Category Archives: Volunteer Opportunities

Quyanas to our Staff

ASD is currently running a unique way to recognize staff for their efforts to support our children in their learning.  The website describes it this way:

Quyana (ku-‘ya-na) a Central Yup’ ik word for thank you, is also the name of our site-based award of appreciation. You can give this award to any employee or volunteer in recognition of achievement, service or dedication.

We thought wouldn’t it be a lovely way to recognize the extra work Steller staff has been doing for us if we managed to write a Quyana for every staff member at Steller? I think it is so much more meaningful if the thank you is specific and comes from someone who knows the staff member.  This is where you come in.  Would you be willing to write a short thank you to one or two staff members? It only take a few minutes, and is such a nice gesture as we wrap up our second quarter. 

If you are willing, let me know and I can share our list of everyone who has already been thanked, and then go to this link and write your Quyana. 

Warm regards,

Kirsten Tschofen 

Chair, Steller Parent Group

#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: Eli & Ezra

 

I did a lot of shovelling!

My name is Ezra and I am in 8th grade at Steller. This summer I volunteered at the Seeds of Change Steller garden. I did a few various tasks, such as weeding, watering, and spreading wood chips. I went once a week for an hour to leave the house and socialize with other humans. It was a good experience because it was fun and I learned some basic gardening skills. I also liked that I got to bring home fresh vegetables like lettuce and cauliflower. 

We made wood signs for the gardens.

Hi, my name is Eli and I am a current Senior at Steller Secondary. I’ve been to a lot of different schools over my high school journey, and I have always tried to connect with the community as much as I could. When the pandemic began, most community events were canceled. Over the summer I saw Seeds of Change was re-starting the Steller garden, something I had never seen during my limited time at the school (I had joined Junior year). Volunteering at the garden every Wednesday over the summer gave me something to do during the monotony of quarantine life. In addition, not only did it provide me new skills in gardening I had never learned before, but it taught me soft skills such as long term planning and cooperation with others. 

Thank you Eli and Ezra for your work in Steller Garden this summer.  We are glad you enjoyed yourselves and learned something new! 

Steller Parent Group

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

 

 

#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: Alana P.

This photo is from me volunteering at the mobile food bank on Saturday 11/21/20 in Fairview.

Hi, I’m seventeen year old Alana Rose P. I am a junior at Steller Secondary this year. For the past four years I have volunteered through the Foodbank of Alaska to help run the monthly mobile food banks in Fairview here in Anchorage. I have also volunteered at the Thanksgiving Blessing, GRIT ( Girls. Ridding. Into Tomorrow) Anchorage. This is two days out of the week for eight weeks in the spring. Most recently I have volunteered with Anchorage Teen Council, which is a group dedicated to providing an educational sex ed experiance for ASD students. We meet once a week plus extra days for teaching.

I also volunteer through Steller as well, helping with the Steller Auction, Steller NHS President, TPC member, Op Group Sergeant at Arms and Yearbook director for the Steller yearbook. I have also helped run almost every dance at Steller since my 7th grade year. 

I find it very fulfilliing to give back to the people that gave the most to me. All these programs and resources have helped me or given me people to help support me through my home, academic, and social life. I wanna help build that same community for others since I know it was the fundamental building blocks of who I am today, I feel I do that through volunteering  I know I’m making a difference in my community. 

Alana

Steller Junior

We are so proud of all the work you do to make your community a better place! Well done Alana. 

To learn more about #StellerGives, and submit your own stories about yourself, or someone you know who should be recognized, visit 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

 

Invitation to Join Student Nutrition Committee

Steller Parent Group would like to invite parents, staff and students to join the Student Nutrition Committee.  The purpose of this group is to ensure that all Steller students have access to healthy and balanced meals – especially during this pandemic. 

Starting in October 19, all ASD students enrolled in the National School Lunch Program are eligible to pick up free breakfast and lunch through a special emergency program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

Steller Secondary does not have a school lunch program and is not registered as part of the NSLP and so our students are not eligible for this program. 

We would like our Steller students to be eligible to participate in this program.  Our committee plans to explore ways to address this issue.

If you are interested in helping please join us for a planning meeting on Monday, November 23, 2020 at 12:00 to 1:00pm.  Email Kirsten at chairstellerparentgroup@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Sincerely, Kirsten Tschofen Chair SPG

Holly Rinehart, Chair Student Nutrition Committee