Category Archives: Students

#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: Seeds of Change

 

Seeds of Change volunteers on the far left and right, with Steller students Ezra, Eli and Logan.

This summer Alaska Seeds of Change  and Steller partnered to reclaim the Steller Peace Garden.

Alaska Seeds of Change works with young people ages 16-24 to help them develop the vocational and personal skills needed to become successful adults. Most staff initially start at Seeds as apprentices, by volunteering for school credit or through an apprenticeship program with one of our partner agencies.

The first step was building lasagna beds on top of the old weed filled beds, and from there we planted the garden and maintained it all summer. 

In addition we were able to plant about 10 apple trees that were donated from a community member (he’s also interested in adding lots more trees if the Steller community is interested). 

We harvested lots of good veggies over the summer that were taken home by Steller students and staff/apprentices at Seeds of Change.  We even had a neighborhood veggie “pirate” that would harvest things periodically.  They seemed to know what they were doing and we figured that they needed the food so we decided it was a way to feed our local community. 

One of the highlights for me was being able to support the youth in making the garden their own and helping them take on projects.

We didn’t realize that we would be running the garden in a pandemic but it turned out to be a great way for Steller students to connect in person while following CDC guidelines to minimize the spread of Covid.  Many students said that this was one of the few ways that they were able to get out of the house and see people.   

Last year we were able to acquire funding through a grant from the Whole Kids Foundation.  We are yet to determine our funding for next year’s program.  If anybody has any ideas we have estimated that about $2,000 would cover the basics of running the garden next year.     

Kelly Ballantyne

Seeds of Change 

Thank you to Seeds of Change for the important role you play supporting the youth of our community, and to all the volunteers from Steller that helped out through the summer.  

If you would like to learn more about Seeds of Change, find out how to volunteer, or donate to support their work visit their website here.

To learn more about #StellerGives and how you can share how you give back to the community please see here. 

 

#StellerGives: National Honors Society

 

Steller’s chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) is a service oriented organization.  Membership is by invitation and is open to academically inclined students who are interested in giving back to their community.  Brian Gehring serves as the NHS advisor.

This year, NHS students have focused on helping prevent food insecurity.  They have spent time volunteering with the Mobile Food Bank and the Thanksgiving Blessing event.  This valuable work has involved packing food items in boxes and lending their strong backs to the work of moving the boxes along the supply chain to those in need.

NHS students have also been able to establish and support a Steller Homework Club.  The Homework Club initiative has been valuable for students needing support with academic tutoring and to those seeking help to improve their study skills and study habits. 

National Honor Society is open to all Sophomores that have earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher.  Invitations are sent to qualifying students after the completion of their first semester.  Members in good standing must attend regularly scheduled meetings and complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service.

If you think you might enjoy joining our organization, we would appreciate your support and contributions.    

Submitted by the National Honours Society

Thank you to all the students that participate in the NHS.  We are proud of the work you do to make Steller, and Anchorage a better place to live!   

Want to join the #StellerGives campaign?

Let’s celebrate the contributions we all make – big and small – and accept the challenge to show our generosity in a variety of ways during the #StellerGives campaign from November 11 to December 1!

Send your #StellerGives photos to opgsml@gmail.com with your first and last name, grade, and a short description of what you are doing or the charity/cause you support to be posted on Flash, the Steller Instagram account, and this year’s yearbook. 

Then follow @steller_s_official to see how others in our community are contributing! 

Steller Parent Group

 

Register for Classes December 9

November 19, 2020

Good Morning Steller Families and Staff,

Second semester (third quarter) registration will be Wednesday, December 9, 2020.  Students will meet with their advisor on Zoom.  Please check with your Advisor for the Zoom link.

Registration Times:

8:00 – 9:00 = 12th grade

9:00 – 10:00 = 11th grade

10:00 – 11:00 = 10th grade

11:00 -12:00 = 9th grade

1:00 – 2:00 = 8th grade

2:00 – 3:00 = 7th grade

The class descriptions and schedule are posted on the Steller website, (see links below) to find a possible schedule. You will use this data to create your schedule with your advisor.  If you started a semester-long class in the first quarter, you must choose it again in the third quarter. For example, Algebra is usually a year-long class so this year you will take it first and third quarter. 

Course Schedule: https://www.asdk12.org/domain/4864 (Links to an external site.)

Course Description: https://www.asdk12.org/domain/4771 (Links to an external site.)

Please contact the front office staff or your advisor with any questions.

Have a Great Day!

Steller Office

Halloween Costume Contest Winners

Thank you to all who participated in the Halloween Costume contest! 

Congratulations to  our winners:

First Place: Kai R. (12) as the Invisible Man

Second Place: Eli P. (12) as the Lord of the Spiders

Third place: Naomi H. (7) as Tooth Fairy

We are still looking for Halloween costume photos for yearbook! Submit with your first and last name, grade, and costume title to opgsml@gmail.com to be included in the Yearbook! 

Eli Pelletier

Social Media Liaison

Steller Yearbook Cover Contest

Good Morning Steller Students,

It’s time for the official Steller Yearbook cover contest. The contest will run from Oct. 28th – Nov. 19th at 11:59 pm. There is no particular theme this year, but students should consider maybe inspiring there art for current times. They need to be vertical and the size of a normal piece of printer paper so 8.5×11. You must incorporate Steller’s name and the academic year 2020-2021. Please send in submissions to Eli at the official school Instagram account  opgsml@gmail.com or to Alana at alanarose4848@gmail.com Feel free to email Alana if you need more info.

Have a Great Day!
The Yearbook Committee