Principal’s Report
November 19, 2008

Announcements:

Parent Meeting is Wednesday 11/19/08 .

Book Fair: Students, parents, teachers and families – If you should happen to shop at Title Wave during the in-store Book Fair.  At the end of the Fair, Title Wave will donate 25% of the proceeds from all of your purchases to Steller’s.  Just let them know you are a Steller Parent/Friend.

Alternative Fund. The Fund will help pay for next year’s Coalition of Essential School’s conference (to be held in the Fall).  Teachers, a parent, and a student will be attending the conference.  Vouchers were passed out during advisory group.  Did parents receive them?

November Dance: is 11/21/08 in the School’s MPR from 7:00 – 11:00

R.E.C.E.S.S.
[REACHING EXCELLENCE CREATIVELY AND EXPANDING
STUDENT SUCCESS]
A concept for alternative learning on Wednesday has been presented to the Staff and Student Body.  Once the time element is worked out it will be presented to the Parent and Advisory.

Winter Intensives course selections full underway.  All but six students have signed up for Intensives.  Most of these are out of town.  The offerings are:
Alyeska, 2.  Empty Bowl & Mosaics, 3. Winter Urban Survival
4.  Alternative Canvas.  5. Murder Mystery  6. Internships  7. Digital Photography  8.  Quilting/Knitting  9. International Cooking  10. Pyrography  11. Ballroom Dance 12. Fencing  Return of the Rock

Class offerings: I have added another 7-8 Language Arts and another PE period. We will have a pre-registration on Monday the 24 to ascertain the number of students that sign up for classes.  The intent is that for some of the classes that has 6-9 students and another class has 50 [except PE] we will split it down the middle and offer two sections of that class.

There have only been two seniors to turn in grades[?] for the
Continental Auto Group Car Give-Away: “Keys to Success”  which is a new car give-away program for good grades available to all High School Seniors.  I have posted the information on the School website and the parent website.  This is an amazing opportunity for one lucky Senior.
No purchase necessary for entry or to collect the Prize.
Prize may not be redeemed for cash.
Student must be a graduating senior on date(s) of entry, on Senior Fun Day (or like event).
Student must have valid Alaska driver license on date(s) of entry and collection of Prize.
Student must have had no suspensions during senior year until collection of Prize and sign affidavit to that effect.
Student must have no D’s or F’s on any of their first, second, third or fourth quarter report cards during the school year and must be able to demonstrate this on date(s) of entry.

For a list of the complete rules and regs go to the School or Parent website.

Call to order: 5:42
I.   New Items to add to agenda: Parent IT group
II.  Principal Report: (Next Post)
III. Op Group Report: Hand Out
IV. Ad Board Report: Hand Out
V. Staff Report: Talent show will be moved from December to January.  The staff is discussing what group should run the Talent show.  The Staff is discussing a new registration process that includes pre-registration.  This would allow the staff to know ahead of time what classes are in high demand and to plan ahead.  Students are allowed to walk into a classroom to access their lockers while the class is being conducted.  This sometimes disrupts the ongoing class.  Students will be asked to be quieter while using their lockers.  Students are sending text messages and receiving text messages during the class period.  This is against the ASD policy.  The first time the student is caught the teacher will take the phone away for the class period.  The second time the student is
caught, the phone will go to the office and the parent will have to pick it up.
VI. Treasurers Report: Mary Tanner is still looking for a parent to Co-Chair the Treasurers position.  She will not be the Treasurer next year and would like to have some one work with her so they are up to speed next year.
The Steller Parent Group has $8763.69 in the checking account.   $2,864.83 was carried over from last year.  A total of 88 families have donated  $6,460.00.  E-Script has brought in $739.86 so far this year.
Raffle stubs and money and the unsold tickets must be turned in by December 15th.  Please keep selling the tickets until then.
Old and Ongoing Business:
Café Vending machines:  The new vending machine has microwavable food and yogurt.  The snacks must meet the nutritional guidelines set by the ASD.
The school receives approximately 15% of the proceeds.
The vending machine proceeds are divided as follows:  5% goes to the Alt Ed fund, 10% to the yearbook, 35% to the General Fund and 50% to Student Activities.  For the next 3 months the machine must bring in $250 per month for the vender to keep the machine at the school.  The vender will keep track of what is selling and what is not selling and adjust the food items to best suit the students’ needs.  The demand for cup of soup and snacks from the nurse’s office has gone down since the new vending machine was placed in the lounge. There is currently one microwave in the lobby. One more microwave will be placed in the lounge soon.
There was a discussion about what will happen to the vending machine when the Café is up and running. The vending machine would compete for the profits with the Café. It was suggested that the vending machine could be taken out of the school or perhaps the Café and the vending machine could operate on alternate days.
B. By-Law changes: Changes to the Steller By-Laws are being prepared for a vote at the next Ad Board meeting.  Under the Steller Advisory Board section of the by-laws page 2 section B the proposed changes are as follows:
B. Membership
Membership of the Advisory Board shall consist of one (1) student representative from each advisory group of ten (10) or more students.  There shall be one (1) parent representative for each two (2) student representatives.  There shall be one (1) staff representative per one hundred (100) students of major portion thereof.  The Principal shall be a member of the Advisory Board.
There shall be one (1) official alternate for each advisory group representative.  The staff will elect a single alternate.  The parents will elect four (4) alternates.  The alternate will vote in the event of the regular representative’s absence.  It will be the responsibility of the representative to provide timely notice to inform the alternate that an absence is forthcoming.
In the event the elected representative or alternate is unable to attend an Advisory Board meeting, any member of their group in attendance may vote in their stead.  The total number of votes cast shall not exceed: one (1) student vote per advisory group; one (1) parent vote per two (2) advisory groups; and one (1) staff vote per 100 students.  The principal may vote in the event of a tie.
On page 6 under G. the following change will also be voted on at the next Ad Board meeting.
G. Meetings
Meeting times and dates shall be set by the Advisory Board.

C.    Teachers Lunch: Danielle and Gerald’s counseling groups are preparing November teacher lunches.  In December, Jennifer and Jean’s counseling groups will be responsible for the Teacher Lunch.  Please remember that the teachers should not be involved in organizing the lunches.  The parents and students in the counseling groups should handle every thing themselves.
New Business:
A. Action: The Auction will be March 27th.  Jen and Natalie’s counseling groups will be the sponsors of the Auction this year.  There is a great need for a parent Chair and Co-Chair for the auction.  Ingrid Parish will be available to explain the responsibilities of the Chair and Co-chair if any one is willing volunteer.   Ingrid stated that it would be too much for the teachers and students to organize.   There is also a need for a parent liaison to organize the donations.  The auction needs 10 large donations of a minimum of $300 each.  Items include jewelry, weekend packages and artwork.    The auction proceeds are divided for the yearbook at 10%, technology 45%, and travel 45%.  It was suggested that the Parent Group should pay for the pizza that is served at the Auction Meetings.
Course Wish List:  Harlod encouraged the parents and staff to apply for Legislative Grants that are available.  The deadline to have the grant presented to Harlod is December 1.   Harlod will present a grant request to help fund a Wednesday Schedule curriculum.  Shannon will present a grant request for 2 new mobile computer stations with 10 computers on each station.
Harlod discussed RECESS (Reaching Excellence Creativity and Expanding Student Success).  He presented a Draft that he will be working on with the staff. It will be a Wednesday schedule program.
Early Registration:  Harlod discussed the benefits of pre-registration. The staff will be able to know what are the most popular classes.  It will help to manage class sizes and there will be less confusion.  The registration will be for the full year including intensives.
December Meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 17th 5:30-7:00pm
Adjourn: 7:25

The Anchorage School District plows snow from parking and driveway areas based on the following priority level.

1.  Faculty and public parking, including fire hydrants at schools without internal sprinkler systems and primary fire lanes
2.  bus lanes
3.  handicap parking
4.  student parking
5.  secondary fire lanes
6.  snow removal and hauling to dump sites
7.  skating rinks and cross country ski trail assembly areas

Following a snowfall, student parking areas might not be plowed by the start of the school day. Following a snowstorm, students who normally drive themselves to school should consider taking the bus or carpooling until the student parking areas are cleared.

The Anchorage School District will be participating in Speak Up 2008, which is a series of online surveys to gather perspectives from students, parents, teachers, and administrators about the following topics:
* Technology usage & designing 21st century schools
* Science Education and Career Exploration
* 21st Century skills: information and media literacy
* Emerging Trends: digital content, broadband access and policy, and online learning

This is the first year that ASD is participating in the Speak Up survey, and it is only open until Friday, December 19th. Due to a limited timeline to advertise the survey to parents, student participation cannot be part of the instructional day; however, students and parents are encouraged to participate from home. (Please note, there is an option to take the Speak Up survey in Spanish.)

1. There is a link to the Speak Up survey from ASD’s main webpage, or participants can go to www.netdayspeakup.org/speakup2008/index.asp
2. Click on the survey you are interested in taking (student, parent, teacher/administrator, Spanish)
3. Enter part of your school name (usually the first word is enough) and AK (State) – click find school
4. Select your school from the list of results
5. Enter your secret word: asdk12
6. Select the grade level, or type of survey and get started

If you would like to learn more about Speak Up, visit: www.netdayspeakup.org/speakup2008/

SCIENCE FAIR WORKSHOP

Wednesday, January 14, 2008

Muldoon Branch Library

4:30-5:30 pm

Put on your safety goggles and hold onto your lab coat! Local scientist (and science fair judge) Jana Lage will share science fair tips and advice and inspire you to make this your best ever science fair project. You will receive handouts and guidance from someone with scientific and science fair experience.

This workshop is designed to prepare you to participate in the Alaska Science andEngineering Fair, an Intel-Affiliated Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Fair for all Alaskan Students, Grades K-12. You do not need to enter or win a local fair to participate in the state fair. The 2009 event, Full STEAM Ahead! Celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Aviation, and Mathematics will be held March 27-29, 2009 at Begich Middle School in Anchorage, Alaska.

If you are interested in science, but unsure what scientists do or what you need to do to become a scientist, attend this workshop and take the first step toward a world of opportunities in science.

For ages 8 and up.

The objectives of the workshop are to:

• Provide an introduction to basic science and the scientific method.
• Talk about how to choose a science fair project that is right for you.
• Cover the steps you need to take to register your project.
• Discuss how to present your results and talk to the judges.
• Introduce the opportunities to win prizes for your project.
• Allow you to ask any questions you may have about participating in a science fair.

Muldoon Branch Library
1251 Muldoon Rd, Ste 158

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