April 14, 1998
Volume 5, No. 7
Once again, a team of Summit students is one of 10 national finalists for the annual Community Innovation Award sponsored by Bayer Corporation, the National Science Foundation, and Discover magazine. The 6th-grade students — Corinne D'Ippolito, Paul Franz, Eric Hansford, and James Norton — will receive $250 to further develop their proposal plus an all-expenses-paid trip to the Christopher Columbus Academy at Epcot Center in Walt Disney World. There, they will get first-hand experience in technological innovation by working with experts in science, technology, and education. They will be accompanied by their coach, Ms. Molenaar.
The Summit proposal, titled "Melting Ice at Crosswalks," is to place heating coils, run by near-by power lines, under raised crosswalks. The proposal was inspired by icy crosswalks in front of schools.
The students will present their idea to a panel of judges and Epcot visitors. The members of the three top teams in the Bayer/NSF competition will each receive a savings bond. One of the 10 finalist teams (not necessarily the first-place team) will receive a $25,000 grant to further develop its idea in its community. The national competition will be held June 1-7. Last year, a Summit team won third place.
Another Summit proposal, on recycled-tire running tracks, did not make it to the finals. Students participating in that proposal were Cara Harmon, Ben Gilman, Eric Gonzales, and Luc Peterson. They were coached by Dr. Sikora.
On April 1, Jenny Rood (nobody's fool) won second place in the District History Day competition. Her topic was "American Dream vs. Reality." Jenny goes on to the State competition on April 25 in the Memorial Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Summit had many fine projects in this, our first History Day competition.
On April 24 and 25, Summit Middle School will present West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Principals will include Emily Strauss and Eryn Burkhart as Maria, Nicky Demarest as Tony, "Birdhouse" Herr and Kim Miner as Riff, Brough Hansen as Bernardo, and Ashley Howard and Megan Ritger as Anita. Emily Brownstone will accompany at the piano. This will be a fabulous evening of comedy, romance, and tragedy — an American classic based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Seating is limited; please request tickets from cast members, Mr. Burkhart, Ms. Hanckel, or the Summit office. Please let the office know if you have special needs due to disability.
The Boulder Valley School District is conducting a full-scale review of its facilities with a view to reducing operating costs by relocating programs and closing some old buildings. The target date for these changes would be the 1999-2000 school year.
Summit has requested to be part of the planning process in order to obtain space in a suitable building, expand its enrollment, and help the district best manage its resources. Summit will remain in its present location at Southern Hills for the 1998-99 school year.
During this process, it will be important for the Summit community to make sure that BVSD administrators and school board members appreciate that Summit is a vital part of the district's offerings. At the same time, Summit must work with the district so that our needs are met in the context of the efficient use of district space and resources. We are optimistic that the result of the relocation/consolidation effort can be "win-win" for Summit and the district.
BVSD has no intention of evicting Summit from district space and has said so publicly. Currently, 36% of all Colorado charter schools are in school district buildings. BVSD saves over $170,000 per year by making space available to Summit. (Summit is funded at 85% of per-pupil operating revenue, rather than 100%, while occupying district space.)
The Summit Board believes that the optimum size for the school is about 375 students, 50% larger than its cap of 250. This would allow us to offer more courses and sections to better individualize the curriculum while avoiding the impersonal atmosphere of larger schools. A population of 375 is a good size to efficiently fit into the district's consolidation plans.
On April 6, Governor Romer signed Senate Bill 63, which removes the sunset clause in the Charter Schools Act. Only five members of each of the House and Senate voted against the bill. The Charter Schools Act is now a permanent part of the Colorado statutes.
Congratulations to Jim Cederberg, Chris Howard, Eric Lindemann, and Hunter McDaniel for their election (or re-election) to the Summit Board of Directors for 1998-2000. Their terms begin on June 1. Ms. Grove, Judy Demarest, Barbry Hogue, and Ron Goldfarb counted the ballots on April 10.
The Nominating Committee thanks all seven candidates for their willingness to run and we look forward to their continued involvement in Summit.
We take this opportunity to thank outgoing Board member Tricia Olson, who did not seek re-election, for her vital contributions to Summit.
Summit Board meetings are scheduled for the following Mondays, beginning at 7 PM, in the teachers' lounge: April 27, May 4, May 18. On April 20, Board members will meet with teachers at their 3:30 PM faculty meeting in the teachers' lounge.
As part of the alignment of our courses to our standards, the Summit Board has approved the following math course offerings for the 1998-99 school year: Pre-Algebra, Pre-Algebra Honors, Algebra I, Algebra I Honors, Geometry, Geometry Honors, and Algebra II Honors.
Most 6th-grade students will take Pre-Algebra or Pre-Algebra Honors. Some might take Algebra I or Algebra I Honors. Placement may be adjusted during the school year as necessary to meet each student's needs. Incoming 6th-grade parents who are unsure if their students will be ready for Pre-Algebra should contact Principal Bernie Grove for suggestions on summer workbooks, tutoring, or classes.
The Algebra I and Geometry courses will cover the same material as the standard high-school courses. Algebra I Honors, Geometry Honors, and Algebra II Honors will cover the same material as high-school honors courses.
On April 3 and 4, Silver Rain performed at Soda Creek Elementary School and with the Steamboat Springs Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Burkhart. They sang "Scenes from Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdink and "Tribute to John Denver." Jazz Band at Fairview
On Friday, April 17, 9:00-9:20 AM, the Summit Jazz Band will perform at Fairview's middle-school jazz festival. Parents may wish to stop by the Fairview High School auditorium. The Jazz Band has had impressive development this year.
Under the heading "The Summit of Possibilities," the April 1998 education special issue of Pittsburgh magazine includes a short interview about Summit with former Pittsburgher Mr. Burkhart, Summit's Music Director.
Incoming 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 next year will need a new athletic-participation statement from a physician.
When the district closes all mountain schools because of the weather, school buses do not run between the mountains and Boulder city schools. Summit students from Nederland are excused such days.
Cockroaches that spit, a giant jigsaw puzzle, and an obstacle course for trout are some of the sights to see at "A Celebration of Earth and Atmosphere," an "Earth Day" program on Saturday, April 18, 9 AM - 3 PM, at the Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. In addition to activities on April 18, several exhibits continue through the month of April.
NCAR's Atmospheric Chemistry Division will offer tours of the Frost Phytotron, a facility for plant research at the Mesa Lab. Oakleigh Thorne, Boulder ecologist and science educator, will lead a nature walk along the Walter Orr Roberts Weather Trail and the Mesa Trail, just behind the Mesa Lab.
The first NCAR Earth Day 1K run will close the celebration. Children and parents may sign up earlier in the day for the 2 PM start.
"TV-Free America" has asked Colorado Commissioner of Education, William Moloney, to ask superintendents to ask principals to ask parents to leave their television sets off during the week of April 22-28. (At least it was not during the Super Bowl.)