Colorado STEM Academy Newsletter

Families,

The recent Stargazing Night was a huge success, creating a memorable evening for our students and families. The event, generously supported by the PTA who provided delicious hot chocolate, offered attendees a fantastic opportunity to look through the telescope and get a close-up view of Saturn. A highlight of the night was the truly impressive array of interactive displays, which were researched and put on by our dedicated fifth-grade students. Their enthusiasm and knowledge truly enhanced the experience for everyone present. Huge thanks to Mrs. Beckman and Mr. Tidd and our Level 5 students for planning this.

New Parent Night also proved to be a successful night, welcoming prospective families to our school community. We were particularly proud of our Student Council students who, under the excellent guidance and supervision of Anne Farrell, acted as ambassadors for the school. They led informative tours for both parents and future students, showcasing our facilities and programs. The turnout was fantastic, and we engaged in many productive conversations, answering a variety of thoughtful questions from the new families.

Our office will be closed from 2:00-4:00 on November 17th so that office staff can attend professional development.

🏆 Awards Assemblies at Union Gym

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

We are excited to celebrate our amazing students at our first Awards Assemblies of the school year! Families are invited to join us in honoring students who have shown outstanding effort, character, and achievement.

If your child is receiving an award, their teacher will contact you directly. Please remember, we have three Awards Assemblies throughout the year, and not every student will receive an award each time. Encourage your child to keep working hard — there are two more opportunities this year to be recognized!

🕐 Assembly Schedule

1:30–2:00 | PreK-2
2:10–2:40 | Levels 3-5
2:50–3:20 | Levels 6-8
Assemblies will all be held in the Union Gym.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Attendance & Dismissal

Sign-out: Homeroom teachers will have clipboards in the gym — families can sign out students directly with their homeroom teacher after the ceremony.
If parents wish for a sibling to attend a different assembly, they must sign that student out at the appropriate office and escort them to the assembly.We’re unable to transport students between assemblies.

We look forward to celebrating our students’ hard work and success together. Thank you for your continued support in helping our learners shine! 🌟

2025-2026 Yearbooks

Students are back at school making new memories! Be sure to order the one book that captures the activities, spirit, and unique qualities of your child’s school. Visit https://tinyurl.com/mvczndra to order the 2026 Yearbook by October 31st for the BEST PRICE!

¡Los estudiantes han vuelto a la escuela creando nuevos recuerdos! Asegúrese de pedir el libro que captura las actividades, el espíritu y las cualidades únicas de la escuela de su hijo. Visite www.jostensyearbooks.com para pedir el Anuario 2026 antes del 31 de octubre al MEJOR PRECIO.

📅 Important Dates

November 23-27: No School Thanksgiving Break

December 1-5: Winter Gift Shop hosted by PTA

December 22- Jan 5: No School Winter Break

January 6: Non-Student Contact Day -No school for students

December 17th: Talent Show Tryouts at Colorado STEM Academy 3:50-4:50 Union 103

January 7th: CSA Talent Show Rehearsal 3:50-4:50 PM Union 103

January 14th: CSA Talent Show Rehearsal 3:50-4:50 PM Union 103

January 15th: CSA Talent Show at WHS Theatre 5:30 PM

January 29th: Urban Air Family Night

Please note that the correct phone number for the Union office is 303.487.2834

WPS hosts Celebrating Excellence each year, highlighting student achievements across academics, the arts, and independent virtual competitions. Students have many ways to participate, and we encourage all who are interested to explore the options.

Colorado STEM Academy offers several opportunities for students to get involved. Please visit our district website for more details, the full schedule, and information on how to submit entries.

More information will also be coming soon about upcoming events, including the Spelling Bee, Geography Bee, MathCounts, and the Science Fair. Virtual competitions are completed independently, and students are welcome and encouraged to participate.

There are many exciting ways for students to shine—we hope your child will take part!

https://sites.google.com/westminsterpublicschools.org/celebratingexcellencewps/schedule-2025-2026

With the uncertainty and delay of SNAP benefits, the Colorado STEM Academy community is coming together to build meal bags for students that may be experiencing food insecurity. Parent volunteers will purchase items, make the bags and deliver them to the school. Meal bags will supplement the Food for Thought program already handing out food bags. Please consider making a donation, big or small,to support our community!

QR code attached.

INSPIRE is Westminster Public Schools’ Family Literacy and Learning initiative, in partnership with the National Center for Family Learning (NCFL), designed to empower parents as active learners, educators, and partners in their children’s success. Through INSPIRE, families build new skills, strengthen relationships with schools, and engage in meaningful educational experiences that extend beyond the classroom.

We are trying to include as many families as possible. If you could please include this in the weekly newsletter that is sent out as well as in a separate email to parents.

Attached are the Family Interest flyers for INSPIRE.

Here is the link to the Interst Form Google doc: https://forms.gle/V5AjhfJ8AJ8JnrjW7

🎉 Celebrations at STEM!

We’re so excited to introduce a brand-new section in our weekly update dedicated to celebrating all the amazing things happening across our school! Each week, we’ll highlight staff and student accomplishments, fun projects, and special moments that make our STEM community shine. ✨

FIRST LEGO League team won the Champion's Award trophy for overall performance at last Saturday's Qualifying Tournament in Boulder and will proceed to the state championship at University of Colorado Denver on December 6th! At the competition, 24 teams were judged on LEGO Robotics, an Innovation Project, and Core Values. This is the first WPS team to move on to the FIRST Lego League State Championship since Scott Carpenter Middle School in 2016. CSA teacher Jamie Jay Summers is one of the coaches of the CSA LEGO League team. WPS had 6 LEGO League teams competing last Saturday with a 7th competing at an upcoming qualifying tournament in Golden. The First LEGO League is a global STEM Competition engaging over a half million young people ages 9-14 in close to 100 countries. Eric Decourcey provided the below links to learn more about the First LEGO League.

1. https://youtu.be/PlJ51XUoP-Q
2. https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/fll/game-and-season
3. https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/fll/

We had our Pie a Teacher celebration today, and it was a huge success! 🎉

Ms. Farrell, Ms. Barczi, Mr. G, Mrs. Giovengo, and Mr. Tidd graciously volunteered to be pied in the face in front of all our students during the assembly. The kids had an amazing time—there were countless laughs, big smiles, and so much excitement in the room.

Thank you to everyone for your incredible support of our Run 4 Funds fundraiser. We couldn’t do it without you! 🥧💙

Pictures will be on our socials soon

📸 Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see photos and more celebrations from across our school all year long. We love sharing the joy, pride, and accomplishments that make STEM such a special place to learn and grow! 💙

PTA at Colorado STEM Academy

We have many exciting events to look forward to throughout the year! If you’d like to get involved, we warmly invite you to attend one of our upcoming PTA meetings.

📅 Meeting Dates:

• January 14, 2026
  

• March 12, 2026
  

🕓 Time: 4:00–5:00 p.m.
📍 Location: Room 102, Irving Building

Children are welcome to attend with you. Please be sure to sign in at the office when you arrive.

Thank you for your continued support—we truly couldn’t do this without you!

Early Pick-up

If you need to pick up your child early we kindly ask that you do so before 3:00 PM Tue-Fri and before 1:00 PM on Mondays.

Driveline App

If your app isn't working, please request a new PIN, simply open the Driveline app, go to Settings → Personal Data → Request New PIN.

Driveline Number

For safety reasons, we cannot accept a verbal number. Families must use the app or display the blue Driveline number provided by the school. This is to ensure student safety.

Where to pick up

If you have students in both buildings, please use the driveline based on your youngest child’s grade level:

• PK–2 youngest child → Pick up at Irving

• Level 3–5 youngest child → Pick up at Union

Community Connections

As a STEM school, we love to build strong partnerships between our students and the wider community. We know our students are inspired when they see how what they’re learning connects to real-world careers and experiences.

If you are willing to share your expertise, we would love to partner with you! Opportunities could include:

• Speaking to a class about your career or industry, Hosting a Zoom session to connect with students or collaborating on a hands-on project.

If you are interested, please fill out Colorado STEM Academy Community Connections Form so we can share your information with teachers. They will reach out based on upcoming lessons and projects where your expertise might fit.

Your involvement helps bring learning to life for our students, and we deeply appreciate your support in growing these connections.

Club Opportunities are Here

Preparing Today's Students for Life!

Registration is on a first come, first served basis.

Students will meet in the Irving Street gym at their dismissal time on their club days and will walk together to their assigned classrooms for clubs.

All clubs are picked up at the Irving Street flagpole on club days at the specified time.

STEM Woodworkers and Woodturners Club (Delayed until January 2026)

Students will be working on a project and developing woodworking and woodturning skills. Safe use of tools and good shop practices will be emphasized in this enrichment opportunity. Students will create two projects that they get to take home.

Team A and Team B students age 12+ by January 2025

Mondays: 1:50-3:20 PM

Date Range: Jan-March

Location: Irving Build Lab

Cost: $25.00 paid to office (card or cash)

Club max: 6 due to safety reasons

Students will meet in Irving Gym at 1:40 pm on Mondays

Woodworking Club Application (please try from a different browser if the link doesn't work, student can also fill out from student login)

Lego Club (NEW)

Course description: Unleash your creativity with tens of thousands of LEGO® pieces at your fingertips! Build engineer-designed projects as you discover the world around us through our inquiry-based learning model. Projects are rotated seasonally to ensure that both new and returning students can explore the endless creative possibilities of the LEGO® building system.

Dates: 11/10/2025 - 12/15/2025 (Five [5] Classes)

Omit Dates: 11/24/2025

Time: 1:40pm-3:10pm

Day of the week: Monday

Grades: K-2

Enrollment: Min: 8 | Max: 16

Fall Session Two: https://play-well-registration.com/registration/new/114469

Summit School of Chess

Led by National Chess Master Jesse Cohen, Summit School of Chess has been serving hundreds of students around the Greater Denver Area since 2012. Our team of coaches is ready for students of all ages and skill levels. We specialize in having fun, respectful, and controlled environments where students can be safe to flourish.

Who: All Ages - All Skill Levels

Price: $13/class/student (e.g. $117 for a 9-week session)

Date Range:

Fall Session (9 weeks) Sept 15, 22, 29, Oct 6, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17 – $117

Winter Session (9 weeks) Dec 1, 8, 15, Jan 12, 26, Feb 2, 9, 23, March 9 – $117

Spring Session (9 weeks) March 16, 30, April 6, 13, 20, 27, May 4, 11, 18 – $117

Day and Time: Mondays from 1:50-2:50 PM

Location: TBD

Registration Link: https://summitschoolofchess.com/schoolprograms/colorado-stem-academy/

Club minimum/Maximum: 10/30

Dance Club

Miss Amy will lead your kids through age appropriate dance while using fun props and energizing music.

Who: Pre K -5th grade

Price:$190

Date Range: Mondays and Tuesdays when school is in session September 11th-May 22nd

Day and Time: Mondays 1:45-3:00 Grades: Pre K-5th

Location: Irving Street Gym

Pokémon Club

A space for kids to trade, learn and play the Pokémon card game.

Who: 3rd to 8th

Price: $15

Date Range: September 2nd - 12th

Day and Time: Tuesdays 4:00pm-5:00pm

To register visit https://forms.gle/t4tSFtFRQrZoXSx49 (* If the link isn't working try typing it in to a separate browser)

Location: TBD