Secondary News and Updates (02/05/21)

Deadline extended to February 28, 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.

School pictures for students that do not have a current photo for this school year:

We will be offering a picture day at STEM on February 16 & 17 (Elementary on the 16th only)

• Elementary students will go with their class at a time of their teacher’s choosing (teachers will communicate the time with their e-learners).
  • There will be a Class Composite created for each class.
  • Parents will have the opportunity to purchase individual and class composite photos.
• Secondary students should go to the gym during their lunch hour to have their picture taken.
  • Please remind your student on picture day as they will not be called down.
  • E-learners should come in their cohort day between 11:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

If your student is unable to take advantage of this picture day at school, please set an appointment to have their picture taken at the photographer’s studio.

• The deadline to have the updated picture included in the yearbook is February 17, 2021

Whether you’ve never before addressed mental health issues, have started to see symptoms, need additional/different resources, or just want to ask questions, STEM Highlands Ranch is committed to ensuring that everyone in our community has easy access to all the mental health resources we can make available. We can provide support for in-school services and out-of-school services, as well as general information and answers to specific questions.

Please contact Elizabeth Brown, our Recovery Coordinator, at Elizabeth.Brown@https://stemk12.org, or via phone at 303-884-1576 (cell), or 303-683-7836 ext 1583.

The Math Honors Society would like to hear from you! Please fill out the survey below so we can gauge if you’d like to take part in events centered around Pi Day. If you have any other questions reach out to our co-presidents Sean Mauch (sean.mauch@s.https://stemk12.org) or Jaeden Toy (jaeden.toy@s.https://stemk12.org). 

March 1-5, 2021

We’re preparing for our Love of Reading Week coming up from March 1-5, 2021. We’re looking for local, regional and national celebrities to help read to our students via Zoom and show their Love of Reading. If you know someone who may be interested in reading to our students, please use the sign-up form via the button to the right.

Hey STEM Spartans! How many batteries do you throw away in engineering class each year? 10? 25? 50? SNHS’s Recycling Committee is placing used battery bins in each engineering room to recycle old batteries. Instead of harming the planet with used batteries, you can join the fight toward a cleaner earth. All you have to do is put any used batteries in the battery recycling bin. Thank you for your support!

Girls’ soccer is projected to start this spring! We are looking for any girls grades 9-12 interested to join. Any experience level is welcome! Please email co-captain Ryleigh Johnson or Coach Cooper if you are interested in joining or would like more information!

Contact: Ryleigh Johnson at ryleigh.johnson@s.https://stemk12.org or Coach Cooper at edward.cooper@https://stemk12.org

In late August/early September of 2020, STEM had to make an adjustment to its Academic Calendar to extend the school year by a few days in order to account for our delayed start. The last day (half day) for Elementary is Friday, May 21 and the last day (half day) for Secondary is Tuesday, May 25. You can view the updated Calendar here. Additionally, graduation has been moved to Thursday, May 20 at 2 p.m. at EchoPark Stadium.

Due to the delayed start at the beginning of the school year that has impacted our required academic minutes, if DCSD calls for a SCHOOL CLOSURE due to weather, STEM will operate on a Virtual Day Schedule instead. This decision was made to prevent having to add additional days at the end of the school year to make up for a snow day. If DCSD calls for a DELAYED START due to weather, STEM will operate on a Virtual Day Schedule.

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.

11th graders:  Please be aware of these important reminders:

• Students must register in advance if they wish to take the SAT with optional Essay
• The essay registration window is Monday, January 18 – Tuesday, February 16, 2021.
• This will be the only opportunity for students who wish to take the optional essay to add it to their April school day test registration.

When taking the Colorado School Day SAT this spring, 11th-grade students will have the option of taking the SAT with or without the optional essay. Adding the essay to their SAT registration is a student choice. Students may add the essay to their registration through their online College Board account or by calling the College Board during the window.

Additional Information

• The SAT Essay is scored separately from the SAT. A student’s score on the essay will not improve or reduce their score on the SAT.
• The essay may be required by some colleges and universities. To find out a particular school’s essay policies go to: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/college-essay-policies
• SAT test day information can be found at the following link on the school website School Assessment Schedule
• For questions regarding the SAT please contact your school counselor, your school testing coordinator or the college board.

The Passport Program from Christy’s Sports and Colorado Ski Country USA is back!

With three-to-four days of skiing at 21 participating ski areas, the Passport is dedicated to getting Colorado’s kids on the slopes. While weekends and holidays are not available with the Passport this season, we believe the Passport is a great product for your students to enjoy on teacher in-service days and over Spring Break.

Click the buttons to the right for more information.

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.https://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@https://stemk12.org to request and get payment information.

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

We are gathering interest for a co-ed High School Ultimate Frisbee team this Spring. The team will practice and play outside only, starting late February / early March. Please fill out the survey below to express interest and receive more information as it becomes available.

If you have an interest in Chess, we have two opportunities for you!

One – Fill out this interest form for our new Chess Club

Two – Participate in the DCSD Online Chess Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 13. Open to Grades 6-12. Click the button below to register.

STEM Enrichment has partnered with Sarah’s Spanish School to provide after-school Spanish lessons for our Elementary students. Last year, we had several students participate in our after-school Spanish class. For the entire month of February, families can access FREE Spanish lessons, accessible at any time.

February 1-11, 2021 

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!

February 8 – March 10, 2021 

The National English Honor Society is collecting books to go toward the 50/50 Books organization, a nonprofit organization promoting literacy through greater access to books for schools in need. Last year, the organization distributed over 20,000 books to our local community. NEHS is asking for students and families to donate gently used books in order for the STEM community to help other communities in need. Books can be dropped off in the designated bins at the Middle School Office during the weeks of Monday, Feb. 8 through Wednesday, March 10, during school hours.

February 8 – March 21, 2021

Applications are now open for Worlds’s Denver partner STEAM Discovery Lab program, an excellent opportunity for STEM School Highlands Ranch students who are interested in international exchange, particularly with Egypt.

The Discovery Lab is a fully-funded (free!), virtual exchange program bringing together U.S. and Egyptian youth to explore leadership and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) for three to four hours per week from February 8 to March 21, 2021. Upon successful completion of the program, participants receive a Certificate of Completion, access to the U.S. Department of State’s International Alumni Network, unique project funding opportunities from the U.S. Department of State, and a $400 scholarship towards participation in one of The Experiments in International Living’s programs around the world in 2022.

You can learn more, register for the virtual information session, and submit your program application on the STEAM Discovery Lab website. This opportunity is a great way for students to develop an enhanced understanding and practice of leadership as well as mutual understanding between youth from different cultures. Please feel free to contact Ms. Simi Basu (simi.basu@https://stemk12.org) with any questions you might have about this program!

Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 9-10 a.m. – Zoom

This is an exclusive opportunity for teens and young adults to learn how to connect the dots from having a business idea, to making it happen, to making it happen successfully. Hear from and interact with Colorado Business Hall of Fame inductees and up-and-coming entrepreneurs. This event will be emceed by Denver7 Morning News Anchor Brian Sanders.

Panelists include:

• Jim Johnson, President and CEO of GE Johnson Construction Company
• Alana Vaughn-Phillips, Co-founder and chief development officer of BobaVida
• Larry Kendall, Founder of real estate firm The Group, Inc., and the Ninja Selling Syhttps://stem
• David Potter, CEO and Co-founder of Curu

Thursday, Feb. 11

February 11th is recognized as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is a good time to remind our students that they have access to a special guide for college and career women at STEM. This guide includes scholarship applications and job information. Contact Simi Basu (simi.basu@https://stemk12.org) for more details.

Tuesday, Feb. 16 – Friday, Feb. 19

Show your STEM School Spirit by participating in our Valentine’s Spirit Week.

• Tuesday, Feb 16: Hat Day
• Wednesday, Feb 17: Twin Day
• Thursday, Feb 18: Dress Fancy Day
• Friday, Feb 19: Pajama Day

Friday, Feb. 17 – National Acts of Kindness Day

Wednesday, Feb. 24 – Submission Deadline

Whether you’re giving or receiving it, kindness can make you feel better, do better and make the world a better place. So let’s show, share and inspire kindness and see just how kind we can be. Visit the website below and upload an original photo, drawing or video, or tell a story about what kindness means to you. We’ll share your submissions on our site and social media, and we’ll all celebrate kindness together. Submit your photo, drawing, video or story by Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021.

Friday, Feb. 19 – Interest Form Deadline

April 3 – TEDx Event

STEM National English Honor Society is excited to announce our 3rd annual TEDx Talk! It will be fully virtual this year. This is an officially recognized event and will include a mix of students and professionals speaking over the course of roughly two hours. It will take place on Saturday, April 3, 2021.

If you are a High School or Middle School student interested in being one of our speakers this year, please fill out the interest form below by Friday, Feb. 19. There is no theme for speeches this year, so choose whatever you connect with! We will email you with more details about a recorded audition once you demonstrate interest. If you are selected to speak, you will have time to develop your talk with a few check-up meetings.

Monday, Feb. 22-Friday, Feb. 26

High School Student Government is having an animation-themed spirit week from February 22-26. Show up to class (even virtual ones) wearing fun costumes to show your STEM spirit!

• Monday dress as your favorite Marvel character for Marvel Monday
• Tuesday wear your tackiest tourist outfits for Tacky Tourist Tuesday
• Wednesday show your STEM Spirit by wearing blue and yellow or your STEM attire
• Thursday dress as your favorite character from any show or movie for Character Day
• Friday wear your favorite tie-dye clothing for Tie-Dye Day

Keep an eye out for emails about spirit week and check out Student Governments Instagram for updates.

Friday, Feb. 26 – at 4:30 p.m. – Zoom

Do you like movies? If so, High School Student Government is hosting a Movie Night on Friday, Feb. 26 starting at 4:30 p.m. for all high school students!! We will be showing these movies over three streaming platforms:

• Disney+ hosting Ratatouille
• Hulu hosting Shrek
• Netflix hosting The Lorax.

Please note, you must have a streaming subscription AND Teleparty in order to watch the movie on these platforms. Instructions on how to download Teleparty is attached below. To sign up please use the link below. The Teleparty streaming links will be sent out to those who signed up on Thursday, Feb. 25. There will also be an optional Zoom meeting open during the movies for questions or technical difficulties.

Friday, Feb. 26 – 8-11 a.m. & 2-3 p.m. – Zoom

Women in Engineering (WIE) is an event for STEM middle school students that Lockheed Martin is hosting. They will be doing virtual labs for the students. The activities will focus on space exploration scenarios through virtual demonstrations on gravity and the use of a robot to identify responses to different events that occur with space travel. The event will be virtual to support everyone’s health and safety. Please fill out the form if you are interested in attending. Contact Simi Basu (simi.basu@https://stemk12.org) for more details.

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@https://stemk12.org.

ES Counseling Donations:

• Water beads refill
• Assorted sports beads
• Craft beads like these or any of these
• Plastic funnels

Please bring to the ES Office labeled ES Counseling. Thank you!