March 11, 2025

Dear Swigert Families,

Social-emotional learning is an important part of our school programming at Swigert. One area we are seeing more anxiety in our students. We are constantly looking at ways to support our students with specific strategies and tools to support their emotions. 

As part of our professional learning some of our staff are engaging in reading the book The Anxious Generation by John Haidt (Anxious Generation) it is a relevant and interesting book. The author examines the impact of social media and phones on our children. I wanted to highlight a few upcoming community events that address student anxiety in different ways:

• March 15th: Swigert is hosting a community coffee on Anxiety and Perfectionism, we will meet at 8:20 in the library. Our social emotional team will be sharing with us about perfectionism and anxiety in our kids. Coffee will be provided.

• April 15th: One of our LLN partner schools, Denver Green School Northfield, is doing a townhall at Northfield High School on healthy adoption of cell phones from 5:30-6:40 (see details below in the community wide news)

• April 21st : One of our parents, Stacy Babbit, a licensed social worker is hosting a workshop on strategies to help parents with student anxiety 5:30-7:00 pm in the library. See full details below!

We have different schoolwide and classroom supports for social emotional learning at Swigert. You can view our current social emotional supports linked here - student supports. You might hear your kids saying they are in the “Blue Zone” or the “Red Zone” and wondering what that means. This is all part of the Zones of Regulation curriculum which helps students identify how they are feeling and what tools/strategies they might need for emotional regulation. Every classroom incorporates various ways for students to check in with these zones and includes a ‘regulation station’ area if a student needs to take some time to implement tools and strategies to help them with their own emotional regulation throughout the day. I was in an ECE classroom today and the teacher began the day asking her students which zone they were in and why. One student shared they were partly in the blue zone due to the time change but mostly in the yellow because they were excited for the day. 

Please reach out if you have any questions, clarifications or concerns. 

Sincerely,

Shelby Dennis

For details on the dates of CMAS testing coming in April, please see THIS LETTER or head to the website: https://swigert.dpsk12.org/2025/01/07/cmas-information/.

Yearbooks that have been ordered will be available in May, around Field Day!

If you forgot to order one through Walsworth, we did order some extras. Those extra yearbooks can be purchased through MySchoolBucks (through the school store) by selecting Yearbook and choosing either Hardcover ($40 each) or Softcover ($35 each). These are strictly first-come, first serve and will be available until they are sold out. Once sold out, there is a possibility that Walsworth will send us "overflow" copies, so we will have a waiting list available.

Kindergarten and 2nd grade:

The kindergarten and 2nd grade concerts are this Thursday! 

The kindergarteners will present “Insects” and the 2nd graders will present “Folktales” on Thursday, March 13.

At 5:45 PM, kindergarten students will meet in their classrooms. Their concert begins at 6:00 in the gym.

At 6:25 PM, 2nd grade students will meet in their classrooms. Their concert begins at 6:40 in the gym.

Dress for this concert is nice clothes.

If you cannot make it to the evening concert, you may attend the dress rehearsals, Wednesday March 12 and Thursday March 13 during the school day: 12:20 (2nd grade) and 1:20 (kindergarten).

See you there!

Come join us in the Swigert Library for a FREE workshop on Parenting Childhood Anxiety. This event is designed to give parents valuable information about childhood anxiety and help parents navigate the challenges of raising children who may be struggling with anxiety. Learn practical tips and strategies from Stacy Babbitt, LCSW. Stacy is a mom to two Swigert Eagles and a therapist with over 15 years treating anxiety disorders and OCD. Connect with other parents facing similar situations and share your experiences. Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable insights and support. See you there! (There are limited spots and registration is required). 

Register Here

Calling all Singers!

Swigert Singers, the school’s extracurricular choir, begins rehearsals soon. The choir is open to any 1st-5th grade student who wants another chance to sing and perform. Swigert Singers will rehearse each Thursday after school from 3:15-4:00 in the music room. The choir will sing at International Night on May 8.

Rehearsals begin Thursday, March 20. See you there!

Sign Up Here

Mrs. Baker - bridget_baker@dpsk12.net

Kinder, 1st grade, and 2nd grade Families...

What: Casual meet up to get to know other Swigert families

When: Friday - April 4th, 5:30pm-7:30pm

Where: FlyteCo Tower, 3120 Uinta Street

Board games and table activities will be provided so the kiddos can play while the grownups get to know each other.

Join us for a Parent Coffee focusing on Perfectionism and Anxiety and how to help your kiddo! Hosted by our school psychologist, Ms. Irk, and our GT coordinator, Ms. B!

Friday, March 14th after drop off around 8:15am, in the library.

Coffee is provided!

Attention all 5th graders! If you are interested in participating in DPS' Citywide Art Show I would love to have up to 10 5th graders represent Swigert! Here's the info and let me know if you have any questions or are interested!

• Elementary School Citywide Art Show 24-25

• Theme: “Bring Your Story”

• Location: Denver Art Museum, reception will be May 6th from 5:30-7:30 pm.

Art pieces need to be turned in to Ms. Carlson by April 11.

If you’re interested in having some of your artwork shown at the Denver Art Museum, please email me at lisa_carlson@dpsk12.net

The 5th Read Around the World book club text will take us to the continent of Europe. We will be reading The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 19th from 3:30-4:30 in the Swigert library. Any student is welcome to join us, just please sign up so I can best prepare for snacks and activities. 

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

Sign up here today!

Denver Public Schools provides free vision, hearing, and dental screenings for all students in identified grades (Early Childhood Education, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th). The screenings are NOT an assessment or an evaluation and do NOT replace professional exams. Mass screening is considered best practice to identify students who may be at risk for health concerns affecting the student’s ability to learn, and who may need extra support to reach academic benchmarks.

Your student will receive screenings in the following areas: Vision, Hearing, and Dental. Resources are available for DPS enrolled students.

You must notify your school nurse directly should you wish to REFUSE/OPT OUT of any of the free screenings for your student.

The health screening components of vision and hearing will be completed at your child’s school on:

Dates: 04/21/2025 - 04/23/2025

Please contact your school nurse for any questions or concerns about the health screenings. Parents/guardians of students who were absent or who did not have optimal hearing, vision or dental screening results will be notified in writing regarding the results. Thank you for your assistance as we work together to educate and support your students!

Sincerely,

School Nurse: Hoang Tran

School Nurse Direct phone number: 720-424-4803

School Nurse Email: hoang_tran@dpsk12.net

This year, the auction committee is representing all Swigert students with a school wide art installation at the auction. The installation will consist of a compilation of silhouette images of our Swigert students.

In order to create this project we are asking for donations of caregiver time to help photograph students. Students' photographs will be taken during specials on March 13th, 18th, 19th, and 20th.

Below is a list organized by grade level and classroom that includes sign ups for volunteers:

ECE

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

We look forward to sharing the finished art project with the community in the next months!

Auction tickets are on sale now! Get more information and buy your tickets here: siscampeagle.givesmart.com!

RSVP to Healthy Cell Phone Adoption Town Hall Tuesday, April 15th, 5:30-6:30. Northfield HS Cafeteria: Our school has been collaborating with several other elementary and middle schools in the area, and we are excited for a joint community town hall on the subject of healthy cell phone adoption. Whether families simply wait to get a smartphone for their student until much later in middle school or explore 'teen-safe smartphones' that only have texting and basic apps, there are real options available to families that don't want to hand our children devices that are intended to be addictive and end up taking kids away from a life grounded in real-world experiences. The event will have parents and community members from schools across Park Hill and Central Park. We expect medical experts, educators and parents to speak. It should be a great event for families that already gave their kid a phone, the undecided and the staunchest 'wait until high school families'. Tuesday, April 15th. 5:30-6:30pm at the Northfield HS cafeteria. RSVP here. 

Cell Phone Adoption Collaboration Video: We are excited to have collaborated with several other schools in the area on a joint-campaign between educators and parents about creating a healthy cell phone adoption plan. This video helps to share the perspective that in order to reground adolescence in the real-world, and create the best environment for our children's development we have to work together and we need to be mindful about how and when we give our children smartphones.  We encourage our families to watch this and share it broadly. It is a subject we know our community and school are really passionate about and it was great to see educators at other schools share our community's passion. 

Check out more details here - https://www.denveryouthrugby.com/

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

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