Thank You!

On behalf of the Swift Creek staff, thank you so much for the tremendous show of support of our school through your fundraising efforts. You all crushed the goal and just kept going! We are so very appreciative of the giving spirit of our community. As a reward to all of our hard-working students, they will enjoy a performance by Trent Arterberry on October 29. 
Next week, we will celebrate Bullying Prevention Week with a different theme and message each day. This is always a fun way to send a strong message that bullying has no place at our school. We hope all of our students will join in on the fun. 

• Monday is Put a Cap on Bullying Day! - wear your favorite hat
• Tuesday is Diversity Day! - wear your favorite color
• Wednesday is Unity Day! - wear orange
• Thursday is Team Up Against Bullying Day - wear your favorite team gear
• Friday is Spirit Day - wear school spirit wear or purple

Have a great weekend!
Darrell Propst

Happy Fall everyone!

Today's cooler temperatures remind us that Yes, it really is fall.  Fall is my favorite season.  I really love everything about it.

Next week is another full week at the Creek!  Our next Teacher Work Day is Wed, Oct 27.  Also please note that students will not have school on Tuesday, Nov 2, which is Election Day.  (I'll confess this one snuck up on me so I hadn't listed it in previous newsletters.)

The videos from our Virtual Open House are now available.  To access these videos, see Open House.

We hope you have a great week!  Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

Marie Dexter mariecdexter@gmail.com
Deborah Killion deborah.killion@gmail.com
Sarah Wohldmann swohldmann@hotmail.com
Dana Boyer treasurer.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Lauren Nicholls lauren.nicholls2@gmail.com

This week help us participate in Bullying Prevention Week.  See Mr. Propst's email for more information.

Interested in learning more?  Here are the links that are listed in the previous image:

• Monday: Video 5 Tips to Stop Bullying on YouTube
• Tuesday: Video What Is Diversity?, Read aloud of Mixed
• Wednesday: Video How to Color Your World with Kindness 
• Thursday: Video What Is Bullying? , What Is Cyberbullying?
• Friday: Video Learn How to Be an Upstander

This week in the Positivity Project, students are learning about the character strength: Forgiveness

What It Means
You forgive those who have done wrong. You accept that people make mistakes.

Why It Matters
For individuals, forgiveness has benefits that range from increased health to developing positive relationships to coming to an understanding that no one is without fault. Remaining bitter and angry increases your stress levels, and forgiveness helps an individual release that resentment, and repair or strengthen his/her relationships.

The ability to reconcile differences and move forward positively is a trait of any effective group. When people work together, conflict is inevitable. However, when people value each other’s contribution and believe in the group’s goal, they become more capable of moving past conflict toward genuinely positive behavior. A group member’s willingness to forgive imperfections of both other members
and the group as a whole contribute to overall success.


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

• PreK-2
• 3-5

Thank you to everyone who attended our October PTA meeting.  Here are the minutes for you to review.

Two highlights:

• Mrs. Mailhot, the school's Literacy Coach, presented information about the mClass HomeConnect report that were sent home in your child's Tuesday folder. Check out the minutes for more details.
• Annie Pilz, our Fun Run chair, gave us the final Fun Run total!  We raised an incredible $23, 786.75!!!!  That might the most we've raised at any Fun Run!  During the meeting, we also discussed how some of these extra funds will be used.
  • Help restore our bank account after last year
  • The fee for the Positivity Project (which the PTA pays in April) will go up by $1000 this year.  These funds enable us to continue this awesome program at the Creek.
  • The PTA board is exploring with school administration ways that we can use the funds to help our students recover from the academic gap of last year.
  • If you have suggestions for these funds, send an email to Marie Dexter at mariecdexter@gmail.com.

Your Fun Run donations help the PTA pay for software licenses, such as Brain POP, which is an engaging program for all our students.  Your donations helped us renew this license for this school year!  Our teachers use this program frequently, so they thank you!

Thank you to everyone who came out and put their paw print (I mean, handprint) on the trees around the cafeteria.  What a fun experience and now we have a wonderful piece of art for our students to enjoy during lunch!

Currently, there are no future sign ups to add your families hands to the trees.  However, if you are interested in participating, please contact Marie Dexter at mariecdexter@gmail.com (919-602-9993) for a time!

A simple rule to follow is to select foods that are not high in sugar and saturated fat and to “eat from the farm, NOT the factory.”  
Below are great examples of power snacks we can encourage our children to select or add to their lunch boxes.
​

In a previous newsletter, there was an update from the District 5 Board Advisory Council meeting with our school board member, Dr. Jim Martin.  During that meeting, there was a presentation about the Leandro case.  Here are the slides from that presentation.

Since then, the Wake County PTA Council passed a resolution urging the North Carolina State Legislature to fully fund the Leandro case.  Entire Press Release

Open House is this Monday!

Open House is coming up this Monday, October 11. Earlier this year, we made the tough decision to hold our fall Open House event virtually. As much as we love having the building full of families, it seems prudent to present the information online, very similarly to how it was done last year. 
Grade level presentations will be livestreamed from 3:00-3:30, and then they will answer questions from 3:30-4:00. Support staff will be answering questions from 3:00-3:30, and then their livestream presentations will be from 3:30-4:00. All presentations will be recorded and available on the school website later for viewing on your own time in case you miss the livestream. 
All questions will be submitted before, during, or after the presentations through a program called Padlet. You can access the Padlet to record questions right now at this link: SCES Virtual Open House 10/11/21 Question Padlet.
Below are the links to the livestream presentations for Monday 3:00-4:00:

• Kindergarten
  
• First Grade 
  
• Second Grade 
  
• Third Grade
  
• Fourth Grade
  
• Fifth Grade
  
• Specialists
  
• Intervention/ESL/Special Education​​​​​​​
  

We look forward to sharing great things about Swift Creek with you at Open House! 

Sincerely,
Darrell Propst
​Principal at Swift Creek Elementary School

Happy New Week, everyone!

Just a quick reminder there is no school tomorrow, Monday.  It is a Teacher Work Day. Although there is no school for students, our teachers and staff will be learning lots! And remember that we have an Open House at 3:00!  For all the details, see Mr. Propst's email.

We also hope you can join us for our virtual PTA meeting at 6:30pm this Tuesday!  So many things to celebrate, especially the fact that we exceeded our fundraising goal!  We cannot thank you enough!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any PTA board member.

​Marie Dexter mariecdexter@gmail.com
Deborah Killion deborah.killion@gmail.com
Sarah Wohldmann swohldmann@hotmail.com
Dana Boyer treasurer.swiftcreek@gmail.com
Lauren Nicholls lauren.nicholls2@gmail.com

• TODAY, Sunday, Oct 10 1-3  Families, come add a leaf to our tree.  Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/scesFamilyTree
• Monday, Oct 11
  • Teacher Work Day
  • 9:15am - 10:00 Families, come add a leaf to our tree.  Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/scesFamilyTree
  • 3:00-4:00 Virtual Open House. 
• Tuesday, Oct 12: 6:30pm Virtual PTA Meeting.  Join us at tinyurl.com/scesPTAMeet
• Friday, Oct 15: 4:10-6:00 Come add your leaf to our tree!  Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/scesFamilyTree
• Saturday, Oct 16:  11:30-1:30.  Come add your leaf to our tree!  Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/scesFamilyTree

​Note: Please sign up for a time slot if you are interested in participating in the tree project.  If no one is signed up, the session might end early.  Laundry duty calls! ;-)

This week in the Positivity Project, students are learning about the character strength: Integrity

What It Means
You are honest and speak the truth. You present yourself genuinely and sincerely.

Why It Matters
Integrity is vital to individual growth. It is correlated with a multitude of psychological well-being measures. Harmony in your feelings, thoughts, and actions makes you better able to personally grow and achieve goals. Authenticity, and a lack of pretense, also makes you more likable and trusted by others, meaning your relationships will benefit.

On a group level, integrity is a cornerstone of high- functioning and sustainable teams, organizations, and  societies. If you’re constantly wondering about your coworkers’ intentions, you will have a hard time working with them. This is why we look for politicians and leaders with integrity. We need to believe that they’ll keep their word – or at the very least, readily admit it when they must break a promise. If they don’t, trust and performance fail.


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

• PreK-2
• 3-5

Wow!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to EVERYONE who donated to this year's Fun Run!  We EXCEEDED our $15,000 goal by ALOT.

When setting our fundraising goal for this year, we wanted to be conservative because we know that the past year and a half has been so hard on everyone!  Your response has been overwhelming and we are so, so grateful for the generosity.

The Executive PTA Board is now looking at how we can address this surplus.  Some things to know:

• The extra funds help restore our bank account after a difficult year last year.  Because of COVID, we raised about $11,000 last year, which was okay because many programs had to be cancelled.  However, we still did a lot of great work last year and these additional funds will help us continue that work.
• When we renew The Positivity Project at the end of the year, we will be able to pay for the $1000 fee increase.  This program has done so much for our school!  We are happy that we are able to keep it going.
• We are currently exploring with school administration ways that we can use these funds to help catch up our students.  There are so many students struggling academically, and the PTA is exploring ways that we might be able to help.

Thank you,  thank you, thank you again for your support!  We are #BetterTogether.

Are you interested in purchasing Swift Creek spirit wear?  Order forms went home in last week's Tuesday folders.  Because of supply shortages and fluctuating prices, we need to get our order in ASAP.

We have Adult and Youth sizes of these items:

• short sleeve t-shirts
• long sleeve t-shirts
• sweatshirts
• hoodies

You can order using the paper form through Oct 12.  Simply send the order form to school with your child and give it to your child's teacher.

You can also order online through our MemberHub store until Oct 13 at 9:00pm.  Here is the link:  https://swiftcreek.memberhub.com/store

If you have any questions, contact Spirit Wear chair, Aimee Langerhans, at jollyaimee@hotmail.com.

Students and families are having a wonderful time adding their handprints to our trees on the walls outside the cafeteria.  They certainly make the area more cheerful. 

BUT we need A LOT more leaves so our trees don't look so bare. 

We have several opportunities for you and your family to come and put your leaf on our tree.

• Today, Sunday, Oct 10 1:00-3:00
• Monday, Oct 11 9:15-10:00
• Friday, Oct 15 4:10-6:00
• Saturday, Oct 16 11:30-1:30

Sign up now at ​​https://tinyurl.com/scesFamilyTree

​Note: Please sign up for a time slot if you are interested in participating in the tree project.  If no one is signed up, the session might end early.

Don't see a time that works for you?  Contact Marie Dexter (mariecdexter@gmail.com or 919-602-9993) to schedule and appointment.

THANK YOU so much to the families who brought individually wrapped snacks when they stopped by.  We have replenished the snack pantry stock for quite a while.  We do not need any more snacks at this time.

Here is your Weekly Wellness tip from Healthy Lifestyles chair, Lisa Kropilak   If you have any questions about Healthy Lifestyles, you can contact Lisa at lmd0925@aol.com.
 
As stated on PTA.ORG:

• Research shows that when children are fit and receive the proper amount of exercise, they perform better in school and are able to learn at a higher level
• Physical activity is a critical to preventing childhood obesity
• Exercise is most effective and more fun when it’s done as a group!
• Being active helps reduce stress and supports overall well being
• If you are between the ages of 6 and 17, your body needs 60 minutes of activity everyday

 
Here are some fun ideas to stay active at home!

Please share this KID FRIENDLY ​PDF with your children so help better explain WHY they need to stay active!

Finally, check out CHASE (PE VIDEOS) on Youtube! They were a big hit during virtual school and a fun thing to do as a family!
Here is one of many videos for you to check out.  It’s a fun way to start the day on the weekends!

The Reflections Art Program encourages creativity and lifelong learning while offering recognition for artistic endeavors.  The theme for the 2021-22 is I Will Change the World By.

ALL students (K-5) are welcome to submit entries as photographs, pictures, stories, film, or music. ​​For more information about this year's program, contact Reflections chairs at reflections.swiftcreek@gmail.com.

ENTRIES ARE DUE BY SUNDAY, OCT 31!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

1. Review the rules and guidelines for your category.

Guidelines and Rules for Each Category:

• Visual arts
• Photography
• Music Composition
• Literature
• Film
• Dance

2. Create your masterpiece! The theme is I Will Change the World By ...

3. Complete this Google form. Using this form, you will do the following:

• specify the name of the student, the type of entry
• An important piece of the submission is student's statement of work.  This is a minimum of 10 words but no more than 100 words that explains the piece. The judges really look at this statement and it weighs heavily in judging.
• Provide parental permission for the student to participate in Reflections program.
• Upload the artwork.  (If that doesn't work, you can also email it to reflections.swiftcreek@gmail.com.)

We Need Judges!

Are you or someone you know a lover of the arts?  We are also looking for 3 judges to help with this competition!  If interested, please email reflections.swiftcreek@gmail.com.  Judging will be the first day of Nov and it will be virtual (so folks can do it from home).  It should take maybe an hour of time.

Last week, we mentioned that the upper grades had an opportunity to plant our fall garden.  During the week, the garden is watered and weeded by a class.

However, we are looking for folks to help water and weed on the weekend.  Even if it has rained that week, you can still come check out our new garden station.  It includes activities and lesson plans for all grade levels.  If you love gardening and don't have a resource at home to share with your kids, come experience our school garden!

Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/scesGarden21

If you have garden questions, contact Megan Holler at meganandrews81@gmail.com.

Macedonia United Methodist Church needs your help to restock the food pantry.  Every Saturday, the church delivers bags of food to some of our families in need.

Sign up at ​https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4badaa23abf58-swift12

Thank you to Caring Circle at Macedonia United Methodist Church.  They recently donated $1500 so that Dr.  Barr can purchase ukuleles to use the music room.  Dr.  Barr is so excited to be receiving these.  Be prepared to hear lots of great stories from your kids!

This newsletter has already shared so many great pictures around the Creek!  But here is a few more to start your week!

​5th grade  "I AM" display outside Mrs. Boyd's classroom