Author Archives: Sarah Burke

Invitation to Grade Seven Social Club!

 

Dear Grade Seven Students and Families,

Steller Parent Group is excited to invite you to join the Grade Seven Social Club! The goal of the Social Club is to provide an opportunity for grade seven students to get to know each other and have some fun. Everyone in grade seven is invited to participate, but it is not mandatory.

How it works:

  1. We will post a new Creative Challenge and a Discussion Prompt every Monday on a platform called Padlet.
  2. You can post as much as you want, and respond to your friends, whenever you want. Padlet lets you post comments, photos, video and even links. The Challenges and Prompts are meant to be a bit silly, so get creative and have fun!
  3. We will also host Live Zoom sessions where we will play some games, have some breakout rooms, and get to know each other.  

Participating is easy:

  1. Complete the Registration Form Here (both student and guardian).
  2. When you receive an email from Padlet scroll down and click on “Take Me to Padlet”. You don’t have to create an account! 
  3. Pick up a Steller Jay Mascot at the school office. We will use our Mascots in many of our Creative Challenges so please take care of it.  If you can’t pick up your Mascot please contact me at the email below to make arrangements.
  • Only people with the link can access this page so please don’t share it. 
  • Students can join any time.
  • Steller Parent Group will be moderating posts. 
  • If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

If you would like to help run this club please let me know at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen 

Chair, Steller Parent Group

chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

What Lessons Have We Learned?

At tonights Parent Group meeting a parent brought up a very good question.

As we start the final quarter of this unique and challenging year, and start looking forward to next year, now is a good time for our community to consider what we have learned, what might we want to continue doing next year, and what changes might we want to work on. 

One idea that has been mentioned was to continue with having Wednesday as an asynchronous day, with the possibility of allowing passage time, or perhaps modifying our intensives to be spread out over the term. I am sure there are many great ideas out there that merit consideration. 

It was proposed that a committee of staff, students and parents might want to convene and identify ways to get input from our community.  This moment presents a powerful opportunity for our community to come together, and provide direction for our school, and to me is at the heart of the Steller Philosophy. 

If you or your student would be interested in joining this committee please let me know at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

Kirsten

Student Meals Now Available!

The Steller Parent Group Student Nutrition Committee is pleased to share with our families that The Community Lunchbox will be distributing food, prepared meals and shelf stable boxes (for a family of four) to anyone in need, no questions asked from the Power Center starting this week.

Steller students and their families are welcome to make their way to the parking lot of the Power Centre at 704 W. 26th Ave starting at 1:45 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Many families are experiencing food insecurity during these unprecedented times, and we encourage our community members to share this information widely so that no child goes hungry. 

If your family is struggling support is available.  We encourage you to reach out to our counselor Marriane at pedersen_marianne@asdk12.org 

 

Steller Parent Group Meeting Tuesday!

We hope you are having a great week off! Don’t forget Steller Parent Group will be meeting on Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00pm via Zoom. 

This is your chance to hear from Reed and staff about what is happening at school, vote on how Steller Parent Group spends our money, and meet other parents. 

It’s also time to start thinking about forming our Board for next year.  In particular we will be needing a new Treasurer, and many other positions will need to be filled with a return to in person school.  Join us and find out more about how you can help! 

Topic: Steller Parent Group
Time: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 6 to 7:30pm

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97391496736?pwd=NVlNbkc4N3Q5REZSMUxqcXFWTmcxZz09

Meeting ID: 973 9149 6736
Passcode: STELLER
One tap mobile
+16699009128,,97391496736#,,,,*7789210# US (San Jose)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 973 9149 6736
Passcode: 7789210
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ad29bE9kHX

 

Steller Students at Model United Nations

 

The UAA Wendy Williamson is empty in the hours leading up to the Model United Nations in 2018. The conference was held virtually this year (2021). (Photo by James Evans / UAA)

This month students from high schools and universities in Alaska and Washington participated in the 35th Model United Nations Conference hosted by the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Students from Steller represented four countries and participated in six committees. 

A Model United Nations is a simulation of one or more of the bodies of the United Nations. High school students from around the world participate in MUN conferences at the local, national and international level. This year the topic selected at our local level was the COVID Pandemic. 

Participating in MUN means representing a nation state and their positions on a specific topic on the world stage. Preparation often includes research about government, population, demographics, history and current policies in order to fairly represent your countries interests in the United Nations. This often culminates in the position paper, a brief essay describing your country’s history, policy and position on the theme of the conference. The decisions you make in MUN are based upon this paper. For me, one of the hardest things to do at MUN is adopting the mindset of your country’s government, and role playing as an official of that government – especially when I don’t personally agree with the policies of the country I am representing. My natural tendency is to want to give my own opinion about things. However, MUN is about fulfilling a role which isn’t your own, and working with others for the interest of your country and the global community. 

I have learned a lot from participating in MUN conferences around the world – from learning about research skills, to crafting a resolution.  But one of the most important things has been to see how all the rules and regulations in a big organization can be used effectively to get things done, and also how they can be misused and get in the way. I would recommend anyone should give MUN a try! 

Eli P. Senior

Want to learn more about MUN? See here.

Lottery Application for 2021 is now open!

If you would like to view a recording of our Information Night please email Kirsten at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

Steller Secondary School, a part of the Anchorage School District, offers an alternative to standard (large school) education. We have about 200 students in grades 7-12 from the Anchorage area, all of whom attend the program by choice. The primary emphasis is on responsibility to self and to the Steller community. Students, parents, and staff participate in the democratic process of setting school policy and procedures. Students play an integral role in planning activities, from deciding when and where to have dances to what courses should be offered. In addition to participation in the operation of the school, students are encouraged to spend some of their time at Steller in community service in order to learn more about and contribute to the larger community in which they live.

While many of our classes are on an honors level and our academic standards are high, Steller does not offer phase level or advanced placement classes, nor do we have an interscholastic sports program. Instead Steller students participate in sport programs and take specialty classes at a school of their choice. At least eighty percent of our graduates attend a college or university. Several classes are taught seminar style, with an emphasis on close analysis and discussion. Students design contracts with teachers for independent study or self-directed learning courses not offered in the curriculum, or students may elect to teach a class to their peers. Many of our students take local university courses. Many students elect to pursue community service.

Students who do well are able to become self-directed and self-disciplined enough to take charge of their own learning to a large extent. During the course of their years at the school, students usually become more independent and able to make good decisions for themselves. There is no one typical Steller student.

Students can join Steller in any grade 7 through 12.  The deadline for the ASD Lottery  Application is March 18th.

To learn more about the Steller Philosophy, Intensives, Passages and more please visit the “Prospective Students” tab on our website, and the ASD website here. 

Questions? Call our Administrative Assistant Tami at 907.742.4950

View Our Brochure Here

Middle School Students Perform A Midsummer Night’s Dream

This quarter two middle school language arts drama classes performed plays from the Mechanicals and Fairies in Midsummer Night’s Dream. They developed a variety of techniques to make the work come to life on Zoom. They’re adorable, hard-working, and talented, and we’re proud of their successes! Becky

 

 

 

 

Well done to everyone involved! 

Kirsten

Opportunity for Students

Mental Health Advocacy Through Storytelling (or MHATS) is a group of Anchorage high-school-age students who tell stories of mental health triumphs in order to combat the stigma surrounding mental illness and open up conversations.

Over ten meetings, we learn to tell true and personal 5-7 minute stories in the style of Arctic Entries/Storyworks/the Moth. We also learn advocacy skills– how to stand up for yourself and others. In addition to storytelling, in this session, we will be learning about what mental health education looks like in schools and advocating for House Bill 60, which would put K-12 mental health education into Alaska State law.

To learn more visit their website here. 

To register here:

https://forms.gle/RY8sQZqCX9KZytHTA