May 3, 2002
Volume 13, No. 8
To all the family and friends of Summit I send my humble thanks for the support, love and concern that you have showered on my children and me. Your help has made this difficult time bearable and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Dr. Burkhart continues to improve and he even played the piano the other day. We are amazed at the miracles we see every hour.
As I worked with Silver Rain for the Jazz Festival and as I am directing South Pacific I am also amazed at the determination of our students at Summit. They have walked on in their responsibilities both academically and emotionally. I'm proud to be working with your children on the play, and we look forward to sharing our production with you on May 17 and 18 at Boulder High.
Thank you for trusting me to continue my work with South Pacific. You have given me the wonderful and rare opportunity to have a hand in shaping life-building experiences for your children. I treasure my time working at Summit, and again, I thank you for all you do and continue to do as we make our way through this life.
Thank you,
Connie B Burkhart
Dear Summit Families:
The students and staff at Summit invite you to our SHINE exhibition night on Tuesday, May 21. We will be exhibiting student work from each discipline including English, science, history, math, foreign languages, technology, music and art! Come see the creative projects and examples of excellence that your Summit students have created this year. Please join us for this evening of food and fun -- doors open at 6 pm and close at 8 pm.
Sincerely,
The Summit Staff
With this issue of Summit News, we welcome the readership of students and parents new to Summit for 2002-2003. It has been our tradition to add new families to the newsletter distribution list in the spring prior to enrollment of their students, so they have a head start on hearing news about our wonderful Summit community!
Congratulations to Mr. Havens at being named the head boys soccer coach for Boulder High School, beginning in fall 2002! This is great news for the Boulder High soccer program.
Summit would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Indian Peaks Springwater of Boulder. The company lent us the water bottles for the "penny war" both this year and last year. Thank you!
On Friday, April 26, Summit Middle School presented The Children's Hospital with a check for $3,000. The money was raised in a "penny war" where students in 7th period classes competed to bring in the most pennies to their respective classroom jars. The catch was that during the day, jars were "bombed" with silver coins and bills to cancel out any pennies!
Students had great fun as well as earning a lot of money for others their age that are battling cancer. The funds raised went specifically to the Pet Prescription Program, which brings in dogs to visit with children who are in the hospital receiving treatments. As promised at the beginning of the contest, Mr. Havens' 7th period class took the clippers to Mr. Walpole's head and shaved him bald! Thanks to Mr. Walpole for donating his head and to all Summit students and staff. Your generosity will touch many lives.
A very big thank you goes out to everyone who helped make the recent Summit evening at the East Boulder Community Center a success. From adult chaperones Tom White-O'Connor, Roxy Walker, Regula Steffan, Scott Reisfield, Linda Parkhill, and Jeanne Aguilar, to alumni belayers Nathan Parkhill, Andrea Parkhill, and Linden Majack, to one-woman hospitality table creator and baker Barb Silk, to donation hunters extraordinaire Barb Silk and Scott Leggett, to a one-man soda/pizza distributor-money counter-soda can retriever-and-and-stand-by belayer David Mungo, came an evening where our children could safely and happily recreate and socialize with one another.
Although not intended as a fund raising event, we ended the evening with a net profit of $484 after the facility, climbing wall, and pizza were paid for.
Thanks to local contributors Sam's Club, King Soopers at Table Mesa, 30th Street, and Lookout Road, Albertson's at Iris and the 30th Street, and the "leg work" of Summit parents, all our soda, ice, and items for the hospitality table were donated. Please thank these businesses the next time you shop their stores.
(Editor's Note -- Of course, none of this would have happened without the tremendous effort of Merry Mungo. Be sure to thank her next time you see her!)
The Fun Night At The Rec is a terrific way for Summit to jump-start each New Year by providing an opportunity for new and returning students to get together. I hope that one (or more) of you will take the helm to coordinate this rewarding event, as I will be retiring following my son's graduation from Summit this year. Please call me with any questions and to volunteer for this rewarding position so that the popular Fun Night At The Rec can continue. -- Merry Mungo, 303-494-5142
Under the direction of Connie Burkhart, cast and crew have been working very hard to have the show ready for performances on May 17 and May 18. Tickets will be on sale at Summit from 8 to 8:30 am daily from Monday, April 13 until Friday, May 17. Tickets will also be sold at the door May 17 and 18. Cash or checks only, please.
Rehearsals will move over to Boulder High as of Friday, May 10. We will need drivers to transport our kids from Summit to Boulder High daily after school until show time. Call Joan at 303-499-3013 to sign up to help.
Dr. Burkhart continues his recovery and we wish him and his family well. Here's how you can best help them:
Food -- We are providing food to the other Burkhart household, Mom Deborah and several of the kids. Linda Parkhill and Debbie Feyh have been asked to organize several volunteers to continue this assistance for several weeks, as needed. Many thanks to Linda and Debbie for their assistance in this and other aspects of our community response. The Burkharts may need this kind of support for quite some time. Please coordinate support of this type through Debbie at 303-543-8646 or Linda at 303-665-9355.
Funds -- An account is set up at 1stBank for the Burkhart Family Recovery Fund. Donations payable to that fund can be left in a box at the Summit office and also can be deposited at any 1stBank location (account in Connie Burkhart's name, no. 868-613-1573). Checks are preferred for donations left at school (cash should be in a sealed envelope, please). These are personal gifts to the Burkhart family, and are being collected at school as a convenience to Summit families and a gesture of Summit's support for Dr. Burkhart and his family. These amounts do not involve school funds. As such, these donations are not tax deductible.
There was a regular board meeting on Monday, April 29. The board thoroughly reviewed the March financial statement and updates in the extracurricular stipends list. The board will analyze information about the math and English tutoring labs at the next meeting, and will work to find funds to support continuation of the labs. Suggestions for review of homework guidelines were referred to the principal and faculty for consideration.
Initial inquiry to BVSD about placing another portable classroom building at Summit was declined. The board and Mr. Finell will pursue full consideration of this capital needs request at the BVSD board level. We will also check on options for ceiling treatment in the boys' locker room and sound mitigation in the multipurpose room.
Mr. Finell and Tom Mahowald will attend the National Charter Schools Conference in Milwaukee in June. Scholarship support for attendance is provided through CDE. The fledgling Founders Group will meet for the first time before the end of the school year at the invitation of the principal and board chair.
The board gave final approval to the Summit 2002-03 calendar (see end of this issue). The calendar reflects Summit's commitment to a minimum of 180 instructional days in the school year. Work continues on gathering course sign up sheets so the board can determine numbers of sections of each course for next year.
Tools For Learning will send out final reminders to families that have not yet donated. Participation is at about 55%, with a stated goal of 100% participation. The Hiring Committee will hold an organizational meeting on April 30. Interview training and the beginning of candidate reviews will take place shortly. Hiring of interim teachers Ms. Barton (German) and Dr. Gauss (music) were ratified. The AAA Committee tabulation of satisfaction survey results is nearly complete. A summary of survey results will be reported back to students, staff, and parents. AAA is developing new school improvement goals for 2002-03 and will review progress towards current goals for inclusion in the end of year school report.
All regular Summit Board meetings are public meetings and we welcome guests from the community at any time. The next regular Board meetings will be on April 29, May 13, and May 28. Meetings are held in Summit's library and begin at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Several parents of 6th and 7th graders are needed to help at this year's graduation ceremony so the 8th grade parents can enjoy this special day with their graduating students and families.
Parents are needed to supervise students before and during the event, and to help with serving refreshments after the ceremony. To volunteer for either job, please call Margaret Sparks at 303-604-2441.
The Journalism class is looking for volunteers to help with upcoming issues of the student newspaper. Anyone interested in helping students edit documents or work on design and layout may contact Ms. Kolanowski at school.
Our thanks to Boulder County District Attorney Mary Keenan for coming to Summit on April 24 as our criminal justice elective guest speaker. We also thank Judge Morris Sandstead, his clerk, and attorneys who spoke to our class and allowed us to come to trial on April 22. The opening arguments and exchanges between attorneys were interesting! Jury selection took a long time, but perhaps that is why the defendant was found innocent on both counts in this difficult case. Thanks to our parent drivers: Ms. August, Mr. Kunz, Mrs. Ankarlo, and Mrs. Afsar. Special thanks to my students -- your conduct was a credit to Summit!
As the end of another successful school year approaches, it is a wonderful time to think about honoring a Summit volunteer, staff member, or student. Donating a book to the Summit library in honor of a special person provides a lasting reminder of your appreciation as well as benefiting our school. I would be happy to help you pick a book from our wish list.
Our students enjoy having a variety of comic books available in the library. If you have gently used copies of Garfield, Far Side, or other comic books that you could donate to the library, contact Mrs. Woods.
We're also looking for back issues of magazines such as Cobblestone, Calliope, Faces, and Odyssey. If you subscribe to magazines such as American History, Scientific American, or Discover and would be willing to donate issues after you've read them, our students would put them to good use! (We already have subscriptions to, or receive donated copies of National Geographic, The Economist, Time, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, and Science News.)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: All library materials are due May 17. Students receive overdue notices weekly, and should be aware of the materials that they have checked out. Each student must pay all fines and pay to replace lost materials before receiving his/her final report card. Parents will be notified by mail during the week of May 20 if students have fines or outstanding materials.
Gallery visit write-ups for art students are due on May 22. There is a list of galleries and shows on the art page of www.schoolnotes.com.
Until the end of May, Mrs. Blakemore's tutoring hours are by appointment before school or at lunch. Because of track practice she will not be available after school.
Sam Galler, Summit 6th grader, became the National Elementary School Chess Champion in Portland, OR, last week. Sam has been the Colorado state elementary champion for three years in a row. Sam won by out-competing over 250 other students from around the U.S in the K-6 Division. He is the first national chess champion from Colorado. Wow! and congratulations, Sam!
Congratulations to Silver Rain and Jazz Band 3 members on spectacular performances at the Greeley Jazz Festival April 25 and 26. The judges were amazed -- you are only middle school students and the audience was thrilled by your talents. You made Summit very proud. Now you know why you practice every day!
Very special thanks to Dorinda Dercar for stepping in to help direct Silver Rain and to Scott Martin for directing Jazz Band 3. The two of you helped us all to realize a dream. Thanks to Connie Burkhart for her help choreographing Silver Rain.
Thanks to Dorinda Cudney, Sharon Sikora, Pamela Phillips, Mary Kay Wilson, John Jacus, Leslie Kaniecki, and Don Kaniecki for coming to Greeley and spending the night with 40 of our kids. Will we ever forget visiting with the members from the a cappella group M-Pact, or how wonderful the saxophone sounds in the shower at 1:00 in the morning?!? Bravo to each and every one of you. Thanks for the memories.
The official work days for the South Pacific set design will be May 4 and May 11 at Summit, from 9 am to 4 pm each day. Both adult and student volunteers should wear paint shirts and bring $3 for a pizza lunch!
It's not too late to help with other aspects of the play as well. We need volunteers to help with makeup, collecting props, and collecting costumes. No experience is necessary -- we will train you. Please call Joan Jacus at 303-499-3013 with questions and to sign up today.
... if we can find some kind volunteers to help sell them. Would you like to see discounted bus passes made available to our students? Yes! Maybe? Please read on.
A discounted bus pass, known as the "TeenPass", may be coming to Summit this fall. This monthly pass makes riding the RTD bus cheap and convenient. The TeenPass allows a student unlimited rides on all local buses in Boulder as well as Lafayette-Louisville, even the Denver Light Rail. It's a great pass for getting to school and around town anytime.
The BVSD Transportation Department has invited Summit to enroll in the TeenPass Program. The TeenPass will cost $9, compared to the usual $19, thanks to a discount from RTD and subsidy from the city of Boulder. Before you shout, "wow, sign us up!", there is a hitch. We're looking for some parents to help out with the sales.
So here's the pitch! Do you have a little time to give at Summit? Want some entertainment that only teenagers in front of their peers can provide? Come to school and have fun selling passes to them. It's easy to do and you'll see that providing the TeenPass will make you happy and the students, they'll jump for joy (at least metaphorically). Knowing that most of us are strapped for time, your giving a couple hours a month would help a great deal to get this started.
For more information about the TeenPass and if you're interested in helping, please call Donna Wharton at Summit (447-5529) or contact me (447-5120). I'll be happy to hear from you.
For options on ways to travel to school, contact the BVSD Student Transportation Coordinator, Landon.Hilliard@bvsd.k12.co.us or 447-5120.
Want to learn more about Japan and Japanese culture? Host a Japanese high school girl or teacher for 3 weeks in your home. Twenty-five high school-aged girls (13-17 years old) come to Boulder from Japan to learn about our customs and culture by staying with families in our community. While they are here, the girls are involved in a program of classes on the CU campus and field trips during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. I am looking for families in the Boulder area who would welcome an international experience this summer, by hosting a student or teacher from July 21 to August 10. For more information, contact Diana Falloon at 303-530-9433 or dsfalloon@attbi.com .
You can still join the Summit hiring committee to be involved in selecting new teachers. This very important committee is made up of parents and representative staff members and is responsible for making hiring recommendations to the Summit Board.
If you are interested, please call Hiring Committee Co-Chairs Risa Heywood at 303-661-0282 or Barbry Hogue at 303-665-3798.
A critically important part of hiring any new teacher for Summit is holding a demonstration class, with real student volunteers as the "teachees"! Students, if you would like to participate with these classes, please contact Carol Baum at 303-678-7579 or Carol Hermann at 303-664-9576. Thank you!
There are a couple of woodworking projects at Summit that can use the weekend skills of parents handy with a hammer and saw. We need to complete installation of the large TV/computer monitor in the library and build a shelf for auxiliary equipment. This is clearly a project for someone with tools and the willingness to use them!
Please give Mr. Finell a call at 303-499-9511 for details and scheduling.
There is still time to contribute to the 2001-2002 Tools For Learning campaign. This fundraising effort supports all of our students, so we are eager to reach our goal of 100% participation. A donation from each one of our families, in any dollar amount, will let us reach this goal but we still need to hear from nearly half of our families. Thank you to the families who have contributed so far.
Please contact Tom Mahowald, TFL chair, at 303-543-8903 or Barbry Hogue at 303-665-3798 with any questions or comments about Tools For Learning.
Summit has the opportunity to obtain new computers for our computer lab through a special IBM employees program. Whether or not you have already made a Tools For Learning donation to Summit this school year, please call Tom Mahowald at 303-543-8903 or Hunter McDaniel at 303-530-1840 to identify yourself as an IBM'er and to learn more about this opportunity. Thank you!
To provide additional support for student learning, Summit teachers provide after-school tutoring time for extra help, study sessions, make-up work, and questions about assignments. The tutoring time schedule follows:
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
Programming lunch Mon & Wed Room 4
And we have a winner! Rebecca Heywood guessed correctly that Ms. Elmoudden is the staff member who:
Has 10 aunts and a 21 year old uncle from the same grandfather? And ... has a grandmother who gave birth to 13 girls and 2 boys.
Congratulations Rebecca. She won a free trip to the school store. Tune in next time for the next staff trivia question.
Now that I'm "older" (but refuse to grow up), here's what I've discovered:
This is an exciting and practical class designed for 6-12th grade students to give 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 sikills. Make a real difference in your learning! Parents are highly encouraged to attend (free) with students.
Dates: Sept. through November; Time: 7-8:30, one night/week for 5 weeks; Location: Fairview High; Cost $130/student; Register - Call Gloria Frender 303-530-3195.
Learn LOGO programming, build a robot using a Movit robot construction kit, and learn to operate a robotic arm. This is a one-week summer class which costs $100. Session 1 is June 17th -21st and session 2 is June 24th - June 28th. Each session runs Monday - Friday form 10-12 a.m. at Eisenhower Elementary. Contact Bob Litsey at 303-665-9300 or Tom Hoban at 303-466-1529 to find out more or to register.
There are many summer art programs in the Denver metro area as well as in Boulder County. A list of programs is available in the Summit art class section of <www.schoolnotes.com>. There are packets in Ms. Bartley's office and in the art room with information about some of these camps. Interested students should sign up soon!
Kidlingua's summer language camp teaches French, German, and Spanish through a mix of learning verbal skills, songs, games, and customs. This is a fun, unique, and educational way to practice and enhance foreign language skills! The camp meets Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to noon, from June 10 to June 21 at Mesa Elementary. For more information, call 303-499-1671 or check with Ms. Barton, our new German teacher. Registration forms for these camps are also available on the table in the front Summit hallway.
Rocky Mountain Bands will offer two ten-day sessions in June and July, to be held in a central Boulder location. The camps will teach everything you've ever wanted to know about creating and playing in a rock or pop band, songwriting, etc. These camps are geared toward high school and middle school students who already know how to play an instrument or sing --- this is not a camp to learn how to play or sing. You can register by yourself or bring along a group. For questions or to register, contact Marty Claar at 720-890-7534. Registration forms are also available on the table in the Summit entryway.
It's springtime and time to represent Summit in the Bolder Boulder Middle School Challenge. The Bolder Boulder is a 10-kilometer (6.2 miles) race on Memorial Day. It's a wonderful way to enjoy the beautiful spring weather, get some exercise and fresh air, watch the elite racers representing many countries and partake in the Memorial Day remembrances and festivities held in the CU stadium.
Prizes are awarded to the school with the greatest participation and fastest time. WE CAN WIN one or both of these challenges! Everyone in your family counts towards Summits participation total. To join in the fun, please pick up an entry form from Mrs. Blakemore, Mr. Havens or at the Summit office. In order to represent Summit, you must use this form and turn it in to Mrs. Blakemore.
Advantages: You have the option of walking, running, and/or jogging. You may participate in the wave of your choice or with friends in the middle school waves. You and your family save $4.00 per entry. You receive a special student-designed middle school t-shirt, along with a goodie bag that includes a water bottle, a CD case, a Cliff Bar, discount coupons and other surprises. This is IN ADDITION to your regular Bolder Boulder packet. You and all family members count toward Summit's total for participation.
Disadvantages: ??????????
Train to race well! Summit is offering training sessions to get you ready to race! Whether you walk or run, training can help you set and reach realistic goals for the Bolder Boulder (and it is also a jump-start for those of you planning on doing track this spring!). The training takes place daily after school.
Students and parents are welcome to attend! We've assembled a stellar coaching staff, including former Olympic Marathon Champion and Summit parent Frank Shorter, to help you realize success. Please join in whenever you can. Sign up with Mrs. Blakemore or Mr. Havens. Training is free.
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Blakemore at school or by e-mail: wblakemore2@attbi.com.
These people are representing Summit in the Bolder Boulder this year … but where are you!? Get your entry forms at school today. Run with friends. Run in the wave of your choice. Walk. Jog. BUT REPRESENT SUMMIT! See Mrs. Blakemore with any questions you have about Bolder Boulder.
Tao Adams; Scott Belding; John and Cornelia Boylston; Thomas, Annie, Eric, Scott, and Bradley Davids; Tatyana, Galina, and Alexander Filatova; Corrie Foote, Sebby George; Nicholas, Pia, and John Gerstle; Anna and Nelson Goldhammer; Taylor and David Hannegan; Katie Kopel; Sabine Kunz; Gabe Laperle; Lance and Cynde Light; Ross Logan; Vivian, Ning, Connie, and Shemin Lu; Gwen and Scott McGillivray; Alex, Cathy, Meredith and Scott Reisfield; Sam Shapiro; Helen, Carl, John, and Augusta (Wardene) Sims; Tim Smith; Sara and Jeanne Visvader; Maddie Walker; Alisa, Tadao, and Erika Yamasaki.
This is a unique outdoor program developed to meet the needs and strengths of teen girls. In its 5th season, the Institute sponsors 6- to 12-day courses in backpacking, rock climbing and outdoor skills. The courses are designed to give teen girls the confidence, decision-making skills and self-efficacy needed to succeed in today's world. Call 303-938-9191 or visit their website at www.womenswilderness.org. The next informational slideshow will be held May 9.
The University of Northern Colorado will hold a summer enrichment program for gifted and talented students entering grades 5 - 10 in 2002-2003. The program has been designed to meet the diverse needs of gifted and talented students who are selected from all areas of the United States and other countries. Educational programs address general intellectual ability, specific academic aptitude, creative or productive thinking, leadership and visual or performing arts. The deadline for applications is May 15 and space is limited. For more information call 970-351-2683, email sep@unco.edu or visit the website at www.unco.edu/sep.
Consider joining one of Boulder County's premier summer swim teams, the Gators. The summer swim season is May 15 through July 27 at the Flatirons Golf Course pool at 55th and Arapahoe. Excellent coaches and a small coach-to-swimmer ratio provide the individual attention that supports learning. Swimmers enjoy mastering stroke technique, improving endurance and participating in five local meets on summer Saturdays. If you are interested in joining the team or would like more information, please call 303-527-0441.
All programs begin at 9:30 am. See the following for a specific building and room. There is FREE PARKING only in lots 169, 308, 378, 396, and 436. There is also parking available for a nominal fee in the Euclid parking structure.
May 25: LASERS AND LIGHT, presented by Professors Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane in Duane Physics G1B20.
June 15: BLACK HOLES, presented by Professor Andrew Hamilton at Fiske Planetarium.
Joan Jacus at 303-499-3013 and Diane Chicoine at 303-581-0754 have King Soopers grocery certificates available for those of you that are still eating. And for your shopping pleasure we now have Wild Oats certificates available. Do you shop at Albertson's? Pick up your Albertson's membership card at the Summit office. What an easy way to help support our kids.
Late order forms are available on the table outside the school office. Pick one up today. Call Joan Jacus at 303- 499-3013 if you have any questions about this year's yearbook.
We are seeking a new editor for the newsletter! It's a fun job for someone who likes to write and edit. The majority of the work is editing articles that are submitted from staff and parents. You'll get assistance from our trusty crew -- how about it? Contact Tom White-O'Connor at tomwhiteoc@msn.com.
Interested parties are asked to contact Tom Mahowald at 720-422-6764 for referral and information.
The next newsletter deadline is May 13. If you have an article to be included, please e-mail it to Tom White-O'Connor at the above e-mail address.
To save on both paper and the cost of postage, we e-mail as many copies of the Summit News as possible. If you prefer to receive future issues of Summit News by e-mail, please send a message to Tom Mahowald at t.mahowald@summitmiddleschool.org.
To see back issues of Summit News, information about Summit, links to other charter schools and education information, refer to Summit's website via the handy, new, improved, easier website address: http://www.summitmiddleschool.org
Here is the Summit school year calendar for 2002-2003, as approved by the Summit Board:
"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -- Will Rogers