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As suspected for several years now, the bubble of elementary school-aged children is continuing to grow in the Stapleton community. We don’t mean growing in number of kids, but AGE of kids. What was once a simple concern over the number of seats in existing elementary school classrooms, is now becoming an alarming new reality: Our little ones are growing into teenagers. At the same time. “There’s no doubt about it.” said resident and parent of twin tweens, Mike Herold. “Our boys are indeed getting older. I just knew this was going to happen.” [Read more…] about Survey Shows Most Stapleton Parents in Denial about Growing Teen Bubble

If you have been on a walk on any of the wonderful Stapleton trails , or played at one of the many pocket parks in the early evening, you most likely have not enjoyed your experience. “The mosquitos have been unbelievable,” says resident Mitchell Schall. “My kids are getting eaten alive, and I spray them with bug spray. I don’t know what to do.” [Read more…] about Mosquito Problem Really Bugging Stapletonians

If you didn’t know that the school board election was coming up (November 5th), you are not alone. In fact, most people have no idea who the candidates are, what they stand for, or how and where they would even vote for them. “You know, I am still exhausted from the Presidential election,” said resident Amanda McCoy. “I just don’t have the time to read about the issues. Why don’t they have commercials on TV or have a debate I can watch? That would be so much easier to follow.” [Read more…] about School Board Election Interests Almost No One

Teachers have long struggled with the best way to appropriately incentivize kids to work harder at school and behave better. Dozens of studies have been done in regards to what will work best to encourage children to do better on tests, including one where students were actually paid for better test scores In the end, teachers are pretty much in a corner, as public schools will not fund these rewards so teachers are forced to find an inexpensive way to motivate the kids. “I’ve been giving kids small pieces of candy for years,” says Bill Roberts Elementary teacher John DeLay. “It is inexpensive, and the kids respond to it.” DeLay says that he is not giving the kids a large amount, just small pieces. “Literally, I will give kids one M&M,” says DeLay. “It is more about them seeing the reward and feeling proud that they did it, and the class gets to see them rewarded before they eat their 3.44 calorie treat.” Not shockingly, this reward system has drawn the ire of some Stapleton moms. “I don’t want my child having candy at school,” says Erin Herold, mother of a Swigert Elementary student. “When I am with them, I can control this intake. I have no faith that the school is going to monitor this appropriately. We already have too many obese kids in this country.” Other moms agreed. “Why can’t they give away broccoli, or maybe let the kids run a mile or do 25 pushups every time they do well,” asks parent Becky Axtell. “To me, there is just a lot more synergy in that than rewarding good behavior with a negative item.” The PTA and teachers decided the best way to incentivize kids at school would be to use the same incentives Stapleton kids have at home. “A lot of Stapleton parents get their kids expensive gifts for doing well in school, being nice to siblings, or just going to bed without making a fuss,” said PTA President Angela Benning. “So, we decided to put some of the hundreds of thousands of dollars we raise towards video games for teachers to hand out to kids when they get a good score on a test, behave well, or help with a classroom task.” The schools were smart about how they purchased the games, getting them used from Craig’s List and eBay, and donations from homes that are tired of the games they have. “We spent about $125,000 on used video games,” said Benning. “We will use this as a benchmark, and see if we need more games next year, or if we can allot less money to the fund.” Luckily for the PTA, there have been no studies directly connecting childhood obesity and video games (we don’t think). ]]>

Many people watched on television as roads washed away, homes were destroyed, and people scrambled to stay afloat on anything they could find as they waited for rescue workers. Stapleton resident Eric Crawford was in a slightly different boat, albeit, just as difficult. “My satellite TV was going in and out, and I was trying to watch a movie on HBO,” said Crawford. “To make matters worse, I had to go out into the rain to bucket out the window well. To some, I’m a hero, but really I’m just an ordinary man doing extraordinary things.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Resident Frustrated After Flood Causes Minor Inconveniences

On Saturday September 21st, Stapleton crowned its fifth Lil’ Miss Stapleton, Isabel Kimball. The contest, which is for 7 and 8 year olds, featured over 200 contestants who vied for the crown. “This year, we had so many great contestants,” said Lil’ Miss Stapleton event organizer Britney Corkery. “The girls just did a fabulous job, and we were extremely pleased with how the event was run. And of course, we think Isabel is going to be a great Miss Stapleton for the next year and will positively represent our community.” Many of the pageant-goers were pleased with the event and impressed with how well it was run. “Even though my daughter didn’t win, we were happy with how everything was run,” said Kara Johnson, mother of one of the contestants. “We just need to use a little more spray tan to get us in the hunt next year.” Although the event itself went off without a hitch, there has been some negative reaction about the winner after new information about her came to light. [Read more…] about Pageant Controversy: Lil’ Miss Stapleton Originally from Highlands

Two weeks ago, filmmaker Tim McGovern was planning on filming his documentary on the beautiful bridges in the Stapleton community, but the rain and floods washed away those plans. “It certainly has delayed the project,” said McGovern. “We have been excited about this project for a long time, but we can’t control the weather. We still plan to do the project, but we want to wait until the water subsides and the bridges are more in their natural state.” [Read more…] about Flooding Delays Filming of “Bridges of Stapleton” Documentary

Many residents feel the current school choice system is flawed in many ways, and look forward to a more simple boundaries plan. “We love the school we are in,” said Bill Roberts parent Tyler Muchmore. “We had originally wanted to be at Swigert, but are certainly happy with Roberts. What I am not happy with is how those Swigert parents thumb their noses at everyone. Yes, your kid goes to Swigert, and it is a great school, but it is because you happened to win in the current lottery system. You and your kid didn’t do anything great to deserve to go there.” [Read more…] about Swigert School Lottery Winners Proud of Being Lucky