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