STEM Updates
January 2022
A Message from the Superintendent
STEM Family,
Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a New Year with exciting new possibilities ahead. As many of you know, ECISD's school Board recently approved to move forward with the partnership between UTPB STEM Academy and ECISD. This partnership will bring new opportunities and experiences to our students. STEM will continue to offer our exceptional learning model and culture but will soon be able to offer additional student services such as sports and fine arts. We are in the beginning stages of working with ECISD on what services will be offered and the logistics of offering these services. We believe this partnership will enhance our students' learning experience here at STEM. We will continue to send updates to the STEM community as we move forward with the planning and preparations of the partnership with ECISD.
Shannon Davidson
Superintendent
UT Permian Basin STEM Academy
BINAZNOW RAPID TESTING CONSENT FORM
UTPB STEM Academy is offering COVID-19 testing at no cost for students and staff who develop symptoms of COVID-19 while at school. This testing uses Abbott Laboratories BinaxNOW tests provided by the state and federal government. Students under 18 years of age must have written parent consent for testing to be completed. If you wish to give your consent for COVID-19 testing using the BinaxNOW test, please read and complete this form.
Upcoming Events
January
04 Cycle 4 begins
07 HS StuCo Scavenger Hunt
09 National School Counseling Week
10 Dual Credit Start date
14 9th grade meeting
17 Student/Staff Holiday
20 NHS Spaghetti Dinner
22 Robotics Tournament
25 HS Planning Night-LgMPR 6pm
28 Adopt-A-Senior
31 Districtwide Benchmarks
February
01-04 Districtwide Benchmarks
04- PEACE, LOVE, STEM
07 - Star Gazing Night
*All events are subject to cancellation or change
School Boards Make a Difference
COMING UP IN FEBRUARY
PEACE, LOVE, STEM Fundraiser
PEACE, LOVE, and STEM is right around the corner! STEM has reserved buildings D&E at the Ector County Coliseum. This is STEM’s biggest school wide fundraiser and we have lots in store for our community to enjoy. There will be games booth, jumpers, face painting, car demolition, concessions and much more.
This year STEM is offering local businesses an opportunity to purchase a booth and sell their amazing products! If you or someone you know is interested in signing up, please complete the form below.
COMING SOON: Spirit shirts will be for sale soon…Keep an eye out for ordering information!
From Ms. Villarreal
Catered Lunch Options
MCM Eleganté
Chick-fil-A
Join VIPS today!
Fill out this Google Form to be contacted for volunteer opportunites!
PTO Remind
Stock the Teacher's Lounge
It’s such a special treat for our Teachers and Staff to have access to snacks and drinks during their work day! Let’s start their school year off right! PTO is reaching out for help stocking both lounges before school starts. Anything donated is greatly appreciated!
Don't have time to shop? We've got you covered. Click this Donation Link. Any amount is greatly appreciated!
Elementary Updates
Dear Parents,
Our teachers are so excited to welcome your child back to campus. Spring is a very busy semester with Adopt-a Senior, PBL culminating events, Astronomy Night, Peace, Love, & STEM festival, Read Across America, benchmarks, and STAAR. Before you know it, we will be having our end of the year Field Day and awards ceremonies!
One of our goals on our Elementary campus is for all students to be reading on grade level or above by the end of the school year. If you do not know the reading level of your child, I encourage you to reach out to his/her reading teacher. Ask your child's teacher what you can do at home to help your child become a better reader. If your teacher recommends tutoring, please ensure that your child attends those tutorials.
As many of you know, this past summer our state legislature passed HB 4545 which mandates 30 hours of intervention per content for any fourth and fifth grader who failed a STAAR exam. When we began these interventions, only 30 of such days were available from September until first week of May. Thus, it is imperative that your child not miss a 4545-intervention day; otherwise, they will fall short of meeting the state law. Please schedule doctor's appointments on days other than your child's 4545 intervention day. Intervention times are 2:40 to 3:40 pm.
In closing, I want to remind you of our state attendance laws that require a child to not miss more than 10% of the school year or risk being retained. This equates to not more than 18 days in a school year. The state does not distinguish between excused or unexcused absences. We are so happy for the return of your child and look forward to seeing him/her each and every day.
Best Regards,
Monica Elizondo, M.Ed.
Elementary Principal
The University of Texas Permian Basin STEM Academy
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
-William Butler Yeats
Office 432.552.2588
Fax 432.552.2581
@STEMLeader
@UTPBSTEMAcademy
Use Code: 13102622
Elementary Programs Cheat Sheet
Secondary Updates
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back to school and Happy New Year. I hope you and your student(s) found the break refreshing. I know it was a welcome respite for my family.
As we move in to the new semester the focus for our secondary students stands at academic success. Our teachers will be pushing students hard academically and as always we will need your help in monitoring their performance. Please continue to reach out to your student's teachers with questions. We know as educators working with parents on student academic struggles is key to their success. We will continue with our required tutoring (HB4545) groups on Tuesday/Thursday this week.
Please know that our students continuing (or just beginning) with dual credit classes this semester that classes don’t start until 1/10 for UTPB. Please help us monitor these students' progress. Sit down with your student and work through a planner to add due dates for their different assignments. The due dates are found in their course syllabus after logging in to CANVAS (the technology platform both UTPB and we use). This almost always helps ensure that the assignments are submitted appropriately.
Our team is very excited for the coming semester and we are all optimistic about the learning to come. If our team can be of assistance in any way then please let us know.
In Service to others,
Mr. Cody Griffin
Principal STEM Academy Middle/High School
432-552-3580
@UTPBSTEMAcademy
@PrincipalStem
Driver's Permit License
6th-12th grade
SECONDARY STUDENT CALCULATORS
Parents of Secondary Students:
In order to help our students have a positive and successful math experience, we encourage all students in 8th grade math and beyond to own a graphing calculator. A graphing calculator will be used in all 4 years of their UTPB STEM Academy math courses, and should also be more than adequate for any college level work after high school. We realize there is a cost involved but we’re hoping you see it as an 8‐year educational investment in your son and/or daughter.
There are several options for graphing calculators listed below. Any of the TI 84s or TI 83s will be more than adequate for our high school courses. We ask that any calculators labeled CAS not be purchased for school use, as these are not permitted for use on the STAAR test. These calculators can be purchased at many local stores like Office Depot, Staples, Target, or online at Amazon.com (see example in link below).
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
Thank you,
STEM Academy Math Team
TI84: https://www.target.com/p/texas-instruments-graphing-calculator-black-ti-84/-/A-13646060#lnk=sametab
Secondary Programs Cheat Sheet
Buy Your 9-12th Grade Yearbook Now!
Use code: 214031
School Hours
2021-2022 Grant Applications
Federal Report Card 20-21
UT Permian Basin STEM Academy
Email: stemacad@utpb.edu
Website: www.utpbstemacademy.org
Location: 4901 E University Blvd, Odessa, TX, USA
Phone: (432) 552-2580
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/utpbstemacademy/
Twitter: @utpbstemacademy