March 10, 2003
Volume 15, No. 5
The ballot count is in and Summit has four new Board members. The following parents have been elected to two-year terms that officially begin on June 1: Debbie Folette-Feyh, Tom Mahowald, Ashley O'Connor, and David Schermerhorn. They join continuing Board members Paul Atcheson, Barb Kostanick, Betsy Phelan, and David Finell (ex officio) to form a board committed to realizing all aspects of Summit's mission. Special thanks to Debbie and Tom for each serving a second consecutive term. Please thank them all for their service to Summit when you see them next.
Summit's Board has recommended the acquisition of new computer equipment for the library and some music equipment, lighting, and microphones for the music program as additional expenditures from this year's Tools for Learning campaign. Some of the existing library computers that are still working well will be moved to meet other staff and faculty needs. If the Supporters of Summit board approves this request, the new computer equipment should be available for use before the end of the school year.
Work continues on completing our application for the Blue Ribbon Schools designation. Eighth grade students took the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests on February 28th. While we won't get specific results back for our school or individual students, the data is aggregated to provide a Nation's Report Card that shows, overall, how students in Colorado and the nation are faring.
The Board is entering the busy season where it reviews and analyzes the responses from the student, parent, and faculty surveys, review teacher and staff performance, determine the courses and number of sections to be offered next school year, prepare next year's budget, and extends offers for faculty and staff employment for next year. The State's tight financial situation is likely to mean little or no increase in state funding for next year, making the financial situation rather tight. While it isn't easy, this is some of the most important work that the Board does, and we welcome your feedback and participation, either at a meeting or by phone or email. Our next regular meeting will be on March 20 at 6:30 p.m. in the Summit library.
CSAP testing at Summit begins on March 11 and continues through March 18. Test topics and times follow:
CSAP make-ups for grades 6 and 7 are scheduled for March 14 and March 19. Eighth grade make-ups will take place on March 19 and March 20. Although for security reasons it is not possible to give a CSAP test early, it is possible to schedule make-ups any time after the test was given. If your child misses a test and you have vacation plans that preclude using the above make-up days, please contact Ms. Avallone as soon as your child misses a test in order to schedule an alternate make-up. If your child will be attending school on the regular make-up days, Summit will take care of the make-up arrangements for your child and no phone call is needed.
Teachers will reduce student workloads during the testing season. Some tips for families include:
Finally, talk to your child about the CSAP tests and why students take them. Let them know that CSAP is for more than just assigning a report card grade to a school; it provides Summit teachers with useful information about student achievement so that we can continuously refine our curriculum and instruction to serve students better year after year.
The Tools for Learning campaign is in high gear, having recently eclipsed the $65,000 mark with 50% of Summit households contributing so far. We're over two-thirds of the way to our funding goal of $90,000, but only half our households have contributed, so now is the time to add your name to the growing list of contributors by giving as generously as you can. (See related article below.) Remember that we also have a 100% participation goal for our current Summit families, so every contribution helps!
RTD bus passes for April will be on sale on March 20-21 and March 31 after school in the multipurpose room or entrance hall for $10. Cash or checks made payable to BVSD only.
For those who haven't heard yet, Valerie and Chris Koch welcomed the arrival of their second child and second daughter, Savannah Grace Koch, on March 4. This was Savannah's arrival date and she cooperated by showing up at five minutes into the day … at 12:05 a.m. Mom, Dad, Savannah, and big sister, Sophie, are doing well. We extend warmest congratulations to the growing Koch family.
Many thanks to Miriam Sproul and her amazing volunteers for the outstanding teacher appreciation week last week! Each day staff was provided with fun surprises, practical items, delicious food, decorations, and kind words. Friday's luncheon was above and beyond, from the savory fare to the elegant ambiance to the entertaining table decorations.
I want to acknowledge all the parents who helped out and I know the list is extensive. You are all energizing! Thank you as well to all of our students who wrote such kind notes of appreciation. As a teacher, I truly love hearing that some days are actually okay for you. I'm sure I speak for our entire staff when I say that we appreciate your appreciation.
Fourteen dedicated volunteers work hard to help provide library service this year. Their efforts make it possible to keep the library open during most hours that school is in session. Please thank the following people for their assistance in providing library service to our students: Vera Balaeva, Charla Berens, Cally Brailsford, Diane Cardinal, John Cowley, Heidi Gerstle, Laurie Kuelthau, Angela Marlino, Ann McCormick, Joan Nagel, Pam Ringenbach, Sasha Sergeeva, Beth Wilcox, and Yajing Yang.
Our library collection continues to grow! A number of wonderful books have been donated to the library. A list of the honorees, books, and donors appears below.
The Kostanick family: Hoot was donated in honor of Megan's birthday, and 17 books in French.
The Kapsak family: A Walk Through the Imperial Tombs of China, Mysteries of Egypt, and Ancient Mysteries: The Black Death.
The Kopel family: Economics in One Lesson, Tom Smith and His Incredible Bread Machine, The Patriot, A Guide to America's Greatest Historic Places, and A Guide to Smart Growth.
The Cardinal family, in honor of Michael Cardinal: The Fires of Merlin, The Merlin Effect, The Seven Songs of Merlin, The Wings of Merlin, and Dillon Dillon.
The Reisfield family: subscriptions to Scientific American and The Economist.
Ms. Stough: seven books in Spanish.
The Cowley family: a subscription to Scientific American.
The Foreign Language Department hosted a wonderful celebration on March 4, with all Spanish, French, and German students spending their class period in the multipurpose room discovering information on customs, foods, and history of Mardi Gras in many countries. They also learned the basic elements of the dance "Capoeira" from Monsieur Kilgore. Of course, everyone wore Mardi Gras beads and masks.
In addition, Spanish 2 students displayed their Vejigante masks. There were mask decoration contests, King's cakes (cupcakes with a surprise baked inside only one) and Spezi, a German beverage made of cola and orange soda. All students had researched Mardi Gras in the countries of their language and placed posters on the walls for others to read. A good time was had by all.
Many thanks to Beth McCormick, Barbara Metzger, and Anne McCormick for helping during the celebration and to all the parents who baked the King's cakes.
On March 5, Spanish 1 classes traveled to the Denver Art Museum to see the exhibit Mexico, Old and New. It was a beautiful exhibition, one we highly recommend to the Summit community. On the way we stopped at Longmont Packing, a traditional Mexican grocery and supply store. We also had lunch at El Noa Noa, an excellent Mexican restaurant in Denver. We would like to thank our wonderful volunteers who accompanied us on the trip, including Jean Luce, Penny Hannegan, Leslie Hirshberg, Fran Rogers, Cheryl Runyon, and Shelly Hendrick.
Summit's MathCounts team members Marshall Carpenter, Thomas Davids, Ben Kuelthau, and Charlie Wilcox did a fabulous job at last weekend's state MathCounts competition, held at the University of Denver, bringing home a first place finish with the highest team score at Saturday's competition. This was their first year competing and they outscored many experienced teams. Well done! Not only did the team finish in first place but Marshall took first place in the individual competition and he advances to represent Colorado in the national competition, to be held in Chicago May 8-11. Also, Marshall won a college scholarship on top of his competition achievements.
Congratulations are also in order for our wonderful, skilled MathCounts team coach, Mrs. Frohbieter. In recognition of her fine work coaching our Summit students to their excellent team and individual showings, she has been selected to coach Colorado's state team that will compete in Chicago. The state team includes the top four individual winners.
Congratulations to Summit 7th grader Boya Liu, who won first prize in the short story contest for Spanish 1 students, in middle and high school, for her illustrated story on "mistad" (friendship). The target audience was bilingual students in elementary school. Boya won $20, a certificate, and a congratulatory letter from the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. As the Colorado winner, her story will be included in the national contest! You may see a copy of her book in Mrs. Blakemore's room. !Sobresaliente, Boya!
Benyakir Horowitz, Markus Feyh, and Anuraag Chintalapally received two awards at the Boulder Community Media Awards, an event held on February 20 and sponsored by Community Action Television (Channel 54). Their film, Cold War, was first prepared as a History Day project.
They received their first award in the category "Documentary-Event-Student." In this category they competed with students through the 12th grade. Their second award was even more impressive, as they won the prestigious "Best of Boulder" award. The judges ranged from professors at the University of Colorado to filmmakers who have won Academy Awards. Their project was one of five chosen out of 132 entries in at the Media Awards. These students were the youngest "Best of Boulder" winners ever. Kudos to these students, their parents, and Summit for this noteworthy achievement.
If you are a history buff or simply like good student-generated projects, check out BVSD's History Day competition at Angevine Middle School on April 2 after school. Summit students that will participate are Ben Horowitz, Anuraag Chintalapally, Marcus Feyh, Alex Reisfield, Daniel Weidlein, Liz Rovira, Malia Guy, Emily Woods, Anna Hermann, Sarah Gregory, Lizzy Halpern, Dana Stepleton, Erin Silk, Anna Sergeeva, Rachel Baum, Alison Ferris, Elizabeth Fleagle, Chris Jarmon, Helen Sims, Elias Stallard-Olivera, Charlie Wilcox, Sabine Kunz, Sam Galler, Teresa Wong, Sarah Smith, Tess Udall, Ryan Schmitz, and Lance Light.
Thanks to James Sullivan, a guest speaker who spoke to our Period 3 World History class. A class discussion on the nature of Spartan and Athenian cultures led to a question posed by student Dylan Howell: "Should soldiers think?" Mr. Sullivan has taught at West Point and is currently teaching at University of Colorado. He did a great job leading a discussion on the question. He is Jamie Sullivan's dad, and we appreciate his time and contributions to critical thinking.
With special thanks to Mr. Ackerson and Dorinda Dercar, our students shined at the Summit concert Thursday at Boulder High School. It takes a lot of hard work to help these concerts run smoothly, so we would like to thank the following families for support they give to the music department, time and time again: Barbra and Jim Weidlein, Cathy and Scott Reisfield, Sharon and Paul Atcheson, Linda, Andrea, Nathan and Dave Parkhill, Penny and David Hannegan, and Lynn Jacobs. You deserve a standing ovation.
In addition, many thanks to Jeff Wareing and his oversized van-you really came through for us. How can we even consider doing anything on stage without the direction and strong backs of Mrs. Dorinda Cudney and Terrence Cudney?! Dorinda makes it all look so easy. Thanks to all of you, our kids look like stars.
Rehearsals for the spring musical, Li'l Abner, are moving along nicely. We have a terrific participation level, with 60 kids involved this year. We have heard from 12 of those families offering to help in any way they can-thank you. With a production this large, we need lots more of you to come forward. Don't be shy, as there are a lot of fun things you can help us with. The performances will take place April 25 and April 26 at Platt Middle School. For more information, please call Joan Jacus at 303-499-3013 to get in on the fun of producing a musical.
Both Summit student registration forms AND parent and friend registration forms for the Bolder Boulder are now available in Mrs. Blakemore's room or in the front office. All forms for Summit students must be turned in to Mrs. Blakemore. For your convenience, she also will collect registration forms for your friends and family members. You may write one check for all registrations you submit. Bolder Boulder participants may pick up a 20% off discount coupon for shoes and clothing purchases at Runner's Choice. These forms are also in Mrs. Blakemore's room.
You can join us at any time for training on Monday and Thursdays after school, starting at 3:20 p.m. We will be done by 4 p.m. for the first month or so. If you cannot attend, please see Mrs. Blakemore for a written copy of training programs for runners and walk/joggers. Stay fit or get fit! Join in!
Please remember that students are responsible for loss or damage to textbooks assigned to them. Textbooks are expensive to replace. For example, the replacement cost for a Spanish text is $50. Parents are responsible for paying for the repair or replacement of lost or damaged texts. Some tips for keeping textbooks safe include:
Thanks for your help caring for our valuable textbooks.
Contact Coach Adams if you have any questions, 303-499-9511.
The final four CU Wizards program of the year include:
Free parking is available in lots 169, 308, 396, and 436. Shows begin at 9:30 a.m.
We will be listing donors in this and coming editions of Summit News to recognize donors to the 2002-2003 TFL campaign, unless anonymity has been requested. The following Summit families and alumni families (marked with an asterisk*) contributed to TFL prior to January 1:
More recent donors (January 1 to present) and future donors will be listed in subsequent issues of Summit News, and all donors will be listed in the Supporters of Summit Annual Report on Giving, to be distributed to all Summit families by the end of the school year. Many thanks to all who have donated so far. If you have questions about the campaign, please feel free to contact John Jacus during business hours at 303-892-7305.
The inside covers of the 2003-2004 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.
Tutoring hours for students are posted on 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.
If you are changing your email address or would like to add an email account to the Summit News distribution list, please send an email to tmahowald[at]qwest.net.
The next Summit News will be distributed in two weeks. If you have news, notes, or announcements, forward them via email to pat.hyde[at]attbi.com.