Hello everyone!


Friday was a crazy, busy, exciting, overwhelming day as we put the exclamation point on our Fun Run celebrations this year.  Brand new committee chairs, Annie Pilz and Kim Sheppard, did a fantastic job organizing the entire event and especially yesterday's fun. Please thank them if you get the chance.  And THANK YOU for your support of our wonderful school.

This week, there is an important seminar for 4th and 5th grade parents about keeping your child physically and emotionally safe.  As the parent of a 5th grader, I will definitely be in attendance.  This is an issue that hits so close to home for me personally.  Your child could be struggling and you not even know it.  Or maybe your child's friends are struggling.  The more of us who are informed about these issues, the more WE as a community can do to help our kids.  If you have the time, please join us.

I hope everyone has a great week!  Please let us know if there is anything you need.

Marie Dexter

The Positivity Project: Bravery
This week students will be learning about the character strength of Bravery.  Here is this week's short video.

Tuesday: School Starts on a 2 Hour Delay -- Election Day
Because of Election Day, school will open on a two hour delay.  That means, class will start for Swift Creek at 11:15am.  Carpool starts at 10:45am.

Also if you haven't yet, please go vote on Tuesday.  The polls are open from 6:30am to 7:30pm.  Just a reminder that the Wake County school bond is on the ballot.  The Swift Creek PTA has issued a position statement supporting the bond: http://swiftcreekeswcpssnetptahtml.weebly.com/school-bond

Tuesday: Newsletter Goes Home in Tuesday Folders.
The November edition of the Swift Creek Current will go home in Tuesday folders.  Or you can catch a sneak peek online:  http://swiftcreekeswcpssnetptahtml.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/2/2/24227387/nov62018_english_draft.pdf

Wednesday: Keeping Your Child Physically and Emotionally Safe 6-7pmOur Student Support Services staffs have prepared a powerful presentation called, "Keeping Children Emotionally and Physically Safe." They will be joined by Kelly Lister, our district's Crisis Intervention Specialist. Over the past few years we have seen an increase in the number of students who report feeling stressed, have difficulty regulating their emotions, or want to harm themselves. We want to improve the partnership between home and school to help our children become balanced in life.This workshop will help us to understand the risks our kids face and learn ways to help our children navigate through good and bad times (increase resiliency and coping skills). Please join us Wednesday, November 7 from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm for this powerful session. 


Friday: Celebration of Brilliance
On Friday, we will hold our first celebration of brilliance for the school year.  Students will gather in the gym by grade level during their specials time.  Students and staff will be recognized at that time for displaying one of the P2 character strengths that we've studied or for demonstrating how #OtherPeopleMatter.

There will be two other Celebrations of Brilliance this year -- one in February and one in May.  If your child is being recognized, you will receive a notification letter in your child's Tuesday folder.  All students will be recognized at least once this year.

Silly Stringing Mr. Propst

To celebrate reaching (and exceeding) our fundraising goal, students got to silly string Mr. Propst. He was a really good sport about it! 

Because of the threat of rain, we held the event in the gym, and it got REALLY loud. I know that many people were affected by the noise. Please know that we will take that into consideration for future events and try to hold these activities outside as much as possible.  


Our School Spirit Winner for November is . . . Mrs. Sedaghat's 2nd grade class
Congratulations to Mrs. Sedaghat's class for having 72% participation in Friday's spirit day.  You are our winners for the month of November!  I know Swifty is going to enjoy visiting your classroom.

EVERYONE did a great job yesterday coming out in our school colors.  The hallways were bleeding purple. :-) Our next Spirit Day is Dec 7.

We Need Volunteers!!!
We still need lots of volunteers to help during Book Fair. Each class will have a preview day and a shopping day and we could use YOU to help with both. Sign up today at https://tinyurl.com/scesNovBooks 

This year’s Swift Creek STEM Night will be held on Thursday, November 15th in conjunction with the Book Fair. Students can engage in fun activities related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. There will be a variety of activities for all grade levels. 

This event needs a lot of people to help create all the fun. The volunteer slots are only 1 hour long and this year we’ve included slots for teenage volunteers. This is a great opportunity for older siblings to be involved. Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/ybazl3vt  


Mark Your Calendar: 

• Nov 12: No school in observance of Veteran’s Day
• Nov 12-20: P2 Gratitude
• Nov 13-17: Book Fair! Family Night on Nov 15
•  Nov 15: Family Night at the Book Fair / STEM Night
• Nov 20 1:15pm: Early Release
• Nov 21-23: Thanksgiving Holiday
• Nov 26-30: P2: Knowing my words and actions affect others
• Nov 30: Monthly Deadline for Box Tops and Coke bottle tops!  

​We've had so much to celebrate in the last couple of weeks.  A terrific Fun Run.  New plants going into the garden.  A very successful McTeacher's Night. And a load of donations for Florence victims.  We are definitely showing our brilliance.

This week starts off slow but ends with a big bang on Friday!  Looking forward to silly stringing Mr. Propst. :-)

Hope you have a great week!
Marie

P2: Positivity Project -- Creativity
This week, students will be learning creativity.  See this week's very short video.

Thanks to Everyone Who Attended McTeacher's Night
We raised $700 for the Creek!  It was a very fun night.  The McDonalds coordinator had even invited the Cary police department, who came with K9 unit.

Monday: Reflections Entries are Due
3rd, 4th, and 5th graders!  Last call for those Reflections entries.  If you didn't get a chance to turn your project in Friday, you can turn it in on Monday.  You can enter in Visual Art (2D or 3D), photography, film, music composition, dance, or literature.

The theme this year is Heroes Around Me!

Entry packets are available at http://swiftcreekeswcpssnetptahtml.weebly.com/reflections.html

If you have questions, contact Reflections chair Carrie Fernandez at cfernandez@wcpss.net.


Wednesday:  A Regular School Day
Originally, Wednesday was a Teacher Work Day.  However, it is now a regular school day to make up for Hurricane Florence.

Deadline for Ordering Your Yearbook and Receiving a 10% Discount
Order your yearbook by Wednesday and receive a 10% discount off the $13.15 price.  https://tinyurl.com/scesYearbook

Friday: Busy, Busy Day
Here are all the exciting things happening at the Creek on Friday!

• Spirit Day -- Wear your Swift Creek colors with pride as we select this month's Spirit Winner.
• Coffee and Conversation with Mr. Propst at 9:30am -- Bring your questions and learn more about what is happening at Swift Creek!
• Game Day for students who raised more than $200 in Fun Run donations.  A letter will be in your child's Tuesday folder.
• Silly String Mr. Propst 3:00pm -- We will celebrate reaching our Fun Run goal by silly stringing Mr. Propst on the field. I hope he's ready!

We Need Volunteers for Book Fair and STEM Night on Thursday, Nov 15
The Fall Book Fair is just around the corner!  And we need lots of volunteers to help.  Each class will have a preview day and a shopping day and we could use YOU to help with both.

Sign up today at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094eafae2ca64-20182

We will have our second annual STEM night in conjunction with Family Night at the Book Fair on Thursday, Nov 15.  We desperately need lots of volunteers to help with the experiments.  All you need to do is follow the instructions at your station.


For more information and to sign up (teens are welcome to volunteer too), sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094eafae2ca64-book2

Important Workshop for 4th and 5th Grade Parents: Nov 7, 2018 at 6:00

Keeping Children Emotionally and Physically Safe

The Swift Creek Elementary Student Services Team and the WCPSS Crisis Intervention and Prevention Specialist are offering this free workshop for parents on understanding the risks children face and how to help children build resiliency and coping skills.

Swift Creek Elementary hopes to team up with parents to help children find balance in their lives and get the most from their education.

Childcare will be provided.
If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Chadwick, our school counselor, at cchadwick@wcpss.net.

Nov 8: Opportunity to Tour Dillard Drive Middle School
Do you have a rising 6th grader?  Here is your opportunity to tour Dillard Drive Middle School and learn about the life of a 6th grader.

Tours will be given at 10:00 and 1:45.  You are asked to register.  For more information, see https://www.wcpss.net/cms/lib/NC01911451/Centricity/Domain/10190/6th%20Grade%20Tours.pdf
Remember to Log Your Child's ReadVolution Hours
Swift Creek broke the 1000 book barrier!  But we have a long way to go if we want to reach the 2020 goal and be entered into the chance to visit a Carolina Hurricane's practice.  Help us get there by logging your child's hours today!


http://swiftcreekeswcpssnetptahtml.weebly.com/readvolution.html




Congratulations to Our October Super Snippers: Mrs. Zardas' Kindergarten Class!
Thank you EVERYONE for turning in your Box Tops and Coke bottle tops last week.  We collected another $200 for the Creek!


This month, Mrs. Zardas's class are our Super Snippers and raised $16.70.  On Monday morning, they will receive a small prize.  Mrs. Boyd's class came in a close second with $15.00!  Remember every dime counts.  Keep up the good work!  The next collection is in November.


Mark Your Calendars:

• Tuesday, Nov 6 -- Election Day!  Schools will start on a 2-hour delay.  That means class will start at Swift Creek at 11:15am.
• Tuesday, Nov 6 -- The PTA meeting is cancelled to give everyone an opportunity to vote.  Our next meeting will be in Dec.
• Friday, Nov 9 -- Celebration of Brilliance.  We will recognize students in each grade level for demonstrating the character strengths we learned about this quarter and other extraordinary accomplishments.  If your child is recognized, you will receive an invite in your child's Tuesday folder with more information.
• Monday, Nov 12 -- No School. Veteran's Day
• Tuesday, Nov 13-Friday, Nov 16 -- Book Fair
• Tuesday, Nov 13 -- Report Cards go home.
• Thursday, Nov 15 -- Family Night at the Book Fair and STEM night.