Secondary News and Updates (12/01/23)

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.

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

The STEM Theater Department is performing Clue as their Fall Theater Production and their final show is this Saturday from 1-3 p.m. Tickets are $15 each, FREE for staff. Click the button below to purchase tickets.

Monday, Dec. 4, from 6:30-7:15 p.m. – Google Meet

Families of students who will be in eighth grade for the 2024-25 school year are invited to attend the Boston Trip Information Meeting via Google Meets on Monday, Dec. 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. Click the button below to join the Google Meet. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information about the Fall 2024 trip to Boston.

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.

Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Room 106

Families of students who will be in High School during the 2024-25 school year, and who will be taking French, are invited to attend an informational meeting about a trip to France and Italy during Spring Break of 2025. Please join us to learn more. Click the button below to register for the meeting. Contact Abby.Tomic@stemk12..org with any questions.

Tuesday, Dec. 5, starting at 5:30-7 p.m. – Secondary Gym

Let’s pack the Gym! The Spartan Boys’ Basketball Team will open its home season on Tuesday, Dec. 5, against Abraham Lincoln in the Secondary Gym. The first game is at 5:30 p.m. Tickets for home Basketball and Boys’ Volleyball will now be sold online through GoFan. Click the button to purchase your tickets online. For basketball, prices are:

• Adults – $6
• Senior/Student/Military – $3
• Season Pass – Adult $40, Family $75 (up to four people)
• STEM Students and Staff are FREE with STEM ID
• DCSD Staff are free with DCSD ID

Volunteers get FREE admission! Passes are good for all regular season basketball home games. All tickets/passes include both JV and Varsity games on the same day. Proceeds from tickets go to STEM Athletics to directly benefit our student athletes. Cash will still be accepted, but paperless via GoFan is preferred.

Friday, Dec. 8, from 3:30-8:30 p.m. – Secondary Gym, Elementary Gym, High School Commons, Secondary Commons

STEM TSA is hosting a runoff event for middle/high school TSA members who are competing in events in preparation for state. Students will know ahead of time which events are hosting runoffs.

Runoffs will showoff multiple TSA events and students will be able to compete and view others projects. There will also be a potluck for students and parents to donate to and enjoy. Please bring your own money if you plan to eat at the potluck.

Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 6:30-8 p.m. – Zoom

Join the STEM PTO for their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 6:30-8 p.m. via Zoom.  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.

As the semester comes to a close, we wanted to provide families with important information on how they can begin getting familiar with Mastery Connect to check their student’s grades. Please click the button below to view the tutorial.

We are almost at the end of the first semester of the school year. As we strive to wrap up a successful first half of the year, ACCESS periods will focus primarily on providing students ample time to prepare for finals. We will also welcome a guest speaker to lead a Safe2Tell assembly on December 13 and will spend some time discussing self-care and mental health resources to support families as we head into the holiday break.

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.

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!

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.