PLANNING FOR THE 2020-21 SCHOOL YEAR
|
|
Dear STEM School Highlands Ranch Families,
We hope that you’ve had the opportunity to start your summer vacation and are enjoying this time together. We wanted to share with our community that we’ve begun the planning process for the 2020-21 school year.
This week, key members of our STEM team met to discuss a variety of different scenarios and created action items to accomplish over the next few weeks .
We want to express to our families that the health and safety of our students and staff are our top-priority in our planning process and in all of the decisions that we will make. We are taking into account all of the feedback and concerns that we’ve received. Our ultimate goal is to provide our students and families with options that best suit their needs.
As a team, here are some of the action items that we are working on:
- Executive Director Dr. Penny Eucker is leading the efforts in communicating with State and local governing bodies, as well as with our accountant Star Ake, on what funding may look like for the new school year. Having this information will help for us to plan accordingly with the resources that we are provided from the State.
- Director Dr. Leanne Weyman is working to identify areas of support for teachers and staff to ensure their safety and security. This includes professional development training and remote and in-person learning.
- Director of Curriculum and Accountability Dr. Karen Johnson is working on different schedule scenarios to allow for students to continue to receive the high-quality STEM education from home, as well as in the classroom. This could include options for students to start the school year remotely and then ease into in-person learning.
- Our School Nurse, Karen Lewis is working daily to review all of the CDE and CDC guidelines to incorporate their recommendations into our process. She is working closely with our facilities team to make sure that sanitizing stations are in appropriate locations. She is also working on protocols for daily screenings. She is also exploring the possibility of having face shields for staff and students.
- Our Director of Facilities Robert Hoornstra and his crew are working to sanitize the entire building once again, while also making sure that we have supplies for daily sanitation for when we open for the school year. He is also working on making modifications to the building to incorporate visual social distancing recommendations.
- Our Director of Information Technology Mike Pritchard is working on incorporating technology into daily processes that could include touchless check-in/check-out procedures for students, visitors and staff. He is also exploring adding additional technology options to allow for remote learning to be incorporated into in-class instruction.
- Nicole Bostel, Communications Manager, will take the lead in providing clear information to our STEM community.
While this list is not exhaustive, it is the beginning of the important work that we are embarking on to bring our students back to our school safely. Our goal is to make sure that our students, families and staff have a safe and healthy learning environment to the best of our abilities.
If you prefer your student to start the school year through virtual learning, please contact
[email protected]
to set it up. A normal or modified schedule can be designed to best meet your student’s needs during this global pandemic. STEM can adapt to your specific needs during this uncertain time.
We will continue to provide information throughout the summer weeks to keep you as informed as possible on our progress. Please use the feedback form via the button below to send us any additional concerns and feedback so that we can take them into consideration during our planning process. You can also submit questions to
[email protected]
.
Thank you for being a part of our amazing STEM community.
STEM School Highlands Ranch
|
|
Click the image above to access the Zoom Board Meeting
Summer Hours and School Closure
Have a great summer everyone! The offices at STEM will be closed through June 23. Summer hours will begin (possibly remotely) on Wednesday, June 24 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. We'll share additional information in the coming weeks.
A Message from DR Photo
With restrictions slowly opening on businesses, we at DR Photo are doing a soft opening for our families to have the opportunity to commemorate the promotion/continuation/graduation of their students. We are opening our studio for cap and gown portraits to the families for limited appointments that will meet all social distancing guidelines and we are in compliance with Colorado's Safer-At-Home order. A lot of our children have had their lives turned upside down, and we are hoping that the opportunity to have a cap and gown portrait to commemorate their special occasion, may bring some order back to their lives.
Click here
to schedule an appointment.
|
Welcome to STEM Aubrey White
High School Social Studies
|
|
Yearbook Information
Elementary: Yearbooks will be held for distribution until the start of the 2020-21 school year. If your student will not be returning for the 2020-21 school year, we will reach out to you once we have access to the yearbooks at the start of the 2020-21 school year to arrange a way to get it to you. If this changes, we will communicate additional information via the weekly newsletter. Didn’t order an Elementary Yearbook? You’re in luck! We have a few extras to sell! Please
pay here
and you’ll receive a yearbook when you pick up your child’s items!
Secondary: Secondary Yearbooks for SENIORS will be mailed to the primary address on file in IC if
purchased before May 25
. Delivery will be at the end of July. Yearbooks for all other secondary students, and those purchased after May 25, will be distributed at the beginning of the school year. If your student will not be returning for the 2020-21 school year, we will reach out to you once we have access to the yearbooks at the start of the 2020-21 school year to arrange a way to get it to you. If this changes, we will communicate additional information via the weekly newsletter.
|
Welcome to STEM Cassandra Martin
Third Grade
|
|
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
|
|
Mental Health Supports Page
|
|
DCSD Mental Health Support Page
Douglas County School District has a
Mental Health Resources page
with a variety of resources for students and families. Please take a moment to review all that they have listed.
|
|
|
|
STEM Center for Strength
The STEM Center for Strength is taking shape. Click the logo to the left to visit their website to get helpful resources as we continue our journey through recovery. You can also visit the STEM Center for Strength Facebook Page,
A new support group for students in grade 4-7 on Thursdays from 4-5:30 p.m.
Click here
to to join the Zoom session.
|
|
The STEM Center for Strength is excited to open its doors--virtually--to serve the community of STEM School Highlands Ranch. We are here to support students, parents, staff, and any community members affected by the incident of mass violence on May 7, 2019.
Please
join the mailing
list to get information on free services and events at the STEM Center for Strength over the summer!
The STEM Center for Strength has therapy dogs, student groups, social activities, yoga, clinicians, and a variety of programming over the summer. Please
check the website
frequently for updates!
|
|
|
Grace Ryan Wins National Merit Scholarship
Senior Grace Ryan was the recipient of the Nation Merit Scholarship Award in the amount of $2,500.
STEM Juniors Earn University of Rochester Awards
Lauren Daigler
was honored with the George Eastman Young Leaders Award for showing strong leadership experience at their school and in the community. The student must have high grades and be enrolled in challenging courses, as well as have extensive involvement in extracurricular activities.
Farren Adler
was honored with the Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony Award for demonstrating commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues. The student must also show leadership and dedication to community action, as well as strong rades and be enrolled in rigorous coursework in humanities and social sciences.
Nathanel Cho
was honored with the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award for his high achievement and rigor in science and math. He showed positive contributions to the school and within the larger community.
The New Business Officer Team
Welcome to the
2020-21 Officer Team
who was selected by the Business Advisory Board. These officers will serve DECA, FBLA and NTHS.
- President Tyler Connelly,
- VP Membership - Beccan Gruenberg
- VP Communications - Gitangali Rao
- Secretary/Treasurer - Tjaden Litwiler
STEM Students Published in Colorado Sun
Congratulations to STEM Students
Veena Raigaonkar
,
Haylee Fustich
and Maria Prosperi on getting their coursework writings published in the Colorado Sun.
Connor Sparks Honored by Colorado School of Mines
Junior Connor Sparks was honored by the Colorado School of Mines with the Medal of Achievement in Math and Science. In addition to the award, Connor received a $1,000 scholarship for if/when he attends CSM.
|
|
STEM PTO Gives Back to Community Partners
STEM PTO had an opportunity to create adjustable, reusable and sterilizable parts designed to reduce discomfort on the user's ears, ie; surgical masks, etc. on 3D printers. STEM PTO donated a number of these to the medical staff to Littleton Adventist Hospital.
DCSD Art Show Features Gitanjali Rao
|
|
THE FOUNDATION FOR DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOLS
|
|
The Foundation for Douglas County Schools
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which works with corporations and organizations to develop private resources to enrich education within Douglas County schools for the fulfillment of lifelong learning experiences of our students, citizens and community. Visit the website.
|
|
STEM School Highlands Ranch| stemk12.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
