December 21, 2000
Volume 10, No. 9
The arrangements for History Day at the U.S. Army National Reserve Armory worked very well, and the location will be used again for Science Fair.
Several Summit teachers attended the meeting to present a prioritized list of needs and concerns regarding computer equipment and technology support, parapro support, communications between Board and staff, library support, and staff training time. The Board approved expenditures for two new computers for the teacher workroom and for troubleshooting immediate computer problems during winter break. Input and suggestions for tech solutions are most welcome.
A new comprehensive textbook for Advanced Topics in Science was approved. Purchase of the textbooks is funded through a very generous anonymous donation from a Summit family.
Ms. Grove is reviewing applications for the receptionist position. A Scantron bubble scanner has been ordered and staff will be trained in its use in January.
The Summit Board's negotiating team continues discussions with BVSD about the renewal of Summit's charter contract.
Summit is accepting open enrollment applications now; applicants also will be required to complete a BVSD open enrollment form.
The Board voted to hire a replacement German teacher, to begin right after winter break. Soon after winter break, teachers will be asked to submit their ideas for new electives they would like to teach, and students will complete electives selection forms in February or early March.
Current and former Summit families, as well as families of students on Summit's waitlist, will be enlisted to contact BVSD board members and administrators about fair consideration of Summit's renewal proposal.
A special meeting of Summit Middle Charter School, Inc. was convened to ratify the final version of corporation bylaws.
The next Summit Board meeting will be on Monday, January 8, 2001 (Happy New Year!), in the Summit library at 7 PM. Any and all from our Summit community are invited to attend. Other future meetings will be on January 22 and February 5.
We will welcome siblings of current Summit students and/or Summit graduates for the 2001-2002 school year as these students enter middle school. Summit's enrollment policy clearly states that siblings have priority for open enrollment, as long as enrollment applications are received during the open enrollment period. Parents are reminded to fill out an open enrollment application, as we don't know about these younger siblings unless you tell us! This year, applications must be turned in no later than January 31, 2001.
With the changes in open enrollment adopted recently by BVSD we must ask all applicants to fill out a Summit open enrollment form and a BVSD centralized application form, indicating Summit as your #1 choice along with any other middle schools for which you wish your student to be considered. The Summit form is now available in the Summit office and on the Summit website. The BVSD form will be available starting January 8, 2001, at the BVSD Education Center and at any BVSD school. Completed Summit forms are to be turned in only to the Summit office. Completed BVSD forms should be submitted at the BVSD Education Center.
For more enrollment information, call Maggie in the Summit office at 303-499-9511, or Linda Parkhill, Summit enrollment coordinator, at 303-665-9355.
Even though we haven't quite turned the calendar page to 2001, we ask all interested Summit parents to consider running for a seat on the Summit Board of Directors.
Summit's volunteer Board has broad responsibility for governing the school, setting policy and making decisions about the school's budget, teacher and staff hiring, curriculum, course offerings and scheduling, accountability, and communications, for example. The Board benefits from the diverse expertise of members in all of these areas as well as computer programming, law, grant writing, and negotiation. Each candidate should be dedicated to Summit's educational philosophy and be willing to devote the time necessary to serve on the Board. The Summit Board meets approximately every two weeks, with occasional periods of more intense activity.
There are seven elected members of the Board and the principal serves as an ex officio member. Candidates should announce by early March and elections will be held in early April for two-year terms that begin on June 1, 2001. Successful candidates will be expected to attend Board meetings in April and May as nonvoting participants.
If you have an interest in the continuing success of Summit and would like to be involved in the real governance decisions necessary to run your child's school, please consider running for the Board of Directors. Serving on the Board is valuable and rewarding work. It also offers a tremendous opportunity to make a genuine difference for all Summit students and Summit's bright future. Please call any current Board member for more information: Jim Cederberg, 494-5647; Marti Gorman, 494-4488; Barbry Hogue, 665-3798; Chris Howard, 673-0978; Hunter McDaniel, 530-1840; Betsy Phelan, 443-0832; and Scott Smith, 499-1816.
Do you know a technically proficient individual who can troubleshoot software, configure hardware and set up networks? Please ask him/her to spend some (paid) flexible hours helping our hardworking teachers get their computers up and running and online. Interested parties should call Ms. Grove in the school office at 303-499-9511. High school and college students are welcome to inquire.
The year 2000, while not officially the beginning of the new millennium, certainly represents a new beginning for Summit! With the help of marvelous Summit families, we moved to our own site on Hanover Avenue this fall. We began school in very good spirits as a result. Our students did without gym lockers for most of the fall, and some did without hall lockers until mid-October, and yet everyone seemed to maintain their good humor. We called on our wonderful parents time and time again, and you never let us down. Julie Dotson, the Parent Volunteer Connection Coordinator, says she has never seen such a terrific group of folks.
We received a John J. Irwin School of Excellence Award and proudly fly that flag on our flagpole. History Day was an example of this excellence. The projects were all first class, and every student should be proud of his/her efforts. Also, our student musicians presented a wonderful concert at Boulder High School in November, another example of excellence. Students are now engaged in preparing their Science projects, and we expect excellent work on them.
Our students have enjoyed having their own campus. It was fun to see our parents cheering our girls' soccer team on our own field. We look forward to being able to provide proper facilities for our music and drama programs, as well as for basketball games. These facilities will be part of the contract negotiations our Board is currently engaged in with Boulder Valley School District. This is a time-consuming process, and one that you will be hearing a great deal about in Summit News this spring.
On a personal note, we welcome two new babies to our Summit family, Sophia Claire Koch and Katherine Kelly McGarrity. Cheryle Kapsak's back surgery went very well and we wish her a speedy recovery. We are fortunate to welcome Mark Bawek as our new Special Education teacher. He holds and MA degree in Education, has teaching experience in both elementary and middle schools, and will begin on January 8, 2001.
From all of the Summit staff, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
It's time for 8th graders to begin deciding where they would like to attend high school next year. By now you should know the name of your attendance area (neighborhood) high school. If you do not, check with Ms. Bartley or call the BVSD transportation department at 303-447-5125 to determine this. If you would like to attend a district high school outside of your attendance area, you must obtain an open enrollment application and submit it to the BVSD Education Center during the open enrollment period (January 8-31, 2001). If you will be registering at your attendance area (neighborhood) high school, you will not need to submit an open enrollment application.
During the week after Winter Break, Summit will host several presentations to provide information for 8th graders about area high schools (for a schedule of these events, see below). However, the best way to learn about high school programs is to attend the information nights offered at the schools. Students and their parents are strongly encouraged to attend the evening programs listed below for the schools in which they are interested.
Thursday, January 11 - Boulder High will offer the "BHS Showcase" program at 7 PM in the BHS auditorium to discuss opportunities for students who are considering attending Boulder High.
Tuesday, January 16 - Boulder High will host an evening program from 7 to 8 PM to inform students about the new A.P. Focus Program, and to discuss the A. P. (Advanced Placement) courses to be offered at BHS next year.
Also, on Thursday, January 18, Dr. Chris King, principal of Boulder High, will provide a special informational session for Summit parents and students only, to discuss course placement and opportunities for Summit students. This program will begin at 7 PM in Room 224 at Boulder High School.
Tuesday, January 16 - Fairview High will present "Is IB for Me?" This will be an informative presentation for students and parents interested in learning about the Honors Pre-International Baccalaureate (PIB) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. A panel of Pre-IB and IB students, teachers and parents will discuss experiences and opportunities in the program, and time will be provided for Q & A. The program begins at 7 PM in the Fairview auditorium. Questions? Call the IB office at Fairview 303-4475343 or visit the IB website at <http://bvsd.k12.co.us.schools/ib>.
Wednesday, January 17 - Fairview will host an "All-School Information Night" to discuss opportunities for students who are considering attending Fairview. The program begins at 7 PM in the Fairview auditorium.
Wednesday, January 10 - Monarch High will provide an "Open Enrollment Parent Information Night" at 7 PM for students interested in attending Monarch who do not live in the attendance area.
New Vista will host evening programs on the following nights at 7 PM: Tuesday, January 16, Wednesday, January 24, and Monday, January 29.
During the week of January 8-12, Summit will host several events for 8th graders to provide information about area high school programs. All presentations will be held during the school day at Summit. Parents are welcome to attend.
In our ongoing effort to provide up-to-date technology for our teachers and staff, we ask you to consider donating excess computers to the school. These donations must fulfill the following criteria:
Please remember to update us on all address and/or phone changes. We count on information from you to keep our records current! Also, please be on the lookout in early January for an important letter from the Board.
The 7th grade American History Classes celebrated Colonial Day on Tuesday, November 21. Everyone enjoyed the colonial activities and ate delicious colonial foods generously donated by 7th grade parents. They built button yo-yos, churned real butter, cracked nuts, made copper plate designs, played marbles and a wooden dice game, braided leather and wrote with goose quill pens. We even enjoyed a wool spinning demonstration. It was a wonderful day and it could not have happened without the generous support of the following people: Kathleen Inman, who chaired this event; Barbry Hogue, Shelly Hendrick, Sally Benjamin, Mary Lou Oppenheimer, Sharon Solomon, Renee Von Roenn, Cindy Jarmon, Cindy Scott, Lise Morency, Mary Ann Dangelo, Merry Mungo, Michele Dusenbery, Cathy Davis, Liz Evans, Teri Eastburn, Nancy D'Ippolito, Judi Smith, Cathy Woods, Debbie Harwood, Helen Beylkin, Rebecca Tsui, Mary Kay Wilson, Dawn Mahowald, and Jean Yu.
On November 20, American History students heard Lakota singing and made their own medicine bundles in classes as sage burned and the power of the four sacred directions and colors were explained. Maggie Mesinger, Summit's school secretary, is Native American and presented this wonderful interactive lesson for us. In exchange, students were able to donate canned goods, which Maggie will take to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Our Summit students showed respect and seriousness as they learned about Native American heritage. Many thanks to Maggie for her time, supplies and generosity in teaching us.
Sorry to say that no one was able to figure out our trivia questions from the last issue. (:-( I guess our faculty are just surprising and unpredictable people.
Which renowned member of the Summit staff once had 110 rabbits, showed quarter horses and also loves flowers? None other than the animal lover and outdoorsman - Coach Adams! The truly amazing thing about this story is that the rabbits were all living in his house. Coach A lived out back in the shed.
What popular Summit teacher was once assaulted by a horse while she was hiking? Ms. Avallone! We're short on details about this one. You'll have to ask her more about it. However, we know that it was not one of Coach's quarter horses. They only go after rabbits.
To encourage more participation in the trivia game, we are opening it up to parents and staff members too. Anyone can guess. Remember, winners get a free coupon to the school store.
This week's question is: Which staff member interviewed Ralph Nader at the Green Party Convention and Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles this past summer?
Hint - this is the second trivia question about this teacher. (Staff members - hint - we need more trivia items.) Don't delay! If you think you know the answer to the question, email your guess to tomwhiteoc@earthlink.net.
The boys and girls basketball teams have completed a very successful basketball season. Coach Adams was really impressed with the spirit and hard work that all the kids put into the program. They won some games and lost some games, but were all winners in teamwork and good sportsmanship. What a great start to the new athletics program for Summit. Congratulations to all the players and thanks to Coach Adams for his enthusiastic and energetic guidance of the team. Ms. Londos said she had never coached a team that had learned more during a single season. Way to go!
Congratulations go out to all the winners of this year's Geography Bee! Take one of the following students with you the next time you go on a trip and you will not get lost.
Winners from Ms. Kapsak's classes: Kathy Baker, Christine Klatman, Sydney Jacus, Gabriel Laperle, Anna Rudenko.
Winners from Ms. Londos' classes: Devin Bartley, Alan DeGrand, Kate Beall, Devin Brandt, Caitlin Smith, Alex Wang.
Winner from Mr. Havens' class: Lukas Feyh.
If you know of families that are interested in finding out more about Summit, have them call the office at 303-499-9511 to receive a brochure, a calendar of events, and an open enrollment application form.
This is an excellent opportunity to meet Summit staff and board members and to learn more about the Summit program. The mission, philosophy and curriculum of the Summit program are discussed, textbooks and work samples are displayed, and teachers of core subjects as well as electives offer presentations. All prospective students and their families are encouraged to attend this evening program on Thursday, January 18 at Summit, from 7 to 8:30 PM.
Prospective students and families interested in Summit are also invited to tour the school. Tours are offered once a month (except in February), and last approximately 45 minutes. At the end of each tour, there is time for questions and answers. School tours begin at 8:10 AM on January 16, March 13, April 10, and May 8.
The Summit Climbing Club has been meeting on a weekly basis at the Boulder Rock Club since mid-October. All of the participants qualified for belay certification and have passed the Rock Club written exam. Every week we work on a different skill set and help each other attain personal goals in climbing and bouldering.
The members of the club are Kate Beall, Andrea Parkhill, Geoff Parkhill, Erin Dotson, and Elise Smith. Linden Majack is a member and assistant instructor. Linda Parkhill deserves very special thanks for all of her help in driving and organizing. Thanks also go to Matt O'Connor of the Boulder Rock Club, the staff of EMS, and especially to Ed Crothers of the Colorado Mountain School for helpful advice and discounts on equipment. On Friday, December 15, members of the club participated in their first competition at the Boulder Rock Club, competing against others in their class from all over the area. Go Summit!
The climbing club is open to any student at Summit Middle School. If you are interested, please contact Kate Sweet at 303.938.8772 for more details.
An unusual opportunity will be available to teens in the Boulder area starting in January. The Boulder YMCA is sponsoring a full Wilderness First Responder certification class aimed at kids between the ages of 12 and 18. The class will start in early January and run through mid-March on Sundays and Thursday nights with an overnight at Camp Ora Penn in late February. The certification is extremely useful to a teen who plans to work as a camp counselor or who has an interest in outdoor activities like climbing, backpacking, rafting, or other adventure sports.
For more information, please contact Mike Eubanks at the Boulder YMCA (303.442.2778) or Kurt Haneger at Wilderness Emergency Resources (303.926.8547). The website is WER@WEmergencyResources.com.
This weekend conference, presented by the Vision and Learning Forum, is entitled "Bright Child: Struggling Student - Unlocking the Puzzle of Bright Children Having Difficulty Learning." Three experts will explore this topic and help explain how certain types of special students slip through the cracks and are mislabeled and misunderstood. They will explain conditions that may lead to learning problems, how to identify them and explain what can be done to help these children succeed in the classroom and in life. The program runs from January 19-21 at Metro State College. Call 303-986-9554 for more information.
The 24th annual CU Wizards program is an informal introduction to astronomy, chemistry and physics, intended primarily for students in grades 5 through 9. Each program lasts about an hour and includes several lively experiments. All programs are held at CU. There is free parking ONLY in LOTS 065, 169, 308, 378, 396, and 436. There is also parking available for a nominal fee in the Euclid parking structure. Certain parking spaces are reserved for permit holders at all times. Do not park in these spaces or your car will be ticketed or towed! All shows begin at 9:30 AM.
December 30: LIQUID CRYSTALS, Professors Noel Clark, Dave Walba, and Joe Maclennan, Duane Physics G1B30. For additional information go to: <http://physics.colorado.edu/wizards/cuwizards.html>
You should have received some special correspondence from Summit recently regarding the 2000-2001 Tools for Learning invitation. As you know, this is the way that our school community has chosen to handle fundraising for our school. Your gift provides resources that our teachers need to improve the quality of our children's education. Please be generous with your contributions!
Junior Great Books is offering a training course on Tuesday, January 16 and Wednesday, January 17 from 3:30 to 9:30 PM for all adult volunteers who are planning to become leaders of student discussion groups. Sessions will be held at Broomfield Heights Middle School. Please call Diane Cousins, BHMS parent volunteer, for further information, or call The Great Books Foundation at 1-800-222-5879 to register.
"How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards - the Second Colorado Study," just released by the Library Research Service of the Colorado State Library, Colorado Department of Education, demonstrates that student scores on standardized tests are 10 to 18 percent higher at schools with outstanding library media programs and staff.
The study found that CSAP reading scores are higher in schools where library media programs are better staffed, stocked and funded, and where library media specialists play a leadership role in their schools, collaborate with classroom teachers in the design and delivery of instruction, and utilize computer networks to extend the reach of the library media center throughout the school.
A recent poll of 47,235 elementary and middle school students conducted by Scholastic, Inc., revealed that 48% of kids do not consider hacking a crime. However, hacking is an electronic form of breaking and entering.
The Cybercitizen Awareness Program, with a website at <http://www.cybercitizenpartners.org>, educates children and young adults on the dangers and consequences of cyber crime. The program is designed to establish a broad sense of responsibility and community in an effort to help young people develop smart, ethical, and socially conscious online behavior. In order to do this we must create awareness about the proper uses of the new medium by drawing parallels between the off-line and online worlds.
The program seeks to define a positive role of an online hero and stem the tide of cyber criminal idolization. It is a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of Justice and the Information Technology Association of America.
Summit is conducting its own mini-Cybercitizen Awareness Program. Mr. Teasdale has prepared a multimedia presentation designed to inform and instruct our students regarding proper "netiquette'" and the responsible use of this valuable and powerful resource.
Please reinforce these efforts at home with your students.
If you are not receiving your newsletter via e-mail and wish to, or if you would like the newsletter sent to a different or an additional electronic address, simply send a message to marthagorman@att.net. Electronic distribution is fast, easy and saves postage and trees. What a deal!
Upcoming deadlines for submissions to Summit News are January 8 and January 22. Articles may be sent to tomwhiteoc@earthlink.net, or left in the Summit News file in the Summit office.
http://bcn.boulder.co.us/univ_school/summit/
May all that gives you hope and brings you peace be yours this holiday season.
English Department: Wednesdays, 3:10 - 4:00, Rms. 107 & 108.
Foreign Language Department: Ms. Blakemore Before school, by appt.; Ms. Hanckel Before school,during lunch, by appt.; Ms. Stough Mondays, 3:10 - 4:00, and by appt.
Math Department: Dr. Fotino Wed. 3:10 - 4:00, and by appt.; Mr. Alcantara Tues. and Thurs. 3:10 - 4:00; Ms. Frohbieter Tues. and Wed. during lunch.
Music Department: Dr. Burkhart Mon. and Wed. 3:10 - 4:00.
Science Department: Mondays, 3:10 - 4:00.
Social Studies Department: Ms. Kapsak Mondays, 3:10 - 4:30; Ms. Londos Mondays, 3:10 - 4:30; Mr. Havens by appointment.