STEAM Families,

We caught a glimpse this week of some warmer weather and I hope everyone is as excited as I am about Spring approaching. Spring Break will be here before you know it and then the countdown to the end of the year will commence.

We still have so much to accomplish this semester and our teachers are busy planning projects, field trips, and our 9th and 11th grade defenses of learning that will take place in late May. More information about this will come in the next two months.

We are also gearing up for our 10th and 11th grade ACT on March 7th. We need all 10th and 11th grade students present and on time that day so please avoid making appointments of any kind. We are excited to see how well our students will perform because on average, our students perform at or better than the district and state average on the ACT which we are very proud of!

9th and 12th graders please remember to fill out the job shadow experience form that is linked below and submit that by March 6th. This allows those students to be out of the building on ACT Day and experience some time away from the building. We will not be facilitating finding placements, nor will we be following up on where those placements take place, we just need all families to submit the form with the information in order to be counted present for the day. If you have any specific questions about that day, please email me.

-Dr. Flores

To report absences, please use the form that can be found on our website: REPORT AN ABSENCE

When you come to STEAM to check your student out, please know that our safety protocol will always be to ask for the purpose of your visit prior to entering the building as well as asking for identification before releasing your student. We will ask this every time, even if we are familiar with your face from previous pick-ups. We just ask that you kindly cooperate with this expectation.

College Visit Absences: Please see the linked information from Mrs. Counts on expectations for when juniors and seniors schedule college visits during school days.

ESS (Extended School Services): Our ESS after school program has started up again and students can stay on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays after school for extra help and support in their classes. Please see the flyer below for more specific information.

Spring State ACT Date: On Tuesday, March 7th, we will be administering the official ACT exam to all current 10th and 11th grade students at STEAM on our main Campus.

All 10th and 11th grade students must be at school by 7:45am that morning to begin the exam. Breakfast will be served from 7:15-7:45am for anyone interested. Late students will NOT be admitted to testing rooms. The test will end around noon that day and all tech center (Eastside, Southside, and Locust Trace) students may need to miss that afternoon depending on when they finish the test. On this day, students need to bring #2 wooden pencils, a graphing calculator, as well as their fully charged FCPS Chromebook. If they do not have a graphing calculator, one will be provided for them and if they have any current issues with their Chromebook, please fill out a tech support ticket with Ms. Rosen to get it fixed before testing. After testing, students will resume their regular afternoon schedule.

BCTC Students: All regular BCTC students are required to take the test with everyone else but will be sent an excuse note to give their professors for permission to miss class between 8am-noon that day. They are still expected to attend afternoon dual credit courses or internships based on their personal schedule.

Please visit either of these sites for free practice questions and tests: www.act.org or www.kyvl.org. Thank you and contact Eric Ridd with any questions!

9th and 12th Grade Job Shadowing Day - March 7th: All current STEAM 10th and 11th grade students will be taking the full ACT exam on Tuesday, March 7th. This exam will last until after lunch and there will not be any regular STEAM courses occurring that day. We are giving all current 9th and 12th grade students on the main campus the option of participating in a job shadow day of their choice which can be anything as long as the google form is filled out online. All BCTC seniors must report to regular classes/internships as usual.

Please know this job shadow day is not required and is optional for families. If students do come to school that day, they will be working in a quiet study hall during the test and will not be able to meet with their regular teachers. Our goal is to clear the building as much as possible to ensure a quiet and distraction free environment for those students taking the ACT. Tech center students can still come to school and report to tech centers in the PM or take advantage of the job shadow day. We will communicate with tech centers for those students who opt to do the job shadow day. We will still have the normal bus will run from STEAM to each tech center after lunch.

Action Needed: For your student to be able to participate in this job shadow experience, please complete the online ACT Google Form no later than Monday, March 6th. If a student fails to complete this form and is not at school on Tuesday March 7th, they will be counted absent/unexcused. STEAM staff are not able to help in finding specific job shadow placements as that is not the intention of this day. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Student Chromebook Updates: Please access the important information below from Ms. Rosen about updating Chromebooks. If you have any questions, please email Ms. Rosen.

Senior/Graduate Information: Senior/Graduate Announcements

GRADUATION INFO - CAP AND GOWN ORDER INFO: It's time to order your graduation cap and gown! The link below allows you to order your cap and gown online and have it delivered to STEAM for free. All caps and gowns ordered through the Jostens website below will be delivered in the respective colors of the graduate's districted home high school as listed in Infinite Campus. Graduation items will be delivered sometime in March.

When asked to order invitations, all STEAM graduates will receive FREE invitations to the STEAM graduation ceremony. It is not necessary to order invitations through the Jostens website. See below for more information:

Scholarship Opportunity: Since its inception in 1970, the Don Jacobs Organization has proudly served the Lexington community through philanthropy and community engagement. To further these efforts, they are pleased to offer the Don Jacobs Organization Scholarship for high school seniors. This $1,000 scholarship is open to graduating seniors in each of the following Fayette County high schools: Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, Henry Clay, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Tates Creek, as well as STEAM Academy, Carter G. Woodson, and Opportunity Middle College.

These seniors must be committed to attending a higher education or vocational institution during the 2023-24 school year. All majors are encouraged to apply. One senior from each of the aforementioned schools will be awarded a scholarship. Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2023. To apply, please use the following link:

Student Badges and Lanyards: Please remind your student to wear their badge each and every day to school. They must wear it around their neck all day. When students do not have $1 for a replacement badge, those fees are added to their student fees and those can add up quickly. Click for more information: STEAM Badge Policy

STEAM DanceBlue Event: DanceBlue Registration Deadline Extended to March 1st. We've extended the deadline for students to register for DanceBlue! All forms and payments MUST be turned in to Ms. Valley by Wednesday, March 1st.

All proceeds from our mini-marathon support UK's 24-hour DanceBlue marathon to raise money For the Kids! You can learn more about it by clicking the link: DanceBlue Information. 

We will have prizes for the fundraisers, and students are encouraged to continue to fundraise up until the event on the 10th (but we need those registrations by the 1st!!).

Registration is $15, but students are encouraged to raise more to support DanceBlue and they can turn in any additional funds raised up until the event!

The event is Friday, March 10th, 5pm-11pm at STEAM Academy.

All participants will also need to complete the Registration Packet, and those can be picked up from Ms. Valley or in the cafeteria during lunch.

If you would like to help support DanceBlue in other ways, here are some additional options:

If you have any questions or additional ideas about how you could support DanceBlue, please email Ms. Valley.

STEAM PTSA Position Needed: The STEAM PTSA is in need of a VP of Fundraising for the remainder of this school year. If you are looking for a way to get involved with volunteering with our parent/guardian organization with minimal time commitment, please email the PTSA President Jenn Cathey.

Girls Can, Too! Spring Program Information: This is a grant funded program aimed at introducing middle and high school girls to industrial maintenance technology (IMT) fields with the goal of increasing dual credit enrollment in IMT-related courses. The program has six events each school year, three per semester, giving girls a chance to tour industry facilities, meet industry leaders and mentors, and even participate in some hands-on activities. For more information, please see the attached flyers.

2023 LIFT Conference: STEAM Academy is proud to host this year's LIFT Conference. This free event is sponsored by the Urban League of Lexington-Fayette County Government.

The conference:

A continental breakfast and light lunch will be provided for registered participants. Click the link to REGISTER.

Each week we will try to spotlight staff members, students, community partners, a school event, a school club, etc. that adds value to our school community. This week we are spotlighting Orchestra students Davis Williams and Auriane Kobwa.

On Saturday, February 18th we had two STEAM Students audition for the District 7 Honors Orchestra which will take place in March. Both students performed exceptionally well and were accepted into the Honors Orchestra which is a huge accomplishment. Our Orchestra is under the direction of Ms. Frantz. Congratulations to Davis and Auriane!!