Steller Secondary School

A new school year presents opportunities for various beginnings — new classes, new faces, sometime-new courses and often-new materials.  Summer and vacation can be great healers; and as we approach the opening day of a new school year, the end-of-year pressures that plagued us in June seem remote.

One of the newest things at Steller this year is me.  My name is Harlod Green.  I come to you with a varied background in education.  I have twenty-four years in education, and the last twelve years have been in educational administration.  I have worked on the ground level as a teacher helping to implement the Coalition of Essential school principals in Albuquerque, NM.  I have been an assistant principal in Fairbanks and Anchorage, as well as a principal of a charter school in Fairbanks. This briefly summarizes me.  I am certain that in the days, weeks, months, and years to come we will talk. You will come to know me and I, you.  I am extremely happy to be at Steller and look forward to working with my community, my parents and all of the wonderful students and staff that make up the heart and soul of Steller.

Newness alone cannot produce transformation.  We ourselves must be willing to be caught up in the rebirth that is possible with each new year.  Starting a new year gives us the opportunity to make new plans, design new strategies, and implement new ideas.  There is a special kind of joy and satisfaction in planning lessons and activities for a new class, for although the subject or grade level is the same, the students are new, and they appreciate the planning that is done on their behalf.  Whether one’s responsibility is administrating, supervising, teaching, preparing lunches, maintaining a building, or managing an office, there is always room for improvement and for new ways to do a good job even better.

We can be proud of what we achieve in Steller- in our classrooms, in our offices, and in our communities.  But, our achievements are not due to complacency and satisfaction with the status quo.  Our program is what it is because we have a staff of dedicated, aspiring individuals that have a common goal — to do what is best for students. This year, as in the past, we must concentrate on the processes that spur continuing advancement:  evaluating what we have, determining what we can do to improve, and identifying what we need to do to make those improvements.  Let us make 2008-09 our best year yet!

Harlod Green

Medication Administration Policy
If your student requires medication (including inhalers or non-prescription medication) during the school day, I will be happy to assist you by giving them safely and reliably.
Before any medication can be administered at school, the parent/guardian must complete the appropriate form, which is kept on file in the school nurse office. Medication Request Forms must be renewed each year. Prescription medications used longer than 15 days require a physician signature. Medication must be provided in the original container. Loose pills that come to school in a baggie will not be given. Please do not send medication (including cold remedies, cough drops, Tylenol, etc.) to school for your child to take on their own.

ASD policy requires an adult to transport prescription medication to and from school.
Students are not allowed to transport any medication to school or have it in their possession while at school. There are exceptions to this policy; and they are an inhaler, epinephrine auto-injector, or insulin (when authorized by a physician to be carried at school, and the appropriate paperwork is on file with the nurse).

Forms may be obtained from the ASD website: www.asdk12.org. At the home page, go to Forms & Publications, located on the right side of the screen. Type “medication” in the keyword block and download the appropriate form. Forms may also be obtained from me in the school office. If it’s easier, I can fax them to you as well.

Allergies/Asthma Policy
Parents/guardians of a student with a known anaphylactic reaction to food, animal, bee/wasp sting, latex, or any other substance must complete an Allergy/Action Plan for the nurse to keep on file. All teachers and staff are trained to use epinephrine auto-injectors, and they all maintain current lists of students with anaphylaxis. The lists are, of course, confidential. A trained staffer or teacher will go with your student on all field trips. All students with asthma or anaphylaxis are allowed to carry their own inhalers and epinephrine auto-injectors with authorization from parent/guardian and their physician. Please contact the school nurse for the appropriate paperwork.

Immunizations
Please note that Alaska State Law requires all students be appropriately immunized or have a physician-documented exclusion on file with the school district. This school has a strictly enforced “No Shots - No School” policy in accordance with state law. Please check with your student’s health care provider to ensure immunizations are up-to-date prior to the start of school and provide documentation of immunization updates to the school nurse.

Tuberculin Testing
All 7th grade students, as well as any students who are new-to-ASD, are required by Alaska State Law to have a PPD tuberculin test. This is an interdermal injection. Parents/guardians must sign a permission slip for this TB test. Students are exempted from testing only if you provide results from a PPD skin test given within six months prior to the school entry or a physician states the testing would be injurious to your child’s health. A child who has had a BCG vaccination is not assured to have any safeguard against tuberculosis; therefore, BCG is not an exemption from tuberculosis testing. There is no exemption from tuberculosis testing for religious or personal objection. If you wish, you may have your family physician administer the test and bring or fax the results to the school nurse.

Student illness or injury
Although we stress the importance of good attendance, any student who appears ill should remain at home. Please don’t send sick students to school to be examined by the school nurse. This may expose others to illness unnecessarily. If your student becomes ill or injured while at school, the nurse or someone from the office will notify you or one of your emergency contacts before excusing your student from school. Please keep your contact numbers and emergency contacts updated throughout the school year. If you leave your student in the care of another adult temporarily, for vacation or other reasons, please send a written note to school with your child to reflect the temporary contact change.

P.E. Excuses
If your student needs a physical education excuse for 1-3 days, a parent/guardian may send a note to school with the student for the school nurse. The nurse will make alternative placement arrangements and notify the PE teacher. If a student must be excused from PE for more than three days, a written physician’s note is necessary. The note must indicate the reason and specify the length of the PE exclusion and include a return date.

If you have any questions or your child has any special health concerns, you may contact me at 742-4963. My office hours are 8:00am - 3:30pm, M-F. You may send me a fax at 742-4966. Please mark it “ATTN: Nurse”. You may also email me at: williams_wendy@asdk12.org.

Wendy Williams, RN BSN
Steller Nurse

Nurse Wendy is now accepting donations for our lunchtime cache. Some suggestions are:
• Cup of soup
• Cup of noodles
• Granola bars
• Cheese & cracker packs
• Juice packs
• Plastic spoons and forks
You can drop donations off in the office.

Thanks!

Welcome back to another Steller year! Since we, as a community, share the Steller facility, here are some rules and safety tips that we can use to help us live and work together safely and considerately.

 All visitors must check in at the office so the staff knows who is in the building both for security and fire purposes. When you sign in, we know that your car (the one without a permit) is in the parking lot. You alleviate confusion and avoid a parking ticket. Speaking of permits,…

 School Board Policy states that all students who park in school district parking lots must have a parking permit. Permits cost $50 per semester. Students may pick up a Vehicle Registration and Parking form from me or from the office. The permit requires a parent or guardian’s signature. Please pay for the permit in the office and bring the completed form and receipt to me and I will issue you a permit.
Cars will be checked randomly for current car permits. Your car will receive a warning the first time. The second time you’ll receive a fine, and the third time you’ll be towed at your expense. Ooch.
Happily, permits from our school are ok in other school parking lots. So if you were planning on driving your car to another school for classes or activities, you’ll be covered.

 Vehicle safety is important. Please don’t speed in the driveway or parking lot. Don’t overload your car with passengers, that is, each passenger must have a seat belt. This is part of responsible driving. Our school is about responsible freedom, which means just that, freedom to be responsible in all things you do and making proper choices. If proper choices are not made, those freedoms that we al cherish could and can be taken away.

 The front access drive is a Fire Lane. Dropping off and picking up students is fine but no one is allowed to park there. Any car parked in the Fire Lane (without a driver in the auto) can and will be towed at the owner’s expense. There are no warnings given out for this offense.

 If you are parked in the front access drive when we are having a drill, PLEASE move your car to the parking area of the school immediately. Be aware of students streaming out of the doors. If the alarms go off and you are sitting in your car in the access drive, it might not be a drill! It could be an emergency and you could be blocking an emergency vehicle trying to get to the school.
The staff does not have time to locate the owner of a car in an event of an emergency or a drill. Our first concern must be the safety of the students.
Don’t try to pick up your student during an emergency or drill. It causes confusion and increases the risks for our students. Students will be released at the proper time after the event.

 Many Steller students walk to one of the fast-food places during lunch, or walk to a bus stop. If at all possible, stay in a group. Do not walk or wander down back alleys just because it is a shortcut. These areas are danger zones and should be avoided at all costs. If anyone approaches you that you do not know, don’t talk to them! Run to the nearest safe place and report it at once.

 Several students ride bikes to and from school. Remember to wear a helmet at all times when riding your bike – especially on school property. Please do not ride bikes on the school sidewalks or parking lots. WALK THEM. Bikes are often an unexpected obstacle for both cars and pedestrians. Accidents can easily happen.

 Skateboards are not allowed on school property.

 If you notice an adult or a student you don’t think belongs to the school, please tell any staff member right away. Do NOT confront them. Let the staff member ask who they are and their business at Steller.

 Regarding Steller’s “Couch Policy”…
We currently have one opening for a couch in the lounge. Please keep reading if you are interested in donating one. Our policy is below, and please, wait until the second week of the school year to donate a couch.
We can have a maximum of two couches in the front lounge at any one time. When they get to the point of being a safety problem or are just plain worn out, we get rid of it and replace it with a “new” donated couch. At that time, and only at that time, will we accept a couch for the school. Even if you’ve received an OK for donating your couch, DO NOT just drop it off at the front door. I or someone else on staff must check in the couch. We would prefer to preview your donation before you move it to Steller. We cannot accept a donation that isn’t in good condition, and we don’t have room to store a couch.
In the past, couches have been left without notice and the cost of hauling away a couch has soared.
This rule also applies to the classroom couch donations. No approval, no acceptance.

Thanks for paying attention to Safety at Steller. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want - oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

I certainly have “spring fever” and I am ready for the snow to stop falling and the grass to start springing! I am very thankful for more hours of daylight and know that the students and staff are appreciative of the increased light as well. As we complete the last quarter of this school year and move into Intensives, it is important for our students to keep their focus, stay on top of their course work, and complete the school year in good standing.

The last quarter of the year always goes by very quickly. Between now and the end of the year there are some very important events and activities that will occur. Please check the calendar in this news-letter and the list of dates and activities below. We hope to see you at many of these events.

Steller had a very positive lottery in March and will be welcoming 52 new 7th graders for the 2008-2009 school year, along with a small number of students across the other grade levels. Steller will also be saying good-bye to a great group of seniors on the 20th of May at Steller’s Graduation at the Discovery Theatre. This is a very accomplished graduating class and a number of our graduates have received prestigious scholarships, been recognized for community service, and been accepted to highly regarded colleges and universities. We will certainly miss them and wish each and every one of them success and happiness in the future.

Thank you for a great school year and to each of you who have contributed your time, talent, and energy for our school . The Steller community will work together next year to complete the process for Northwest Accreditation. I invite you now, to become an active part of the process next year, and work with us to continue to make Steller a unique learning environment for our self-directed learners.

Have a great summer. Enjoy the wonders of the Alaska summer….once it finally gets here!

Karin

• End of Quarter – Friday, May 2
• Intensives – May 5th through 16th
• Steller Olympics – Monday, May 19th
• Student Presentations – Tuesday, May 20th from 8:30-11:30 am
• Students will be released at 11:30 to attend Graduation on Tuesday, May 20th
• Graduation – Discovery Theatre, Tuesday, May 20th at 3:00 pm
• Parent Teacher Conferences – Wednesday and Thursday, May 21st and 22nd

Although it was nice to have some time off to bond with my family after the birth of my second child, it’s also good to be back at Steller to work with all the staff and students again. Thank you all for welcoming and supporting the substitute nurses in my absence.

It’s been a pleasure to work with such a great school community this year. Although we’re all anticipating the beginning of summer, I know I’ll be glad to see many of you next year. And to the seniors who are moving out into the world, I send them our best wishes in all their future endeavors.

Spring Intensives & Travel

If your student is participating in travel or overnight intensives, the health office will need updated medical and medication information. Please check with your student for paperwork you need to review and return to the health office prior to Intensives.

Student Medication

Medications cannot be left in the nurse’s office over the summer. It must either be returned to the parent or discarded. Please pick up medications in the Nurse’s Office by 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 20th.   Remember, any medications which are not picked up by Wednesday, May 20th, 11 a.m. will be destroyed.

Immunizations

Many students will need immunization boosters before the end of school and over the summer. The immunization must be received and documentation provided to the school prior to attending classes. The State of Alaska has a strict “NO SHOT, NO SCHOOL” policy. I mail out reminder letters several months prior to your student’s immunization due date. I will mail notification letters in May to the parents of students who will require immunizations over the summer. Free immunizations are available at a variety of locations. Please contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Summer Camps for Alaskan Youth with Asthma

The American Lung Association of Alaska is coordinating two summer camps for students with Asthma.

CHAMP Camp for ages 7-12 will take place July 27th through August 1st at Camp Carlquist in Chugiak; and Limitless Adventures Camp for ages 13-17 will take place June 8th through June 14th at Eagle Valley Center in Juneau. Contact Michelle Ferreira at 907-644-6417 or mferreira@aklung.org for more information

Prom and Graduation Parties

Prom night and graduation are very soon! We want this to be a time of fond memories and not a reminder of a tragic event. Please take time to remind your sons and daughters about the safety issues and consequences of drug and alcohol use. Remind them that it impairs judgment, lowers inhibitions, and can cause alcohol overdose (read that as poisoning), and increase the risk for motor vehicle accidents. Let’s work together to keep our students safe.

Thank You

Thank you to all the families who have donated lunch and snack items this year. Our parent group has requested I contact the parent/guardian of any student who regularly uses our free lunch/snacks. We want to keep lunches/snacks available for those students who need them in an emergency and not have them used as a regular substitute for bringing one’s own lunch or not wanting to go out and buy a lunch. On the average, about six Steller students a day come to my office for a lunch or snack, and so far this year, your donations have supplied over 800 lunches/snacks. Thanks again for all your support.

Nurse Wendy

The following article was included in the latest issue of the Coalition of Essential Schools and is definitely worth a closer look!

Raising Teens: How Parents Can Bridge Societal Challenges

Parenting philosophies come and go, but old-fashioned values are still the best, says a Binghamton University nursing professor in two new books on raising adolescents.             

“Kids are not just small adults,” Associate Professor Mary Muscari said. “That’s my mantra. Even teenagers don’t think like adults. They don’t have that ability, those experiences.” In the latest books, Everything Parents Guide to Raising Adolescent Girls (with lead author Moira McCarthy), and Everything Parents Guide to Raising Adolescent Boys (with lead author Robin Elise Weiss), Muscari notes that although the general issues of parenting don’t change so much, new trends in society can create added challenges. For instance, more families today have two working parents, which can make it difficult to spend time together. Muscari said it’s critical to find time — and quantity counts along with quality.

“All the toys in the world will never make up for parental time,” she said. “When the job takes priority, kids see that. And that’s a really bad place to be as a kid.” Still, Muscari acknowledges that some ideas must be modernized a bit. “The good, old-fashioned family meal that we’ve long forgotten about is so critical,” she said. “If you can’t do it at night because the kids are overscheduled, do it at breakfast. Have some time when people can sit down and share and connect.”

This connection will pay off in the long term, Muscari said. When parents and children communicate well and regularly, kids are less inclined to hide their problems. If your child tells you when something goes wrong, you can get involved before a situation escalates. Communication can help keep kids safe in other ways, too, because gangs and predators don’t want a child who runs to his parents for help.

Muscari said she often discusses safety concerns with parents. It’s true that children now are more exposed to the world outside their neighborhood, she said, but fear itself can be a threat to kids.

“We can’t make these kids bubble kids, even though we have all these things that we worry about,” she said. The bottom line, she said, is that parents need to be parents. “I’m very dead against that parents as pals business,” Muscari said. “Parents are there to be guides for their children.”

Books are published by Adams Media Corporation: www.adamsmedia.com

Mary Muscari is an associate professor in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University, and is an expert in child health, mental health, and forensics. She has more than thirty years of experience working with children and teens, and has written or co-authored more than 100 publications, including:

• Not My Kid: 21 Steps to Raising a Nonviolent Child
• Not My Kid 2: Protecting Your Children from the 21 Threats of the 21st Century
• Let Kids be Kids: Rescuing Childhood

She conducts parenting workshops around the country on topics such as keeping kids safe from predators (’live’ and on the Web), bullying, and how to raise nonviolent kids.

To Make This A Prom For The Seniors To Remember!!

The junior class sponsors the Spring Prom for the seniors and we need the help from some parents to chaperone and bring food for the prom.

 You can leave a message for Larry at 742-4961 or e-mailing me at nevada_larry@asdk12.org.

The time is here…
The time is now…
The time is so gone…

 Thank you,

Larry, Jennifer, and Troy

Our library relies on volunteers to keep it open, organized, and operational throughout each seven-hour school day. When I am not in the library, a volunteer is.

Patty Anderson
Shehla Anjum
Joe Banta
Warren Cole
Leslie Johnson
Anne Kessler
Sara Klever
Danni Koenig
Ravnit LaChapelle
Lori Ostrosky
Dotty Tessandore
Kim Tix

And our Tech Volunteer, Mark Friest

Thanks to Lorryn and Rochelle Wilhelm for the donation of new books!

The Library Closes on Friday, May 2. You’re welcome to come in and study but you may not check out new books.

LOST BOOKS:  A Perspective

On April 12th, 39 Steller students have a total of 58 books overdue! Are you one of these people? Overdue notices have gone out, so please locate your books and return them before intensives.

If you’ve lost a paperback, you may replace instead paying the lost textbook fine. (Hmmm…$8.95 versus $25 fine.) If you calculate 58 lost books per year at $25 per book, the cost of replacing these books is nearly 2/3 of the ENTIRE library budget. It’s hard to improve the library when most of our money goes to replacing lost books. Please help!!

Danyiel and I will collect fines this spring, and again next fall during registration.

Summer Reading
The list for the Battle of the Books is available at:  www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome.html  The Municipal Library Summer Reading Program is always fun…even for grownups. Lists are also available at the Loussac Library.

You’ve seen this website before, and maybe even used it:  www.sled.alaska.eduNow this database has a new title, The Digital Pipeline. Go ahead and use it to search for information in newspapers, magazines and other sources.

Career Resources Corner

Did you get a scholarship? If you did, please tell Karen Emmel. Anchorage School District likes to have an idea of the award amounts received at each school. They’d even like to know about the awards you don’t accept. Just tally up all your awards (not counting the $50 check from Aunt Sally…) and give a single dollar amount to Karen, e.g. Janie was awarded $50,000.Thanks, Everyone!
Karen Emmel

May 6th is the final deadline to register for the June 7th SAT.  Register online @ collegeboard.com

Thank you very much to all the parent chaperones who helped make this year’s Activity Night a success! We had a wonderful turnout and we really appreciated all your help! It’s an easy way for families to log their ten volunteer hours.  You may want to keep it in mind for your family next year!! If you have some feedback from this year’s event, or, if you have an idea for a contest or arts and crafts activity for next year, please e-mail your student’s advisor. We’d really like to hear your ideas and suggestions.

With the school year accelerating to a close, we would like to remind you that students will soon be scheduling Year End Conferences with their advisors. These parent-student-teacher conferences serve a variety of purposes, from recapping the students’ educational experiences to setting goals for next year. Conferences are also an opportune time to get information regarding next year’s SAT/ACT testing schedules, fill out your intent to return form, or update your Steller directory information as well as other housekeeping details. This year’s conferences will be held on Wednesday, May 21 and Thursday, May 22. You or your student can schedule a conference by contacting your student’s advisor or by phoning the front office to reserve a time slot.

For students wishing to recoup lost credit or looking for enrichment courses, summer school information is now available online at asdk12.org. Summer school offers a semester of credit per session and many students find that participating in summer school allows them more freedom of choice in coursework during the school year.

Under the “Last but not Least” category, please ask your student to look under the bed and beneath the floorboards for any textbooks, library materials or other school-related items that should make their way back to Steller. Kids with outstanding fees for lost or missing books, uniforms, equipment, etc. won’t be able to get their final grades (or diplomas

We look forward to the final of weeks of school and meeting with you and your student during the conferences!

The Indoor/Outdoor Games Intensive needs some “loaner” equipment. Can you help us out?

• Athletic shoes with cleats (not metal
• Shin guards or knee pads
• Over-the-knee sports socks

Twenty-nine students signed up for this intensive! Since some of our students will be playing field hockey and outdoor soccer for the first time, they may not have this kind of athletic gear. Since they are “trying out” these sports during our two-week intensive, some loaner equipment would be very helpful. Contact Toni or Jim if you can donate / loan us some of our gear!

• Please check in the office for lost electronics…
• Graduation on May 20th at 3pm - At the Discovery Theater
• The building closes at 12 noon on May 20th so students can attend graduation.

ASD and Smithsonian Travel is offering a Presidential Inauguration Tour in January of 2009 and it promises to be an exciting learning experience for our students. Students will not only experience a wonderful tour of Washington DC but will also attend the Presidential Inauguration, Inaugural parade, and an Inaugural Ball held exclusively for Smithsonian Student Travelers! It promises to be an unforgettable hands-on-learning experience as our students participate in this historic event.

ASD and Smithsonian Travel have are making this trip affordable. The complete cost including airfare, hotel, most meals, tours, and security is $1714. But in order to lock in at this price, a deposit of $150 with an application is due by April 30th!

If you would like to participate in this exciting adventure, contact the office at 742-4960.

Jennifer Wadsworth and Jack Davis will be leading our Steller group.