SUPERSTAR NEWS

We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and hard work of our wonderful parent volunteers who helped make our March events a success.

• Mrs. Melissa England – Thank you for leading and coordinating a fantastic Spring Book Fair! Your efforts made it a great experience for our students and families.

• Mrs. Amanda Blumkin – We deeply appreciate your organization of P/T Conference meals and Staff Appreciation Week. Your kindness and generosity were felt by all of our Swanson staff!

Your time, talents, and generosity make a meaningful impact on our school community and our students. Thank you for all that you do!

As we approach the end of the school year, we want to share some important staffing updates for Swanson.

Retirement Announcement:

We are honored to celebrate Ms. Debbie Sadowski, our English Language Teacher, who will be retiring after an incredible 52 years of dedicated service to Westside Community Schools. Ms. Sadowski has made a lasting impact on generations of students, and we are deeply grateful for her commitment, passion, and care. Please join us in congratulating her on a well-deserved retirement!

Staff Departing at the End of the 2024-25 School Year:

• Miss Jenna Miller – Sixth Grade Teacher

• Miss Kerigan Ohl – Third Grade Teacher

• Miss Chelsi Janicek – Third Grade Teacher (resigned March 2025)

• Miss Mikaela Cooper – Counselor

• Miss Heidi Hansen- Speech Pathologist

• Mrs. Brittani Herbek – Special Education Teacher

Grade Level Changes for the 2025-26 School Year:
We are excited to announce the following teaching assignments for the upcoming school year:

• Mrs. Marlo Tomich will be moving from 6th grade to 3rd grade.

• Mrs. Winter Heuertz will be moving from 5th grade to 6th grade.

As we begin to look ahead to the 2025-26 school year, we are also focused on finishing this year strong. The coming weeks will be filled with learning, growth, and meaningful moments, and we look forward to celebrating the end of the school year together.

In the near future, we’ll also be sharing information about new staff members who will be joining our Swanson family. Thank you for your continued support as we plan for another great year ahead!

Exciting news! We’re creating a special Swanson T-Shirt for our students, and we want to make sure yours is included. To ensure we have the right details, please take a moment to click the link below and provide the necessary information.

👕 Click Here to Submit Your Info 👕

Don’t miss out—be part of the fun! The deadline to submit your details is April 18th. Thank you for your participation! 🎉

Goal Update: With state assessments around the corner, we’re reinforcing our reading strategies and skills. Our school goal is to achieve 80% on NSCAS and aReading for 2nd-6th grades.

Tip for Parents: Practice reading comprehension with your child by summarizing stories together. After reading, ask them to explain what they learned in their own words, reinforcing their understanding. Also, make sure to get your child to bed early and have a good breakfast before testing.

WHAT HAPPENS IF SEVERE WEATHER DEVELOPS DURING THE SCHOOL DAY?

• Thunderstorm Watch or Tornado Watch: Schools will continue as normal and dismiss at the regular time.
• Thunderstorm Warning: Outdoor activities will be held if conditions allow. Students may be released as scheduled if conditions are safe. If there’s concern about safety, students may be held temporarily.
• Tornado Warning: Students and staff will take shelter inside the school building. No one will be released until the warning has expired. If you arrive at school during a Tornado Warning, you are welcome to take shelter inside the building.

WATCHES VS. WARNINGS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch: Conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms in or near the watch area. Stay informed and be ready to act if conditions worsen.
• Severe Thunderstorm Warning: Severe weather has been reported by spotters or radar, posing an immediate threat to life and property. Take shelter in a sturdy building immediately. Warnings typically cover smaller areas, such as a city or county.

Please have your child check around the house for any school property that may have been borrowed during the school year and return it to school. Items to be searching for include library books, text books, calculators, templates, etc.

If your child will not be coming back to Swanson next fall because you are moving or transferring to another school, please let our office know as soon as possible. This is information is important to us as we prepare for fall classes.

Remember to pick up any medications you have in the health office before the end of school. All medications left will be disposed of on the last day of school.

The end of school is near! Please check your student’s lunch account to make sure there is enough money until the end of the year. There will be NO CHARGING during the last week of school. Thanks for your very prompt attention to this matter.

• All lost library books MUST be found and turned in to the library before the end of the year.

• Last library check-out day will be May 12th.

• All library books must be returned to the library by May 17th.

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, May 2nd, 2025.

Hello, 6th Grade Parents!

We are excited to welcome your student to Westside Middle School next year! To help your child and family transition smoothly to a new building, we have a few important dates scheduled and hope you can join us.

May 9, during the school day is Warrior Walkabout

• We will bus our 6th grade students to Westside Middle School for a special event: Warrior Walkabout! This opportunity allows students to see their new school firsthand and learn about what their new school day/year will look like.

• Warrior Walkabout is split into two groups based on school. Information will be sent from all elementary schools for specific times and details.

• Students will be transported back to their elementary schools for regular dismissal times and procedures.

We are excited to meet our new students and their families! If you have questions, please reach out to communications@westside66.net.

Kim Eymann

Principal, Westside Middle School

INTEREST & TALENT DEVELOPMENT FOR ALL LEARNERS!

The Excellence in Youth (EY) Program at Westside Community Schools provides expanded learning opportunities for students with high ability, in addition to fostering and encouraging talent development in all students.

The Excellence In Youth Team is excited to showcase Henry L., Kavin P., and Harrison W. 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 Arju A. from Swanson as the most recent recipient of the Digital Dozen award for this school year! This is the second award for Arju. Arju's favorite badge is the Origami Design badge. He turned in his 25th badge yesterday and plans to start working on his third digital dozen!

Congratulations, Arju!

The Excellence In Youth Team is proud to showcase star student Johan P. from Swanson as the most recent recipient of the Digital Dozen award for this school year! This is the second award for Johan this school year. His favorite was For the Love of Landmarks. He started his 25th badge today, and plans to start working on his third digital dozen! Congratulations, Johan!

Now in its 8th year, the Opera Omaha Poetry & Music Project connects student poets and their words with composers to create original music. This year’s theme was “My Neighborhood” and Maddie T. from Swanson submitted a poem that was chosen for the project!

Maddie was invited to collaborate in an Opera Omaha creative workshop. This workshop

was the first opportunity for poets, composers, singers, and the pianist to hear these original pieces, work through them and offer feedback to make sure the final product is the best possible version.

The culmination of the Poetry & Music Project, is a public concert and world premiere of each song on May 3, 2025 at the Omaha Conservatory of Music.

Maddie did a reflection after the event:

Today I was able to take part in a workshop with opera singers, pianists, and composers from Opera Omaha to discuss changes on a piece they created for my poem "Invisible to Us". They perfectly captured the emotion and anger I put into my words, and you could hear the feelings the homeless population had about being treated differently as we often see in our society today. I am so glad I had the opportunity to have my poem be set to much, and I am thankful for their effort to express my poem the way I wanted it to be heard.

The Word Wizard team (Ananya, Johan, Varun, and Jett) earned the silver medal in the Westside Battle of Books competition.

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.

April 15 Zio's Pizza Night, 4-8pm

April 172024/25 Kindergarten Open House

April 18 Early Dismissal, 1pm

April 21-22 6th Grade Outdoor Education

April 28 NO SCHOOL- Teacher Work Day

April 29 Community Club Meeting, 6:30pm

April 30 District Band Solo/Ensemble Concert @WMS, 6:00pm

May 2 Fun Run

May 3 District Big Band Dance, 4:30p 6th grade practice, 5:30p concert

May 6 District Band Solo/Ensemble Concert @ WMS, 6pm

May 22- Swanson Field Day

May 23 Last day of school, 12:00 pm DISMISSAL

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