We hope you'd had a great week and enjoyable moments with your families! I am going to try and eek out every moment of this last vacation day. (Too bad I procrastinated on the laundry until today.)
It is hard to believe that December starts on Wednesday and that we are only 3 weeks from Winter Break! Starting Monday, students will earn purple ROAR coupons to earn their way to the Winter Blast on Thursday, Dec 16 & Dec 17. There is more information in the article below. You will be receiving more details from your child's teacher, so keep an eye out for that communication.
Tuesday, Nov 30 is Giving Tuesday. Currently, we have several ways that you can help at the Creek.
- The Swift Creek Service Club (headed by Mrs. Chadwick, our counselor, and Mrs. Smith, our Assistant Principal), is collecting books for Wake Up and Read NOW through January 19. For more information, see the article below.
- We are still collecting items for Winter Blast activities. If you are interested in donating, sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4da8af2ca6fe3-lets.
- For the food pantry at Macedonia United Methodist church, the December sign up is now available at www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4badaa23abf58-swift14
We hope your batteries are recharged and you are ready to push through the next three weeks! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact any PTA board member. Our next PTA meeting will be Tuesday, Dec 14 at 6:30pm, and it will be virtual.
Marie Dexter [email protected]
Deborah Killion [email protected]
Sarah Wohldmann [email protected]
Dana Boyer [email protected]
Lauren Nicholls [email protected]
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
THE POSITIVITY PROJECT: Kindness
WHAT IT MEANS
You are generous to others and you are never too busy to help out. You enjoy doing good deeds for other people.
WHY IT MATTERS
For individuals, kindness is correlated with desirable developmental outcomes. It is related to other-oriented emotions, like empathy (the ability to experience the emotional state of another person) and sympathy (the tender emotion of concern for another’s difficulty).
Psychologists have even traced kindness and generosity as the keys to healthy, happy, and lasting marriages.
On a group level, kindness is very important. In addition to empathy and sympathy, the character strength of kindness is indicative of an individual’s moral reasoning capacity and level of social responsibility. That means people who develop kindness possess a strong personal ethical responsibility to care for other people. And, their acts of kindness towards others lead to additional acts of kindness by those who have been helped.
Check out the new Family Resources section. The password is P2.
Kickoff to the Winter Blast
After the Thanksgiving Break, our school promotes a Positive Behavior incentive to help keep the kids focused until Winter Break. This event is called the Winter Blast.
In previous years, the Winter Blast has consisted of a grade level Glow Dance in the media center. To ensure our students' safety, we have made changes to this year's event.
Students will stay with their class and do special activities during their specials time. For example:
- On Dec 16, your child's class might go to Music for 20 minutes, where they have a miniature version of our Glow Dance. There will be music, snowball fights, glow bracelets. After 20 minutes, your child's class will rotate to Art, where they do an art project.
- On Dec 17, your child's class might go to PE for 20 minutes and play mini-golf. Then go to the media center for 20 minutes to make holiday cards for a community organization.
How Students Earn Their Way to the Winter Blast
Starting the Monday after Thanksgiving through Dec 15, students will earn purple ROAR coupons to attend the Winter Blast. These coupons can be distributed by any staff member and are given when they see a student demonstrating ROAR behavior.
To attend the event, each student must earn at least 13 special Winter Blast ROAR coupons.
Be on the lookout for more information about this event from your child's teacher.
Donate to wake UP and Read
YOU can make a difference in our community by donating books!
- Please clear your cluttered shelves of gently read books your kids have outgrown, or purchase new books that you love.
- 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.
- 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.
Keep an eye out for a flyer from Mrs. Chadwick in your child's Tuesday folder. If you have questions about this project, contact Mrs. Chadwick at [email protected].
Weekly Wellness: Starting a Gratitude Journal
We have been focusing a lot on gratitude! Gratitude can have a big impact on your health too! It can boost mental health, strengthen self-control, lift your mood, improve your sleep and reduce stress!
Let’s continue the practice of gratitude all year by following the two stages noted below and encourage our children to start a gratitude journal!
Spirit Wear Orders are In!
If you have questions about spirit wear, please contact Aimee at [email protected].
Donations to Food Pantry for December
Items can be dropped off during normal church office hours or at the church Fellowship Hall on Saturday mornings, 8-10am.
Sign up at www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4badaa23abf58-swift14
VOLUNTEERING AT SCHOOL: REGISTER TO BE A WCPSS VOLUNTEER
Here's how to register.
To register:
- Go to the school and ring the front bell.
- Let the front office know that you are there to register to be a WCPSS volunteer. A staff member will bring a device to you.
- Complete the registration process on that school device.
It takes WCPSS approximately 2 weeks to clear a volunteer, so if you are interested, please go to the school as soon as possible and register. Then you will be ready to go when volunteer opportunities become available.
THank you to Mookie's New York Deli!
CLEAN ENERGY YOUTH ART COMPETITION
Mrs. McIntyre wanted to share this opportunity with all our Swifties!
ENTRIES ARE DUE DEC 19!
Clean Energy Youth Art Competition
News from Wake County Public Schools
Families are encouraged to submit Wake County’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment Survey by Dec. 3. The responses to this survey will be used by the county, local hospitals and community partners to create a list of health priorities for our county. Share your opinions and help Wake County decide what health priorities will take place in our county in the next three years. More: livewellwake.org/survey
Restart WCPSS-issued devices once per week
Technology Services has seen an increase in security issues due to WCPSS devices not being restarted regularly. Restarting a device allows updates for new security and productivity features. Students and staff should restart their WCPSS devices once per week. (Important: Closing the lid only locks the device and does not shut it down.) Restarting also can resolve many other common issues impacting student devices. Always restart a WCPSS device before contacting the Help Desk.
Student assignment public hearing Nov. 30
Families can provide feedback on the second draft of the 2022-23 student assignment enrollment proposal on Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. See if you are proposed to be affected by Draft 2 changes.
The sign-up link will be available starting Sunday, Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m.