North Star College

Parents and Guardians,

As classes begin to wind down many instructors have included end-of-course projects/presentations into their syllabi and these assignments can heavily influence final grades due to their high point values. I encourage you to continue to check in with your son/daughter to see how they are feeling about these last couple weeks of instruction, what assignments still need to be completed, and how they are scheduling study time for their course finals. Are you helping to make this study time a priority, as well, within your family's schedule?

There is still time for students to make a difference with their grades, but students must take the initiative to reach out to instructors, utilize office hours, set up tutoring appointments, etc. The UAF Writing Center is also open and ready to help them with their final papers. Click here to book an appointment. It is my hope that all students take advantage of the excellent academic support services here on campus and finish the semester strong!

Our offices are open from 7:30-3:30pm and all email/phone contacts of staff are always available at the bottom of this newsletter. Feel free to reach out to any of us for questions or support.

Sincerely,

Stacey Kennedy

Finals Schedule Fall 2023

Here is the link to order NMC gear. Deadline to order is Tuesday, November 28th. We are planning on doing another order early next spring, too.

https://ak-fairbanksnorthstar-lite.intouchreceipting.com/NMCSpiritwear

All students should be registered by now, but if you've missed your appointment then please go to the following link Schedule a meeting. to schedule a meeting with UAF's Amy Bristor. She will be meeting with any students this week that may still need advising or schedule changes.

For those students taking APEX courses, I'm growing concerned as to the lack of progress some students seem to be making at this point in the semester. Parents should be receiving emails from Apex as to progress alerts when students have fallen behind the pacing of the online material. Also, for those courses, students are required to have quizzes/tests unlocked by our our counselor or program secretary, of which, we've had very few students making these requests or coming to take assessments. These courses are required to be completed by the end of the FNSBSD semester on Dec. 22.

Here are some guidelines for Apex to run smoothly at NSC as it is pretty different than what students may be used to:

• Our office is open from 7:30am-3:30pm. Kristan and Natalie can help you with unlocking tests and resetting quizzes.
• If you need a quiz reset, we will only be doing this during office hours, so please plan accordingly if you need a quiz reset.
• You do not need to send notes to have a quiz reset. Simply request to have the quiz reset via email with Kristan or Natalie. (Emails located at the bottom of this newsletter.)
• If you are ready to come in for a test to be monitored, plan to be here by 1:30pm to start in order to give yourself plenty of time to finish prior to the end of office hours.

We are happy to announce that North Star College has been approved for its own chapter of the National Honor Society. Students who are already NHS members at their attendance-area school will be automatically granted membership here in the newly formed NSC chapter of NHS. Current NHS members should keep track of their individual service hours (12 hours/semester minimum) so they can submit those service hours to our NHS advisor, Mr. Stoddard.

If you are already an NHS member, please email Mr. Stoddard at: greg.stoddard@k12northstar.org so he can place you in the email group for NHS related information.

We will hold a brief NHS meeting for current NHS members on Wednesday Dec. 6, 2023 @ 8:30 AM in Schaible Auditorium during DEVS.

During the Spring 2024 semester, we will be opening the application process for inducting new members. Look for the new member NHS application link in coming newsletters and on the NSC website's home page during the first week of February. The basic NHS application requirements for new membership are as follows:

• A cumulative GPA of at least a 3.6 (including students’ Fall 2023 semester grades!).

• Student should be enrolled in challenging coursework (as an NSC student being challenged in university level classes, students won’t need to be worried about this requirement).

• Student should be involved in at least one substantial school sponsored extracurricular activity.

Currently, we will plan on meeting approximately once a month (likely on a Wednesday afternoon at 12 PM) as we look forward to serving our community through our individual and collaborative service projects.

We look forward to working with both our current NHS members and future inductees as our NHS chapter gets up and running here at NSC.

SENIORS: Here is the information for our first North Star College yearbook! Natalie, our program secretary, has been busy researching and developing step by step directions (see below) for you all to be able to create your own page to be included in the yearbook and then purchase, if you'd like. Contact Natalie Tanner at natalie.tanner@k12northstar.com if you have any questions.

1. Go to: https://legacy.treering.com/validate2/

2. Type in the following code: 1016990433784359 (Treering will ask for the code twice)

3. Create account (Select- I am a student)

4. Click Next
5. Select Let’s Go

6. Select Natalie’s Yearbook (this will be your name) in the top left corner

7. Scroll down & find the option—share school photos

8. Click UPLOAD SCHOOL PHOTOS

9. Find your folder and add your photos
Please add 3-4 photos. Preferably a baby photo, 1-2 photos as a child, and a senior photo.

Below is a video link providing directions for uploading photos:

https://watch.screencastify.com/v/69mD7EJFxYHxX4GNzPQx

In time, we will also be requesting parents/guardians to write special thoughts on the page to their graduate, as well. More information to come.

All North Star College students will participate in our graduation ceremony on May 20, 2024, at 7:00pm, here at UAF's Davis Concert Hall. We are currently working with the Herff Jones company setting up our website link for purchasing NSC graduation packages (caps, gowns, tassels, etc.) where parents/students will be able to order directly in preparation for our ceremony. We will keep you informed here of next steps and deadlines as the year progresses.

The school code for North Star College is 012350. Because we are a new school, the name of the school likely will not populate and students will have the option of selecting wording similar to “my school is not listed.” For counselor name, students should list Kristan Kelly at kristan.kelly@k12northstar.org. (Please note the nonstandard spelling of Kristan’s name.) Students needing help with applications can schedule an appointment or drop by Kristan’s office in Bunnell between 7:00am-3:00pm weekdays.

For any FNSBSD student these courses are on the UAF pre-approved list. Students would still need to complete the outside credit request form so their counselors are aware. Then bring in a copy of their transcript so the credit can be entered in PowerSchool.

Is your student needing to take the SAT or ACT this year? The SAT and ACT are qualifiers for the Alaska Performance Scholarship and many colleges/universities require one or both of these test scores for their admission applications.

UAF Exam Services administers the SAT and ACT tests several times during the academic year. Space is limited so be sure your student registers early. Registrations for these exams typically close 30 days prior to the exam date. Students can find registration deadlines and test information HERE.

North Star College received SAT fee waiver codes. If you are eligible to receive the SAT fee waiver code, please reach out to me at least 30 days prior to your test date, and I will provide you with the six character electronic fee waiver code. Below you will find eligibility information and instructions from the College Board.

Who is eligible to receive the SAT fee waiver benefits

- Enrolled in or eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). If your school is community eligible, meaning all students receive free or reduced lunch automatically without being individually verified as eligible, an alternate qualifier must be used to individually confirm a student's eligibility for SAT fee waiver benefits.

TO USE SAT FEE WAIVER CODE

- Do enter all 12 characters, and put the 6 digit (CEEB) school code (012350) before the 6 character electronic fee waiver code.

- Do not have any spaces present before, within, or after the code when submitting the code.

- Do not enter the letter O or the letter I. Instead, these would be zeros or ones.

If your students are seeing the "Pay for the SAT With a Voucher" option during SAT registration, this space is not intended for SAT fee waiver codes and if an SAT fee waiver code is entered it will not be accepted. Additionally, students will see a total due during the registration process as available SAT registration benefits do not get applied until the step where a student would otherwise enter their payment information.

Students having difficulty with redeeming their SAT fee waiver code may call the SAT Student support line at (866) 756 - 7346 for assistance.

We've been receiving some concerns regarding plagiarism by students and wanted to share some information our UAF's Elmer E. Rasmuson Library has provided:

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism can come with serious consequences, including dismissal from UAF.

UAF's Student Code of Conduct

Does your student experience a disability and related barriers in academics or accessing campus? Your student may register with Disability Services (DS) and request accommodations to address those barriers.

Documentation

1.) Fill out and submit the Registration Form. The Registration form covers a broad range of information. Some things may apply to you, the student, and some things may not, don't get hung up on any one question. You may skip any of the questions you feel do not apply to you. There are no right or wrong answers.

2.) Provide documentation from a medical provider stating your disability, diagnosis, and/or symptoms you experience. Alternatively, your provider may complete the Disability Verification Form. If you have any questions about medical documentation and how to access it, please let them know.

Accommodation Letter

At the conclusion of the initial appointment a letter will be drafted and emailed to your student for your student to share with their instructors as needed. Please note that your student is responsible for contacting Disability Services to renew your letter every semester.

Disability Services Team

Gruening Building 211

907-474-5655

Natalie Tanner, Program Secretary 907-452-2000 ext. 52101 natalie.tanner@k12northstar.org

Stacey Kennedy, Director 907-452-2000 ext. 52102 stacey.kennedy@k12northstar.org

Kristan Kelly, Counselor 907-452-2000 ext. 52103 kristan.kelly@k12northstar.org

Greg Stoddard, Teacher 907-452-2000 ext. 52104 greg.stoddard@k12northstar.org

Lexi Amstutz, UAF Advisor 907-474-7159 adamstutz@alaska.edu

Email: stacey.kennedy@k12northstar.org
Website: https://www.k12northstar.org/Domain/4979
Location: UAF Bunnell Building, 1790 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, AK, USA
Phone: (907) 456-1477
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthStarMiddleCollege/