Secondary News and Updates (04/26/24)

Please take a moment to check the STEM All-Events Calendar on our website.

There are lots of events already scheduled so please take a moment to take a look at the calendar to familiarize yourself with some of the events at the start of school. This calendar will continue to be updated throughout the summer as we get closer to the start of school.

April 22-May 15

Middle School Student Government will be holding a Toy Collection Drive to benefit the Children’s Hospital. Donations can be dropped off at the collection boxes in the Secondary Lobby.

Thursday, May 2, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. – Elementary Gym

The Geography Bee is a competition similar to the Spelling Bee, but instead of correctly spelling words, students must answer questions on the spot about world geography, regions, people, and events. The event looks similar to a Spelling Bee: students are on stage and a presenter will read them questions. Up to 20 students grades 4-8 may qualify for the Bee and will take a qualifying test with their Social Studies teachers in April. To study, start hitting the atlases and lists of largest countries, national capitals, or longest rivers.

This event is for Elementary and Middle School students and families.

Please park in the parking lots on the West side of the campus and enter through the Elementary School Entrance.

Contact: Evan.voorn@stemk12.org

Thursday, May 2 & Friday, May 3 at 6 p.m. – Secondary Gym

Saturday, May 4, at 3 & 6 p.m. – Secondary Gym

Get ready to celebrate the eccentricities of every family with our smash-hit Broadway musical, The Addams Family! Join us as we bring the beloved characters to life.

Witness Wednesday Addams, the iconic princess of darkness, navigating the complexities of young love. When she falls for a charming young man from a conventional family, she enlists her father Gomez in keeping it a secret from her mother Morticia. For the first time, Gomez finds himself in uncharted territory – keeping a secret from his cherished wife.

Experience the uproarious twists and turns as the Addams family hosts a dinner for Wednesday’s ‘normal’ boyfriend and his parents. Brace yourself for a night where everything changes for this delightfully unconventional family.

Please park on the West Side of campus and enter through the Athletics entrance. Tickets are $20 each, free for staff members.

Wow, it’s hard to believe that May is right around the corner, and we are headed into the final weeks of the school year. There is so much going on this time of year for students, everything from preparing for finals, Field Days, field trips, graduation, and still so much exploration and learning. As we enter into this last stretch of the school year, we encourage everyone to be mindful of taking time to support rest and stress levels that can come with the change of seasons and the excitement and anticipation of Summer Break. Our students have been spending time in Access discussing the importance of self-care and strategies for caring for themselves in times like this.

As we look ahead to ACCESS in May, students will continue to reflect on resiliency and self-care and will spend some time journaling about the self-care strategies they will consider implementing for the remainder of the school year. We encourage parents to have follow-up conversations with their students about this learning and reflection. The remaining Access class period will be focused on preparing for finals, getting caught up on any missing assignments, doing Canvas checks with teachers, and studying. We hope students use this time to prepare for a successful end of the year.

Baccara USA, located in Englewood, Colo., is seeking a summer intern to support the applications engineer/ manager in providing technical expertise, project management, and solutions to their customers. The internship is a paid internship and will be during summer for a minimum of 75 hours. Students who successfully complete the internship can earn .5 high school elective credits. If you are interested in applying for the internship, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org.

We’re excited to announce that sixth graders at STEM next year will be provided with a laptop from STEM, so they will not need to purchase their own laptop. More information will be shared in the coming months about the type of laptop and distribution.

The DAC is currently accepting applications for membership for 4 Parent Representatives. Please click below to apply.

STEM has partnered with CSU to bring our students additional concurrent enrollment (CE) opportunities for the 2024-25 school year. For Fall 2024, CSU is offering GEOL 110, Introduction to Geology – Parks and Mountains (GT-SC2) or SOC 100, Introduction to Sociology (GT-SS3). Both are 3 credits and guarantee transfer courses. For more information or to register, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org.

Senior Walk – May 3, 2023, at 8:15 a.m.

Seniors will be doing one “final” lap around the school wearing all of their college (or STEM spirit) gear. This is an event that all of K-12 participate in and is a wonderful memory for our seniors.

Senior Picnic – May 10, 2024, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Seniors have a half day today, so once they are done with class they can enjoy their afternoon at the picnic with friends! The senior picnic will include lunch and Coldstone for each senior.

Senior Honor Night – May 16, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Secondary Gym

Seniors will receive invites to attend Senior Honor Night to receive their awards and cords to wear at graduation. This is an annual STEM tradition event for our seniors.

GRADUATION!!! – May 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Echo Park Stadium in Parker

Seniors should arrive at Echo Stadium by 9 a.m. to take part in the graduation walk-through ceremony. Families will be invited into the stadium at 9:45 a.m.

Are you interested in saving on college tuition costs? Check out the ASCENT program. ASCENT, Accelerating Students through Concurrent Enrollment, is a high school program that allows students to participate in concurrent enrollment (college coursework) the year after 12th grade by enrolling in postsecondary courses and earning college credit at no tuition cost to them or their families. Students will still be enrolled at STEM, but will attend one of our partner institutions for their 13th year.

Seniors, if you have earned a minimum of nine college credits, and are interested in learning more, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org. The deadline to enroll is April 30, 2024.

Concurrent enrollment registration is underway! If you plan to take a concurrent enrollment (CE) course in Fall 24, you will need to complete the STEM Concurrent Enrollment Agreement. The agreement is required to be completed each semester. In addition, if you have not taken a STEM CE course, you will need to apply to Arapahoe Community College (ACC). You can view the attached flyer for assistance with your application. The deadline to complete the STEM CE Agreement and ACC application is May 10, 2024.

If you plan to register for courses at one of our other partner institutions, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org for the next steps.

Would you like to experience life as an engineer? Horrocks Engineers is seeking 2 to 3 high school students to join their project team for the Girls in Construction event held in September. Students will be part of the planning and execution of the project, and gain real-world experience while working alongside a team of engineers. Initial planning will start in May, with construction during summer. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org.

The Experiment Digital Leadership in STEM prepares participants to be more civically engaged and lead change. This fully funded six-week summer virtual experience teaches high school students to formulate and implement STEM projects in their local communities. The Experiment Digital is designed to connect hundreds of young people across the United States, Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) region.

Our application to the 2024 Experiment Digital program is now OPEN! To learn more about our program, click here. Spaces are starting to fill, so be sure to share the application with your students. Students and parents/guardians can apply by clicking here! Final admissions deadline: May 13, 2024

Read and share our program flyer here.

If you have any questions, feel free to reply to this email or reach out at: digital@experiment.org. We’d love to see your students at The Experiment Digital! Click here to visit the website.

Are you looking for something to do over the summer? Below are a few ideas to get you started. The following organizations are currently taking applications for their summer programs.

• NEW – Summer of Emerging Tech by The Coding School. Summer programming is currently open for middle and high school students interested in learning more about quantum computing, emerging tech, data science (HS only) and AI (HS only). Click here for more information and to register.
• The Aerospace States Association and Colorado Space Business Roundtable Aerospace Summer Internship Program is currently accepting applications for their Summer Internship program. For more information, visit their website: ASA/ CSBR Summer Internship Program
• UC Denver, GenCyber Summer Camp – Application is currently open for the free online program being held July 15-19.
• Colorado Health Careers Academy (CHCA) in conjunction with ACC and other healthcare partners are hosting a summer program for students to explore health careers. Information sessions are available through May. If you are interested in a career in healthcare, click here to learn more.
• CU Science Discovery is offering summer classes for high school students at their CU Boulder and CU Anschutz locations. Programming includes Aerospace, Biotech, Computer Science, Forensics, Neuroscience, Biomed Research, Medical Student Experience and more! Summer Scholarships are available. Learn more on the CU Discovery website.

As a reminder, you can continue earning college credit by taking a course through one of our partner institutions. Please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org with questions. Registration for Arapahoe Community College opens March 11th for Summer and Fall courses.