Elementary News and Updates (08/06/21)

All new to STEM Elementary School students are invited to spend a portion of their day on Monday, Aug. 9 at STEM to kick off the year. Students will meet all the teachers and staff, tour the school, and engage in STEM activities. This event is for students ONLY.

Students in grades first and second will be invited to attend the morning session from 9-11 a.m. Students in grades third, fourth and fifth will be invited to attend the afternoon session from 12-2 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Families can pick up their Driveline Placards on Monday, Aug. 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Elementary School Lobby. No requesting in advance is required as we’ve pre-printed one placard per family. Additional placards can be requested on site.

All STEM kindergarten students are invited to spend an abbreviated school day at STEM to kick off the year. Students will meet all the teachers and staff, tour the school, engage in STEM activities, and be informally assessed for classroom placement. We ask that all kindergarten students attend one session on either August 10 or August 11.

Available session options will be:

August 10

• AM Session from 8:30 – 10 a.m.
• PM Session from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

August 11

• AM Session from 8:30 – 10 a.m.
• PM Session from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Parents will receive classroom and teacher notification on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug.11. The first full day of kindergarten will be on Thursday, Aug. 12. In order to ease parents and students in the initial drop-off and the start of kindergarten classes, we ask that kindergarten students be dropped off at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday of that week only. Teachers will meet students in the gated sandbox area to the north of the Elementary School Entrance driveline drop-off area. Please be on the lookout for an email from our kindergarten team of teachers later this summer.

Tuesday, Aug. 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Medication drop-off for all students that require medications within the school day will be Tuesday, Aug. 10 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Elementary and Secondary offices. Parents are required to perform the medication drop-off. We cannot accept medication from your student. Please be sure to have all completed documentation associated with your student’s medication. We are unable to accept medication that does not have the appropriate documentation. All required documents are below:

Thursday, Aug. 12, from 9-10 a.m.

Kindergarten parents are invited into the cafeteria for coffee and treats after sending their little ones off to their first full day of kindergarten. It will be a way for parents to connect. Families should park in the Elementary School parking lot. This event is following Kindergarten’s first day of School Drop-Off.

Thursday, Aug. 19, during the day

Elementary students will go in small groups with their homeroom teacher to get their photos taken by DR Photo. Click the button below to order online.

Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 5:30-7 p.m. – Kindergarten through Second Grade

Thursday, Aug. 26, from 5:30-7 p.m. – Third Through Fifth Grade

Parents are invited to come to school and follow their student’s schedule for the evening. Parents may tour the building, meet administrators, visit their student’s teacher, and see a grade level presentation. Parents only please. Please park in the Elementary School Parking Lot and enter through the Elementary School Entrance. No sign-up is needed.

Elementary Yearbooks are ready for pick up!

Families can pick up their yearbooks from the Elementary School Office starting the first week of school. We have a few extras, so if you are interested in buying one click the button below.

AllHealth Network offers mental health services for students and families onsite at STEM School Highlands Ranch with a licensed professional counselor, Kathleen Shook. Kathleen uses evidence-based treatment approaches to talk and play with kids of all ages to help them with anxiety, depression, trauma, and adjusting to life’s changes. Sessions happen during school hours for your convenience and most insurances are accepted.

Additionally, AllHealth Network offers free services such as counseling, support groups and opportunities for social connection to students, families, and community members affected by May 7th at the STEM Center for Strength located at 640 Plaza Dr., Suite 130.

To get connected to any of the services AllHealth has to offer, contact Kathleen at 720-462-9645 or the STEM Center at 720-980-5761.

All first through fifth-grade student schedules are available in the Infinite Campus Parent and Student portal. Please note that Kindergarten students will be assigned to teachers following the Kindergarten Spartan Launch next week. In order to find your student’s schedule and/or teacher assignment, please log-in to IC, select your student and then select schedule from the tab options at the top. Your student’s schedule/teacher assignments will appear there. If you have any difficulties viewing your student’s schedule, please reach out to stephanie.webb@stemk12.org.  If you have recently enrolled and do not have a portal account, please reach out to tiffany.klenke@stemk12.org.

Entrances to the School

We will not longer have a High School Entrance. In order to better serve our students, our High School Office has been transformed into the Counseling Offices. This means that our Middle School entrance will now be the Main Secondary Entrance, and our Middle School Office will now be our Secondary Office Suite. All Secondary Students should enter and exit through the Secondary Doors.

Forgotten Items Table

If your student forgets something in the morning and needs it for that day, there is a table in the lobby on which you can leave something for your student. Please make sure that their name is on the item. If it is electronic in nature, please bring it to the office. Please remind your student to check that table or the front desk if they are expecting you to bring an item. So as to not interrupt the classroom, we will not call them to get the item from the table. It is the student’s responsibility to retrieve the items you leave for them.

Lost and Found

Please put your student’s name on everything. If an item (other than electronics) is lost, it can be retrieved from the Lost and Found table in the back of the cafeteria. Electronic items that are found will be at the front desk. We donate the items not retrieved before Fall Break, Winter Break, Spring Break and at the end of the school year (or as needed).

Come join us for a rewarding career in serving families in out-of-school time! The hours depending on school times are:

• 6:30 – 8:30 a.m. (9:05 a.m.)
• 3:15 (3:45) – 6 p.m. (6:15 p.m.)
• Full-day hours vary from 6:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. (6:15 p.m.)

For more information reach out to basebusinessrequest@dcsdk12.org.

2021-2022 BASE Sub Compensation Rates

• Sub Program Aide: $12.32
• Sub Program Leader: $13.80
  • Compensation would be set at this rate for a new DCSD employee, or if a current DCSD classified employee applies, who also holds a classified secondary position, such as an Educational Assistants 1-3,
• Sub Program Leader: $14.80
  • Compensation would be set at this rate, if a current DCSD classified employee applies, who also holds a classified secondary position, with unique qualifications/experience/training that would meet the needs of specific students, such as an Educational Assistant 4.
• Sub Program Leader: $15.80
  • Compensation would be set at this rate, if a current DCSD licensed employee applies, who also holds a secondary position, such as a Teacher (Substitute Teachers excluded).
• Sub Senior Program Leader: $15.23
• Sub Preschool Assistant: $13.30
• Sub Preschool Instructor: $15.92
• Sub Assistant Program Manager: $16.91
• Sub Program Supervisor: $20.10

Nutrition Services is excited to start the new 2021-2022 School Year. After a year of so much change, we too are looking forward to a return to “normal” operations. We wanted to make sure all Building Leaders were aware of how Nutrition Services will be operating this year. Below are some highlights of what you can expect from this upcoming year:

• USDA has extended Meals at No Cost through June 30, 2022. This means that breakfast (where offered) and lunch will continue to be provided at no cost to all students.
• Remote meal bags will no longer be provided once the school year begins. All meals will be served in school cafeterias to students.
• Nutrition Services will resume use of our Harvest Bars, allowing self-serve bulk fruit and vegetable options for kids at all levels to increase consumption. Self-Serve procedures are all Tri-County Health Department approved. Hand Sanitizer stations and gloves will be available on all serving lines for customer use.
• Nutrition Services has raised our starting wages for Kitchen Assistants to $15 per hour and Kitchen Managers to $18.26 per hour to assist in our hiring. Central Office
• Age-Appropriate Smart Snack-approved Ala Carte items will be served at all school sites in conjunction with breakfast and lunch. Parents can opt-out as well as add limits to their child’s account at any time by contacting Nutrition Services at paula.wilson@dcsdk12.org.

In addition to these operational changes, Nutrition Services will be resuming our fun, in-person events, such as Colorado Proud Day on September 15th, our Turkey Day feast on November 17th, National School Lunch Week October 12-16th and our Nutrition Services Taste of DCSD Open House (timing TBD). We hope to see more of you all this year as we work to provide delicious, nutritious meals alongside a sense of normalcy for our students.

Volunteering and giving to STEM are vital to the success of our school. Our school has a charter that requires a commitment of 30 volunteer hours per family (15 hours per single-parent family).

To make volunteering easy and seamless, please refer to the Volunteering Basics section that will allow you to set up your volunteer account and keep track of your hours. We are extremely grateful for the time and energy donated by STEM parents each year.

Driveline (Earn Double Volunteer Hours):

• Parent supervisors needed during AM & PM Driveline! sign up here. Arrive 5 minutes early to find parking and grab a vest. Extra incentive: Earn double hours ie: log 60 hours in Driveline. (that’s 30 actual volunteer hours).

Elementary Lunchroom Volunteers:

• A great way to become involved and see our students during their non-learning time. Click here to sign up.

Spartan Afternoon Program:

• A great way to avoid waiting in the afternoon drive-line, and maybe even take your own child home with homework complete. This opportunity is after school and only requires volunteers to monitor students (no tutoring involved). If you are interested, please click here.

Click the buttons below to see our Teacher’s Classroom Wish Lists.

Both our Elementary and Secondary Offices are always in need of donated items. Click the button below to see what we need and to sign up. Please bring the items to the appropriate front office with a label for what it is for.