Elementary News and Updates (03/10/23)

Dear STEM Families,

Spring break is finally upon us. I hope your family is enjoying the time off. Thank you to everyone who attended the conferences last week. The partnership between you and your student’s teacher is so important in their education. For those who did not get a chance to visit with their student’s teacher due to us canceling conferences Thursday and Friday, please be on the lookout for an email from your student’s teacher about rescheduling.

Please continue to reach out to your student’s teacher or me if you have any questions or concerns.

I also want to say thank you for your patience and understanding with driveline expectations. I understand that sometimes it can be frustrating, but as a charter school, the driveline is one of our critical components of the day. We must make sure we are abiding by the guidelines that have been approved by both the Douglas County School District, Douglas County and the City of Highlands Ranch to maintain our charter. This includes respecting the business and residential areas that surround our school, along with not impeding the flow of traffic on Barrons Blvd. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or suggestions about the driveline process, please feel free to reach out to me, LynAnn Kovalesky, or Nicole Bostel.

Here are a few important announcements:

• CMAS: CMAS will be from March 27-29 for grades 3-5. Please make sure your student is well-rested and has a great breakfast. Please let me know if you have any questions.
• Yearbooks: Families can order the 2022-23 yearbook by visiting this link.
• Volunteers: We are always looking for volunteers in the cafeteria, playground, or driveline. Please visit our Get Involved page of the Parent Section of our website to see all of the open volunteer positions that we have available.

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.

Monday, March 21, from 7-8 a.m. – High School Staff Parking Lot

The STEM Administration Team would like to welcome back our community from Spring Break with a morning treat! Tom’s Coffee Truck will be on campus on Monday, March 20 from 7-8 a.m. selling coffee to students, staff and families. See the attachments below for the menu.

The truck will be located in the High School Staff Parking Lot on the West side of the School. Cars may only park in the High School Parking Lot temporarily if they are purchasing from the Coffee Truck. (students may not be dropped off here)

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#.

FREE lunches are back for students! Starting in August of 2023, students will once again receive free lunches. Students must chose an entree, fruit/vegetable a milk for the free lunch. Snacks are not free.

While lunches will be free, it is important for families who need additional financial support to still complete the Free/Reduces Lunch application. Those who qualify for FRL status will only receive the additional benefits (free/reduced school fees, free/reduced trips, priority for scholarships in non-FRL field trips or Enrichment programs, and/or graduation fee reductions, etc.) of the program if they complete the application.

In order to assure that the District and STEM receive accurate data, DCSD and STEM are requesting that ALL families complete the FRL application that opens on July 15, regardless of financial status. A new application must be completed each school year. Families can also still apply for this school year using the link below.

Attention Parents! Please make sure that you have the newest version of the PikMyKid App downloaded to your phone. The current app was released in June of 2021. The old app will be discontinued on April 1. Their usernames and passwords will remain the same, making the transition easy. Emails to families still using the old app will be sent directly to the email address on file in PikMyKid, from PikMyKid Support.

Our high school entrepreneurship class is seeking in-person professionals for our Resume-Building Workshop on April 6th from 3-4 p.m. Please email mackenzie.harper@stemk12.org if you’re interested in participating.

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.

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.

Let’s Talk Colorado offers many resources to use as a guide for teaching, sharing, learning, and speaking about mental health.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Together we can help bring about awareness to prevent brain injuries and assist those living with brain injuries to have a good quality of life. Our Douglas County School District BrainSTEPS committee is committed to supporting school teams with ideas for supporting students who need assessment and intervention after a brain injury. Please visit our website DCSD BrainSTEPS and reach out when you have a question or a case you want to discuss.

Please nominate a student and pass along to others! The Youth Award recognizes teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 who have overcome personal adversity and created positive change in their lives. The Youth Awards focus on teenagers who have triumphed over great odds and serve as inspirations and role models. If you know young people who would be good candidates for the Youth Awards, please help us identify them by completing the nomination form. Nomination forms are due by: March 3, 2023.

The reception honoring nominators and award winners is: April 24, 2023, 6-8pm, Douglas County Miller Building, Castle Rock.