December 11, 2002
Volume 14, No. 8
Join Music Director Doug Ackerson and his students December 13 for the annual Summit Winter Concert. The concert will be held at Platt Middle School on Baseline Road at 6:30 p.m.
Summit's new portable arrived December 5 and was assembled west of the existing music portable. Two Summit Work Days are scheduled to get the new and older portables ready to go when the students return after winter break. Please plan to contribute time on either December 14 [canceled] or December 21. We will transfer all materials and instruments from the current portable to the new portable. Then, once everything has been moved, the older portable will be cleaned and painted, getting it ready for two classrooms that will be housed there after students return from break. Please bring any cleaning and paint supplies (brushes, rollers, etc.) you may have on hand. Meet at the portables at 9 a.m.
The cost of a RTD Teen bus goes up $1 to $10 beginning in January. Passes for January go on sale December 18, 19, and 20 after school in the entrance hall or in the multi-purpose room. Payment will be accepted in cash or check made out to "BVSD." For students unable to pick up a pass on those December dates, they will be on sale January 6 after school also.
Thanks to all the parents and Summit supporters who visited Borders on November 30. Borders donated 15% to Summit of all purchases recorded on behalf of the school. Thanks to Penny Hannegan for coordinating this fund raiser and others who participated. We'll let you know the final $ results next issue.
Absences of several days or more usually have a significant negative impact on grades and educational progress. Although homework and some assignments can be made up, lost instructional time cannot be regained. Science labs, class discussion, practice applying ideas, and the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback are classroom activities that are vital to your student's academic success. Parents are urged to make every possible effort to schedule travel plans during times when school is not in session.
Parents who may be planning to take their children out of school during the week prior to the upcoming vacation are discouraged from doing so. All Summit teachers will use this week as substantive teaching time.
If you find that you must remove your child from school, we ask you to write a note to the Summit staff describing your plans and the dates you will be gone. This note should be handed in to the office, where it will be copied and distributed to all of your child's teachers. Also, have your student pick up an "Assignments to Complete" form from the office to take around to all of his/her teachers before leaving. Parents should initial the form to show they are aware of what their child will need to accomplish. When your child returns, make sure all of the assignments listed are completed, along with any additional make-up work that needs to be done.
This year's fund-raising campaign by Supporters of Summit, Inc. is off to a great start. So, if you haven't filled out and returned your pledge card yet (all households were mailed packets in the last two weeks), be sure to get it in the mail now to claim your 2002 tax deduction and to help Summit with important needs. A key focus for fund raising this year is replacing our aging fleet of computers, starting with those used by our students.
Also, be sure to take advantage of your employer's (or spouse's employer's) corporate matching gift program. Many area employers will match gifts to charitable nonprofit groups such as Supporters of Summit. We have listed below those Denver area employers known to have such programs. Check the list so you can take full advantage and leverage your generous gift to Supporters of Summit!
ACE INA, Aid Assoc. for Lutherans, AT&T, Avaya Communication, Bell Communications Research (Bellcore), Berger Funds, Research (Bellcore), The Boeing Company, Inc., BP, Caterpillar, Inc., Chambers Family Fund, Chicago Tribune Fd., CIGNA Corporation, Citigroup, CNA Insur. Companies, Conseco Finance Corp., Eaton Corporation, Equitable Life of Iowa, Exxon Mobil, First Data Corporation, Firemans' Fund Ins. Co., Foley's (May Dept. Stores Foundation), Georgia Pacific Corp., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., H.J. Heinz Company, IBM Corporation, Janus Funds, Kaiser Permanente, Kansas City Southern Industries, Inc., Key Bank, Kinder Morgan, Inc.; Kmart Corporation, Landmark Graphics Corporation, Lexmark International, Eli Lilly & Company, Lord & Taylor (May), Lucent Technologies, McDonald's Corp., McGraw-Hill Fd., Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., Microsoft Corporation, NCR Corporation, Newmont Mining Corp., Northern Trust Co., Oppenheimer Funds, Inc., Oracle, Pan Energy Corp., Pella Corporation, Pepsi Cola, Inc., Phelps Dodge Corp., Pitney Bowes, PPG Industries, Inc., The Prudential, Radio Shack (Tandy Corp.), Safeco Insurance Co., St. Paul Companies, Inc., Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Shaklee Corporation, Sony Corporation of America, The Stanley Works, Sun Microsystems, Time Warner, Inc., TRW, Inc., United Parcel Service, U.S. Bank, Washington Mutual Inc., Williams Companies, Inc., Wynkoop Brewing Co., and Xcel Energy Inc.
This is important open enrollment news! Siblings of current Summit students and siblings of Summit graduates have priority for open enrollment. However, parents must fill out a BVSD open enrollment application to be included in open enrollment. We cannot enroll these younger siblings unless you submit an application.
There is a space on the BVSD application for indicating sibling status. Also, we are asking all applicants to fill out a Summit enrollment information form in addition to the BVSD open enrollment application. The Summit information forms and the BVSD application forms are available in the Summit office. The Summit form is also available on the Summit website at <www.summitmiddleschool.org>.
Completed Summit information forms are to be turned in only to the Summit office. Completed BVSD forms must be submitted to the BVSD open enrollment office at the BVSD Education Center, no later than January 24 at 4 p.m. For more enrollment information call the Summit office at 303-499-9511 or Linda Parkhill, Summit's enrollment coordinator, at 303-665-9355.
Soon after winter break, watch for a re-enrollment form for returning to Summit for the 2003-2004 school year. Each current 6th and 7th grader must complete a form and return it to the office by the deadline that will be indicated on the form. The re-enrollment forms give us the necessary information to plan for next year's enrollment. Please give the Summit office a call if you have any questions regarding re-enrollment.
Let parents and students who are interested in Summit Middle School know that they are invited to tour the school with a Summit administrator and attend a Student/Parent Information Night in January. All tours are by appointment only-please call 303-499-9511.
The Board held a regular meeting on November 25. There was discussion of a request from a parent regarding scheduling of school days during Thanksgiving week. Though some BVSD schools are out for Thanksgiving week, others are in session. The Board considers the BVSD master calendar in determining days off for Summit students and is also committed to meeting Summit policy of a minimum 180 days of instruction per school year.
Ms. Blakemore and Ms. Stough brought to the Board an idea for an extended weekend student trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, to learn firsthand about Day of the Dead customs and traditions. The Board will consider additional information about this idea before making any decision. With Ms. Stough and Ms. Dornbush as advisors, student council may work on a "charity bowl dinner" idea for spring.
The Board, with Mr. Finell's guidance, is fine tuning a proposed timeline for textbook review and replacement, realistically on a six-year cycle. Additional copies of some books will be needed to address our enrollment "bubble" moving from 7th grade this year to 8th grade next year. The Board will further review possible elective course offerings for 2003-2004 at the next Board meeting and make a final decision about offerings as soon as possible to keep scheduling on track. The science teachers are preparing a full assessment of lab equipment, storage of supplies and chemicals, and safety procedures based on district and state guidelines. Mr. Finell completed the write-up of graduation planning information, which will prove invaluable for future graduation ceremony planning. At its next regular meeting the Board will continue discussion of Summit policy regarding parental leave.
The Summit Board has submitted a letter to BVSD, asking that discussions about Summit facilities be reopened as soon as possible. Under the terms of our charter contract, these discussions can take place beginning this month. Observations of teachers continue, and are done jointly by Mr. Finell and an accompanying Board member. Summit is establishing a merchant account that will allow payment of Tools for Learning contributions by credit card. The first TFL mailing is out and responses so far are promising. The Board requested that Mr. Finell solicit input from teachers about departmental needs for next school year to assist in budget planning for 2003-2004. The AAA Committee has begun its review of satisfaction survey forms and is also reviewing CTBS test results to inform a recommendation to the Board about standardized tests administered to our students.
The next meeting of the Summit Board will be on Thursday, December 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Summit library. All members of our community are invited to attend. We look forward to having you join us.
Even though we haven't yet finished this calendar year, we invite interested Summit parents to think about tossing your hat in the ring for a seat on the Summit Board of Directors.
Our Board governs the school, sets policy and makes decisions about the school's budget, teacher and staff hiring, curriculum, course offerings and scheduling, accountability, and communications. The Board relies on and benefits from the diverse expertise of its members in all these areas as well as computer programming, law, grant writing, and negotiation.
There are seven elected members of the Board and the principal serves as an ex officio member. This year there will be four Board seats up for election. Each candidate should be dedicated to Summit's educational philosophy and be willing to devote the time necessary to serve on the Board. Candidates should announce by mid-February and elections will be held by early March for two-year terms that begin officially June 1. Newly elected candidates are expected to attend as many spring Board meetings as possible, as non-voting participants, beginning in March. The Summit Board meets approximately every two weeks through the school year, with occasional periods of more intense activity, and occasionally during the summer.
If you are interested in the continuing success of Summit, have time and skills to offer, and would like to be directly involved in the important governance decisions about your child's school, please consider running for the Board of Directors. Serving on the Board is valuable and rewarding work. It also offers a tremendous opportunity to make an important difference for all Summit students and Summit's future (p.s. we also have a good time!). Please contact any current Board member for more information: Paul Atcheson 303-581-9013, Debbie Feyh 303-543-8646, Barbry Hogue 303-665-3798, John Jacus 303-499-3013, Barb Kostanick 303-442-7115, Tom Mahowald 303-543-8903, Betsy Phelan 303-443-0832.
World History thanks the many families who loaned us books, art, and artifacts from Ancient Egypt. We are now (December) calling for loans of any books, art or artifacts or other items from Ancient India and Ancient China. If you can cook authentic foods from either India or China, or if you could help us study these beautiful cultures in any other way, please contact Mrs. Kapsak in room 2. Does anyone have "Beyond the Clouds" from National Geographic?
All Summit history students will participate in the National Geographic Geo Bee December 16 and 17 in their history classrooms. History classroom competitions will produce one winner each. Those classroom winners will compete in the school competition on December 17, just after lunch (periods 5 & 6) in room 2. Parents of those winning students will be notified and are welcome to come observe the final rounds. One school winner will earn the beautiful National Geographic medallion. That student will then take a written test in the principal's office by December 20. We will mail the test to Washington D.C., where it will scored. If the score is high enough, our school winner will compete at the state competition in the spring at the University of Colorado. Good luck to all of our young scholars!
The History Department would like to thank all the parents and students for their participation in Seventh Grade Colonial Day. The annual event was held on November 21 in Mr. Havens' classroom. Students were able to take a hands-on look at activities from the colonial era. Activities included colonial games, writing, crafts, dress,and food from pre-America. A special thanks goes out to coordinators Beth McClellan and Penny Hannegan, and thanks to the following period coordinators: Laurel Hickman, Shelly Hendrick, Beth Wilcox, Barbara Metzger, and all the other parents that donated their time, food, or both.
Student Council has changed the date of the Hawaiian Luau to January 16, a Thursday before a four-day weekend. All students are invited to the dance, which will be held from 3:10 to 5 p.m. The Luau will help students kick off the lengthy weekend in style!
November 17 was dedicated to mixing it up here at Summit Middle School and at many other schools in the United States. The day was sponsored by the Teaching Tolerance project, which is part of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC is based in Alabama and has vigorously worked to break down walls of segregation, and much more. They have legally challenged the Ku Klux Clan from proceeding with their terrible racist actions, and they have done much more.
"Mix It Up" is an educational project that asks students to step out of their cafeteria comfort zones and take a seat at lunch next to someone who is different. Summit's student council helped the school participate in this day by handing out erasers of jungle animals to every student who entered the lunchroom. The erasers were symbolic of erasing school cliques, since the theme of the day was "It's a jungle out there." As the students entered the lunchroom, they sat at the table marked with balloons of the animal on their eraser. At each of these tables was a member of the council to help strike up conversation between the students. They asked questions that could be expanded on like, if you ruled the world what would be the first law you would make? And what was the last CD you bought? These questions inspired the students to speak to people they never had. Overall "Mix It Up" day was successful, and we hope future ones will only be better. Thank you to all the teachers who also ate lunch with students!
If possible, please have your children bring smaller denominations of money to the lunchroom when they are purchasing food at school. Multiple $20 bills for $3 and $4 purchases are wiping out the bank quickly, so to speak, sometimes leaving office staff scrambling for change. Thanks for your help.
A warm smile and tremendous thanks go out all the lunch volunteers for coming in each week. They help lunch run smoothly for all students, and their continued contribution allows everyone more time to eat, relax, be with friends, or have outdoor time. Special thanks to Dolly Dean, Sandy Foote, Jenny Lucas, Karen Van Dusen, and Leslie Hirshberg.
The inside cover of the Summit Student Planners are available for appropriate advertising to our Summit Community. For more information, please contact Jaime Simpson in the office at 303-499-9511.
High schools have begun outreach to prospective students, but many dates remain for interested students and parents. Remember that open enrollment closes January 24.
There's been some confusion among students after long weekends regarding which day-an "A" or "B" day-it is when classes resume. If you have any questions, check the back of the Summit directory for clarification.
The CU Wizards program targeted for students in grades 5 through 9 continues with:
Free parking is available in lots 169, 308, 396, and 436. Shows begin at 9:30 a.m.
Tutoring hours for students have been posted to the school web site at www.summitmiddleschool.org.
To see the current or back issues of Summit News, information about Summit, links to other charter schools, and related education information, refer to Summit's web site via: http://www.summitmiddleschool.org.
The next Summit News will be distributed in early January. If you have news, notes, or announcements, forward them via email to pat.hyde[at]attbi.com.
-- From the Summit staff, faculty, and board.