert hosting Naturalization Ceremony for citizenship
January 16th: No School, MLK Jr Day
January 17th: Fourth Grade Social Action Posters Presentation at Stanley
January 18th: Third Grade Presentation of Learning 5-6
January 22nd: Regional Spelling Bee- 9:30 and Talent Show Auditions
January 22nd: Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity Meeting 6-7
February 16th: Green Day
March 1st: Swigert Science Fair