Important Dates

• March 21 - K&1 Virtual Science Fair
• March 22 - 2-5 Virtual Science Fair
• March 23 - PTA General Membership Mtg.
• April 1 - 3 hour early dismissal - No Pre-K
• April 8 - Report Cards available online

New Information

Tentative Last Day of School

As of Wednesday, March 16, 2022, HCPSS has used four inclement weather days this school year and made up one of those days by opening schools February 21. As such, the last day for pre-K/RECC students is currently Tuesday, June 14, and for K-12 students is Friday, June 17, 2022. Full details on the calendar are available online.

Empathy Day Follow Up 

Did you know that one of the organizations our students chose to support on Empathy Day is Columbia Community Care?  Students from a 4th grade class and a 5th grade class chose to support a donation drive at Swansfield, to collect household supplies and toiletries.  All donations will be collected in the front lobby.  Students may bring them to school or parents may drop them off in the front office.  Thank you in advance for your support!  Please see the message below and take a look at some of the fliers they created!

On March 21-25 Swansfield Elementary is hosting a donation drive for Columbia Community Cares. The organization strives to help families in need by setting up a food, household supplies and toiletries market where people can come and take items they need - for free! 

You can donate items such as paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, soap, and detergent. You can also donate more personal items including: toiletries, shampoo, toothpaste, and diapers in all sizes. You can also donate money directly at http://columbiacares.live/ . 

Team 1 - Wixie.pdf

Team 2 - Wixie.pdf

Team 3 - Wixie.pdf

Team 4 - Wixie.pdf

Elementary School Outdoor Tents

Tents that were in place in the fall for outdoor eating at elementary schools will be reconstructed within the coming weeks to better facilitate outdoor dining. Regardless of whether a school has a tent installed or not, students will continue to have the option to eat outside during their scheduled lunch period, as weather and staff coverage permit.

BSAP

(follow Swansfield BSAP on Instagram @ses_bsap) 

Simone Arianne Biles, born March 14, 1997, is an American artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles is the most decorated American gymnast and the world's third most decorated gymnast, behind Belarus' Vitaly Scherbo (33 medals) and Russia's Larisa Latynina (32 medals). 

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Biles won individual gold medals in all-around, vault and floor; bronze in balance beam; and gold as part of the United States team, dubbed the "Final Five". 

Biles is a five-time World all-around champion (2013–2015, 2018–19), five-time World floor exercise champion (2013–2015, 2018–19), three-time World balance beam champion (2014–15, 2019), two-time World vault champion (2018–19), a six-time United States national all-around champion (2013–2016, 2018–19), and a member of the gold medal-winning American teams at the 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019  World Artistic Gymnastic Championships. 

Additionally, she is a three-time World silver medalist (2013 and 2014 on vault, 2018 on uneven bars) and a three-time World bronze medalist (2015 on vault, 2013 and 2018 on balance beam). Biles is the gymnast with the most World medals (25) and most World gold medals (19). She is the female gymnast with the most World all-around titles (5). Biles is the sixth woman to win an individual all-around title at both the World Championships and the Olympics, and the first gymnast since 1996 to hold both titles simultaneously. She is the tenth female gymnast and first American female gymnast to win a World medal in every event. 

Flying High - The Story of Simone Biles 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUUNQP2ckQ&t=60s 

Health Room Corner

Allergy season is already upon us - if you have not done so already, please update the health room with a doctor's note if your student has an allergy. Also, as a reminder, we are still asking for a PCR to rule out a covid-like symptom, unfortunately, home rapid tests are still not accepted. 

Finally, don't forget to share the Covid vaccination card with us if you have not already done so: doris_qano@hcpss.org and tracey_ellerby@hcpss.org.

 

Reminders

Related Arts Color Day Rotation Survey

HCPSS is seeking feedback on the elementary related arts color rotation schedule. The color rotation schedule was implemented to mitigate loss of instructional time due to school closures for related arts classes scheduled on Mondays and Fridays, sometimes up to nine classes per school year. This feedback will be utilized in conjunction with additional stakeholder input to determine the 22-23 related arts schedule model. Thank you for your time in completing this feedback form by March 25, 2022. https://forms.gle/qz2JZGtophiXPT7h8

Swansfield Wish Lists

We will continue to update our wish lists throughout the school year.  

Student Lounge Wish List

Classroom Wish List

 

PTA Updates

Swansfield PTA Read-a-thon: March 21st-April 3rd

Sign up now and start tracking your reading minutes on Monday! Check out the awesome prizes you can earn!

We are excited for students to participate in the 2022 SwansfieldRead-a-thon! March is National Reading Month, and we hope that the read-a-thon will inspire Swans to spend extra time reading outside of school and track their reading minutes each day. 

Students can participate in the the read-a-thon in 4 easy steps:

1. Sign up for a read-a-thon page to track your reading minutes. The process is quick and easy!  https://app.99pledges.com/fund/swansfield2022/addme  Make sure to include your email address since this is required to track your minutes.
2. Ask friends and family to sponsor your reading goals (optional). All donations will go towards supporting Swansfield PTA activities and school support initiatives!  Sponsors should select a simple, one-time donation, since per-minute donations are often larger or smaller than expected! Donations can be made anytime between now and Tuesday, April 5th.
3. Record how many minutes you read every day outside of school between Monday, March 21st and Sunday, April 3rd. Set your goal to read for at least 15-20 minutes per day!  For younger readers, reading with a grownup counts too!
4. Enter your daily minutes on your personal page, which you will receive via email after signing up. You can also track your minutes on the reading log that was sent home in your FISH folder and enter them at the end of the read-a-thon.

Check out our school read-a-thon page to see who is participating: app.99pledges.com/fund/swansfield2022

Prizes:

All participants will get a special Swansfield Read-a-thonbookmark.

In addition, the 5 students with the most minutes and the homeroom in each grade with the most minutes will receive special recognition! 

• Prize options for the top 5 readers: individual lunch bunch with teacher of choice, check out extra media book, special picture with LaSwan James, sit in the special/ rocking chair for the day, read a book with a staff member outside, be a guest reader in another class!

• Prize options for the top homeroom in each grade: pajama day, no homework day, pick your seat for a day, class lunch bunch, guest reader, outside buddy reading

Questions? Contact Read-a-thon chair, Debbie Goldberg, debbie.s.goldberg@gmail.com. 

Help Swansfield find it’s next PTA Executive Board 

All 6 Executive Board positions will be open in June and your PTA needs great leadership! Members are needed for a Nominating Committee. Any member may volunteer, including staff. Here’s how the process works: 

1. Individuals interested in being on the nominating committee should contact Lizz Hammon (vp.schoolrelations@swansfieldpta.org)  by March 28
2. The current PTA executive board will formally elect members of the nominating committee on April 1
3. Members of the nominating committee will elect their own chairperson by April 8
4. Nominating committee activities may begin once a chairperson has been established. The committee will prepare a slate of candidates that must be distributed to current members no less than 10 days prior to the June 15 election. 

Members of the nominating committee may be included among the slate of candidates.

Order your yearbook before April 1st! 

Order online by going to www.strawbridge.net   Your online Code is:YB113041 

Upcoming Science Fair - Sign on to support your friends!

The Swansfield Science Fair will take place online on Monday, March 21st for students in Kindergarten and 1st grade and Tuesday, March 22nd for students in grades 2-5. All Swansfield students are invited to join the Google meet and support their classmates. Use Google meet code ses-sciencefair

Harper's Choice Festival April 23

You are invited to the Harper's Choice Festival to be held April 23 from noon to 3 p.m. in the courtyard of the Harper's Choice Village Center behind Kahler Hall. Local faves Freezer Burn will play hot blues, classic rock, and originals while free hot dogs and veggie dogs grill. We expect to have a magician and other kid-friendly activities.

Area nonprofits and small businesses will be highlighted, with crafts and other unique products and services for sale. And all parents voting in the day's village elections will be entered into a raffle to win a gift certificate from Patra's Sweet Treats. 

The Harper's Choice Festival is being organized by Neighbors for a Vibrant Harper's Choice in coordination with the Harper's Choice Community Association (for more information, please contact Lia Nigro at hcvibrant@gmail.com). Hope to see you there!