Steller Secondary School

Requests for Transcripts – Please plan ahead and allow a minimum of three days to process transcript requests.

Friday, December 21st is a grading day for teachers.  This is not a school day for students and students should not be in the building unless they have a pre-arranged appointment with a staff member. The building will close at 3:00pm on Friday, December 21st.  The building will be closed from 3:00 pm on Friday, December 21st through 7:30 am on Monday, January 7th.

Intensives will be held from January 7th through 18th.  Students should have already registered for their January Intensive.  Students who have not planned an Intensive MUST immediately see their advisor to arrange their credits for the Intensive time period.

Monday, January 21st is a holiday.

3rd Quarter registration is Tuesday, January 22nd

Thursday, January 31st, 7:00pm
All Community Meeting.  We will hear the report from the team that attended the Coalition of Essential Schools Conference.

Head Lice
Several cases of head lice have been reported at a variety of schools within the ASD, including Steller. Knowledge of a potential problem is key to prevention. As such, I thought it prudent to share a little information regarding head lice with our Steller families. (more…)

A “Herda” Tortoise looking for a good home!

Gus and Tortuga have been living in Shannon’s room for the past few years but are looking for greener pastures. Shannon has felt remiss in their care and would love to pass them on to someone who thinks they might be able to provide a better place for them. Gus and Tortuga have lovely personalities, enjoy long walks to get food and friendly dinner conversation. Please email Shannon if you think you might be the perfect candidate to be their next caregiver. (Herda_Shannon@asdk12.org)

Cheers,
Shannon Herda

For student safety, Steller students taking classes at KCC may not drive to or from classes.

Thanks to William Franklin and Pamela Dupuis for books donated to the Library.

The Anchorage School Business Partnership program has been part of the ASD community since 1991. At present the program has grown to almost 540 partnerships worth well over $2,500,000 dollars to the School District. The program offers opportunities for businesses and schools to partner their expertise and services with one another. Generally, a business will give assistance directly to a selected school. The business partner enhances the education of ASD students and helps students gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the community and business world. The underlying message is that there are business professionals who support our schools and actively look for positive ways to assist.

This year, Steller has three business partners. The first partnership is Title Wave Books. Title Wave has found several ways to help Steller students participate in community service. Most recently, Title Wave asked and Steller responded: 17 Steller students took the performance stage at Title Wave and read selections of their choosing for a packed house during Banned Books Week 2007. Afterwards, Title Wave provided each student participant with a thank you gift. Last year, Title Wave generously provided over 25 gift certificates for student recognition as well as one for a seriously ill staff member. They are also willing to provide mentorships for interested students during our January and May intensives. During the holidays Title Wave gives Steller groups priority on their gift-wrapping station during the holiday season. They provide wrapping paper, tape, a table, and public address announcements free to Steller. Several advisory and class groups earned tips for their charities, clubs and activities last year and groups will again be “wrapping it up” on several occasions this holiday season once again.

The Anchorage Downtown Partnership is our second business partner. The ADP provides opportunities for student volunteers during holiday events in the downtown area. Because most colleges require over 500 documented high school
community service hours, this is just one good reason why Steller strongly recommends students attain 500 community service hours or more by the time of their graduation. The ADP sends a personalized letter to every Steller participant after each event recognizing his or her service, a nice addition to his or her college portfolio.

The next opportunity for Steller students sponsored by the ADP is the Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, which will be held on Monday, December 31. Students can help anytime between 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. with children’s parties and other activities occurring in Town Square. ADP is inviting families of Steller students to participate as well. Interested families and students can call Kris Natwick at 279-5668, or email her: knatwick@anchoragedowntown.org to sign up.

Our third business partner is Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Alaska. Steller students have the opportunity this year to participate in the BBBS “Bigs and Littles” program. Essentially, Steller high school students in grades 9-12 volunteer to become a “Big,” and they are individually paired with an elementary school “Little.” Since we are so close in proximity to North Star Elementary, “Bigs” are paired with North Star Elementary “Littles.” Bigs and Littles meet together once per week for one hour at North Star for friendship and fun. A Big might read a book with their Little, help with homework, or just talk.
Finally, Steller can have more than three business partners. We would love to hear from any size business that would like to work with Steller and potentially form a partnership. Furthermore, Steller families are always invited to provide support in any of the mentioned areas. Please contact Linda in the Counseling office at 742-4956 or by email at samorajski_linda@asdk12.org. Thanks for your input!

FOR STELLER STUDENTS
ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION

Anchorage Downtown Partnership, our school business partner, invites all Steller students, family members, and staff

New Year’s Eve Celebration
Illumination Station
Selling lighted toys/souvenirs in Town Square
Monday, December 31
2 hour shift choices: 3-5 pm, 5-7 pm, 7-9 pm
Illumination station is an outdoor vendor booth – dress warm; heaters provided

New Year’s Eve Celebration
Children’s Parties
Assist with children’s activities happening prior to the New Year’s Eve Celebration
Monday, December 31
3-5:30 pm
Outdoor activity – dress warm; heaters provided

New Year’s Eve Celebration
Fireworks glasses
Distributing free paper glasses for enhanced viewing of the fireworks over Town Square
Monday, December 31
6-8 pm (fireworks set off at 8 pm)
Outdoor activity – dress warm; heaters provided

*ADP sends each volunteer a personal letter thanking them for their volunteer service that is a nice addition for the college portfolio. Many colleges require 500 hours of documented high school community service.

Call Kris Natwick at 279-5668, or email her at knatwick@anchoragedowntown.org,.
Questions? See Linda in the Counseling office.

Come join us for the Spring Intensive to the Colorado Plateau of Utah. This two-week adventure will take us to southeastern Utah for an exploration of the geology, history, and water issues of one of the most visually stunning areas in the US.

(more…)

What parents need to know

Keeping children safe online means teaching them to be smart, responsible users of the Internet. Click on an age group to see tips from WiredSafety.org’s Parry Aftab.

Teach your children to:
Think before they click: With whom are they chatting or e-mailing, what are they saying and how are they saying it? Will the person on the other end know they are joking?
Walk away from the computer and “Take 5” before responding to something that upsets them online. (more…)

It is not the going out of port, but the coming in, that determines the success of a voyage –
Henry Ward Beeche

As you receive this edition of the Ol’ Steller Yeller, a team of staff and students will be attending the Coalition of Essential Schools Fall Forum in Denver, Colorado. Jack Davis, Bob Vandergriff, Tucker McGownd, Robin Wohlforth and I will be the Steller team attending the conference. We plan to attend a variety of sessions, with a focus on gathering ideas and information to present to the Steller community at the January All Community Meeting. The success of our “voyage” will be determined by what we are able to learn to bring back to our community. As we move into the re-accreditation process, this is a perfect opportunity to gather information and reflect on current practice. Each of the team members traveling to the conference is looking forward to sharing with the community in the January All Community Meeting.

Communication:
If you receive a phone call from the Student Messenger System (robot call) and do not get the complete message, please check the Steller Parent Website http://www.stellerschool712.org/ for updated information. Generally, the robot calls are reminders of information that is posted on the website and/or in the Steller Flash section of the website. Currently, there are about 100 Steller families registered as users on the website. Please go to the website and register if you have not already done so. It is quick and easy. Just look on the right hand side of the page and click where it says, “sign me up.” Once you are registered, you will receive an e-mail telling you when new updates or information are posted to the website. Steller will continue to use the Student Messenger System, in conjunction with the website, to keep you informed of upcoming events and activities.

Intensives:
Students are currently discussing and voting on
options for Intensive class offerings in January. Registration for the January Intensives will be taking place the last week of November. Course descriptions for the intensives will be posted during the week of the Thanksgiving break. Please review those options with you student prior to Intensive Registration.

Thank you to all of the parents and community members that volunteered time and materials to make Art Day a success. Our students produced some wonderful artwork and had the opportunity to explore a variety of art projects during the two sessions. Cooper Galvin, one of our Steller students, was instrumental in making sure this event took place. Art Day was a wonderful example of the Steller community pulling together for the benefit of our students.

May the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday find you and your family safe, healthy, and happy,

Karin

On Wednesday, November 21st (the day before Thanksgiving), the building will close and the doors will be locked at 3 pm.
All students must be picked up
BEFORE 3 pm.
Please be considerate of the teachers and staff who want to prepare for their holiday, too! Thanks.

School will be closed November 22nd and 23rd.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for all you volunteers!

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS - www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome
We have two people on the Junior High team so far this year. We would like more! If you are interested, please talk to Lorryn Wilhelmi or meet during lunch in the Library. For this meeting, you are allowed to bring your lunch into the Library. The District Battle is in late January, with the State Battle in February. Watch for more details, and keep reading! Teams should begin reviewing the reading material with each other.

Preview books are now in the library. We can put these on the shelves at NO COST if we find volunteers to read and write a short review on them! This is a good way to give some time to the school if you are unable to volunteer during the day. Anyone who is interested in reading a book can see Karen in the library. I have 20 books, so I need at least that many readers!

Wish List - Someone asked for a list of books we would like to have in the Library. I will publish a list on the website, and I will keep it current as items are purchased. Thank you for the offer and the idea.

Science Students Should Do the Math

OVER 80,000 STUDENTS TAKING INTRODUCTORY SCIENCE courses at more than 70 U.S. colleges were randomly surveyed by senior Harvard Smithsonian Center lecturer Phillip M. Sadler and the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education Associate Professor Robert Tai. Three parallel surveys for biology, chemistry and physics were designed and administered during the 2006 fall semester. Professors reported the final course grades for each student.

Using a zero to 100-point scale, the survey found that every year of high school math a student completed added 1.86 points to his or her college chemistry grade. Furthermore, for each year of high school math a student took there was a 1.84-point increase in biology and a 1.28 rise for physics. The survey also found that taking high school chemistry added 1.72 points, while high school biology and physics added 1.35 and 1.32 points, respectively.

“The two important pillars were study in the same science and more advanced mathematics in high school,” Tai says. “Mathematics is the language of science.”
curry.edschool.virginia.edu, cfa
www.harvard.edu

Does Eating Turkey Make Me Sleepy?

You’ve been looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner all year: turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Mmm, mmm! But after you finish that second helping of turkey with gravy, you start to feel a little sleepy. In fact you suddenly feel like curling up in front of the TV and napping until next Thanksgiving. Is gobbling up all that turkey really to blame?

Turkey meat contains an amino acid called L-Triptophan, which makes you a little drowsy. Nutrition experts say the real reason you feel so tired after your Thanksgiving feast is mostly because of all those CARBOHYDRATES [Can you say: KAR-BO-HI-DRATES ?] you ate.

Carbohydrates are found in starchy and sugary foods like bread, yams, potatoes and pumpkin pie. Another reason why this special meal might make you drowsy is that eating a big dinner causes more blood to flow to your stomach [to digest the food] and less to your brain thus making you feel less alert.

So how do you avoid that sleepy feeling on Turkey Day?
- Eat small healthy snacks before you sit down
for the big meal.
- Have moderate portions of your favorite foods.
- Drink water during the meal and eat slowly.
- Stop eating when you are full. (There will be leftovers tomorrow!) - Take a walk outside afterward to help with the digestive process. Follow these tips and have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING…. gobble, gobble!

Health Screening
Health Screenings for all 7th, 10th, and new-to-district students are nearly complete. Heath screens include vision, hearing, height, and weight. I will be mailing out MD referrals for students who do not pass their health screening. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me @ 742-4963.

Donations
We have had a good number of donations for lunch items. Thank you to all who have donated; however, as the weather turns colder we are seeing an increase in the number of students needing lunch. As a result, we still need a few items for students who forget or don’t have lunch. Suggested donations include: Mac & Cheese (lunch size), granola bars, juice boxes, and plastic spoons. If you have specific questions please contact the school nurse.

Thank You!
Thank you to the family of Clay K. for donating lunch items.
Thank you to the family of Chloe and Sylvie B. for donating lunch items.
Thank you to the family of Bobby & Tonei G. for donating lunch items.
Thank you to the family of Madelyn K. for donating lunch items.
Thank you to Dr. Mary Ann Jacob for donating Asthma Education pamplets.
Thanks you to the family of Cedars G. for donating lunch items.

Steller does not schedule traditional parent/student conferences during the ASD conferencing dates. We encourage parents to contact counselors and teachers for mutually beneficial meeting times. Our doors are always open to you but we do respectfully request that appointments be made in advance so that we can rearrange our commitments, prepare any necessary documentation, and gather pertinent information for you and your student. Teacher emails and contact numbers can be found at www.asdk12.org/schools/steller/pages.