September 27, 2001
Volume 12, No. 4
Ed Note: The following articles are reprinted from the previous issue. They are as relevant and important now as they were two weeks ago.
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 the recent tragic 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 recently. 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.
- Eve Aguilar and Emma Benjamin from Student Council reported to the Board on the recent car wash organized by Summit students to raise funds for disaster relief in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. Monies raised will be matched by Albertsons.
- Summit parent Jeremy Karpatkin presented suggestions and options for creating a cohesive public relations strategy for Summit.
- Chris King from BVSD will visit Summit on October 2.
- The next Summit volunteer work day has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 27.
- Tools for Learning, Summit's primary fund-raising effort, raised over $64,000 last year, with 160 families participating.
- A new web-based "Homework Hotline" system will be in place soon.
- The second annual "parent to parent" high school information night for parents of Summit 8th graders will be on October 4 at Summit as an introduction to the high school selection process.
- The Reach for the Summit! flyer for 5th graders is being revised for the upcoming open enrollment period. Former Summit parent Bonnie Mettler will produce the flyer and Mr. Walpole graciously agreed to take new Summit photographs for this edition.
- The AAA committee is working on several possible grants for Summit.
- Board/principal observations of teachers will begin in October.
The next regular Board meeting will be on Monday, October 8, beginning at 6:30 pm (note new start time).
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 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.
Fall parent-teacher conferences will be on Wednesday, October 10, from 4-8 pm and on Thursday, October 11, from 8 am to 3 pm. This is an excellent opportunity to meet with your student's wonderful teachers and ask questions to find out more about your student's progress. Conferences will be "arena style" in the multipurpose room, and we look forward to seeing you there.
Watch your mailbox soon for an introductory letter about Tools for Learning (TFL). The 2001-2002 campaign official kick off is in October. As in past years, one goal of our fundraising campaign is participation by 100% of our Summit families. Please contact Tom Mahowald, TFL chair, at 303-543-8903 or by e-mail at <t.mahowald@summitmiddleschool.org> for details. Tom will also appreciate volunteer help with this important Summit project. Thank you!
* Don't miss the first concert of the school year at Boulder High School on Thursday, November 8! If you are new to Summit, you may not be aware that we have an incredible music teacher, Dr. Burkhart, and incredible musical performance groups. Put this date down on your calendar.
* Attention parents of music students! We need your child's polo shirt order NOW! This is not an option! Students must wear a Summit-issued polo shirt for all musical performances. Order forms are available in the music room and scholarship support is available as needed. We need to know your child's shirt size. If you have any questions, please call Joan Jacus at 303-499-3013.
Ms. Donaton and Ms. Stough are planning an exciting student trip to Costa Rica, June 18-27, 2002. If you would like to visit the cloud forest, participate in a reforestation project, visit with Costa Rican families, and swim in the Pacific Ocean, see Ms. Stough or Ms. Donaton for information. Sorry parents, like Trix, it's just for kids. :-(
To provide additional support for student learning, Summit teachers provide tutoring 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 tutoring 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
We are extraordinarily proud of the generosity of spirit of our students for organizing the recent successful car wash to raise funds in support of disaster relief for the recent terrorist attacks. Many, many Summit students (and parents too!) scrubbed and rinsed their way to raising almost $1,800 for the National Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross. With an additional $491 from student store proceeds and generous matching from Albertsons, the total contribution will be over $4500! Special thanks to Eve Aguilar, Student Council President, and Emma Benjamin, Student Council Vice-President, for their inspiration and leadership to make this event possible. Check out the great photos and newspaper article about the car wash on the main hallway bulletin board!
Monthly Scheduled Tours -- Parents and students interested in Summit's program are invited to tour the school with a Summit administrator. Each tour begins at 8:30 am and at the end of each tour there will be time for questions and answers. Tours are by appointment only; please call the Summit office at 303-499-9511 to schedule a tour. School tours will be held on October 17, November 14, December 3, December 14, January 8, January 24, February 6, March 13 and April 9.
Student/Parent Information Nights -- These evenings are an excellent opportunity to meet Summit staff and board members to learn more about Summit. The mission, philosophy, and curriculum will be discussed, textbooks and samples of student work will be displayed, and core subject and elective class teachers will make presentations. Prospective students and their parents are encouraged to attend. Student/Parent Information Nights will be held on Wednesday, November 8, and on Wednesday, December 5, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm.
All games start at 3:15 pm. Come out and cheer on our great team!
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 National Geographic Geo Bee Contest will take place in each social studies classroom on December 17 and 18. All classroom winners will compete in the Summit School Geo Bee Contest Wednesday, December 19. One school winner will emerge. That student will win a beautiful medal and take a proctored exam. The exam will be sent to the National Geographic Headquarters for scoring. If the score is high enough, our Summit Geo Bee Champion will compete at the State Competition on April 5, 2002. The National competition will be held May 21-22, 2002. This competition includes physical, cultural and human geography. The theme for 2001-02 is "Rivers." Good luck to all Summit students!
Teresa Wong, Liz Cudney, Tracy Wilson , Anna Goldhammer, Joy Fest, Allison Filderman, Devon Thrumston, Emma Benjamin, Sam Nagel, and Jon Tsui are hard at work as this year's Summit yearbook staff.
Dillon Miner, D.C. Mungo, and Stephen Herr are our roving photographers, so be sure to smile for the camera if you see them! If anyone out there has photos of Summit students, we sure could use them. Just deposit them in the photo box on the table outside the school office. Please be sure to identify who is in the picture. Sorry, but once submitted they cannot be returned. Questions? Call Joan Jacus, yearbook advisor, at 303-499-3013.
There were many projects during the summer that received outstanding support from our parents and students, and for that we are very appreciative. However, like Rome, Summit's needs aren't built or met in a day! Another work day is scheduled for Saturday, October 27, and we encourage you to come by with tools in hand and a willingness to pitch in. Please ring Tom Mahowald at 303-543-8903 or reach him by e-mail at <t.mahowald@summitmiddleschool.org> if you can help and to get more details about projects scheduled for this work day.
Summit is in the process of setting up a new, web-based system that will allow students and parents to check on and track homework assignments, much like the previous Homework Hotline (the phone-based system we used previously was maintained by the Daily Camera but has been discontinued due to cost considerations). The new system will provide a link for each Summit teacher and allows the teacher to post homework assignments and other reminders for each class. For a preview, log on and point your web browser to <http://schoolnotes.com> and then search by Summit's zip code, 80305.
But ... we don't know what it was, because nobody told us. Actually, though we didn't receive any funny stories this week, I do recall my daughter telling me about a fun thing that happened. The Gatorade deliveryman had come to fill up the Gatorade machine at school and he just started handing out free Gatorade to all the kids who were in PE class at the time! Nice thing to do.
Students, staff, parents, anyone can send funny or heart warming stories of things that happen at Summit to <tomwhiteoc@msn.com>.
Well, we may never know which member of the Summit staff ... Went swimming in Lake Titicaca?
As you may recall, this is the trivia question that we posed in the last issue. We won't reveal the answer until someone at least takes a guess! This is strict newsletter policy. Don't you want to know? Don't you want to win a free treat at the school store? All you have to do is guess. We're waiting ...
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!
Q. What happens when a duck flies upside down?
A. It quacks up!
Julia Hansford, a Summit 7th grader, has won the Gloria Barron Young Heroes Prize for her compassionate "Showers to Go" project from last spring. Julia and the Summit community made 92 cloth bags and filled them with all the items needed for a shower and regular personal hygiene! The whole Summit community donated soap, shampoo, shaving cream, razors, deodorant, wash cloths, etc. The bags were donated to the OUR Center in Longmont, Colorado, where they were distributed to homeless people and migrant workers. Mrs. Kapsak nominated Julia for the Barron Prize and we were notified in September that Julia has won. Julia will be presented with her $2,000 award on Tuesday, October 2, at the Denver Public Library.
Local author T. A. Barron will present the award at this special ceremony. Announcing the winners of the award, Mr. Barron stated, "Fiction heroes can be an inspiration, but real live people like these kids are 10 times more impressive. There's enormous diversity in this group, and they show that any young person from whatever background can truly make a difference."
Congratulations, Julia!
Has the Summit community stopped eating? We haven't seen you in the office buying your grocery certificates. Remember, when you buy grocery certificates, Summit makes money! You don't have to buy wrapping paper, candy, plants, bulbs, magazines or anything else you don't need. Just buy your food with grocery certificates. It's one of the best habits you can develop Feel good while you eat! The more calories the better, for the school that is.
Grocery certificates are available in $25 increments and can be used at Safeway and King Soopers as well as at other local grocery stores. If you shop at Albertsons, it's even easier to support the school. Stop by the school office and pick up your Albertsons card. Present this card each time you shop at Albertsons and Summit will receive a percentage of your sales. 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. Thank you!
Starbucks retail locations in Boulder have partnered with the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools for the fifth annual All Books for Children book drive 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 by Visa, MasterCard, or personal check to the Foundation at: P.O. Box 9011, Boulder, CO 80301. Thank you for your support.
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 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.
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 handy, new, improved, easier website address: <http://www.summitmiddleschool.org>
Summit is again organizing two Math Olympiad teams for students interested in competing against math teams from all 50 states and several foreign countries. Math Olympiad is for students who would like to be on a math team, attend weekly practice sessions (October to March), work on fun and challenging math problems, and participate in five monthly competitions. Starting in October the 6th grade team will meet on Tuesdays from 3:10 - 4:15 pm. Starting on October 3rd the combined 7th/8th grade team will meet on Wednesdays from 3:10 - 4:15 pm. Interested students are invited to sign up on the poster hanging in the math classrooms.
Help wanted! We are still looking for a person interested in math who would like to coach the 6th grade team. Please call Connie Harmon at 303-499-2061 or Silva Chang at 303-494-1097 if you are able to help or if you have any questions about this program.
The CU Student Academic Services Center manages a website of tutor advertisements that anyone in the community can access. If you're looking for a tutor, check out http://masala.colorado.edu/tutors. When you get to the first page of the website, be sure to read the information and use the proper CU four-letter subject abbreviation before you click on the SEARCH button (i.e., SPAN, MATH, ENGL, etc.)
Please note that none of these tutors have been qualified and most of them are experienced with college students, not middle schoolers. When you get a list of potential tutors, click on a name to read more information about a tutor's abilities and experience. Some specifically say they've taught high school or have tutored middle or high school students before. If they don't indicate, be sure you interview carefully to be sure of a good fit for your student.
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 next program is on October 27, entitled BIOLOGY OF MUSCLES IN MOTION, Profs. Todd Gleeson and Mark Osadjan, Chemistry 140.
This is an exciting and practical class designed to help 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 from 7:00-8:30 pm. Cost is $130 per student for a 5-week session. Call Gloria Frender 303-530-3195 to register.
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!
Boulder Public Library
University of Colorado Gallery
University of Colorado Artist Lecture Series (7:30 in room N141 in Fine Arts Building)
28th Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhitbition
Real education means ...
To inspire people!
--Carter G. Woodson