Elementary News and Updates (04/07/23)

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.

Wednesday, April 12, from 6:30-8 p.m. – 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.

Thursday, April 13, from 5-6 p.m. – Middle School Cafeteria

Families of fifth grade students are invited to attend out Welcome to STEM Middle School Parent Night on Thursday, April 13 starting at 5 p.m. in the Middle School Cafeteria. Middle School Director, Maura Ridder, will share important information on how to prepare your student for Middle School at STEM.

Friday, April 14, from 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Practice Day (Elementary Parking Lot)

Thursday, April 20, from 9:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Practice Day (Elementary Parking Lot)

Wednesday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. – Chatfield State Park (The Plum Creek Picnic Area)

Our fifth graders will be taking part in the annual Revolutionary War Reenactment this April. They’ll be three practice sessions at STEM School Highlands Ranch, in the Elementary Parking Lot, where students will learn how to march, create formations, learn about the dress and the weaponry used during that time. The practices will culminate in the actual reenactment on Wednesday, April 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Chatfield State Park at the Plum Creek Picnic Area. Parents are invited to attend the final reenactment.

Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS) Testing is coming up and we wanted to provide the following information to families. Testing for 5th graders in science will be on Tuesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 13.

Tuesday, April 11

• 7:50-9:20 a.m. – CMAS Science Unit 1
• 9:30-10:55 a.m. – CMAS Science Unit 2

Thursday, April 13

• 7:50-9:20 a.m. – CMAS Science Unit 3

SOAR is excited to announce that we are growing our Clinical Team and Adventure Therapy program to meet the needs of youth in our community. Here are some major highlights:

• SOAR now accepts Medicaid (Colorado Access) for individual therapy services.
• SOAR is accepting individual therapy client referrals. Individual therapy will utilize an adventure-based modality in connection with other clinical theoretical orientations.
• SOAR has 3 Adventure Group Cohorts starting soon, for middle school & high school. SPACE IS LIMITED!
  • Due to various funding supports, SOAR is able to minimize the cost of this service. Please reach out to adventure@soarcolorado.org to learn more.
• SOAR’s Engagement Coaching services support our Adventure Therapist’s work with clients and aligns with our regular service fees.
• SOAR offers bilingual adventure therapy services. SOAR’s team offers therapy and coaching in English and Spanish.

The Adventure Therapy program provides therapy services in a creative way using the principles of learning through experience. This program focuses on building youth’s ability to manage challenges in their life through developing resilience. The adventure therapy program supports adolescents in developing skills to navigate home and school successfully.

ADVENTURE GROUP SESSIONS

Youth participate in weekly adventure group sessions involving activities such as group team building, hiking, outdoor exploration, and more, designed to help build community and work on group & individual goals.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY SESSIONS

Youth participate in two (2) individual therapy sessions per month with a Mental Health Clinician in order to support and process group and coaching sessions as they progress toward their goals for therapy.

INDIVIDUAL COACHING SESSIONS

Youths regularly work with an Adventure Engagement Coach 1:1 to get support, practice skills, and stay focused on their goals. These are in-person sessions in their school, their home, or in the community or check-ins by phone or a virtual meeting platform. *minimum of two (2) per month

MONTHLY EXCURSION/EXPEDITION

Youth are challenged through an all-day adventure filled with activities to cohesively work on the clinical goals they have focused on each month. This is an opportunity for community, growth, and skill-building as youth navigate varied levels of engagement.

Friends of STEM,

Our 7th graders will be investigating real-world biodiversity problems beginning on April 12th.

We hope to engage students with knowledgeable adults throughout this investigation. Your involvement can range from presenting information, sharing about your career, hearing student ideas and giving simple feedback, answering students’ questions, or a combination of these. Any level of experience with biodiversity, life sciences, or genetics will suffice.

This can be in-person or virtually (Google Meets) on any date/time that works for you! If this is something you are interested in, please share a date(s) and time frame that you would like to volunteer between the dates of April 12 and May 5. Please share this information with anyone else you might know who might be interested!

For questions and/or more information, you can contact the 7th-grade science teacher, Kathy Dwyer (kathy.dwyer@stemk12.org).

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.

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.

How to Help a Child with Anxious Feelings

We’ve all felt nervous or worried from time to time and our kids are no exception. Did you know that avoiding anxiety can make it stronger? By helping kids move forward while still feeling anxious, we can help them to do things while afraid.

Assessment Fundamentals: Understanding Testing and Evaluation of Dyslexia

Hosted by DC Kid

Wednesday, April 19 | 6:30 p.m.; Castle Pines Library

Learn about the Dyslexia assessment process in both school and private evaluation settings.

Parent University Recordings

Check out recordings of DCSD’s past Parent University webinars made possible via a partnership with Sky Ridge Medical Center.

Sources of Strength Ice Cream Social

Hosted by DCSD Health, Wellness and Prevention Department

Tuesday, April 18 | 4-6 p.m.

​​​​​​​This free event is to spread the word about the Sources of Strength program to our greater community, and to come together to have fun and enjoy yummy ice cream. Our Sources Student Leadership Committee will be providing games, crafts, and fun activities for all who attend. This event is open to all ages, we ask that you come ready to have FUN! Sources of Strength is a strength-based, comprehensive wellness program that focuses on suicide prevention, but impacts other issues such as substance misuse, bullying and violence. It promotes and focuses on connection, help-seeking and resilience through messages of hope, help and strength.