Posted March 21, 2023
Dear Swigert Families,
One of our priorities this year is writing – working with our students on writing skills, building writing stamina and providing authentic experiences for our students to write about. We fully implemented a daily language block in ECE-5th grade where our students are learning Orton Gillingham phonics patterns, Heggerty phonemic awareness and in the upper grades – morphology. Our specials teachers are also incorporating more writing including artist statements, music scores and STEM reflections.
Our fourth graders were studying persuasive writing and researched a business or non profit they were interested in. Ronnie Jubis from Mr Jones class wrote to the local business owner at Dicks Sporting Goods. The owner wrote back and invited him to join him on a private tour and as an honorary cashier at the store! Pemma Alberts wrote to the Denver Dumb Friends League and was also invited for a special tour – love the student agency. They were so excited to get letters back!
If you need some writing prompts to keep kids writing over spring break, here are a few:
We look forward to seeing our Kinder, First and Second Grade parents this Thursday for our Visual Arts Open House. The hallways are adored with student art. Thank you Ms Delap for your intentional work with our artists and a shout out to parent volunteers Heidi Hamamoto and Amy Hladik for helping to get all the art posted. We appreciate you!
Have a wonderful Spring Break everyone.
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis@dpsk12.net
| Food Pantry Thank you, Swigert, for helping to fill our shelves! The food shelf is fully stocked to last us through the end of the school year. We were very surprised to receive a donation of 94 boxes of cookies from the 4th grade Girl Scout troop – thank you! Congratulations to Ms. Carlson’s class as they won the ice cream party for bringing in the most donations.  SAC Elections2023-2024 SAC Parent Elections:The SAC (School Accountability Committee) is holding parent representatives elections in April. We have three parent representative openings to begin the 2023-2024 school year. If you are interested, please submit a short blurb about yourself, including why you think you would be a great addition to our SAC committee to Shelby Dennis, Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net . Voting will be held via an online ballot by the Swigert community.The purpose and scope of the School Accountability Committee (SAC) is: To enhance student achievement and school climate by engaging the school community in collaborative efforts supporting the school and district’s goals.To provide strategic direction in support of the school’s mission and vision as stated in the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP). The UIP with the school’s program design serves as the strategic plan for the school. To provide guidance, evaluation, and approval for the UIP, use of staffing allocations, school budget and school program design.The SAC is composed of elected representatives, including five teachers, five parents, one classified employee, and the principal and assistant principal. The commitment for parent representatives is a two year term. All members may be elected to no more than 3 successive terms. Meetings are held approximately once a month in the evenings. CMAS Letter Parents of 3rd – 5th Graders, please see the attached CMAS letter in PDF or Word. Swigert Bingo Night The PTA invites all Swigert families to join us for Family BINGO Night with our very own Mr. Shutts as caller! Please bring a snack to share and play to win fun prizes from the Swigert Treasure Chest! When: Wednesday, April 12th from 6-7 pm Where: Swigert Cafeteria Who: EVERYONE Cost: This event is FREE for all to play! We look forward to seeing you there for some fun community-building!  2023-24 Class Placement 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. Black Youth Summit  Auction Launch Party Summer ConnectionsDenver Public Schools (DPS) is beginning enrollment for Summer Connections for all eligible families currently in kindergarten to fourth grade. The new EAL program will offer free classes in core subjects to enrolled students, allowing them to get ahead of critical course material and get a head start on the upcoming school year. For more information, please check out the Summer Connections website at https://www.dpsk12.org/academics/summer-connections/ . To enroll your student in the free summer program, go to https://myportal.dpsk12.org/. Easter Egg GW Fundraiser  International NightWe are scheduled to host International Night on Thursday, May 11th this year. This is a community event where we love to recognize, honor, and celebrate different cultures from around the world. International Night is always made better by involving our students and their own backgrounds, traditions, and interests. If your student/family (or your student’s extra curricular group) would like to present, host, or demonstrate something at International Night, please reach out to Tabitha Jones at tabitha_jones@dpsk12.net. Examples of past student performances have included Irish Dancing, Drill Team, Japanese Flag Making, Mexican Folk Dancing, Capoeira, Bollywood Dancing, Polish Dancing, Craft Making, etc. Communication 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:RegistrationDaphne Jolley DJolley@dpsk12.netTechnology and eventsRichard FisherRichard_Fisher@dpsk12.netDaily School LifeEmily Pool Emily_Pool@dpsk12.netInstruction, Programing, etc.Shelby Dennis Amber Holthus-Pera Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net Amber_Holthus-Pera@dpsk12.netHealthNurse Hoang Tran Hoang_Tran@dpsk12.netIB Program/Service LearningCaroline DaneCaroline_Dane@dpsk12.net |
| Key Dates Mar 22 Swigert Spirit Night – Urban Air Mar 23 Kdg-2nd Art Show Mar 27 – Apr 3 Spring Break Apr 12 – Bingo Night 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 |