Happy long weekend!

We hope everyone is staying safe and warm today.  Remember that students DO NOT have school on Monday or Tuesday.

It is so appropriate that the P2 character strength this week is Perseverance!  Our Swift Creek staff have really demonstrated this character strength over the past two weeks.  Between weather, bus driver shortages, and illnesses, our staff keeps pushing through and giving their all to our community.  It is incredible to watch.

You might have read many recent news articles about how educators across the country are exhausted and overwhelmed with everything on their plates.  If you have a few moments this weekend, please take a moment to thank your child's teacher and our staff for their perseverance and all they are doing right now.  A kind email or card or picture from your child means SO much! These notes help refill their buckets and keep the staff going.

Just a reminder to read Mr. Propst's email from Jan 12 about our new school COVID coordinator.  Mrs. Hizer has been doing a tremendous job in the role but I know she will be happy to spend more time serving our students as an Intervention Specialist.  

We wish you a great 3-day week!  If you have any questions, please contact any PTA board member.

Marie Dexter president.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Deborah Killion deborah.killion@gmail.com
Sarah Wohldmann swohldmann@hotmail.com
Dana Boyer treasurer.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Lauren Nicholls lauren.nicholls1@gmail.com
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Due to driver shortages because of COVID, WCPSS encourages families to check the status of your child's bus daily at www.wcpss.net/busupdate.

​***Swift Creek is part of the Broughton Transportation Route.  If any bus routes for Swift Creek are effected, they will be listed on this page: www.wcpss.net/Page/1899.***

In addition to checking the bus update page, you can also track your child’s bus using the Here Comes the Bus app.

Mrs. Chadwick was proud to announce on Friday that we have reached our goal of 2022 books!  The Service Club has been so excited to work on this project.  They are a great group of students (a small subset pictured below) and so, so eager to help others.  You can help brighten their Wednesday by sending in your books for our last collection day of Wed, Jan 19.

If you have any questions about this project, contact Mrs. Chadwick at cchadwick@wcpss.net.

We were WOW'ed by our students' Science Fair entries this year!  These students did a great job on their projects.  Here is the list of this year's winners.  All Best in Show winners will advance to the Wake County Science Fair later this month.

A special thank you to our virtual judges:  Sarah Wohldmann, Sarah Penny, Annie Pilz, and Radmilla Sazdanovic!  We appreciate you taking time on Wednesday, Jan 12 to virtually judge all these entries!

And of course, THANK YOU to Science Fair chair, Ashley Elliott at digsgeology@gmail.com, for your hard work on getting the Science Fair together.  In a virtual world, the event is even more challenging as you deal with technology issues.  (Wasn't technology supposed to make our lives easier?)  We appreciate the endless hours that you spent to make this event happen for our students.  We couldn't have had this event without out!

Here is your weekly article from Healthy Lifestyles Chair, Lisa Kropilak.  You can reach her at lkropilak@dt.com

I came across this great video on NCPTA.ORG and wanted to pass it along. Please share or watch with your children!
It’s a great way for kids to see how much sugar is actually in soda and there is a great recipe for soda alternatives using carbonated water or seltzer. I personally love making all kinds of carbonated beverage combinations. My favorite is seltzer, peppermint leaves, fresh lime and reduced sugar cranberry juice. Experiment with your kids and come up with a fun soda alternative.

This video is also great lesson and reminder on how to properly BRUSH YOUR TEETH!

Dental Day At the POE Center: Re-Think Your Drink
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Gather the children around for this informative lesson on how sugary drinks impact tooth health with Alaina Hart, MPH, CHES is the Assistant Director at POE Center. This podcast is a short and sweet, fact-finding journey that compares sugar content in common drinks of choice.  After watching this video, you will have an easy recipe, and healthier option with the fizzy drink mixture that Alaina shares.  Be sure to visit the POE Center for a Dental Day and explore all the other programs available for your children, or youth group.

​ Click HERE for the video.

Macedonia United Methodist church is looking for donations to restock their food pantry this January.  The food from this pantry is distributed weekly to 9 Swift Creek families in need.

Donations can be dropped off at the church on Saturdays 8-10am.  Or you can contact Marie Dexter to pick up your donations or to donate through Venmo @Marie-Dexter-1.

Sign up to help at www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4badaa23abf58-swift15

We still need these items:

• $15 Food Lion or Walmart gift cards
• Loaf bread
• Fresh produce
• Mac & Cheese Cups
• Ramen noodle packets
• Rice
• Gravy
• Pasta Sauce (cans, please)
• Fruit cups
• Microwavable pastas (ex. spaghetti Os)
• Jelly

In spite of the chaos around us, exciting things are happening at the Creek!

In Dr. Barr's music room, the ukuleles have been hung with care in the music room (and far away from any chimneys!).  We can't wait to hear the tales from the music room as students start using them.  Thank you again to Macedonia United Methodist church for their generous donation, which made this possible!

In more exciting news ... has your child talked about Melody, the music room fairy? Dr. Barr and Melody have been friends for years, but Melody's popularity at the Creek is off the charts!  Recently, Melody requested some outdoor space so she can stretch her legs and play with the kids outside the music room.

This week, Mrs. Sedaghat and Dr. Barr selected a location on the school grounds for a future fairy garden!  It will be in the kindergarten courtyard, right outside the music room window (so Melody has a short flight between her indoor and outdoor homes).  The creation of this garden will be student driven.  Dr. Barr has great ideas for how to get the students involved and gather student input.  The hope is to create a sensory garden for students to use for storytelling.

This project is another exciting reason to be at the Creek.  Watch for updates in future newsletters!

Good afternoon, Swift Creek families. I hope you all are doing well. Again, we find ourselves going through unusual circumstances with this round of the virus. As a school staff, we must understand, follow, and share with you the guidance we are given. We appreciate the understanding you have shown when we contact you. I want to share with you some information that may help the process. 
First, if our COVID coordinator contacts you, you may choose to share your child’s vaccination status with them. The reason for this is because the guidelines on when to return to school, or if a quarantine is even necessary, are different for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. 
Second, some families are receiving texts from the health department advising that your child should be quarantined, but it is already past the posted date. Understand that government agencies are way behind in addressing all reported cases. Most likely, we have already taken care of the necessary quarantine period by the time you are contacted by them. However, feel free to contact our COVID coordinator if you have any concerns. 
We are pleased to announce that Mr. Micheal DeMers will be joining Swift Creek staff next week. Mr. DeMers position will be that of full-time COVID coordinator. We appreciate the work that Ms. Hizer has put into this so far, but we are very thankful that she will be able to turn these responsibilities over to him. 
We will soon have on-site COVID testing at Swift Creek. More information about that will be coming to you. 
For more information, please go to https://www.wcpss.net/WhenToReturn?redir=1 on the WCPSS website. Thank you for your kindness, patience, and cooperation. 
Yours,
Darrell Propst, Principal

Hello everyone!

The weather certainly surprised us at the beginning of this week.  Once again, our incredible staff showed how much they care about our students and families.  We thank them for always putting our children first -- for keeping them safe and warm and helping them transition back to school.  

On Friday, Wake County Public Schools sent an email to families about the possibility of additional bus driver shortages this week.  The rise in COVID numbers mean that many of our bus drivers are unable to drive their routes.  Please check your child's bus status every day.  The direct link to the Swift Creek bus routes is ​www.wcpss.net/Page/1899.  Please note that if buses are not running this will mean an increase in carpool traffic, which could make the lines a bit longer.  I know our staff will do what they can to get us through the line as efficiently and safely as possible, but definitely allow yourself a few extra minutes, especially in the afternoon.

We will not have our January PTA meeting this Tuesday, Jan 11.  We hope to have a virtual awards ceremony for the Science Fair on Thursday evening; however, due to illness, we might have to postpone that event to a later date.  An announcement will be made when our plans are finalized.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this challenging time.  We hope your family is staying safe.  If there is something that we can do to help your family during this trying time, please let us know.  We are #BetterTogether!

Have a good week!

​Marie Dexter president.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Deborah Killion deborah.killion@gmail.com
Sarah Wohldmann swohldmann@hotmail.com
Dana Boyer treasurer.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Lauren Nicholls lauren.nicholls1@gmail.com

Parents,
This is a message for parents of school bus riders. 

Due to driver shortages, we encourage families to check the status of your child’s bus daily starting Monday morning at www.wcpss.net/busupdate. 

​***Direct link to Swift Creek route is www.wcpss.net/Page/1899***


In addition to checking the bus update page, you can also track your child’s bus using the Here Comes the Bus app.

As many of you know, significant bus driver absences, caused primarily by the impacts of COVID-19, have affected transportation services since the return from Winter Break. 

There were more than 150 bus driver absences yesterday and today. Even before these absences, our transportation department was operating with more than 100 driver vacancies. 

The combination of these factors has forced the cancellation of some bus routes in the past week. More than 100 routes had to be canceled this morning.

We deeply regret the disruption this has caused to families. Our transportation staff will continue to do their very best to serve as many routes as possible even as they face this challenge.

Due to the unpredictable nature of pandemics, and the increased infections caused by the Omicron variant, we do not know how much longer service will be disrupted.

You will receive updates about any important developments related to the status of our driver workforce as they become available.
We appreciate your patience and understanding.

-- Wake County Public Schools

This week, students will continue learning about the character strength of Prudence.

WHAT IT MEANS
You plan for the future and achieve your goals by making careful everyday choices.

WHY IT MATTERS
Prudence supports effective individual self-management. Whether aspiring for an athletic record, academic grade, or purchasing a car, foresight and planning are necessary. However, long-term goals – even with a plan – can only be obtained by overcoming those impulses and desires that steer you away from your goals. Prudence provides the wisdom to know which character strength to leverage, at which time, to achieve your desired end state.

On a group level, prudence is crucial – especially today, as shortsightedness has crept into many parts of life. Prudent individuals will produce a prudent society. And, as always, we need leaders who can think long-term and create the world we want our descendants to inherit.

Check out the new Family Resources section.  The password is P2.

• PreK-2
• 3-5

If you haven’t brought books in yet, it’s not too late!  We are still collecting books until January 19th. Our school goal is 2022 books for children in need!

Here is how you can help!  

1. Please clear your cluttered shelves of gently read books your kids have outgrown, or purchase new books that you love.
2. Put these books in your child’s bag or a separate bag or box and have your child bring them to their classroom to be counted toward their grade level total. If you have a lot of books, you can bring them to the school and drop them off with someone at the front door.
3. Swift Creek Service Club members will collect donated books from each classroom on a weekly basis and will count how many books each grade level has collected.

To learn more about WAKE Up and Read, please visit www.wakeupandread.org.

If you have questions about this project, contact Mrs. Chadwick at cchadwick@wcpss.net.

Macedonia United Methodist church is looking for donations to restock their food pantry this January.  The food from this pantry is distributed weekly to 9 Swift Creek families in need.

Donations can be dropped off at the church on Saturdays 8-10am.  Or you can contact Marie Dexter to pick up your donations or to donate through Venmo @Marie-Dexter-1.

Sign up to help at www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4badaa23abf58-swift15

On Tuesday, Jan 18, WakeEd Partnership, a local non-profit, will have its grand opening for a free classroom supply warehouse for teachers.  This warehouse will be in Crossroads, which is very close to the Creek!

You can learn more about it at https://www.wakeed.org/tools4schools/.