September 21, 1998
Volume 6, No. 3
Now that it is almost the end of September, I want to let you all know how we are doing so far. We started school very well. Thanks to the hard work of staff and parents, we had two excellent days with our students in August. Thursday, August 27, with the 6th graders, was wonderful fun and very useful in getting to know folks, finding one’s way about and making friends. Friday we reviewed our study skills, assigned lockers, reacquainted ourselves with school protocol, and acknowledged our spring term scholars.
Our entire staff enjoyed Back-to-School Night on September 10th. We had a great turn out. Thank you for coming and listening to the presentations. We hope to see you often.
Although we started the school year missing some old friends in the office and the classroom, we also are pleased to welcome new ones in both places. Lisa Singletary has taken another job at the Dairy Center for the Arts; Debbie Fee is catching up on home and family. Susan Cox went with her husband to Washington, D.C. where he has an exciting new job with National Geographic and where they already own a house. Angie Dozeman has taken a job at Dakota Ridge High School in Jefferson County, which is an excellent opportunity for her.
Included in this newsletter are brief biographical sketches of all four of our new people. Do make sure to introduce yourself and welcome them to Summit.
New this month, Summit has an additional way for parents and teachers to communicate. We have just installed a voice messaging system to allow parents to notify the school of student absences, leave messages for teachers, find out about weekly activities and check the lunch menu. This system, along with the Homework Hotline, should help all of us communicate better. Instructions for the messaging system are enclosed with this newsletter.
Thank you all for helping Summit get off to a great start.
Bernie Grove, Principal
The deadline for submitting elective course change requests has passed, and for the rest of the semester, only core course changes, to accommodate changes in student placement needs, will be accepted. If you feel that your student is not correctly placed in a core subject class, a request for schedule change form must be obtained from the office. The form must be signed by the current core subject teacher as well as the parent, and returned to the counseling office.
Mid-quarter progress reports will be mailed October 1st.
October count is here again. Please try to have your child attend at least part of the day on Thursday, October 1st, if at all possible! We get our funding from the state based on the October count. The actual count period covers an 11 day period but anyone absent on October 1st will require a great deal of paperwork to prove that they are enrolled. If you know that your student will be absent on October 1st please call Maggie in the office ASAP to start the paper work. Thanks for your cooperation.
Students who intend to have their photographs retaken must return their original proofs to the photographer on retake day. Students who were absent on the original photo date may have a picture taken on retake day if they provide a note from their parents.
Summit is looking for parents interested in coaching Odyssey of the Mind for Summit this year. Anyone interested, please call the Summit office.
At Back-To-School Night, several parents asked for suggestions regarding a good resource book for their students. Writers, Inc. can be purchased from Gloria Frender (303-530-3195) for $16.50. She also sells her book Learning to Learn for $17.75. This book has all sorts of helpful advice for students in terms of studying, taking notes and tests, and getting organized.
Work will begin soon for this year’s yearbook. All interested students should contact Ms. Brakhage. Additionally, anyone with photos of teams, clubs, or any school event can submit the photo to Ms. Brakhage for possible inclusion in the yearbook.
Do you know a senior citizen who would enjoy sharing their life skills and educational experiences with the students at Summit? The Senior Tax Exchange Partnership (STEP) allows Boulder Valley School District residents, who are at least 55 years old, to earn up to $300 working at the school. Summit has been funded for a STEP participant but does not have any applicants yet. Applications are due before October 16, 1998.
Please see Judy in the office for applications or call Annette Mainland, the District STEP coordinator, at 303-447-5137 for more information.
Congratulations to sixth grader Layla Smith who qualified to go to the U.S. National Synchronized Swimming Championships this past summer. She placed 15th in the country in her solo routine. Anyone interested in trying out synchronized swimming should contact coach Becky Meitin at 303-530-1518.
Junior Girl Scout Troop 1462 already has several Summit sixth graders and would love to add more. The troop has an ideal schedule for Summit students. All activities and meetings are on the weekends. Planning meetings are kept to a minimum. Members attend activities as their schedule allows. The next activity is on Friday, September 25 at 5:00 PM. Call Ms. Brown at 303-442-0382 for more information.
The current and previous issues of Summit News are available on the Web at http://bcn.boulder.co.us/univ_school/summit/
The Summit Board of Directors will meet at 7:00 PM on October 5 and 19 in the staff workroom. Parents are invited to attend, as always.
M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Sciences: Sociology, Psychology, Religious Studies, University of Montana; B.A. Religions of the Upper Mesopotamian Basin, University of Montana; Flute Performance, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston.
Ms. Kapsak grew up in Missoula, Montana. Born into a family of musicians and environmentalists, Ms. Kapsak headed east to Boston and studied flute with the first flutist in the Boston Symphony for four years before pursuing her academic work in the social sciences and religion. She returned to Montana in the summers to camp and hike. Her love of teaching has always been central. She has taught most of her adult life in a variety of settings, from poor neighborhoods in Chicago to a prep school in Omaha, Nebraska. For the past several years she has been teaching and designing curriculum at Regis University in Colorado Springs and Denver. Ms. Kapsak was awarded the Professor of the Year and Excellence in Teaching Awards three times. She has done sociological research for Habitat for Humanity and for the Montana judicial system.
Now living in Longmont, Ms. Kapsak is married to Daniel P. Kapsak. They are the parents of Gabrielle, 16, Mary, 14, and Hannah, 8. Spare time is filled with the children’s competitive soccer, basketball, swimming, volleyball, and music interests. She bakes her grandmother’s ginger snaps at the first snow fall of each year. She is delighted to be part of the Summit faculty and hopes to make history a living and exciting reality for her students.
M.A. English, Texas A&M University; B.A. English, Texas A&M University.
Mr. McGarrity is a native of the Lone Star State, where he attended high school on the West Texas desert plains. As an undergraduate at Texas A&M University, he developed a passion for the study of literature. After graduating with honors, he remained at A&M for his master’s, emphasizing twentieth century American literature. As part of his fellowship/assistantship, Mr. McGarrity designed, developed, and instructed composition, rhetoric, and technical writing courses for two years. In his final semester, he received the departmental award for outstanding teaching achievement.
In 1996, Mr. McGarrity and his wife, Caryn, moved to Denver, where he accepted a position in finance and marketing. After a two-year hiatus, he returns to the classroom, hoping to facilitate an understanding and appreciation of the art of English through literature. It is with excitement that he joins the Summit team. Mr. McGarrity enjoys skiing, hiking, and is a formidable tennis player.
Ms. Rankin graduated from Northeastern State University in 1990 with a BSW in the hopes of working with the AIDS population. After moving to Denver, she found work with the Visiting Nurse Association, the organization which managed the grant for people living with AIDS. Ms. Rankin did direct care with 37 men and women over a period of several years until she reached an emotional saturation point. She weaned slowly from the AIDS work and became a staffing coordinator for the visiting nurses while writing a book about her experiences in the field. She is still receiving rejection notices.
After several more years in the home health care field, she felt a need to return to the academic circle and the idealism and optimism she had found there in the past. At NSU she worked in the library managing the work study students and prior to that she worked as a secretary for the Drama Department at the College of Marin in California.
Ms. Rankin has two grown children, Carleen and Andy, who live in the Denver area and who are the light of her life. She is a divorcee who revels in her independence. She loves to garden, especially roses, even though she struggles with learning the differences between her native San Francisco environment and Colorado conditions.
Ms. Rankin loves sports and movies, books, dogs, and an occasional cat. Her oldest dog is Ping Pong who is 17 years old, followed by Paddles at 15, Sushi, a mere child of four, and the occasional cat, Wimpy Monroe, clocking in at 15 stout years.
Ms. Hartley grew up in a very small town in Michigan, married her high school sweetheart, and raised three children as a stay at home mom. She worked with teachers while her children were in school and served on several boards in both schools and churches. She helped start a library in an elementary school and helped build a church and get it growing.
The family moved to New Mexico where she started working in elementary and middle schools. There she was active with the girls’ high school track team. When her children were grown and on their own, she moved to Idaho, then back to Michigan so that her husband could help with the family business. The Hartleys missed the mountains and the west, though, so almost twelve years ago they moved to Colorado. All of their kids moved with them.
Ms. Hartley has worked in the private business sector as an office manager for the last seventeen years. She is very happy and excited to be working with children and teachers again.
Ms. Hartley and her husband, Gary, live in Arvada as do their children and five of their six grandchildren. In her spare time she tends flower gardens, reads, and shops for antiques.