Everyone in the Steller community (students, staff, and parents) is invited to participate. Some time between October 28th and November 6th find a 24 hour period during which you pledge to give up all digital devices and media: no Internet, no cell phone, no TV, no iPods, no video games, etc.

If you lapse by mistake (i.e. you answer a phone call without realizing it), don’t give up. Note the mistake and go on to finish your 24 hours.

If you do NOT make it the full 24 hours, be honest. How long did you make it? What happened?

Although you may need to use your computer for homework or work, try to pick a time when you can go without using it. Jot down your thoughts about the experience. We’ll share our results/experiences in advisory group and possibly in discussions at the All Community Meeting.

*Adapted from Professor Susan Moeller’s experiment described in The Teenage Brain by Frances E. Jensen.

If you are available Friday Night and would enjoy helping out our community, please sign up to help at the North Star Elementary School Halloween Carnival. Sign up sheet is in the Steller office.

We are teaching an intensive on the pursuit of happiness and will be looking at how being mindful and staying in the present moment can affect mood. We would love to have an experienced practitioner of yoga, meditation, or mindfulness lead our class for a short session on any of these practices. If you or someone you know have these skills and would be willing to volunteer for a session the week of December 12th, please contact Ashley. Vanhemert_ashley@asdk12.org<mailto:Vanhemert_ashley@asdk12.org>

Students who have yet to invite the counselor (Marianne) and a teacher recommender: Please complete the FERPA agreement and send an invitation as soon as possible to ensure that we have time to complete letters of recommendations and academic information. All students using the Common App have to invite Marianne as a counselor to provide colleges with school and academic information and get their transcript uploaded. Transcripts are uploaded three times a year as required by the colleges, fall, mid-year, and at the end of the school year. I am available to read essays before you finalize them. I recommend that you have one of the English teachers read the essay before you give it to me. Teachers and counselors often look for different things in the college essays. Print the application and proof read it before you hit the submit button. This is very important, as it is easier to detect errors when you read it on print. Also, sometimes part of the essay is cut off, which is an important error to catch. Make sure you spell the recommenders’ name and email addresses correctly. Check correct spelling on the ASD Steller website. I recommend that you verify that I received an invitation. If you want me to look over your application, please come to the computer lab or my office on Wednesdays after school.

Hello Steller Community!
The Halloween Dance will be Thursday, October 27th at 7pm! This year will have new activities, including a cake walk! If you would like to help provide a cake, pie, tray of cupcakes, or any other dessert please bring them to Steller either during the day of the 27th, or before the dance around 6:30. We are also looking for chaperones to help the night of the dance. We would love the help! There will be a ticket system to enter the cake walk. Tickets to enter will cost 50 cents for one ticket and $4 for 10 tickets.
There will be the traditional costume contest at the dance as well. The themes are Funniest, Cutest, Scariest, Most Creative, and Best Group Costume. The overall winner of the night will receive a cake, a $10 gift card to TOB, or a Homework Pass for a math class.
Tickets for entry will cost $3 with a costume, and $5 dollars without.
If you have any questions about the dance, please email Rachel Curtiss (curtiss.racheld@gmail.com)

Two community service advisory competitions are happening during parent conferences this week.  Bring in school supplies and change for the penny drive in order to donate to One World School in Uganda and the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics.  See you soon!

More Details

Celebrate the JFK Centennial by entering the 2017 Profile in Courage Contest. For this year only: the first-place prize will be doubled from $10,000 to $20,000 and cash prizes will be awarded to the top 25 students. Learn more about the special contest topic which pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of JFK’s birth.

The contest is open to United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; US students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program; and US citizens attending schools overseas.

JFK Centennial Awards: First-place winner receives $20,000. Second-place winner receives$1,000. Five finalists receive $500 each. Eighteen essayists receive awards of $100.

https://www.jfklibrary.org/Education/Profile-in-Courage-Essay-Contest.aspx

If you have any prescription medications that have expired in your cabinets, please take advantage of this weekend event to safely dispose of them. It is not recommended to flush or throw away any prescription drugs down the drain or trash.

Saturday, October 22nd is this fall’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The event starts at 10:00 A.M. and ends at 2:00 P.M.
Locations in the Municipality of Anchorage and the central Mat-Su Valley include the following Fred Meyer stores:

Anchorage (two locations): 2300 Abbott Road and 7701 DeBarr Road.

Eagle River: 13401 Old Glenn Highway.

Palmer: 650 South Cobb Street.

Wasilla: 1501 East Parks Highway.

For further information on this event, prescription medication disposal information and to check if more locations are added, visit the DEA Office of Diversion Control’s website at: https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html

Thank you,

Annette Johansen, M.Ed., BSN, RN, NCSN
Steller Secondary School Nurse

Fall Conferences will take place on Wednesday, October 26th and Thursday, October 27th. These are student-led conferences that include the student, parents, and advisor.  Students will have the opportunity to discuss how their
classes are going, to identify areas of challenge and success, and to identify goals for the rest of the school year.

Conferences will be scheduled in 30-minute increments.

Conferences can be scheduled on the district’s online scheduler by following the steps below:
1.Go to http://www.asdk12.org/ConferenceScheduling/StudentScheduleStartExt.aspx
This can also be reached by going to the district web page, clicking on Parent conferences on the left, and then on the Middle School conference scheduler.
2.Choose Steller as the school
3. Choose 7th grade!  In order to work the system, all conferences are scheduled as 7th graders.
4. For Team Name, choose your student’s primary advisor (Conferences will be with the advisor, if you want
to meet with classroom teachers, you will need to schedule a meeting outside of the conference dates.)
5. Choose the date you wish to come in.
6. Choose your time and continue through the process. You can sign up to receive a reminder email.  If you need to cancel your appointment time, please email your advisor.