Secondary News and Updates (01/15/21)

December 17th was the last day for the 2020-21 Fall Semester. Semester grades are available in the Parent/Student Portal. Grades have been posted to the transcripts. If your student is enrolled in a Concurrent Enrollment class on STEM campus, credit values have been adjusted. For students that are taking courses off the STEM Campus, please send an official transcript of your grades to the registrar, Tiffany Klenke at tiffany.klenke@stemk12.org.

Deadline extended to January 30, 2021

Do you Intend to Return for the 2021-22 School Year?

For enrollment planning purposes, please let us know, either way, if your child plans to return to STEM School Highlands Ranch next year.

Please complete this form for each of your currently attending STEM students. If you are currently enrolled at STEM please let us know that your child is returning. You do not need to “open enroll” to remain at STEM. If your child is currently attending STEM, they will be automatically enrolled for next year. Please also complete the form if your student is planning to seek enrollment at another school so that we can have an accurate count of returning students.

Do you Have a Sibling Who Wants to Attend STEM Next Year?

Does your current STEM student have a sibling who is interested in attending STEM for the 2021-22 school year? Did you know that they have priority on our waitlist? Please add them to our waitlist now! STEM’s open enrollment is now open and we will begin notifying families of accepted spots for the 2021-22 school year beginning Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Now Accepting Names for the 2021-22 School Year!

STEM is now accepting names for the waitlist for 2021-22 and beyond. Please spread the word to your family and friends. They can add their child to the waitlist here! We will begin notifying families of accepted spots beginning on December 1, 2020. Please note that STEM does not follow the Douglas County Open Enrollment process.

Intent to Attend Your Neighborhood School

If you wish to attend your neighborhood school, you must return this form to that school no later than January 5th. This will allow your child to attend that school in the fall of next year (2021-22).

Questions? Please call the MS office at 303-683-7836 or check the website for more enrollment information.

On Thursday, Jan. 14, students in grades fourth-eighth took part in the STEM Spelling Bee. Our amazing students stayed focused on their words and engaged in the competition for 3.5 hours. All 20 students not only demonstrated an unbelievable ability to spell, but also an extremely high level of support, compassion and respect for one another. Students cheered one another on throughout the evening and provided words of positivity when a student spelled a word incorrectly. We are extremely proud of all of them.

Our top three winners will be attending the district competition next month. Congratulations to:

• First Place: Alex Tijerina (eighth grade)
• Second Place: Jonah Bartlett (sixth grade)
• Third Place: Siddhi Singh (seventh grade)
• Alternate: Nakul Choudhary (seventh grade)

Don’t Delay! Show your STEM Spartan Pride by ordering from the NEW gear that is available in the SpartMart Store. Check out the flier to the right for more information. The SpartMart is operated by STEM students and the gear is designed by STEM students as well.

Thursday, Jan. 21, from 4-5 p.m. – Zoom

Thursday, Jan. 21, from 6-8 p.m. – Zoom

Join us for an interest meeting for any incoming 9th-12th grade students and their families who would like to learn more about CareerWise and P-TECH. A Zoom link will be available in the coming weeks.

January 25-29 – More info to come!

Your Middle School Student Government invites you to take part in an upcoming “Rewrite the Song Lyric” contest! The contest will run from January 25-29. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. Stay tuned to your STEM email for more information.

Tuesday, Jan. 26, from 6-8 p.m. – Zoom

Ms. Lytle will be conducting a presentation for Junior parents and students on the college application process. A link will be sent to all Junior Students and parents via email on January 25.

SAT & ACT testing
How and when to apply to college
How to create a resume
How to select your recommenders
How to craft a strong college essay
How to use Naviance in your college search
How to find funds for college – FAFSA & Scholarships

Contact: Kandace Lytle – kandace.lytle@stemk12.org

January 31, 2021 – Deadline

The Optimist Club of Littleton’s annual essay contest is underway and the deadline is quickly approaching. The essay contest is sponsored by Optimist International and the topic is “Reaching Your Dreams by Choosing Optimism.” Cash prizes of $500, $350 and $125 will be awarded to the first, second and third-place winners at the club level. Club-level winning essays will be considered at the district contest to compete for a $2,500 college scholarship. Contestants must be age 18 or younger as of Oct. 1, 2020, and have not completed secondary school or its equivalent. 

The contest is open to young people in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean, and children military families serving abroad. There is no minimum age. Rules and application form are available by clicking here. Essays must be turned in with the required signatures of parents or legal guardians by January 31 to Steve Patterson, 2445 W. Davies Ave., Littleton, 80120. Send questions about the contest to stpatterson3@gmail.com.

February 1-11, 2021 – More info to come

Hello STEM Middle Schoolers! We are so excited to announce that the Middle School student government will be doing Crush for Crush. It will be from February 1-11th. With students in-person and virtual, we will be doing all our sales this year online. In-person students will receive their crush in class, virtual students can pick them up from the Middle School office. More information to come in your STEM email and newsletters on how to purchase your a crush for your crush!

Thank you Ms. Hoffman! As a medical club, SteMed Jr. understands how important mental health is. To show our teachers we appreciate them, SteMed Jr. members have provided a care package to a nominated teacher each month. Ms. Hoffman is our SteMed Jr. December nominee!

Thank you all for your patience as we worked through a number of challenges. High School Class T-Shirts have been ordered and will be delivered between January 18-22 to the school. We will update further as to T-Shirt Distribution as soon as we’ve received them. Thank you again!

Students and families wanting to access their PSAT, NMSQT and or SAT scores can do so through collegeboard.org by creating an account. Age restrictions do apply, so if you are unable to create an account, please have a parent contact our testing coordinator Nancy Szczekocki at nancy.szczekocki@stemk12.org to have a digital report sent.

NHS is partnering with other STEM honor societies to offer tutoring for Middle and High School students. Students can request tutoring in different subjects or with time management and organization, and they can also specify how often they need tutoring (one-time, weekly, etc.). Tutors will not assist with any graded work to avoid violations of the academic integrity policy. Click the button below to sign-up.

National Honor Society is searching for businesses to sponsor our annual Wish Week in March. Wish Week is a school-wide fundraiser for Make-A-Wish® Colorado dedicated to granting a wish for an ill child. If you work for or know of any businesses that may be interested in sponsoring this event, please let us know or have them contact nhs@s.stemk12.org for more information. All proceeds will contribute to granting a child’s wish.

The community service and assessment requirements have been waived for graduation and for STEM Scholar for 2021 graduates. Students just need to meet the credit requirements to graduate.

Applications for the 2020-21 Future Leaders program presented by CBS 4 and PDC Energy are being accepted, to recognize Colorado High School students excelling in STEM. Teachers, parents, mentors and others are encouraged to nominate students who they believe will be Colorado’s future STEM leaders. Nominations will be accepted through April. One student will be selected each month for the award that includes $1,000 and a student profile on CBS4. Nominations should include basic information on the student and their STEM field of study/focus, and any extraordinary circumstances/obstacles that student has had to overcome in order to pursue their studies.

All Secondary Students can pick up their yearbooks from last school year at the Middle School Front Office. People who have yet to purchase their yearbooks from the 2019-2020 school year and would like one can email sherry.wise@stemk12.org to request and get payment information.

Online ordering is now available for 2020-21 Yearbooks. Click here to purchase yours today!

DCSD will be providing weekly remote meal bag pick-ups at all neighborhood Middle Schools in Douglas County (pick-up not available at STEM). Meal pick-ups do NOT require pre-order. Simply pull up to our curbside pickup locations and request a meal for kids, just like our Summer Feeding sites. Kids do not need to attend DCSD Schools and do not need to be present for pickup. Please see the flier to right for more information.

*Due to COVID 19, no visitors or volunteers are allowed inside the building at this time. Volunteer requirements will be adjusted as needed. If you are making a donation, please keep track of your donated items for the time being until we provide additional instructions on how to log your hours.

Volunteer opportunities below are all outside of the school building.

Our Physical Education Department would love to take your students on new and exciting adventures, but sometimes that requires extra equipment. There was recently a disc golf course built within walking distance from our campus, and we would love to use this space in our community to enhance our curriculum. We are looking for donations of frisbee golf discs that students can use. Anything and everything would be greatly appreciated!

Please bring these donations to the MS office labeled PE Donations. For questions, contact Megan Lipe, Secondary Physical Education Teacher megan.lipe@stemk12.org.