January 26, 1998
Volume 5, No. 2
As part of our annual self-assessment, we need your feedback. Please complete and return the enclosed Parent Satisfaction Survey as soon as possible. We are also getting feedback from students, faculty and administrative staff with their very own surveys. The information gathered is very important in planning for the coming year and will be included in our Annual Report to the school district.
The Summit Board of Directors will meet at 7 PM on Sunday, February 8, and Mondays, February 23, March 9, and March 16. All regular meetings are open to the public and agendas are posted outside the Summit office. An executive session is planned for March 30.
Elections for four positions on the seven-member Summit Board of Directors will be held in April for two-year terms beginning on June 1, 1998. Successful candidates will be expected to attend Board meetings as nonvoting participants in April and May. The Board has broad responsibility for governing the school.
Candidates should be dedicated to Summit's educational philosophy and be willing to devote the time necessary to serve on the Board. The Board often benefits from the talents of members with expertise in budget, computer programming, scheduling, law, personnel, grant writing, and negotiation.
The ballot for the election will be prepared in March by a nominating committee. Candidates can be placed on the ballot by selection of the nominating committee or by submission of a petition signed by 10 percent of all Summit families, faculty and staff. If you are interested in serving on the Board, please contact Ron Goldfarb, 494-8373.
Sign-up information for parent-teacher conferences will be included with report cards going home to parents this week.
Ms. Blakemore will be unavailable for parent-teacher conferences on February 13 and 14. If you would like to schedule a conference for another time or by phone, please contact her at 530-7173.
The school play, Follow that Rabbit, a rendition of Alice in Wonderland, under the direction of Ms. Hanckel, will be performed on Thursday and Friday, January 29 and 30, in the auditorium.
High school parent information nights will be held at 7 PM at Fairview, January 28; Boulder High, February 10; Broomfield High, February 11; and Centaurus, February 17.
The buzz at Summit is that 7th grader Erin Sweeney has distinguished herself as one of Boulder Valley's best spellers. Erin will represent Summit, and the school district, as one of 11 spelling bee finalists. They will compete against a swarm of 300 other district finalists from Colorado and Wyoming in the State Championship Spelling Bee on March 28 at the Hyatt Regency Beehive in Denver.
So far the competition has been in written form. Erin has excelled on her 50-word examinations. The State Championship begins the same way, with a 50-word written test that will eliminate all but the top 8%, approximately 22 spellers. These students will then participate in the oral spelling bee.
Does Erin study overtime for the test? "She was just born this way," says mom Diane Sweeney. "She receives a word list that she can study, but only 25% of the words on the list might be used. She just has the ability to spell well, and to puzzle out the difficult words quickly."
This is Erin's third year to make it all the way to the State Spelling Bee. As a 5th grader she had the distinction of being the youngest speller in the oral finals. Congratulations, Erin, on a honey of a job so far. Don't get stung in the finals!
With each Summit-related event and task, we again know how fortunate we are to have such a capable, talented and willing pool of parent volunteers to draw from when the need arises. Thanks to these parents who have answered the "volunteer call" during the last couple of weeks: Mimi Yanus, for organizing hospitality and set-up for the Summit Open House on January 21; K.K. DuVivier, Kathleen Brewer, Janet Christensen, Linda Cowan, Jenny Evans, Linda Greenberg, Anita Gonzales, Judy Hart, and Kathy Reims for assistance and supervision on student shadow days and parent observation days; Brenne Benner, Ann DeBacker, Harriet Fox, Linda Greenberg, Judy Halasi, Judy Hart, Barbry Hogue, Rachel Knoedler, Tricia Olson, and Lana Westhoff, under the organization and leadership of Margaret McKibbin, for delivering "Reach For the Summit" flyers to private schools in the district; Janet Christensen, Linda Cowan, Judy Hart, and Barbry Hogue, for completing the Red Cross First Aid and CPR course in order to provide additional Summit support in the health room; and, as ever, all of you who have given of your time and skills without being asked!
We are setting up a regular schedule for volunteers who will commit to a certain day and time each week to help with projects in the teacher lounge and the Summit office. Our plan is to work from the parent volunteer surveys we received in the fall to put together this volunteer list. However, if you either (a) did not return your survey to us, or (b) find that your schedule has eased and you now have time to volunteer, please contact one of us to be included on the master volunteer schedule: Barbry 665-3798, Judy 440-4253.
Join the board of the Colorado League of Charter Schools on Saturday, February 7, for lunch and a discussion with Chester Finn, Jr., senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, president of the Fordham Foundation, former Assistant Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan, and a current leader in education reform.
Dr. Finn visited Summit during our opening year and met with a number of Summit staff, students and board members. The luncheon will be held at noon at the Crown Pointe Academy, one of Colorado's 50 operating charter schools, 7281 Irving Street, Westminster. For reservations, call the League at 984-9345 and leave your name and the number of persons attending. For more information, call Chris Howard, 673-0978.
The Summit yearbook will be a great memento. Bring an envelope to the Summit office with your student's name and the total amount written on the outside. Enclose a check for $15 per copy. In the event of financial hardship, enclose a note requesting a complimentary copy instead of a check.
Dear Summit Parents:
We teachers at Summit are delighted to be in partnership with you in educating your children. Summit is an incredible school that provides a challenging and appropriate environment for your children's middle school years. We would like your help in three areas.
Student Conduct — The staff tries always to adhere to the guidelines for student conduct and behavior in the Student/Parent Handbook. Please review the handbook with your students at the beginning of every semester. Our enforcement of the student behavior guidelines will be much more successful if you back us up.
Homework — Help your students with their homework, but please do not do their homework or write their papers for them. This is middle school. Grades are a reflection of student progress, and they aid both the teacher and the student in determining areas of strength and weakness. If parents do the homework, students do not learn that they are responsible for their work, and teachers lose an important way to recognize when a student needs help. Students are encouraged to seek editors for their work, but remember that excessive editing causes students to lose ownership in their work.
Communication — Call the Summit office and leave messages for teachers whenever you have concerns, questions or suggestions. We will get back to you as quickly as possible, often in the evening. Please recognize that, since we see 100 to 140 students each day, it is helpful if you let us return your calls; please do not call us at home. We try to contact parents when students experience difficulty; sometimes, however, that is not always immediately possible. Talk to your children; they often have a good idea about how they are doing and what their grades are. Ask to see their graded work.
The YWCA is once again sponsoring "Bolder Girls," a newspaper written by girls, ages 11 to 18, and published in the Boulder Planet. Students work with professional journalists and newspaper staff to learn about newspaper production, including writing, photography, layout and design, and advertising sales. Participants submit either two photos or two stories at the end of the session for publication. Meetings are Thursdays, February 5 through April 30, 4-5:30 PM. The fee is $50 or less, based on family income. Contact Jean Kouremetis, 443-0419, to register.
Our friends at Boulder Country Day School in north Boulder present their fourth annual "Interfest," an evening of stories and music of cultures near and far, on Friday, January 30, 7-9 PM, as a benefit for Community Food Share. The admission fee consists of several cans of food. Tell Mr. Kersey that Summit sent you.