Posted August 2, 2022
Dear Swigert Families,
We are gearing up for a remarkable year that feels more normal. We look forward to building connections with new families and deepening our relationships with existing families. I can’t wait to have our entire staff back on August 15th to reconnect and plan for the year ahead. As the first day of school approaches it is helpful to start gradually implementing routines at home and here are a few recommendations:
Denver Public School is finalizing information about any covid protocols for next school year; however we know we have the green light on regular in person events and normal school operations where covid will be treated similar to the flu. Due to the pandemic we are seeing more social, emotional and academic needs in our students. There are two short podcasts talking about the nationwide trends NPRLearningLoss and NPRpodcastlearningloss that are interesting listens. As a school community we have and continue to innovate to meet these needs. This year we are
Please reach out if you have any questions. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
shelby_dennis
There is a family playdate this Saturday on the Swigert playground at 9:00 if you would like to join. We are also planning a volunteer clean up on the grounds for August 20th from 8:00-10:00 am if you have time we would love your help getting the grounds ready for the school year. They had a great deal of wear and tear over the summer. Check out all back to school information at this link on our website: SwigertBacktoSchool
School Safety is always an important topic and increasingly so given current events and our societal landscape. We wanted to share our district and school safety protocols Swigert Safety Protocols. If you have any questions please reach out to Richard Fisher at Richard_Fisher@dpsk12.net
We will be working on finalizing class placement over the next few weeks. We do have movement over the summer – families moving away and others moving in; therefore, we need to be flexible until Meet the Teacher Night when class placement is finalized.
We’d love to connect with you as much as possible in the meantime. 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.
Please see the attached bus routes for the year. If your child will be riding the bus, either to an/or from school, please be sure to log into Parent Portal and opt them in through the Transportation tab. If no bus route is listed, but you want them to ride the bus, please complete the Exception Request. This year, no students will be allowed on the bus if they are not on the manifest. This means no playdates, either, unless both students are already assigned to the same bus.
Check out this link for the full information. Every family must complete registration each year. Registration can only be completed by the parent/guardian listed in the primary household of the student record. Parents/guardians must have an active DPS Parent Portal account to participate or create an account at myportal.dpsk12.org.
Saturday, August 6th, 9 AM & Thursday, August 11th, 5:30 PM
We have two New Family Playdates scheduled in August to give parents and kids a chance to meet classmates and other families and to feel more comfortable on the first day of school. Just come to the playground for hanging out and popsicles. Current Swigert families are encouraged to come!
Thursday, August 18th, 5-6 PM
Join us at Swigert to find out who your teacher and classmates will be for the year! You’ll have an opportunity to say hello to your new teacher, sign up for an assessment time (during the first two days of school in the afternoons), let teachers know your child’s plan for getting to and from school, and pick up any other pertinent information about the start of the year. The PTA will sell Spirit Wear and administrators will be making their way around to say hello. You can also bring your school supplies to drop off in the classroom. This is an open-house style event; you and your family can come by anytime during the window.
The first two days – August 22nd and 23rd – of school are half days. This allows students to ease into their new schedule and provide time for individual assessments in the afternoon. Your classroom teacher will reach out to you to set up individual time slots for these afternoon assessments. The arrival time is the same, with students arriving between 8:00 am and 8:15, with classes starting at 8:15. The dismissal time is noon, no lunch will be provided. Be sure to pack a water bottle and snack.
We will have our annual park to school walk on the first day. We will gather at 7:45am at the dog statue park at 35th and Xanthia Court. We will begin our walk to school at 7:50am. Parents and siblings are welcome to join us for this walk. Staff will be out on the playground beginning at 8:00 am to welcome students and guide them to their arrival door. If you are unable to join the walk, no problem. Staff will be out on the playground ready to greet your children. Buses will be running their regular routes for both arrival and dismissal. Wednesday through Friday will be regular days 8:15-3:15.
Swigert Community Welcome Breakfast – Saturday August 27th 8:30-10:30 am. We would love for you to join us at our annual welcome back community breakfast. This annual event , sponsored by our PTA, is a wonderful way to meet new families and reconnect with students and staff. It will be on the playground from 8:30-10:30 am. There will be delicious food and activities for the kids on the playground.
Back to School Night – Thursday September 8th 5:30-7:00 pm. This event is for parents to learn about the year ahead from their classroom teacher and school wide programming from the leadership team. We will send out details as it gets close.
I wanted to introduce our new Assistant Principal, Amber Holthus-Pera. Amber comes to us from McAuliffe Middle School where she taught language arts and was the 6th grade assistant principal. Amber and I taught elementary school together a few years ago (well maybe 12). Amber was looking for an opportunity to return to her elementary school roots. She has a strong knowledge and passion for the IB program, elementary-aged kids and instruction and a commitment for creating engaging learning environments.
We’d love to connect with you as much as possible in the meantime. 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 | Daphne_Jolley@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 | Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net |
| Health | Nurse Hoang Tran | Hoang_Tran@dpsk12.net |
| IB Program/Service Learning | Caroline Dane | Caroline_Dane@dpsk12.net |