Sharing Our Good News (09/15/23)

STEM ranked No. 12 nationally for top High Schools in Colorado

Top ranking!

We are thrilled to share with you that STEM School Highlands Ranch has been ranked as 12th Best High School in the State of Colorado by U.S. News and World Report. Keep in mind there are roughly 648 high schools in Colorado.

A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation. The highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions.

In coordination with North Carolina-based RTI International, a global nonprofit social science research firm, U.S. News ranked approximately 17,680 public high schools out of nearly 25,000 reviewed. This is the count of public high schools that had a 12th grade enrollment of 15 students or greater, or otherwise had sufficient enrollment in other high school grades, during the 2020-2021 school year to be analyzed.

Congratulations to the entire STEM community for helping make this happen!

Two STEM Students Named National Merit Semi-Finalists

We are pleased to announce the names of two National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, making them part of an elite group representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. These academically talented students advance in the competition, which awards 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million. The goal of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence. Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be awarded in the spring and summer of 2024. Finalists will be announced in February, with National Merit Scholarship winners announced in the months to follow. Congratulations to Spencer Neucks and Luke Pauka!

STEM Spirit Week photos from staff

A snow cone photo finish for STEM's Cross Country team

Snow cone finish!

What a sweet way to wrap up a race at the Goddard Viking Challenge. Here are some of the results from Coach Lee:

“Out of 160 boys:

Caleb Gurolnick placed 30th with a 14.46.1 time

Mason Carter got 32nd place with a 14.44.6 time

Emmett Baumgartner got 37th place with a 14:59.5 time

Coleson Banta got 55th place with a 15:59.4 time

Kyle Shoemaker and Braden Ramos got 67th and 68th place with a 17:05.6 and 17.08.9 time, respectively.

Out of 129 girls, Penelope Castaneda came in 73rd with a 21:34.9 time.”

Way to go Spartans!

Photo gallery from STEM Powderpuff 2023 competition

Highlights from STEM Powderpuff 2023 competition

STEM secondary art class takes on assignment that plays tricks on the mind

Math art.

Here’s an interesting class assignment from Ms. Devitt, our Secondary Art Teacher:

“We are focusing on the element of LINE. We learned about Bridget Riley, she was an OP ARTIST in the 60’s. We learned that the whole point of OP ART was to provide a visual/cerebral experience for the viewer. (basically your mind playing tricks on you) We did a watercolor wash first then began working with our rulers focusing on whole inches and 1/16 to create our art works.”

STEM Middle School Pep Rally complete with games and competitions

STEM student competes in national chess tournament

STEM student Vedant Margale had quite the showing in a recent chess tournament. The following was shared on Facebook this week from a proud STEM parent:

“Ved got an opportunity to represent the state of Colorado at 13th Annual Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions. Overall, it was a solid showing. He really enjoyed the experience with lots of learnings. Great job, V, proud of you as always.”

STEM 6th grader Anirudh Rao recognized at Lone Tree City Council meeting for innovation

Word is spreading!

STEM 6th grader Anirudh Rao continues to be recognized for his innovation, “Revere”, a drone that serves as an early tornado detection system.

They Mayor of Lone Tree wanted to recognize Anirudh for his invention and they did just that at a recent city council meeting. Congratulations Anirudh!

STEM hosts BEST Robotics Kick-off 2023

BEST Robotics is off and running!

STEM was proud to host BEST Robotics Kick-off 2023 this past weekend. All together 25 teams from Front Range and Rocky Mountain BEST Robotics converged at STEM to formally begin the season of competition.

The next big event is the Front Range BEST Competition, which will be held in early November.

Students were able to view the game field, participate in challenges and put robots to the test.

Originally the plan was to hold this event at another site, but it was changed at the last minute and STEM was asked to host. A shout-out to STEM staff, students and volunteers for coming together and making this happen on very short notice. We utilized eight different classrooms to make it happen and assembled a very impressive game field. The event also included a check presentation to Front Range BEST.

We’re looking forward to another year of competition and all of the amazing challenges to come!

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