Posted May 14, 2024
Dear Swigert Community,
I wanted to send a gigantic shout out to our students and staff for coming together last Friday for a wonderful day of service. Students made food and supply bags for the refugees, There with Care (an organization that supports families with critically ill children). Students painted messages on delivery bags for Project Angel Heart. Our fourth grade students read and sang songs with residents at a local elderly care center, Balfour. Our fifth grade students went off site to a variety of organizations including Weecycle, Urban Farm and Denver Dumb Friends League. Students also spruced up our garden, planted for the summer and picked up trash. All in all Swigert students put together 60 activity l bags, 124 snack bags and notes in Spanish for refugees, 200 decorated grocery bags, and brought cheer for the elderly at Balfour’s memory center. Lilah Fay, one of our fifth grade Swigert students, spoke at our kick off assembly about how meaningful service has been during her time at Swigert. As part of her exhibition she created a proposal to Denver Public Schools that all elementary schools should provide service learning opportunities at their schools. 
Here is a video recapping the service learning we did throughout the year at Swigert: Service at Swigert and a slideshow with the different activities and organizations each grade level participated in: Service Day 2024.
I know everyone is looking forward to FIELD DAY this Friday, and the weather is currently cooperating! Please have your students wear sunscreen, wear comfy shoes, and bring a labeled water bottle. Here are the details: Mr. Shutts organizes an amazing day where all students participate in a variety of activities; including but not limited to relay races, hurdles, shoe toss, tug a war and water games. Parents are welcome to come watch the fun! We split the day into two parts:
*ECE, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd is from 8:45-11am
*3rd, 4th, and 5th is from12:45-3.
I will share staffing updates for the 2024-2025 school year in next week’s Eagle Post. I know there is a great deal going on in May, please reach out with any questions or clarifications.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
May 14th: Sweet Cow Dine & Donate
Stop by Sweet Cow at Stanley Marketplace for a sweet treat and they’ll share a portion of their profits with the Swigert PTA! 11AM-9PM
May 16th – Kindergarten Round-Up
An opportunity for our new to Swigert kindergarten families to get information about kindergarten and let our kinder teachers meet the new faces.
May 17th: Swigert Field Day
Mr. Shutts organizes a day where all students participate in a variety of activities; including but not limited to relay races, hurdles, shoe toss, tug a war and water games. We split the day into two parts. ECE, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd is from 8:45-11am and 3rd, 4th, and 5th is in the afternoon beginning at from 12:45-3. Parents are welcome to come watch. Please think about sunscreen, a hat, and a labeled water bottle!May 17th: 5th Grade Dance 5:30-6:60
May 22nd: New Family Information Night for 1st-5th grade new families
An opportunity for any new families to learn about the year ahead. We will meet together in the library at 6pm. We will do Q&A at the end.
May 23rd: ECE4 New Family Info Night
An opportunity for ECE families to learn about the year ahead. You can sign up for a one hour time spot. We will meet together in The Nest for an admin presentation and then you will spend 30 minutes in the class with your child!
May 27th: No School, Memorial Day
May 30th: Volunteer Thank-You Breakfast 7:45 – 8:15
May 30th 2:50-Second Annual Swigert Alumni Walk Through:
Celebrate our High School Graduates- Swigert alums from different schools across the metro area will walk through the school with their caps/gowns and celebrated with a clap through. Families welcome.
June 4th: 5th Grade Exhibition and Continuation
Swigert Fifth grade students will share their culminating IB exhibition projects to the community and then we will have a continuation ceremony to honor fifth grade students.
June 5th: 5th Grade Clap Out
All ECE-4th grade students and 5th grade parents will join us to clap the 5th graders out of Swigert and on to middle school- It’s a pretty emotional event. The clap out will begin around 11:50 am.
June 5th: ½ Day Last Day of School
The last day of school is a noon dismissal. No lunch is served.
This Friday, May 17th is FIELD DAY! Mr. Shutts organizes a day where all students participate in a variety of activities; including but not limited to relay races, hurdles, shoe toss, tug a war and water games. We split the day into two parts. ECE, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd is from 8:45-11am and 3rd, 4th, and 5th is in the afternoon beginning at from 12:45-3. Parents are welcome to come watch. Looking at the great weather forecast, please think about applying or sending sunscreen, a hat, and a labeled water bottle!
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 before Monday forward. Please take this short survey before Monday May 20th.
https://forms.gle/1hzp4PFdQKMuAJTt8
Swigert Students Shine in the Noetic Learning Math Contest this Spring!
28 students from the Swigert Noetics Team, led by Robin Bresnahan and John Ethier, participated in the Noetic Learning Math Contest held this April. The goal of the competition is to encourage students’ interest in math, to develop their problem-solving skills, and to inspire them to excel in the STEM fields. This spring, the competition was fierce with more than 39,078 students from 803 schools across the country!
Our students showcased not only their outstanding math talents but also their determination and perseverance in working through challenging problems. We are proud to highlight the following students’ achievements:
Team Winners (The top scorer of each team):
National Honor Roll (the top 10% of all participating students):
National Honorable Mention (the top 50% of all participating students):
Congratulations to all our participants and winners! The contest results not only demonstrate our students’ exceptional mathematical talents but also their dedication and hard work. This is a proud moment for the Swigert Noetics Team.
For more details about the Noetic Learning Math Contest and to see a full list of national winners, please visit: http://www.noetic-learning.com/mathcontest
To everyone who has volunteered at Swigert this year we are hosting a breakfast to say thank you! We appreciate all you have contributed to our school community, this is a small way for us to share our appreciation.
When: Thursday, May 30th from 7:45-8:15
Where: Swigert Library
5th grade students Julian, Emmett, Blake, Amaniah and Neveah are starting a food drive for their exhibition project! The drive will start on May 8th and end on May 31st. All the contents will be donated to the Denver Rescue Mission.
We would like:
-Non perishable food items
-Men’s, women’s and children’s clothing (Note: underwear must be new and unopened)
-Toiletries and hygiene products
Donations would be appreciated! There will be boxes designated in the front office area.
Enjoy Sweet Cow and support Swigert on Tuesday, May 14th from 11AM-9PM!
Thank you for supporting The Denver Public Schools medication policy. Please make sure to pick up all medications used by your child on or before the last day of school. Colorado Guidelines state that medications are not permitted to be sent home with your child. If your child is participating in a summer program, their medication will not automatically be transferred to the site of the program. It is up to the parent/guardian to pick up the medication from the school and transport it to the summer program site.
*REMAINING MEDICATIONS WILL BE DESTROYED END OF DAY JUNE 5th 2024.*
Volunteers:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4CAAA62AA02-49306970-5thgrade
Snacks:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4CAAA62AA02-49249466-5thgrade#/
From Mrs. Baker! Calling all musicians! Any student is welcome to sing or play a song for their classmates during music class on these days. These optional performances are a great time for kids to play music for each other in a pressure-free environment.
Here is a more detailed schedule:
Wednesday, May 29 (A day): Aggarwal, Hopper, Ms. Aarti, Mosley, Burdett
Thursday, May 30 (B day): Marijke, Page Edge, Kline
Friday May 31 (C Day): Ms. Shannon, Ziegler, Colter, Ross, Adler
Monday, June 3 (D day): Marisol, Margulies, Capozza, Jones, Appleman
Tuesday, June 4 (E day): Draper, Ms. Susan, Ramos, Lavezzo
Thank you for supporting your child’s creativity in the arts!
Get a head start on next year and order your school supplies! Please visit SwigertSchoolSupplies.com to place your order. If you need it, our school ID is SWI028
Early bird DPS registration runs through May 24th. For full details on how to register, go here: https://swigert.dpsk12.org/registration-2024-25/
Reach out to Daphne Jolley with questions or to get your student’s ID number to create a parent portal!
We’re starting to work on the video that will be played at the ceremony. We 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: 5th Grade Continuation Photos
– Click on the drive clink.
– Click on your teacher’s name
– Click +New
– Then click File Upload
You can also feel free to email them to me if that’s easier at emily_pool@dpsk12.net.
We will also need help on the day of Tuesday, June 4th to help with decorating the gym, setting up a photo area, picking up cupcakes, and a few other things. If you could offer an hour or two of help, please consider signing up here and I’ll be in touch as the day gets closer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4CA4A92DA3FAC25-49011106-5thgrade
We have lots of events this spring to help welcome all our new families for the fall. See below for links to all the details!
1st-5th Grade New Families Information
If you will be needing Discovery Link for before or after school care for the ’24-’25 school year, registration for that opens on May 17th at 6am. You can get more details about that HERE.
Swigert International friends, families, and community are invited to Swigert Fundraising Night, where you will receive special discounted ticket pricing for the Rapids home match on Saturday, May 25th and June 15th. Use our link to purchase tickets. Select section 112 or 113.
https://rapids.spinzo.com/?group=swigert-international-school-rb3b
Read in CPEdNews.org about the Northeast Denver Innovation Zone folding and how DPS continues to kick it while it’s down.
Also read about McAuliffe International’s updated innovation plan facing a final vote.
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 the nonprofit Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities.
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 |