October 16, 2003
Volume 16, No. 5
Don't forget to turn clocks back one hour Sunday, October 26, at 2 a.m. Enjoy the extra hour of sleep!
Look for student directories to head home with students soon; they are now at the printer. One complimentary copy per student is provided and extra copies are available for $2 each in the Summit office. Thanks to Pamela Green for collating, coordinating, and distributing this important Summit community resource!
An important informational meeting about enrolling your child in high school will be held for the parents of all 8th graders on Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. in the multi-purpose room at Mrs. Bartley, Summit's counselor, will discuss how to choose a high school program and provide information about neighborhood high school enrollment and open enrollment procedures. In addition, parents will be given important information regarding the process of choosing and registering for appropriate courses at high schools in the Boulder Valley School District.
A high school counselor from the Boulder Valley School District will present information regarding the transition from middle school to high school and will be available to answer questions. This meeting is for parents only, as similar information will be provided to all 8th grade students during the week after Thanksgiving break. If you have questions regarding your child's enrollment in high school, this meeting is a must! Please join us.
Boulder High School will hold its Advanced Placement Focus Night on Tuesday, December 2, at 7 p.m. in the Boulder High auditorium. This is an informational evening for incoming 9th graders and current Boulder High students interested in the Advanced Placement course offerings at Boulder High. AP teachers, students, and parents of current AP students will be available to answer all of your questions on this nationally recognized College Board program. Make plans now to join your fellow students in these challenging, exciting courses! For more information, contact Claire Sandford in the Boulder High counseling office at 303-447-5351.
For students and parents: If you are planning on going on the spring break trip to Spain, please come to an organizational meeting at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 22, in Ms. Doyle's classroom. Applications and deposits will be due by November 17. Please see Ms. Doyle if you cannot make it to the meeting and feel free to call her if you have any questions, 303-499-9511.
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
Summit offers a mix of interscholastic and intramural athletic activities for students throughout the year. To participate, students must turn in a BVSD interscholastic athletics parent permission form (available from Coach A, Ms. Dornbush, or the office), and a copy of a sports physical conducted no more that a year before the start date of the activity. Remaining first semester sports are:
Open enrollment will begin December 1 and close on January 23 for the 2004-2005 school year. Summit holds school tours for prospective students and parents as well as two information evenings for prospective students and their parents (see below). The office has a large supply of informational brochures and open house flyers. Consider delivering some to the office of your child's former elementary school and help us spread the word.
Monthly Scheduled Tours -- Parents and students interested in Summit's 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 Summit's program. Summit's mission, philosophy, and curriculum 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:
The Colorado Legislature passed a law earlier this year that requires schools to make available to parents a statement on how to access information on sex offenders. The statement to be provided was developed by the state board of education. Details are available at http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/download/pdf/School_Sex_Offender_Guide.pdf
Call David Smith at the Colorado Department of Education if you have any questions, 303-866-6683.
Summit has many needs that cannot be fully met with the per pupil funding we receive from the state through our charter with the school district. Like all public charter schools, we receive less per pupil operating revenue than non-charter public schools and we are required to purchase a package of services from the district that are costly and not always tailored to our needs. This all adds up to a need for concerted fundraising by our community. We strongly urge you to contribute to Summit this year through your participation in our two established fundraising programs. These are:
Tools for Learning. Rather than ask our children to sell magazines, wrapping paper, candy or other products -- with much of the money raised going back to the vendor -- we ask Summit families and friends for direct contributions through our annual fundraising program called Tools for Learning. With Tools for Learning, 100% of funds raised stay at Summit. All contributions are fully tax deductible. Tools for Learning has the additional advantage of not distracting our students or staff from the important work of education.
Your pledge packet will arrive in the mail within the next two weeks -- our goal for this year is to raise $100,000 and to have 100% participation by our school community. Please consider now the level of gift that is meaningful for you and return your pledge card as soon as possible. Your prompt response reduces mailings and overhead costs, saving Tools for Learning dollars for use in our programs. We look forward to your support.
Grocery Certificates. You have already received information about our grocery certificate program. We will be selling grocery certificates twice per month during morning drop off in the school parking lot. In October our parking lot sales will be this Friday and on Friday, October 31. We will be selling King Soopers certificates ($25 denominations) and Safeway debit cards ($100 denominations). You do not have to pre-order -- just bring your cash or check on Friday morning between 7:40 and 8:15 a.m.
You can pre-order certificates for later pick up through the office, or at our sales table on the Friday mornings listed, by dropping your check in the office. Please indicate clearly what type of certificates you wish to buy.
If you wish to be on our e-mail reminder system for purchasing certificates, please forward your e-mail to Dolly Dean at dohdean[at]aol.com.
If anyone has any percussion equipment lying around waiting for the archaeologist, specifically Hi hat, pedals, cymbals, or cymbal stands, donations will gladly be accepted! Thank you.
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. Programs are free. The next Wizards program is:
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.
The Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools is accepting nominations for its Impact Awards Program. This annual program honors five exemplary people who are making a difference for students in the Boulder Valley School District. Only individuals-such as teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, office personnel, service employees, or volunteers-are eligible for the award. Each winner receives $2,000 ($1,500 to benefit students and $500 as a personal award).
Staff, students, and parents are encouraged to nominate someone who has made a difference at their school. Nomination forms are due November 6, 2003. For more information, please contact Christina Suarez, Program Officer for the Foundation for Boulder Valley Schools, at 303-447-5132.
All regular Summit Board meetings are public meetings and we welcome parents and guests from our community to attend. Our next two board meetings will be held on October 16 and October 30. Meetings are held in Summit's library and begin at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
We ask parents not to e-mail or fax their child's homework to the Summit office. When parents rescue their children by faxing and e-mailing homework, students do not learn responsibility, planning, and good study skills. In addition, the office staff does not have time to receive and re-direct faxes and e-mails of this type. As a general policy, Summit teachers will not give credit for homework that has been faxed or e-mailed to the Summit office.
Fall has arrived and the changing seasons remind us that inclement weather can result in school closures. Under most conditions, school officials have a responsibility to keep school in session. When the weather is bad but school is open, parents must make a family decision regarding attendance or late arrival for their children. A personal contact by the parent or a written note to school officials will excuse a student's late arrival or absence under these circumstances.
When the weather is severe enough to close schools, it is very important that working parents have pre-arranged care for their children. BVSD notifies TV and radio stations prior to 6:30 a.m. or as soon as the decision has been made to close during the day. Cancellation announcements are made on the following radio and TV stations:
Closures are also posted on the BVSD web site under "Cancellations" at www.bvsd.k12.co.us.
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.
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.
We are seeking a new editor for the newsletter for the beginning of next semester! This would be an ideal job for a parent with a child in 6th or 7th grade. It is a fun job for someone who likes to write, edit, and hear what's going on before it hits the press. Most of the work entails editing articles that are submitted by staff and parents. Contact Patrick Hyde at 303-494-8666 if you are interested. I'd be glad to help you get started.