It is with regret that I will miss the All Community Meeting next week due to a long standing, family commitment. The Steller celebrations are my favorite nights at Steller.  Students never fail to impress me on the scope and breadth of their self-directed inquiry.  Energy is high and efforts are recognized. The inspiration has often created plans for personal projects and goals as a result of my discussion with students.  I hope that the community attendance surpasses expectation and is an all-time high. Please help celebrate in my absence.

I will be excited to see the list of projects and hear their stories.

Reed

Tatiana Earned The Command Performance Honor A Steller music student, Tatiana Rogers entered the solo adjudication during the Aurora Music Festival last Friday at Grace Christian School. Her selection was “Sonata in F Major for Flute by George Philip Telemann. Because her score was the highest among all woodwind solo entries, she won the right to play the solo piece for the Command Performance. “Tatiana’s persistence really helped earn this great honor,” said Mr. Toba, the band director. “Since last year, she has made a significant progress, and I am pleased with it.” Tatiana would like to thank the piano accompanist, Marcia Startman, and Sharon Nowak, the flute lesson instructor.

Congratulations Erica, Jessie, Kohlby, and Tatiana! Steller band students, Jessie Hardison on flute, Erica Stryker on trumpet, Tatiana Rogers on flute, and Kohlby Vierthaler on trombone entered the solo adjudication during the Aurora Music Festival last Friday. Jessie’s selection was Canzona by Ferdinando Bertoni; Tatiana’s selection was “Sonata for Flute in F Major by George Philipp Telemann; Erica’s selection was “Trumpet Concerto Movement 2” by Johann Hummel; and Kohlby’s selection was “October – Autumn Song” by Peter Tchaikovsky. The students all received superior ratings, thus they have earned the right to perform at the state solo/ensemble festival. Marcia Stratman did all of the piano accompaniment. “The students practiced hard and wisely, and their effort paid off”, said Mr. Toba, the band director. “I can not be more proud of the students for such a great accomplishment.” The ASAA State Solo/Ensemble Festival will be Friday, May 11 and Saturday, the 12th, at U.A.A.

Enjoy the sushi, origami, and Sumi painting at the Steller midnighter? This is a taste of exciting times in Japan for the spring intensive of 2019. Contact Becky for information about travel to Japan. 

Thank you Steller! 394 items of food were collected and donated – Here are the results by advisory:

*Philip 99

*Marla 89

*Danielle/Ashley 63

Bob 34

LeighAnne 18

Jason 17

Troy 16

Mike 15

Ken 13

Becky 12

Simone 12

Brian 10

Hello Steller friends and families, Steller Culture Night is on Thursday, April 19th from 6-7:30. Please stop by at any time for a fun evening of presentations, activities and food! Feel free to bring something (food, traditional dress, instruments, etc.) from your culture to add to the celebrations. Thank you all for your support and see you soon!

Attached is an approved flyer for Youth Baseball Camp, ages 7 through 13 years old.

See Flyer HERE

Perseverance Theatre is thrilled to announce the Anchorage edition of our SUMMER THEATRE ARTS RENDEZVOUS for students Ages 10-18. No previous theatre experience necessary! The camp will take place Monday June 11 thru Friday June 22. See informational flyer HERE. Visit http://www.ptalaska.org/anchorage-star for additional information or to register online.

The Steller Prom Committee is hosting Steller’s first ever Cake Walk and we need you! Please bring your donated desserts (bought or homemade) to the Steller Kitchen on Friday, April 13th any time before 7pm. All desserts will be accepted (not just cakes) but please make sure that the homemade desserts have ingredient lists. The Cake Walk will take place during the midnighter (remember to turn in those permission slips) so please remind your students to purchase a ticket for $5 before 11pm. If you have any other inquiries please contact Iris Tullar at akirism@gmail.com or by texting (907) 952-4609. We really appreciate all the spectacular Steller families and are looking forward to having a wonderful event this Friday! Thanks everybody, and see you there!

The committee work to develop policy norms, for device usage at school, continues.  First conversations have begun for writing a contract that best supports education and community needs.  (See overview below).

Be part of the process!!

Join us today (4-11-18), at noon in Marla’s room.

~ What about kids who don’t care about the rules

     ~ Can a contract make a difference

     ~ Student arrest policy

          ~ No one wants to be the “cop”

     ~ Should be one of the data points for deselection–not the decider but, used along with other behavioral considerations.

          ~ If deselection is a check list, appropriate phone usage could work for you or against you.

     ~ FYI: cell phones are not a right for anyone at Steller

     ~ Norm should include parents

          ~ “If I’m agreeing not to answer a text from mom during class; mom should agree not to text me during class”

~ We should worry about creating a norm that we can all agree to follow

     ~ Let’s focus on creating the contract

         ~ Don’t worry, at this stage about consequences.  Let’s work on the norm of correct behavior

         ~ It has to be fair — can’t interfere with the culture of Responsible Freedom

         ~ To strengthen class rules for teachers that need support

         ~ Find positive statements for behavior without specific DON’Ts

~ A good start

         ~ We only use our phones during class (in or out of the classroom) when teacher has given specific permission.

               ~ In class, phone is used for only academic purposes

               ~ We refrain from using our devices during passing period

Next Week:  Create contract & plan a trial run before the end of the year.