September 17, 2003
Volume 16, No. 3
Summit needs a parent or parents to step forward to handle parent volunteer coordination. This is a vital role that has yet to be filled, leaving many parents waiting to hear how their talents can be best used. In addition to being a huge help, you will get to know all aspects of Summit and work with many of Summit's parents on a variety of school projects and needs. Contact Jaime Simpson in the Summit office at 303-499-9511 for more information.
The biggest and best kick-off to the Summit 2003-2004 school year is happening this weekend! Summit's bi-annual "FUN NIGHT AT THE REC" will take place Saturday, September 20, from 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. at the East Boulder Community Center, located at 5660 Sioux Drive in Boulder. The general center fee is $10 with an additional $5 cost to those students who wish to use the climbing wall. This facility is reserved for our exclusive use. For reasons of liability, students from other schools and/or siblings of Summit students may not attend.
We will be provided with equipment and space for basketball and volleyball as well as lifeguards for swimming and certified belayers for those who wish to scale the climbing wall. A room is also available for dancing if we supply the music and equipment to play it. Pizza and soda are included and will be served around 9 p.m.
The required permission slip(s) for the rec center and climbing wall are available at school and on the student information bulletin board. Students must bring the signed form(s) with them, along with cash or a check to cover the fees, to the event. All permission slips should be filled out in advance. For safety reasons, once signed in students may only leave with the adult designated on the permission slip. Students are to remain inside the center until the designated adult comes to check them out. Don't miss this!!! Questions? Call Kathy Foster at 303-499-9830
We still need some chaperones for the "FUN NIGHT AT THE REC." Call Kathy Foster at 303-499-9830 today if you can help out. Thank you!!!
If you have not already done so, take time to complete and return your Parent Volunteer Connection (PVC) survey. They were sent home in your student's first-day information packet. Call the Summit office at 303-499-9511 if you need another copy.
October count begins on September 24 and continues through October 9. Summit's per pupil funding for the year is determined by the number of students enrolled and actually attending school during the October count period. To ensure maximum possible funding for our school, Summit will carefully track student attendance during this time. The most critical day for school attendance during the October count period is October 1. We ask all families to make every effort to send their child to school on this date (and every day!). We also ask that families take extra care to avoid travel, appointments, or other absences during the October count period.
Thanks to the many families who have expressed an interest in purchasing grocery certificates on a regular basis. The program is off to a great start with more than $8,000 worth of King Soopers' certificates and Safeway debit cards sold since the start of school!
This year there are two ways to purchase certificates and debit cards:
1. We will be selling certificates/debit cards in the (front) parking lot two times each month. Usually this will be on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month during morning drop off (7:40 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.). Look for our red and white reminder banner and our table near the handicapped parking spaces. It is not necessary to pre-order, just bring cash or your check made payable to Summit Middle School. Our next parking lot sale will be held Friday, September 26.
2. You can pre-order certificates (with delivery as described below) by dropping your check in the school office by 9 a.m. on the 2nd or 4th Wednesday of the month.
Please note on your check the type of certificates/debit cards you wish to purchase. For example, include a KS for King Soopers, SW for Safeway, or if buying a combination, "$100 KS, $200 SW." Make checks payable to Summit Middle School.
Your certificates can be delivered to you in any one of the following ways:
1. You can pick them up from our Grocery Certificate sale table in the parking lot on the Friday morning of the same week;
2. You can pick them up from the office when it is convenient for you (starting on Friday morning); or
3. They can be mailed to you. For this option, we will need your written permission to mail the certificates because of the possibility of loss and to ensure we have the correct address.
Please call Dolly Dean at 303-473-9600 or e-mail her at dohdean[at]aol.com if you have any questions about the grocery program.
In case you missed it last issue, Summit recently registered with the eScrip program, a relatively new program in Colorado where participating merchants will automatically donate a percentage of your credit or debit card purchases to Summit without you needing to purchase paper certificates or debit cards from us. (You may have seen this advertised at Wild Oats).
A number of national merchants, including Wild Oats, Eddie Bauer, The Sharper Image, and Coldwater Creek (to name a few) are now participating in the program in Colorado. To learn more about how the program works and to see a list of all the participating companies visit the eScrip web site at www.escrip.com or call Dolly Dean at 303-473-9600.
If you shop at Office Depot, please tell the cashier that you want Office Depot to give Summit credit for your qualifying purchases. Under this program, Office Depot will give Summit a 5% credit toward supplies on qualifying back-to-school merchandise purchases made before December 31. This program is good at any Office Depot in the United States and Canada; when shopping on-line at www.OfficeDepot.com; or when shopping by phone at: 1-800-GO-DEPOT.
The most recent bimonthly meeting of the Summit Board of Directors was held on September 11 in the Summit Library. The following topics were discussed:
All regular Summit Board meetings are public meetings and we welcome parents and guests from our community at any time. Our next meeting will be held on October 2. Meetings are held in Summit's library and begin at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
Congratulations to Summit students Jackson Dorsey, Dana Stepleton, and Devon Thrumston, category winners in the Global Response "Kids Do the Write Thing" contest. Global Response promotes environmental activism by organizing letter writing campaigns to influential world leaders. Ms. Stough's Spanish I class participated in a campaign to save leatherback turtles last spring. See their letters and pictures and learn more about Global Response at http://www.globalresponse.org/winners.
Mrs. Kapsak and Mr. Havens, supervisors of the Summit History Club and the club's Leadership Roundtable, are sponsoring 10 Summit students for leadership positions in the club, a Summit community service club. The 10 students are:
All students are welcome to bring their lunches on Tuesdays to Room 2 to learn about or sign up to participate in any of the History Club's service projects that our students will guide.
Summit offers a mix of interscholastic and intramural athletic activities for students throughout the year, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, flag football, and track. To participate, students must turn in a BVSD interscholastic athletics parent permission form (available from Coach A or at the office), and a copy of a sports physical conducted no more that a year before the start date of the activity. First semester sports are:
Congratulations to Mr. David Liebowitz, our very own English teacher, who ran a 5k race in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 7 in 15 minutes, 10 seconds! This lightning fast time qualified him for membership on an eight-man team that will represent the Northeastern United States in a marathon relay called an "Ekiden" in Izumo, Japan, on October 12. The segments of this marathon relay will vary from three to six miles each, but Mr. Liebowitz does not yet know which part of the relay he will run. This accomplishment is another step toward his goal of running in the U.S. Olympic time trials in July of 2004. Good luck, Mr. Liebowitz.
Summit Middle School took first place in both the speed and participation categories in Division II of the 2003 Bolder Boulder Middle School Challenge. Eighty-four Summit students took part in the challenge and finished the race with an average time of 56 minutes, 58 seconds. Congratulations to all Summit participants!
Art: Ms. Dornbush, Tuesday and Thursday at lunch in the art room
English: All teachers; Wednesday after school in Room 3 for Ms. Kolanowski, Room 5 for Ms. Avallone and Mr. Liebowitz, and Room A for Mr. Zettas
French: Mr. Kilgore, Monday at lunch in Room C
German: Ms. Barton, Thursday after school in Room 1
Spanish: Ms. Blakemore, Tuesday at lunch in Room 6; Ms. Doyle, Tuesday at lunch in Room 7
Math: Dr. Fotino, Monday at lunch in Room A or by appointment; Ms. Frohbieter, Wednesday after school in Room D; Ms. Koch, Wednesday after school in Room 9; and Mr. Delaney, Wednesday after school in Room 7 or lunch by appointment
Music: Mr. Ackerson, Friday after school in the music room and every other Tuesday after school
Science: All teachers; Monday after school in Room 4 for Ms. Phelps, Room 14 for Ms. Weber, and Room 15 for Mr. Teasdale
Social Studies: Ms. Kapsak, Monday after school in Room 2; Mr. Havens, Tuesday at lunch in Room 1; Mr. Koch, Wednesday after school in Room B
If you have not already paid the $20 fee to the music department, please do so as soon as possible! This fee was NOT included in the fees you paid the first week of school. Please note that if your student is in more than one music class, you only need to pay $20. If you have more than one student enrolled in music, please pay $20 per student. Please put the $20 fee as cash or check (made out to Summit Middle School) in an envelope marked "MUSIC FEE." Be sure to indicate your student's name and name of the music class. Envelopes should be left in the office for Shelly Hendrick, Finance Office Manager. If there is a problem paying the fee, please leave a note for Mr. Ackerson or Mr. Finell.
Monthly Scheduled Tours -- Parents and students interested in the Summit Middle School program are invited to tour the school with a Summit administrator. At the end of the tour, there will be an opportunity for questions and answers. All tours begin at 8:45 a.m. and are by appointment. Please call the Summit office to schedule a tour, at 303-499-9511.
Student/Parent Information Nights -- Student/Parent Information Nights are an excellent opportunity to meet Summit staff and Board members and to learn more about the Summit program. The mission, philosophy, and curriculum of the Summit program are discussed, textbooks and work samples are displayed, and presentations made by core subject and elective teachers. All prospective students and their families are encouraged to attend one of these evening programs, offered twice during the year.
Student Visitation Days -- Students who have been notified of acceptance at Summit are eligible to attend a student visitation day. This program is designed for students who feel they need to visit the school to make a final decision before open enrollment to Summit. On the day they visit, students shadow a "Student Ambassador" (current 6th grader) for a half day. Dates and sign-up procedures for student visitation days will be sent with letters of acceptance, which are mailed in January in coordination with the BVSD open enrollment timeline.
The entire calendar of events for prospective students and parents is:
Help our great teachers keep their lunches fresh. The teachers' lounge needs a refrigerator. If you would like to donate one in great working condition, please contact the Summit office at 303-499-9511.
If you would like to see, hear, and meet candidates running for the BVSD School Board this year, stop by the Boulder High auditorium on Wednesday, October 10, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The forum is sponsored by the "Save Our Schools" group, an organization formed last year during the school consolidation process.
The Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools is offering parent committees a grant writing workshop to discuss grant programs being offered by the Foundation, grant writing tips, and strategies for completing a successful grant application. If you would like more information about the Foundation or to schedule a grant writing workshop for your parent group, contact Program Director Christina Suarez at 303-447-5132.
The Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and enrich the educational experience of students, to motivate and recognize those who guide student learning, and to increase community support for K-12 public education.
Two free forums have been announced for parents in the community. They are open to all. If you are interested, the topics, presenters, time, and place are:
"Strategies for Establishing Respect and Responsibility with Your Teens," Christine Denning, Intervention Specialist at Boulder High, October 7, 7 p.m., Boulder High Library
"Out Of Control Teens," Christine Denning, Intervention Specialist at Boulder High, and Kimberly Cerdorian, M.A., This presentation will explore behaviors such as truancy, running away, drug and alcohol use. October 14, 7 p.m., Boulder High Library
The 27th 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. All programs are free. The first two programs are:
September 20: "The Shocking Facts about Electricity" by Professor John Taylor in Duane Physics G-1B30
October 18: "Too Hot to Handle" by Professors Janet deGrazia, Brian Argrow, and Jean Hertzberg in Chemistry 140
Start time for all programs is 9:30 a.m. Free parking is available in lots 169, 308, 396, and 436 on the CU campus. Parking is also available for a fee in the Euclid parking structure. If you have a special access need or have additional questions, please call the CU Physics office at 303-492-6952.
Summit News is distributed electronically. Printed copies are still available in the Summit office and newsletter issues, current and past, are also posted on the Summit web site at www.summitmiddleschool.org. To update your email address, drop a note by the office or email jaime.simpson[at]bvsd.k12.co.us.
Summit News is distributed on the 1st and 15th of the month during the academic year. Please e-mail news or announcements to newsletter editor Patrick Hyde at pat.hyde[at]comcast.net.
Please note that we substitute [at] for the @ symbol in Summit News articles to reduce unwanted e-mail spam.