January 25, 1999
Volume 7, No. 2
The Summit Middle School Parent Satisfaction Survey is enclosed with this newsletter. Please take a few minutes to fill it out and return it, by February 5, to the Summit office.
If you have any comments about your satisfaction with summit that we may use, anonymously, in publicity brochures and in our annual report, please include them.
Students who desire a change in their schedules must obtain a schedule change request form from the office, fill it out, have it signed by a parent, and return it to the counseling office. Schedule change requests for students who need changes in core classes or whose schedules contain errors or scheduling mistakes will be processed first. Requests from students who prefer different elective classes or teachers will be processed last. Elective course change requests and teacher preference requests can not always be honored due to scheduling constraints, including the need to balance class sizes and teacher course loads.
The enrollment form for currently enrolled students who will be returning to Summit next year should have been turned in to the office. All of our students must fill out this form and return it to us before January 29, 1999. If we do not have an enrollment form from returning students by January 29, 1999, we will not be able to hold a place for them for next year.
Parents are responding the 1998-1999 Tools for Learning fund drive by returning their pledge cards and checks. Fundraising Chairman Jeff Bradley reports that approximately 50 gifts are in, so far, with a total of $17,000. "People are being very generous," he notes, "but we need to hear from a lot more families to hit our goal of $40,000."
"I am particularly heartened by the response of parents who are new to the school," he continues. "Some people feared that as the 'pioneering' Summit families moved on that newcomers would not be as generous to the school. These first-year parents, however, are stepping up and accepting the responsibility of providing for the school." He added that several new families had made gifts of more than $1,000.
By now all families should have received the Tools for Learning packet. If you haven't, or if you have misplaced yours, please call Jeff at 303-499-4275. All donors this year will receive a Summit bumper sticker when we get them from the supplier. Donors are reminded that they can give cash or stock and can make a pledge and spread the payments over the rest of the school year. Matching gifts from companies such as Lucent, US West, and IBM are most appreciated.
Members of the Summit community are invited to attend an organizational meeting forVoice for Choice. This is a group being formed to advocate for school choice in BVSD in response to proposals being floated to review and rework the existing educational options for families in the district. Group members represent many school choice options across the district. The next meeting will be on Saturday, January 30, from 4 to 6 PM in the Meadows Branch Library meeting room. For more information, call Audrey Block (303-546-0436), Molly Heins (303-939-9151), or Barbry Hogue (303-665-3798).
Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Thursday, February 11, in the evening on a drop-in basis and on Friday, February 12, from 8 AM to 3 PM by appointment and from 3 to 4 PM on a drop-in basis. A timer will be used during the drop-in times so that the conferences can move smoothly. Sign up before or after school in the cafeteria on February 8, 9, and 10, 7:45-8:35 AM and 2:45-3:15 PM.
The Summit Science Fair semifinals were held on January 12. A total of 232 students participated, exhibiting 189 projects, including some team projects. The students showed enormous effort and enthusiasm through their exhibits. Participation was optional, although the science teachers rewarded the participants with some extra credit.
Students were interviewed during their regular science classes by scientists, engineers, and graduate students from our Boulder community. A total of 68 judges, 18 of whom were Summit parents, volunteered a morning, an afternoon, or both, to judge the projects. Special care was taken to avoid conflicts of interest and all students were interviewed by at least two judges. All participating students received a certificate of participation, 100 projects received a red ribbon (2nd place), and 62 projects received a blue ribbon (1st place).
After school, a team of six judges, along with the science teachers, selected 30 projects to continue to the Summit Science Fair finals on February 17. Although the selection was based on the judges’ recommendations, the top-ranking projects were reviewed using uniform criteria to adjust for the judges’ different grading standards. During the Summit Science Fair finals, nine projects will be selected to participate in the Regional Science Fair on March 5 at Centaurus High School in Lafayette.
The following students will continue to the Summit Science Fair finals:
Health and Behavioral Science - Sri Bangaru, Jason Eckstein, Lara Brown, Thatcher Heumann, Gilbert Lemieux,
Earth and Environmental Science - Eirik Ogilvie-Wigley, Logan Callihan, Tim Burchett
Botany - Katie Constantine, Layla Smith
Zoology - Clark Patton, Maya Pollak, Jessica Oreck Hildur Boylston
Mathematics and Computer Science - Derek Hageman, Anna Lindemann, Eric Hansford
Engineering - Courtney Schultz, Sunjay Dodani, Kevin Reims
Physical Science - Alana Riksheim, Joan Meiners, Chris Dole, James Norton
Team - Kris Kellogg/Brooks Perry/Alex Finkel, Henry Liu/Kent Gonzales, Steve Wilson/James Swirhun, Laura Harrington/Brittany Horlbeck, Kristen Rivera/Heather Manley, Colter Hayes/Mara Meaney-Ervin
Winners of blue ribbons are: Justin Anderson, Chris Benjamin, Max Carey, Luke Cederberg, Jessica Chang, Andrea Chunn, Erin Falloon, Tyler Fox, Paul Franz, Brandon Frohbieter, Levanna Geist, Greer Hansen, Andrew Herlihy, John Hinde, Adam Johnson, Sara Klymkowsky, Linden Majack, Stacy Metzger, Angelica Ostad, Elliot Paquette, Heather Perry, Adam Petherbridge, Caroline Smartt, Eric Reed, Yotam Schachter, Tove Smith, Ian Steinmo, Ben Stormo, Sarah Walker, Emily Weigel, Daniel Whitney, Jamie Phillips-Crone
Special thanks to the Science Fair Coordinators: Nancy Kellogg, Judging Coordinator; Cindy Cederberg, Food Coordinator; Linda Cowan, Logistics Coordinator
These three parents also deserve special mention: Cinda Graubard, Data Entry of Project List; Judy Oxley, Telephone Volunteer Recruiter; Jackie and Bill Ross, Certificates and name tags
The following parents served as judges: Ron Goldfarb, Eric Lindemann, Tony Crone, Dave Burchett, Tom Paquette, Bill Nedell, Dan D’Ippolito, Kathy Reims, Scott Smith,Paul Dusenbery, Pepper Schedin, Susan Dutcher, Marty Hoerling, Kathy Klecker, Chip Hogue, Penny Toothman, Karl Kellogg, Nancy London
Thanks very much to 50 other community members who donated their time as judges.
The following parents did set-up, judge and teacher support, and take-down: Jeff Cowan, Mary Boulet, Julia Dotson, Naser Afsar, Janet McDaniel, Susan Chunn, Jenny Evans, Anita Gonzales, Molly Heins, Tom Mahowald, Leslie Grady, Rita Kungel, Melody Johnson, Elsie Rivera, Ginny Kelly, Kavita Mahajan, Kathy Reims, Karen Fox, Mark McIntyre, Pamela Phillips, Jon Riksheim, Kathleen Breeman, Guynna Manley, Sue Patton, Cornelia Boylston, John Klecker, Tony Wang, Bill Kilkenny, Shelly Hendrick, Monique Czaja, Michele Dusenbery, Sandy and Bill Foote and children
Volunteers who helped prepare and serve food: Anita Gonzales, Judy Hart, Margaret Farrell, Barbry Hogue, Jenny Lucas, Christine Lemieux, Mel Newville, Jackie Ross, Margie Riksheim, Susan Chunn, Joan Talmage, Dawn Mahowald, Hana Sotala, Linda Parkhill, Nina Khosravi, Janet McDaniel, Nikki Munson, Cindy Cederberg
Special thanks on behalf of all the students and parents to Mery Molenaar, and to her fellow science teachers Sharon Sikora and Greta Frohbieter. They put in many extra hours to support the students.
The open enrollment period in the Boulder Valley School District ends January 29. All students who are planning to apply for open enrollment at a school other than their neighborhood high school must get their open enrollment applications in by this deadline. If you don’t know the name of your neighborhood (attendance area) high school, you may call the BVSD transportation department at 303-447-5125. Open enrollment applications may be obtained in the Summit office or at any BVSD high school.
High school registration will occur in February. Please check the following list for a description of the registration process at each high school.
Fairview High School - The Fairview counselors will meet with Summit 8th graders to distribute course descriptions and registration packets on Monday, February 22. Students and their parents may attend an academic planning night, “Fairview Evening of Transition,” on February 24 from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. The Fairview counselors will return again to Summit to meet with 8th graders and collect completed registration materials on March 1.
Boulder High School - Students will attend a field trip to Boulder High School with Ms. Bartley on Wednesday, February 24, from 1:30 to 3:00 PM to register. Parents of students who will be registering at Boulder High will be invited to accompany their students on this field trip.
Broomfield High School - All students who are planning to attend Broomfield High should attend the Eighth Grade Academic Planning Night which will be held on Wednesday, February 10. After attending this session, students and their parents should contact the school to make an appointment with a counselor to complete the registration process.
Monarch High School - Monarch will be hosting an Academic Planning Night for 8th graders on Tuesday, February 23, at 7 PM. The Monarch counselor, Mike Riley, will visit Summit to register students on Friday, February 26, during first period. Important note: Students who wish to attend Monarch and who currently attend Summit are requested to submit an open enrollment application even if they live in the attendance area. This will save a spot for them, and get them into the data base and on the mailing list.
Centaurus High School - On Tuesday, February 16, Centaurus will host a “Freshman Academic Planning Night” at 7 PM. After attending this presentation, students should call the Centaurus High School counseling department to make an appointment to register.
New Vista High School - Students planning to attend New Vista should attend a student/parent information meeting and obtain an application form directly from New Vista.
Congratulations to parents, students and staff for making it through the semester! The commitment of time and energies from our terrific parent volunteers has made for a smooth first half of the school year. There's always room for more volunteers and we anticipate a busy spring, so give some thought to how helping out at Summit can fit into your spring plans.
Many thanks to all the parents involved with the recent Science Fair (see full listing elsewhere in this issue). We had an impressive number of parents who helped with planning, logistics, judging, set up and clean up, and providing food for judges and fellow volunteers. Your efforts make an immeasurable difference in the success of Science Fair. Now, just wait to see how History Day unfolds.
Summit's informational flyer "Reach for the Summit!" has now gone out to parents of 5th graders in the district. This is a very important means of outreach to potential new Summit students. Special thanks to Brian Hansen for his time and fine expertise in creating the Summit flyer. Thanks also to: Elsie Rivera for coordinating the compilation of names for the mailing list; the parents who provided assistance with gathering mailing list information; Janet Christensen, Judy Hart, Margie Riksheim, and Joan Talmage for preparing the flyers for mailing; and Sally Benjamin, Diana Falloon, Harriet Fox, Joan Harig, Karen Herlihy, Molly Heins, Elsie Rivera, and Lana Westhoff for delivering Summit flyers to private schools and to the public schools we couldn't reach by mail.
All parents of adolescents will benefit from the next Meet & Mingle, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 17. David W. MacDonald will lead a discussion of the best selling book, Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher, Ph.D. 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.
Her piano composition, Garden Suite, has now won at the regional level and has been sent on to the national competition level. We applaud Anna for her creativity, congratulate her on the honor of competing at the national level, and wish her success in the future.
Congratulations to our National Geography Bee school winner Jimmy Lynch. Jimmy and runner up Megan Smith competed into triple overtime before a winner emerged. Bravo to Megan as well.
All twelve classroom winners competed in a school assembly on January 14, with parents and grandparents in attendance. Congratulations to these fine scholars: Maddie Rovira, Caroline Smartt, Alana Riksheim, Chris Dole, Ben Klecker, Corrine D’Ippolito, Molly Strauss, Amy Motomura, Jimmy Lynch, Erin Sweeney, Megan Smith, and Ethan Cowan.
On January 8, Silver Rain and the Summit Choir traveled to Fairview High School for an intensive day of choral excellence. We listened to all of the Fairview choirs (including many of our Summit alumni) and four other area middle school choirs. We rehearsed with Fairview choral directors, Ron Revier and Jim Keller, and finally performed for the assembled massed choirs. We received many heartfelt congratulations as well as special words of admiration from Fairview students and faculty and other middle school directors. The reputation of Summit's choral program continues to grow. Members and parents of both the Summit Choir and Silver Rain should be very proud of the talent and hard work these groups combine in pursuit of excellence.
It's an honor to work with all of you. -- Mr. Burkhart
We are preparing Rodger and Hammerstein's Cinderella as our spring musical. The students who auditioned should prove to be a charming and elegant cast -- but they need our help. If you have elegant gowns, old but good doors, fireplaces, overstuffed furniture, plastic fruit or vegetables (especially pumpkins), or sewing or carpentry skills please contact Mr. Burkhart or Ms. Hanckel.
We want to present our wondrous jewels (our kids) in the best setting (props and costumes) possible.
Many thanks. -- Mr. Burkhart and Ms. Hanckel
The Summit Board of Directors will meet at 7:00 PM on Sunday, February 7 and Monday, February 22.
Special thanks to “Judge” Cederberg, who donned a black robe and retried the Dred Scott Supreme Court case from the Civil War Era in Ms. Kapsak’s history court. Students prepared briefs for both the North and the South. Many thanks to our judge.
Mr. Mueller’s math classes would like to thank Toys “R” Us and Savers for their donation of prizes for the end-of-the-semester “Auction of Excellence.” Their support and recognition of the hard work of Summit’s students is appreciated.
Dr. Charles Fay is known for teaching practical and effective solutions through humor, compassion, entertaining stories, and real life examples. His “Love and Logic Conference” will be held on February 4, 1999, 9 AM - 3 PM at Holiday Inn - Denver West Village. The cost is $89 per person. The registration deadline is January 21, 1999. For information phone 303-279-5641 or 800-424-3630 or visit www.loveandlogic.com.
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 www.openspacecomm.com, for more information.
Noted Boulder educator Gloria Frender is offering a five-session course on study skills for 6th to 12th graders. Topics include learning styles, time management, organization, note taking, test taking, and memory skills.
Classes will be held at Fairview High School, room 426, from 7 to 8:30 PM on the following dates: February 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 2. The cost for five sessions is $100 per student, text included. Accompanying parents may attend free. Call Ms. Frender, 303-530-3195.
“Discover and Nurture Your Child’s True Talents and Abilities”
“Making Sense of the College Admission Process: For the Parent and/or
Student”
For more information, or to register, call 303-492-5148 or visit www.colorado.edu/conted.