Category Archives: General Announcements

Steller Parent Group Meeting Tuesday, April 12

The Steller Community consists of three pillars: Students, Staff and Parents/Guardians.  Steller Parent Group is an important way for parents and guardians to learn about what is happening at school, have a voice in future decisions, and help create a culture that reflects the communities values. 

All students, staff, and parents/guardians are automatically members, and anyone who attends a meeting has the right to vote on issues. If you have ideas for how we can continue to grow our community, we would love to hear from you.   

Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 12, from 6:00 to 7:00pm, on Zoom. 

In addition to the usual updates we will also discuss the upcoming All Community Meeting: Celebrate Steller! It will be a fun event for our entire Steller community.

  • You can find the Draft Meeting Minutes from the March meeting, and the Agenda for the upcoming meeting HERE.

As always, if you have any questions or comments please don’t hesitate to reach out.  Email: stellerparentgroup@gmail.com.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/95891436576?pwd=ekcwTUxweGRub0YzSDZuaGdLZ3RhQT09 

Meeting ID: 958 9143 6576

Passcode: 975378

 

Help Needed for Steller Open House

Hello Steller Families and Students!

SPG, along with the school, has started planning new student recruitment for the 2022-2023 school year, and we could use your help! 

1. Co-host for Zoom Open House on Wednesday, February 16 and Thursday, February 17 from 6:00 to 7:30. The script and slide show are ready, we just need someone to act as back up host to introduce people on the 17th.

2. Students were invited to volunteer to speak during the Zoom presentation during the advisory, but I wanted to make sure everyone has the opportunity.  If you are interested please contact me. 

3. It’s great when we have attendance from the current community at our Zoom session to welcome new families, and answer questions based on their experiences, so please mark your calendars! 

Please feel free to share this Poster and Flyer within your own communities and encourage people to attend our Open House. 

2022 Welcome to Steller Flyer for Printing (1)

Finally, if you could please like, comment and repost our Social Media posts (once the campaign gets started) on the Steller Facebook Page that would be great! 

We could use help with a few more things, so if you are interested or have ideas please feel free to contact me at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair

SPG

 

Come Support Steller Student Marty – Team Captain of West Hockey Team!

It would be great if Steller students could come to this week’s games. Thursday night is against Dimond and it will be a very, very tough game. West could actually lose (!) as Dimond is really strong and the defending state champs.

Saturday evening is also a very tough game. Saturday is West’s Senior Night, and Marty and the other senior players and cheerleaders will be honored in a special program between periods. It’s the last game of the regular season; the Cook Inlet Conference playoffs start next week.

Marty, who is a team captain, is right now among the top scorers in the CIC, and in fact five of the top 10 scorers are on the West team:

Cook Inlet Conference Home Page

Read more here

We are all super proud of your hard work and success Marty and wish you the best this weekend! 

Submitted by Steller Parent

 

New Chair for Steller Parent Group Needed!

Dear Steller Students, Staff and Families,

I am deeply sad to share with you that due to personal health problems I will be stepping down from my position as Chair as soon as possible. 

I believe Steller Parent Group is  well positioned at this time, with our budget passed, and many procedures in place, and so now would be a great time for someone with new ideas and fresh energy to step into the position of Steller Parent Group Chair. 

Our Secretary Dee Dee will be running the February SPG meeting on by behalf, but I would like to officially take my name off of the organization at the SPG Meeting on Tuesday, March 16th, and have a new Chair in place at that time.

If there is no one in place as Chair at that time SPG can continue to hold informational meetings. However, as a 501(c)3 non-profit, and according to our own By-Laws, we need a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary to make financial decisions and actions – including writing cheques or making budget decisions. So there is some urgency for someone from the community to step in.  As soon as someone steps in, then all functions of Steller Parent Group can resume immediately. 

It has been my pleasure to serve as Chair of Steller Parent Group since January of 2020. I believe strongly that the work we do is important, and have worked hard these last few years to maintain and grow the voice of SPG in the school, respect old traditions and grow new ones – despite my tenure being almost entirely during Covid. 

This year I was pleased we were able to recruit both a new Treasurer (Claudia Liebsch) and Secretary (Dee Dee Zobian) and would like to extend a formal thanks to Brandon Brooks and Angie Southwould for their years of service to the Steller Community. 

When I took on the role, some goals for the organization were handed down to me, and I had a few of my own. I am pleased that despite obvious barriers we have met many of these goals – including cleaning up some technical things around banking, following best practice for transparency and fiducial responsibility as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, and continuing to reach out to all members of our community and invite them to have their voice heard. 

I know it’s a difficult time, and many people will feel reluctant to take on a new role because they haven’t been involved in SPG before.  I’d like to reassure you that we have well established systems for much of the work, Claudia and Dee Dee are familiar with things, and I am happy to help anyone as much or as little as they need. Maria and Antionette are also wonderful to work with. 

If you think you might be interested in becoming Chair of Steller Parent Group please reach out and I am happy to tell you more about what is involved so you can make an informed decision. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen 

Chair,

Steller Parent Group

 

Join the Steller Parent Group Now!

Dear Steller Community,

This is the 2nd of three letters we will be sharing with you about Steller Parent Group. 

Over the last several years, the SPG has worked hard to create guidelines and procedures to promote transparency, be inviting to everyone in our community, and support equity.  We welcome your participation, however you are able. 

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. To learn more about our by-laws, budget and mission visit our website here. 

Steller Parent Group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.  Watch for the announcements on the Steller Flash (email announcements).  You can find meeting agendas and minutes on this website. 

Volunteer Opportunities for Students, Parents & Guardians

Of course SPG couldn’t meet our mission without the dedicated help of volunteers.  There are many opportunities to fit your skills, interests and time commitments – check them out here.

Steller Parent Group is an important avenue for Steller Families to help build Steller into the school we want. We welcome ideas and suggestions from any member of the community: at SPG meetings, or by contacting chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com.

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair 

Steller Parent Group

 

Welcome from Steller Parent Group!

Welcome from SPG

A Welcome Message from the Steller Parent Group

Dear Steller Families,

On behalf of the Steller Parent Group we want to extend a warm welcome to all new and returning Steller families and wish you all a happy New Year.

The Steller Parent Group is an integral part of the Steller Community, and all parents/guardians, staff and students are automatically part of SPG.  We meet on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm to 7:30pm on Zoom, and in person (when schools are open).  Every member of the Steller Community is welcome to attend, ask questions and share their ideas. 

The purpose of the SPG is to enrich the lives of Steller students through the financial support and leadership from all active parents and guardians. We strive to promote parent and guardian involvement in school activities. Traditionally we host events during the school year, raise funds to support school initiatives through the Steller Auction, and coordinate volunteers. Although we continue to face uncertainty due to Covid 19, the central mission of SPG remains the same, and I believe it must take on even more importance in the effort to create a strong learning community for our children in this time. 

 SPG wants to make sure that we are reaching as many members of our community with up to date and relevant information as possible.  We have four ways we communicate with you:

  1. Website/Steller Flash updates appear on the SPG website or parents, students and staff can SUBSCRIBE to receive updates directly in your inbox.  Please consult the SPG website for Meeting dates, agendas and minutes, Bylaws, and anything else pertaining to SPG. 
  2. Steller Secondary Parent Group is a closed Facebook Group created to promote communication between current parents, teachers and staff for organizing school activities, announcements, questions, and keeping up with everything that is going on. Feel free to jump in with questions or posts.
  3. Steller Secondary Page is an open page visible to the public. If you are a Steller Alumni and want to stay informed about special activities, fundraisers and student highlights we encourage you to follow our page. 
  4. Student Directory is a new online directory for parents, students and staff to be able to contact each other directly. You must create an account and add your information using the access code CGYJAU when prompted. Add the information for each student and then download the app to be able to access contact information from anywhere. 

We also encourage all community members to follow OpGroup’s Instagram account at 

instagram.com/steller_s_official.  

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Chair, Steller Parent Group

*Please note the SPG website/Flash is meant to complement the district website asdk12.org/steller.  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. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen

Girls on Ice Application Now Open

Applications for Girls on Ice are now open! 

June 10-21, 2022

Explore an Alaskan glacier

Each June, a team of nine girls spends 12 days in the Eastern Alaska Range, exploring an alpine landscape. We experience everything from hiking through alpine meadows to observing a noisy icefall; from spotting caribou on the mountain slopes to traveling across snow-covered glaciers, all while taking advantage of Alaska’s long summer days!

Itinerary

Each year, the day-to-day details of the expedition change due to mountain weather and glacier conditions. The basic itinerary typically looks like this:

  • Day 1: Meet the team, pack for the expedition, and camp out at a local farm in Fairbanks.

  • Day 2: Drive to the vicinity of Gulkana Glacier, and get comfortable with packs and boots by enjoying a short day hike through alpine meadows.

  • Day 3: Hike up to basecamp overlooking Gulkana Glacier, and set up home for the week.

  • Day 4-9: Explore the glacier and surrounding environment. Develop and test science experiments, practice art, and learn glacier travel skills!

  • Day 10: Hike out and travel back to Fairbanks

  • Day 11: Stay at the University of Alaska Fairbanks while wrapping up science, art, and reflection activities. Deliver public presentations about science experiment results and the overall experience of the expedition.

  • Day 12: Enjoy a final morning of activities together before heading home!

Thank you to Yareth Rosen for sharing this exciting opportunity. 

SPG Meeting Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Thank you to everyone who attended the November SPG meeting.  All students, staff, parents and guardians are invited to attend SPG meetings, share their voice and participate in our votes.

Our next meeting is this Tuesday, December 14, from 6:00 to 7:00pm, on Zoom. 

In addition to the usual school updates, Maria will be sharing with us the procedures to apply for Travel Intensive Scholarships. 

  • You can find the Draft Meeting Minutes from November, and the December Agenda here.

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

Kirsten

Join Zoom Meeting

https://asdk12.zoom.us/j/95891436576?pwd=ekcwTUxweGRub0YzSDZuaGdLZ3RhQT09 

Meeting ID: 958 9143 6576

Passcode: 975378

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Thank You for Your Generosity

Last week Steller Outreach Group students, with the support of Steller Parent Group, launched our fundraising campaign “Steller Cups for Kids” and it was a great success! 

Despite the cold weather we had almost a dozen student and parent volunteers before and after school each day, passing out coffee/cocoa along the pickup/drop off line, and sharing with parents how they can donate to our check-writing campaign.

If you would like to learn more about how Steller Parent Group uses the funds we raise please see here. 

We are grateful for the generous donations we have already received and will be running “Cups for Kids” until December 15th (although we happily accept donations at any time throughout the year!). 

There are three easy ways to donate:

  1. Write a check to Steller Parent Group and drop off or mail to the office.
  2. Use this QR Code
  3. Visit the Steller Website