Mrs. McElroy Message

I cannot believe it is already September. The school year is in full swing with fantastic learning, fun activities, and great opportunities. I enjoy every day and am so thankful to each of you for entrusting your most precious treasures to our STEM staff daily. Please remember to contact your student's teacher first if you have any questions or concerns about your student.

Mental Awareness

This September, STEM will be recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month! Our Mental Health Team will be visiting classrooms across all grade levels to teach lessons focused on emotional identification, healthy communication, and doing activities using the Zones of Emotional Regulation. To celebrate as a school community, we invite all students and staff to participate in a Green-Out Day on Wednesday, September 10th. Green is the official color for mental health awareness, and wearing it school-wide helps us show support and unity. Please encourage your child to wear any shade of green—big or small! Students and staff who are wearing green will also be invited to participate in a school-wide photo to show our community support of mental health. Thank you for helping us build awareness about the importance of taking care of your Mental Health.

Attendance Awareness

As we settle into the new school year, we are excited to share that September marks Attendance Awareness Month. Across Colorado and the country, student chronic absenteeism is on the rise. Colorado ranks sixth highest absenteeism rate in the country. At STEM we aim to provide extraordinary student experiences and student attendance is crucial for these experiences.

Chronic absenteeism means missing 10 percent or more of the total enrolled days during the school year for any reason. It includes both excused and unexcused that last more than one-half of the school day. (Extended absences for travel counts too).

Why Does Attendance Matter?

• Research demonstrates a strong connection between student attendance and academic performance
• Regular attendance allows students to establish and nurture relationships
• Students who get to school each day have a better chance of learning and succeeding
• Research shows that students that miss two days of school per month can struggle with reading and this may lead to social emotional stress
• When your student misses school they also lose valuable learning time, can fall behind in their school work and as a result, it’s difficult to catch up
• Students chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade
• By 6th grade, chronic absence is a proven early warning sign for students at-risk for dropping out of school
• By 9th grade good attendance can predict graduation rates even better than 8th grade test scores

We understand some absences are unavoidable due to illness or family emergencies but we also know that students who miss too much school, even occasionally, can fall behind academically or socially.

Here are a few helpful tips to help support regular, on-time attendance:

• Make sure your student is getting enough sleep
• Limit the use of electronic devices in the bedroom and before bedtime
• Set out clothes and backpacks the night before so your student is ready to go in the morning
• Establish a set morning routine to support getting out the door on time
• Only keep your student home if they are truly sick
• Keep in mind complaints of a stomach ache or headache can be a sign of anxiety and not a reason to stay home; If your student is experiencing anxiety about school, let us know so we can offer additional support to them
• Talk to your student’s teacher, school staff or other parents in the community about what has worked for them to motivate their students to attend school
• Avoid scheduling vacations and doctor’s appointments when school is in session
• Have backup plan for unexpected situations
• If there are challenges in getting your student to school, please contact us for support.

We believe that regular attendance is a key factor in your student’s academic progress and overall growth. Let’s continue to work together to emphasize to our students when they show up, students can thrive!

Morning Driveline

Please do not drop off your students prior to 7:45am. There is no adult supervision until 7:45am. If you need to drop off prior to 7:45am please utilize morning BASE. Here is the link to sign up for BASE.

STEM Blast Off Carnival

Please join us on Wednesday, September 17th from 5 PM - 7 PM for our STEM Blast Off Carnival.

• Teacher dunk tank, carnival games, bounce houses, inflatable obstacle course, game truck
• Food Trucks-Kona Ice and What Would Cheesus Do and STEM Concessions. Parents are also welcome to bring a picnic dinner.
• All the money goes into our student clubs
• Presale wristbands are $15 until September 10.
• Wristbands and individual tickets will be for sale day of for an increased cost.
• Non-STEM siblings are warmly invited to join this event and can enjoy all activities with a wristband and/or tickets.

Have a wonderful week. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

In Partnership,

Amie McElroy

Elementary Principal

amie.mcelroy@stemk12.org