September 30, 1996
Volume 2, No. 2
Our new logo is based on a design by Summit parent Brian Hansen. Professional drafting was contributed by Kryptonics in Louisville. A color version may be viewed in the Summit office. Thanks to all who participated in the logo contest.
On September 1, 1996, Summit student Blake Caldwell set a national bicycle record for juniors aged 12 and under. Blake's time of 29.41 minutes in the 20-km Record Challenge Time Trial in Moriarty, New Mexico, beat his own previous record by over a minute. Earlier this year, Blake won the Colorado Mini-Classic in Boulder and all three road events in the Fresca Junior National Championship in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the 12-and-under category. Blake has been racing since he was 7.
Throughout the school year we welcome your written remarks about teachers, education, and activities offered at Summit. Some of your comments will help us do a better job for your sons and daughters. We may use other comments to help publicize our program during the open-enrollment period in January and February. Drop off your letter in the Summit News mail box in the Summit office.
October 1 is the official student count day. All students should attend. Thanks.
We have been fortunate to have many dedicated parents working this summer and fall to open Summit. As part of our continuing recognition of Summit parents we express our . . .
Thanks to Mimi Yanus for helping with the fund raiser, teachers' lunches, stamping books, facility preparation, and the orientation luncheon.
Thanks to the members of the Teacher Selection Committee — Jeff Copeland, Ginger Caldwell, Bobbie Gilman, Cyndi Goldfarb, and Chris Howard, under the capable leadership of committee chair Christa Kastner — for their very productive work this summer. Thanks also to the approximately 50 Summit students who participated in the teaching demonstration classes and to the Summit parents who participated in teacher interviews by subject area.
Summit welcomes art teachers Suzanne Whitman and Patricia Masisak. They will co-teach an additional section of 7th-period drawing and cartooning.
The Summit Parent Volunteer Connection (PVC) is coordinating parent helpers. Right now, the PVC is signing up parents to help teachers with paperwork. We would also like a few parents to help supervise on campus before and after school and during lunch. You may wish to help on a one-time or a regular basis. The teachers have been very appreciative of parent help so far; it has allowed them more time for them to meet with students. Call Linda Cowan (543-7433) for paperwork, Melody Johnson (494-7406) for site improvements, or Sally Benjamin (530-4354) for campus supervision.
We have openings for paraprofessionals for several hours a day, Monday through Friday. Contact Lisa Singletary.
The Summit Board of Directors will meet from 7:00 to 9:30 PM in the library every Monday in October. The agendas are posted on the door of the Summit office. All meetings are open to the public. Please contact Ginger Caldwell, 444-3039, if you have an item to suggest for the agenda.
Students have come to Summit from many different schools. For some students, doing homework and getting grades is a new experience. The Summit Board of Directors and the staff are presently discussing Summit's homework expectations and have formulated Summit's grading policies. These will be covered in future issues of Summit News.
It is difficult to specify the number of hours a student should dedicate to homework each week. The appropriate amount of time varies, depending on the student. Parents must guide their sons and daughters with realistic expectations. Summit's intent is that students should "work smart," not work long. Homework should be done seriously and earnestly, but time in the day should be reserved for extracurricular activities and relaxation.
Grades provide useful feedback to students and parents. One of our aims at Summit is to avoid the grade inflation common in many other schools. Students who work hard and who are in appropriate course levels should expect to get B's. There is no shame in getting a C at Summit. Remember that middle-school grades do not count towards high-school graduation standing.
Thanks to students and parents for participating in our homework survey. Feel free to express your comments regarding homework and grades to our counselor, principal, teachers, or Board members, particularly if you or your student are feeling stressed.
On Tuesday, October 1, we will be sending home mid-quarter progress reports with your son or daughter.
Summit's student directory was distributed to 7th period classes on Friday, September 22. Additional copies are available in the Summit office.
Our electives-only teaching staff was inadvertently omitted from the inside front cover. Sorry. Please add Mr. Kirk Adams (PE, Health, Time Management), Mr. William Burkhart (Music), Ms. Kathy Hutton (Art), Ms. Patricia Masisak (Art), and Ms. Suzanne Whitman (Art). The student list will be updated later in the academic year.
"When I'm having fun, I know the students are learning and having fun as well," says science teacher Sharon Sikora. Dr. Sikora's classes are interactive, filled with demonstrations and student presentations. Small groups work together to master scientific problems and techniques. The pace of study is rapid and engaging. She observes that her two chemistry/physics classes have already completed half of the first introductory college chemistry tutorial she once designed for university-level freshmen.
Dr. Sikora's goal is to snare the attention of her nearly 150 students by helping them select topics related to their interests. She encourages them to develop these topics into scientific projects. She acts as a guide and a mentor, questioning and broadening their burgeoning ideas, helping each student view the world through the scientific method.
Dr. Sikora cites examples of student success. In one class, a single siphon was modified by students into two working fountains. She proposed measuring the height of each fountain as a function of the height of its source. The students decided to first graph the predicted results, and were then thrilled to see the graph matched the observed data. Another pupil insisted on completing an earth history time-line (using a thick cardboard tube for making concrete supports) and then made a presentation to an appreciative class. Dr. Sikora directed another student's interest in looking at cells under the microscope towards the study of slide histology, urging him to become the expert and demonstrate this new subject to the class. She believes that engaging and challenging young minds is the way for students to become absorbed in academics and to learn selfdiscipline and self-confidence. She designs her quizzes and exams to stimulate creative thinking.
Dr. Sikora's plans include a trip to a working science laboratory, a field experience targeting biological and environmental concerns, a unit on dissections of both vertebrates and invertebrates, and a microscopic study of Protista.
Summit is organizing Odyssey of the Mind teams. OM offers an opportunity to develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Students solve problems in a variety of areas — from building mechanical devices such as spring-driven vehicles, to giving their own interpretation of literary classics. Through solving problems, students learn life-long skills such as working with others as a team, evaluating ideas, making decisions, and creating solutions while developing self-confidence from their experiences.
If you are interested in participating as a team member or as a coach, please call Corky Strong, Summit Counselor, 499-9511.
10. Do remember to write down all your assignments accurately. Use your Summit daily planner to keep track of your work.
9. Do work on your handwriting skills. You may have the correct answer, but if your teacher cannot read your handwriting, it could be a problem.
8. Do use a computer word processor, if possible, for homework assignments (especially if your penmanship is not that great).
7. Do take pride in your work. Turn in neat assignments. They should not look like they had been wadded into a ball or chewed by the dog.
6. Do ask your teachers for help if you are having trouble. Teachers are not mind readers. (I know this may come as a complete surprise to you.) They will be glad to assist you before and after school and at lunch — but you have to ask.
5. Do be on time to class and come prepared to work. This includes coming equipped with pens, pencils, paper, etc. If you are not on time or are unprepared, you are likely to disrupt other students' learning.
4. Do plan ahead. Procrastination can get you into a lot of trouble. Putting things off until the last minute does not usually result in your best work.
3. Do tell your parents when things are bothering you, both in and out of school. We want school to be not only challenging, but fun.
2. Do have a quiet space for doing homework, separate from your room. Trying to study in your room is like trying to study in Disneyland: too many distractions.
1. Do have a great year at Summit. The teachers and the staff are here for you when you need us.
Does your son or daughter love math and problem solving? If so, this is the activity for him or her. We are organizing a combined Summit/Southern-Hills Math Olympiad team. The first meeting will be Tuesday, October 8, in Room 279. Students will meet every Tuesday from 3:10 to 3:40 PM. The time will be spent learning and practicing strategies for solving math problems.
Math Olympiad offers sixth-grade students the opportunity to participate in five monthly contests with students throughout the world. The tests, given monthly November through March, consist of five math problems. After the final contest, students are recognized for individual accomplishments with certificates, patches, pins, and trophies.
We would like to find one or two Summit parents interested in helping with this program. Please call Connie Harmon, 499-2061, if you would like more information or if you would like to volunteer.
Send Money and We'll Shut Up
By now you have received in the mail our once-a-year, fund-raiser solicitation. We are shooting for 100% participation, so please feel comfortable contributing whatever you can.
Sculpture students need to bring some materials for their own projects: mat board, large pieces of cardboard, wooden dowels ( ", ¼", ", available in hardware and art stores).
We need donations of left-over house paint (any color), butcher paper, and fabric (preferably white). We also need hammers and scissors.
Donations of music stands would be appreciated by Mr. Burkhart.
Glasses, lunch boxes, and notebooks may be claimed in the Summit office.
Some tutors have offered their services to Summit students. Students interested in working with private tutors may obtain a list from their subject teachers. Tutor listings are offered without recommendation or endorsement by Summit. Parents must judge the qualifications and suitability of private tutors. Private tutors interested in working with Summit students may contact Ron Goldfarb, 494-8373.
Summit is discussing the prospect of IB students at Fairview High School providing some tutoring to Summit students. Stay tuned.
Summit News will be published biweekly on Mondays and distributed to students during 7th period to take home. Extra copies will be available in the Summit office. Subscribers who do not have students at Summit will receive copies in the mail, about once a month.
The deadline for submitting articles is the Friday before publication. Please deliver contributions to the Summit News mailbox in the Summit office. Long articles should be on floppy disk (any format). Alternatively, articles may be e-mailed to trex@indra.com. Photographs may be submitted in digital form or as prints, up to 9 cm wide. All submissions are subject to editing. Parents interested in writing articles for Summit News may contact Ron Goldfarb, 494-8373.
M.A. and B.A. learning disabilities, University of Northern Colorado.
Growing up with the mountains, Aspen, and the great weather kept Ms. Weissberg in Colorado as she finished her undergraduate studies in special education. Her first post-graduate job was doing something that came naturally: skiing. Being the first woman on the Aspen ski patrol paid the bills, but soon Ms. Weissberg landed her first "real" job as a teacher in Bigfork, Montana. Working in Bigfork was a great teaching experience, and she found the Flathead Valley "full of the nicest people and prettiest scenery on earth."
Four years later, Bigfork's population dropped from 900 to 899 when Ms. Weissberg left for a position with the Dept. of Defense, teaching English as a second language to U.S. military dependents in Germany. The opportunity to learn about the German culture and to work with a cross-section of the American population not often encountered in small towns such as Aspen or Bigfork, while gaining further teaching experience, will always be a fond memory for her. To gain more expertise in the field of learning disabilities, Ms. Weissberg returned to the University of Northern Colorado where she earned her master's degree.
Ms. Weissberg has worked in the field of learning disabilities for thirteen years and is even more enthusiastic about her area of expertise than when she began. She says, "The students with whom I am working at Summit Middle School are very bright but have different styles of learning. We do not regard these differences as true 'disabilities' in the popular sense of the word, but rather as cognitive styles which students need to understand in order to maximize their great potential. Many very accomplished people — such as Thomas Edison, Hans Christian Anderson, and John F. Kennedy — had such different learning styles." Ms. Weissberg is excited to be at Summit and feels that it will give her the opportunity to work with an outstanding group of students, parents, and faculty. She is available to all students for consultation.
M.A. public administration, Harvard; M.A. international studies, Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies; B.A. political science, Stanford.
Mr. Haas comes to Summit with an unusually broad background in education, government, and private industry. He was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, with assignments in the State Department in Washington and in Bucharest. He also served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a specialist in nuclear arms control verification during the Bush administration.
In private industry, Mr. Haas started and managed an international metals trading company in Duesseldorf, Germany, and worked in Colorado for a U.S. defense consulting firm analyzing aspects of Soviet military policy. He speaks German, Russian, Romanian, and Spanish.
While in Washington, Mr. Haas began mentoring students at a magnet school for the gifted in science and mathematics. When he returned to Colorado, he took a position teaching mathematics and physical science at St. Mary's Academy Middle School. Before coming to Summit he had been teaching mathematics at Eaglecrest High School in the Cherry Creek school district.
Mr. Haas has lectured, presented workshops, and published papers in the fields of foreign affairs, defense policy, gifted education, and mathematics education. He has been a featured speaker at annual conferences of the Colorado Association for Gifted and Talented and of the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics. In 1995 he presented a paper on "Algebra for Gifted Visual-Spatial Learners" at the Eleventh World Conference on Gifted Children in Hong Kong.
In his spare time, Mr. Haas plays tennis, bridge, and guitar, and listens to oldies rock'n'roll. He is also an avid explorer of ancient castle ruins in Europe. He is married and has two children.
Mr. Haas is Summit's principal.