June 1, 1996
Volume 1.5
The month of May has seen Summit Middle School come alive with hopes and expectations for the opening this fall. Almost all of our 250 students and their parents have come in for interviews with me, so that we could start to get to know one another and talk over curriculum choices for next year. I want to thank each of you for taking the time to help with that process. I also want to extend a special thanks to the parents who volunteered to set up my schedule.
Our joint decisions during the interview on placement have been based on such factors as ability, interest, mastery of previous material, and developmental level. Most of the students will find themselves next fall with a mix of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in all of the core subjects. Each student's selections reflect his/her unique abilities and interests. In order to maintain some academic balance, most have selected a combination of some advanced courses and some introductory courses.
Having completed the interviews, I think we all realize that this stage of the course selection process is imperfect at best. I want to emphasize to each of you our willingness to make changes, as necessary. For example, after the interview a few of you realized that some other choice in a particular subject might have been better for your son or daughter. Once those parents let us know, we are able to make the necessary changes. No course selection is carved in stone. As more information becomes available, the best decision on courses for a student can change. Looking over the suggested Summer Reading List, which will be mailed to you soon, can confirm that your daughter or son is appropriately placed in English. And of course, once the fall semester begins, some further adjustment inevitably will be necessary. If you would like to discuss course selection changes, contact me at 447-5529, or call Tricia Olson at 530-7107 or Chris Howard at 673-0978 if I am not available.
My great delight during a very full month of interviews has been meeting each student coming to Summit next fall and seeing the enthusiasm for learning that they bring to the school. I'm looking forward to getting the chance to talk more informally with each of you during the summer and into the fall.
Summit Middle School and its Education Outreach partner, EDS, are sponsoring a family-oriented clothing, toys and book drive on Saturday, June 8, 1996, for the benefit of the Family Learning Center, the Longmont Coalition, and the Boulder Safe House. Bring your donations to the Southern Hills Middle School cafeteria, 1500 Knox Drive, Boulder, from 10 AM to 2 PM. Items needed include educational toys, children's books, children's clothing, infant accessories, maternity clothes, and small household appliances and electronics. If you are interested in volunteering some of your time to unload, sort, and load trucks, and earning a Global Volunteer Day T-Shirt on June 8, please contact Chris Howard (Summit) at 673-0978 or Robin Clark (EDS) at 673-4123.
Electronic Data Systems (EDS) was founded in 1962. It is a multibillion-dollar company specializing in information technology. Its Education Outreach program provides volunteer support to its school partners.
The Summit Board of Directors will meet every Sunday in June from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Board Room at the BVSD Education Center, 6500 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder. The meetings are open to the public.
Proposed textbooks for Summit for 1996-97 will be on display on the table in the textbook library at the BVSD Education Center, 6500 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder. Viewing will continue as additional texts are considered over the next several weeks.
Students and parents are invited to submit designs for the Summit logo. The design should be in black-and-white and should be suitable for use on Summit stationery, business cards, and T-shirts. Mail your designs to Summit Middle School, Logo Contest, P.O. Box 3125, Boulder, CO 80307.
Chris Howard, Chair, 673-0978; Jim Cederberg, Chair-Elect, 494-5647; Hunter McDaniel, Treasurer, 530-1840; Ginger Caldwell, Secretary, 444-3039; Ron Harmon, 499-2061; Tricia Olson, 530-7107; Chuck Demarest, 494-2611.
All of us are excited about the Summit Middle School finally becoming a reality this fall. Our kids, however, have an understandable amount of apprehension about going to a new school, particularly if they do not know many fellow students. While we expect them to make new friends as the school year progresses, the following activities can accelerate that process before school begins.
On their own, interested Summit families are encouraged to host or organize events aimed at bringing together kids with similar interests. For example, someone might plan a hike for seventh grade girls, a potluck dinner for families of eighth grade boys, or an ice cream social for people from your end of town. (Potential car-poolers, take note that neighborhood cluster maps will be available by the end of June.) Principal Steve Haas will come to as many of these as he can.
Ideally, families will invite people they do not know instead of their child's friends. In this fashion, parents and kids get to know each other. If you would like to host or organize a get-together call Jeff Bradley or Marta Turnbull at 499-4275. They can supply you with as many names and phone numbers as you would like.
All-school picnic at the Demarest residence on July 20th. See future newsletter for details.
All Summit students are invited to a lock-in at the East Boulder Rec Center on Saturday, August 17th. We'll begin at 8:00 PM and go all night with swimming, basketball, movies, ghost stories, and all kinds of fun. The principal and many of the teachers will be there all night! More details on this event will come out in the next newsletter. Mark that date!
As you know, Summit will be located on the Southern Hills campus at 1500 Knox Drive in south Boulder, adjacent to Fairview High School, and very near the South Boulder Recreation center, and Viele Lake. Site improvements will begin in June. Summit will have four classrooms in the main building and six classrooms in modular units adjacent to the main building. In addition, Summit will have equitable use of all specialty classrooms. Students will all have lockers.
If you have expertise or experience in remodeling and would like to volunteer to help with possible minor construction, remodeling and plumbing work in the two on-site modular units which will be used by our administrative staff and faculty, please leave your name, number and area of interest with John Fernandez at 543-0995. Please let John know if you would be interested in chairing or co-chairing our facilities committee and/or supervising any such volunteer work this summer. We are also looking for someone with experience in networking; please leave your name with John as well.
We are still accepting applications for our sixth- and seventh-grade waiting lists. We still have a few openings for eighth graders. If you are presently enrolled but "sitting on the fence," please decide promptly in fairness to students on the waiting list.
If your family is interested in organized, after-school child care at Summit, 3:10 to 5:30 PM, please contact Ellen Dole at 530-2762 before June 14.
The Summit Board of Directors has approved the following preliminary daily schedule for the 1996-97 school year:
Period Times
1 8:00 AM to 8:50 AM
2 8:55 AM to 9:45 AM
3 9:50 AM to 10:40 AM
Lunch 10:45 AM to 11:20 AM
4 11:25 AM to 12:15 PM
5 12:20 PM to 1:10 PM
Nutrition
Break 1:10 PM to 1:15 PM
6 1:20 PM to 2:10 PM
7 2:15 PM to 3:05 PM
Note that there is a 5-minute passing time between each class period, before and after lunch, and after nutrition break.
If you have access to the World Wide Web, check the Summit home page for the latest information. The URL is http://bcn.boulder.co.us/univ_school/summit/center.html
If you wish to be notified by e-mail whenever the page is updated, send an e-mail to trex@indra.com with the simple message "Web update list".
Si desea informacion en español, o si tiene algunas preguntas, favor de llamar a Ron Goldfarb al 494-8373 en las tardes or a fines de semana.