Welcome back to the Creek for the first school day of 2022! We hope everyone had a joyful, relaxing Winter Break and now you are recharged and ready to take on the rest of the 2021-22 school year.
With COVID numbers rising during the holidays, Wake County Public Schools sent several emails about updates to COVID protocols. If you did not receive these emails, I have copied and pasted them to the end of this newsletter. We will return to in person instruction on Monday. FYI, there is a Wake County School Board meeting this Tuesday, Jan 4 at 5:30pm. I am sure that Wake County will send another message after that meeting (they typically do).
A quick fun fact ... Did you know that 2022 is the Creek's 90th anniversary??!?!? It is amazing that our school community has been around for so long. We are one of the oldest schools in Wake County. Look for celebration activities later this year!
We look forward to getting back into a regular routine this week! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any PTA 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, Jan 3 -- Back to school! Students should be in their seats when the bell rings at 9:15am.
- Friday, Jan 7 -- Entry forms due to participate in the Science Fair!
THE POSITIVITY PROJECT: optimism
WHAT IT MEANS
You expect the best from the future and work to achieve it.
WHY IT MATTERS
For individuals, optimism is correlated with success in work and play, mental and physical health, and strong social relationships. Optimistic people are planners and goal setters. Due to their future oriented mindset, they are often hard working, conscientious, and able to overcome obstacles.
On a group level, optimism is crucial to group success. Optimists are strong leaders. They find meaning in hardship and can create a vision for the future. They look at potential obstacles as opportunities, rather than threats. Optimists are inspiring; their example is contagious. And, by sharing and achieving their vision – despite setbacks – they help us all achieve more.
Check out the new Family Resources section. The password is P2.
Time is Running out to Enter the (Virtual) SCIENCE FAIR
Time is running out for your child to participate in this year's science fair. Details for the Science Fair, including online registration, can be found on our PTA website:
http://swiftcreekeswcpssnetptahtml.weebly.com/science-fair.html
Important dates for the Science Fair:
- January 7, 2022: Deadline for Registration. Register online!
- January 11, 2022: Projects submitted to [email protected].
- January 12, 2022: Judging to be completed virtually by 7pm
- January 13, 2022: Awards to be announced
CLEAN OUT YOUR BOOK SHELVES AND HELP US COLLECT 2022 BOOKS FOR WAKE UP AND READ
We are excited to announce the top 3 classes that have donated so far! Our third highest class for book donations, with 132 books, is Mrs. Coles’ Class! Our second highest class for book donations, with 137 books, is Mrs. Wade’s Class! And our #1 top donating class so far in the book drive, with 161 books donated, is Mrs. Phillips’ Class!!!
Our grand total of donations for the entire school is….1, 027 books!!! That’s incredible!
If you haven’t brought books in yet, it’s not too late! We are still collecting books until January 19th and we have a new school goal! Since we are about to enter the year 2022, our goal is to collect at least 2022 books for children in need!
Thank you for your teamwork, generosity, and for showing that Other People Matter! Sincerely, The Swift Creek Service Club
Here is how you can help!
- 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.
If you have questions about this project, contact Mrs. Chadwick at [email protected].
Weekly Wellness: New Year's Resolutions
Resolution Jar
Each family member writes on small pieces of paper all of their New Year resolutions. Then everyone reads them aloud to their family and then places all them all in the jar. You can re- read them a couple of months later to stay on track or recognize it’s ok to not meet your resolutions or to change it. Then on New Years Eve or day the next year, everyone reads their resolutions from the year and talks about all they accomplished or still want to focus on. Then repeat for the year a head! We can also recommend this for families.
When you write down your goals, there’s a greater chance you accomplish them.
Help Creating Resolutions for the Kids
Need ideas for attainable resolutions for your kids? Check out this article for ideas for each age group. www.womansday.com/life/a38505784/new-years-resolutions-for-kids/
Donate Items to the Art and Music Rooms
Mrs. McIntyre is looking for LOTS of different items for the art room. Check out the pictures below. Send these items to school with your child. Be sure to label them "Mrs. McIntyre: Art Room".
Recycling Opportunities at the Creek
SCES PTA has the ability to collect for a variety of specialty recycling programs:
1. TerraCycle’s squeezable pouch program – squeezable pouches, of any brand, with caps on.
2. TerraCycle’s snack wrapper program – foil lined snack food bags.
3. NexTrex’ plastic film program – bags, bubble wrap, overwrap, and other stretchy plastic.
4. Crayola’s ColorCycle program – markers and highlighters.
How You Can Participate:
Collect your recycling materials and drop off a Megan Holler's house OR drop off your recycling items at Macedonia United Methodist church on Saturday mornings from 8-10. (This is when they are collecting items for the food pantry.)
If you have plastic film for the NexTrex program, you can drop off your bags OR weigh the amount of plastic that you have to recycle and email that weight to Megan. Then take your bags to your local grocery store for recycling.
For questions about the TerraCycle programs at Swift Creek, or to join the recycling committee, please contact Megan Holler at [email protected].
Mark Your Calendars
- Wednesday, Jan 12: Science Fair Entries are Due.
- Thursday, Jan 13: Science Fair Winners are announced
- Friday, Jan 14: End of Second Quarter
- Monday, Jan 17: Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. No school for staff or students.
- Tuesday, Jan 18: Teacher Work Day
- Friday, Feb 18: Teacher Work Day
- Monday, Feb 21: President's Day. No school for staff or students
- Friday, March 18: Teacher Work Day.
- Monday, March 28: Teacher Work Day.
- Monday, April 11 - Friday, April 15: Spring Break
- Monday, May 2: Teacher Work Day
- Monday, May 30: Memorial Day. No school for staff or students.
- Friday, June 10: Last day of school for students!
This Week in Pictures: Swifty Edition
Wake County Public Schools Email: COVID-19 isolation and quarantine requirements
As of Dec. 31, 2021, per revised guidance from CDC and the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit, the following changes have been made to the district’s COVID-19 health guidance related to quarantine and isolation requirements. Note that there are no changes to district face covering guidance at this time.
Testing
Staff and students who have symptoms, regardless of vaccination status should get tested and isolate from others while waiting for a result. (If testing is not possible, follow the guidance below as if you are positive.)
Isolation requirements
Staff and students who test positive, regardless of vaccination status, and:
- Do not have symptoms – should isolate yourself from others for 5 days.
- Have symptoms – should isolate from others until fever-free and symptoms are improving. You should isolate yourself for at least 5 days since your symptoms began.
Quarantine requirements
Staff and students who are exposed to someone with COVID-19, and:
- Not vaccinated – stay away from others for 5 days, get tested on day 5 after exposure, and if you test negative, you may return to school or work.
- Vaccinated and eligible for a booster, but not yet boosted – stay away from others for 5 days, get tested on day 5 after exposure, and if you test negative, you may return to school or work.
- Vaccinated, and have either received a booster or are not yet eligible for a booster – you do not need to stay away from others.
Exceptions
Per the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit guidance, individuals who are not fully vaccinated after close contact in a classroom or other school setting if masks were being worn appropriately and consistently by both the person with COVID-19 and the potentially exposed person do NOT need to quarantine.
Additional resources
Information for families is available on wcpss.net/whentoreturn. Additional information regarding isolation and quarantine requirements can be found on pages 14-16 of the StrongSchoolsNC Toolkit.
WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS EMAIL: COVID-19 Safety Protocols, Vaccinations, and Testing
As we prepare for our return from the holiday break, help us remind children of the importance of COVID-19 safety protocols.
Face coverings, hand washing and keeping as much distance as practical from others will be important. Health officials also continue to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated to reduce the spread of infection.
We strongly recommend anyone get tested in the days immediately prior to returning if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or believe you have been exposed to the virus.
New locations for COVID-19 testing sites have been added during the holiday break and can be found using your address or zip code. Sign up for a COVID-19 test today.
In addition, Wake County Public School System, in partnership with MAKO Medical, will begin offering weekly, on-campus COVID-19 testing for students and staff. COVID-19 testing is an effective way to reduce transmission, especially when layered with other precautionary measures. For families that have multiple students at multiple schools, you must fill out an individual form under the student's individual school. We will expand testing to all schools in 2022. Your school will notify you when testing will begin. Register for in-school COVID-19 testing now.
We look forward to a safe and enjoyable return for all as we begin 2022.
Camp Invention will be Back in June!
You can register at invent.org/camp!