Author Archives: Steller Parent Group

BBQ Thank You

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the parents who volunteered their time to help out with the Orientation BBQ last Thursday. In spite of the last minute nature of our appeals, many parents stepped up and helped the BBQ become one of the smoothest in recent memory. The weather cooperated (finally) and students, staff, and (I hope) parents had a great time eating and enjoying the camaraderie. Thanks again to all the parents for helping to make Steller the great school that it is.
Ken, Jennifer, Svetlana

Close Up 2011

Somehow the first half of this article was missed in the first attempt so we are re-publishing it in it’s entirety.

Steller students have the opportunity to participate with other students from around the District in the Close Up program in Washington DC. The program is six days, beginning on Sunday, April 10 and ending on Friday, April 15. This is the Flagship Program which you can examine further by visiting the Close Up site at http://www.closeup.org. Click on the High School Programs and navigate to the “Our Flagship: 6 days” where you can download a PDF brochure and watch a short video about the trip. The cost of the trip, based on the latest figures should be around $2000 including airfare. If that seems like a lot for a six-day trip, please consider the rich experience that Close Up provides. They have been offering these trips for a long time and are the premier organization in terms of the quality of the program. Please visit the “About Our Programs” link for more information.

Two Steller students are already enrolled for the spring program and I’m looking to get at least 10 to sign up. If you have further questions about the experience, email Nina and she can tell you about her experience taking students there in 1984. (Did I say they’ve been doing these programs for a long time?) Since the trip is outside the Steller intensive schedule, students will be responsible for the work they miss for that week. This is because other Anchorage schools will be attending with us and the District has designated these dates for the travel. If you are interested and want to know more, please contact me at [Varee_Ken@asdk12.org] or call me at 742-4950. The sooner we get students signed up, the sooner we can lock in a favorable airfare rate. I hope to hear from you soon.

Label that food…

We have many students with a wide variety of food allergies.  At this age level, most students are able to identify what they are eating and if it contains a potential allergen.   Many times however, the food allergen can be a hidden ingredient that has life threatening implications.  The majority of allergic reactions at this age level occur because the student ate something given to them by a friend that was presumed to be safe.  With that said, it would be great if you could label the ingredients in your homemade foods that are brought in to be shared with others (advisory snacks, BBQ’s, class events etc).   The common food allergy offenders are shellfish, seafood/fish, milk/dairy, wheat, legumes/peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, and pit fruits.

US Senate Youth Program

The next USSYP Washington Week will take place March 5 – 12, 2011 and each student delegate (two from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity) will receive a $5,000 undergraduate  scholarship to the college or university of their choice.

The USSYP Washington Week is a unique government education program that will give two outstanding high school students from your state an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the history and procedures of the Senate, meet the highest level elected officials in the federal government and be encouraged to explore a career in public service. Begun in 1962 by Senate Resolution 324, the USSYP is a Senate sponsored program funded and administered by The Hearst Foundations. More than 65 Senators participate each year.

The USSYP website is a rich source of information for principals, teachers and students, giving in-depth information about this prestigious program and helping qualified students apply directly at:

www.ussenateyouth.org  <http://www.ussenateyouth.org> .

INTERESTED STUDENTS PLEASE SEE KEN AT STELLER

Battle of the Books

Battle of the books is alive and well at Steller. The latest titles and summaries are available at
http://asdlibrarians.wikispaces.com/BOB+Summaries+and+other+materials.

Look for the middle school and High school lists.

You can also find summaries in the library.  I would encourage you to get together with friends, form a team and begin reading.  District battles will be in late January, early February.  Steller has had a solid showing in the past, let’s keep up the tradition.

Karen Emmel
Steller Librarian

BBQ & All Community Meeting Agenda

Thursday, August 26

5:00-5:45—BBQ with burgers, hot dogs, potluck side dishes (hopefully outdoors). Everyone eats and socializes.

6:00 ish—Everyone moves inside, grabs dessert, and makes their way to Advisory Groups to meet their Advisors, and other parents in their group.  Advisors can recruit Parent Liaisons, talk about nature of AGs if they wish.

6:15—Everyone moves to the MPR for the All Community Meeting. We’ll have tables set up for Directory, Flash, eScrip, and Volunteer sign-ups.

6:30—Meeting called to order.

1)     Opening remarks—Harlod

a)     Staff Introductions

2)     Parent Group—Rochelle Wilhelm

a)     Steller Websites

b)     Directory &Volunteer opportunities—Wendy Woolf

c)     Donations—Rebecca Martin

d)     eScrip—Traci Caves

3)     AD Board—Elizabeth Grover

a)     Present current Ad Board members & nominees

i)     Traci Caves, Renee Evans, Ellen Lance, Joan Kulish, Leslie Pate, Denise Flake, Elizabeth Grover

b)     Entertain nominations from the floor for 1 rep & 3 alternates—2 seats must be filled by new-to-Steller parents.

c)     Vote to Install Ad Board

4)     Announcements

a)     Kitchen Purge

b)     Parent Group meets Wednesday, Sept 15 6:00-7:30

c)     Open House Thursday, Sept 16 6:00-7:00

d)     Ad Board meets Thursday, Sept 16 7:00-8:00

7:30 Business Meeting officially adjourned.

Parent Group members will linger to answer questions, continue discussion, or address concerns.

BBQs and All Community Meeting

. . .and the celebrated Order of the Tongs is awarded to all the parents who volunteered their time and energy to help with the Student Orientation Lunch at Steller last Thursday.  Ken & Jennifer were wowed by the parent response, and the students were well-fed after a morning of Advisory Group challenges.  Your talents and assistance were most appreciated . . .

And now, the Steller Parent Group is seeking volunteers of the same ilk to help with the All-Community BBQ & Meeting, this Thursday evening, August 26, from 5:00-7:30 pm.  We will be providing hot dogs, hamburgers, and drinks to our Steller Community.  Everyone attending will bring a side dish or dessert.  We need volunteers to help in the following times and areas:

Set Up – 4 to 5 PM–tables, chairs, (indoor or out), garbage cans & bags

Grill-Meisters – 4:30 to 5:30 PM ish—grilling hotdogs and burgers and veggie burgers starting promptly @ 4:30 PM to get ahead of the hungry masses

Tables  – 4:30 to 6 PM ish—set-up, cleaning and re-organizing as we go and helping people get their side dishes they bring set out in the right places – (side dishes outdoors, desserts in the student lounge)

Runners - 5:30 to 6 PM ish—water and lemonade mix, supplies from the Steller kitchen, help with spills, etc.  We need two 5 gal drink coolers.

Clean Up – 6: to 6:30 PM –We need to identify a counseling group that will volunteer to help with this task as well.

Please contact Rochelle Wilhelm colliebarks@aol.com if you can help.