Dear Elementary School Families,
Welcome back to school! Happy 2025! I hope you all had a wonderful break. While I didn’t have big plans for my time off, I did enjoy having time at home with my family! It is hard to believe we are entering the second half of the school year already! As we kick off 2025 and the second semester, here are a few important reminders:
Arrival and Dismissal: School starts at 7:40 a.m. If you are arriving after 7:40 a.m., you will need to sign your student(s) in to have the tardy excused. Afternoon dismissal is staggered. K/1 is dismissed at 2:25 p.m. (Green Placard), grades 2-5 are at 2:35 p.m. (Orange Placard), and Secondary dismissal is at 2:55 p.m. (Yellow Placard). Please pick your student(s) up at the appropriate time. If you do not have a secondary student, you must pick up your student at either 2:25 p.m. or 2:35 p.m., depending on the grade.
Behavior Expectations: At STEM, we spend a great amount of time teaching and re-teaching behavior expectations and social-emotional skills. It is important to consistently review while also allowing students time to practice these skills and expectations. Ms. J and our amazing instructional assistant team spent the first few days back at school reviewing our behavior expectations and Spartan Characteristics with every class. Please spend some time with your student reviewing the behavior expectations.
Cold Mornings and Indoor Recess : We will be outside in the mornings and during recess most days. We will bring students indoors in the mornings and for recess if the temperature is 20 degrees or less (wind chill factor is taken into consideration) or if there are snowy/icy conditions that make it unsafe. Please dress your student(s) appropriately for the day’s weather.
Lost and Found: During the break, we donated over 100 clothing items (coats, hoodies, sweatshirts, etc.). I encourage you to please write your student’s name on their belongings. It helps us return the items when they show up in lost and found. I also encourage you to periodically check the lost and found for items your child may have lost. We also encourage students not to bring items of monetary or sentimental value.
Important Dates
January 6 – Teacher Work Day – NO SCHOOL
January 7 – Students Return
January 15 – STEM SAC Meeting (5:30-7:30pm)
January 16 – STEM Spelling Bee (starts at 3:30pm)
January 16 – STEM DEI Committee (4-5pm)
January 20 – MLK Day – NO SCHOOL
January 24 – Early Release Day
January 27 – Kindergarten Field Trip to Colorado History Center
January 29 – 1st grade Field Trip to Arvada Center for Arts
Have a wonderful week. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
In Partnership,
Amie McElroy, Elementary Director
News and Updates
Hands Free Announcing with PikMyKid
New! If you use our West (Elementary) Driveline, you can now set up your PikMyKid to auto-announce for you as soon as you enter our parking lot. Please click the button below to view the flier that has the instructions listed on how to set up your account.
