We are so glad you’re here! Below you will see our upcoming events; for additional details, just check the Events page.
Please let us know if you have any questions!
Looking for the Parent Guide? It’s moved! Click on Parent Guide for our newly updated guide that has been prepared to answer any questions you might have. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out!
The Scholastic Book Fair is back! November 3-7, your kids can visit the book fair during their scheduled class time or after school.
After school hours are:
Monday: 3:30-4:30
Tuesday: 3:30-5:00
Wednesday: 3:30-4:30
Thursday 3:30-7:30 or when the concert ends
We love parent volunteers for this event. You can sign up here: https://bit.ly/swbookfair25
The VPO is so excited to announce the return of our very popular Fall Carnival! It will be hosted right at home at Swift Water Elementary School! Check out more details on the Fall Carnival page!
Be on the lookout for additional information on our social media sites: Facebook and Instagram. If you don’t follow us, now is a great time to start!
** UPDATE **
The full Reading for Success campaign has been extended – including reading minutes and the fundraiser – through Friday, October 24th! Make sure to log those minutes to earn the best prizes!
Swift Water VPO is excited to announce the return of Reading for Success October 6-19! This program encourages students to increase their reading time and create consistent reading habits, while raising much-needed funds for VPO sponsored student and teacher activities throughout the school year.
Reading for Success is accessible for every student. While the program is voluntary, we hope all families will choose to participate.
We have teamed up with Get Movin’ to make this event fun, easy for families to track, exciting for the students with their reading goals, and a successful fundraising event with online mobile-friendly technology! Family and friends will be able to donate by visiting our school’s link and selecting the red donate button. They’ll be able to donate based on minutes read or give a sum of their choice.
Learn more by visiting our Reading for Success page.
Let us handle the “flowers” so you don’t have to! Simply pre-purchase and pick up the Dum-Dum Bouquets on the night of the event.
Pre-purchasing is highly recommended, but there will be a supply available for purchase at the event on Thursday, January 15th.
The Swift Water Buy One, Get One FREE Book Fair is coming June 2–5, and we’re looking for brave souls to help.
Duties may include:
📦 Setting up without stepping on packing tape
💳 Ringing up purchases like a boss
📚 Helping kids who ask, “Do you have that one book with the blue cover?”
🧼 Cleaning up once the book-loving chaos settles
No experience required—just the ability to smile while being asked where the Pokémon books are… for the 47th time. 😅
✨ Sign up here: bit.ly/25bookfairbogo
Your presence = fewer frantic book fair dreams for the staff. Win-win.
Celebrating the Heart of Our School – One Story at a Time
May 5-9, Swift Water Elementary was buzzing with gratitude, laughter, and a whole lot of storybook magic! It was Staff Appreciation Week, and we had the best time showing our incredible staff just how much they mean to us.
Each day was inspired by a beloved children’s book, with themed decor, treats, and surprises to match:
📚 Monday: Dragons Love Tacos – A fiery start to the week with taco-themed fun and spicy appreciation!
🍪 Tuesday: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – Sweet treats galore for the sweetest staff around.
🐛 Wednesday: The Very Hungry Caterpillar – A feast of gratitude (and snacks!) for our ever-growing appreciation.
🌧️ Thursday: Worm Weather – The VPO turned the staff break room into a rainy day retreat, complete with games, goodies, and cozy vibes.
🌳 Friday: The Giving Tree – Wrapping up the week by honoring the giving hearts of every staff member who pours into our students each day.
We were so proud to celebrate the amazing educators, support staff, and team members who make Swift Water such a special place to learn and grow. Their dedication, creativity, and heart are the roots of our school’s success.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to our generous partners who helped make this week unforgettable: Starbucks, QDOBA, Crumbl Cookies, our amazing Swift Water parents, and the VPO. Your support filled our week with joy, deliciousness, and community spirit.
Check out the photos below to see all the fun, and join us in giving a big shoutout to the staff that make the magic happen every day!
EXTRA! EXTRA!
Swift Water VPO is partnering with Tacoma Little Theatre to bring **Disney’s Newsies Jr. ** to Swift Water!
Performance: March 24, 2026
Up to 40 students
$150 per student
Rehearsals:
Mon–Thurs | Feb 9–Mar 24
3:30–5:00 PM
No practice Feb 16–20 (Midwinter Break)
Got a kid ready to seize the day and steal the show?
Click here.
Thanks to the incredible efforts of our students, families, and community, we officially reached our STRETCH fundraising goal of $12,000 — raising more than $14,000!
This success was all part of our Moving for a Cause event, and your hard work and generosity have earned the students a well-deserved Color Run celebration on Friday, May 23rd during school hours. And yes — because we hit that stretch goal, our amazing teachers will be participating in the run dressed in hilarious inflatable costumes!
Here are the Color Run details:
🗓️: Friday, May 23rd
🕑: 2:30PM (Volunteers arrive by 2:00PM)
📍: Swift Water Elementary Track and Field
👕: Students wear white shirts, teachers wear inflatable costumes, volunteers come as you are
We will need volunteers to help bring the Color Run to life. RSVP on our Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/share/18xL2FpJR8/
We are incredibly grateful to every student, family, and supporter who contributed to this fundraiser. Your enthusiasm and dedication have made this a huge success.
Thank you for supporting Swift Water Elementary — let’s get ready to celebrate in COLOR!
We are excited to share our upcoming Swift Water takeover hosted by one of our favorites, Fondi’s Pizzeria! Come by anytime from 12pm-8pm and let them know you’re with us, and they’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to the VPO to help support our 5th graders heading to camp this school year! And what better timing than a day where we have early release?
✅ Delicious food
✅ Helps students
✅ Day off from cooking
Our much-anticipated night out at the Rainiers is back! With two purchasing options, you can join fellow Swift Water families as we watch The Rainiers go head-to-head with the El Paso Chihuahuas!
Monthly Popcorn Fridays are coming back starting October 3rd! To keep our popcorn poppin’, we need your support. Click the red popcorn image to find out ways to help and ways you can volunteer on popcorn day.
This September, students will come home with a manilla envelope from Art to Remember containing a blank paper and directions on how to create your masterpiece.
This program allows you to support the VPO as you capture your child’s art on a keepsake perfect for gifting, using, and displaying. No purchase necessary and all keepsakes will be delivered in time for the holidays.
Art is due back to the school on Friday October 11th. Students can drop their art in the red mailbox right outside the office!
Ready to order? Click HERE to go the Art to Remember website.
Tacoma Little Theatre & Swift Water Elementary proudly present 101 Dalmatians! 
Our talented young performers have been working like top dogs to bring this classic to life, and you won’t want to miss it!
Date: March 28th
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Swift Water Elementary Commons
Tickets: Only $5 each!
Dum Dum bouquets are available for $5. A sweet way to celebrate your favorite performer!
Girls on the Run is an amazing 10-week after-school program designed to help our girls grow personally, in the community, and athletically. Registration includes a water bottle, program shirt, snacks, journal, 5k registration for May 31st, and memories that will last a lifetime. Buzz over to gotrws.org to sign up today!
Please note the change in start date. It has been moved to April 1st.
Save the date! More details to come, but know it’s going to be a great deal thanks to CS Floors and the VPO!
The Book Fair is by far the most popular volunteer opportunity for parents. This is a unique chance to join the committee that helps run the show! If you are interested in being a part of this awesome team, just email us at volunteer.swiftwatervpo@gmail.com for more information and/or to sign up.
A lot of what our VPO does at Swift Water is possible because of our amazing Sponsors and parent donors and volunteers like you.
Are you looking for a way for your business to give back to the community? Swift Water Elementary School would appreciate your support! Just go to our Sponsor page to learn more.
