Elementary News and Updates (03/08/24)

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.

Tuesday, March 12, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Elementary Gym

DR Photo will once again be at STEM to photograph any students who missed photo day in the fall or any students who would like their photo retaken. Additionally, students can get portraits taken and will also get their class photos done. Families will receive proofs and ordering information after photo day.

Wednesday, March 13, from 6:30-8 p.m. – Zoom

Join the STEM PTO for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 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.

We’re heading into testing season! Parents, please be sure to check our testing calendar and the State Mandated Testing page on our website to stay in the know of all of the upcoming important dates and how to prepare. Please reach out to julie.adamek@stemk12.org with any questions.

Early Bird pricing is over, but you can still place your order online for an Elementary School Yearbook by Friday, March 29. Click the button below to place your order.

• Please remember that Driveline opens at 7:10 a.m. and that students should not be dropped off prior to that time. The Elementary Aides will come out to open the car doors when we are prepared to receive students.
• School starts at 7:40 a.m., so all students should arrive prior to that time. Any students who arrive at 7:40 or later must be signed in by their parent/guardian.
• In the afternoon, please ONLY come at your designated pick-up times. Click here to review your pick-up times.
  • For families who are coming to pick up for the 2:30 p.m. time frame, please do not park on the street and/or block the business driveways along Barrons Blvd. Prior to break, we noticed many cars blocking driveways and trying to access the driveline prior to 2:30 p.m. If this continues, we will request for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office to come out to issue tickets to anyone stopping/standing on an active roadway. Please help us be good neighbors by following the Traffic Management Plan.
• Please make sure that your PikMyKid information is up to date and that you have your student’s pick-up mode updated in the app. If someone other than you is picking up your student, please make sure to have your delegations set prior to pick-up time.
• If you are in need of a new placard, please email support@stemk12.org to request a placard. Please include your student’s name, teacher’s name and number of placards requested.

Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Elementary Families,

We’re emailing all Elementary School Families to request the following support from ANY ADULT who is coming to pick up students during the afternoon driveline.

PikMyKid App Update

• PikMyKid pushed out an update to their app, and some families are not seeing their students any longer.
• Please take a moment to log out and log back into your app.
• If you still do not see your student after logging out and logging back in, please complete the PikMyKid Help Request form.

Delegating in PikMyKid

• If your student is getting picked up by someone else, please remember to delegate your student to that other adult.
• Students who are not delegated will result in us pulling the car out of the driveline so that we can confirm with the parent that the student is allowed to go home with the other adult waiting in driveline.
• When students are not delegated, this creates major delays and inconveniences.
• If you’re unsure how to delegate, please see the tutorials on our PikMyKid webpage.

Announcing in PikMyKid

• Due to the time of year, we have several staff who are out sick, resulting in us being short-staffed for the afternoon driveline. We are pulling staff from other positions to assist.
• Additionally, we are anticipating inclement weather tomorrow during the afternoon driveline.
• It is incredibly important that you announce your student once you arrive to assist our staff and to help keep driveline efficient.
• Announcing your student speeds up the inputting process and allows teachers inside the building to release students quickly.

Driveline Placards

• Please display your placards on your dashboard from the time you enter the driveline to the time you leave.
• Doing so helps our staff during the inputting process in PikMyKid and also helps volunteers make sure that the right student gets in the right car.
• If you do not have a placard, please email support@stemk12.org with the following information:
  • Student Name
  • Student Grade
  • Student Teacher
  • Number of Placards Needed

Coming at the right time

• We’ve asked several times to please only come at your designated time, and we would like to please ask for your assistance with this again.
• Lining up on the street before your pick-up time is not allowed and violates our Transportation Management Plan. It also slows down our driveline because Green Placards get stuck behind those blocking traffic.
• We are understaffed and cannot dedicate a staff member to ensure that cars are not stacking on the street before 2:30 p.m.
• We’ve requested that a Douglas County sheriff’s Deputy assist us with this, and we’ve been informed that any additional assistance will require us to pay to have a deputy come out. We do not have the budget to accommodate this request on a continuous basis and believe that our funds should be better spent on the instruction of our students.
• We are ASKING NICELY FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE to please STOP stacking on Barrons Blvd and only approach the Orange Placard timeslot at 2:30 p.m.
• We cannot say thank you enough to those who are abiding by this and assisting us with following our TMP. We truly appreciate your support and thoughtfulness.

Please reach out with any questions to communications@stemk12.org.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

Nicole Bostel, Communications Director