It’s no secret that when it comes to comparing Denver neighborhoods, Stapleton is the ‘king of kids.’ Stapleton has several families who have adopted kids, others who have multiples, and of course, some single child households and then many households who boast two, three, and four siblings. Everyone knows that raising kids is hard, but what type of household is the hardest? Stapleton has dozens and dozens of families with twins who believe they have it the most difficult. “It starts when they are babies,” said Stapleton resident with three year old twins Cindy McCoy. “We have to get their timing figured out with feeding, sleeping, and then taking them anywhere. It is just terribly difficult. Then, as they get older, they fight or throw fits at the same time. I love my kids, but I definitely think it would have been easier on us if we had them one to two years apart. I am so jealous of those non-twin people.” [Read more…] about Easier, Twins or Regular Siblings? Stapleton Residents Weigh In

It’s all over! Now, we need your prize choices. Thank you all for participating. First place, Christi S., chose a free Stapleton All Sports multi-sports program. Please contact us if you are in the following group. Thank you! Zach Bisek Ryan Hayes Beau Olivere Nils Satterstrom Michael M. Chris Leding Michelle Lazar Sara A. Craig Lyle Evan Fauerbach Tony Ferrufino tim brown Megan Y. johnny futbolhiro Michael Tognetti 2014 Stapletonion Bracket Challenge Prizes

• Stapleton All Sports: Free mutli-sport summer camp
• Mici: Two of the following: 16″ XL Specialty Pizza & Bottle of Italian Wine
• Happy Cakes: Build a Happy Cake, 8″ two-layer birthday cake (feeds 25)
• Chipotle: Five of the following: Dinner for four certificate
• Berkshire: Two $30 gift cards
• KevinCarlsonGolf.com: 1.5 hour golf workshop – $250 value – The winner can invite up to 5 friends.
• Wine Cellars, The Bottle Shop of Stapleton: $25 gift card
• Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl: $25 gift card
• Blue Creek: Swag bag of Eminence Skin Care products ($70 value)
• Stapleton Help Desk: Two hours of service ($250 value)
• Smart Space: $200 Smart Space Gift Certificate

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The April Front Porch has an article which analyzes the outcome of the middle school choice system. The article examines total number of students, ratio of shared boundary students to non-boundary students, gender ratios, as well as the different neighborhoods making up each school. The Stapletonion has taken a deeper look to understand the numbers behind the numbers.

• There are roughly 250 middle school aged kids currently in Stapleton, with that number expected to grow dramatically in the coming years. That’s right. Shit just got real.
• There will be almost twice as many girls attending Bill Roberts than boys. I am sure this won’t cause any drama during school dance time, right? (*Note to McAuliffe boys: Start talking to the Roberts girls now. It will be much easier to date them than the unfavorable 52% boys to 48% girls ratio you are dealing with at your school).
• 91 Stapleton kids will be attending McAuliffe Jr. High, which will be physically located in Park Hill across Quebec St. Has DPS already made plans for a bullet-proof bus and for each Stapleton student to have their own bodyguard? If not, these things need to be considered.
• Each school will have more diversity than parents may be ready for. When most Stapleton parents asked for diversity, they thought it meant some kids from Eastbridge, some from North Central Park, others from Conservatory Green, some from Westerly Creek, etc. There may have been some disconnect when it came to the word, ‘diversity.’
• 98% of in boundary Students got their first choice. That means 2% did not. We want our children to strive for 100%, and we expect that from DPS. We can do a little better, DPS.
• What in the hell is Denver Discovery? And there is a DSST Northfield? Huh. Who knew?

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With so many inspirational stories (and a recent car commercial) dealing with successful enterprises beginning in garages, Tom and Rose Halsor decided to roll the dice and give it a shot themselves. Last fall, with little more than a can-do attitude and a desire to help those less fortunate, the resourceful couple launched a direct-giving charity out of the garage of their Stapleton residence. [Read more…] about Local Couple Launches Charitable Direct Giving Service from Garage

Jane Hansen signed up for the Westerly Creek PTA in January to help out at her child’s school. “I am a stay at home mom, so I had some time, and I used to work full time, so I thought this might be a good fit for me,” said Hansen. “Now that my child is in school, I was looking for something to fill this void, and thought the PTA at Westerly would work out great.” Friends at the school also encouraged Jane. “People told me that with my business background and social skills, it would be a fun, part-time thing to focus my energy on. Clearly, the PTA has a strong misunderstanding of what the word part-time means.” [Read more…] about Westerly Creek PTA Member Realizes Position is for Lifetime

The budget issues for the new Stapleton High School have become a major priority for Stapleton residents. Such a priority that residents have come together to help move the project forward more quickly. “DPS was not making the appropriate contingency plan, so we had too,” said Kate Bolsem. “What we are proposing is using some of the contingency fund built in from the original bond meant for all the bond projects to make sure our project gets done first and foremost,” said Bolsem. “Then, when the Stapleton High School is completed to our satisfaction, the remainder of that contingency fund can be used for any of the other projects where necessary. It just makes sense.” [Read more…] about High School Update: Is Phase 1 Enough, or Should it Be 1.5 or 1.99?

With the extraordinary number of young kids in Stapleton, and that number increasing, residents are concerned the current elementary schools will not be able to accommodate all of the incoming children. “People are always talking about the bubble,” says concerned resident J.D. Artz. “But, what concerns me, is not the first bubble, it is all of these bubbles we see coming up after the first bubble. Will five DPS elementary schools be enough?” Luckily for Artz and the rest of Stapleton a potential solution to this issue was accidentally discovered by a Stapleton runner. “I was out running in Eastbridge and was looking over at the progress of the 26th Ave. Park when I saw what I thought was a mirage,” said runner Mitchell Weber. “It looked like a public building, almost like a school. I didn’t want to interrupt my run to look further into it, nor did I want to be seen across the border, so I came back later at night and confirmed it. Sure enough, it’s a school.” That school is located right across the through-street Iola in Aurora. [Read more…] about Fletcher Community School: The Diamond in the Rough

The Central Park swimming pool can get pretty hectic, especially during the winter. Toddlers are flying down the slide while dozens of other kids are throwing balls or screaming around the whirlpool area. With all of the ruckus, it is amazing more kids don’t get hurt. Central Park Rec Center director Robin Miller attributes their safety record to two things. “First of all, we have a great pool staff,” says Miller. “They are always watching, making sure kids are safe and aren’t breaking the rules. Secondly, we keep some signage in key areas of the pool so that parents can let their kids know what is safe and what is not safe. This is particularly important in the very shallow area.” [Read more…] about Rec Center Sign Helps Swimmers Avoid Injury