High School News and Updates (09/06/24)

Dear STEM Spartan Students and Parents,

Wow, I cannot believe it is September already. Where does the time go? We are entering the time of year when we experience change. Outside, the days are growing shorter, and the weather will begin to change. I was watching the weather Thursday and saw that it snowed in the high country. While I am not predicting snow storms anytime soon, the changes are coming.

The school year also changes during September. The first few weeks of school are about reacquainting with one another, reviewing the learning from the previous year, and getting ready to learn the new material. Now that we are a month into school, our teachers are well into the new material, and the first round of assessments has already been given in most classes. Gradebooks should be current, but if they are not, please feel free to reach out to the teachers to get an idea of how you/your student is progressing. And as you look at the grades, please remember that we are no longer using Mastery Connect. When you look at your student’s grades, you will see the demonstrations of knowledge are still scored on a 4-point scale, but you should also see an overall letter grade so you can keep track of how their grade is trending.

Homecoming week is just two weeks away! Our Student Government group is working hard to make this the greatest homecoming STEM has had. The week will be full of fun spirit days and activities and will end with the Homecoming Dance on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 7-10 p.m. in our gym. Please see our newsletter and website for additional information!

Homecoming is going to be a fun week! However, I would like to remind everyone to please be careful. As I mentioned in previous newsletters last spring, the Prom-Homecoming season is one of the most dangerous times for teen drivers. I know we have really good kids here, but they are kids. Please ensure you know where they are and remind them to be careful.

Thank you very much, everyone.

Sincerely,

Ryan Alsup, High School Director

Go Spartans!

Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 5:30-7 p.m. – Mechatronics Lab in P-TECH/KOSON Building & Zoom

The KOSON/STEM Board of Directors will be holding its Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 5:30-7 p.m. in person and via Zoom.  The BOD is comprised of parents and community members who volunteer their time. The Board’s role and purpose is to provide oversight of the KOSON Schools Chief Innovation Officer, who implements the policies set forth by the Board. The Board also provides support and direction for STEM’s long-term vision and mission. Additionally, the Board is active in making sure that KOSON Schools remains in compliance with all DCSD, state and federal compliance requirements, as well as STEM School Highlands Ranch’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.

Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 6:30-8 p.m. – Secondary Commons (Athletics Entrance)

Join the STEM PTO for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 6:30-8 p.m., in person in the Secondary Commons.  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.

Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 5:30-7:30 p.m. – KOSON/P-TECH Building (Mechatronics Lab)/Zoom

The meeting will also be available to watch via Zoom. 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 parents 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 to prioritize the spending of school money.

All grades – make sure you are looking at the “College Visits at STEM” section so you can prepare for which days of access you would like to come to speak with schools!

Seniors, remember to be sending me a completed After Grad Packet if you want a counselor letter of recommendation from me. It would be best if you also asked your teachers and counselor a minimum of 3 weeks before the letter is due. Make sure once a recommender is added to your application portal that you email them your deadlines. Make sure you are selecting which application deadline (Rolling, Early Action, Early Decision, Regular Decision) you are using for your applications so your recommenders have the deadline in Common App to reference. That helps them plan accordingly and ensures letters are done and submitted on time! I have let teachers know that if they are not given three weeks or not given a deadline in a reasonable amount of time from being asked to write a letter, they have no obligation to complete the letter.

As always, feel free to come by my office and chat, email, or schedule an appointment if you have any questions!

Mrs. Myrick

Hello, STEM community! Yearbooks will be available for purchase soon at yearbookforever.com. We have some important action items to make the yearbook as great as can be:

• SENIORS: Senior portraits and senior quotes should be emailed to yearbook@stemk12.org on or before October 31.
• PARENTS OF SENIORS: Baby ads are also due by October 31. They can also be purchased at yearbookforever.com as you purchase your senior’s yearbook.
• PREFERRED NAMES: If your student would like their name printed as any name other than what is listed in Infinite Campus, please email parent permission to yearbook@stemk12.org or michelle.wesley@stemk12.org.

Dear STEM Families of 8th and 11th-Grade Students,

As a part of the College Board (the PSAT/NMSQT testing vendor) resources, students can choose to complete a voluntary data questionnaire and opt-in to Student Search. The College Board’s Student Search Service is a free, voluntary program that connects students with information about educational and financial aid opportunities from nearly 1,900 eligible colleges and universities, and scholarships and other educational programs. Learn more about Student Search Service.

The following information on the data questionnaire is required by the College Board to generate a PSAT/NMSQT score report for your student: Student Name, Date of Birth, Gender, School, Grade Level, and State Assigned Student Identification Number. Completion of the Student Search Service portion of the data questionnaire is optional and voluntary for all students. Your child will have the opportunity to choose whether to complete the Student Search service portion of the questionnaire.

There is also a list of information that is collected by the College Board in the Student Data Questionnaire. Please review the consent form and discuss it with your student so he/she will know how to fill out the consent form at school and complete the questionnaire. There is no need to fill out the consent form at home. Students may also choose to complete the Student Search Service questionnaire at a later date through their College Board student account. If you filled out this questionnaire last year when you took the PSAT, there is no need to fill it out again unless you wish to update any information about your student’s future academic plans.

Your child’s school will be able to answer questions about taking the PSAT/NMSQT. If you have questions about the Student Data Questionnaire or student consent form, please contact:

Colorado Department of Education Assessment Unit: (303) 866-6929
College Board: (866) 433-7728

Thank you – and best of luck to your student on the PSAT!

Bill Phalen, Testing Coordinator

The National Security Agency (NSA) is looking for high school juniors who possess outstanding academic credentials in business, computer technology, engineering, graphic arts, manufacturing, construction, Chinese language, Russian language, or humanities.

The program is designed for students who plan to participate in a paid part-time internship from September through August for a minimum of four hours a day, Monday through Friday during senior year. For more information, please see the attached flier.

This part-time internship opportunity provides an advanced high school student with the opportunity to examine today’s control systems and provide an independent analysis of their capabilities and features. The project will focus on the different control systems NASA uses such as Allen Bradley, MatLab, Opto22, and LataPanda, but it is anticipated that all commercial control systems will be examined in this opportunity for PLC, PAC, PID, and APC systems. The objective is to create a list of advantages and disadvantages for the industry control system types to include metrics in cost, functionality, replaceability, modularity, and reliability.