Wednesday, March 5th 4:00 - 8:00 PM

Thursday, March 6th 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Building a Strong Parent-Teacher Partnership

What makes the difference in how your child performs in school? The answer might surprise you. It’s not your child’s IQ, the teacher, the school, or your educational level. Although all of these play a part, study after study tells the same story. Children who do best in school have parents who are actively involved in their child’s education. One of the best ways to get involved is continuing to build a strong parent-teacher partnership.

You are encourage to come to your communication conference with questions and information that will help both you and the teacher strengthen the team effort you share educating your child.

Thank you.

Mrs. Jennifer Harr

Dr. Fuller (Music): Wednesday, March 4 from 4-8 p.m.

Mrs. Dowse (Library): Wednesday, March 4 from 4-8 p.m.

Mrs. Jurgensen (Art): Thursday, March 5 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Mrs. Carpenter-Johnson (Band): Thursday, March 5 from 8:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Mrs. Johansen (Strings): Thursday, March 5 from 8:00-12:00 p.m.

Mrs. Henningsen (EY): Wednesday, March 4 from 6-8 p.m. & Thursday, March 5 from 8-11:30 a.m.

The Scholastic Book Fair is in the Swanson Library this year. Students will preview the books during school on March 3rd. Then, the shop will be open for business on March 3rd & 4th from 3:30 - 5:00 pm and during conferences on March 5th from 3:00 - 8 pm.

Or, use the following link to purchase online:

https://www.scholastic.com/bf/swansonelementary

We are still in need of covering spots during our Book Fair Store Hours. Please consider volunteering in order to keep the Book Fair open for students and parents to shop. Please click on the following link to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080B4DABA823A0F85-scholastic#/

Thank you!

Thank you to Mrs. Sophie Ambrose for coordinating our heartfelt Valentine's Day Parties this year! We appreciate all the parent and guardian volunteers who organized games, prizes and funs for our Superstars.

Please see the pictures below of our 2025 Valentine's Box Contest Winner. Thanks to Mrs. Heuertz for organizing this annual event! Congratulations to all participants who showed a lot of love and creativity in their Valentine creations!

Hey Swanson Families! It is almost time to shower our wonderful Swanson staff with love and gratitude for Staff Appreciation Week which is March 10-14! We are looking for donations to make this week extra special.

We are looking for gift card donations to shower each staff member. Please consider purchasing a $15 gift card (or 2 or 3!) for our gift card shower. Think coffee shops, restaurants, local Westside businesses, etc. These can be dropped off at school or given to Amanda Blumkin. You can also Venmo a monetary donation to @Amanda-Blumkin via Venmo. The deadline for all donations are March 7th, thank you!! Please use this link to donate gift cards, drinks & snacks for the week! Please email me with any questions- amandablumkin@gmail.com- thank you for your support! Click here to for the Sign-Up Genius

Help show your appreciation for our Swanson staff by decorating the sidewalks in front of the school with chalk. Draw or write some encouraging and positive messages and drawings for our teachers and staff to read for Staff Appreciation Week! Chalk will be provided or bring your own!

Sunday March 9 at 2 pm (weather permitting) in front of the school. Contact amandablumkin@gmail.com for questions!

Bring your smile and your pre-paid picture order form!

The photographer will only take pictures of students who have a order form in hand. These pictures are optional but a fun picture to have to see growth and changes throughout the year!.

You now have the convenience to place an online order for School Pictures. The order must be placed by midnight the night before your picture date on March 28th since not every child will have an individual picture taken.

Please click the link below to place your order.

www.martinphotography.hhimagehost.com

It is that time of year when parents might inquire about their child’s placement for next year. Before the end of this school year, all professional staff will meet with appropriate grade level teams to determine the best placement for all students.

Much thought, dialogue and time will go into establishing classroom lists for the 2025-26 school year. Our teachers are insightful and qualified to place students in classrooms with teachers who best fit student educational needs. Many considerations are involved in the process. The following criteria will be used to determine placements.

• Staff input

• Number of students

• Number of boys/girls

• Academic abilities/needs

• Social/behavioral needs

• Independent/dependent learners

• Leadership skills

• Peer relations

• Learning styles

As a parent, you may offer your thoughts about your child’s placement. You are an important part of your child’s educational team and we value your feedback. If you choose to provide input, we ask that you:

• Make a formal request in writing (by email to harr.jennifer@westside66.net is acceptable) no later than March 21st, 2025

• Requests should reference your child’s learning style and type, not the specific teacher you wish your child to have.

• If there has been a request made in a previous year that still applies, please make sure we are aware of the necessary details for placement in the 2025-2026 school year.

Thank you for your continued partnership in your child’s education. We appreciate your support and understanding of our placement process and the guidelines set forth.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Harr and The Swanson Staff

Hello!

If you are receiving this, you are the parent or guardian of a 6th grader who will be transitioning to Westside Middle School next fall. This is an exciting time!

We have several important dates we hope you mark on your calendar. Your first event is 6th Grade Information Night, an event organized to help introduce you and your student to their future school. Both students and parents are invited to 6th Grade Information Night; you may pick the night that works best for you. When you arrive, you will report to the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

Tuesday, March 25 at 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Wednesday, March 26 at 6:00 - 7:30 pm

Families will be attending three break out sessions in order to gain more information about WMS.

• Middle School 101: Find out about dress code, expectations, bus, after school library program, ipads.

• Grading: Learn about grading at Westside Middle School

• Athletics/Clubs/Activities/Involvement: During this session, staff will discuss the different opportunities for students to be involved with at WMS.

The second event is Warrior Walkabout. This event, involving students only, allows current 6th graders to meet each other and explore Westside Middle School through fun activities. It will take place in the afternoon of Friday, May 9th during the normal school day. Students will eat at their elementary school and then travel by bus to Westside Middle School. This has been a very positive event in helping our students feel better about heading to middle school.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Westside Middle School! Please contact your child’s teacher or principal if you have additional questions. We will see you in April!

Kim Eymann

Principal, Westside Middle School

This coming April, our 3rd through 6th grade students will take part in Nebraska's Annual state testing in reading and math with 5th graders also participating in science. These tests, known as NSCAS (Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System) are one of many ways we measure how well our instruction is working to support student learning. If your child is a 3rd through 6th grader, their teacher will be communicating testing dates. It's important on testing days that students are well fed, well rested, and ready to do their best!

Band-o-rama

Band-o-rama will take place on Monday, April 7 at Westside High School. This evening will feature our district wide fifth grade, sixth grade, and our seventh grade band students as well as our award winning Concert Jazz Band.

WestFest will take place on Tuesday, April 8 at Westside High School and will feature our elementary, middle school and high school string and orchestra performance groups!

Participating students will attend a rehearsal during the school day to prepare for this event. These evenings are an amazing celebration of music education and we hope to see you there!

Please look over the EY newsletter.

You will find ideas for projects, badges, mini sparks

and contest results.

Jenny Henningsen

EY Coordinator

Sunset & Swanson

The Excellence In Youth Team is excited to showcase Grace, Aneesh, Peter, Krish, and Yash from Swanson as the most recent recipients of the Digital Dozen award for the 24-25 school year! The Digital Dozen award is presented to WCS students who earn 12 of the digital badges from the EY Website (ey.westside66.org), which is available to students district-wide. It takes self-motivation, grit, and determination to earn these badges, and these star students should be proud of this accomplishment!

The Excellence In Youth Team is proud to showcase star student Varun S. from Swanson

as the most recent recipient of the Digital Dozen award for this school year! This is the second award for Varun. Varun's favorite badge for this digital dozen was the perplexor badge. He is also working on his 25 badge and plans to start earn on his third digital dozen!

Congratulations, Varun!

Congratulations Olivia on earning your THIRD digital dozen! The EY team applauds you for demonstrating grit and determination to complete 36 badges, a rare accomplishment in our badge program history. Continue to keep learning, inspiring other kids and, of course, working on badges. We asked Olivia to share some of her thoughts about the EY badges.

My favorite badge of all time is the Blackout Poetry Badge because I think it’s pretty creative to take a piece of text and make it your own in a unique way. I plan to do the Sport Roster Math Badge next. I think that the EY badge page should add a second Desmos Badge but make it more creative for the student to use more shapes to create something interesting to them. :)

Congratulations, Olivia! Keep up the great work.

Swanson Community Club Website

Parents & guardians if you haven't yet, please log into the Swanson Community Club website and sign up or just update your information. So much information can be found here including, the school directory, calendar of events, our school store, and most importantly you will receive the monthly Community Club newsletter. This information in the newsletter lets you know what is coming up for events at the school.

Be sure to activate your account! Any questions please reach out to Sarah Troia at

swansoncommunityclub@gmail.com

When is too sick for school?

• Has a temperature of 100.4 or higher

• Is vomiting

• Has diarrhea

• Eye is pink and crusty

May return when….

• Fever free without the use of fever reducing

medication (Tylenol/acetaminophen, Motrin/ibuprofen)

for 24 hours

• Not vomiting for 24 hours

• Haven’t had diarrhea for 24 hours

• Eyes are no longer pink or crusty

or have had 2 doses of antibiotics

Screen time and social media usage has become a favorite activity for kids, but as a parent how can you know how much is too much and how to practice safety in social media usage? Some parents are also seeing challenging behaviors in their kids, along with mental health concerns, and aren’t realizing these behaviors and concerns could be tied to screen time or the negative effects of social media. The following “Just Kids Health” podcast from Children’s Hospital - Navigating Screens and Social Media discusses healthy boundaries, recommended amounts of time, and negative effects of too much screen time. There is also an accompanying graphic that discusses some of the key points. The key with all screen time - BALANCE! If you are a parent wondering how you can create better balance and boundaries for your child, don’t hesitate to reach out to your school counselor for some great ideas.

Westside Football will be hosting their Youth Football Camp in the spring this year. The camp will be at the Omaha Sports Complex on Saturday, April 13th from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. The purpose of this camp is to introduce the techniques, fundamentals, and skills needed to play football for Westside High School. All current 3rd-7th graders are invited to Sign Up Here.

Each first Friday of the month is Swanson Spirit Day. On this day we all wear our Swanson logo wear or school colors, blue and white, to show our spirit. We begin our day by saying the Swanson Pledge together. It’s a fun day filled with terrific Swanson spirit! Our next First Friday Spirit Day is Friday, April 4th.

Check out Westside Community Schools Online Breakfast and Lunch Menu! https://schools.mealviewer.com/school/SwansonElementarySchool

Email is a great way to communicate with your child’s teacher. The Westside format is as follows:

lastname.firstname@westside66.net

Sample: harr.jennifer@westside66.net

wendelin.jessie@westside66.net

Visit our web page for current information on school happenings and activities during the year. Go to www.westside66.org and click on schools and then the Swanson link.

March 3-4 Scholastic Book Fair, 3:30-5:00 pm

March 5 Scholastic Book Fair, 3:00-8:00 pm

March 5 Parent-Teacher Conferences, 4-8 pm

March 6 Parent-Teacher Conferences, 8 am - 4 pm

March 6-7 No School for Students

March 13 Godfather's Slice of Pie Night, 4-8 pm

March 10-14 Staff Appreciation Week

March 17-21 No School - Spring Break

March 25 Community Club Meeting, 6:30 pm

March 28 Spring Picture Day

April 7 5th/6th Grade Band-o-Rama, 7 pm @WHS

April 8 Westfest @WHS Gym, 7 pm

Mission

The Mission of Swanson School, as a dynamic community alliance and model of innovative education, is to support and empower all learners to achieve academic excellence.

School Improvement

Swanson's school improvement goal is all students will increase reading comprehension.

Swanson's Expectations

• Be Safe
• Be Respectful
• Be Responsible

Email: harr.jennifer@westside66.net
Website: swanson.westside66.org
Location: 410 South 86th Street, Omaha, NE, USA
Phone: 402-390-6485
Facebook: facebook.com/SwansonElementary
Twitter: @swansonstars66