Elementary News and Updates (05/12/23)

Dear STEM Families,

We are heading into the final two weeks of school. Our students have done amazing things this year and have grown so much. This has been a wonderful year, and I am looking forward to all the fun events we have planned before we send our students out for the summer. 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 15th – Field Day K-2
• May 16th – Field Day 3-5
• May 18th – Graduation – No School
• May 22nd – Kindergarten Continuation
• May 24th – Last Day of School for Elementary – (half day dismissed at 11 a.m. K/1 and 11:15 a.m. 2nd-5th)

Here are a few other important reminders:

Field Day

Field day will be on Monday, May 15, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. for K-2 students and Tuesday, May 16, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. for 3-5. Families are welcome to come and watch their student(s) participate in the fun. Field Day will be followed by a picnic lunch. Students who are not participating in field day will have a normal school day.

Last Day of School

Last day of school for elementary students will be Wednesday, May 24. This is a half day. We will have a staggered dismissal to help with driveline. Kindergarten and 1st grade will be dismissed at 11 a.m., and 2nd – 5th grade will be dismissed at 11:15 a.m. Please pick up your child at their designated time.

Yearbooks

Yearbooks are here. They will be distributed Friday, May 19, in the afternoon. We do have a limited number of extra yearbooks if you did not pre-order one. If your student would like to purchase a yearbook, please contact the front office.

Lost and Found

It is the end of the year. Please come and check out the lost and found your student’s items. All items will be donated during the last week of school.
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 16, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. – P-TECH Mechatronics Lab (KOSON Building)

The meeting will also be available to watch via Zoom as a trial. In-person participation is strongly encouraged to help build engagement. Additionally, those who would like to participate in Public Comment must do so in person.

The purpose of the SAC is to inform, encourage and provide opportunities for parent and community members to be involved in the planning and evaluation of the school’s instructional program and quality improvement processes. The SAC makes recommendations concerning the School’s performance, improvement, priority improvement, or turnaround plan, and meets to discuss the implementation of the School’s plan and other progress pertinent to STEM’s accreditation contract with the Board of Education. The SAC makes recommendations to the director for prioritizing the spending of school money.

Thursday, May 25, from 4-5:30 p.m. – Room E215

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.

Our Business Office would like to remind families to please check their MySchoolBucks accounts prior to the end of the school year to pay any remaining balances that may be in your account. The Business Office will be contacting families over the summer individually who still have an outstanding balance but would like to request families to please log into their account now and either pay or set up a payment plan now to reduce the number of families that they have to reach out to.

The summer months are a busy time of year for the Business Office as they close out the 2022-23 school year and get everything in order for the new year. Your help in this matter is greatly appreciated. Please email ashley.westfall@stemk12.org if you have any questions about fees or your MySchoolBucks account.

In partnership,

The STEM Business Office

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 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.

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.

SAFY Mobile Crisis Response

SAFY Mobile Crisis Response is the crisis team, contracted through Colorado Crisis Services / 988, to provide mobile crisis services for five counties including Douglas County. They respond to crisis calls within an hour of dispatch from the crisis hotline and respond to any self-defined mental health crisis. They can respond to schools, residences, and anywhere in the community for clients of all ages.

25 Resources and Idea to Help Students Read More During the Summer

During the past school year, your child’s school has supported and encouraged independent reading to build your child’s fluency, vocabulary, and enjoyment of reading. And you’ve likely done the same thing at home. Summer is the perfect time to think about how to support your child’s independent reading through the hot weeks ahead.

Local Farmers Market and Pick-Your-Own Guide

If you haven’t shopped at a Farmers Market before, you are in for a treat. Wear comfortable shoes, bring your own bags and plenty of water, and don’t forget sunscreen. Some stands don’t accept credit cards, so stop at the ATM before you go.

Youth Activation Committee Open House

Hosted by Special Olympics Colorado

Sunday, May 21 | 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Boondocks, Parker

Come learn how Douglas County youth can get involved in Unified Sports partnerships via Special Olympics Colorado. Lunch will be provided.