Weekly Parent Newsletter

Click on the STEM Events Calendar to see everything that is happening at STEM. We've added Enrichment and Athletic Events to the calendar as well. Upcoming events include:

• Saturday, March 30 (1 & 3 p.m.) - Girls' JV and Varsity Soccer at Lamar HS
  
• April 1-3 - FBLA State Conference (Gaylord of the Rockies)
• Tuesday, April 2 - CMAS Testing Begins!
• Tuesday, April 2 (3:15 p.m.) - Student Forum/Information Session (HS Commons)
• Tuesday, April 2 (4:30 & 5:30 p.m.) - Boys' JV and Varsity Volleyball at Windsor Charter Academy
• Tuesday, April 2 (5:30 p.m.) - KOSON/STEM Monthly Board Meeting (KOSON/P-TECH Building)
• Wednesday, April 3 (4:30 p.m.) - Girls' Varsity Soccer at DSST: Cedar
• Wednesday, April 3 (4:30 p.m.) - Boys' JV Volleyball at Arrupe Jesuit
• Friday, April 5 - Sixth Grade Virtual due to testing
• Friday, April 5 (4:30 & 5:30 p.m.) - Boys' JV and Varsity Volleyball vs. DSST: Cedar V
• Friday, April 5 (5:30-8:30 p.m.) - MS Spring Dance (MS Cafe & Secondary Commons)
  
• Monday, April 8 - 7th Grade Virtual Due to Testing
• Monday, April 8 (4:30 & 6 p.m.) - Girls' JV and Varsity Soccer at Rocky Mountain Prep-SMART
• Tuesday, April 9 - 8th Grade Virtual Due to Testing
• Tuesday, April 9 (5 & 6 p.m.) - Boys' JV and Varsity Volleyball at Aurora West College Prep
• Wednesday, April 10 (2-4 p.m.) - HipPOPS Ice Cream Truck
• Wednesday, April 10 (4:30 p.m.) - Girls' Varsity Soccer at DSST: Green Valley Ranch
• Wednesday, April 10 (6:30 p.m.) - STEM PTO Monthly Meeting (Zoom)
• Wednesday, April 10 (6:30 p.m.) - ES Theater Performance of Peter Pan (St. James Presbyterian Church)
• Thursday, April 11 (5 & 6 p.m.) - Boys' JV and Varsity Volleyball vs. Kennedy HS
• Thursday, April 11 (6-7 p.m.) - State of STEM (MS Cafe)
• Friday, April 12 (8-9 a.m.) - State of STEM (MS Cafe)
• Friday, April 12 (11:30 a.m.) - 5th Grade Move of to Middle School Day
• Friday, April 12 (4:30 p.m.) - Girls' JV Soccer at Arrupe Jesuit
• Saturday, April 13 (9 a.m.) - Mock AP Chemistry Exam (Room 131)

Are you interested in joining the KOSON/STEM Board of Directors?

The annual election cycle will begin on April 22 for the open Parent seat. If you'd like to be considered a candidate for the KOSON/STEM BOD Elections, please email stem.board@stemk12.org. One of our Board members will respond with opportunities for interested families to meet to ask questions about what the Board does. Please reach out by Wednesday, March 27.

A candidate interest form will be distributed at the beginning of April for those who would like to be considered as a candidate. Information from that form will be used to create a Candidate Book to circulate amongst the STEM Community via the Weekly Newsletter to help inform our community of the candidates.

Any parent with at least one student at STEM School Highlands Ranch next school year (August 2024 to May 2025) is eligible to run for this three-year position.

Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Community,

We are thrilled to extend a special invitation to you for an exciting and informative event – the State of STEM! This event promises to be an enlightening experience where you'll discover the current state of the school as well as learn what new school leadership is actively doing to enhance the school as we position ourselves to be the premier STEM school in the Mountain West.

This event is a chance for you to learn more about what sets STEM apart and an opportunity for us to connect and answer any questions about your child's educational journey. We look forward to welcoming you to either of our sessions on Thursday, April 11, at 6 p.m. and Friday, April 12, at 8 a.m.

See you soon!

Matt Cartier, KOSON Schools Chief Innovation Officer

Dear STEM Parents and Community,

We hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break. Thank you to those who attended parent-teacher conferences. We are thankful for the partnership in your child's education. If you could not attend and would like to speak with your child's teacher(s), please contact them. We are all here to support you and your child.

State CMAS testing begins next week. These tests provide our students, parents, school, district, and state critical information on our students' learning. We ask that you help our students prepare by encouraging them to have a good night's rest, eat a well-balanced breakfast, and come to each testing session prepared to give it their best. For more information on testing, please visit our State Mandated Assessments page on the website.

An exciting event coming up is the birthday celebration of our very own therapy dog, Daisy. Daisy will turn 9 years old this year, and we'd like to make it extra special for her. We'd like to invite our families, students, and staff members to bring a tennis ball as a donation toward her gift. On Thursday, April 25, we’re planning a birthday celebration event where we’ll surprise her with the donated tennis balls. Donation boxes will be placed in both lobbies next week.

As we head into the final eight weeks of the school year, the administration team is continuing to work on planning for the new school year. In December, we sent out our annual Intent to Return/Not Return form. I want to thank all of our families for completing that process and remind our families to please inform us (email info @ stemk12.org) if your plans have changed or will be changing since you completed that form. If you will be unenrolling your student from STEM, please complete the Withdrawal Form on our website.

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to your child's education and our STEM Community

In partnership,

LynAnn Kovalesky, Executive Director

We're in hiring season and we're in need of families who would be interested in taking part in interview panels next Thursday and Friday after school. Please email maura.ridder@stemk12.org if you're interested in taking part.

In this week's Elementary News, you can find information about:

• Driveline message from Mrs. McElroy
• Upcoming events
  
• Elementary Yearbook Information
• Important Elementary School Driveline Reminders
  
• CMAS Testing Information

In this week's Secondary News, you can find information about:

• Upcoming Events
  
• Senior Yard Signs
• Prom Dress Charity Event
• Southridge Rec Center Volunteer Fair
• Denver Explorers Program
• Summer Programming Opportunities
  
• 2024 Douglas County Outstanding Youth Award Nominations
• NYU GSTEM High School Research Program
  
• FREE Virtual Exchange STEM Program
  

The Backpack Society is an organization that partners with schools in Douglas County and Littleton Public Schools to reach students in need. They are a 100% community supported nonprofit based in Highlands Ranch. They collect food donations and raise funds for students who are sturggling with food insecurity.

• Click here to learn more about the Backpack Society
• Click here to sign-up to receive food

Want to see all the Good Things happening at STEM? Check out our Sharing Our Good News post. Each week we share photos, videos and information about the Good News that has happened that week.

Each week we'll share important Athletics News with our community. Updates are written by Athletics Director Susan Jones. In this week's update:

• Download the new STEM Spartans Athletics App
  
• New Athletics Website!
• Boys Volleyball Hoodies & T-Shirts - Order here
  

Enrichment at STEM is the place students can find all of the school’s after-school, summer, and other enrichment offerings.

• Donate to STEM's Enrichment Program
• Summer with STEM School
• 4th Quarter Enrichment Club Registrations Opening Soon
• Elementary and Secondary Club Registrations
  

Spartmart is the place to get all of your STEM Spartan Gear. The SpartMart is run by High School Students from our Business Department, who have a passion for building school culture and spirit. Check out our selection below.

We ask that all families contribute 30 hours (or more) of volunteering to STEM. Families can give of their time or make a Volunteer-Hour Donation. See all the opportunities available:

• Volunteer sign ups in Raptor Volunteer Portal
  
• Lunchroom helper
• Driveline helper
• Our Health Room needs donations - Click here for the Amazon Wishlist
  
• Donate snacks for Enrichment Clubs
  
• Staff's Amazon Wishlists
• Make a Volunteer-Hours Donation via MySchoolBucks

Volunteering is easy. Once you're approved in our Raptor System, browse the Upcoming Events in the Volunteer Portal and sign-up! Your Volunteer Hours will automatically be logged when you sign-in for the event.

As the Center for Strength approaches the closing of its doors, their heart is to meet the needs of the STEM community. Some of their events/programs are in need of funding and they are asking for your help. Please click the button below to see all of the ways that you can get involved.

Each week our STEM PTO puts together a newsletter for our community, sharing information about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved.

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.

You can also leave us a review on our Google Business page. Click the button below to share why you love STEM School Highlands Ranch.

Thank you in advance!

Currently, we are excited to announce we are recruiting for the following positions:

• Associate Director of Admissions
• In-House Substitute Teacher
• High School Educational Assistant
  

We're also recruiting for these positions for the 2024-25 School Year:

• English Language Development Teacher
• Secondary Math Teacher
• Middle School Science Teacher
• Middle School Computer Science Teacher
• K-12 School Psychologist