Sward Galleries
On a rainy Thursday afternoon last week, Sward students were invited to the dress rehearsal performance of the Drama Club's Spring Play, called "The Friendly Feud."
Cheers and chanting filled the gym Friday afternoon, as the first grade students slimed Mrs. Amra. Sward’s PTA organized the event and what fun it was. Mrs. Amra, covered in green slime, checked this life event off her bucket list. Next year, maybe it will be chocolate syrup?
On Friday, March 22nd the Kindergarten hallway at Sward School was turned into a royal kingdom. The three Queens of the Sward Kingdom: Queen Jensen, Queen Alvarado and Queen Derus welcomed all their princes and princesses for a most formal Kindergarten Royal Ball. Students dressed in their fanciest attire for the special occasion. As part of the culmination of their most recent CKLA unit about royalty, students enjoyed a fun-filled day with a fancy royal snack and dancing. The celebration was enjoyed by all.
Friday, March 1st, Kindergarteners finished up their CKLA unit on Native Americans. Students had a culminating celebration of what they learned by creating their own totem poles and vests. They even had a teepee in their classroom! Students demonstrated what they learned about the Native Americans through their creative designs on their totem poles and vests. What a fun way to wrap up such an exciting topic. Mrs. Derus reported that her students were very engaged in this unit and had so much fun learning about different Native American tribes.
At the culmination of 5th grade's Social Studies unit on Colonial Times, students were presented with the task to create their own colony. Students learned all about what went into a colony. They had complete creative freedom to design their own colony including a governement, jobs, education system, what natural resources would be available, what the environment would be like and what type of goods would be available to trade. Student projects were on display in the hallways for students and staff to see. They were also on display during the Winter Family Conferences last week for parents and visitors to enjoy as well. Students did an outstanding job with this colonial design project. Nice work 5th Grade!
The Sward ladies had a blast dancing the night away with their plus-one. They sure did make the gym simmer. Smiles all around, "Just be yourself, there is no one better" T. Swift Thank you to the Sward PTA for hosting this special event.
Our Student Council sponsored a school wide Soup-er Bowl canned food donation driv...
On Monday, May 15th, Sward School celebrated their 2nd Annual World Day of Cultural Diversity. Students learned about their own family's culture, heritage and traditions. Across grade levels, students proudly shared about their cultures. It was such an amazing experience learning how diverse our Sward community is! The whole day was about learning about different cultures from all over the world to the culminating PTA sponsored event Monday evening. Fourteen different countries were represented by Sward families at the PTA event. Familes volunteered to share their culture with the Sward community. They brought homemade food, shared what special clothing/jewlery is worn in their country, artwork along with historical artifacts. Families also showcased cultural dances and Mr. Hartin performed while students danced along. Students and families got to taste food from around the world and could get a henna tattoo, there was even a marachi band, and a bagpiper! There were special performances from two Dabka dance groups from Andrew and Stagg high schools as well as Mrs. Glikis and her Greek dance group. This was truly a unique event and all who attended had an awesome time. Special thanks to the Sward PTA for organizing this amazing event for the kids and their families.The following countries were represented: Yemen, Lebanan, Mexico, Philliipines, African-American, Germany, Nigeria, India, Ireland, USA, Sudan, Italy, Morocco, and Palestine.
On Thursday, April 27th, Sward hosted its annual Career Day. Sward Eagles were introduced to a variety of occupations and learned how education ties into these various career options. Students became more familiar with their community.
“Tuesdays are the best day of the week, I look forward to Art Club with Mrs. Lee. Aleena,” a 5th Grader, shared.
Victoria, “I danced on the stage, took pictures with my friends and my dad. It was such a fun night.”
During the first week back after a long winter break, first graders participated in a STEM challenge to build the biggest snowman they could from one 6 foot sheet of white bulletin board paper. Teachers only provided a few simple rules for the STEM challenge: student would only get one 6 foot sheet of paper, the snowmen had to have three seperate paper circles and must include buttons, eyes, nose, arms etc. The objective was to build the biggest snowman they could and to be as creative as possible.The engagement level for this activity was extraordinary, the students really loved working on this project. Why are STEM challenges used in the classroom? This particular STEM challenge is cross-curricular. In English Language Arts this month, the majority of the literature that students will be exposed to will be about snowmen so this was kind of a kick off for this topic, in writing students will be working on the informational writing style explaining how to build a snowman. Additionally, students had completed a measurement unit in Mathematics prior to winter break and following the completion of the STEM challenge students measured each of the snowmen in centimeters to determine which was worthy of the title "The Biggest Snowman".
Sward's all school BINGO for our winter celebration had to be postponed due to the emergency e-learning day that was necessary on Friday, December 23rd due to extreme cold temperatures. The event was rescheduled for Friday, January 13th as well as the pajama day that was originally scheduled. Students were filled with excitement as Mrs. Kramer began calling BINGO number over the intercom. Sward PTA parent volunteers assisted students in checking their BINGO cards for winners. There were so many amazing prizes provided by the Sward PTA that students were jumping out of their seats with excitement when they won BINGO. Students also enjoyed snacks provided by the PTA for the do-over Winter Celebration. Thanks to our Sward PTA for organizing such a fun event for our students.
On Wednesday, January 11th, Sward staff and students enjoyed a dress rehearsal performance by our very own Sward Drama Club. Under the guidance of Mrs. Collura, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Bishop, 4th and 5th grade students in the Drama Club prepared, practiced and finally performed their long awaited show "The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf" which had originally been scheduled for before Winter break but was postponed due to illness prior to break. The Drama Club consists of students in both 4th and 5th grades who have an interest in theatrical arts, student actors learn to devlop a sense of stage presence, how to project their voices, how to work as a team which in turn builds confidence, problem-solving skills and teaches students how to work under pressure. The students and staff gathered in the Sward main gym for the performance, even students from our Pre-K classes were mesmerized by the on-stage production. The actors and actresses were entertaining in their roles as storybook characters as they told the story of the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf. The show was also had an evening performance for Sward family and friends. It was live streamed via Twitter and can be viewed by clicking this link if you'd like to watch the show for yourself. A special thanks to all the hard work by our Sward actors and stage technicians for putting together such a wonderful show and also to Mrs. Collura, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Bishop for all your time working with these budding actors and actresses. Bravo Sward Drama Club!
Boy oh boy did our Sward Eagles spread Holiday Cheer at today's Winter Concert. Our...
There truly is something special when parents and children get time together for s...
Lots of smiles, full tummies and great fun for Sward's preschool students as they e...
On Veterans Day, Sward Elementary School hosted an assembly honoring the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces. Mrs. Glikis and the Sward chorus provided lovely music and successfully engaged the audience to sing along.
Lots of smiles, excitement, and a bit of spooky fog filled the air on Halloween morning...
On Monday, May 23rd, Sward School celebrated World Day of Cultural Diversity. Students ...
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