Elementary News and Updates (10/16/20)

A reminder to all Elementary families that we will be welcoming back fourth and fifth graders, who have signed up prior to Fall Break, to four-day in-person learning starting on Monday, Oct. 19. Please review our Return-to-In-Person Learning page for helpful information and FAQs.

Some reminders:

• Students MUST wear masks to attend in-person.
• We will follow the procedures outlined by DCSD in the event there is the presumption and/or confirmation of a positive COVID-19 case.
• As a reminder, if a student feels ill or has a fever above 100.0, DO NOT come to school.

You can stay informed of recent cases and data via the Tri-County Interactive Data Map. Additionally, you can view DCSD’s Decision Dashboard to find out more on how the district is tracking cases.

Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Elementary Families,

We strive to keep our parents as informed as possible and with that in mind, we wanted to share the following information with you. As we head into the cold and flu season, we anticipate that we may have a teacher that will need to stay home due to illness. 

Since symptoms of a cold and flu are similar to COVID, we must operate out of an abundance of caution. In the event we have a teacher that is ill and we do not have a substitute teacher or staff member to fill that teacher’s position, we will have to move that teacher’s class to a virtual classroom for all students.

We want to provide you with this information now so that you are aware in the event we need to have a class, or multiple classes move to virtual learning for a short period of time until the teacher is able to return to in-person learning. 

If we are in the position to have to request a class move to virtual learning due to teacher shortage, we will do our best to communicate this with as much notice as possible. However, we may receive a sick notification during the night, or early in the morning, so we may have to make a quick decision in the morning. 

We will do our absolute best to accommodate our students for in-person learning, and will only make the call to move to virtual learning if we absolutely cannot safely support students in person.

Communication will be sent via an Infinite Campus message. Please direct any questions to me at LynAnn.Kovalesky@stemk12.org.

Thank you,

LynAnn Kovalesky, Assistant Director (K-5)

To view your student’s school photo proofs, visit DR Photos and select the link School Portrait Proof. Use your student’s ID number to access their proofs and place any orders that you’d like.

If your student has not taken a picture yet, this is your chance to have an updated photo for this school year. Picture ID cards will be made on the spot.

This year school pictures make-up/retakes will take place on October 20 and 21 for Elementary Students. Elementary students will go in small groups with their homeroom teacher on their cohort day (Tuesday or Wednesday). Elementary students must be signed up on this sheet so that their teacher will know which students will be participating.

It will be up to the parents to inform their student of the desire for a make-up or retake picture. Students wanting a retake, or that have not had a photo taken should participate.

Students may make an appointment to have a photo taken at our photographer’s studio. DR Photo – 8110 W Brandon Dr, Littleton, CO 80125. Click here to set up an appointment.

We would like to invite parents to help during outdoor lunch & recess time each day. Recess starts at 10:50 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. If you are interested, please enter through the Elementary School lobby, register as a visitor and complete the health screening form.

After completing the registration form, we ask that you meet grade levels at the Elementary School playground on the East side of the school. Masks are required.

If you have some extra time in the mornings or afternoons, please consider signing up to volunteer for our Elementary School Driveline. We need volunteers to help from 7:20-7:50 a.m. with unloading students from their cars and getting them to their class stones. In the afternoon, we need volunteers to help from 2:10-3:10 p.m. with loading students into their cars.

If you are interested, please enter through the Elementary School lobby, register as a visitor and complete the health screening form. Masks are required.

We are in immediate need of underwear (boys six 6-8) for students who have an accident). Please sign up using the link to the right. Donations can be dropped off to the Elementary School Office. Also, Calm Down Bottles have become a popular craft this year and we need some supplies to make them. Please access the list of supplies via the button to the right.

Additionally, we have an ongoing need for classroom and healthroom donations. Click the link to the right to see all of the donation items that we are collecting for, and to sign up.

Nutrition Services is excited to announce that, effective immediately, ALL meals served in school are now free for all students. Free meals include all entrees (except Subway at High Schools) with fruit or veggies, and/or milk. As a reminder, STEM does not serve breakfast.

For Virtual/Online Learners, DCSD will begin weekly remote meal bag pick-ups at all neighborhood Elementary and Middle Schools in Douglas County (pick-up not available at STEM) every Friday from 1-2 p.m. These bags will contain five breakfast/lunches for Virtual/Online Learners and three breakfast/lunches for Hybrid learners. Meal pick-ups do NOT require pre-order. Simply pull up to our curbside pickup locations and request a meal for kids, just like our Summer Feeding sites. Kids do not need to attend DCSD Schools and do not need to be present for pickup.

Make sure to designate your Pick-Up Mode and your Delegates (if necessary) prior to 1:45 p.m. each day.

Pick-Up Modes:

• West Driveline Pick-Up Mode – ALL students being picked up by car
• Walker – Meeting your student at the ES Doors
• Sibling Pick-Up – ES students with Secondary Siblings that are walking

Remember to only enter the Driveline at your designated time and display your placard. To help our driveline volunteers, please keep your placard up until you leave the parking lot. Also, to help us be good neighbors to our business park neighbors, please do not stack along Barrons Blvd.

• Green – K-1 Grades Only – 2:20 p.m.
• Orange – 2-5 Grades (with K-1 sibling) – 2:30 p.m.
• Yellow – K-5 with Secondary Sibling – 2:55 p.m.

If you pre-ordered face masks or gators they have arrived and are at the MS Office for pick up.  If you are a fully remote student, please come to school to pick up your purchases. Spart Mart does not have shipping capabilities at this time.  Click the button to the right if you would like to purchase one. We have youth and adults sizes available.

Has your student received a message similar to the image to the right? If so, that is a message from our IT Department. We are working to bring all of the student Zoom accounts into the school account. If your student sees a message like this, please approve the request. Any questions can be submitted via a ticket to support@stemk12.org.