Category Archives: Students

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

 

Warmth and Welcome Volunteer Sign Up

Dear Steller Community,

Some parents have expressed concerns that have to drop their children off at school considerably before the doors open, and as it gets colder, this may be more difficult.  

SPG is working with Steller Staff to see if we can find some sort of resolution to this difficulty.

Over the next month we will be offering a sign up sheet for the Warmth & Welcome committee. Parent and guardian volunteers are invited to sign up to be present in the student lounge at the front of the school to supervise students in the time between 7:30 at 8:10.  Staff will always available to help if needed.

Parents are also welcome to sign up to be present during the lunch hour to help promote safe mask wearing and positive social behaviours.

If you are interested in volunteering you must:

1) Sign the ASD Volunteer Form (found in the office)

2) Attend a brief Orientation with Maria

3) Change on the sign up form as soon as you know you won’t be able to attend, or by 6:00 am at latest the day of your shift. 

If you are a parent that needs to drop your child off early, we encourage you to check out the link to see if anyone has signed up so the doors will be open. Unfortunately, if there isn’t a volunteer, or they need to cancel for unforeseen circumstances, we will not be able to open the doors.

Steller Parent Group thanks you on behalf of the lager parent body and Steller Staff. 

For questions please contact Kirsten at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com or Maria

Alaska Youth for Environmental Action Summit Applications due ASAP

2021 AYEA Youth Organizer Summit Application

Each year Alaska Youth for Environmental Action hosts a fall Youth Organizer Summit, bringing together young Alaskans from across the state to gather and discuss issues in their communities and gain skills to address those issues. During the YO Summit, we also decide upon and start planning our statewide campaign for the year. The summit is scheduled for November 11-15th over Zoom and applicants are expected to attend the summit in full. 

Please see our website for more information about the Youth Organizer Summit and our expectations for attendees. Applications are due by October 22nd.

Know a teen excited about climate and racial justice? >>> Nominate by Oct 22

Interested in becoming a YO as a teen yourself? >>> Apply by Oct 22

Thanks for sharing this cool opportunity Chandra (apologies it’s so late being posted).

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

 

Steller Parent Group Meeting Notes

Thank you to everyone who attended our first Steller Parent Group meeting of the year. We had an excellent turn out and I hope we can keep up the good rate.

The DRAFT of the meeting minutes are available here 

We are happy to announce New Board Members:

Treasurer: Claudia Liesch

Secretary: Dee Dee Zobian 

We are still looking for a Co-Chair! 

We’d also like to thank the following people:

Finance Committee: Amy Johnson

Fundraising Committee: Claudia Liebsch and Kirsten Tschofen (need 3 more adults and students) 

Requests for Funding for the October meeting are due Wednesday, September 29th.

The agenda for the October meeting will be posted on Sunday, October 10th.  

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

Kirsten

 

Join an SPG Committee!

 

Thank you to everyone – students & adults –  who have used the Sign Up Genius to indicate their interest in volunteering this year. We are excited at how many people have already stepped up!

We are still looking to fill a few committees. Indicating interest in these three groups doesn’t mean you are committing to a leadership position, and you can chose to only help out for one event or activity. 

We especially need a few people – students and adults – with ideas for the Fundraising Committee so that we can create our budget this year.  If we don’t raise any funds we will be limited in how much support we can offer for things like intensives and events and activities. If you are interested please email chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com. 

Regards,

Kirsten

Student Volunteers Needed

Steller Parent Group is committed to providing opportunities for Steller Students to have a voice in SPG, and to develop new skills and new experiences. In particular we are looking for students to join the Finance Committee, and help write content for the SPG website.  We are also looking for students who can help on an ad hoc basis (for example at events). Time commitment varies and can be flexible.  All students from grade 7 to 12 are invited to participate. 

If you are interested in either of these positions, or would just like to be added to the list when we are looking for general volunteers, please sign up using Sign Up Genius. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten

Chair, Steller Parent Group

 

Back to School and All Community Meeting Thursday, September 9

UPDATE FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 201

Hello Steller Families!

Time sure flies when you’re having fun! We have already finished up our third week of school! Thank you for your continued support of our school and compliance with the COVID-19 Mitigation plan.

However, due to the rise of COVID-19 cases within our community and the rising concern associated with that, we will be canceling the Back to School and All Community Meeting on September 9th and moving to a new Zoom format for the foreseeable future. This will ensure that we will be doing our part to limit the number of in-person meetings, as well as providing you with pertinent information for the school year. You will be able to find more information on our website.

Thank you for your continued patience and support during these times.

Have a great Labor Day and enjoy the long weekend!

Steller Office

 

During the first part of the night students and parents & guardians will have the chance to meet each of their teachers and advisor to learn about the classes they are taking and ask questions. 

The second half of the evening will be a renewal of the All Community Meeting Tradition and will be jointly hosted by the Steller Parent Group and Steller.

The three pillars of our community –

Student, Staff, Parents & Guardians 

– are all invited to join.

Here is a brief outline of the agenda:

  • Icebreaker Game and Snacks in the Lobby
  • Staff Introductions
  • Welcome from Steller Parent Group & How You Can Get Involved in the School
  • OpGroup Introductions
  • Draw for Steller Spirit Wear T-Shirt and Clean-Up

We look forward to reconnecting and making new friends and hope to see you there!

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group