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ECRWSS THE WIDEFIELD WAY Vol 3, No. 1 • November 16, 2018 The Widefield Way is printed quarterly by Widefield School District 3 - 1820 Main Street, Springs, CO 80911. Postmaster: Direct address changes/corrections to the printers address. BOND PROJECTS UPDATE

Photo by Michael Ring Aerial view of Grand Mountain School

BY THE BOND OVERSIGHT completed, and the two floors of the school SCHOOL BOND PROJECTS COMMITTEE are currently being built. Principal Brian Pohl French Elementary School Facility and Technology Upgrades and his teacher leaders have determined a s teachers and students settle in to mission, vision, and slogan for the school. James Madison Charter Academy Life Safety Upgrades, Facility the school year routine and parents Most recently, the community voted for the Upgrades, Technology Upgrades resume chaperoning their children to Mavericks as the school’s mascot. The logo King Elementary School Security Cameras, Facility Upgrades, Avarious extra-curricular activities, the district Technology Upgrades and school colors will be determined in the has been working diligently to complete the next month. North Preschool Electrical Upgrades, Security multiple projects made possible through the The Bond Oversight Committee has vis- Cameras, Technology Upgrades passage of 3A & 3B, the bond and mill levy ited several sites where other bond projects Pinello Elementary School Life Safety Upgrades, Facility override, last November. As a result, the 2018- are taking place, and some of the highlights Upgrades, Technology Upgrades 2019 school year represents new beginnings include renovations to the Widefield and in Widefield. Sunrise Elementary School Security Cameras, Facility Upgrades, Mesa Ridge High Schools’ auditoriums, a Technology Upgrades Thanks to our community, we have been refurbished library at Janitell Junior High, able to follow through with the three priorities the remodeled counseling center at Sproul Talbott STEAM School Electrical Upgrades, Security promised to voters: construction of Grand Junior High, electrical upgrades at Widefield Cameras, Life Safety, Facility Mountain School in Lorson Ranch (opening Elementary, and a new fueling station at the Upgrades, Technology Upgrades August 2019), building upgrades across the Transportation Department. These updates Venetucci Elementary School Security Cameras, Life Safety district, and a pay increase for staff. made possible by our voters, and the careful Upgrades, Facility Upgrades, Following the passage of the bond, attention and maintenance of our buildings Technology Upgrades Widefield School District 3 established a Bond by the district’s facilities department, have en- Webster Elementary School Security Cameras, Life Safety Oversight Committee (BOC) comprised of sured that Widefield students and staff come Upgrades, Facility Upgrades, parents, community members, teachers, and to a safe school environment conducive to Technology Upgrades staff charged with the task of monitoring success every day. Widefield Elementary School Electrical Upgrades, Security bond expenditures throughout the district. Every school in the district is benefitting Cameras, Life Safety, Facility The committee meets monthly to review from bond dollars. On top of repairs and Upgrades, Technology Upgrades project progress and examine expenditures remodels to buildings, schools were allocated Janitell Junior High Facility Upgrades according to the promises made to voters. $31,250 each to support educational oppor- Our Chief Financial Officer, Terry Kimber, tunities for students. A committee from each Sproul Junior High Life Safety Upgrades, Facility provides monthly financial updates while building helped determine the needs and Upgrades, Technology Upgrades Dennis Neal, Chief Operations Officer, and projects for each school. The table categorizes Watson Junior High Life Safety Upgrades, Facility Jeff Baerresen, Operations Manager-Facilities, the general bond upgrades and the school Upgrades provide recent progress reports on the vari- discretion bond projects. Discovery High School Life Safety Upgrades, Facility ous projects currently underway throughout The committee will continue to review the Upgrades the district. progress of bond projects in every building. Mesa Ridge High School Facility Upgrades The largest project is the construction of We would like to thank the community for Electrical Upgrades, Life Safety Grand Mountain School, which has come a their everlasting support of student success Upgrades, Facility Upgrades long way since the groundbreaking on May in Widefield. Stay tuned for future progress 15, 2018. The walls for the gym have been updates at http://www.wsd3.org/believe S.A. Wilson Life Safety Upgrades 2 November 16, 2018 The Widefield Way Stepping Up STEM BY SAMANTHA BRIGGS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION

idefield School District 3 is stepping up our STEM game. We have expanded our science, Wtechnology, engineering, and mathemat- ics (STEM) programs district-wide to give students more career opportunities. At the elementary level, we offer both robotics and coding clubs. Students meet after school and on weekends. The district hosts competitions throughout the school year to allow students to understand and apply the engineering process of solving problems using technology and innovative solutions. Elementary teams just competed in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) El Paso County Qualifier on November 10. Currently, we have 1,483 students from 6-12 grade participating in STEM related courses. Those classes fall under the fol- lowing subjects: engineering, biomedical science, and computer science. We’ve added a new course for high school students called acoustic engineering which focuses on the science and engineering of sound. Junior high and high school students can also participate in STEM clubs such as robot- Photo by Carolyn Stephen ics, coding, CyberPatriot, and engineering. Sunrise Elementary student Ashton Reik and teacher Lisa Clark work on programming at the FLL Scrimmage. Also new this year is the district’s ability to offer industry level certification testing in The district has worked hard at securing many areas. These are industry recognized grants from the Department of Defense, certifications that employers recognize and Colorado Department of Education, require for employment in STEM related and several local companies including fields. The initial roll out will occur in Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, some Information Technology (IT) and Pikes Peak Community College, and Air Computer Science courses by giving stu- Force Academy Robotics to support our dents the opportunity to receive their A+ STEM initiative. These grants have allowed certification in IT. Students taking CAD us to purchase equipment, train teach- classes may also be eligible to take CAD ers, and expand student involvement in 2D & 3D certification. The district is look- competitions. ing at adding more certification pathways We believe these STEM programs and to other STEM programs within the next certifications are critical for not only stu- two to three years. A few examples could dents but our entire community. There is a include a FAA Drone certification for stu- shortage of workers in many STEM-related dents studying aerospace engineering, and fields, and we want to connect students to a CNA certification for students studying those well-paying jobs while giving them biomedical sciences. skill sets that will serve them for the future.

Photo by Carolyn Stephen French Elementary students Tarynne Moneypenny, Kylie Dannis and Rhiley Cole test out their robot at the FLL Scrimmage.

Photo by Nat Sobin Photo by Samantha Briggs Engineering club students at Mesa Ridge High School participate in a BattleBot competition in Denver. Widefield High School senior engineering students work on design and construction of mini golf holes. The Widefield Way November 16, 2018 3 SCHOOL SAFETY & SECURITY FURNACE BY SAMANTHA BRIGGS paperwork. PRE SEASON DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATION The system will check to ensure that reg- istered sexual offenders are not entering eeping kids safe is one of our top our school campuses without our knowl- priorities in Widefield School edge. Raptor checks the visitor’s name Special District 3, and we are excited to and date of birth for comparison with a Kshare that we have added an additional lay- national database of registered sex offend- $ er of safety and security to our buildings. ers. The registered sex offender database is 69 In October, our schools began using the the only official database checked by the Raptor Visitor Management System. The Raptor system. No other data from the ID Raptor system allows us to screen visitors, is gathered1475 or recorded, Selix Grove and the informa- contractors, and volunteers in our schools tion is not Coloradoshared with Springs,any outside CO agency. 80915 to provide us with a safer environment for Once entry is approved, Raptor will issue our students and staff. a badge that719-596-6677 identifies the visitor, the date, Currently we require visitors to show and the purposewww.mitchellheating.com of the visit. an ID, such as a driver’s license, before In addition to the new system, the entering the building. Upon entering the district has also increased the number building, visitors now have to present an ID of security cameras at schools and hired which can either be scanned or manuallyAir additionalConditioning safety and security personnel. Install entered into the Raptor system to receiveMitchell We Heating also have installedtwo school yourresource furnace, officers a badge. A visitor’s badge is not necessary from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for those who visit our schoolsnow to simply we invite who you serve to ourcall students us for aand Free community quote for an drop off an item in the office orA/C pick installation up daily. for this upcoming season! Call Today! We offer wholesale pricing to our existing customers 719-596-6677 now thru May 31, 2018. 1475 Selix Grove Colorado Springs, CO 80915 Stay Informed!Install before May 31, 2018 and receive www.mitchellheating.com your Furnace Tune up in the fall for FREE (a $89 value)! Email is our primary method of keeping parents informed at the district and school level. Call us today for your Free Estimate Please make sure you have an email in Infinite Campus (IC) to ensure you are receiving important information.before the warm weather arrives! Call us today to schedule an appointment MitchellAC-New2018 You can do this by: before colder weather arrives! • Logging into your IC account and updating contact information ®

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Photos by Samantha Briggs Sproul student leaders deliver gift baskets to the Fountain Fire Department. (Left to right: Clint Whittmore, Casey Howell, Stephanie Howell, Laila Samora, Isabelle Narkiewicz, Cambria Carmody, Lauren Chappell, Brayden Mesite, Ryan Torres, Brayden Stewart, Austin Clark). D3 Gives Back BY SAMANTHA BRIGGS local law enforcement and safety DIRECTOR OF agencies. The team organized sev- COMMUNICATION eral school visits to the Security Fire Department in which students t the heart of Widefield brought gift baskets, thank you School District 3 is com- cards, and even cooked pancake munity. A community breakfasts. These events were small Abuilt on pride, tradition, and in- tokens of appreciation for the sup- novation. It’s one in which our port, kindness, and compassion district could not do without. We safety superheroes show to our are lucky to have our “small town” district each and every day. in the big city where families sup- The PAT is comprised of stu- port one another day in and day dents and staff from all grade lev- out. Each year our schools show els whose mission is to promote support and gratitude in the com- a positive culture by supporting munity through a number of ser- our students, teachers, and com- vice projects that improve the lives munity members. PAT is already of others. planning the next community Most recently, our district’s service project and looks forward Positive Action Team (PAT) has to showing the community in the First-graders at French Elementary give cards, drawings and treats to firefighters at the Security Fire Station. Pictured is first grade reached out to give thanks for our coming months. students Korra Meents and Jeremy Abrell. Important Dates Elementary/ Chess Tournament Jr. High Honor Choir (Elem/JHS) Dec. 1, 2018 Jan. 29, 2019 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. FIRST Technical Spelling Bee Challenge (grades 4-5) Jan. 19, 2019 Feb. 7, 2019 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Science With A Twist (S.W.A.T.) Feb. 9, 2019 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Discovery High School and D3 My Way students enjoy a pancake breakfast with Security firefighters.