May 31, 2002
Volume 13, No. 10
Congratulations to all of our Summit students, their families, and our terrific Summit staff for a very successful school year in 2001-2002. It is always lots of work, lots of fun, and worth it when we see just how much we have accomplished together.
The final issue of Summit News will be distributed in about two weeks. You can look forward to articles about graduation, awards, and some final thoughts for the school year. Happy summer break to all!
Here is helpful information about graduation, for all of our Summit families:
1. Graduation will be held at the Fairview High School auditorium on Friday, June 7 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. We will start on time!
2. All 8th graders AND all students who are involved with music for the graduation ceremony need to be at the Fairview auditorium at 9:50 am on Friday, June 7. These students do NOT come to Summit on this day. They report directly to Fairview at 9:50 am. Mr. Adams will take attendance for these students.
3. It is our practice that all Summit students attend graduation. Students in 6th and 7th grades (who are not playing music at graduation) should report to Summit at 8:10 am, as usual, on Friday, June 7.
4. At 12:15 pm all students covered by #3 will be bused to Fairview. Parents are invited to attend the graduation ceremony, which will begin promptly at 1:00 pm, and the reception immediately following graduation.
5. Students do NOT need to bring lunch or backpacks on this day. Lunch will be provided by the Student Council.
6. ALL students need to be picked up at 3:00 pm sharp at the north entrance of Fairview High School, off Knox Drive near Southern Hills Middle School. The reception after the graduation ceremony will end at 3:00 pm sharp.
If you find that you have some time to offer on June 7, parents of 6th and 7th graders are still 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.
Summit has a part-time parapro position open beginning in Fall 2002. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, general support for the administrative staff and faculty, attendance, and health room coverage (free health room training is provided by the BVSD). Hours will be 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, Monday through Friday.
This is a great opportunity for a Summit parent who might otherwise be at school anyway working in a volunteer capacity! If you or someone you know might be interested in this position, please get in touch with Mr. Finell at 303-499-9511.
"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love." -- Lao-tzu
The outreach and support for the Burkharts is such an example of caring and love on the one hand, and grace and dignity on the other. After Dr. Burkhart's accident, Summit families lined up to bring meals for the families. They knitted a net of love in the community. Debbie Ellett, Dr. Burkhart's ex-wife said, "Having help with meals allowed me to spend much needed time with my children." On multiple occasions, she and Connie Burkhart have expressed their appreciation for the overwhelming compassion shared by Summit parents and students. Thank you all for caring.
For Dr. Burkhart, we should keep faith, for "Faith is the force of life." -- Leo Tolstoy
These are families who brought meals to the Burkharts. Our apologies if anyone was inadvertently omitted from the list. Marlene Long, Sally Barrett-Page, Jennifer Strand, Wendy Schermerhorn, Vickey Salace, Linda Parkhill, Loretta Melhado, Debbie Feyh, Mary Ann Dangelo, Annie Davids, Lauren Rubi, Tom and Beth White O'Connor, Angelo Marlino, Sandy Allen, Ann Stodola, Eileen Reynolds, Barbara Weidlein, Jeff Bradley, Leslie Grady, Renee Von Roenn, Zhi Zhu, Irene Reese, Nina Khosravi, Allison and Steven, Viki Psihoyos, Judy.
Summit Board terms of office run from June 1 through May 31 two years later. So, by the time you read this, retiring board members will be replaced on our Board by newly elected members who officially begin terms on June 1, 2002.
We extend our grateful thanks to Jim Cederberg and Hunter McDaniel as they "roll off " our Board following three consecutive terms of service apiece. They have been instrumental in Summit's continued success since the inception of our school.
We extend a very warm welcome to the Summit Board to new members Paul Atcheson and Barb Kostanick, and also to second-termer Betsy Phelan. We continue our board work on behalf of the entire Summit community through the summer months, and always welcome comments and suggestions from students, parents, and staff.
All regular Summit Board meetings are public meetings and we welcome guests from our community at any time. The next regular Board meeting will be on June 10. Meetings are held in Summit's library and begin at 6:30 pm unless otherwise noted.
BVSD is holding a series of open community meetings to present and invite discussion of information gathered through the current district-wide school facilities usage study.
It is important for Summit and the charter school community to be well represented at the meetings, so we encourage your attendance. Decisions made by the BVSD board based on information from this study could have a direct impact on facilities for Summit!
The final community meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 4 at Centaurus High School from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Student Center.
For "pixies"-to-be (this means 6th graders!), if you have extra time this summer, consider improving your computer keyboarding skills. Much of your history homework will be in the form of reading notes. If you type them, you have a ready made data bank for review, for projects and it's great practice for high school! You will also be practicing an important life skill. I recommend the Mavis Beacon keyboarding program, available at Target and many other stores, or a similar computer program. Get a head start and figure out how to type with all ten fingers!
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 to read in the library. If you have gently used copies of Garfield, Far Side, or other comic books that you could donate to the library, please get in touch with me.
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! Please note 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, so don't need copies of these.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: All library materials were due by 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 should have been notified by mail during the week of May 20 if students have fines or outstanding materials.
On May 16 three Summit students and their coach, Dr. Fotino, were guests at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion in Denver for the 2002 Colorado Mathematics Awards reception, hosted by the AKAMAI Foundation. A reception is held each year to recognize outstanding performance in national mathematics competitions by Colorado secondary and college students.
Among the 15 Colorado middle-school aged award winners, our students Aaron Allen, Hannah Alpert, and Timothy Nguyen were honored for their achievements on the American Mathematics Contest 8. The American Mathematics Contest 8 is a 40-minute, 25-question multiple-choice examination given in November for students in the 8th grade and below.
Aaron Allen received an additional award for having the highest score among Colorado 6th graders. Of the 169,654 students that participated in this nationwide contest, only 9 6th graders scored as high as Aaron.
During the program, the AKAMAI foundation also awarded AMC10 (grade 10 and under), AMC12 (grade 12 and under), Math Counts, AKAMAI-AIME scholarship winners, International Mathematical Contest in Modeling and the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition winners.
Congratulations to Hannah, Timothy, and Aaron on this fine achievement. If you ever need help with math homework, you know who to go to!
Congratulations are in order for the Summit track and field team for one of its most successful seasons ever. We had a huge turnout this year, with over 75 participants. Students competed in three early-season meets, culminating in the district-wide meet which pitted all 15 BVSD middle schools against each other at Centaurus High School on May 21, 22, and 23. All four Summit teams had outstanding performances.
6th grade boys finished 4th and were one point out of 3rd place. Individual placers were:
6th grade girls finished 3rd overall and were also one point out of 2nd place.
7th/8th grade girls finished 2nd overall.
As of the deadline for this issue, full results are not available for the 7th/8th grade boys team. However, the 4x800 team of Lukas Feyh, Daniel Beylkin, Anup Hosamani, and Drew Mohr, and the 4x200 team of Jon Tsui, Daniel Beylkin, Drew Mohr, and James Franz placed in the top six as did Drew Mohr and James Franz individually.
Photos taken by Summit parent Mary Kay Wilson at the Greeley Jazz Festival in April are posted on her web site. Check them out via this web link: http://home.attbi.com/~mkwilson8b/Summit/greeleyjazzfest.html
The "Fun Night At The Rec" is a terrific way for Summit to jump-start each new school year by providing an opportunity for new and returning students to get together. We need a new volunteer or two to take the helm to coordinate this rewarding event, traditionally held on the first Saturday evening of the school year.
The planning is easy and the students always have a great time (not to mention all the parent volunteers who get to hang out and chaperone!). Please call 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
BVSD Food Service is looking for a new head cook for 2002-03 at Summit They are also looking for cafeteria staff to help with lunch time preparation and serving. If you are interested in a food service position, please stop by the BVSD Education Center on Arapahoe to pick up an application. If you have further questions, please call Vicky Huff at 303-447-5042.
We can offer the TeenPass, a discounted bus pass, to Summit students starting in the 2002-03 school year ... with parent volunteer help. The monthly pass makes riding the RTD bus cheap and convenient. The TeenPass will cost $9 per month, compared to the usual $19, thanks to a discount from RTD and subsidy from the city of Boulder, and allows a student unlimited rides on all local buses in Boulder as well as Lafayette, Louisville, and even the Denver light rail. It's a great pass for getting to school and around town anytime.
We're looking for some parents to help out with the sales. It's easy to do and you'll see that providing the TeenPass will make you happy, and the students will jump for joy (at least metaphorically). Your giving a couple of 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 contact Landon Hilliard (see below). For options on ways to travel to school, contact the BVSD Student Transportation Coordinator at 303-447-5120 or <Landon.Hilliard@bvsd.k12.co.us >.
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 am to 5 pm.
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 .
A critically important part of hiring new teachers for Summit is holding demonstration classes, 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 in advance for your help and feedback about teacher candidates!
From a survey given to kids …
How Do You Decide Who to Marry?
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. --Alan, age 10
What do Most People do on a Date?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. --Lynnette, age 8
The Boulder Public Library will be showing Japanese animated films, or anime, on Wednesday nights. The 6:30 pm showings are just for teens. The free anime nights begin June 5 and run all summer.
BreakThrough Arts Passages Arts Camp is an opportunity for graduating 8th graders to learn new skills, to get to know one another before entering high school, and to explore how art and movement can be resources for them. The program is free and runs from June 10 through June 15 from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm, with a performance on June 16. Call 303-443-4474 for information.
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!
A six-session introductory Love and Logic class for parents of teenagers will be offered at the BVSD Education Center starting July 9. The cost is $99 for am individual or a couple plus a $15 materials fee. This is a great program that is a tremendous help for building constructive family relationships. Call Stephanie Bryan at 303-397-064 for information or see www.boulderparent.com.
This is an exciting and practical class designed for students to support 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.
Dates: September through November. Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm, one night per week for 5 weeks. Location: Fairview High School. Cost: $130 per student. To register, call Gloria Frender at 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 and costs $100.
Session 1 is June 17-21 and Session 2 is June 24-28. Each session runs Monday through Friday from 10 am to 12 noon at Eisenhower Elementary. Contact Bob Litsey at 303-665-9300 or Tom Hoban at 303-466-1529 to find out more and to register.
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 12:00 noon, from June 10 to June 21 at Mesa Elementary. For more information, call 303-499-1671 or check with Ms. Barton, our 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.
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 last CU Wizards Program for this school year is almost here - see below! 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.
June 15, 9:30 am: BLACK HOLES, presented by Professor Andrew Hamilton at Fiske Planetarium.
The Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance and enrich the educational experiences of students. Honor your child as s/he finishes the last year at elementary, middle, or high school.
With your contribution, your name and the child who you are honoring will be listed in the Foundation's annual report. This donation will allow the Foundation to continue to support children, teachers, and administrators in the school district through programs such as the Classroom Mini-Grants, Tech21, Students at Risk, the Impact Awards, and Connect. Call 303-447-5132 to find out how you can contribute, or visit the web at www.fbvs.org.
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 J. And for your shopping pleasure we now have Wild Oats certificates available.
Do you shop at Albertson's? Pick up your Albertson's community card at the Summit office. What an easy way to help support our kids!
The yearbook has arrived! Stop by the Summit office to pick up your copy if you don't have it already. Many thanks to the hard working yearbook staff and to parent volunteer Joan Jacus for their fine efforts in producing this terrific book of school year memories.
The next newsletter deadline is June 10. If you have an article to be included, please e-mail it to Tom White-O'Connor at tomwhiteoc@msn.com.
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:
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." -- Scott Adams, "The Dilbert Principle"