Posted March 5, 2024
Dear Swigert Families,
March has roared in like a lion, there is so much going on right now- fieldwork, IB site visit, science fair, As a school dedicated to our ongoing learning and development, we are grateful for some community input and wanted to share a revised introduction to our Black History Month video. As we wrap up Black History Month at Swigert, we are excited to share our Black History Month video! In the video, students and staff members highlight some of the incredible Black and African American individuals we admire, from history and today, and the IB attributes that they embody. Check it out here: Black History Month video! We want to highlight a recent article in the Front Porch that covered our third grade unit on the Harlem Renaissance and subsequent fieldwork to 5 Points It’s a wonderful article shares student and staff perspective! Take a look here – Front Porch- Swigert.
Science Fair
Congratulations to all the students who participated in the Swigert Science Fair on Friday. There was such great interest and enthusiasm. A big shout out to Racha Kobitary for planning and organizing this special event. Thank you to all the parent volunteers for their time, effort and expertise in supporting our young scientists.
3rd Grade Winners
1st – Elle Oglevee
2nd – Alexander Opp
3rd – Charlotte Mossberg
4th Grade Winners
1st – Luana Farias-Torres
2nd – Felix Lynn
3rd – Emma Miyazaki
5th Grade Winners
1st – Kotaro Hamada
2nd – Caroline Klug
3rd – Sibali Hamdorf Joseph
Service Learning
Fifth Graders have been going as a class to the Food Bank of the Rockies for their service learning trips!
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
Just a heads up that second-trimester report cards will be available on March 13th. Report Cards are all online now (through Parent Portal) and there isn’t a paper card that is sent home. Report cards are one piece of data that provides a snapshot of how your child is performing in school in academic areas and specials. They do not follow the typical A, B, C, D pattern but are standard based on a 1,2,3,4 level, the link below provides specific and detailed information on how to access the report card and more about standards-based grading. If you still have questions about report cards after looking at this page please reach out with specific questions. We know it’s a different grading system than most of us are familiar with.
What’s new?
*March is for COLLAGES! “Collage” is French for “glue”. Each grade level will explore a new and unique way to construct an amazing collage. Fun!
*Thank you so much for the toilet and paper towel roll donations, we love having them for our sculpture sanctuary. Keep them coming!
Artist of the Month: Jahte Holt
Please click here to read the full newsletter.
Friendly reminder that there are NO ECE classes this Friday due to our teachers being at the Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference. All other grades will be in school as normal. 
I wanted to share our CMAS testing schedule for our 3-5th grade families. Please mark these dates on your calendar. Please try your best not to schedule appointments during these times.
The Kindergarten and 2nd grade concerts are next week!
The Kindergarteners will present “Musical Patterns” and the 2nd graders will present “Folktales” on Thursday, March 7.
At 5:45 PM, Kindergarten students will meet in their classrooms. Their concert begins at 6:00 in the gym.
At 6:25 PM, 2nd 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 March 6 and Thursday March 7 during the school day: 12:20 (2nd grade) and 1:20 (kindergarten).
See you there!
Calling all Singers!
Swigert Singers, the school’s extracurricular choir, begins rehearsals soon. The choir is open to any 1st-5th grade student who wants another chance to sing and perform. Swigert Singers will rehearse each Tuesday after school from 3:15-4:00 in the music room. The choir will sing at International Night on May 2.
Rehearsals begin Thursday, March 14. See you there!
Sign Up Here
This year, the auction committee is bringing back class art projects and decreasing the class baskets so that there is only a grade level basket. We’ve made this shift to direct auction efforts toward more sentimental items whenever possible.
In order to create class art projects we are asking for donations of both time and supplies. Schoolwide, we are seeking donations of exterior house paint in a rainbow of colors. Do you have a fabulously colored Central Park front door? Could you share some of the paint remnants with us? Paint can either be dropped off at the school, or you can email Christina Ethier (ckethier@gmail.com) to arrange pick up.
In addition, below is a list organized by grade level that includes sign ups for volunteers and Amazon Wishlists for supplies. Please note, communication for ECE classrooms will be sent separately.
| Kindergarten | Sign Up Genius | Amazon Wishlist |
| 1st Grade | Sign Up Genius | Amazon Wishlist |
| 2nd Grade | Sign Up Genius | Amazon Wishlist |
| 3rd Grade | Sign Up Genius | Amazon Wishlist |
| 4th Grade | Sign Up Genius | Amazon Wishlist |
| 5th Grade | Sign Up Genius | N/A |
All materials on the Amazon Wishlists will ship directly to Lisa Carlson, the art teacher, at Swigert. Any unused portion of supplies will be left in the art room with Ms. Carlson for future use with Swigert students.
If you have an item to donate that meets the item on the list please reach out to Christina Ethier (ckethier@gmail.com) as all donations are welcomed. Finally, if you prefer to donate via Venmo, feel free to send any amount to Christina (@Christina-Ethier) and indicate the grade level for which you are donating. We look forward to sharing finished art projects with the community in the next month!
Some class art from a previous auction:
The use of artificial intelligence is increasing and schools in Central Park see benefits and concerns. Read how DSST high school teachers are adapting. Read about it in this week’s Central Park Education News – cpednews.org.
Also, a long-awaited auditorium for the Sandoval Campus is on the preliminary list for DPS 2024 bond projects – if the district ultimately decides by August to go to voters in the Nov. 5 election.
And don’t forget to sign up for our free, weekly news roundup at the nonprofit www.CPEdNews.org!
CPEdNews.org is a project of nonprofit The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities.
If you’re looking for camps for Spring Break, Creative Breaks has an option that will be hosted at Willow. Please see the attached flyer if you’re interested.
Registration for Summer Connections (previously Summer Academy) is now open! Summer Connections is a free, five-week academic program that is open to all rising first through fifth-grade DPS students at eligible schools. This full-day program focuses on preparing elementary students for future success. Registration will open Friday, Feb. 16. Please check back for updates!
Students will engage with content they will see in the upcoming school year, which will include instruction in foundational literacy, math, science and technology. Our enrichment partners will provide enrichment opportunities daily. Students with IEPs are invited to participate in Summer Connections.
For more information, or to apply, please visit https://www.dpsk12.org/page/summer-connections
As a school dedicated to the Whole Child, one of our focuses is on mental health. Please see the attached resources for parents of Elementary students who would like Mental Health Support:
All About Mental Health
Supporting Mental Health
Coping with Stress
Calming Techniques
Managing Anxiety
Building Self-Esteem
Please join us for our next Diversity and Inclusivity Working Group meeting: Monday, March 4 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.
Some of our students now have smart watches and cell phones, and we want to reiterate our school policy. Smart watches are ONLY used as watches during the school day. Please don’t call or text with your students during the day through the smart watch. Students should not be calling home or using apps at any time. If they need to call home during the day they need to ask permission from a staff member. Phones are to be put away before class starts in your backpack and not be used during the day. If there is a change of plan for a pick up please notify Daphne at the front office and your teacher. If phones or smart watches are being used incorrectly in class, teachers will take the phone or watch for the remainder of the school day and return it to the student at the end of the day.
The Avalanche will have a pre-game Girls Only Try Hockey and a Post Game Female Open Skate and I wanted to make sure that your students were aware of the opportunity to join us and skate on Ball Arena Ice.
Here are the links as well:
Pre:
https://avalanche.spinzo.com/colorado-avalanche-vs-detroit-red-wings-2024-03-06-JZWBC?group=girls-hockey-night-pre-game-hz2d
Post:
https://avalanche.spinzo.com/colorado-avalanche-vs-detroit-red-wings-2024-03-06-MACQR?group=girls-hockey-night-postgame-4vj8
A heartfelt thank you for your dedication to our Kids Heart Challenge at Swigert International School! We’re immensely proud of our students for wholeheartedly embracing this program—learning, helping, and cultivating vital life-skills along the way.
Together, we achieved:
The Siqueiros family shares their gratitude. Raising funds and awareness for the American Heart Association has impacted each of their three children as they all navigated a congenital heart defect.
Any additional donations will be sent to the American Heart Association and your student’s post-event Thank You Gifts will be ordered soon!
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
March 7th: Kindergarten & 2nd Grade Concerts
March 8th: ECE not in session, K-5th there IS school
March 13th: PTA meeting, 6pm
March 19th: Class Picture Day
March 25th – April 2nd: No school, Spring Break
April 19th – ECE not in session, K-5th there IS school
May 2nd – International Night
May 3rd – No School
May 4th – Auction!
May 10th – Service Day
May 17th – Field Day
May 27th – No School, Memorial Day
