September 17, 2024

Dear Swigert Families,

Spirit week has been so fun and colorful this week. It’s been joyful seeing the waves of color on the playground, in classrooms, and in the cafeteria. Students and staff are quite creative with their selections including accessories, hair highlights, etc. I am looking forward to our color run on Friday afternoon, please see details here: Color Run Schedule.

It was wonderful to see so many families on Saturday Evening at our Direct Giving Party. Thank you to the Walk Family for opening up their lovely home and to our PTA for organizing this community event. The spirit week events are organized to raise school spirit and concomitantly raise funds for our school. We do two main fundraisers a year, this current drive and our auction in May. These dollars truly allow us to be an International Baccalaureate School. They directly support the IB program including funding teacher professional learning, our Spanish program, IB coordinator, social emotional staffing and programing, and additional para professional support- which, ask any teacher, goes a LONG way in supporting our kids on a daily basis. You can donate here - Swigert Gives.

I know everyone is not in a position to donate and that is absolutely okay, there are so many ways to support our school community. Tomorrow is a BLUE day! Here are some fun photos from the past two days below. :)

In appreciation,

Shelby Dennis

Snacks at Lunch

Nutrition Services has started selling snacks at school during the lunch hour. As a school we found the snack sales to be unnecessary and problematic. We have tried opting out of the snack sales, but as of now that request has been denied.

Currently, the snacks are being labeled "healthy" and include options such as Flaming Hot Doritos (baked), Molten Chocolate Cookies, and Rice Krispies treats with chocolate chips. Students can use money in their lunch accounts to purchase the snacks. For many families, this money is left over from prior to lunches being free for all. Some students are purchasing many items at a time, and going through quite a bit of money.

If you would rather that your student not purchase snacks at school, there are a few options. First, have a conversation with your student to make this known. In addition, you can request a refund for the remaining funds in the lunch account using the following link.

REFUND REQUEST

Community Coffee

Join us for our first community coffee of the year. This is a time to be able to meet in a small group with our admin team and ask questions and check in about how things are going at the start of the year. Later coffees will have specific topics, but this one is just open for questions. All are welcome! Coffee from Einstein's will be provided.

Wednesday, September 25th, right after drop off, in the library

Read Around the World Book Club

The Read Around the World Book Club is open to all Swigert students. The book selections, however, are most appropriate for 3-5 grades. Parents are encouraged to determine for their child if the text is appropriate.

Each month (except December), will focus on an own-voice book that is set in one of the 7 continents. The purpose is to celebrate enthusiasm around reading while being exposed to worldly ideas. Students may read independently, be read to, listen to as an audiobook....EVERYONE who wants to participate should be able to participate in a way that works for them and their family.

There is no fee to participate, but families are expected to secure their own texts. They do need to sign up so we know how many students are participating and we can accommodate snacks, craft materials, etc.

Participants may choose to participate in all meetings or they may pick and choose as they see fit. They will receive a Read Around the World Book Club passport that will be stamped when they attend meetings.

Questions? Reach out to Holcomb Mosely.

Yearbook Cover Contest

2024-25 Cover Contest Rules

Contest open to all Swigert 5th Graders.
Entries will be judged by the Swigert Staff.
All entries should reflect the theme “What will IB” however the student chooses to interpret the theme.
Cover art may be photos or student-created. However, content must be owned by the student/family. Do NOT take photos/artwork from the internet (unless you purchase the rights).
Cover may include the heading “What will IB” and 2024-25. However, this is not mandatory: we can add those to the winning artwork.
Cover may be for the front only or for front and back. Please note: if making for front and back, it should be landscaped and go back, middle, front. Examples are included for Front Only with words, Front Only without words, and Full Cover (back, middle, front).
Artwork may be submitted as hard copy or emailed to djolley@dpsk12.net. In the case of electronic entry, please submit as a high-quality photo that will be clear when printed at 300 dpi. For a front cover only, the minimum size is 2400 x 3000 pixels. A picture that will span both front and back of the yearbook should be at least 3600 x 5400 pixels.
Please include the student's name and teacher on the back of the artwork (if submitted hard copy) or in the email. All entries will be printed out or copied (without student name) so that all entries are made to the staff anonymously.
By entering this contest, both students and parents agree to have the artwork used without compensation. However, credit will be given to any artwork used in the yearbook – either as the cover or within the book!
Entries are due by noon on Friday, September 20th.

Help Earn the Rainbow!

PTA aims to raise $100,000 to help offset the $450 per pupil deficit in public funding. To get our community excited for this very special week, the kids will have a spirit week where they will dress in the color they are seeking to earn that day, which will then be added as a color station to the Color Run at the end of the week. For every $25k raised, a new color is earned!

Swigert Gives is the most important annual fundraising campaign for our school.

With Colorado state funding for schools among the worst in the country, the PTA needs to raise $250,000 annually to continue our existing programs. This is $450 per student on average.

Give here: https://www.swigertpta.com/swigert-gives

Get Ready for Spirit Week!

Direct Giving Week is September 16th - 20th so get ready to help us chase the rainbow by wearing these colors:

Monday 9/16: RED
Tuesday 9/17: GREEN
Wednesday 9/18: SWIGERT BLUE
Thursday 9/19: YELLOW
Friday 9/20: COLOR RUN T-SHIRTS will be distributed to all students that day to wear during the Color Run. Wear bottoms that you don't mind getting dirty!

Color Run!

Want to help - SIGN UP HERE.

The color run is a fun run around the field where students will run through color chalk powder stations. For every $25K our community raises during the week, the kids will "earn" another color station for the run. The run will take place on the playground on the large grass field inside the gates. Parents are welcome to come watch by lining up on the outside perimeter of the fence! Classes will be brought outside starting at 2:30 pm starting with our younger grades. Each grade will make one lap around the field by grade level.

What should my student wear?

Every child will receive a t-shirt to wear over their clothes for the run. We are asking for a $5 donation for each shirt to offset the cost, but that is optional. You can donate for your shirt here: https://www.swigertpta.com/spirit/p/color-run-t-shirt.

Some helpful hints:

While not required you may want to send a pair of sunglasses to protect eyes from the powder
Don’t wear nice clothes because the kids will get messy
Send a towel with your kiddo so they can dust off after the run (it will also help protect your seats on the way home)
For more info on how to set the color in the shirts, how to remove color, or any safety questions (ingredients, asthma, etc.), you can visit www.wholesalecolorpowder.com/faqs/. This is the supplier we used for our chalk powder.

Time details:

All classes will come outside around 2:30. After all the runs are complete, they will head to their normal dismissal spots for pick up!

2:34-2:38 5th Grade
2:38-2:42 4th Grade
2:42-2:46 3rd Grade
2:46-2:50 2nd Grade
2:50-2:54 1st Grade
2:54-2:58 Kindergarten
2:58-3:05 ECE

Community Resource Hub

There is a NEW DPS Resource Hub from the Family and Community Engagement Department. It has links for things like Health Based Clinics, Food Support, and Mental Health resources.

Click HERE for more resources!

We strive to have great communication about all things Swigert.

Please visit our website at www.swigert.dpsk12.org learn more about Swigert and events that are coming up.

You can also join our Friends of Swigert International School, a private Facebook page. We post pictures of events at school, interact as a school family, and you can see friendly reminders of upcoming events.

Wondering who to contact if you have questions about? See table below:

Swigert uses Google Calendar. Do you? If so, you can stay up to date on all school activities.
Just add the Swigert Calendar to your personal calendar. Learn how to do that here.

To reach Swigert International School:
Office: (720) 424-4800
Attendance: (720) 424-4740