October 19, 1998
Volume 6, No. 5
Dr. Sharon Sikora will give a mini-lesson on water molecules and talk about the science fair research reports and projects at the Meet & Mingle on Wednesday, October 21. The meeting is scheduled from 7:00 to 8:30 PM in the meeting room at the George Reynolds Branch Library, located at the corner of Table Mesa Drive and Stanford Avenue.
Thursday, October 22, 7:00 PM, Auditorium
As Colorado state law requires, “Suspension Pending” notices are being sent to parents of 7th graders who are not up to date on MMR-II and Hepatitis B series. The office has no choice in these suspensions. Please get proof of immunizations in quickly; we don’t want students missing classes.
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.
Please send e-mail for Bernie Grove only to groveb@bvsd.k12.co.us.
A heartfelt thank you from Bernie Grove and from her family for the condolences offered by so many on the death of her granddaughter.
We have access to videos of many special Summit events. We would like to know if we have anyone in our community who could take portions of the videos and produce a 15 minute looped video to help show the Summit experience to prospective students and their parents. Please contact Ms. Grove or the Summit office.
If you have the skills, time and desire to help put together an on-line portfolio for Summit, then we have a job for you. We are looking for a few people who could work together to create a web page that would highlight some of the excellent work done by the students of Summit. The web page will be used for grants, to promote Summit, and to showcase the abilities and talents of our students through each discipline. If you think you can help, please leave a message for Ray Mueller at Summit, or send e-mail to Rmueller@indra.com.
Rewards for excellent work are not always intangible. Mr. Mueller's math class is looking for a small business that would be willing to act as a sponsor for the school year. In return for a small, tax-deductible donation, the sponsor's name and contact information would be listed on the class web page where students and parents go to check on current grades. Each donation will be used to purchase prizes to reward students who do excellent work at the semester’s end. If you think you can help, please leave a message for Ray Mueller at Summit, or send e-mail to Rmueller@indra.com.
Thank you to Joan and John Harig for getting all the cupboards for the teachers workroom. Thank you to those who helped Joan and John install them. And thanks again, Joan, for all the work you have done in finding and donating the dishes, glasses, silverware, towels, towel bar, and countless goodies you bring for all of us. We really appreciate everything. - - The staff at Summit
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you'll be doomed if you don't try" - - Beverly Sills
Ursula Wade has been visiting German classes on Fridays to share songs, games, and culture with the students. We have learned many new songs, played fun games, solved riddles, and learned about the Berlin Wall coming down. On behalf of Ms. Ammon and all the German students, "Vielen Dank, Frau Wade!"
The Summit Board of Directors will meet at 7:00 PM on November 2 and 16 in the staff workroom. Parents are invited to attend, as always.
A new season of creative writing classes is being offered at the Boulder Public Library on Saturday mornings. A group of talented teachers and writers collaborate on teaching the classes. The 4th-8th grade class begins at 10 AM, every Saturday morning that the library is open. “Adventures into Creativity,” for teens, begins at 11 AM and runs until 12:30 PM. Both classes are held at the conference room at the top of the spiral staircase of the Boulder Public Library off Arapahoe Street. They provide the paper and pens. For more information, contact Gregg Eisenberg, 303-447-0971, or Patty McLaughlin, 303-545-0014.
Tuesday afternoon classes in journal keeping and Saturday morning classes in creative writing are being taught by local author Barbara Steiner at Troubadour Bookstore, 1638 Pearl Street. Call for cost and registration information, 303-444-0166.
NCAR will celebrate Super Science Saturday at the Mesa Lab from 9 AM to 3 PM on November 7. This is a day of special activities designed to promote public science literacy and enrich the science experiences of area students and teachers. Activities include: science wizards performing amazing and exciting demonstrations, science storytime, a weather trail scavenger hunt, balloon launches, activity tables, and workshops on science fair, scientific process, and science photography. For information, contact Linda Carbone, 303-497-8612, or visit http://www.dir.ucar.edu/iss/dmc/vishome/events.html.
On any given day, over 400 Boulder County children need a home away from home. Parents are wanted to love and nurture children victimized by abuse, neglect, and/or abandonment. The children are of all age groups. Some need short-term foster care, others long-term foster care, and still others need Fost-Adopt or permanent adoptive homes. Parents can be specific about the age and situation of children entering their home. The Boulder County Department of Social Services welcomes parents from all parts of the community. Benefits include monthly reimbursements, training, ongoing support and great personal rewards. Health care coverage for foster children is provided by Medicaid. Foster and adoptive parents can be single or married. They are in urgent need of loving homes for their children. Do you have the space in your heart and home for a child and want to know more about their parenting programs? Call the Boulder County Department of Social Services, 303-441-1089.
Boulder Valley Rotary Club will be collecting coats and books at the school starting October 21.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Department Explorer Cadet Post will be hosting a haunted house with candy, food, games, music, dancing, and numerous other activities at the old Montgomery Ward site in the Crossroads Mall. Admission is $5 (kids under five years old and senior citizens admitted free). Food may be purchased separately. The dates are October 22, 25, 28 and 29 from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM, October 23 and 24 from 6:00 PM to 12:00 AM, October 30 from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM, and October 31 from 4:00 PM to 2:00 AM.
“The Boulder Boo” and “Trick or Treat Street” will also be held at the old Montgomery Ward site. The Boulder Boo is a fun and happy haunted house for young children. It will be open nightly until 9 PM. Trick or Treat Street, for kids 12 and under, will be on Halloween night only. Businesses from all over Boulder County will by giving out candy. There are no admission fees for the Boulder Boo or the Trick or Treat Street.
Ms. Hutton’s Pottery classes and Ms. Stough’s Spanish III classes are participating in Pirate Gallery’s annual “El Día de los Muertos” Exhibition. The show opens Friday, October 16, includes piñatas on October 30 from 7 to 12 PM, and closes on Sunday, November 1. All of the art classes will be taking a field trip to the gallery on Tuesday, October 20. If you wish to go on your own, the address is 3659 Navajo, which is just south of West 38th Street in Denver. Gallery hours are Friday, 7-10 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 PM. Pirate Gallery phone number is 303-458-6058.
We encourage you to take advantage of Classroom On Call, our new automated communication system. Dial 1-888-395-4172, enter our School ID number - 1238, and select an option from the menu.
A free county-wide celebration of arts from around the world will be presented by Monarch K-8 School, 263 Campus Drive, in Louisville on Saturday, October 24, 1998, 8 AM - 2 PM.
Summit students (and their families) are being offered a wonderful opportunity to learn history “hands on” with an educational tour of the Boston area next June 25-29. Some highlights of the trip include a walking tour of Boston, the John Hancock Observatory, an optional theater excursion, guided sightseeing of Boston and Cambridge, Faneuil Hall, an optional excursion to Lexington and Concord, a visit to the Museum of Science and the New England Aquarium, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, a tour of Plymouth Harbor and a visit to Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II, and a walking tour of Salem.
This educational trip is geared specifically for students and is offered through EF Explore America, which has been in business for over thirty years. Your group leader will be Nancy Laidlaw, a teacher and Summit parent. The cost is extremely reasonable. To receive a brochure with further details please contact Nancy Laidlaw, who can be reached at 303-665-6784.
Open Space Communications is sponsoring “Beyond Giftedness VI,” a conference for parents and educators who live and work with gifted children. The conference will be held on Friday, February 26, 1999, 8 AM - 4:30 PM, at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities. Early Registration, before February 1, 1999, is $75. Registration includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and materials. Contact Dorothy Knopper, 303-444-7020, or http://www.openspacecomm.com, for more information.
In September, the Summit Board of Directors proposed two changes to its contract with the school district. The first change called for Summit to participate, on a pro-rata, per-pupil basis, in the tax revenues that would accrue to the district should referendum 3A be approved by the voters. That share would amount to about $400 per student per year. A referendum on the ballot in Jefferson County provides for such equal participation by its charter schools. The second change requested would allow Summit to carry over any unused funds from year to year.
The school board decided to address these proposed changes as resolutions for all charter schools in the district, and its members discussed them at their meeting on October 8. There was a consensus to approve the carryover of funds, which is consistent with district policy for all district schools.
Members of the school board disagreed on the first proposed change, however. Members Garnett, Okolowicz, and Shonkwiler generally agreed that charter school students deserve an equitable portion of tax revenue and observed that inclusion of charter students would probably encourage broader support for the tax override. De la Cruz, Bonelli, Phillips, and Shoemaker generally opposed the change, saying that charter schools could later apply for a share of the revenues if the referendum passes. The district would determine annually what programs the funds were used for; charters might benefit to the extent that they participated in those programs. Thus, in response to Summit's request for a binding, pro-rata, per-pupil adjustment in funding, the school board might pass a non-binding resolution to provide to charters, with no assurances, a "fair share" for specific programs.
Summit's contract with the district already provides for a pro-rata, per-pupil share of tax revenues from the 1991 tax override. The 1998 override would add $10.6 million to the district's general fund every year. The school board will vote on the resolutions at its meeting on October 22.