Fall Intensive Registration may now be completed online. Click here.
2009 FALL INTENSIVE
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
Bob
All Ultimate! All the Time!
The Intensive will focus on the most active of all Frisbee sports for two weeks straight. Technique, rules, and games are the bulk of the time. We will play at the soccer field and hopefully take a couple trips to the Park Strip. Bring a disc and be ready for fun!
Credit: P. E.
Fee: $0
Danielle
Creative Writing
Grade Level: 7-12
Students will have the opportunity to complete an original creative writing project of their choice (i.e. a screenplay, book of poetry, short stories, etc.). We will hopefully be able to take advantage of the weather and get outside to do some nature writing. Each day there will be one or two mini-lessons to build specific writing skills, and students will also have time to work independently. Giving and receiving constructive feedback, revision and experimentation will be emphasized.
Credit Count: .25 English Elective/ Comp. Elective
Frank
Hiking & Art
Hiking to different locations around Anchorage – both urban and rural. Students will then create individual works of art that reflect each hiking experience (i.e., a drawing, painting, poem, wood carving, sculpture, song, etc.).  This is “exercise for the mind, heart and bodyâ€.
Credit: Elective Elective
Fee: $10.00
Gerald
Pyrography
This will be a studio art intensive based upon the art of pyrography. Pyrography is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks resulting from the controlled application of a heated objectsuch as a poker. Pyrography means “writing with fire” and is the traditional art of using a heated tip or wire to burn or scorch designs onto natural materials such as wood or leather.
Credit: Elective Elective
Cost: $25
Philip and Jean
Cordova Travel
From Forest To Sea

 – Students will be participating in Prince William Sound Science Center’s “Forest to Sea†program. Students will travel via ferry to Cordova and camp at PWSCC’s campground. Each day is full of science activities and day trips. Students will, hike, canoe, kayak and white water river raft through the ecosystems of Cordova as well as participate in field science research. The projected cost of the trip is 1100 dollars. This will include transportation, gear, and food.
Credit: Science Elective
Cost: $1100
Jen Strauss
Road Biking: Biking to Denali
Grade Level: 9-12 (7-8, must pre-approve with Jen prior to sign-up)
Prerequisite: By fall must be able to bike for 20miles or for 2 hours at a time
Course Length: 2 Weeks
Get ready for the biking trip of a lifetime! At the end of this intensive you will be able to brag that you can bike from Wasilla all the way to Denali National Park. If this seems daunting, don’t worry; we will spend the first week preparing ourselves for the trip by biking around Anchorage and learning about bike safety and maintenance. Plus you will have 3 months to prepare for this intensive! If you get out and bike a few times a week all summer (building up to riding 20 miles at a time or 2 hours) you will be ready for this trip. Questions about this intensive? Come talk to me!
Credit: Elective Elective or PE Elective .25
Jennifer
Illustrated Poetry Journal
Writers keep many kinds of journals to help them when they sit down to write. An illustrated poetry journal is a helpful tool and they are fun to create just for yourself or as a gift as well. There are many ways to make an illustrated poetry journal and one of the easiest ways is to make a picture book that you can refer to when you’re writing poetry or that you create just for your own pleasure. We will gather images and other supplies and put together pages in our poetry journals.The journal you create is just for you so it should be creative and fun.
Credit: English Elective, Elective Elective (1st qtr) – 1/4 credit
Fee: $10.00
Ken
Steller Wilderness Study Class
Lynx Lake Canoe System
Swan Lakes-Moose River System
August 24-September 4
Ken will be offering two canoe trips as part of the fall intensive. Students do not need any previous canoeing or back country experience to participate in this trip. During the first three days of the intensive we will be covering the basics of trip planning and canoeing. We will practice basic canoe skills at the start of the trip. Students will need to provide their own gear. Usually there are plenty of people in the group with gear so that should not be a problem. We also need canoes and people to drive them to the put-in and pick-up. If this proves to be a problem, we will have to rent canoes and students will be charged a fee. Students are responsible for providing their own food and will be in cooking groups for meal preparation. We are also in need of a parent chaperones. If you’re free and interested or if you have further questions, you can call Ken at home (727-0730) or at Steller.
Credit: Physical Education/Elective
Fee: Unknown at this time.
Larry
Golf Around Anchorage
Grades: 7-12
Practice at Steller, Tanglewood Golf Range and some practice rounds at Russian Jack golf course. One round of golf at Moose Run Hill Course or Anchorage Golf Course or Tanglewood Golf Course. All the rules, all the sand and grass you can hit on. You don’t have to own your own clubs Steller has some used clubs you can use. Students will be graded on participation, attitude, behavior and attendance. Pass/Fail grading. Patience required.
Credit: PE
Cost: $125
Natalie
Frolf Intensive
Grade Level: 7-12
Participants will need to bring their own frolf discs. The minimum would be a driver and a putter. If you do not already own your own frolf discs it would probably cost you about $20.00 to purchase. Natalie is also open to discussion on traveling to the courses by bicycle.
Frolf is an inexpensive sport that students can enjoy for a lifetime. It involves long walks while keeping your mind engaged on the activity. You get to enjoy the outdoors and at the same time lively interaction with friends while developing a skill that will always need more fine-tuning. You can always work towards a personal best.
Participants will be given instruction on several ways to throw the discs and will practice through active participation in the game. There will be field trips daily to several courses off campus. Parent volunteers will be needed to assist in the transportation of students and also to help with the supervision on the course.
Credit Count: P.E.
Nina
Parks and Rec Trail Repair and Maintenance
Credit: Elective Elective
Fee: Unknown at this time
Toni
Fencing Intensive & Summer Outdoor Activities
Grades: 7 – 12
“on-guard!‗–“parry‗–“lunge‗–“blockâ€
At Steller, we will be offering a 2-week Fencing Intensive Program that will include daily drills and practice, instruction from a professional, visits to the Fencing Center in Anchorage, and a chance to watch matches and competitions.
Experienced fencers can practice and improve their technique and new fencing students will learn about the warm-ups, basic positions, and lunges. 
If you want to be an Olympian or just want to have FUN in a friendly environment, than this is the class for you!
When the weather is right, we can also bring a sack lunch outside in the afternoon and play soccer, kickball, or softball. (Student suggestions are welcome.)
 Student Aides Needed
Credit: P.E. or Elective Elective
Cost: $30
Troy
Spend a week exploring historic McCarthy/Kenicott.
(Limit 12 students)
Stay at the Commissioner’s Cabin in McCarthy. Tour the historic mine buildings of Kennicott. Take a glacier hike with St. Elias Alpine Guides. Study the geology, history, flora & fauna, ecology of the area. We hope to coordinate curriculum with Wrangell Mountains Center* which offers college credit in several subject areas. (Visit their website at HYPERLINK “http://www.wrangells.org” www.wrangells.org) We can take advantage of volunteer opportunities with the Park Service.
During the first week of Intensive at Steller we’ll have speakers to acquaint you with the history, geology, and geography of the area. You’ll exercise your math skills planning the logistics of our trip—how many tacos can 12 teenagers eat? What if 6 of them are adolescent boys with hollow legs? Students will work in pairs to provide meals for the group for one day of our stay. You will plan a menu, shop and pack supplies for those meals.  We’ll discuss our carbon footprint–how many rolls of toilet paper? Paper plates or dishwashing?
Credit depends on area of interest—Art, AK History, Social Studies, Creative Writing, Geology, Ecology, Engineering, P.E., or Community Service. Some type of project will be required for credit. It could be a daily journal for example, a biography of a local historical figure, a model of the concentrator building, schematics of mining equipment, a paper on the logistics of building the Kuskulana bridge, a photo essay on environmental changes in the area, or a slide show on area glaciers. The possibilities are only limited by your area of interest and imagination.
Cost is yet to be determined. Definitely under $200. We are trying to keep the costs down, by using parent/teacher transportation, and having pairs of students supply one day of meals for the group. The major expenses will be guided tours and vendor resources in McCarthy. We’ll update the costs as soon as we hear from those parties.
*The Wrangell Mountains Center is a private, non-profit institute dedicated to environmental education, research, and the arts in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Headquartered in McCarthy, Alaska in the heart of the park, the Wrangell Mountains Center strives to facilitate understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the lands and communities of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. Their summer programs include accredited college-level field courses, arts programs for children and adults, educator workshops, residencies for visiting artists and writers, natural science short-courses, Elderhostels, writing workshops, support services for research scientists, and the popular Kennicott Summer Arts and Lectures Series. Programs provide students, local citizens, scholars, researchers, and travelers with an increased understanding of complex natural processes, a changed view of the human place in the natural environment, and new skills for taking effective action on their own local issues. In the process of helping people come to know the Wrangell Mountains, they are building a strong local, national, and international constituency for the protection of wildlands and the enhancement of mountain cultures in Alaska and beyond.