Elementary News and Updates (01/27/23)

Dear STEM Families,

It has been a wonderful start to the second semester. Students did not take long to transition back to class after their winter break, coupled with two short weeks back to back. This January has been cold and snowy, which does cause us to be indoors occasionally. For the morning, temperatures must be below 20 degrees (with windchill factored in) and/or snowing significantly for us to come indoors. During the day for recess, we follow the same guidelines as the morning but also factor in the snow/ice conditions on the playground. We try to go outside at every opportunity we can. Please make sure your child is properly dressed to be outside. This includes having a coat, hat, and gloves. Don’t forget to label your child’s belongings with their names. Hopefully, warmer weather is around the corner.

Here are a few important announcements:

Spelling Bee

I’d like to congratulate 5th grader Anirudh Rao, for winning the STEM Spelling Bee. He will be competing on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the district spelling bee. I’d also like to congratulate 4th grader Ishaan Barhate, who took third place. Great job, students! Way to represent the elementary school.

Gym Grand Opening

Please join us on Wednesday, Feb. 1, for the grand opening of our new gym and commons. The celebration starts at 4:45 p.m. with a ribbon cutting followed by a STEM basketball game at 6 p.m. There will be food, drinks, raffles and much more. Don’t miss out on this awesome event.

Sweetheart Dance

Join us for Dancing Through the Decades – STEM Elementary School Dance on Friday, Feb. 3, from 6-8 p.m. This is NOT a drop-off event. Elementary students, bring your favorite adults and dress your favorite decade. Admission is $5 per person in advance, and $10 at the door. Games, a selfie station, dancing, and fun. Tickets are available through MySchoolBucks.

Wish Week T-Shirts

National Honor Society’s annual Wish Week is about a month away. This year’s theme is Disney, and we are sponsoring Colton, an 8-year-old who loves Pete the Cat books, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and being around people. His wish is to go to Disney World and meet his favorite Disney characters. If you would like to buy a Wish Week shirt, click here. We have available sizes listed, including youth sizes. Funds will benefit Make-a-Wish Colorado. The last day to order shirts is Friday, Feb. 3.

Yearbooks

Families can order the 2022-23 yearbook by visiting this link, or going to dr-photo.com, selecting “Order Your Yearbook,” and when prompted, enter: STEM.

Volunteers

We are always looking for volunteers in the cafeteria, playground or driveline. Please reach out to Mona Loptein (mona.loptein@stemk12.org) for more information.

I look forward to a great spring semester. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

In Partnership,

Amie McElroy, Elementary 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.

January 10-31 – Homeroom Teacher (Elementary)/6th-Period Teacher (Middle School)

STEM Shares is hosting one event every month to give back to our community after May 7th. For the month of January, STEM Shares is hosting a Clothing Drive. We will be collecting clothes from January 10-31. Donations should be in wearable condition and students can donate their clothes to either their homeroom teacher (ES Students) or 6th-period teacher (MS Students). All donations will be given to local homeless shelters.

The class with the most donations will win a pizza party! Please email any questions to studentadvisory@s.stemk12.org.

January 23-February 23 – Elementary School Lobby

Elementary Student Council will accept toiletry donations for a local community partner in need. Take a look at the flyer and please drop off toiletry donations to the box in the Elementary School Front Lobby.

Friday, Feb. 3, from 6-8 p.m. – Elementary Cafe and Gym

Join us for Dancing Through the Decades STEM Elementary School Dance. This is NOT a drop-off event. Elementary students- bring your favorite adults and dress your favorite decade. $5 per person. Games, selfie stations, dancing, and fun.

Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 3-5 p.m. – HS Commons

Do you like baking? Do you think you can make the best pie? Do you want to win $25? Bake the best pie (dessert or savory) and compete against your classmates on Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 3-5 p.m. in the High School Commons during the annual Great STEM Bake-off! The esteemed judges, Mr. Moore, Ms. White, and Mr. Kerwin, will judge your pie based on creativity, taste, and presentation! This event is open to all students and families.

On Thursday, Jan. 19, the Student Support Services Team presented to families and students in grades 5-7 on the Academic Scheduling Process for the 2023-24 school year. The video recording is to the right. Click the button below to access the slide presentation. Counselors will be working with students the week of January 23 to review courses and to make course selections for next year.

Welcome Back! I hope that everyone had a great break and is ready to start 2023 off right!

I wanted to provide an update on Standards Based Learning and some expectations for the second semester.

For Elementary Parents

You can review your student’s progress on MasteryConnect by following the link that was emailed to you in September. The trackers are designed to keep the student data from the first semester so that we can track growth. You should be able to see the progress that your child is making in each subject area.

You can switch from subject to subject to see your student’s mastery and to determine areas for growth. These are great conversation starters for you and your child. Most elementary school classrooms have students set goals using their MasteryTracker. Be sure to ask your student to share their progress with you.

For Secondary Parents

This week teachers will be sharing second-semester expectations with students regarding SBL through a canvas announcement. Although these expectations were in place at the beginning of the year, teachers provided students with support and scaffolds as there was a natural learning curve with SBL.

Expectations:

• Learning Opportunities – If a student does not do well on a Demonstration of Knowledge assignment, they will need to complete the learning opportunities before having the opportunity for a retake. It is in the best interest of the student to complete the learning opportunities when assigned so that they do not have to go back and complete them to have a retake.
• Deadline – teachers will communicate unit deadlines to students via a Canvas announcement. Most deadlines will be two weeks after the end of the unit so that students have opportunities for retakes or resubmissions. Once the deadline has passed, the student will not be able to submit an assignment or retake the demonstration of knowledge unless they have permission from the teacher.
• Observer in Canvas – You must become an observer in Canvas to receive email notifications when teachers post announcements. This will let you know when the unit deadline is and how your student can make sure they have their work submitted.

In each unit, the teacher will determine which standard or standards they are assessing and then will provide feedback to students along the way. Teachers will collect assignments and assessments throughout the unit that demonstrate knowledge of the standard and enter them into the Canvas grade book. Students should monitor their grade book for feedback and to see their demonstration of knowledge grades.

Please have grace with our teachers while they are learning our new grading systems, as there might be a few hiccups along the way. We ask students to politely email their teachers with grading questions and clarification. If you have any questions about grading or Standards Based Learning, please click here.

Secondary MasteryConnect Update

We currently have 12 teachers in secondary who have begun piloting MasteryConnect. I will be reaching out to parents and students in those classes in the next few weeks to walk through what the pilot will look like. We will be gathering feedback from students and parents throughout this process to determine if MasteryConnect meets our needs moving forward.

In Partnership,

Michelle Gasser, Director of Professional Development

Calling all creative K-12 students! Doodle for Google is officially open for its 15th year. We are excited to share that this year’s prompt is “I am grateful for…”. Students are encouraged to take a moment to reflect on what’s most important to them.

Students should be prompted to think about:

• What moments, people, places and things are special to them
• What or whom can they not imagine living without
• What are the things that get them through the day

Not sure where to start? Head to doodle4google.com for details on how to enter and to find lesson guides and videos to spark creativity!

Submission deadline is March 7 at 11:59 p.m. PST.

Don’t forget!! Order your Elementary Yearbook today using the link below. Soft-cover yearbooks at $21 and hard-cover yearbooks are $31.

Reminder!! If you haven’t yet, please log into your MySchoolBucks account to pay your student’s fees. We currently have approximately $30,000 in outstanding student fees, and we anticipate that is due to the technical issues at the start of the school year with Express Check-In. If you have questions about your student’s fees or want to get on a payment plan, please email ashley.westfall@stemk12.org.

Reminder STEM Families! If you’re coming to pick up your student early, please do so before 1:45 p.m. Please do not come after 1:45 p.m. to pick up your student early. Exceptions will only be made for parents picking up students in the health room or who were called by the front office to pick up their student.

Unscheduled pick-ups after 1:45 p.m. interfere with driveline operations, as well as make it difficult for the front office to assist. Thank you for your understanding in helping to make our operations in the front office run smoothly.

We are happy to share that we will be offering students who are part of the Free and Reduced Lunch program the opportunity to get a Free Chromebook if the following parameters are met:

• Chromebook is signed out by a parent
• The student must remain enrolled at STEM for three years. (if the student leaves STEM during those three years, they will need to return the laptop)

Laptops can be kept over the summer. For more information, please email ashley.westfall@stemk12.org to confirm your Free and Reduced Lunch Program status. Not sure if you qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch? DCSD recommends that you apply regardless so that they can assist you further. Click the button below to access the application.

School photos have been uploaded for families to view. Families can access their photos by visiting the link below, selecting the School Portrait Proofs link, and when prompted enter their private password in the following format: studentid#.

Click the button below to read an important letter from CDPHE about immunizations. This information was also sent to all families via School Messenger.

Keep your car on ice on Winter Bike to Work Day!

With 300 days of sunshine a year, the Denver region is a great place to bike — even in winter months! Join thousands of commuters on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, for Winter Bike to Work Day, and do your health a favor by pledging to swap a ride in your car for a ride on your bike.

Register to ride at BikeToWorkDay.co and be automatically entered to win prizes to keep you cozy during the chilly winter months. Working from home? You can still participate with folks across Colorado by rethinking how you get to the grocery store, the gym or the school drop-off line!

As the winter season approaches, we want to announce updates to the current Virtual School Day for Inclement Weather policy. Last spring, one of our STEM students presented a proposal and justification regarding changes to our current Virtual School Day policy. As a result, the administration and Board of Directors determined that a change is recommended to the Snow Day Policy. We appreciate the leadership and voice our STEM students display and are happy to announce that STEM will follow the DCSD Snow Day policy with a closure. STEM also reserves the right to modify the calendar, schedule, or this policy, due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather or construction that interrupts the required instructional minutes as set forth by the Colorado Department of Education. The following is a reminder of the current policies.

Late Start Schedule

STEM does not mimic the Late Start Policy and schedule put forth by DCSD. In the event that Douglas County calls for a Delayed Opening, STEM’s Virtual School Day Policy will take effect.

Virtual School Day for Inclement Weather

If DCSD determines that the district should follow the Delayed Opening protocol, STEM School Highlands Ranch will abide by its Virtual School Day Policy. When it snows, our school’s operation and instructional expectations will be determined by one of these three scenarios:

• Updated: Snow Day – Douglas County Schools calls a snow day – STEM is closed (check www.dcsdk12.org)
• Late Start Day – Douglas County Schools calls a Late Start day – STEM is closed and implements a Virtual School Day.
• All Schools Open – Douglas County Schools declare Highlands Ranch area schools open – STEM is open and operating to our regular schedule.

In case you didn’t know, families have specific Class Pages on Facebook where they can connect with other families from their student’s grade. You can find all of the different class pages on our Get Connected page of the Parent section of our website. Click the button below to see them.

Please note that these pages are administered by other parents and not by STEM.