December 3, 2003
Volume 16, No. 8
This Saturday, December 6, we invite science-minded parents to assist students with their projects at Summit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All parents are welcome to come to help their own student that day as well. Please note the teachers will be present, but will have limited availability due to the number of students involved.
If you are unable to attend this workday, but would either like to help, or need help, there will be two other workdays available on December 13 and January 10, both Saturdays. These sessions will be at Summit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. also. Bring a sack lunch, or Abo's pizza will be sold for $3 per slice. Please bring your own beverage. If you are available to help any or all of the days, please contact Sharon Atcheson, at 303-581-9013 or patchesons[at]aol.com.
The Summit Winter Concert will be held over two nights, December 17 and December 18, at Boulder High School. Both performances will begin at 7 p.m. and should last no more than 90 minutes. Instrumentalists should arrive at 6:15 p.m. for warm up and tuning, vocalists at 6:30 p.m.
Performances include:
Thanks in advance to those of you who volunteered your time and energy before, during, and after the show!
It has come to our attention that there is some confusion about the district's open enrollment policy. Please look below to see if any of these apply to you.
1) Have you moved in the last year?
If you have a child who currently attends Summit and you have moved out of the Boulder Valley School District after the open enrollment period last year, you must participate in open enrollment again during this year's open enrollment period from December 1 through January 23. You may call the District at 303-447-1010 and ask for the Open Enrollment Office if you have questions. (Families who live within BVSD and have not moved outside the district do not need to open enroll a student again.)
2) Is your child returning to Summit next year?
ALL Summit families will need to complete a Summit re-enrollment form to indicate whether your student will be returning for the 2004-2005 school year. This is not a district form, but one we will be sending home with your student in January for you to fill out and return to the Summit office.
3) Do you have a fifth grader who would like to attend Summit?
If you have a fifth grader who would like to attend Summit next year, you must go through the open enrollment process. Fill out the open enrollment form (found at any BVSD school office), noting in the space provided that the child has a sibling who attends or attended Summit, and turn it in to the district by 4 p.m. on January 23.
Julia Hansford graduated from Summit last spring as one of our exemplars. She founded History Club and was a wonderful role model in so many ways while she was here. She faces a big challenge now, as she has developed a rare brain tumor. She and her parents will need to travel out of state for her surgery, because only two of these surgeries have ever been done in Denver. Summit History Club is COORDINATING the "JULIA HANSFORD FUND" to help defray travel and lodging expenses related to her illness. We will be gathering frequent flier miles and money for Julia. History Club will be holding a bake sale at lunch on December 16, and all proceeds will go to the Julia fund. If you can bake for us, please do. Please call Mrs. Kapsak if you have any questions at 303-499-9511.
There will be only one parking lot sale of grocery certificates this month in the front lot during morning drop-off (7:40 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.) on Friday, December 12. You do not need to pre-order, just bring your cash or checks and see me at the grocery certificate table in the parking lot.
If you wish to order for pick up through the office any time before Winter Break, please leave your check in the office by 4 p.m. on Wednesday of any week. Your order will be available in the front office starting at 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning of the same week. If you order before break, PLEASE REMEMBER TO PICK UP your certificates on or before Friday, December 19, so that you have them for break.
Grocery certificates make great holiday gifts -- use them for grandparents, babysitters, teachers, and others. King Soopers' certificates are accepted at Albertsons, most Safeway stores, and at any of the Kroger family of stores, including City Markets in the mountains. Safeway debit cards are accepted at all Safeway stores nationwide.
Remember that Winter Break begins on December 20. Plan now for the long break and STOCK UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS. If you have any questions, please Dolly Dean at 303-473-9600.
A very big thank you to all the families who have already returned their Tools for Learning pledge. As of November 30, we have received and processed pledges from more than 75 families for a total of more than $43,000.
If you have not yet returned your pledge, PLEASE DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Your quick response really does help us to keep costs down for follow-up mailings and helps us to reach our fund raising and participation goals more quickly.
Please note the following if you wish to receive a tax receipt showing a donation in 2003:
1. If paying by check, your check should be forwarded as soon as possible and must be dated December 31 or earlier.
2. If paying by credit card (VISA AND MASTERCARD ONLY), please note that because of Winter Break we will not be processing credit card pledges after December 17. We must receive your pledge card and credit card number in the office before December 15 in order to have time to process your credit card before Winter Break.
Finally, please keep in mind holiday mailing delays if you send your pledge via mail.
Again, thank you to the families who have already returned their pledges. The following is a list of the donors whose contributions had been received as of November 30. We will list donors in each issue of the newsletter and all donors will be listed in the Annual Report at the close of the campaign. Thanks for your support!
The next two Board meetings will be held December 4 and December 11. Meetings are held in Summit's library and begin at 6:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All regular Summit Board meetings are public. Any and all members of our Summit community are encouraged to attend.
Congratulations to Summit's History Club students for the following autumn accomplishments. We are a community service club, and everyone is welcome. We meet every Tuesday at lunch in Mrs. Kapsak's room. You may participate in as many of our projects as your schedule allows. Our goal is to learn from the problems we study in history and then find solutions to make the world better, one kind act at a time.
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. Upcoming sports activities include:
The CU Wizards Program is an informal introduction to astronomy, chemistry, and physics, intended for students in grades 5 through 9. Programs are free and begin at 9:30 a.m. The next program is:
Please note that monthly RTD teen bus passes are being raised to $19 beginning in January.
Open enrollment began December 1 and closes on January 23 for the 2004-2005 school year. Summit holds school tours for prospective students and parents as well as two informational evenings for prospective students and their parents (see below). The office has a large supply of informational brochures and open house flyers, if you are able to distribute some to interested parents.
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 calendar of events for prospective students and parents is:
Summit News is distributed electronically. Printed copies are 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 (approximately) on the 1st and 16th 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 educational information, refer to Summit's web site via: http://www.summitmiddleschool.org.