Elementary News and Updates (04/28/23)

Dear STEM Families,

It’s May!!! We are heading into the final month of the 2022-23 school year, and this school year has been amazing. The buzz in the elementary is positive as students and the staff appreciate the warmer weather, and everyone starts talking about their summer plans.

We have four weeks left in the year, and we intend to make all of those count! There are many important events and activities planned. Below are the important dates. Mark your calendar, and please be on the lookout for emails from your student’s classroom teachers, as you do not want to miss out on any of the fun activities planned for the end of the year.

Important End-of-Year Dates:

• May 1-5 – Spring Scholastic Book Fair
• Thursday, May 4 – 4th and 5th Grade Choir Concert
• Wednesday, May 10 – K-12 Art and Film Showcase
• Monday, May 15 – Field Day K-2
• Tuesday, May 16 – Field Day 3-5
• Thursday, May 18 – Graduation – No School
• Monday, May 22 – Kindergarten Continuation
• Wednesday, May 24 – Last Day of School for Elementary- (half day dismissed at 11 a.m. K-1; and 11:15 a.m. 2-5)

Here are a few other important reminders:

Class Rosters for the 22023-24 School Year: Next week we will begin our process of creating class rosters for next year. During class selection, we consider academic strengths and weaknesses, social-emotional strengths and weaknesses, and the mix of student’s and teacher’s strengths and weaknesses when placing students. The process of placing kids is very thought out, as we want to ensure we have a heterogeneous mix of students in each class. If you would like to provide feedback for the team to consider, you may reach out to Front Office Receptionist Julie Adamek (julie.adamek@stemk12.org), who will provide you with a copy of the Parent Request Form. All of these forms need to be submitted no later than Monday, May 1.

Driveline: Drop-off for students is no earlier than 7:10 a.m. There is no adult supervision prior to 7:10 a.m. Please wait to drop your student off until the driveline team is out and ready to go. Please pick up your student at the appropriate time. Next year we will reinstate the late pick-up charge for any student who is not picked up at their designated time.

• Kindie and 1st – 2:20-2:30 p.m
• 2nd through 5th – 2:35-2:55 p.m.
• Students with secondary siblings -2:55 p.m.

Only students with secondary siblings should be picked up after 2:55 p.m. If your elementary student does not have a secondary sibling, they must be picked up prior to 2:55 p.m.

Lost and Found: Our lost and found is overflowing with items. Please have your students check the lost and found for missing items.
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.

Tuesday, May 2, from 5:30-7 p.m – Mechatronics Lab (P-TECH/KOSON Building)

The monthly STEM Board of Directors’ Meeting will be Tuesday, May 2, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Mechatronics Lab of the P-TECH/KOSON Building. The STEM BOD is comprised of parents and community members who volunteer their time. The Board’s role and purpose is to provide oversight of the Executive Director, who implements the policies set forth by the Board. The Board also provides support and direction of STEM’s long-term vision and mission. Additionally, the Board is active in making sure that STEM remains in compliance with all DCSD, state and federal compliance requirements, as well as STEM’s Charter Contract.

Meetings are open to anyone to attend. Anyone who would like to address the Board Members must sign-up in advance by completing the Public Comment Form no later than 12 p.m. the day of each Board meeting. If written testimony or a handout is submitted, presenters are asked to supply one (1) copy via email to communications@stemk12.org.

Thursday, May 4, from 3:30-5:30 p.m. – Elementary Gym

The Geography Bee is a competition similar to the Spelling Bee, but instead of correctly spelling words, students must answer questions on the spot about world geography, regions, people, and events. The event looks similar to a Spelling Bee: students are on stage and a presenter will read them questions. Up to 20 students grade 4-8 may qualify for the Bee and will take a qualifying test with their Social Studies teachers in April. To study, start hitting the atlases and lists of largest countries, national capitals, or longest rivers.

Open to students in Grades 4-8 only.

Contact: Evan Voorn evan.voorn@stemk12.org

Attention Fifth-Grade Families! On Friday, March 31, fifth graders took part in our annual Move up to Middle School Day. Click the button below to view the presentation that was presented to the students. Please reach out to Maura.Ridder@stemk12.org if you have any questions about Middle School at STEM.

Attention Fifth-Grade Families! On Thursday, April 13, families who will be joining/staying at STEM took part in our Welcome to STEM Middle School Parent Information Night. Click the button below to view the presentation that was presented to the families. Please contact Maura.Ridder@stemk12.org if you have any questions about Middle School at STEM.

We are excited to be able to continue our partnership with Backpack Society, a Douglas County based nonprofit that provides meals for students and families with food insecurity or with temporary need. We are one of several schools in the Highlands Ranch area to partner with this organization that provides a wonderful service for our community. This program is available to all families grades K-12 at STEM with a need. Families are not required to live in Douglas County to be eligible – as long as they have a student attending STEM.

Backpack Society offers 2 programs that require registration:

• Student Program: Students who register will receive a bag with 6 meals, drinks, and snacks each week. Students will pick up their bags at STEM on Thursday afternoons in the front office.
• Family Program: Families who register for this program will receive a box of groceries, including perishables to help through the weekend. This program requires a family member to pick up the box at Backpack Society headquarters drive-thru at 213 W County Line Road, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129

Your information is kept confidential within Backpack Society and STEM’s point of contact, Julie Fletcher. If a family has registered, does not have transportation, and would still like to participate, please contact Julie Fletcher at julie.fletcher@stemk12.org and we can arrange for pick up.

For more information and to register, click the button below.

TIn Partnership,

The STEM Mental Health Team

Dr. Jistine Harrison, Colene Birchfield, Michael Link, Lisa Clay, Libby Rivera, Katie Bouchard

Do you want the community to know what’s great about our school and why their kids should attend here? Have you ever had a concern or frustration about our school but didn’t know what you could do to address it or change it? Do you know how to have a voice in what’s going on in our school? Do you know how to actually make a difference in our school? The School Accountability Committee may be the place for you!

The purpose of SAC is to inform, encourage and provide opportunities for parents and community members to be involved in the planning and evaluation of the school’s instructional program and quality improvement processes. SAC meetings give parents and community members a forum to discuss improvements and opportunities for the school.

What does that mean exactly? It means we discuss things like:

• Budget Priorities
• Staffing needs
• Technology
• Principal Evaluation Tools
• Community Concerns and Opinions
• Unified Improvement Plans (the school’s academic goals and action plans The Annual Report
• Safety Issues
• Testing
• Calendars
• Other items that may be impacting our school

The SAC makes recommendations to the Executive Director and STEM Board of Directors about the above priorities. This is how we can impact what happens in our school. We help influence the decisions that ultimately impact every student in the school, and possibly the district.

We need parent representatives that reflect our school’s amazing diversity to be a part of the SAC. That means you!

Becoming a member of the SAC means:

• attending the SAC meeting which occurs monthly. The SAC typically meets on the third Wednesday of the month from 5:30-7 p.m., and the time qualifies for volunteer hours.
• becoming informed about school programs and budgets – specialists may be invited to SAC meetings to help educate the members.
• becoming a voice for our school.

Each elected member serves a two-year term; however, your role on the committee may change from one year to the next within the elected term. We are currently assembling our SAC Committee for the next school year. The more parents involved, the better!

If you are interested in nominating yourself or another person for SAC, please email sac@stemk12.org by Friday, May 19. We look forward to your participation in our SAC!

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.

Don’t forget!! Order your Elementary Yearbook today using the link below. Soft-cover yearbooks at $21 and hard-cover yearbooks are $31. Please note that a $5 late fee will now be applied to any orders that are placed.

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.

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.

Mental Health and Wellness in Kids

We brought some of the parents’ top questions about mental health, mental wellness and children to the experts in the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

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.

DCSD Parent University: Phases of Childhood Brain Development

Join Dr. Matthew Hadeed, of Sky Ridge Medical Center, and Dr. Becca Hadeed to discuss how a child’s brain changes throughout their lifetime. The age between 13 and 18 years is the adolescence or teenage stage when the growth of a child reaches its peak, as physiological, cognitive, and psychological development occur. These changes will take place differently for each tween or teenager because each child goes through the adolescence stage at his/her own pace.