Category Archives: General Announcements

Join the Steller Parent Group Now!

Dear Steller Community,

This is the 2nd of three letters we will be sharing with you about Steller Parent Group. 

Over the last several years, the SPG has worked hard to create guidelines and procedures to promote transparency, be inviting to everyone in our community, and support equity.  We welcome your participation, however you are able. 

The mission of the Steller Parent Group is to promote involvement in school activities, to solicit address, and make recommendations regarding issues and policies facing the Steller Community, and to support fundraising activities and facilitate the disbursement of those funds. To learn more about our by-laws, budget and mission visit our website here. 

Steller Parent Group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.  Watch for the announcements on the Steller Flash (email announcements).  You can find meeting agendas and minutes on this website. 

Volunteer Opportunities for Students, Parents & Guardians

Of course SPG couldn’t meet our mission without the dedicated help of volunteers.  There are many opportunities to fit your skills, interests and time commitments – check them out here.

Steller Parent Group is an important avenue for Steller Families to help build Steller into the school we want. We welcome ideas and suggestions from any member of the community: at SPG meetings, or by contacting chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com.

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair 

Steller Parent Group

 

Welcome from Steller Parent Group!

Welcome from SPG

A Welcome Message from the Steller Parent Group

Dear Steller Families,

On behalf of the Steller Parent Group we want to extend a warm welcome to all new and returning Steller families and wish you all a happy New Year.

The Steller Parent Group is an integral part of the Steller Community, and all parents/guardians, staff and students are automatically part of SPG.  We meet on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm on Zoom, and in person (when schools are open).  Every member of the Steller Community is welcome to attend, ask questions and share their ideas. 

The purpose of the SPG is to enrich the lives of Steller students through the financial support and leadership from all active parents and guardians. We strive to promote parent and guardian involvement in school activities. Traditionally we host events during the school year, raise funds to support school initiatives through the Steller Auction, and coordinate volunteers. Although we continue to face uncertainty due to Covid 19, the central mission of SPG remains the same, and I believe it must take on even more importance in the effort to create a strong learning community for our children in this time. 

 SPG wants to make sure that we are reaching as many members of our community with up to date and relevant information as possible.  We have four ways we communicate with you:

  1. Website/Steller Flash updates appear on the SPG website or parents, students and staff can SUBSCRIBE to receive updates directly in your inbox.  Please consult the SPG website for Meeting dates, agendas and minutes, Bylaws, and anything else pertaining to SPG. 
  2. Steller Secondary Parent Group is a closed Facebook Group created to promote communication between current parents, teachers and staff for organizing school activities, announcements, questions, and keeping up with everything that is going on. Feel free to jump in with questions or posts.
  3. Steller Secondary Page is an open page visible to the public. If you are a Steller Alumni and want to stay informed about special activities, fundraisers and student highlights we encourage you to follow our page. 
  4. Student Directory is a new online directory for parents, students and staff to be able to contact each other directly. You must create an account and add your information using the access code CGYJAU when prompted. Add the information for each student and then download the app to be able to access contact information from anywhere. 

We also encourage all community members to follow OpGroup’s Instagram account at 

instagram.com/steller_s_official.  

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group

*Please note the SPG website/Flash is meant to complement the district website asdk12.org/steller.  For official communication from the school and district please visit Q to update your contact information and settings to receive their communications via email, text or call. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Girls on Ice Application Now Open

Applications for Girls on Ice are now open! 

June 10-21, 2022

Explore an Alaskan glacier

Each June, a team of nine girls spends 12 days in the Eastern Alaska Range, exploring an alpine landscape. We experience everything from hiking through alpine meadows to observing a noisy icefall; from spotting caribou on the mountain slopes to traveling across snow-covered glaciers, all while taking advantage of Alaska’s long summer days!

Itinerary

Each year, the day-to-day details of the expedition change due to mountain weather and glacier conditions. The basic itinerary typically looks like this:

  • Day 1: Meet the team, pack for the expedition, and camp out at a local farm in Fairbanks.

  • Day 2: Drive to the vicinity of Gulkana Glacier, and get comfortable with packs and boots by enjoying a short day hike through alpine meadows.

  • Day 3: Hike up to basecamp overlooking Gulkana Glacier, and set up home for the week.

  • Day 4-9: Explore the glacier and surrounding environment. Develop and test science experiments, practice art, and learn glacier travel skills!

  • Day 10: Hike out and travel back to Fairbanks

  • Day 11: Stay at the University of Alaska Fairbanks while wrapping up science, art, and reflection activities. Deliver public presentations about science experiment results and the overall experience of the expedition.

  • Day 12: Enjoy a final morning of activities together before heading home!

Thank you to Yareth Rosen for sharing this exciting opportunity. 

SPG Meeting Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Thank you to everyone who attended the November SPG meeting.  All students, staff, parents and guardians are invited to attend SPG meetings, share their voice and participate in our votes.

Our next meeting is this Tuesday, December 14, from 6:00 to 7:00pm, on Zoom. 

In addition to the usual school updates, Maria will be sharing with us the procedures to apply for Travel Intensive Scholarships. 

  • You can find the Draft Meeting Minutes from November, and the December Agenda here.

As always, if you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Kirsten

Join Zoom Meeting

https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/95891436576?pwd=ekcwTUxweGRub0YzSDZuaGdLZ3RhQT09 

Meeting ID: 958 9143 6576

Passcode: 975378

One tap mobile

+12532158782,,95891436576# US (Tacoma)

+13462487799,,95891436576# US (Houston)

Dial by your location

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 958 9143 6576

Find your local number: https://asdk12.zoom.us/u/abaFYwOeSd

 

Thank You for Your Generosity

Last week Steller Outreach Group students, with the support of Steller Parent Group, launched our fundraising campaign “Steller Cups for Kids” and it was a great success! 

Despite the cold weather we had almost a dozen student and parent volunteers before and after school each day, passing out coffee/cocoa along the pickup/drop off line, and sharing with parents how they can donate to our check-writing campaign.

If you would like to learn more about how Steller Parent Group uses the funds we raise please see here. 

We are grateful for the generous donations we have already received and will be running “Cups for Kids” until December 15th (although we happily accept donations at any time throughout the year!). 

There are three easy ways to donate:

  1. Write a check to Steller Parent Group and drop off or mail to the office.
  2. Use this QR Code
  3. Visit the Steller Website

Zoom Link for Seussification of Romeo and Juliet

Join us for the “Seussification of Romeo and Juliet” on November 18 at 6:30 pm on Zoom.  Directed by peer teacher Taylor Stewart, you’ll enjoy talented students, constant costume changes, and lots of laughs.  

Join the Zoom link:

See you there! 

You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Nov 18, 2021 06:30 PM Alaska

Topic: Stellar School Play

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/98334755953?pwd=aENGd2VHdExIcGRBU1ZUSElkTm9QQT09

Webinar ID: 983 3475 5953

Passcode: 857747

Write-a-Check Fundraiser “Steller Cups for Kids”

Steller Parent Group and the Steller Student Outreach Group are planning our first “Write-a-Check” Fundraising Campaign from November 22 to December 14. 

Your support is critical. As you may know, SPG has not been able to do any fundraising since January of 2020 due to COVID. We hope to take the pressure off of parents and students to organize, buy and sell things or attend events, and simply to ask you to donate what you can. ($25 to $50 per family is suggested and would help us meet our goal of $6000). 

———- Three Easy Ways to Donate ————-

  • Write a Check to “Steller Parent Group” and drop off between the 22  and 24, or leave in the SPG mailbox before December 14. 

  • Steller Parent Group Website 

  • In person (using Square)between November 22 and 24 

Steller Students will be handing out coffee/cocoa along the drop off/pick up line outside and sharing their stories of how Steller Parent Group funding has positively impacted their experiences at school on the following dates:

Monday November 22 Tuesday November 23 Wednesday November 24
8:10 to 8:30 8:10 to 8:30 8:10 to 8:30
2:15 to 2:40 2:15 to 2:40 2:15 to 2:40

Other ways to Donate

Your everyday purchases can also generate donations to our school and support SPG!  See here for more information about Fred Meyer and Amazon community donations. 

 

With your generous donations and support, Steller Parent Group will be able to continue providing the following kinds of things for Steller Students, Staff, and Families (these are just examples, actual expenses are requested and approved throughout the year):

SPG Operational Expenses
  • Insurance
  • Website/Flash
  • Fundraising expenses
SPG Hosted Expenses
  • Back to School BBQ 2022
  • Staff appreciation Fall and Spring
  • Ice cream social
School Hosted Expenses
  • Senior Breakfast 
  • Activity Day
  • Steller Olympics
Grants
  • Intensives
  • Travel intensives
  • Program support (ie travel expenses for Band, books, and art supplies)

If you would like to volunteer to help before or after school please see the form here.

We thank you for your generous support!

Students from Steller Outreach Group and Leigh Anne

SPG Fundraising Committee – Amy Dummann and Dee Dee Zobian

 

100% of your donations benefit the Steller Community, and are eligible for tax deduction (Tax ID 06-1760342). If you would like a receipt please contact stellerpg@gmail.com

AI Learning Opportunity for Steller Students

Steller Secondary School students are invited to an exciting project mentorship opportunity available to students of all programming levels, AI + Humanitarian Aid.

Our global landscape of humanitarian issues has grown increasingly complex, and often, artificial intelligence can help supercharge the development of real solutions. No problem embodies this more than Predicting Refugee Displacement in Somalia with Weather Pattern Analysis where students analyze recent weather patterns in Somalia to predict the movement of climate refugees. Combining political theory, environmental justice, and computer vision, this AI + Humanitarian Aid focus will be the newest addition to our project-based curriculum taught to 4500+ students from 75+ countries.

Applications for our Winter 2021 Program are open– the deadline to apply is November 15th.

Interdisciplinary AI Project Mentorship Opportunity (Beginner-Friendly) by MIT Graduates

Inspirit AI is a 25-hour enrichment program that introduces middle and high school students to fundamental artificial intelligence concepts in order to work through socially impactful projects in areas including art, healthcare, education, and more. Developed and taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford and MIT, students receive a personalized, interdisciplinary learning experience with a student-instructor ratio of 5:1, and custom curriculum appropriate for complete beginners to more advanced students. 

Applications for our Winter 2021 programs are now open. 

For our high school program, you can find more course information here and our HS application here.

For our middle school programs, you can find our flyer here and our MS application here.

Please contact Program Manager, Aidan Goltra at arg2198@columbia.edu or call our team at +1 (240) 226-1366 with any questions. Thank you!

NB SPG/chair has no affiliation with this program or personal knowledge, but wanted to share the information in case it was of interest to some students.

Regards,

Kirsten

 

Banned Book Week At Steller

Amelia, 8th grade, Anika, 12th grade

More than 40 students participated in the drawing. To participate, they completed a form reflecting on a banned book they had read and what impact it had on them. We had three drawings a day for the week of Banned Books (Title Wave gift card (donated by Title Wave), Banned Book (donated by Title Wave), TOB gift card (donated by SPG)) for a total of 15 winners. 

We had lots of great questions and discussions in the library about book banning and censorship when students saw the display. Students were most curious to explore why the books had been challenged/banned. Advisors also noted that the optional advisory activities elicited curiosity and discussion. Becky’s Advanced Composition class used the topic of banned books for their persuasive essays. Becky reported that students were very passionate about the topic and gave excellent presentations in class. Some students (5 completed the recommendation and permission slip, 10 completed the recommendation) followed up even more and created “Customer Recommendations” that were displayed at Title Wave Books and in the Steller library.

Thank you to Ashley for organizing this great event, and all the students who participated! 

Steller Parent Group