As yesterday's glorious weather reminds us, spring is just around the corner! During my walk, I saw my neighbors outside, kids running around, repairs being made to houses and yards ... it made my heart so full to see some normalcy in the world.
In addition, with COVID numbers going down, the CDC and WCPSS have updated their guidelines (more information from the school coming soon), which makes it possible for more school events and more involvement from you! In fact, this newsletter announces the return of two AWESOME programs:
- Watch DOGS
- Cougars Front Runners
Putting together this newsletter is one of my favorite activities each week, especially the Week in Pictures section. Be sure to check out that section for a very heartwarming picture from Second Grade!
Hope your week is full of love, hope, and possibilities! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any board member.
Marie Dexter [email protected]
Deborah Killion [email protected]
Sarah Wohldmann [email protected]
Dana Boyer [email protected]
Lauren Nicholls [email protected]
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
- Monday, Feb 14 -- Valentine's Day
- Thursday, Feb 17
- Cultural Arts Performance for the Whole School
- Deadline to Submit Your Entry for Yearbook Cover
- Friday, Feb 18
- Teacher Work Day. No School for Students.
- Deadline for Kids Heart Challenge!
- Monday, Feb 21 -- Presidents' Day. No school for staff or students.
THE POSITIVITY PROJECT: love
Check out the new Family Resources section. The password is P2.
Minutes from Feb 8 PTA meeting
The minutes are available from here.
Here are some highlights from the meeting:
- There is a letter going home this week about retention. This letter is only a notification that your student may not be on grade level at this moment in time. This will come out at the end of February.
- Mr. Propst hopes to announce a session for community input about the new school building soon. Everything is on hold right now because there are some negotiations going on with the Town of Cary about annexation. We may be a Cary school instead of a Raleigh school.
- Sad News: Sarah Mailhot, our school's Literacy Coach and testing coordinator, will be leaving us at the end of this month. She has a great opportunity with an educational company.
- Students will begin planting the Spring garden at the beginning of March. The school garden committee is working with Interfaith Food Shuttle to get a variety of plants for the students to observe (such as cucumbers, brussel sprouts, lettuce, and more).
Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 8 at 6:30pm.
KIDS HEART CHALLENGE -- DEADLINE TO DONATE IS FEB 18
As of this newsletter, we are $1600 short of our $5000 goal. Can you help us reach the top?
Will you join our school team this year? KHC kicks off soon, so now is the time to register online:
Here’s all you need to do:
- Visit our school home page: Swift Creek Elementary School.
- Click "Sign Up".
Visit Mr. Hines' Personal Page.
WEEKLY WELLNESS: 25 Ways to Get Moving!
MORE WEEKLY WELLNESS: Sugar-Free Valentines
Our Children Magazine scoured the internet in search of super-cute craft ideas that you can do with your kids for Valentine’s Day. Here are the three sweetest ideas out there (no sugar added).
GOOGLY-EYE CARDS
It goes without saying that a Valentine card must include a heart. But what about a googly eye? After watching this adorable video from Parents.com you’ll see that hearts and googly eyes go hand-in-hand.
For those of you with young kids who have limited scissor skills, this is a great parent-child tag team craft. You can do the cutting, but leave the gluing, hole-punching and drawing for your little artist.
FELT FLOWERS
What’s a Valentine’s Day without flowers? Inspire the young crafters in your life to make flowers from paper, coffee filters, ribbon—OR FELT! Yes, FELT! You can find it at just about any craft store. Plus, it’s inexpensive and easy to work with. This is a great idea for teen crafters. Check out the adorable heart-inspired flowers from The Magic Onions’ blog. Their tutorial is easy to follow and requires only five materials.
VALENTINE MONSTER
This craft idea is for you parents who are teachers or who are in charge of craft day at school. A Valentine Monster is basically a mailbox where students can store their valentines. It’s boy-friendly (if they think Valentine’s Day is silly) and it’s a nice change-up from the traditional heart-heavy crafts that take place in classrooms this time of year. Crafting A Green World has a step-by-step tutorial.
For more family-friendly craft ideas, check out our Fun Family Crafts and Projects Board on Pinterest.
Yearbook Cover Contest -- Deadline THIS THursday, February 17
Swifties at ALL grade levels are welcome to enter! After we receive all the entries, students will be able to vote for their favorites!
Donations to the Teacher CArt
To stock the cart, we need your donations by Wed, Feb 23. Sign up today to help!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0b4babae2c7-february
watch dogs is Back!!!
Please reach out with any dates you would like to sign up for and also make sure to register as a volunteer on a WCPSS computer ASAP! Feel free to email Sam Allen with any questions or to sign-up for a day at [email protected].
Great news! The Cougar Front Runners Club Returns!
- The purpose of the Cougar’s Front Runners Club is to bring the SCES community together and encourage children to be active, to experience the benefits of running and the benefits of starting or ending each day in an active way. We will focus on the importance of stretching, warming up, how exercise helps with focus and healthy habits will be encouraged along the way.
- The Run Club will meet weekly at the track by the playground. We will be running/walking for 30 minutes and then time will be reserved to tally laps and cool down.
- All grades are encouraged to join. Note: Kindergarten and First Graders will need to be accompanied by a parent.
STAY TUNED for dates and details in the coming weeks!
IT'S NOMINATION TIME!
Officer positions at Swift Creek are:
- President
- Vice President (we can have more than 1)
- Treasurer
- Secretary
- Reflections -- the National PTAs art program
- Painless Fundraising -- collecting Box Tops, scheduling Family Nights at local restaurants
- Spirit Wear
- Yearbook
Spirit Night at City BBQ -- March 10
Thank you!!!!
Thank you to "Dr" Laura Monaghan for repairing our Swifty costumes! He is feeling so much better and ready to cheer on our Swifties at the next event!
Repairs to the Garden
Our garden beds are about three years old now and one of them needed an urgent repair. Thank you to Susan and Nick Kinsey and other members of Macedonia United Methodist Church for spending last Saturday repairing Garden Bed #2. It is nice to have it stable and ready for our spring planting in March!
Repairs to the Amphitheater
Also Susan and Nick Kinsey were able to fix our broken bench at the school amphitheater. On warmer days, classes use this space for snack time or even presentations. It is a great little space on campus! Thank you so much for fixing this for us!
Grab Those Scissors: Volunteer Opportunity You can do from Home
But for that to happen, we need lots of help cutting out coupons that the staff can distribute to students. Many of you were eager to help with this project for the Winter Blast. We hope that your scissors have been sharpened and you are ready to help again.
To help, contact Marie Dexter at [email protected] and let her know how many classes you are willing to cut! She will deliver the items to your house and pick them up when you are done. (Or you can send the finished materials to Mrs. Chadwick.)
Thanks for your help!
Sign up at www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0F4DA8AF2CA6FE3-clip
Flex Your muscles and move those picnic tables
This project should take less than 15 minutes, but it will be much easier the more folks who can help. If you are interested in lending some muscle, please indicate your availability using this Doodle poll.
doodle.com/poll/sphrnvf7vxwcca4q?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
- March 7 - 11: Spring Book Fair
- NEW: Thursday, March 10: Spirit Night at City BBQ. We get 20% of sales.
- Friday, March 18: Teacher Work Day.
- Monday, March 28: Teacher Work Day.
- Monday, April 11 - Friday, April 15: Spring Break
- Sunday, May 1 3:00pm: Decorate the School Grounds for Teacher Appreciation Week
- Monday, May 2: Teacher Work Day
- May 2 - 6: Teacher Appreciation Week
- Thursday, May 12 5:30-7:30pm: International Night on the field
- Monday, May 30: Memorial Day. No school for staff or students.
- Friday, June 10: Last day of school for students!
CAMP INVENTION: JUNE 20-24
Interested in Hosting an Exchange Student next year?
THIS WEEK IN PICTURES
Here is the display board in outside of Mrs. Coles' class.