Hello everyone!

Last week was awesome!!!  Thank you to everyone who came out to the Book Fair and International Night on Thursday.  We heard lots of good comments about the Book Fair.  Parents seemed to like the greater book selection.  And International Night brought out lots of smiles!  Wow! Our host families (the presenters) really out did themselves, didn't they?  Thank you to everyone who helped organize this event!

Fortunately, this week is a little calmer.  Remember Friday is a Teacher Work Day so there is no school. I hope you and your family can enjoy a long three day weekend!

Have a wonderful week!
Marie

Positivity Project (P2): Fairness

What Does It Mean
You believe that all people have value. You approach situations with an unbiased
mindset and treat everyone with respect.

Why It Matters
For individuals, cultivating the character strength of fairness is correlated with highly desirable developmental outcomes. It helps people to become trustworthy friends,
responsible citizens, and generally moral people. 

Fairness is also essential for the good of the group. As individuals develop the capacity for moral reason they often find a strengthening of: the aptitude for self-reflection;
self-awareness and self-confidence; and perspective taking (i.e. the ability to “put themselves in another’s shoes”).

All Week: Yo-yos, Yo-yos, Yo-yos
On Friday, the students and staff gathered for an assembly to hear Ned's mindset mission.  First impressions are that they really enjoyed it and found it useful to understanding the Power of Courage and the Power to Grow.

This is a pay-it-forward assembly.  Meaning, that we didn't pay for the assembly to come to us.  Instead, they request that we sell yo-yos for 5 days after the assembly to help spread their message.

This week in the front hall from 8:45-9:15, Mrs. Chadwick will be selling yo-yos.  You can use the attached order form if you could like to purchase one.  CASH ONLY please.


Thursday: Box Top Collection Day!
Doing some spring cleaning?  Well let me help!  I will take all those Box Tops and Coke bottle tops off your hands.  Collection day is Thursday! Whose class will be the Swifty Super Snippers for the month?!?!?!

Friday: Teacher Work Day!
No school.

A Special Message from Ms. Graves!
Hello Cougars! I am so proud of you for making the healthy choice to bring a fruit or vegetable for snack this week! 

Remember, we want to make these healthy choices everyday so I would love to see how you're doing! Please share with me photos of you making healthy food choices! 

Post them on our Facebook page or my twitter @fitforlifesces and use the hashtag #scefruitvegeveryday - I would love to see how many students are continuing our healthy habits at home! Keep up the healthy work! Love, Ms. Graves  


Kids Heart Challenge:  We Reached $5000!!!!
Last week, I asked for help to reach our $5000 goal in the Kids Heart Challenge, and you answered!  Thank you!  Now Ms. Graves can get extra PE equipment for our kiddos!!!

Time is Running Out!  Vote Now through March 31 and Help Swift Creek win $10,000! 
Have you voted for Mrs. D’Amelio (a 4th and 5th grade teacher) today?  She has been nominated for the NC School Hero award (through NC Education Lottery). There will be 10 winners. Swift Creek Elementary AND Mrs. D’Amelio can win $10,000 each. NO registering is required. 

You can vote DAILY and from multiple devices!

See https://www.ncschoolheroes.com/#nominateheroes (takes you to Wake County teachers that have been nominated)


A few more details on how the winners are selected:
According to the NC Education Lottery web site, teachers with the top 200 votes will move on to the next round.  Then a selection committee will review the text entry for each candidate and select the top 10 winners.


Right now, Mrs. D'Amelio is in the top 200 for votes.  Please vote today to make sure she gets to the next round!   

5th Grade Talent Show!
Is your 5th grader interested in participating in the Talent Show this year?  Tell them to get their acts together.  Registration slips will be coming home soon.

They can tell a story, play an instrument, sing a song as a group, do a comedy act or skit . . . There are so many options.  The Talent Show will be at 2:00 on Monday, June 10.

Are you interested in volunteering to help?  Simply reply to this email.

Mark Your Calendars:

• Friday, March 29: Teacher Work Day
• Fri, Apr 5 8:15am-8:45am: Donuts with Dad.  Remember to RSVP!
• Tues, April 9 6:30pm: PTA meeting and drama performance
• April 15-19: Spring Break!
• Monday, April 22: Teacher Work Day
• Tuesday, April 23:  Family Academy Night: Preparing Your Child for the EOGs. Please RSVP at https://goo.gl/forms/OSnWD2VDFj5eHsa82 (or on the form that went home earlier this month)
• Fri, Apr 26 6-:730: Mother and Son Game Night. RSVPs will be going home in this week's Tuesday folder.
• Thurs, May 2 5-8pm: Swift Creek Night at Chick-Fil-A

Lego Club and Camp Invention Sign Ups
Lego After School Camp is Back for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades 
PlayWell is offering STEM Challenge with Lego Materials for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on Fridays, April 5 - May 24 (No class April 19). The cost is $126/child for 7 sessions. You can register at http://play-well-registration.com/course/77932  

 Join Us for Camp Invention, Supercharged!!! 


The new Camp Invention program, Supercharged, allows campers to experience real-world problem solving and creative thinking! From robots and high-tech farms to superhero gadgets, campers will invent the future! Swift Creek ES is hosting Camp Invention from June 24 - 28. Visit invent.org/camp or call 800-968-4332 to register. 

Are you interested in sponsoring a child who can’t afford the Camp Invention fee? Our goal is to give 10 local disadvantaged children the Camp Invention experience, inspiring the future innovators and leaders of our community. Simply donate a minimum of $5 at https://bit.ly/2RrKtwo and help us reach our goal! Thank you! 


The end of year countdown has begun!  Only 50 days until my babies are 6th graders and 2nd graders . . . Yikes!

Hello everyone,

Hold on to your seats.  It is going to be a busy, busy week at the Creek!  But oh so much fun! Book Fair, International Night, Healthy Snack Challenge, and School Picture Day! 

On a personal note, I would like to say how much I appreciate all of you and what you do for our school.  Swift Creek is an amazing place.  I feel the community and love every time I walk through the halls.  We are a strong school who cares about each other and our community.  Check out the acts of service that happened yesterday.  

Enough babbling. Let's get to this week's details.

Have a great week!
Marie

Positivity Project (P2): Forgiveness
This week in the Positivity Project students are learning about 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.

All Week: Spring Book Fair
We are excited to have a new vendor for the Spring Book Fair.  This time, we are working with Bedford Falls (rather than Scholastic).  Bedford Falls offers a wide variety of books from different publishers.  We hope you find your new favorite book.

If you need to purchase a book, the Book Fair will be open Monday - Friday. Also remember Thursday night is Family Night at the Book Fair (and International Night).  The Book Fair will be open from 5:30-7:45.

During the week most grade levels (except Kindergarten) will visit the fair twice.

• The first visit is a preview day, where students write their wish lists.  They will bring this list home to you for review and approval.
• The second visit is their shopping day.  For any purchases, please send money with your child on their shopping day (not before).  

To find our your child's shopping day and time, click the volunteer link below.


WE NEED VOLUNTEERS to help teachers during the preview and shopping days. Sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e094eafae2ca64-2019

All Week:  Healthy Snack Challenge

March is National Nutrition month!  Ms. Graves and her 5th grade Wellness team have a challenge for our school!

Each day this week, send your child to school with a fruit or vegetable snack.  Each class will keep a tally of how many students bring a fruit or vegetable.

The class who averages the most fruit/vegetable snacks for the week will receive a healthy reward from Ms. Graves and the Wellness Team!

All Week: International Week and International Night on Thursday
After endless hours of planning, International Week and International Night are here.  We have 17 families ready to teach you about their family culture and the history of their country.

Here are the activities for each day this week:

• Monday -- Dress in the colors of your country’s flag
• Tuesday -- Show and Tell. Bring in small item to share with class
• Wednesday -- World Storytelling Day.  Ask your kids what stories they read in class.
• Thursday -- Dress in traditional clothing
• Friday - Listen and Learn a dance. Ask your kids what they learned.  They might even show you a few moves! 

On Thursday, we will have International Night.  Here is the evening's schedule.

• 5:30-6:30 Light dinner in cafeteria
• 5:30-7:45 Book Fair open the media center
• 5:30-7:30 Country displays open to tourists.  These will be in the classrooms.
• 6:30-7:15 Performances in the gym

Key Things to Do:

1. When you arrive, come in the front hallway and SIGN IN.
2. Make sure your child picks up a passport.  These passports can be stamped at each country.
3. Make sure that you add a star to the world map in the front hall.  We want each family to put a star to show where they are from!
4. Food is only available from 5:30-6:30 in the cafeteria.  Come sample a wide variety of cuisines.  (Food is provided by Whole Foods.)
5. Some presenters will have food at their displays.  If you have a child with allergies, please ask the presenter for the list of ingredients.

Wednesday: School picture day!

Here is the schedule:

In room 105 Kindergarten - 2nd grade

• 9:30 - Lipe
• 10:00 Hanna
• 10:30 Flynn
• 11:00 Miller
• 11:20 Sedaghat
• 1:00 Krauter
• 1:20 McKeon
• 1:40 Cillian
• 2:00 Phillips
• 2:20 Pearson

In room 210 3-5 grades

• 9:30 Zardas
• 10:00 Bumgarner
• 10:30 Beauchamp
• 10:50 D'Amelio
• 11:10 Coles
• 11:50 Williams
• 12:10 Fallon
• 12:50 Kuhn
• 2:50 Michaud

Kids Heart Challenge:  We are So Close to $5000
We've raised $4900 in the Kids Heart Challenge!  We are $100 short of reaching our $5000 goal.  

Can you help us reach our goal?  Here is our school home page.

As an aside, something new that I learned this week.  Ms. Graves and our school receives PE equipment based on the amount of money we've raised. Getting to our $5000 goal will mean additional PE equipment!

Mark Your Calendars:

• Friday, March 29: Teacher Work Day
• Fri, Apr 5 8:15am-8:45am: Donuts with Dad
• Tues, April 9 6:30pm: PTA meeting and drama performance
• April 15-19: Spring Break!
• Monday, April 22: Teacher Work Day
• Tuesday, April 23:  Family Academy Night: Preparing Your Child for the EOGs. Please RSVP at https://goo.gl/forms/OSnWD2VDFj5eHsa82 (or on the form that went home earlier this month)
• Fri, Apr 26 6-:730: Mother and Son Game (K)night
• Thurs, May 2 5-8pm: Swift Creek Night at Chick-Fil-A

Don't Leave Yet!  There's More ...

Help Swift Creek win $10,000! 
Have you voted for Mrs. D’Amelio (a 4th and 5th grade teacher) today?  She has been nominated for the NC School Hero award (through NC Education Lottery). There will be 10 winners. Swift Creek Elementary AND Mrs. D’Amelio can win $10,000 each. NO registering is required. 

You can vote DAILY and from multiple devices!

See https://www.ncschoolheroes.com/#nominateheroes (takes you to Wake County teachers that have been nominated)

A few more details on how the winners are selected:
According to the NC Education Lottery web site, teachers with the top 200 votes will move on to the next round.  Then a selection committee will review the text entry for each candidate and select the top 10 winners.

Right now, Mrs. D'Amelio is in the top 200 for votes.  Please vote today to make sure she gets to the next round!   
Lego After School Camp is Back for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades 
PlayWell is offering STEM Challenge with Lego Materials for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders on Fridays, April 5 - May 24 (No class April 19). The cost is $126/child for 7 sessions. You can register at http://play-well-registration.com/course/77932  

 Join Us for Camp Invention, Supercharged!!! 

The new Camp Invention program, Supercharged, allows campers to experience real-world problem solving and creative thinking! From robots and high-tech farms to superhero gadgets, campers will invent the future! Swift Creek ES is hosting Camp Invention from June 24 - 28. Visit invent.org/camp or call 800-968-4332 to register. 

Are you interested in sponsoring a child who can’t afford the Camp Invention fee? Our goal is to give 10 local disadvantaged children the Camp Invention experience, inspiring the future innovators and leaders of our community. Simply donate a minimum of $5 at https://bit.ly/2RrKtwo and help us reach our goal! Thank you! 

Congratulations! You made it to the end!  Now go treat yourself with a nice cup of coffee.  Have a great week!

It might be Saturday but Swift Creek is still giving back to our community!

This morning, several staff members and families participated in the InterFaith Food Shuttle's 5k.  This fundraiser goes towards sponsoring school programs, such as our school garden!

Then this afternoon, members of our Swift Creek Service Club boxed books for the Wake Up and Read Program!  During our 2.5 hour shift, we helped box over 13,100 books.  The kids were amazing.  They worked the entire time without taking breaks and then when time was up they wanted to do more.  Thank you to Mrs. Chadwick for making this possible!

​At Swift Creek, we truly know that #OtherPeopleMatter.

Every year, the Cary Rotary Club generously donates $500 to our student Read a Book program.  This program is run by Mrs. Carey Burkhalter (second from the right), who is our ESL teacher.  This program is for 1st and 2nd graders who might be non-native English speakers or who are having trouble reading.  The student pairs with a volunteer and reads a book.  After the child has mastered the book, he or she gets to keep it and take it home.  Last year, our amazing students went through 900 books!  And all of this was possible because of the Cary Rotary Club.

At last night's PTA meeting, the Cary Rotary Club presented their check for the 2018-19 school year.  We cannot thank them enough for providing this to our students.  And thank you to the dedicated volunteers who read with the students. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Carey Burkhalter at cburkhalter@wcpss.net.