#StellerGives: Carly F

My name is Carly F, I’m a senior, and I have volunteered in Mrs. Caldarera’s kindergarten classroom for the last 8 years. I have gone in almost every school day for 1-2 hours a day and this has resulted in over 900 volunteer hours in the classroom! I absolutely love volunteering there because I can see the direct impact I have on the children’s lives. It is very rewarding being able to see how I have helped over 140 children learn to read, write, and do math. Every year I learn more about the classroom so I am able to take more burdens off of Mrs. Caldarera which greatly benefits the class. I love playing with the kids and building a unique relationship with each of them. I know that a lot of the time as the kindergarteners grow older they no longer remember me, but I know they will remember the things I taught them and the fun things we did together. 

I have done two separate passages in the kindergarten classroom. In the spring of my 9th-grade year, I did a passage based on providing upper-level kids with challenging math. I worked with 6 different kids and met with all of them in small groups twice a week. In the spring of my 11th-grade year, I did a passage helping the lower level kids get caught up with their reading and writing. I worked with 6 kids individually and met with them once a week. I worked with 3 children where English was not spoken at home, which was a learning experience for me. I even met with this one boy 3+ times a week because he needed extra help. Once I started working one-on-one with him there were many improvements in his behavior and his academics. From winter break to spring break, he went from knowing 13 letters and 12 sounds to knowing 22 letters and 20 sounds. I absolutely love volunteering with Mrs. Caldarera and I am grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity every year. 

Carly F

Senior

You should be proud of what a difference you have made in the lives of all the children you work with Carly! Well done.

 

 

#StellerGives: Naomi H

Naomi H. is a 7th grader at Steller.  This past month, she has helped out at the mobile food bank and regularly walked Maya, the service dog, to help out an ill friend.  She has also been working on assembling care packages to donate to the Pet Stop for dogs and cats with cancer.  This summer, she raised over $600 by selling items at the downtown weekend market and will use the funds to complete the baskets for her homegrown charity, Sincerely, Little Su.

It is great to see all the creative ways you are contributing to your community Naomi!

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group

#StellerGives: Michael H.

Michael with Bill Ross, chairman of the 4th of July parade council, celebrating a successful broadcast of the special presentation.

Michael at the Food Bank.

Michael H. is a junior at Steller.  He has been involved in OP Group, TPC, NHS this year at Steller.  He has been volunteering monthly at the mobile good bank in Fairview and helped out with the Thanksgiving Blessing, as well.  This summer, Michael worked for many hours as the  video production and media specialist to create “The Special Presentation of the Veterans 4th of July Parade” which was broadcast on PBS on July 4th at 11am in lieu of the annual in person parade.  He is also serving as a current committee member of the Veterans 4th of July Parade Council. 

Michael H.

Steller Senior

Michael, it is good to see you developing you skills for so many good causes. Well done! 

StellerGives: Logan D.

 

My name is Logan Davis, and I am a senior from Ken’s advisory. Ever since I first came to Steller in 7th grade I have been at every Op. Group meeting as a representative for my advisory. In that first year I fell in love with the sense of community and leadership I felt during every meeting as we discussed current events within Steller and proposals for the future. In my final year at Steller, I feel a strong nostalgia seeing younger students engage in Op. Group and realize the value they contribute towards their community much like I did long ago. I was beyond excited to be elected as this year’s Vice President of the group and join some of my close friends as student leaders. Although certain dynamics of Op. Group have changed within the last year, I am proud to be a part of a community that has persevered and adapted in the face of turbulence.

I am also happy that I was able to become a seminar coach again for Leigh Anne’s second quarter 8th grade seminar. Like all eighth graders at Steller, I took seminar and I simply loved the class. I enjoyed being able to engage in academic discussions with my classmates within a relaxed peer-to-peer environment. I knew from the moment I finished the class that I wanted to go through it all again as a coach when the time was right. In my junior year, I coached for the first time in Danielle’s first semester seminar, and I was unsure if I would ever be able to coach again. Nowadays, seminar has changed much like Op. Group and the differences in my coaching experience from last year compared to now has been a great learning experience. Regardless of those changes, I have enjoyed watching another wave of underclassmen begin to find their voice and develop the critical thinking skills that remain with them in the future.

Logan D.

Steller Senior

Thanks for all your contributions to the Steller Community Logan!

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group

#StellerGives: Update

During the typical holiday season, there is a drumbeat for gift giving – to friends, family, colleagues, and clients (to name a few!). This year, however, global and local circumstances may put a damper on excessive shopping. Indeed, as people seek ways to cut down on gift giving, they may instead focus on how to make a difference.

On December 1, hundreds of thousands of civic-minded individuals around the world will celebrate #GivingTuesday by donating to their favorite nonprofit organization or cause, and spreading the word to encourage more giving. According to â€œGiving Tuesday and Beyond”, 38 percent of those who donate to charity said that they are more likely to do so during the holiday season.

Here at Steller Secondary our community is known to be extremely generous — we have started highlighting all the ways our students and families give back to our school and the community at large with their time, talents and donations through the #StellerGives campaign.  Please continue to share your stories by emailing them to chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com and we will highlight them through Flash and the Student Showcase on the website.

We also humbly ask that you consider donating to Steller Parent Group as part of your giving plan this year, if you feel you are in a position to do so.  This year, the Steller Parent Group has decided to introduce a direct donation appeal for families that would like to offer support since we can’t hold any in person fund-raising events. All donations go directly toward supporting Steller students and projects. There is a Donate button at the top right of the Steller Secondary website page for quick and easy payments (scroll down to the bottom if you are reading this on your phone).

This year Steller Parent Group has funded:

  1. $1100 to purchase Art Supplies while students are learning at home. 
  2. $125 for a Banner in the school entrance. 
  3. $700 for Staff Appreciation gifts.
  4. $640 for Hand Sanitiser Stands
  5. $1600 for Student Nutrition support on school re-entry.

When you shop using Amazon Smile with Steller Parent Group as your designated charity or using this link,  SPG receives money back to support student programs at Steller Secondary.  Want to know more about how we use the funds we raise? Visit here. 

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group

 

 

 

Steller Parent Group Meeting December 8, 6:00 to 7:30

All parents/guardians, students and staff are automatically part of the Steller Parent Group and welcome to attend meetings, share ideas and vote on decisions.  This month in addition to regular updates from Reed, staff, and OpGroup we will be discussing the progress of the Student Nutrition Committee, updates on the #StellerGives campaign to recognise the contributions of Steller students, staff and families to our school and the wider community. We are still accepting funding requests as well. 

You can find the Agenda here, and previous Meeting Minutes on under the “Parents” tab of the website, here.

We look forward to seeing you!

Kirsten Tschofen 

Chair, Steller Parent Group

Use this Zoom link to join:

Join Zoom Meeting

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 Meeting ID: 943 9482 0644

Passcode: 693295

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Welcome to the NEW Steller Flash

Hello Steller parents/guardians, students and staff.  Welcome to the updated website run by Steller Parent Group. 

The purpose of this website is to provide information to prospective students about Steller, highlight student achievements, and provide up to date information about SPG activities, OpGroup advisory information, school events, and other relevant information as submitted by community members. Our goal is to have at least one member of every family, and every staff member, subscribed so that no one misses out on important information. 

Please note the SPG Website/Flash is meant to complement the district website asdk12.org/steller and emails sent directly from the office.  For official communication from the school and district please visit Q to update your contact information and settings to receive their communications via email, text or call. 

Here is a quick tour of what you can find on the SPG website:

  1. Parents: Everything you need to know about Steller Parent Group – Welcome from the Chair, FAQ, Meeting Agendas and Minutes, Volunteer Sign Up, and how to make a request for funding. 
  2. Student Showcase: We will highlight student work and accomplishments here.  We welcome submissions from teachers, parents/guardians and students themselves for accomplishments both in and out of school. 
  3. Sign up for the NEW Steller Flash to receive updates right to your inbox. 
  4. Submit article: we welcome article submissions from anyone in the community. 
  5. Donate directly Steller Parent Group to support Steller students.  Find out more about how money is used under  the “Support Steller” tab. 
  6. Steller Flash can be found here – this is what you will receive in your inbox when you subscribe to Steller Flash.  Our goal is to send updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 
  7. You can also follow the OpGroup Instagram Account directly from this website. 

If this is your first time receiving a Flash update we encourage you to visit the site, and spend some time reading previous posts so that you are current about what is happening around school.

If you are new to Steller you might find the information under “Prospective Students” interesting background about the school’s history and philosophy. 

If you have subscribed to the NEW Steller Flash in the last three weeks, but haven’t received this “Welcome to the NEW Steller Flash” in your inbox your email client may be filtering or blocking our emails. Email clients like Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo filter incoming messages into spam or junk folders to keep unwanted mail out of inboxes. Unfortunately, these filters sometimes mistakenly move legitimate messages like the NEW Steller Flash into the wrong folder, which means subscribers sometimes miss out on important information.  This article from Mailchimp has good suggestions on how to fix this problem depending on what client you use. 

We also encourage you to join our private Facebook Parent Group, follow our public Steller Secondary Facebook Page, and follow the OpGroup Instagram account. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen 

Steller Parent Group Chair