September 24, 2024

Dear Swigert Families,

Happy Fall, it’s exciting to have some crispness in the air. Thank you all for your support last week, we reached our fundraising goal and enjoyed such a fun spirit week culminating in a fantastic color run. I know the kids had a ball. We are looking forward to October as we begin our parent teacher conferences. It is a great time to meet one on one with your child’s teacher and learn about their beginning of year academic data and social emotional strengths and needs.

We wanted to share information about a new literacy assessment tool we are using this year called DIBELS. We wanted to provide you all with some information prior to conferences when you will be seeing this data for the first time. We are shifting to a new assessment tool (away from ISTATION) for a few reasons:

Denver Public Schools is supporting DIBELS as an approved assessment tool based on the science of reading and it has been approved by the Colorado Department of Education.
Swigert was looking for a literacy assessment that targeted specific reading skills

We tested all K-5th grade students at the end of August. The assessment is done individually and each piece is timed. As a school team we are learning some important takeaways including the following:

Time: each assessment is timed and for students who need extra processing time or tend to get distracted this can be challenging so the data doesn’t always reflect true knowledge for that point in time. We are finding this to be a challenge, which is why we are continuing to give reading records to each student (in addition to the DIBELS assessments) This gives us a better picture of each child’s literacy skills as a whole.
Results: your child might have scored red in some areas (below grade level) but their profile as a reader is considered at or above grade level, therefore, the data doesn’t match. This could be due to:
- Time/speed expectations on the assessment and your child requires more time to decode, comprehend texts, or simply takes more time with their oral reading. We know that reading proficiency is made up of word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Speed or automaticity is the last and least important piece to develop.
School Performance: Based on other schools who piloted DIBELS, an overall drop in reading scores was seen school-wide. As teachers and students became more familiar with the new tests, scores improved.

As always, this is just one data point in a body of evidence about your child and their learning profile. We also have other pieces of information that we will share at conferences including running records, writing samples, and math assessments. They all work together to show us who your child is as a learner and how we can support their growth. This is new to us as well, so we are learning as we go.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns, we are better together!

Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis

No School on Friday

Friday, September 27th is a Professional Development Day for our teachers. There is NO SCHOOL for students!

Middle School Tours

We'd love to be able to support our 5th grade families as they start to tour middle schools. Most of our Central Park middle schools have tour sign-ups posted. I've listed them all here to help put it all in one spot for you!

https://swigert.dpsk12.org/middle-school-info/

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

Artist of the Month

September’s Artist of the Month is 4th grader Josiah Acevedo in Mr. Lavezzo’s class. Josiah did an amazing job using bright and bold colors on his Original Works project. Here he is holding his Tropical Paradise project. Way to go, Josiah!

Bloom School Photos LIVE!

Our amazing school photos are LIVE! Here's how to view them and place an order if you want.

Go to https://thebloombeehive.com/swigert. Scroll to the bright yellow picture and you'll see the teal box named "Fall 2024 Galleries." Press that button, then press view gallery. Enter your email address, then the pink continue button. Kids are listed by last names and to view the pictures, you will need their student ID number. (please reach out to Emily Pool or our office staff if you don't know your student's ID number. It's also in the parent portal). You can order prints and packages directly from their website!

If you'd like to do retakes on October 15th, you can sign up directly on their site. Any questions, please reach out to me and I'll help! Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the fall weather that's supposed to start!

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.

Tomorrow! Wednesday, September 25th, right after drop off

**LOCATION CHANGE - we'll be meeting right at the top of the main stairs in the open area by the STEM room.

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.

Full details and sign up here: https://forms.gle/RN721Ae2KhbUueuU8

All meetings will be once a month, on Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30pm in the Swigert library.

Questions? Reach out to Holcomb Mosley at l_holcomb-mosley@dpsk12.net.

DPS Family Virtual Learning Opportunities

Trauma-Informed Restorative Practices: Monday, Sept. 30, 5-6 p.m.
- Up to 80% of students may be identified as needing Tier 1 supports. Learn what it means to overcome behaviors and improve overall social-emotional wellness in your child.
DPS Bullying 101: Tuesday, Oct. 1, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
- Bullying statistics are decreasing, but that does not mean it's not a concern (particularly with cyberbullying/social media). Join us for an overview of what bullying means, how to identify it and how to support your student.

For more information about FACE U (Family and Community Engagement University), watch this one-minute overview!

View Denver Parks & Recreation fall class and sport offerings and sign up HERE.

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