Secondary News and Updates (07/21/23)

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.

Wednesday, July 26, from 8 a.m.-12 p.m.

STEM’s Elementary and Secondary Front Offices will be open on Wednesday, July 26, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. if families need to stop by. Please park in the respective lots and enter through either of those main doors.

Wednesday, July 26, starting at 10 a.m.

Our Weekly Tours are back in session. If you know of anyone who is interested in enrolling or learning more about our school, please encourage them to attend out Weekly Tours. All participants must have a valid driver’s license and enter through the Secondary Lobby.

Wednesday, July 26, 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.

Monday, July 31-Friday, Aug. 4, starting from 12-1 p.m. – Zoom

To help our new and returning families be as prepared as possible for the start of the new school year, we will be offering five Welcome Back to School – Parent Info Sessions the week of Monday, July 31 through Friday, Aug. 4, from 12-1 p.m. each day. Each session will cover important topics, outlined below, that all families should know in order to start the school year off on the right foot. Following a brief presentation on each topic, we will allow families to ask questions related to that topic. Each session will be over Zoom. We will record each session so that it will be available on the stemk12.org website for those who couldn’t attend.

• Monday, July 31(12-1 p.m.) – Driveline Procedures & PikMyKid (Elementary Families)
• Tuesday, Aug. 1 (12-1 p.m.) – Getting Informed (Attendance line, using IC, visiting STEM, Student/Parent Handbook, Fees, School Photos, etc.)
• Wednesday, Aug. 2 (12-1 p.m.) – Getting Connected (Communications Pathways, who to contact when?, communications at STEM, etc.)
• Thursday, Aug. 3 (12-1 p.m.) – Getting Involved (volunteering, donating, STEM PTO, STEM SAC, etc.)
• Friday, Aug. 4 (12-1 p.m.) – The STEM Experience (Enrichment and Athletics)

Monday, July 31, from 8:45-10 a.m. – Secondary Lobby

Middle School students who are new to STEM for the 2023-24 school year should take the Math Placement test. Students should check in at the secondary front office at 8:45.

Items to bring:

• water bottle
• pencil
• snack

For any questions or concerns, please contact communication@stemk12.org.

Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 5:30-7 p.m – Mechatronics Lab in P-TECH/KOSON Building

The KOSON/STEM Board of Directors will be holding its Monthly Meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 5:30-7 p.m. 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, Aug. 2, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Secondary Commons (Athletics Entrance)

Thursday, Aug. 3, from 1-5 p.m. – Secondary Commons (Athletics Entrance)

Monday, Aug. 7, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. – Elementary and Secondary Lobbies

Families can pick up their Driveline Placards during this time. Please park in the Elementary School Parking lot and enter through the Athletics Entrance to visit the Placard Pick Up Table. All Secondary families must sign-up for one of two timeslots (2:55 p.m., or 3:05 p.m.). Click the button below to sign-up for a timeslot. All families must have a placard to use Driveline and must only come at their designated time. Carpool placards will also be available during this time, but families must complete the Secondary Carpool Sign-Up first, and must meet the requirements of the Carpool program.

Thursday, Aug 3, and Friday, Aug. 4, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Secondary Student Parking Lot

We’re starting a NEW Tradition at STEM. Seniors who purchase a parking pass will be able to paint a parking space for an additional $25 fee. The parking spot painting event will be on Thursday, Aug. 3, and Friday, Aug. 4. Students will line-up prior to the event at the entrance to the Secondary School Lobby. After confirming that the student has paid for their parking pass and the painting fee, students will then be instructed to pick out their spaces and begin painting.

All artwork must be preapproved by Mr. Alsup and the artwork submission deadline is Wednesday, July 26. Students can submit their artwork at the button below. Please note: While a student has painted the parking space, it will be difficult to enforce this, so we cannot guarantee that a student’s space will not be parked in from time to time. If someone parks in a student’s painted spot, they can check in with the front office to see if the car’s owner can be contacted to have it moved. Students who paint a spot should always use their painted spot.

Monday, Aug. 7, from 9-11 a.m. or 12-2 p.m.

New students to STEM who will be entering secondary school (grades 6-12) are invited to participate in our Secondary Spartan Launch! (this includes first-time students at STEM and first-time students entering Secondary who were in STEM Elementary last year)

Come meet new friends, learn about STEM School’s culture and student expectations, team building, and tour the school. Participation in Spartan Launch will help prepare all new students for their first school day on Tuesday, Aug. 8. This event is for students only. Please enter through the Secondary School Doors.

This is a friendly reminder for ALL families to please complete Express Check-In as soon as they can. In addition to completing DCSD’s Express Check-In, ALL families must complete the STEM Express Check-In Google Form that is located under the Additional School Forms section of the Dashboard.

If you’ve already completed Express Check-In in the DCSD Engage Platform, but did not complete the STEM Express Check-In Google Form that was included in the dashboard, please log back in and complete that form.

That Google Form is critical for all families to complete.

Express Check-In will close on Sunday, Aug. 6. Following the start of school, Express Check-In will open for NEW Families who join STEM after August 8. While Express Check-In is open for a number of weeks, we strongly encourage all families to complete the process early to reduce stress.

For those who haven’t completed this step yet, please click the button below to sign-up for a secondary locker. The yearly fee for a locker is $5 and will be added to the student’s MySchoolBucks account. Lockers are separated by grade level and will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students will receive an email with their locker number and combination.

Students with valid driver’s licenses can put their names on the Parking Pass Waitlist via the button below. Parking passes cost $50 for the school year, and the fee will be added to the student’s MySchoolBucks account. The fee must be paid prior to picking up the parking pass. Students who are approved will receive an email with instructions on how to pick up.

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.

Laptops are only required for middle and high school students. For STEM laptop purchase recommendations, please click the button below. New for this year! All fifth-grade students will receive a laptop provided by STEM. One important note! Older computers will need a dongle.

Our new wireless structure will require that all computers connect to 5GhZ radio. This may impact students with older computers. Most newer devices already have a wireless card installed that connects to 5GhZ radio. If your computer is older or does not connect to 5GhZ radio, you will have to purchase a WIFI dongle. It can be purchased online or at any tech retailer starting at about $30. Search for “WiFI Dongle 5 GHz.” There should be a lot of options!

There is no designated Secondary Supply List. All Secondary Students will receive supply lists from each teacher, depending on the course, during the first week of school.

All families (K-12) will be asked to download the app and set-up a PikMyKid account to their cell phones. Currently, all Elementary families use this platform to assist with Driveline Pick-Up. NEW for this school year, we will be using PikMyKid for Secondary Driveline and as a back-up for Emergency Notifications, so it is imperative that ALL families download and set up their accounts. Click the button below to learn more about PikMyKid. Information on how PikMyKid will be used for Secondary Driveline Pick-Up will be shared in the coming weeks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released some updated information about COVID-19 regarding isolation and precautions for people who have it, and have asked for schools to share the information with families. Click the button below to learn more.

We are changing our web filtering this school year to Securly. We have filtering set as default when on the network. If a student installs a certificate on their machine, they can get filtering according to their grade level. You can get the installation file by clicking the button below. This only filters when on the school network. All students will join the “Students” WiFi network at the school As long as the student has the certificate installed, they will get filtered correctly.

It’s time to register for Fall Sports! All students in grades 9-12 who wish to participate must register and have an up-to-date physical submitted prior to starting any practices or games. Click the button to the right to register.

• Boy’s Golf – Practice starts July 31
• Boy’s Soccer – Practice starts on August 7
• Co-Ed Cross Country – Practice starts on August 7
• Girls’ Volleyball – Practice starts on August 7

Students who wish to participate in eSports must also register but do not need to submit a physical.

Please note: Now that we are a CHSAA school, students can no longer play for other high schools if we offer the sport at STEM. For the sports we do not offer, such as football, a student can still play for their neighborhood school.

We are looking for 2 Program Leaders to work in a busy and fun after-school program. If you or someone you know likes working with kids, has some experience working with children ages 5-12, and is eager to develop and learn new skills in a growing program with a fun, experienced, and dedicated staff, this is the right move for you. Program Leader hours are M-F, 1:30-5:30/6 p.m. Part-time and full-time hours are available during school breaks. This position is a “Select Charter Position” and offers an additional 10% (to hourly base rate) monthly stipend. If you are interested but need more flexibility, we are hiring Program Leader substitutes. Substitutes can work 2-3 days each week. We are also happy to coordinate with STEM who are looking for more hours. Feel free to call or email me for more details or questions at amy.dupays@dcsdk12.org, or (720) 688-2928.