Elementary News and Updates (04/22/22)

Monday, April 25, from 5-7 p.m. – High School Commons & Zoom

If you’re interested in getting involved in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at STEM, we encourage you to attend to find out more information. Email amie.mcelroy@stemk12.org with questions.

Tuesday, April 26, from 5-8 p.m. – DCSD Wilcox Building

Please join us on Tuesday, April 26 starting at 5 p.m. for an in-person board meeting at the DCSD Wilcox Building for an in-person presentation for our STEM School Sterling Ranch Application. The KOSON Replication Team will be presenting to the Board about what STEM School Sterling Ranch will be all about. We’d like to ask members of our community to come to the meeting to show their support for our proposed new school. Have questions about any of our replication efforts? Email info@kosonschools.org. If you’d like to sign-up for Public Comment, please click the button below. Sign-up is open now and will close at 12 p.m. on Tuesday. You can do Public Comment either in person or via Zoom.

Wednesday, April 27, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. – High School Commons

On Wednesday, April 27, our Middle School and High School Directors will be holding a Welcome to STEM Secondary School Information Session in the High School Commons. This event is for all New to STEM students, as well as current fifth and eighth-grade students who will be moving into Middle and High School, respectively. No sign-up is necessary. Please park in the Secondary parking lot and enter through the Secondary Main Entrance.

Thursday, May 5, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. – Coors Field

Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Families,

We are so excited to share that the Colorado Rockies will be hosting a STEM Day at Coors Field on Thursday, May 5, collaborating with Steve Spangler of 9News.

Formerly called Weather and Science Day, this event will focus on educational events incorporating physics, math and meteorology into unique science experiments.

The interactive presentation will run from 10:30-11:30 a.m., with parking lots opening at 9 a.m.

Part of the event will hopefully include a special presentation by our engineering students, who are building a robot that will be competing to throw out the first pitch. Audience participation will factor into the best robot being picked to make history. This is a feat not yet accomplished by anyone in history at the Rockies stadium. This is so special that there will be a news presence, and maybe even Guinness Book of World records will be there.

While this is an instructional day for students, we want to recognize that many families may want to attend. We want to remind and encourage parents to please call the attendance line at (303) 683-7836 to excuse their student. Families can call this line in advance of May 5 to tell us that their student will not be in attendance that day. Please understand that the Administration Team discussed possibly making this Day a no-contact day; however, we were unable to make this accommodation due to testing and other logistical reasons.

Those who would like to attend the interactive presentation must purchase a ticket to the game. The Colorado Rockies game vs. the Washington Nationals will begin at 1:10 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased directly through the Rockies website and TicketMaster. STEM is not coordinating tickets, but there is an option for group sales if you have a large group. Here is the link to the Rockies STEM Day page, and it has a link to buy tickets and other details. To purchase more than 12 tickets, please call 303-ROCKIES or grouptix@rockies.com.

Thank you,

STEM School Highlands Ranch Communications

As Ms. LynAnn Kovalesky transitions to into her role of interim Executive Director, we are happy to share that Mrs. Amie McElroy will move into the role of interim Elementary School Director for the remainder of the school year. The position of Elementary School Director will be posted in the coming months with the hope of filling the role permanently at the start of the next school year.

Families can access their photos by visiting the link to the right or going to dr-photo.com, selecting the School Portrait Proofs link, and when prompted enter their private password in the following format: Student ID#

The Power of Positive Self-Talk: For Adults and Kids

We were all taught growing up to be careful with our words and what we say to others. This advice can save us from hurting someone else’s feelings and crossing boundaries. Unfortunately, many of us often forget that these same manners also apply when we speak to ourselves.

Share what you appreciate most about your school librarian

There are many amazing library professionals in DCSD! One librarian deserving of a shoutout is Pete Vincelette at Mountain Ridge Middle School. Mr. Vincelette will retire at the end of this school year after 18 years in DCSD. He works tirelessly as an instructional partner with teachers to create authentic and engaging research projects for students and has helped facilitate professional development for his DCSD library colleagues.

Explore New Foods and Flavors

Eating familiar foods in new ways can keep mealtimes fun and exciting! Plus, getting creative with flavor combinations and cooking styles will help you build nutritious, balanced meals that your family will want to remix again and again.