April 30, 2004
Volume 17, No. 8
We are still in desperate need of parental help for just about everything at our May 10th and May 12th concerts. Please call Cathy Reisfield, (303) 554-9553, if you can give a hand … "I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends" … Thanks!
-- Doug Ackerson, Music Guy
-- Ashley O'Connor, Board Member
Volunteers are still needed for the 8th grade graduation ceremony at Boulder High School on Friday, June 4th. It's wonderful to have parents of 6th and 7th graders handle the logistical duties so that 8th grade parents can enjoy the day with their families. (Note: All Summit students attend the graduation and are picked up at Boulder High at 3:00 p.m.)
We need parents to help with seating of the graduates from rehearsal of the processional through the final recessional. These volunteers will be needed from 10:00 a.m. until the ceremony concludes at approximately 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided to these volunteers. Pam Ringenbach is heading up the seating volunteers (see below for contact information).
Parent volunteers are also needed to help with clean-up after the graduation reception, from about 2:30-3:30 p.m. More hands make a quicker clean-up, so the time commitment will depend on when the ceremony concludes and how many folks stick around to help. Linda Stancliffe is in charge of the reception.
Lisa Shearer is in charge of decorations and could use some help too. Thanks in advance for your help!
-- Carolyn Bondarovich and Mary Ann Williamson
-- Sam Havens
On April 24th, 14 Summit students - -along with 500 students from across Colorado -- spent the day at the University of Colorado presenting their History Day projects. History Day is an annual competition in which students research a topic that relates to a particular theme. Once a project is determined, students choose one of four ways to present their research: a paper, an exhibit, a performance, or a documentary. For all the categories except papers, students can work in groups.
Students competing at the state competition earned this privilege with success at the Summit and regional competitions. Students work on these projects outside of class and follow the model developed in American History class this past fall. Representing Summit Middle School were the following students:
Summit students displayed outstanding spirit and enthusiasm for the competition and for each other. Two students qualified for the National competition to be held at the University of Maryland in June. Annie Smart (paper) and Jen Godina (individual performance), were honored as state champions in their respective categories. Allie Johnson received third place for her paper and qualified as an alternate for National. The group performance of Hanna Hayden, Sarah Stancliffe, and Megan King earned an honorable mention! Congratulations to all participants. Way to represent Summit!
-- Mrs. Blakemore and Ms. Doyle
Congratulations to all the Summit Spanish students! What a spectacular performance on the National Spanish Exam. We had many students place in the top five in the state as well as one student who placed among the top five Spanish students nationally: Kate MacDonnell, Level 1-OE (outside experience), placed 4th in the nation. !Buen trabajo!
Level 01 / State Place
Level 1 / State Place
Level 1 OE / State Place
Level 2 / State Place
Twenty-five to thirty percent of our students placed in the top 10 percent in the national level. Well done, students!
Join us during lunch on May 6th in Room 6 to hear about our trip planned for next June. Ms. Doyle will explain the itinerary, service projects and costs. Mr. And Mrs. Blakemore will be able to take questions about supervision and early planning. All students and parents are welcome to attend. This year's 8th grade students are welcome on the trip as well.
On Friday, May 7th from 3:15 to 5:00 p.m., Spanish Club will host its 2nd Annual Carnival. All proceeds this year go to Pedro, a 4-year-old Make-A-Wish child whose wish is to have his grandparents come visit from Mexico! Help us help Pedro! $1.00 entry fee.
Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. Buy a chance to:
Prices vary from 10 to 50 cents and include:
Don't miss this great afternoon! Help support Pedro! ¡Disfruta! ¡Come!
-- Dolly Dean, Chair
Thank you to the many families who have purchased grocery certificates and debit cards regularly this year. Through April, we have sold $47,700 worth of certificates and debit cards. Our net profit on these sales is almost $2,200. Thanks for your support.
Our last two parking lots sales for this year will be on Friday, May 14th and Friday, May 28th during morning drop off (7:45-8:15 a.m.) in the front parking lot. You do not need to pre-order; just bring your cash or check (made payable to Summit Middle School). If it is more convenient, you can leave your check in the office by Wednesday, May 12th, or Wednesday, May 26th, and your order will be available for pick up during our parking lot sale on Friday morning of the same week or after 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning from the office.
Next year, we will again sell certificates and debit cards in the front parking lot during morning drop off, generally two Fridays per month. Our first sale will be in early September -- watch the newsletter for details and dates.
If you are the parent of a returning student you will receive a grocery program order form in your registration packet. If you are interested in purchasing certificates/debit cards next year, please fill out this form and return it to the office with the rest of your registration forms. Although it is not necessary for you to pre-order or sign up in advance, your return of this form will help us to have enough inventory on hand and will allow us to keep you updated about the program.
-- Dolly Dean, Chair
We are quickly approaching the end of the school year and the end of this year's Tools for Learning campaign. We are very happy to report that as of April 25th, we have received donations of $95,570 from currently enrolled families, alumni and friends of Summit. This puts us within $4,430 of our fundraising goal.
Thanks to these recent contributors to the campaign: Claire and Jay Stepleton, Regula and Konrad Steffen, Jenny and Don Lucas, and the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, Inc.
If you have been meaning to return your pledge form -- THERE'S NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT! In order for your donation to be credited to this year's campaign, we need to receive it on or before June 7th (the Monday following the last day of school). We will process the last group of credit card charges and bank deposits during the week of June 7th. If we receive your pledge after June 7th, it will be credited to next year's campaign.
If you haven't yet donated, NOW is the time! Please don't delay. We are counting on YOU! Are you the parent of a graduating 8th grader? We are also counting on you! Please return your pledge card or donation now!
We will provide a final summary of the campaign in the May 15th newsletter, along with a summary of the allocation recommendations which have been made for the funds raised this year.
We are still searching for the person who made a March donation via credit card -- we were unable to read the donor's name. PLEASE CALL Dolly Dean at 303-473-9600 so that we may acknowledge your donation. Unfortunately, we can't send an IRS-required thank-you without it.
-- Mrs. Kapsak
World History classes are looking forward to catapult day on May 21st. Students build catapults using the six simple machines of antiquity and then shoot them in friendly middle ages competition. What are those six simple machines? The inclined plane, the wedge, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the lever, and the screw. Parents are welcome to join us, and we understand that some of the math classes will be joining us to measure the height and velocity of our shots! If anyone has a spare, tall castle wall, please contact Mrs. Kapsak.
History Club is zooming toward the end of the year. We have restored a playground, continued to tutor children at a homeless shelter, completed our Showers to Go project, set up for a literacy book sale, had a bake sale, a book exchange, and will be cooking breakfast for the faculty on catapult day. We also have teams for the Children's Hospital Courage Classic bicycle ride this summer and a team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
We will soon be in the process of issuing invitations to second semester 7th graders to apply for National Junior Honor Society. Students with a cumulative 3.5 grade point and above (Summit's Honor Roll) from the beginning of 6th grade on will be invited to apply. Criteria are leadership, service, scholarship and character. A committee of faculty chaired by Mrs. Kapsak will review the applications and select the charter members of Summit's NJHS. Additional faculty committee members are Mr. Havens, Ms. Avallone, Mr. Teasdale, Ms. Kolanowski, Dr. Fotino, and Ms. Blakemore. This group will continue the community service tradition begun at Summit, providing service opportunities next year for any student who wishes to be involved in our projects, much as History Club has done for the past several years. NJHS members will select and organize these community-wide projects as part of their leadership requirement.
As you make summer plans, please keep in mind the following dates: School starts on August 23rd for new students; all new and returning students have a full day of classes on August 24th. The district follows a different schedule and does not start quite as early. Summit's charter mandates that we have school 180 days per year which is more days than the district requires.
Donating a book to the Summit library in honor of a special person provides a lasting reminder of your appreciation as well as benefiting our school. Please e-mail Summit's librarian at cathy.woods[at]bvsd.12.co.us if you would like a copy of our wish list. And … we're looking for donations of travel guides from around the world. Several class assignments involve planning trips in many countries, and we would like to provide access to travel guides in the library. They don't have to be brand-new, but shouldn't be more than five years old. And … we can always use donations of comic strip books such as Garfield, Zits, Far Side, etc.
1. Monday, May 3rd, returning students will be given forms to take home to have completed and returned to the office by May 11th. We are getting a "head start" on next year's information. Please check your child's backpack and have your pens handy.
2. An inventory of locks will begin shortly. Note our lock/locker policy: Every student is assigned a locker and lock at the beginning of the school year. Switching to another locker or lock is against school rules. The lockers and locks are school property and not the individuals'. Students may not place personal locks on hall lockers. The original lock assigned to the student must be on the locker at the end of the school year or the student will be charged a lock fee.
The Fairview Parent Organization (FPO) welcomes our 8th grade families who will be joining us in August. Volunteering with FPO is a great way to learn what's going on at Fairview and stay connected when your children enter high school. We also organize hospitality events for our teachers, publish the FairViews monthly newspaper and student directory, fundraise and provide volunteers for a variety of activities and governance committees. We would love to have you join us and have numerous opportunities available. For entering 9th graders, we need a class representative to help with registration in August, and a parent to organize the 9th grade/Link Leader pizza party for Thursday, August 26 (the 1st day of school for 9th graders). We are also looking for co-presidents of FPO, representatives to the School Improvement Team and Fairview Governing Board, a committee head for the Parent Engagement Network and other leadership positions. We have lots of experienced people to help you learn the ropes. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ruth Becker, 303-499-8522, rbeckerlaw[at]comcast.net or Nancy Vinson, 303-494-8848, nvinson1[at]aol.com, FPO Co-Presidents. Thank you.