Author Archives: Steller Parent Group

Free SAT/ACT Preparation Software available to ASD students

Supporters of a national education initiative are making SAT/ACT test preparation software available to all ASD students free of charge.
The initiative provides free PowerPrep software to students in Military Impacted School Districts nationwide. As a military impacted district, all students and educators within ASD may receive the free software, valued at approximately $200. Although this is the fourth year of the program, this is the first time it has been available to ASD. The donation is available through July 2009.
All ASD students, regardless of military affiliation, may request a DVD or CD program through the following Web site: http://eknowledge.com/schools.asp?coupon=9C8CEE9334.
The software will be mailed directly to each individual who places an order. The software donation does not cover shipping and handling charges, estimated at $28.
The initiative is available to hundreds of school districts nationwide and is sponsored by eKnowledge Corporation, a group of National Football League players and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Orientation Schedule

Wednesday 8/20/08:

8:30 – 10:30 Advising Group Mtg
10:30 – 11:00 All School Mtg
11:00 – 12:00 Lunch
12:00 – 2:05  Class Mtg’s by grade

Thursday 8/21/08:

8:30 – 11:30 Class Mtg’s
11:30 – 12:30 School BBQ
12:30 -  1:45 School Activities
1:45  -  2:05 Advising Group Mtg

Please note: The 10th grades will  be attending Birchwood Camp for orientation starting on August 20th and will depart at 11am and return August 21st around 1:30-2pm.

Class Registration, August 22

Registration schedule looks like this:

*   12th and  8th graders will register from 8:00am – 10:00am
*   11th and 7th graders will register from  10:00am – 12:00pm
*   9th and 10th graders will register from   1:00pm – 3:00pm

Please keep in mind that all personnel will be focused on getting all students registered  and won’t be able to supervise unattended students.
If possible- please make arrangements to pick your child up as soon as they have completed registration or make arrangements for alternative transportation home or to an alternate location as soon as they have completed registration.  Doing this would greatly aide in a smooth and efficient registration activity.

Principal’s Corner

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

Healthy and Wise Notes from Nurse Wendy…

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

Lunch donations needed

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!