September 28, 2000
Volume 10, No. 3
Mid-quarter progress reports are one of several ways that Summit teachers communicate with parents about students in their classes. Generally, the reports are sent only for students whose grades in a specific class are low, or when teachers feel there has been a significant downturn in a student's performance. Occasionally, however, teachers will send a progress report for other reasons. For example, a teacher may notify parents that a student has made a notable improvement in his or her progress in the class.
For this quarter, progress reports will be mailed on Monday, October 2. Parents who have concerns or questions about how their student is doing in a specific class should call and leave a message for their student's teacher. Parents with general concerns about how their student is doing in the Summit program may call Ms. Bartley, the counselor, at 303-499-9511.
Please make sure your child attends school on Monday, October 2, if at all possible! We get our funding from the state based on the official October student count. If you already know that your child will be absent for all or part of the day on October 2, please call Maggie in the office ASAP to make arrangements for inclusion in the count.
The Summit Board met for its regular biweekly meeting on September 25 in the Summit library. We welcomed parent guests Julie Dotson and John Jacus.
Parent concerns were raised about safe storage of cafeteria tables so that the hallway is not crowded or blocked, and about scheduling of Summit days off which are different than those for other BVSD schools.
Other key discussion points included Summit's contribution to parental leave benefits for Summit staff, individual teacher fundraising efforts, utilization of the Parent-Teacher Hotline, the October 25 high school information night for 8th grade parents, and additional computer donations for the library and classrooms.
Also:
The next Summit Board meeting will be on Monday, October 9, at 7 p.m. in the Summit library. Regular meetings are always open to the Summit community, and visitors are invited to attend.
When students are having difficulty getting homework done and handed in on time, there are a number of ways parents can help. You can assist your child by making sure that study time begins with a planner check, to determine what homework needs to be done. You and your student may look at calendars provided by English, Social Studies, and Science teachers, or call the Homework Hotline, to verify that all assignments are written down. Also, consider large and long-term assignments and their due dates and, if needed, assist your child in breaking these assignments down into parts that can be accomplished each day. Then, have your child prioritize the assignments and estimate how long it will take to complete each one. Your child should then be able to make a plan for getting the work done.
Once your child has started to work on assignments, it is usually best to "back off" and provide assistance only when asked. Then, at the end of the study session, you might ask to see what your child has accomplished. If your child has difficulty remembering to turn in homework, it may help to provide a pocket divider in the front of their binder for keeping all assignments that need to be turned in the next day. At this time, you may also want to ask your child about his or her current grades, which can be determined by reviewing the grade recording sheets provided by many Summit teachers, or by checking returned homework and tests.
If your child is new to Summit, concentrate on setting up a good study routine, and be patient and supportive! It may take a while to adjust to the demands of middle school, and managing the homework load. As time goes on, however, your child should be taking more and more responsibility for knowing what homework needs to be done, and for getting it completed. The goal is for your role to continue to diminish, so that your child will soon be successfully managing all homework on their own!
Parents of 8th graders, are you already wondering about what lies ahead for your student next year in high school? Have you started your own list of high school related questions? Mark your calendar for an informative evening on Wednesday, October 25, specifically for parents of this year's 8th graders. Hosted by Summit's AAA committee, the session will include: helpful hints about a planning timeline; information about how Summit teachers and staff work with our 8th graders as they make their high school decisions; and an opportunity to talk with Summit graduates and their parents as they discuss what their high school experiences are really like.
Invitations with more details will be in the mail this week. In the meantime, call Barbry Hogue at 303/665-3798 for more information.
This exciting Math and Technology Conference for Middle school girls is being held on November 4th this year at CU. The goal of the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conference is to encourage middle school girls to continue to study math, science and technology by interacting with women whose careers embrace these studies.
The conference will be held at the new Integrated Teaching and Learning Lab (ITLL) at the Engineering Center on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus. The ITLL is designed as a hands-on laboratory for engineering students and features state-of-the-art technology and many permanent, interactive exhibits. Girls will have the opportunity to attend two small interactive sessions with women whose careers are in math, science and technology fields. Students will also explore a career fair and technology hall featuring many computer demonstrations.
Parents, teachers and counselors are also invited and can attend a separate program with workshops focusing on many issues facing middle school girls. This year's conference will be held Saturday, Nov. 4th from 10 AM to 2:15 PM at the Engineering Center. The conference fee of $10 for students and adults includes lunch and handouts. Some scholarships are available. A registration brochure is available in the Summit office or on the Internet at: bcn.boulder.co.us/community/aauw/aauw
You may also call Susan at 303-530-4890 for more information. The registration deadline is October 18th for groups of 8 or more and October 25th for individuals or whenever the registration limit is reached, so please register early this year.
I would like to thank all those generous Summit supporters who have donated such high quality materials to our new Library and Resource Center. They are being used by our students on a daily basis. And I'm pleased to announce that our brand new World Book encyclopedia has also arrived! Stop by and visit!
More good news: the library automation system is now up and running and we are in the process of processing books -- old, new, donated and found. We will have a properly catalogued collection of books and periodicals very SOON!
Please continue to bring your used books to the Bookworm Used Bookstore for Summit credit. This allows us to purchase used books based on need and the curriculum, and is a very low cost way of augmenting our collection.
Wish List:
Thanks again for your terrific support for the Library -- it is a pleasure working with your students. I am so impressed with the Summit Community and so very pleased to be part of it!
-- Juilane McMurtrey, Librarian
Summit Parent/Teacher Conferences will be Thursday, Oct. 19th and Friday, Oct. 20th. Thursday 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Thursday evening conferences will be drop-in only. Friday conferences will be by appointment only. Your student will bring home an appointment request form the week before conferences. Please fill it out and send it back with your student by Friday, 10/13. Your child will bring your appointment confirmation home on Tuesday, 10/17.
We are finally settled and well on our way to a wonderful year. We finished picture day on September 21. Thanks to Debbie Feyh for heading that effort. She had great support from Susan Damon, Marian Rothschild, Pat Daley, Joan Jacus, Cindy Jarmon, Ashley O'Connor and Joan Simon in assisting the students with their primping and smiles!
We are still in need of volunteers to help at lunchtime. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the pizza days and we need additional help to sell the pizza. We are trying to get our ravenous students fed quickly so they still have some time to unwind at lunch. Our snack line is also staffed by volunteers. It also generates long lines so any additional help would be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in helping out - once a week or once a month from 11:40 - 12:40 please call Julie Dotson at 303 499 8749 or email her at julia_dotson@stortek.com.
Our library is also in need of volunteers to help reshelf books, check out books and supervise students. Please call Julie Dotson or contact Juilane McMcurtrey our librarian.
Our volunteers have donated many hours in a variety of functions to support Summit staff and students. Their time and devotion is appreciated by all. The time you donate, no matter how large or small, allows the staff to focus on the academic environment. A special thanks to Ron Loftus and his family. Ron has spent time after hours putting up corkboards, curtain rods and pencil sharpeners - he has become our Mr. Fixit !! Thanks also to Diana Falloon and Debbie Bridwell for all their efforts in obtaining curtains for the classrooms. Also thanks to Barb Metzger for being such a great detective - she was able to locate part of our lost geography books!!
We also extend our appreciation to Linda Parkhill, our Summit News editor for the last several years. What a great job she has done putting together this newsletter. She is retiring from that role and Tom White-O'Connor has volunteered to take her place. Submissions can be sent to him at tomwhiteoc@earthlink.net.
Interested ??? Check out the web site: www.destinationimagination.org (national) or www.extremecreativity.org (Colorado) Coaches training: Saturday, October 14; Saturday, November 11; Saturday, December 9. Time: 8:00 - 3:00 at University of Denver. Want to form a team ?? Call Julie Dotson at 303 499 8749.
Our students and teachers make excellent use of computers donated for the Summit library and classrooms. If you have a surplus computer you can donate (Pentium I or faster), please call the Summit office at 303/499-9511.
For the first time, this year interested Summit students can form their own Math Olympiad teams to compete against math teams from all 50 states and several foreign countries. Math Olympiads is for students who would like to be on a math team, attend weekly practice sessions, work on fun and challenging math problems and participate in five monthly competitions.
The sixth grade team will meet on Tuesdays starting on October 10 from 3:10 - 3:50 PM. The combined seventh/eighth grade team will meet on Wednesdays starting on October 11 from 3:10 - 3:50 PM.
Interested students are invited to sign up on the poster hanging in the math room.
We are still looking for a person who is interested in math and would like to coach the combined seventh/eighth grade team. Please call Connie Harmon (303-499-2061) or Anita Gonzales (303-494-5394) if you are able to help or if you have any questions about this program
Congratulations to Summit student Hildur Boylston, who was a semifinalist in the 2000 Discovery Young Scientist Challenge! Hildur was one of only three Colorado middle school students named for this honor. Hildur's project, called "Beetle Juice", examined the reaction that occurs in the abdomen of a bombardier beetle to deter its prey. Her project was selected from more than 1600 middle school students in 23 states. Hildur was nominated for the competition after placing in the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair last April. The competition was created by Discovery Communications, Inc. in partnership with Science Service, Inc. and is designed to award middle school students for their knowledge of science and their ability to communicate about science.
Due to a computer glitch, our previous list of students who received As in at least all five of their core classes for the 2nd semester last year was incomplete. Please accept our apologies. Hopefully, this revised list gives credit where it is due!
M.G. Aguilar, Alexandra Barba, Kaitlin Beall, Emma Benjamin, Daniel Beylkin, Jessica Boulet, Hildur Boylston, Lisa Brownstone, Laura M. D'Ippolito, Miranda Daigle, Erika Daley, Jason Eckstein, Sarah Evans, Joy Fest, Allison Filderman, Alessandra Fuhrman, Tanya Goldhaber, Ryan Hamerly, Zachary Harvanek, Thatcher Heumann, Cassie Houtz, Andrew Jarmon, Jess C. Johnson, Carl Jones, Joshua Karpel, Nikki Killbride, Ross Logan, Linden Majack, Eleanor McDaniel, Mara Meaney-Ervin, Stacy Metzger, Andrew Mohr, D.C. Mungo, Dana Oppenheimer, Eric Pahlke, Geoffrey Peterson, Allison Reid, Alana Riksheim, Madeline Rovira, Aban Siraj, Erica Smith, Halley Theodore, Laura Tippit, Kellan Toohey, Lauren VonRoenn, Victoria Webster, Emilyanne Weigel, Tracy Wilson.
The Following are graduated 8th graders with 4.0 Spring 2000:
Galen Bascom, Eryn Callihan, Maxwell Carey, Corinne D'Ippolito, Catherine Fleagle, Tyler Fox, Greer Hansen, Aviva Johnson, Sara Klymkowsky, Maya Kushner, Anna Lindemann, Hannah Mills, James Norton, Evan O'Loughlin, Galen Pahlke, Alice Perl, Heather Perry, Savannah Ross, Courtney Schultz, Caroline Smartt, Marek Sotola, Meredith Strauss, Vani Vivekanandan, Steven Wilson, Ashley Witt, Alisa Yamasaki.
Families who may be interested in having their student attend Summit in the future are invited to tour the school with a Summit administrator. Tours are offered once a month (except in February), and will last approximately 45 minutes. At the end of the tour, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. All tours begin at 8:10 a.m.
School tours will be held on the following dates: October 10, November 14, December 12, January 16, March 13, April 10, and May 8.
Weekly classes for 6th through 12th graders are available to provide help with learning styles, time management and organizational skills, note taking, test taking, and memory skills. Parents attend (free) with students.
Cost is $125 for 5 classes. For more information call Gloria Frender, 303-530-3195.
Next meeting of the AAA Committee will be on Fri Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. in the Principal's office. Contact Mary Ann D'Angelo 303-440-7033.
Parents: The Summit Attendance Hotline number is 303-447-5529. Please leave a voice mail message at this number if your student is going to be either absent or late.
The Starbucks' All Books for Children book drive runs from September 6 through October 3. Starbucks throughout the area will be collecting new or slightly used books for the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools Books in Homes project. Please remember to donate a book when you stop for a cup of coffee.
Please contact the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools at 303-447-5132 with any questions about these programs.
The school district has numerous food service positions available for lunchtime help at a variety of schools. All positions require that employees be able to lift 35 pounds unassisted, have a high school diploma or GED, enjoy children and be able to work quickly and efficiently. Cook helper and Cashier positions will start at $8.20/hour. Cook positions will start at $8.86/hour. Positions over 20 hours/week receive full benefit package. Interested?? Please fill out an application at the Boulder Valley School District - 6500 Arapahoe or call 303-447-5042.
To save both trees and the cost of postage, we would like to deliver as many copies of Summit News electronically as possible. Please send an e-mail message to marthagorman@att.net to indicate how you wish to receive the newsletter or return the form enclosed in the last newsletter to the office.
Grocery Certificates are an easy way to support Summit. Simply stop by the school office and speak with Shelly. Purchase any amount of groceries with Grocery Certificates and receive the change in cash. Grocery
Certificates are accepted at King Soopers, Safeway, and Albertson's. Also, if you shop at Albertsons, please be sure to pick up a member card. Then every time you shop there, Summit will receive a percentage of the sale. If you have any questions please call Joan at 303-499-3013.
Many of you already know that Valerie and Chris Koch are expecting their first baby at the end of October. Valerie will be taking off the months of November and December, but will return to work after winter break on January 8th. She is looking for a babysitter/day-care situation for Mondays through Thursdays from 7:30 to 11:15. If you or someone you know is interested, please call the Kochs at 303-436-0479.
Summit Board meetings will be held on Monday October 9 and 23 at 7 PM in the Library.
Upcoming deadlines for Summit News are: October 11, October 25, November 8, November 22, and December 6. Articles may be sent to tomwhiteoc@earthlink.net, or left in the box next to the door in the staff workroom.
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/univ_school/summit/
Call 303-938-9090
Faculty Extensions: Alcantara Math 0680; Avallone English 0671; Blakemore Spanish 0683; Burkhart Orchestra & SelStrngs 0677, Choir & Silver Rain 0678, Bands 0688; Donaton Science 0686; Fotino Math 0675; Frohbieter Math 0676; Goldhaber App Tech & Program. 0802; Gorschboth German 0684; Hanckel French 0679; Havens Social Studies 0801; Hutton Art 0685; Kapsak Social Studies 0673; Koch Math 0669; Londos Social Studies 0689; McGarrity English 0668; McMillan English 0670; McMurtrey Library & ResCenter 0800; Sikora Science 0681; Stough Spanish 0682; Teasdale Science 0672.
Summit Administrative Extensions: Enrollment 6166; All about Summit 6167; School News 6168.