Dear Swigert Families,
Welcome Back from Thanksgiving Break. I hope you all enjoyed some downtime with your friends and family. We do an annual trip to Kansas City to see my family.
I wanted to thank those of you who took time to do our annual SAC Survey. We value your input and use your comments and suggestions to drive change and improvement.
On a positive note we had a 93 percent NPS (new performance score) meaning the majority of people who filled out the survey are satisfied with their experience at Swigert. Three of the major pieces that were deemed as important to who we are as a school community were our IB Program, emphasis on Social Emotional Learning and strong academics.
Swigert’s strengths: (In order of frequency)
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- Proactive communication
- Kids known, supported, and met where they are
- Involved, visible administration
- Education tied to world events and the world at large
- Happy, retained teachers
- Inclusive culture
- Family voice heard and honored
- Commitment to continuous improvement
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Swigert’s needs for the following: |
- More information around report cards and what they mean for students
- Clarity around our assessments and how they are used by teachers and what they mean for student academic achievement
- Creating more ways for new families, especially in the older grades, to feel welcome and included
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We went over the specific and nuanced results at our SAC meeting and created next steps, but please let me know if you want to see the detailed results. We are always working to improve, as well as foster a community of continuous growth. Your input matters!
As we move into the season of colder weather, we want to communicate our weather policies regarding outdoor recess, etc. We believe that it is very important that kids be outside getting fresh air and moving their bodies whenever possible, so we will be taking kids outside unless we are truly unable to do so. We will only move indoors for recess on days when there is heavy precipitation, the temperature drops below 20° (wind chill can also bring us to this decision) or there is other unsafe weather such as lightning. Please make sure that your students come to school dressed appropriately for the weather. Coats, hats and gloves are important on cold days to make sure that students can play comfortably outside. Please label all pieces of outerwear so that we can return it to your child if they drop it in the hall or leave it on the playground!
Check out the DPS Weather Page for more information about how DPS decides and communicates about weather closures or delays.
I look forward to seeing families at our annual Winterfest Celebration on Thursday, December 11th. It’s a wonderful community event to celebrate winter traditions from all around the world. See more information here.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions - Shelby_Dennis@dpsk12.net
Sincerely,
Shelby Dennis
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December 11th - Mici's Dine and Donate & Winterfest!
December 19th - Class Winter Parties, Early 12pm Dismissal (no lunch served)
December 20th - January 5th - NO SCHOOL, Winter Break & Professional Development Day
January 6th - Back to school!
January 16th - last day for yearbook orders
January 19th - NO SCHOOL, MLK Jr Day
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Here's a peek at the month on our school calendar. Print out a full resolution one here: https://swigert.dpsk12.org/about/calendar/ |
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11th, 6-8 pm
What: A celebration of different winter holidays and an opportunity to learn about a variety of cultural traditions.
What to bring: a dish/dessert to share
We will provide: Percussionist, Central City Opera, holiday displays, holiday crafts from around the world, plates and utensils
As you are getting your holiday things out at home, we'd welcome any small decor items you'd like to pass pertaining to winter holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Lunar New Year, etc!
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We're so excited to announce the winner of the yearbook cover contest (open to just 5th graders) - Blythe Bellville.
The 3 runner up entries were done by Jorge Garcia Roundtree, Hono Shirai, and Alice Hicks.
There were so many amazing entries this year and they will ALL be featured in the yearbook!
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Yearbook sales are live! You buy directly from the yearbookforever website!
BUY HERE!
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Ugly Sweater Day & Early Dismissal - Friday, December 19th |
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On Friday, December 19th we will have a 12pm noon dismissal. There will be no lunch served. Buses will be running!
Staff always does an ugly sweater contest on this last day. Students are welcome to wear their own ugly sweater or anything that brings them holiday joy!
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DPS School Choice Opens Today! |
DPS School Choice opens today at 10am!
Friendly reminder that our current ECE4 families and 5th grade families will need to complete this process for Fall 2026 and it must be completed by January 20th!
https://schoolchoice.dpsk12.org/o/schoolchoice/page/round-1
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Music Performance Days
December 8-18
Calling all musicians: Performance Days in music class are coming soon. 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:
Monday, December 8 (B Day): Ms. Marijke, Margulies, Page, Capozza, Ramos
Wednesday, December 10 (C Day): Ms. Aarti, Colter, Ms. Hayleigh, Adler
Friday, December 12 (D Day): Aggarwal, Hopper, Ms. Racha, Burdett, Appleman
Tuesday, December 16 (E Day): Ms. Shannon, Ms. Sara, Ziegler, Nguyen, Kline
Thursday, December 18 (A Day): Ms. Marisol, Eliot, Ms. Susan, Molsey, Romero
Thank you for supporting your child’s creativity in the arts!
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December Artist of the Month |
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December’s Artist of the Month is Maeve Hayes in Ms. Margulies’ 1st grade class. Maeve did a wonderful job on her Romero Britto inspired self portrait. She is always a very caring and balanced artist. She is also very Knowledgeable and Principled. Fantastic job! |
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Looking for Auction Volunteers! |
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Are you ready to carve out some time to get involved in the 2026 Swigert Auction? We’re looking for volunteers to support planning, acquiring donations, setup, and event-day activities. Your help makes a big difference! The next auction meeting is tomorrow December 3 at 8:15 PM. Please email Fundraising@swigertpta.com for Zoom Link, to be added to our communication list, or have questions. We can't make this night happen without you! See you at our next meeting.
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It's never too soon to start a birthday party invitation or holiday card! Do it with Minted - Save 20% on your purchase (exclusions apply) and Minted will give back 10% to Swigert! Use code: FUNDRAISESWIGERT
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Dec 11, 2025
All day - Grab food before heading to Winterfest!
Swigert International School will receive 20% of fundraiser sales* during this fundraiser at Mici Italian. Participate any time on Dec 11, 2025 by showing the flyer HERE at the register in the Mici Italian location listed above. You may also participate by ordering online at https://www.miciitalian.com/locations or on the Toast mobile app using online code GIVEBACK during the same time.
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From the Auction Buy-A-Shares - we have 5 Family Tickets for sale to the annual Sleigh Ride Buy-A-Share party. If you've ever wanted to spend the night in a Hallmark holiday movie, this will exceed all your expectations- Draft horse drawn carriage, Professional family photos, Adult & Kiddo Cocoa and treats bar, outdoor movie theater, and so much more!!
If you are able to join on December 20th, please make a $250 donation to Swigertpta.com and reach out to Rosie privately. We look forward to celebrating all things holiday with you and your families!
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Community Town Hall on Kids & Screens |
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Tuesday, Dec 2 | 6–8 PM
5500 Central Park Blvd., Denver, CO 80238
Discover:
IB for All academic program
Athletics, clubs, & student life
95% of 9th graders on track to graduate – highest in DPS
During the Open House:
Meet teachers & staff
Hear from students
Take student-led tours
RSVP Here
Come see firsthand what makes Northfield High exceptional!
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Need some help with childcare over Winter break? Here's a few camps I've come across: |
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Fore more details see here: https://www.chabaddenvernorth.com/ |
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space, a creative, mindfulness and wellness studio for families.
They are running a week-long promo off their $100 summer camps (it ends on Sunday). They have three weeks of camp, each with a theme: - Empathy, - Heart, - Breath
You can see more detail here: https://www.spacednvr.com/summercampinspace
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We strive to have great communication about all things Swigert. Please visit our website at www.swigert.dpsk12.org to learn more about events that are coming up.
If you need translation services for ANY Swigert event, please reach out to Megan Tate at Megan_Tate@dpsk12.net
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.
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