A huge shoutout to our STEM Students who achieved proficient or advanced on the Keystones last year. We honored 44 students and parents at a breakfast last week to celebrate this accomplishment. Our students continue to achieve at all levels and work hard to achieve academic growth. Congratulations to all and we look forward to a larger number to celebrate next year.

As part of the STEM Morning Arrival Process, Students are not allowed to go to the Store once they get off the bus or dropped off on campus. This is a safety concern for our students. Breakfast is provided in the building. We are asking for your support in enforcing this procedure.

November 26th Parent Conferences - STEM Title 1 Meeting

November 27th AM Staff In-Service - No Students - Act 80

November 28-29 Fall Break - Schools and Offices Closed

December 3rd Grades 9, 10, 11 School Picture Day (Students who missed first picture day)

Parent Teacher Conferences are from 8:00am-6:00pm. Please take this opportunity to come and meet with your student's teacher and review 1st Quarter Grades. This is the perfect opportunity to discuss any concerns or questions.

There will also be a STEM Title 1 Meeting at 4:00pm which will include dinner.

What Parents Need to Know About Title I

November 26, 2024

4:00p.m. at STEM Academy

Dinner is provided

You are invited to a meeting to learn about Title I and Parent and Family Engagement. Title I supplies funding for our school to provide additional help to students in the areas of Reading and/or Math. Your child is currently receiving additional help in one of these areas. At this meeting, we will talk about our Title I program and be available to answer any questions you might have. The Title I teachers will explain:

● The regular curriculum used at our school

● The Title I Program at our school

● How your child was identified for Title I

● The assessments we use and what they mean

● The proficiency levels we will help your child to meet

● Activities that you can do at home to help your child succeed

● How you can be involved in the Title I program at school

We understand that your time is important.

We are happy to provide dinner for this meeting to help make it possible for you to attend.

Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, November 26th for Title 1 and Parent Teacher Conferences.

Parent Teacher Conferences are being held on Tuesday, November 26th from 8:00a.m.-6:00p.m. The Title 1 Meeting with take place at 4:00p.m. Dinner will be served

Thank you,

Ronald Brown

Principal

STEM Academy

The Students Achieve 21st Century After-School Program started on November 4th, 2024. The following programs will be available to students:

• Homework Help
• Academic Enrichment
• Credit Recovery
• E-Sports
• Sports
• FREE snack for all students in attendance
• Transportation

Please access the links below to complete an application.

English:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctHhVe-zZ4T02LRhnh_AfpHajPnAW0kbMZ20tpOSHRIOsoxw/viewform

Spanish: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScmzNABBQlXgXMq4airBGHpi7WbHSnDstu8XXNSN737YDWvPw/viewform

Below are list of individuals to support our students in various aspects, including mental health and wellness, college and career readiness, social workers, guidance counselors, art therapists and drug and alcohol education/counseling.

Please reach out to STEM Guidance Team for any more information:

Brittney Hudson bhudson@chesteruplandsd.org

Sharay Barnes Sbarnes@chesteruplandsd.org

Jane Hawkins jhawkins@chesteruplandsd.org

Brittney Hudson, Gr. 9 and Gr. 10 Counselor

Sharay Barnes, Gr. 11 and Gr. 12 Counselor

Jane Hawkins, Social Worker

Edward Franklin, College and Career Readiness Counselor

Amanda Sommerville, Art Therapist (Grant funded)

Cosmi Konzelman, Substance Abuse Counselor (Grant funded)

Cassandra Mosley, Family Engagement Specialist (Grant funded)

Michelle Galdames Henry, EU Counseling Intern (Grant funded)

Afiya Dolloway, EU Counseling Intern (Grant funded)

Danielle Morgan, EU Intern Supervisor, (Grant funded)

Julanne Labrum, Socio-Emotional Learning Coach

Chester Upland Boys and Girls High School Basketball Tryouts are underway at Chester High School. All 9-12 Grade Boys are girls are invited to tryout for the High School Teams. They take place afterschool. Good Luck to all

STEM Academy High Q Team is working hard for their next match. They had a great showing at Marple Newtown where they placed as high as 2nd in their competition. Congratulations to Mr. Paquette and all the members of STEM HQ.

Please reach out if you are having difficulty creating a PowerSchool Parent/Guardian Account.

Creating PowerSchool Parent Account

Follow the steps below to create your Parent Account:

1. Go to cusd.powerschool.com/public

2. Click "Create Account" and fill in your information under Parent Account Details

3. Scroll down to "Link Students to Account"

4. Enter your Student's name. Enter your Student's ID number for Access ID. Enter your Student's ID number again for Access Password

5. Repeat to add additional Students

6. Scroll all the way down and Click Enter

7. Check your email from Chester Upland School District for a link to confirm your account. Be sure to check your Junk and/or Spam folder for this email.

After you have confirmed your account, you can sign in and check your student's grades through the website cusd.powerschool.com/public. If you want to download the PowerSchool App, follow the steps below:

1. Search for the PowerSchool app on Apple Store or Google Play

2. Download the App

3. When opening the app, enter the District Code: PLLL

4. Sign in using the Username and Password you created

Please reach out with any questions. We encourage you to have regular conversations with your student about their progress and learning. We truly appreciate your support and look forward to the opportunity to continue to partner for your student’s success!

Thank you to ReWorld for hosting an electronics disposal event that benefited STEM Academy. There were at least 5 truckloads of electronics disposed. Stay turned for what STEM receive after the tally is received.

Seat Time and Denial of Credit

To obtain academic credit for a course, students must be in attendance and have their attendance recorded at least 90% of the time that a class is scheduled. Failure to attend at least 90% of the scheduled classes of any one credit course or half-credit course may result in a denial of credit for that course. Please reach out to the Guidance Office at STEM Academy High School for further information.

Student attendance will be a major area of focus at STEM and throughout CUSD this year. In order for our students to achieve at the highest level, they need to be on time and in all their classes each day. We need all students and families to be aware of these guidelines and work together to ensure we have a great year. PLEASE REMIND YOUR STUDENT TO GET A LATE PASS BEFORE GOING TO CLASS SO ATTENDANCE CAN BE RECORDED CORRECTLY.

1st Period begins promptly at 7:30a.m. Students are allowed to begin entering the building at 7:10a.m. and are encouraged to go to the Cafeteria to get breakfast.

All students must enter the school building no later than 7:35 a.m.

Students will be marked tardy if they are not in class by 7:45 a.m.

Students will not be admitted into their classroom after 7:45 without a late note signed by the Front Office.

Students will not be allowed inside the building after 8:00 a.m. without a parent or guardian to sign them in.

Students will be reminded of these rules in all classes. We appreciate the support of families helping to improve student attendance this year!

According to teachers, parents, and even students themselves, it is clear that the biggest distraction to learning is their phones. We cannot expect teaching and learning to occur when phones are in the hands of students during their classes. Therefore, students will not be permitted to have cell phones in the classroom this year.

· Students will be required to put their phones away during the school day

· Students will be permitted to access their phones at lunch and return the phones to their bag before returning to class

· Headphones/earbuds/Airpods may not be worn in school

Students who choose not to adhere to these rules will be subject to escalating consequences.

This will be an adjustment for our students, but certainly a positive one. We appreciate the support of our Families to make this happen!