Category Archives: Parent Group Meetings

The Future of Steller is in Your Hands

 

Hopefully by now you are aware that BIG changes will be happening at Steller next year.

  • We will become a grade 6 to 12 school OR we will become a 9 to 12 school.
  • We will adopt the Academy Model being implemented in all high schools in ASD in 2024 OR we will not. (If we decide to join the Academy Model discussions around what that looks like will take place second semester). 

Because Steller is an Alternative school we have the unique opportunity to make recommendations to ASD on what we would like to happen, and help steer Steller’s future.

We realize there is both an overwhelming amount of information, and not enough information.

We urge you to take the time to become as informed as you can, so that you can make your recommendation for what you think Steller should do.

LEARN:

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SHARE:

Steller Parent Group is facilitating two opportunities for parents & guardians to get together and talk about the options open to us so that we can hear different perspectives and grow our understanding of the issues at hand.

Monday, October 16 7:00pm to 8:30pm via Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82486338327?pwd=OFc2NWpkTkp1Mk9BNWZRR3BZcWZSZz09

Thursday, October 19 in person at school 6:00pm to 7:30pm

* These meetings will be most effective if you have previewed the information on the sites above. The Future of Steller site is a great place to start. 

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Maria will share an online survey where we will be asked:

With the move of all grade 6 students to Middle School should Steller:

  • Become a 6 to 12 school
  • Become a 9 to 12 school

With ASD high schools adopting an Academy Model as part of the Career, College and Life ready Strategy should Steller:

  • Become an Academy
  • Not become an Academy
  • Adopt an Academy model  (with the details of what that looks like to be ironed out later).

Maria will take the feedback from the three pillars – Students, Staff and Parents/Guardians – and craft a recommendation for what we would like to happen at Steller, to bring to ASD.

DECIDE:

  • We will hold an All Community Meeting on November 2nd where we will vote to approve the recommendation to bring to ASD.
  • ASD will make their decision and inform us.
  • What ever path we choose, we will have a lot of work to do in the second term, thinking about how we can best implement the changes and remain true to the Steller philosophy of responsible freedom and independent learners. 

Thank you to all our community members who are doing the work of learning more about what is happening and sharing their voices so that we can make the best decision for Steller’s future. 

 

Future of Steller (Meeting 1 Video)

Major changes are coming to ASD and Steller in the 2024 school year:

  • All ASD high schools are going to become Academies starting with the 2024 Freshman year. 
  • All grade 6 students will be moved to middle school.
  • New schedule changes will be implemented.

These changes have a direct impact on Steller’s future, and our community is being given an opportunity to make a recommendation to the board about what Steller wants to do.

In November we will be asked if we want to:

  • Become a 6 to 12 school.
  • Become a 9 to 12 school.
  • Stay 7 to 12 school.
  • Join the ASD Academy or if we want to do something different. 

It is important to be informed about these issues in order to make the best recommendations we can, in the interest of our current and future students.

  1. Listen to the presentation from September 21st (see above). View the accompanying slide show.
  2. Visit the ASD website:
  3. Ask your questions to Maria using this form.
  4. Follow the Steller Website for updates.

How you can have your voice heard:

  1. Listen to the answers to community questions 
    • Steller Parent Group Meeting on Tuesday, October 10.
  2. Share questions, comments, concerns at the SPG parent forum:
    • Monday October 16, 7:00 to 8:30 pm via Zoom OR
    • Thursday October 19, 6:00 to 7:30 pm at school.
  3. Make our final recommendation 
    • All Community Forum on November 2nd (we need a quorum of 75 people) 

 

Vote for Steller Budget

At the Steller Parent Group Meeting on Tuesday, September 12 the Steller Board shared the 2023 SPG Budget Document

Please review the attached Budget, and then vote “Yay” to accept the budget as presented or “nay”, and provide feedback.

The vote closes at 10 pm on Wednesday, September 20th. 

FAQ:

  • Why isn’t Souper Steller funded? We do have funding available under “School Hosted Events and Activities” if any students decide to take on this wonderful tradition. At this point, no students have expressed interest. 
  • Why don’t we have line items for regular and known expenses? An important aspect of the Steller philosophy is that things are driven by student and staff interests.  Our budget is designed to be flexible so that we can fund new and exciting things as they develop throughout the year.

Funding Requests for September:

  1. $5000 to support the Travel Intensive to Vietnam this term.
  2. $5000 to support the Travel Intensive to Costa Rica next term.
  3. $500 to support purchasing equipment for Brian’s Electronic Music Production Class.

Treasurers Claudian Libiesch & Kirsten Tschofen

REMINDERS

  • Sign up for the Steller Directory here.
  • Volunteer opportunities (here). Cups for Kids (here)
  • SPG September Meeting Minutes here.
  • Did you  know you can find Advisory Notes in Canvas under the Advisory Course?

Vote for the Steller Parent Group Budget!

 

At

At the Steller Parent Group Meeting on Tuesday, September 12 the Steller Board shared the 2023 SPG Budget Document

We have one major fundraiser planned this year. 

Cups4Kids will take place the first week of October. The Steller Community is invited to join us in the Lobby and share coffee and cocoa, and students will be collecting donations at this time via Square, check and cash. We have set a total fundraising goal of $18,400 this year. 

Funds raised are used for things like the Back to School BBQ, Sophomore Day, Staff Appreciation, Travel Scholarships for students in need, and Intensive support to reduce the overall cost for participants. All members of our community – Students, Staff, Parents & Guardians are invited to bring a proposal to SPG and make a Request for Funding any time throughout the year. 

Please review the attached Budget, and then vote “Yay” to accept the budget as presented or “nay”, and provide feedback.

The vote closes at 10 pm on Wednesday, September 20th. The budget will be passed with a simple majority of total votes.

 

 

Zoom link for Tuesday Meeting

 

Steller Parent Group will have our first meeting Tuesday, September 12, 6:00pm to 7:30pm in person and via zoom.

Topic: SPG Meeting

Time: Sep 12, 2023 06:00 PM Alaska

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81100847163?pwd=NWFuZEs4RXUwU3dvY3hNRURvMkt6Zz09

Meeting ID: 811 0084 7163

Passcode: 477461

Dates to Remember:

  • September 13 to September 20 Vote for SPG budget online
  • September 12 register for 14 PSAT for grade 10 and 11
  • September 13 6:30 to 8:00 College Prep Family Night
  • September 21 6:00 to 7:30 Grade 6 community forum – this is an opportunity to learn more about adding grade 6 students to our school and share feedback. 
  • October 10 6:00 to 7:30 Next SPG meeting

Reminders:

Questions? chairspg2@gmail.com 

Volunteering at Steller

Volunteering at Steller 

All volunteers must complete the ASD Volunteer Form annually. 

Steller Philosophy is built on the Three Pillars: Students, Staff, and Parents & Guardians working together to build the community and learning experiences we want. There are many opportunities for ALL our community members to get involved and make a difference at Steller! 

Steller Parent Group organizes volunteers on behalf of the staff and student groups and our own initiatives. We will post requests and links to Sign Up Genius on our website as needs arise. 

School Hosted Events and Activities

Occasionally SPG will help recruit volunteers for school lead activities like the following:

  • Intensives       
  • Open House and Ice Cream Social  
  • Steller Olympics 
  • Dances
  • Souper Steller
  • Field Trips

Steller Parent Group Hosted Events and Activities      

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. 

Steller Parent Group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, September 12 in person and via Zoom. Watch for the announcements on the Steller Flash (SUBSCRIBE HERE). You can find meeting agendas and minutes on this website.  

We have need for both leadership positions, and volunteers on the date of events, and various time commitments. This is just a summary to get a sense. Visit our Google Form here for a complete list, and to indicate your interest. 

  • Steller Finance Committee – one student, one member at large. Monthly review of funding requests and recommendation at SPG meeting; conduct annual review; prepare budget for approval by SPG (2-4 hours/month).
  • Fundraising Committee – co-chair, and volunteers to help the chair plan and execute Cups for Kids in October, and seek out other fundraising opportunities. Students are especially invited to get involved here! 
  • Advocacy Committee – help plan advocacy and communication on behalf of Steller with ASD.
  • Student Recruitment Committee – support Steller Staff in student recruitment and school promotion. 
  • Webmaster: Assist migrating SPG website to a new host, updating themes and plugins, and possible redesign. 
  • Zoom/Tech Guru: Setup and monitor Zoom at all monthly SPG general meetings and link to external monitor and speaker (5:30-8PM, second Tuesday of month x 9 months)
  • 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee – help plan celebrations for Steller’s 50th Anniversary! 

If you would like to know more about any of these roles, or have your own idea for something SPG could do reach out to our chairs – Dee Dee and Amy at  chairspg2@gmail.com 

Dates to Remember (this is NOT comprehensive!)

View and subscribe to the Steller Calendar here

Wednesday, August 30 6:00 to 7:30 Back to School Night (meet the teachers) and All Community Meeting (meet Steller Parent Group and other families)

Monday, September 4, Labour Day – No School for Students

Tuesday, September 12 6:00 to 7:30 Steller Parent Group Meeting in person and via Zoom. We will present the budget at this meeting, and then share with the wider community for a vote via email. 

Thursday, September 21 6th Grade Community Forum details tba

Next Steller Parent Group Meeting – April 11.

Can you believe we are at our second last meeting of the year?

At this meeting we have several requests for funding for Intensives, Sophomore Day and more! And that’s what we are all about – supporting Steller to provide the best education for our students. 

It’s time to start getting our Board in place for next year too. If you are interested in learning more about what is involved please join us on Tuesday or reach out to our chairs Amy or Dee Dee at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!