June1, 1999
Volume 7, No. 10
Please call the office and let them know if you will not be in school on June 11 for Graduation. We really need to know. Thanks very much.
We have made arrangements with a professional videographer to record the complete 8th grade graduation ceremony. Pre-ordered tapes are $10 each. Advance orders and payment are requested so that we can guarantee the minimum number of videotape copies to make the taping possible. Please fill out the order form included in this issue of the newsletter and return, with payment by check or cash, to the Summit office by June 10.
On Wednesday, May 26, a packet of information was sent home with students and mailed to incoming families regarding Summit’s plans to relocate at the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year to a new facility to be shared with Peak to Peak Charter School in Louisville. This packet included a letter to parents and students from the Summit Board of Directors, a list of questions and answers regarding the move, and a copy of the press release concerning the move. If you did not receive this information, please stop by the office and get a copy.
Summit Orchestra and Jazz Bands 1 & 2 will perform their final concert of the year on Thursday, June 3, at 7 PM in the auditorium. Performers must arrive at 6:00 PM.
Summit Jazz Band 2 and Silver Rain, will perform at the awards ceremony at 2:00 PM on June 10.
Summit Orchestra, Silver Rain and Summit Choir will perform at graduation at 12:45 PM on June 11.
New 6th and 7th graders and their families are invited to a Summit Summer Picnic. Come and get acquainted with other incoming families. Date: Sunday June 13. Time: 12:00 - 2:00 PM. Place: Viele Lake (the park just west of Summit). We will be on the south side of the South Boulder Recreation Center. Bring your own picnic, drinks, blanket, Frisbees, roller blades, etc. Rain date: Sunday, June 27.
The Boulder Area Board of Realtors is sponsoring a Realtor and school community effort to paint area middle schools, including Southern Hills. Volunteers are needed to work Saturday, June 19 from 9 AM to 4 PM. Bring your own brush, roller, pan, lunch and water bottle. Free T-shirt and BBQ will be provided at the end of the day. Students are welcome with adult supervision. To sign up, call Lisa Wade at 303-441-5673 or Chris Nugent at 303-441-5696.
We have come to the end of another full and rewarding year of volunteering for Summit. Every contribution of your time and energy has made this school year successful for our children and our exceptional staff. Thank you to everyone who said “yes” when we called to ask for your help.
There was a great turnout at the volunteer recognition breakfast at Eben Fine Park, and no one had to fix the food! Many thanks to Linda Cowan for making all the arrangements for the breakfast and making it possible for us to treat ourselves to a morning off. Special thanks again to Jackie Ross for coordinating the wonderful Staff Appreciation meals and treats -- we have had nothing but compliments from the staff for the fun week! Thank you, too, to Molly Colt for organizing the mola art project for Profe Stough’s classes; to Deb Ford and Harriet Fox for recruiting parent volunteers to help out with graduation logistics; and to Margie Riksheim for making sure our volunteer time is put to good use for summer projects.
The coordination of volunteer efforts and projects truly has been a team effort this year, and it has been an extraordinary team at that. All that we have accomplished this year as volunteers would not have been possible without the can-do attitude and amazing leadership commitment of every Parent Volunteer Committee member: Cathy Burchett, Cindy Cederberg, Janet Christensen, Linda Cowan, Joan Harig, Margaret McKibbin, and Linda Parkhill. My heartfelt, personal thank you goes to each and every one of you!
We’re already building a terrific volunteer leadership team for next year, and invite any and all who would like to join in. Shelly Hendrick has agreed to co-chair PVC next year, and she would welcome an active co-chair counterpart. Jackie Ross, Margie Riksheim, and Pam Phillips are also joining those of us who will be continuing with PVC next year. We know that next year will bring many new opportunities for volunteering in support of Summit, so we look forward to hearing your “yes” again when we’re back to school.
The Summit Board of Directors will have regular meetings on June 9 and 21 at 7 PM in the teachers' work room. Parents and staff are invited to attend, as always.
The PVC Committee is already making plans for next school year. We will need parents to coordinate and assist with preparation for the start of the 1999-2000 school year -- packing and moving teacher materials into and out of summer storage, compiling information packets, helping with new student orientation day, and being available for general site preparation tasks during the summer. Call Margie Riksheim at 303-440-5457 to commit a bit of your summer for Summit.
Rummage through your house for books to donate to the K-12 library which will be located at our new site. Look for books at garage sales. Some libraries have perpetual sales. Donate any book or educational magazine that you feel would fit in a K-12 library. Book donations are tax deductible. Drop them off in north Boulder at Angie Dorsey’s house, 4769 6th Street, 303-449-4342, or in southeastern Boulder at Cathy Woods’ house, 5236 Gallatin Place, 303-444-1791. A drop-off location for east county is still needed. If you would like to join the new library committee, call Sheryl Tippit, 303-499-1810.
Please consider reserving Thursday, August 12, fall registration day for incoming freshman, to volunteer for Fairview’s vision-hearing screening. They have full-day and half-day needs. It is a great way to make a valuable contribution to your child’s school for the ‘99-’00 year. Contact Chris Mayock during the day at the Fairview High School health room, 303-499-7600, ext. 3336, or in the evening at 303-460-1957.
Energy Education Workshops, on July 23 and August 5, will provide hands-on educational experiences on topics of energy utilization, production, and conservation. The program is designed to expose students to the joys and excitement of science, math, engineering, and technology. The workshops are free of charge and are limited to the first 30 student and 30 adult participants. They are a joint venture involving the Women in Engineering Program, the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, and the Success in Engineering through Excellence and Diversity Program. Brochures are available from Ms. Bartley in the office, or call Robin Sandekian at 303-492-0083.
Be a host family for three weeks this summer for a teen from Japan. Pacific American Institute Homestay Program provides an opportunity for a true intercultural exchange within your own home and a contribution to the growth of international understanding. Students are in an academic program at C.U. and go on many excursions. It’s fun and can be a great experience for your family. Call JoAnne Corey at 303-665-9558 for more details.
I've been thinking recently about what miracles have occurred in the auditorium on the Summit/Southern Hills campus. A few weeks ago, Summit Middle School mounted a production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. A gifted group of students (all working hard to keep up with homework and projects for their other classes) performed flawlessly -- two dress rehearsals and two performances without a missed line or a botched entrance. Then, on the following Monday, Southern Hills took over the auditorium for a frantic week of rehearsals for their Talent Show. The range of talent and finish of the production was astounding. The two schools shared the facilities, lighting and amplification equipment, some props and juggled busy rehearsal schedules.
Then this past week some of the students in Summit's select vocal ensemble, Silver Rain, had to work hard to raise their grades in order to go out on a tour of area elementary schools. They worked long hours -- taking and retaking quizzes, completing outstanding homework -- applying themselves to their rigorous academic program. Not only were they successful, but they came running into the auditorium beaming with pride and joy.
The great musician and humanitarian Pablo Casals once wrote:
Each second we live in a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that never was before and will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each one of them: "Do you know what you are? You are a miracle. You are unique. In all of the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed there has never been another child like you. And look at your body -- what a wonder it is! Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a miracle. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a miracle? You must cherish one another." You must work -- we all must work -- to make this world worthy of its children.
At Southern Hills and Summit we are all working to make schools worthy of our children. In the arts we see what miracles they all are. I believe that I speak for all of the parents, faculty, and students of Summit Middle School when I say that we proud and thankful to have shared this wonderful site with Southern Hills in the first years of our school. It has been a miracle to see it born -- and a miracle to watch the wonderful things that Southern Hills accomplishes with us in their midst. I would invite anyone to come up Knox Drive and witness the miracles which happen every day at the shared campus of Southern Hills/Summit Middle Schools.
Jenny Rood and George London were two of the highest scoring students in Colorado on the American Junior High School Mathematics Examination. They were honored at the fourth Colorado Mathematics Awards ceremony, held at the Governor's Residence on May 20. The reception recognized top Colorado finishers of the American Junior High School Mathematics Examination, MATHCOUNTS, the American High School Mathematics Examination, the WLP Mathematical Competition, and the Mathematical Contest in Modeling. Congratulations Jenny and George.
Congratulations to Erin Dotson whose writing has been selected from many entries to be included in the Boulder Valley School District literary magazine.
The Denver Zoo is offering a wide variety of day camps, overnight education, art classes, and educational classes. For more information call 303-376-4888 or visit www.denverzoo.org.
Leevers will be celebrating Kids Care Week from June 6 to 12. The activities for the week include:
All events are open to the public. Photo ID packets will be free to each family. If you have any questions, please contact Jonna Isaak or Cindy Toso at 303-786-7399.
“We Can Do It! A National Leadership Conference for Parents of the Gifted” will be held June 25-27 at the University of Denver. There will be a separate conference for children from ages 6 to 18 at the University of Denver’s Ricks Center. Brochures are available in the Summit office and more information at www.gifteddevelopment.com.
Boulder Valley School District is looking for students who would be willing to be peers for students with special needs in the Skill Connection I Program. This is an adult supervised summer activity program at Fireside and Martin Park Elementary Schools, June 21-29, 9 - 11:30 AM. Talk to Ms. Bartley or call Ginger Simpson, BVSD Special Education, at 303-447-5148.
Rocky Mountain School is offering a wide range of summer classes in art, music, biking, science, math, and even gardening for students ages 6 and above and adults. Call 303-545-9230 for more information.
High-tech summer science classes will be offered in June at Eisenhower Elementary School for students entering grades 3 to 7. Bob Litsey will be the instructor.
Students interested in these classes can pick up a registration form in the school office for more details or call 303-665-9300, evenings.
The Colorado Dance Festival is offering a summer Youth Arts Institute for middle and high school students. The program offers students the opportunity to work and train with artists of local, national, and international stature while creating their own work. There are brochures in the Summit office, or call the Festival at 303-442-7666.
The CU College of Engineering’s Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory will offer six Engineering in Everyday Life summer ‘99 classes for middle school.
For more information or to register, get CU’s Science Discovery Program catalog, 303-492-7188, or contact the ITL Laboratory, 303-492-4676, or http://itll.colorado.edu
Incoming 1999-2000 6th graders will need a full series of DPT and polio immunizations and one MMR immunization. Incoming 7th and 8th graders will need DPT, polio, two MMR's, and a full series of Hepatitis B. Exemption forms are available in the office for those who require them. All students planning to participate in sports will need a new athletic-participation statement.