Secondary News and Updates (05/03/24)

Dear Middle School Families,

We have three weeks left of school, and they will be busy! Tomorrow, Ms. Hafner and Mr. Roberts will present the last day of our 6-12 musical, The Addams Family. Mr. Gomez will be conducting his end-of-the-year concert on May 9th, and our K-12 Art show will take place on May 13th. We are so fortunate to have such passionate teachers of the arts, and we are grateful to all who come out and support our students at these events. We hope you can join us for the rest of our exciting end-of-the-year events!

What’s coming up for the last few weeks of school?

Middle School Awards Ceremony – Wednesday, May 15

Our second annual end-of-the-year awards ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. in the Secondary Gym. The doors will open at 3:40 p.m. All students have been notified via their email if they are receiving an award. Remember, the academic awards are honoring students for their grades achieved in the fall semester. All other awards are awarded for the entire school year.

Middle School Field Day – Wednesday, May 22

Our annual Middle School Field Day will take place on Wednesday, May 22nd. Students will still attend a shortened schedule of all of their classes that day. After lunch, our Field Day will begin. Student Government is also sponsoring the Kona Ice Truck that day. If you would like to volunteer, please reach out to Ms. Gasser or myself. michelle.gasser@https://stemk12.org, susan.jones@https://stemk12.org, maura.ridder@https://stemk12.org

Please complete the parent survey

As of now, we only have 75 responses, and we need to reach 300. Please take a moment to complete the survey. Your feedback is very important to us, and it guides us going forward. Click here to take the survey.

Last Day/Half Day – Thursday, May 23

Our 6th and 7th grade students will enjoy a fun last day of school with their teachers, and our 8th graders will enjoy a Move Up to High School Party in the park. Please pick up your student at 11:30 am at STEM.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

In partnership,

Maura Ridder, Middle School Director

Dear STEM Spartans and Families,

It is hard to believe that it is already May! The hallways are buzzing with talk of yearbooks, summer plans, and Graduation! This is an exciting time of year for all of us at STEM, but it is important to remember that the school year is not over.  As we move into the final few weeks of the fourth quarter, please be reminded to check your student’s progress in Canvas.  If you are tracking your senior’s progress and desire more detailed information, please contact your student’s teacher for specific class information or consult his/her counselor. They will be happy to help answer any questions or concerns.

May is definitely the most exciting time in high school. Last week, we had our Prom at Hudson Gardens. Although the weather did not cooperate (Springtime in Colorado!), the students had a lot of fun. I would like to give our PTO a huge shout-out for the amazing After Prom. For the first time, we hosted After Prom at the School, and it was a huge success. The kids stayed late, had a lot of fun, and won amazing prizes. And most importantly, they stayed safe.

For the seniors, the final countdown has begun! Today, we started our graduation festivities with the Senior Walk. I would like to thank all of the parents, teachers, students, and staff members for celebrating our seniors today. It was a lot of fun, and I know they really appreciated it. Looking ahead, the next few weeks are packed with year-end festivities. Here is a list of important upcoming dates:

• Monday, May 6 – Thursday, May 23 – AP testing
• Friday, May 3 – Adams Family from 6-8 p.m. in the Secondary Gym.
• Saturday, May 4 – Adams Family – There are two shows, one at 3 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m. ; *This is an amazing show. The students did an excellent job, and I highly recommend attending if you can!
• Thursday, May 9 – Senior Skate Night from 5-7 p.m. at Skate City; Secondary End of Year Concert from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• Friday, May 10 – Seniors Last Day! – Senior Picnic at 11 a.m.;  Senior Lock-in starting at 10 p.m.
• Monday, May 13 – Annual STEM Art Show from 3-8 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 15 – High School Athletics Banquet starting at 6 p.m.
• Thursday, May 16 – Mandatory Graduation Practice in the Secondary Gym at 3 p.m.;  Senior Honor Night starts at 6 p.m.
• Friday, May 17 – STEM Enrichment banquet starting at 5 p.m.
• Monday, May 20 – Graduation Day!!! Graduation is at 10 a.m. at Echo Park in Parker. Seniors need to arrive by 9 a.m.
• Wednesday, May 22 – High School Awards (more information to follow)
• Thursday, May 23- Welcome to High School Party

On a final note, this is an extremely exciting time for everyone. There are a lot of celebrations, all well deserved. Please be careful.

Thanks, everyone!

Sincerely,

Ryan Alsup, High School Director

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.

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.

Dream about traveling the world? Come to our informational meeting on May 8 at 6:00 PM to learn more about my Spring 2025 student trip to France & Italy. All current and next year High School French, Health, AP Environmental Science & AP European History students are welcome to attend!

Contact Abby Tomic (abby.tomic@https://stemk12.org) with any questions.

Wednesday, May 8, from 6:30-8 p.m. – Zoom

Join the STEM PTO for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 8, from 6:30-8 p.m. via Zoom.  STEM PTO is comprised of parents from the STEM community who work together to help foster a strong sense of community and provide enhancement activities for students, faculty, staff, and families while also helping to increase educational, social and emotional experiences for the members of their families.

STEM PTO is organized to enhance the quality of each student’s education, the school as a whole, and the entire community through the development of resources and the participation of parents, school staff, and the community. Meetings are open for anyone to attend.

Tuesday, May 14, from 5:30-7 p.m. – Mechatronics Lab in P-TECH/KOSON Building & Zoom

The KOSON/STEM Board of Directors will be holding its Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, May 14, from 5:30-7 p.m. in person and via Zoom.  The BOD is comprised of parents and community members who volunteer their time. The Board’s role and purpose is to provide oversight of the KOSON Schools Chief Innovation Officer, who implements the policies set forth by the Board. The Board also provides support and direction for STEM’s long-term vision and mission. Additionally, the Board is active in making sure that KOSON Schools remains in compliance with all DCSD, state and federal compliance requirements, as well as STEM School Highlands Ranch’s Charter Contract.

Meetings are open to anyone to attend. Anyone who would like to address the Board Members must sign-up in advance by completing the Public Comment Form no later than 12 p.m. the day of each Board meeting. If written testimony or a handout is submitted, presenters are asked to supply one (1) copy via email to communications@stemk12.org.

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@https://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.

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@https://stemk12.org.

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.

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@https://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@https://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@https://stemk12.org with questions. Registration for Arapahoe Community College opens March 11th for Summer and Fall courses.