September 13, 2001
Volume 12, No. 3
This has been an emotional and difficult week for everyone. Our principal, David Finell, sent home a letter this week that eloquently explains how our school community has been dealing with this tragedy. In case you did not receive the letter, it is attached in its entirety at the end of the newsletter. I know that all of us are sending our thoughts and prayers to all those affected at this difficult time.
Ashley Engles, a Summit 8th grader, has written a very moving piece that captures her feelings and perhaps the feelings of many young people who are trying to make sense out of these events. Here is what she had to say.
"In order to work through this, we must first work together as a school, and then as a community, a city, and then perhaps a state. If we can work together as a state, all working towards a single goal, then we can work together as a country. We must work to get beyond this attack and hopefully rebuild the trust that lays the foundation for the United States of America. We have to remember that, in the past, we have experienced serious conflicts before and survived.
"Violence is not the answer: if we can't solve problems peacefully then we haven't come as far intellectually as we'd like to believe. What is accomplished by a war? So many people die, both soldiers and civilians, and so many structures are destroyed -- both structures on which countries rely and physical structures that are ruined. And in the end one side "wins" but both sides suffer from the terrible losses and neither side is entirely happy. If we can prevent wars and solve problems through compromises and communication, then we have accomplished something. But if we kill, then we have accomplished nothing."
Regaining a sense of balance and normalcy can be difficult for families attempting to understand and cope with the tragedies that we have all experienced this week. Experts agree, however, that there are a number of ways that children and teens can be helped to process the intense emotions that arise from being exposed to such experiences. Below are some tips for how parents and caregivers can address the needs of children who have been exposed to traumatic events.
All regular Summit Board meetings are public meetings and we invite members of our community to attend at any time. During the first semester, regular Board meetings will be held on September 24, October 8 and 22, November 5 and 19, December 3 and 17, and January 7 and 22. Meetings begin at 6:30 PM and are held in Summit's library unless otherwise noted.
A regular Summit Board meeting was held on September 10. Concerns about food service were raised, with the suggestion that we step up recruitment of possible food service workers among our own families. Alternate suggestions for food service were also discussed. Summit is currently the only BVSD school without food service. There was discussion of compensation to teachers for extracurricular activities. The Summit post office box will be retained as a consistent address, with renewed awareness of checking for mail regularly through the school year and summer. The principal and board will work on creating administrator job descriptions.
There will be one or two High Peaks students coming to Summit each day for math. Board member observations of teachers begin in October, so a suitable schedule of observations will be organized. The board will review the number of times per year a teacher is observed. AAA will work on recruiting a volunteer to attend District Parent Council meetings to directly represent Summit. AAA is finalizing plans for the October 4 high school information night, for parents of 8th graders. There will be a student panel and brief presentations by staff and volunteers. AAA members are also composing the final draft of a grant application to the Greenville Foundation. Summit's enrollment stands at 305 students as of the end of the official BVSD open enrollment season earlier today. Tom Mahowald, Tools for Learning chair, will have a plan in place soon for an early fall kick-off to this year's TFL campaign. Discussion of charter renewal issues continues, with Summit asking BVSD for a working draft of a proposed contract that reflects discussions up to this point.
The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, September 24, beginning at 6:30 PM (note new start time).
I'd like to thank all of you who were able to make Back-to-School Night. I am truly enjoying every one of your children and we are moving along quickly and enthusiastically! Our Spanish room is full of inspirational and interactive materials. Please stop by to participate or volunteer.
A special thanks goes out to Mia Fuhrman and Annie Lewis for their wonderful efforts in helping me to paint and freshen our room during the summer. Thanks, as well, to the White-O'Connors for donating painting materials and advice! And, of course, the many PVC volunteers who helped move supplies out of and into my room further demonstrates what a wonderful Summit community we have.
Important: One of the volunteer sheets that many of you signed at Back-to-School Night seems to have disappeared at the end of the evening. Perhaps someone gathered it up with their own handouts. If you find it, please return it to me so I may employ the talents of many parents!
I would like to ask parents on behalf of the Technology department if you have any robotics kits that you can lend or donate to us for use in one of our applied technology units. Students enjoy building robotics and the kit that we have right now will not be nearly enough for all of my students to get hands-on experience. Please let me know if you can help us. Thank you!
To provide additional support for student learning, Summit teachers provide tutorial time for extra help, study sessions, make-up work, and answering questions about assignments. Unless otherwise noted, students may drop in without an appointment. Other tutoring times, such as before school or during lunch, may be available by appointment. The tutorial schedule appears below.
Social Studies, 3:10-4:10 Monday, Rooms 2 & 9
Science, 3:10-4:10 Monday, Rooms 14 & 15
English, 3:10-4:10 Wednesday, Rooms 3 & 5
Math
Foreign Languages
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Ms. Taborsky moved to Colorado in 1999. She has a Management Accounting background, primarily in radio, television, and advertising. She now lives in Louisville with her daughter Suzanne, her son-in-law Rick, and three grandchildren: Alex, who graduated from Summit last year; Jake, a seventh grader at Summit; and Luke, a fourth grader at Peak to Peak and future Summit student.
Ms. Taborsky says she's always wanted an opportunity to work with students, so she's greatly looking forward to her new position at Summit.
Ms. Wharton grew up in central Kansas and has lived in Colorado for the past 23 years. Prior to coming to Summit, she worked as an engineering assistant for a local high tech company. She enjoys spending her leisure time camping, traveling and working in the yard. She lives in Broomfield with her husband, two dogs and a cat. Between the two of them they have five children and four grandchildren. This past summer her grandson from Rhode Island spent a month in Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa.
Mr. Bawek begins his first full year at Summit with enthusiasm for working with Summit students and for living in Colorado. He grew up on a dairy farm near Austin, Minnesota, as one of seven boys (no girls!) in his family. He is married and has a 24-year-old son, Ben, and a 23-year-old daughter, Jennifer.
His first career, besides being a farmer, was as an electronic design technician. After working at this job for eight years, he decided to go back to school and start over on a new career path. Though it meant taking a huge pay cut, he drove a school bus to pay his way through to earn a B.A. in Human Services/Chemical Dependency Counseling. Mr. Bawek ventured into education when he was hired as a teacher's aide supporting autistic students in the classroom in the mornings and working in a regular education classroom in the afternoons.
He loved this type of work, and moved up to the high school level to work with and support students with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and other mental handicaps. He earned a Masters in Education and was immediately hired as a Resource teacher in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He taught middle school in Santa Fe for two years, then taught elementary school in Albuquerque for two years so he and his wife could live closer to his father-in-law. After moving his father-in-law to Eugene, Oregon, in 2000, Mr. Bawek and his wife decided to check out Beautiful Bolder Boulder. The rest, as they say, is history!
Ms. Inman is excited to be a part of the Summit staff this year. After 13 years as a stay-at-home mom, she is enjoying the new challenges as health room and staff support paraeducator (parapro). Although she loved being home and available to her two children 24/7, as Coach A would say, the walls of her home were becoming very limiting. So she is happy to have something else requiring her attention during the day. Ms. Inman has an administrative support background, almost exclusively in the high-tech industry.
Ms. Inman moved to Boulder 19 years ago, met her now-husband Paul, and got married 2 years later. They have two children: Matt, an 8th grader here at Summit, and Barrett, a 6th grader at Platt. California is her home state. "Southern" is where she grew up (she says people say "southern" when they don't want to reveal their real home town!). She was happy to leave California and feels fortunate to have a great life here in Boulder.
The outdoors is a constant draw for her. She loves hiking, bicycling, jogging, walking, and skiing. The other side of the scale has her creating in the kitchen and at the sewing machine. Another passion is the Spanish language, which she only recently discovered when she re-enrolled in college after a 19-year hiatus. She is now continuing to pursue her education at Front Range Community College -- for the fun of it!
The Summit Board of Directors would like to thank a number of people who stepped up to the challenge of selecting a new Principal for Summit last summer, and did so on very short notice. In particular, a big thank you goes out to David Parkhill, Ron Harmon, Susan Karpatkin, Arleen Miller, Julie Dotson, Ashley O'Connor, Barb Miner, Amanda Avallone, Valerie Koch, Sharon Sikora, Wendy Blakemore, Patrick McGarrity, Peter Teasdale, and Kendra Bartley, all of whom served on the Principal Selection Committee reviewing applications and/or attending candidate interviews.
Many others (you know who you are!) graciously offered to serve, but due to schedule conflicts and the press of time did not get a chance to actively participate prior to our successful recruitment of David Finell. Thanks also go to Barbry Hogue and Jim Cederberg for posting the position and fielding applications for the PSC, and the entire Board for its ultimate decision to hire. The committee worked so well because of the wonderful effort and support of all these committed Summit teachers, administrators and parents focused intently on finding the very best candidate for the job. Thank you one and all! - John Jacus, PSC chair
Summit's kick off for the 2001-2002 school year at the East Boulder Community Center was a success if numbers can accurately tell the story. Almost 180 students attended the evening! They took full advantage of the available activities such as swimming, basketball, dancing, and wall climbing, not to mention pizza and soda consuming. Thirty pizzas and almost 290 cans of soda didn't last long among a lively crew that clearly reveled in the camaraderie of being with each other.
Thanks to area supermarkets, we had 100% of the soda donated (Albertson's on 30th, Safeway on 28th, King Soopers on 30th and in the Table Mesa Shopping Center.) It wouldn't hurt to thank them the next time you are in there. All of the ice was donated by Albertson's in Louisville, and some thoughtful parents. We had over thirty extremely hard-working and indispensable parent volunteers who strategically positioned themselves throughout the center, at the climbing wall, or the swimming pool, thus ensuring that our children were well supervised. It was their fine efforts that helped make the evening the success it was. 100% of our students demonstrated behavior that made me proud to say they attend Summit Middle Charter School.
Summit ended the evening with an unexpected profit of over $1000. Finally, everyone (100% again) appreciated that some very special faculty members and even a couple of alumni chose to spend their Saturday night "playing" with students. Nathan and Andrea Parkhill, Ms. Stough, Mr. Alcantara, Mr. Havens, Dr. Burkhart, Mr. Walpole, and Mrs. Kapsak, 100% of our gratitude goes to you. The success of this year's Fun Night was a testimony indeed to the special community we have here at Summit. Thank you, everyone. -- Merry Mungo
Hot off the desk of Coach A!! Please note that interscholastic sports are open to 8th graders only, except for wrestling and track, which are open to all Summit students.
There is a $60 participation fee per sport or a maximum of $150 per student / $200 per family each year for interscholastic sports.
Participation fee for intramurals is $20 per sport.
The Summit community is pleased to welcome two German teaching interns to our school who are completing their education as language instructors. They are Anita Schnell and Maria Lindner, and they will be visiting for about a month. Anita and Maria will be volunteering to assist our faculty in a variety of classes and observing our instructional methods as they prepare for eventual positions student teaching somewhere abroad for an entire year. They will be staying with Summit host families during their visit, as well. Other Summit families that may wish to include Anita and Maria in activities are encouraged to invite them over for dinner or a weekend outing, so as to make their stay with us even more rewarding. If your family is interested in such a visit with one or both of them, call Joan Jacus at (303) 499-3013.
Summit's 2001 yearbook, The Hall, is in the final stages of preparation for printing. A fall distribution date allows activities all the way through graduation to be included. We will let students know just as soon as the books are available. Last year's yearbook staff will contact 2001 graduates to make arrangements to distribute their yearbooks at an after-school reunion get together.
Ms. Elmoudden, our new Technology teacher, tells this story from the first week at school:
On the first day of school, I gave the students a welcoming document that included several questions. Here are the questions and what I thought were the best quotes from the students:
What would you like to learn in this class?
Whatever you would like to teach me.
Why do you want to take this programming class?
Because my mom is one.
What would you like to be in 10 years?
A Silicon Valley billionaire.
Please send your funny stories of real live things that happened at Summit to: tomwhiteoc@msn.com.
Yes, it's time to start up our teacher trivia for the new school year. As you may recall, in this section we attempt to stump the student body with a little known fact about one of our fine faculty or staff members. The first student to submit the correct answer gets a free treat at the school store! Here we go ...
Which member of the Summit staff: Went swimming in Lake Titicaca?
Remember, you don't have to know where the lake is, just who swam there. If you do know where it is and you can guess who swam there, I'm sure there will be some bonus reward. Maybe we'll send you there to swim, wherever it is.
Send your guess to tomwhiteoc@msn.com today! Staff members, please send me additional trivia items. Good Luck!
In Paris recently, a thief almost managed to steal several paintings from the Louvre. But during his escape, his van ran out of gas and he was captured. After the incident was televised, a reporter asked the would-be thief what had happened. He replied, "I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh!"
As you may have read in the Daily Camera earlier this week, Mr. Walpole, our new History teacher, ran into a bear, or was run into by a bear, while hiking with his dog. Fortunately, he did not receive any serious injuries. We're all glad that he is well. He'll have a great story to tell his kids some day. In case you didn't see the article in the paper, here are excerpts of the incredible account.
A hiker walked off a heavily traveled trail west of Boulder on Sunday and was suddenly knocked down by an adult black bear. Kyle Walpole of Boulder and his unleashed dog, Max, stopped for water off the Skunk Creek Trail directly between a scavenging mother bear and her newborn about 1:30 p.m. The adult bear lunged at him to protect her cub, pushed him down and then ran off, he said.
Walpole escaped the brief altercation with only minor scratches, a twisted leg and a shredded shirt.
"The cub came right up to me, like it was play time," said Walpole, 27, a Summit Middle School teacher. "I moved back, and that's when I got pushed from the side by the mother. She held me down for a second and pushed me once."
Walpole was about a half-mile up the trail, which begins near the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He said his only warning of the bears was some crackling in the brush, which he figured was a deer or raccoon. He called out during the encounter, and another hiker called 911.
Walpole, who walks the trail weekly and has experience photographing wildlife, said he doesn't blame the mother bear for defending her family. He said his main concern was that the bear was unharmed.
"There was nothing aggressive about it at all," he said. "I walked into a bad situation."
As we welcome our incoming students and their families to Summit this year, we continue to be a very diverse school community. It is very common that a student new to Summit feels like he or she knows only a few other students at the beginning -- not surprising when you realize that our new students have come from 37 different schools in the local area and at least 5 others from further away. Approximately two-thirds of our incoming students have entered Summit from BVSD schools, and one-third are new BVSD public school students by joining Summit from a private or parochial school, from a home school setting, or having recently moved to the Boulder area.
For more on the schools from which our new students have entered, take a look at the information posted on the hallway bulletin board at school. We welcome all of you to our Summit community of learners and we look forward to a fabulous year!
There is a very easy way to support Summit's ongoing fundraiser -- by purchasing grocery certificates! They are available in $25 increments and can be used at Safeway and King Soopers as well as at other local grocery stores. These grocery certificates are available for purchase by stopping by the office or by calling Joan Jacus at 303-499-3013 or, for North Boulder, Diane Chicoine at 303-531-0754.
Also, for those of you who shop at Albertson's, give Joan a call for information about the Albertson's "Community Partner" program. Just scan your Community Partner card each time you make a purchase at Albertsons, and a percentage of that purchase price comes directly to Summit. Thanks for supporting Summit as you feed your family! Diane Chicoine 303-531-0754.
Due to a shortage of BVSD food service staff, we cannot offer hot lunch service to our Summit students. If you are interested in making sure our students have this option for lunch, consider applying for a daily, part-time position and call BVSD Food Services at 303-447-1010.
Starbucks retail locations in Boulder have partnered with the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools for the fifth annual All Books for Children Book Drive from September 7 through October 2. Customers can visit Starbucks retail locations to donate children's books. UPS will collect the donated books from Starbucks and distribute them to designated schools and literacy programs.
Last year, the Boulder community contributed 300 books to local children through the All Books for Children Book Drive.
The Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance and enrich the educational experiences of students, to motivate and recognize those who guide student learning, and to increase community support for K-12 public education. Your donation is tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS and your own tax situation.
Your donations will allow the Foundation to continue to support children, teachers and administrators in the Boulder Valley School District through programs such as the Classroom Mini-Grants, Tech 21, Students at Risk, Connect and Impact. Donations may be made via Visa, MasterCard, or personal check to the Foundation at: P.O. Box 9011, Boulder, CO 80301. Thank you for your support.
To save on both paper and the cost of postage, we would like to deliver electronically as many copies of the Summit News as possible. Please send an e-mail message to Tom Mahowald at <tmahowald@idc.com> if you prefer to receive future issues of Summit News by e-mail.
Families and students are reminded that there is a convenient RTD bus stop on Table Mesa Drive, just a block north of Summit. Special reduced rate twelve-month RTD passes for students are available at a cost of $62.50 for the year by contacting RTD at 303-299-6464. A new pass is mailed directly to the student each month, and the program extends through the summer months as well.
To take a look at back issues of Summit News as well as a wide variety of information about Summit and links to other charter school and education information, refer to Summit's website via the new, improved, easier website address: <http://www.summitmiddleschool.org>
Principal: principal@summitmiddleschool.org
Board of Directors (including Principal): board@summitmiddleschool.org
General information: info@summitmiddleschool.org
Hiring: jobs@summitmiddleschool.org
Webmaster: webmaster@summitmiddleschool.org
The 25th annual University of Colorado at Boulder Wizards Program is an informal introduction to astronomy, chemistry and physics, intended primarily for students in grades 5 through 9. Each show lasts about an hour and includes several lively demonstration experiments.
Free parking is available in lots 169, 308, 378, 396, and 436. Parking is also available for a nominal fee in the Euclid parking structure. Shows are usually the last Saturday of each month, September through June. All shows begin at 9:30 AM. If you have a special access need or disability, please notify the CU Physics Office, 303-492-6952, a few days in advance of the show. The best wheelchair access to Duane Physics is through the east doors.
The first program for the fall season is: September 29, CHEMISTRY OF COOKING, Prof. David Nesbitt, in Chemistry 140.
This is an exciting and practical class designed for students in grades 6-12 gain success in school by learning life-long study skills. Materials provide immediate help with learning styles, time management and organizational skills, note taking, test taking, and memory skills. Make a real difference in your learning! Parents are highly encouraged to attend (free) with students. All classes are at Fairview High at 7:00-8:30 pm. Cost is $130 per student. Call Gloria Frender 303-530-3195 to register.
Session 2 - 9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/23
Session 3 - 10/25. 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/29
Summit's Art teacher, Ms. Dornbush, has provided this listing of local art gallery events for the benefit of her students and the Summit community. Thank you, Ms. Dornbush!
I believe that unconditional love
Will have the final word.
-- Dr. Martin Luther King
September 12, 2001
Dear Summit Parents:
Yesterday's national tragedy has brought a wide range of emotions and fears for all of us. I speak on behalf of the entire faculty and staff when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with those affected and with our nation at this difficult time.
I want to assure you that our number one priority is the safety of your children, both physically and psychologically. When news of this event reached us, we heightened security at Summit. Outside classroom doors were locked and administrators were out and about all day. With heightened security in place, the Boulder Valley School District determined that a lockdown was not necessary to achieve any greater physical safety, and could increase fear in students. As per the request of the district, all after school activities were cancelled. Teachers provided opportunities for students to express their thoughts and concerns, in different settings, throughout the day. Students who felt the need to call home during the day were, of course, allowed to do so. Our school counselor was (and remains) available to give guidance and to meet with any students who needed additional support. Teachers were requested to not turn on televisions or radios during the day, as it was felt that the images being portrayed were so horrific that it would be better for our students to encounter them within the context of their own families.
I would like to acknowledge the teachers and administrative staff at Summit for the outstanding way in which they handled this situation yesterday. Many of them had family and friends in New York that they were concerned about, and all of us felt the enormity of the tragedy on a deeply personal level.
Nevertheless, I saw teachers reassuring students and giving students opportunities to ask questions and express concerns. I saw teachers integrating into their lesson plans issues of free will, good and evil, democracy and totalitarianism, and the importance of respect for diversity. I saw teachers carrying on with their planned lessons in a way that attempted to convey a sense of normalcy in a very difficult time. I know you will join with me in commending our faculty and staff for carrying on with such strength and professionalism.
This morning the faculty and staff met before school, to pay our respects to those who were killed yesterday, and to discuss additional information and guidelines to help students in processing their fears and concerns with the event. Of utmost importance is ensuring your children have a sense of stability and safety in a time when all of us feel vulnerable. As always, your children's emotional protection is being addressed just as strongly as their physical safety. I also want to assure you that Summit, and the Boulder Valley School District as a whole, is committed to valuing diversity and promoting understanding. All students at Summit will be treated will respect and tolerance at all times.
As we go forward, we will strive to assist your children with their feelings, while coping with our own grief. I appreciate the efforts of all Summit parents as you help your children deal with their natural fears during this difficult time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any school personnel.
Sincerely,
David B. Finell, Principal