June 2, 1997
Volume 3, No. 10
Summit students began taking final exams last week. Finals scheduled this week are: Monday — English and social studies; Tuesday — social studies and math; Wednesday — foreign language; Thursday — foreign language.
The graduation and awards committees have planned Summit's first annual end-of-the-year ceremony honoring the 8th graders and the successes of our first year's student body. The ceremony will be on Friday, June 6, 12:45 - 2:30 PM in the Fairview High School auditorium. Classes will be dismissed at 12:30 PM and students will walk with their 5th-period teachers to Fairview. (Eighth grade students will be dismissed earlier for graduation practice and a group portrait.)
Seating in the auditorium will be in assigned sections. In attendance will be parents, guests, Summit board members, and faculty. Music will be provided by Summit's own talented musicians and Silver Rain. Invited speakers include Superintendent Lydia Swize, Board of Education President Stephanie Hult, Principal Kirk Adams, and two 8th grade students, Alix Oreck and David Shams.
Refreshments will be served in Fairview's cafeteria after the ceremony. School will adjourn immediately following. Parents should plan on picking up their students at 2:45 PM.
Thanks to Mr. Adams, Lisa Singletary, Deb Fee, Terry Cook, Debbie Smith, Sharon Svendsen, and Ms. Dozeman for organizing the ceremonies.
The Summit Board of Directors voted to coordinate Summit's bell schedule with Southern Hills' next semester. Most periods will overlap, although Summit will have its own lunch period. Class periods will be 48 minutes, compared with 50 minutes this year. Summit will have a mandatory, supervised study period for 20 minutes following 7th period.
Study period will be an opportunity for students to get started on their homework for the day. In addition, some teachers will meet with students who need individual help during this period. We will provide more information and a detailed daily schedule in a future issue of Summit News.
Sign-up sheets for core and elective classes next semester will be sent home early this week.
Summit students Matt Angiono, Trevor Davis, Cody Hayes, and Taryn Sposato earned third place in the nation in the competition for the Community Innovation Award sponsored by Bayer Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the Christopher Columbus Foundation, and Discover magazine. They each received a $1000 savings bond. The awards were announced at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World on May 31. The team was accompanied by science teacher Sharon Sikora and chaperone Greg Hayes.
The Summit proposal, "The Old Fashioned Wind Machine," was to build small windmills to generate electricity. The team has received local coverage by the Daily Camera, the Boulder Planet, and Channel 9 TV. The national networks covered the five-day competition. A program about the event will be aired later this year on the Disney Channel.
Reporting from Orlando, Florida, Dr. Sikora said that the students put in 16-hour days. Taryn said they often did not get to sleep until 3 AM, and woke up at about 6 AM. They presented their project to 1,500 visitors, scientists, and celebrities.
The TV host of Newton's Apple served as guide to the teams. At the awards ceremony on Saturday night, the students had dinner with many of the 35 world-class scientists who were finalists for the 1997 National Awards for Technological Innovation.
The coaches and students staged a mild protest when it appeared that they would not have time to ride the rides at Disney World. The organizers obliged and changed the schedule a bit.
The students were given behind-the-scenes tours of several of the rides and sets. Using a kit, they had to re-create some of the optical illusions they saw in the Haunted Mansion. Taryn said she made friends with many of the students from the other teams from around the country.
It was hard being on one's best behavior all the time, constantly dealing with scientists and VIPs, fairly formal dinners, repeatedly demonstrating their project to visitors and news cameras, feeling over-scheduled, and lacking sleep. However, the students held up well. They even found time to pull a few practical jokes, such as putting a frog in a fellow student's bed.
In addition to learning about science, the students received training and practice in public speaking so they could discuss their project with the public.
Dr. Sikora said the experience has had a powerful effect on her and all the team members. Summit recognizes and appreciates Bayer's support of science education.
The English Department will administer a one-hour writing assessment to students who will be new to Summit next semester. There is no need to sign up; just choose one of the following three dates and come to the English modular building: Wednesday, June 4, 4 PM; Monday, June 9, 8 AM; Tuesday, June 10, 1 PM.
As the school year comes to a close, we would like to thank all the parent volunteers who have helped make Summit's first year such a success. Without you, we could not have offered many of the challenging lessons, projects, experiments and assignments that are a feature of Summit. Unless you have been a teacher, it is difficult to appreciate the importance of volunteer assistance in making a class special.
Some examples of the assistance you have provided are: helping out in the classroom, grading papers and tests, chaperoning field trips, procuring and making classroom materials, giving slide shows and presentations, cooking the wonderful food for the parent-teacher conferences, and making copies. Some of these tasks have been more enjoyable than others — but you did them all.
Thank you for your valuable time; we all look forward to working with you again next year.
I want to thank the many parents whose help has made the Summit music program such a success this year. Thanks in particular to Judy Hart for her enthusiastic support and encouragement from the beginning.
Many people helped make the Sound of Music production possible. My apologies that two names were omitted from the program: Barbara Dean, who helped organize the receptions held after the performances, and Kathy Hutton, who helped with the scenery.
To the parents of all students enrolled in Summit music classes: I appreciate your support of your student's interest in music through music lessons, encouragement to practice, and with their attendance at after-school rehearsals and performances.
If you have a student who is not currently enrolled in one of our music classes, but who would like to join one, please contact me for placement guidance.
Jazz Band, Silver Rain, and Summit Orchestra require an audition; please call the office to schedule one. Your student should bring a piece of music he or she knows well to the audition. I will ask him or her to sight-read a short piece.
On Thursday, June 5, from 1:20 to 2:10 PM, the Musical Theater class will present Broadway in the auditorium. Various music groups will perform during the graduation ceremonies and at the reception on June 6.
Be sure to pick up a copy of The Summit — A Literary Anthology. The prose and poetry of more than two dozen Summit creative writers will provide terrific summer reading. Books are on sale for $1 at the school office. Do not let the school year end without purchasing one — it is bound to become a collector's item.
German teacher Ms. Valerie Ammon received her master's degree in German Studies from the University of Colorado during spring commencement ceremonies. Asked to comment on going to graduate school while teaching at Summit, she said, "It has been very interesting trying to juggle schedules." Ms. Ammon will teach summer school at Southern Hills during the next couple of months. She will be back at Summit next fall. As her students might say, Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
Ms. Avallone and Mr. Burkhart will earn advanced degrees at the end of the University's summer session.
Thanks to a suggestion by Moira Woolsey, Summit will use a portion of the funds from its Tools for Learning drive to purchase classroom sets of textbooks. Students will be able to leave many of their heavy textbooks at home while being assured of access to books in the classroom.
Back when Summit opened, Jeff Bradley mentioned the possibility of taking next year's 8th graders on a school trip to our nation's capital. Parents or faculty members with thoughts or suggestions on such a trip are invited to an exploratory meeting at Jeff's house on Thursday, June 5, 7- 9 PM. Call Jeff, 499-4275, to get directions to his house or to let him know what you think.
On June 1, three new members of the Summit Board of Directors began their two-year terms of office. Ron Goldfarb, Christa Kastner, and Scott Smith join members Jim Cederberg, Chris Howard, Hunter McDaniel, and Tricia Olson. Jim Cederberg will serve as Chair for the 1997-98 school year.
We thank 1996-97 Board members Ginger Caldwell, Charlie Demarest, and Ron Harmon for their hard work and dedication. Special thanks go to Chris Howard for her excellent work as 1996-97 Chair.
The Summit faculty, staff, and Board of Directors wish all parents and students a wonderful and safe summer.
This month, parents will receive their students' scores on the April administration of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). The test had several components: English, math, science, and social studies. All district middle schools tested their 7th graders. Summit was the only middle school that paid for and gave tests to all its students. The CTBS replaced the California Achievement Test (CAT) given in the district in prior years.
The test of Cognitive Skills (TCS) was given immediately before the CTBS. The TCS is intended as a test of native ability and serves as a predictor of how a student might be expected to score on the CTBS ("anticipated percentile"). The CTBS is an achievement test that measures applied knowledge. The anticipated percentile and the actual national percentile scores on the CTBS are both reported.
If the actual percentile is significantly higher than anticipated, it means that your student is achieving above that expected for his or her ability. This might indicate effective education at school (Summit and your former school) or at home or that your student is a hard worker. If the actual percentile is significantly lower, it might indicate poor instruction or that your student is not working to his or her ability.
How can parents use the data? This summer would be an excellent time for your student to practice basic skills where deficiencies are noted.
How will Summit use the data? It is our goal that each student achieve more than one year of academic growth in every subject for every year he or she is at Summit. That means that we want each student to increase in national percentile score from year to year. Parents will want to keep track of their students' test scores while they are at Summit and should confer with the school if growth is not evident.
In addition, Summit intends for its most of its students to have actual scores higher than anticipated scores after students have been at Summit for more than one year. (Anticipated difference scores cannot be positive for students who have anticipated scores at highest levels.)
What about high scoring students? If your student is above the 90th national percentile, it means the grade-level CTBS is not the best tool to measure his or her academic growth. For such students, we plan to offer additional higher-level assessments to better measure academic growth. Such students should additionally consider taking the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) through the Rocky Mountain Talent Search. Information is available in the counseling office.
How will the public use the school's average data? One indicator of a school's effectiveness is its "anticipated 50th percentile difference score." This is the difference between the actual and anticipated performance of an average student at the school. A positive difference indicates value added. The anticipated difference score will not be very meaningful for Summit this year because 1996-97 was its first year of operation.
Another possible use of the data is to help parents select schools under the State's open-enrollment law. Some parents might wish to consider, in addition to anticipated differences, a school's average level of achievement compared to that of their own student.
Nationally normed tests, such as the CTBS, are but one measure of student performance and school effectiveness. Results can help in student placement and serve as an early warning of deficiencies. Summit believes that tests provide useful information to students, parents, schools, and the public.
Terry Cook is looking for parents to help compile, during the summer, the history of Summit's first year. The archive group will gather comments and recollections from parents and faculty. Terry would welcome loans of photo negatives and videotapes of Summit events. She would also like to hear constructive feedback on what worked and what did not, to guide teachers in years to come. Contact Terry at 665-0572 or tercook@ix.netcom.com.
Editor's note: As is the case with a lot of text on the Internet, the author of this compilation is not known.
The beguiling ideas about science quoted here were gleaned from essays, exams, and classroom discussions. Most were from 5th and 6th graders.
Question: What is one horsepower? Answer: One horsepower is the amount of energy it takes to drag a horse 500 feet in one second.
You can listen to thunder after lightning and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don't hear it, you got hit, so never mind.
Talc is found on rocks and on babies.
The law of gravity says no fair jumping up without coming back down.
When they broke open molecules, they found they were only stuffed with atoms. But when they broke open atoms, they found them stuffed with explosions.
When people run around and around in circles we say they are crazy. When planets do it we say they are orbiting.
Rainbows are just to look at, not to really understand.
While the earth seems to be knowingly keeping its distance from the sun, it is really only centrificating.
Someday we may discover how to make magnets that can point in any direction.
South America has cold summers and hot winters, but somehow they still manage.
Most books now say our sun is a star. But it still knows how to change back into a sun in the daytime.
Water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees. There are 180 degrees between freezing and boiling because there are 180 degrees between north and south.
A vibration is a motion that cannot make up its mind which way it wants to go.
There are 26 vitamins in all, but some of the letters are yet to be discovered. Finding them all means living forever.
There is a tremendous weight pushing down on the center of the Earth because of so much population stomping around up there these days.
Lime is a green-tasting rock.
Many dead animals in the past changed to fossils while others preferred to be oil.
Genetics explain why you look like your father, and if you don't, why you should.
Vacuums are nothings. We only mention them to let them know we know they're there.
Some oxygen molecules help fires burn while others help make water, so sometimes it's brother against brother.
Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun. But I have never been able to make out the numbers.
We say the cause of perfume disappearing is evaporation. Evaporation gets blamed for a lot of things people forget to put the top on.
To most people solutions mean finding the answers. But to chemists solutions are things that are still all mixed up.
In looking at a drop of water under a microscope, we find there are twice as many H's as O's. Clouds are high flying fogs.
I am not sure how clouds get formed. But the clouds know how to do it, and that is the important thing.
Clouds just keep circling the earth around and around. And around. There is not much else to do.
Water vapor gets together in a cloud. When it is big enough to be called a drop, it does.
Humidity is the experience of looking for air and finding water.
We keep track of the humidity in the air so we won't drown when we breathe.
Rain is often known as soft water, oppositely known as hail.
Rain is saved up in cloud banks.
In some rocks you can find the fossil footprints of fishes.
Cyanide is so poisonous that one drop of it on a dog's tongue will kill the strongest man.
A blizzard is when it snows sideways.
A hurricane is a breeze of a bigly size.
A monsoon is a French gentleman.
Thunder is a rich source of loudness.
Isotherms and isobars are even more important than their names sound.
It is so hot in some places that the people there have to live in other places.
The wind is like the air, only pushier.