Secondary News and Updates (11/17/23)

Dear Middle School Families,

As we approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude to our incredible students, dedicated staff, and supportive parents in our STEM community. After being home sick for three days this past week, I am truly thankful for the abundance of positive energy and enthusiasm that our students bring to me every day. I missed our middle school students this week, and I am grateful to be a part of this STEM community.

During this Thanksgiving break, I hope that your family can rest and enjoy quality time together. I hope that our students can find time to take a break from academics, explore their interests, spend time with families, and just relax.

As we enter the holiday season, I want to thank you for your ongoing support and collaboration. We are seeing our students learn and grow every day, and we could not be more proud of them. Our school is truly a community, and it is through our combined efforts that we create an environment where every student can thrive.

Enjoy your break, everyone!

Important events and reminders:

• November 30-December 2 – Clue Production
• December 13 – Secondary Winter Music Concert
• December 22 – January 8 – Winter Break

In partnership,

Maura Ridder, Middle School Director

Dear STEM students and families,

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is already here! I hope our students and staff get well-needed rest and enjoy the well-deserved week off. When we return, we are in the final stretch of the semester with only 4 weeks left. With that in mind, it is time to focus on your academics. Please review Canvas and make sure you make up any outstanding assignments prior to their close dates. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your teachers. Also, please remember that our Honor Societies are hosting tutoring sessions every access in the high school lunchroom.

When we return, our Theatre Department is proud to present Clue on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11/30-12/2. It should be a fantastic experience, and our students would appreciate the support!

Students, I need your help. Now that the weather has turned colder, we have more of you eating lunch indoors. Many of you would like to find a quiet place to eat in the hallways. However, that is something that we cannot continue to do. If you are eating lunch at school, I ask that you eat in the cafeteria. You are also welcome to go to the teacher’s classrooms if the teacher is open to that. Otherwise, people eating or hanging out in the hallways will be asked to go back to the cafeteria. Eating in the hallways causes noise disturbances for the classes, and the mess can attract visitors that we really don’t want to see.

I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving Break!

Thanks, everyone! Go Spartans!

Sincerely,
Ryan Alsup, High School Director
Proud to be a Spartan!

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.

Thursday, Nov. 30, from 6-8 p.m. – Secondary Gym

Friday, Dec. 1, from 6-8 p.m. – Secondary Gym

Saturday, Dec. 2, from 1-3 p.m. – Secondary Gym

The STEM Theater Department will be performing Clue as their Fall Theater Production beginning on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 6-8 p.m. in the Secondary Gym. Additional shows include Friday, from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 1-3 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, FREE for staff. Click the button below to purchase tickets.

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 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, Dec. 5, 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.

Metro State University is offering four online courses through its virtual network program for the second semester. The virtual network program is available to high school students looking to take an online course, which is comprised of other high school students throughout the Denver metro area. While there may be a textbook cost, no additional student fees exist. Please review the attached flyer and contact Nicole Ryan for scheduling.

Are you looking for an internship 2nd semester? Cablenet Aerospace, Inc is a contract manufacturer, supplying the Aerospace, Aircraft, Military, Medical, and OEM industries with quality products and services for over 27 years. They are looking for Electronics/ Electro Mechanical and Cable Assembly Technician interns starting in January for their location in the DTC area. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Ms. Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org.

The Lockheed Martin Space High School Internship program is designed to give students the opportunity to work with aerospace scientists and engineers. High School Intern candidates must be at least 16 years old and spend 9-10 weeks from June to August working and learning 30- 40 hours a week on actual Lockheed Martin Space projects while receiving an hourly wage. These projects allow students to work on solving and deploying processes, procedures, and systems that support Lockheed Martin’s mission statement in seven different states across the nation. Additionally, interns are exposed to different technical and non-technical career fields at Lockheed Martin Space in order to fortify or develop an interest in the aerospace industry. High School interns are embedded into all summer programming activities such as networking, career development, and executive engagements. Deadline is January 5, 2024. See the website for more information and to attend a virtual information session.

Register now for your CE courses! If you are planning on taking a CE course during second semester, the deadline to register is December 8th. The deadline allows time for review and approval with our partner colleges/ universities. Please ensure you have reviewed your selection with your high school counselor, Ms. Birchfield or Ms. Grebe. As part of the process, you will need to complete the STEM Concurrent Enrollment agreement. If you have questions regarding the registration process, please reach out to Nicole Ryan at nicole.ryan@stemk12.org.

Our Business Office would like to request that all parents please verify their contact information in MySchoolBucks and update it if needed. Beginning November 20th, families with an outstanding balance will begin to receive late fees. Please reach out to ashley.westfall@stemk12.org with any questions.

It’s time to check the Lost and Found in the Middle School Cafeteria and the High School Commons. We’re slowly starting to collect items like jackets, coffee mugs, water bottles and lunch boxes. Please ask your students to check the Lost and Founds to see if they have any items. At each school break, we donate items that are left in the Lost and Found to charity.

Niche.com is an online platform that helps connect families with their future schools in their neighborhoods. It is one of the top search platforms that families use when looking for a new school. If you love STEM and what we have to offer your student(s), please consider leaving us a review. Click the button below to visit our school’s profile, where you can leave a review. Thank you in advance!

Sugar and spice and everything nice

As the weather cools down, it can take some extra bundling up to want to get outside, but colder commutes don’t have to be miserable!

Try these tips to help spice up your commute:

• Bring warm water, apple cider, coffee or tea in a travel mug or water bottle.
• Dress in moisture-wicking layers.
• Balaclavas are your best friend! Covering your face on extra cold days can help make your commute more pleasant.
• Consider a windproof jacket or coat.
• Use hand warmers for extra cold days.
• If you bike to work, have a backup plan. Keep extra cold weather gear at the office, or see if there is a bus or rail route that will take you home in case the weather becomes too cold or snowy.

Whether you’re traveling by bike, foot, e-scooter, bus, rail or carpool, track at least eight of those eco-friendly trips on MyWayToGo.org or the Commute Tracker app for a chance to win one of five pairs of Zulu wearable headphones.

Now is the time! Don’t delay purchasing your Secondary Yearbook for the 2023-24 School Year. Click the button below to place your order. Since it is after October 31, yearbooks are now $60.

One way to do this is to first be logged into your child’s account. Go to “Account” and then “Settings” on the left side. Then on the right side you should see a gray box that says “Pair with Observer.” This will give you a code that you can then enter in your parent Canvas account. You will need to do this from a computer, not a mobile device.

If that does not work for you, email support@stemk12.org, title the email “IT Canvas Observer Support” and include your child’s name and student ID number in the email so that IT can generate a code for you.

For any device at STEM to connect to our network, a certificate needs to be installed. A certificate or digital certificate is a unique, digitally signed document that authoritatively identifies the identity of an individual or organization. In our case, it associates the certificate with the STEM email. To download the certificate, go to https://securly.com/ssl and download the file associated with the operating system. The file is a program to run on the machine, but it only installs the certificate.

Once the certificate is installed and the computer is on STEM’s network, Securly Filter will ask once for the person’s identity. Once logged in with the STEM email account, Securly matches the email and the certificate and it then knows who it is and how the computer should be filtered. This system of identification using a certificate is the same that we have had in the past. We are just using a different vendor for that certificate. If students have issues installing the certificate, please send them to the IT office in RM 164.