June 1, 2004
Volume 17, No. 10
When you head down out of the mountains into Denver on I-70 there are signs that say: "Truckers -- Do Not Be Fooled! You Are Not Down Yet!" As we approach the end of the school year it can start to feel that way as well. The weather is warm and summer is beckoning. Each year there are some students who begin to think and act (and dress) as if they are already done with school before the end of the year actually arrives. So let us remember -- we are not down yet! The last days of the school year are crucial and it is most important for students to remain focused and end the year on a strong note.
Speaking of the end of the year, I would like to remind the entire Summit community that our 8th grade graduation will be held on Friday, June 4th ,at 1:00 p.m. at Boulder High School. Everyone is invited to share with our graduates and their families in this joyous occasion. It is our tradition at Summit that all of our 6th and 7th graders attend graduation in order to show their support for their classmates. I ask that parents speak to their children regarding appropriate conduct at graduation and that you help monitor the conduct of your children during graduation, if you attend the ceremony. Sixth and 7th graders should report to Summit on June 4th at the regular time of 8:10 a.m. (except for those students who are performing music for graduation). Sixth and 7th graders coming to Summit on June 4th need to bring their own lunch. There will be no lunch service provided on that day. Sixth and 7th graders will be bused to Boulder High School from Summit at 12:30 p.m..
All 8th graders and students performing music at graduation should report directly to the main auditorium at Boulder High School at 10:00 a.m. sharp on June 4th . Please be punctual! The rehearsal and class photograph will take place from 10:00 until 12:00. Lunch will be provided for Summit 8th graders and music students at Boulder High School. The actual graduation ceremony will begin at 1:00 p.m. Parking is limited in the parking lot at Boulder High School so you are encouraged to arrive early. The auditorium will be open at 12:30 p.m. The Boulder Police Department Parking Services Division has given us permission to park on the side streets around Boulder High School from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on June 4 without being ticketed. This applies to regular, street parking only. Prohibitions regarding parking in driveways, in front of fire hydrants, in no-parking zones, etc., will still be enforced. There will be a reception after the graduation ceremony in the cafeteria at Boulder High School. All students must be picked up at Boulder High School as there will be no supervision after 3:00 p.m.
Students and families are only allowed in the auditorium, cafeteria and the hallway connecting these two rooms. We have been told by Boulder High that people found wandering around other areas of the building will be considered to be trespassing.
A founding teacher at Summit, Ms. Frohbieter has taught math at our school since 1996. She will be leaving Summit at the end of this school year and will be deeply missed. A skilled and patient teacher, Ms. Frohbieter has taught hundreds of students during her tenure here. She has always provided a calming influence, a steady hand, and a methodical and constructive approach to problem solving during the past eight years. She has helped nurture a new generation of mathematicians. She has been the faculty coordinator of our Math Counts Competition and has organized our in-school awards ceremonies. A key figure in our math department, Ms. Frohbieter has worked to steadily refine and coordinate our math curriculum. A committed educator and fine person, she has been instrumental in helping to make Summit the outstanding school it is today. We are all indebted to her and know that her legacy will live on through the students she has taught and through this school which she has helped to create. With Ms. Frohbieter's departure we are obviously looking for a math teacher and ask Summit parents to encourage any outstanding candidates you may know to apply.
Mr. Doug Ackerson, our music teacher, is moving to Indiana this summer to be closer to family and friends. Mr. Ackerson has done an incredible job with our music program and we thank him for all of his energy, humor, and dedication to our music students. Mr. Hirshfield, our Silver Rain choral teacher, will be teaching all of our choral groups this coming school year. We are currently interviewing for an instrumental music teacher. If you know of any qualified candidates please encourage them to apply.
Ms. Dornbush, who has taught art, physiccal education, and health at Summit the past three years, is moving to Steamboat Springs this summer. (Yes, we are all jealous!) Our school has been immeasurably enriched by Ms. Dornbush's creativity and energy. We shall miss her infectious laugh and the love of the arts she has so diligently nurtured in our students. We will also be looking for an art teacher to replace Ms. Dornbush. If you know of any solid candidates please also encourage them to apply.
Mr. Chris Kilgore, our French teacher, is moving to Paris this summer to study in a doctoral program. We thank Mr. Kilgore for teaching French to our students with such passion and commitment. Ms. Annie Perrine has been hired to replace Mr. Kilgore as our French teacher for the coming school year and we welcome Ms. Perrine to Summit.
Mr. Tim DeBerry, who took over Coach Adams' physical education teaching responsibilities when Coach Adams moved to Virginia a couple of months ago, will be continuing next year as our main P.E. teacher. Welcome Coach DeBerry.
Ms. Wharton, Summit's Office Manager and Registrar, will be leaving at the end of the school year. We thank Mrs. Wharton for all she has done to keep the school running so efficiently and professionally. Ms. Pam Ringenbach has been hired to take over as the new Office Manager and Registrar beginning in August. Welcome Ms. Ringenbach.
Due to a grant Summit received this year from the Walton Foundation, a number of our teachers and administrative staff will be able to develop and refine curriculum this summer. Curriculum work will be done in the areas of science fair, English, Social Studies, Algebra II/Trigonometry, Spanish, French, and Music.
It has been a memorable school year, a year in which Summit earned the National Blue Ribbon Award and during which time Summit's educational program has continued to distinguish itself as one of the best in the United States. We are justly proud of our school, and our success is due to all of us -- teachers, administration, students, and parents -- working together as a school community that values academic excellence, scholarship, creativity, life-long love of learning, a desire for self-development, and mutual respect and responsibility. Thanks to each of you for your continued support and commitment to Summit. Have a wonderful summer!
-- Mr. Finell
Through May 28th, we have received a grand total of $99,783.72 in donations. We are only $216.28 from our goal of $100,000 -- if you have been meaning to send in that donation, won't you please do it today? Donations are gratefully accepted through 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.
Donations to date have come from 203 families and 19 alumni family -- our participation rate is 75%. Thanks to the following who have contributed recently: Charla Berens, Marianna and Nick Gnedin, and Holly Howard and Michael Oldham.
A big thank you from Summit, its teachers and staff, the Summit Board and the Board of SOS -- we couldn't have reached this amount in donations or this percentage of participation without the generous support of so many of our families. We appreciate all of our families for their contributions to this campaign and for all of the other ways in which families contribute to the school of their time, resources and talents.
-- Dolly Dean, Chair
Our grocery certificate program has been very successful this year. Through May we have sold more than $56,000 worth of certificates. Our profit for the year from these sales, Escrip, and Albertson's dividends totals $3,443, an increase over previous years.
Next year, we will again sell certificates before school in the front parking lot two Friday mornings per month. In your registration packets is a form to be returned about supporting the grocery certificate program. Please consider a monthly pledge … it helps our school and costs you nothing! Thanks for your support throughout the year!
-- Dolly Dean, Chair
Tuesday: the kitchen will have only school-district hot lunch and milk available for purchase; NO PIZZA, Wednesday: the kitchen will have only school -istrict hot lunch and milk available for purchase; NO SUBWAY. Thursday & Friday: No lunch service at all at Summit.
Thursday, 3rd NO LUNCH SERVICE AVAILABLE; Summit Board Meeting - 6:30 p.m.
Friday, 4th NO LUNCH SERVICE AVAILABLE; last day of classes and graduation
Thanks to the many families who generously donated to this year's SOS campaign. Because of you, the SOS board was able to approve many requests that will improve education and life at Summit.
Expenditures this year include: New girls uniforms for basketball, uniform upgrades for other sports, two computer projectors, new office computer, computers with earphones and speakers for the Spanish classrooms, wall maps for Spanish classrooms, CD/cassette player for the German classroom, digital video camera for a microscope, new desks for the front office, new shelving to hold more library books, percussion equipment, baritone saxophone, steel drum, microphones and boom stands, multi-regional DVD player that will play DVDs formatted for Europe, Asia or North America, new computer server, new keyboard, amplifier, receiver, speaker and cables, a drum set, weight benches, new gym floor lines, digital micropipette set, set of gas spectra tubes, electronic pH meters, lab tables and chairs for chemistry room, tables for the World History classroom, DVD library start-up funds, and donor-specified gifts to the musical, the music program and History Club. A lab dishwasher will be purchased once the electrician determines that adequate power is available.
In addition to the many requests approved through TFL this year, Summit's Board was able to accommodate a number of other requests through the capital construction funding provided from the state and federal government and the Walton Grant. Through the Walton Grant, teachers will be working on curriculum revisions over the summer, and we expect that from those curriculum revisions will come more requests in early fall for materials to support revisions to our curriculum, and some of this year's SOS funding will be used to acquire those materials early in the school year.
We very much appreciate all of the donations made through Tools for Learning. Your generosity allowed the Board and the SOS Board to say "yes" to many, many requests. We would also like to recognize the outstanding contribution of Dolly Dean, who ran this year's campaign with incredible efficiency and effectiveness, and who has agreed to do it again next year. We hope she enjoys a relaxing summer after her year of very hard work.
-- Barb Kostanick, Summit Treasurer
We are in need a chairperson or chairpersons to "head-up" our Parent Volunteer Committee for next school year. Our current co-chairs have graciously consented to input all the PVC surveys into a database for the new chair to have on hand by the first day of school. If you are interested in this position, or know of anyone who might be, please call the office at 303-499-9511.
Preparing the school for returning students is a huge job, and Debby Mercer, the head custodian, is looking for help. If you think you may be available for a few hours during the week of August 16th, thank you! Please contact Wendy Blakemore or Karen Van Dusen (kvandusen[at]comcast.net) so they can get a list of helpers started.
A donation to the Summit Library is a wonderful way to honor a student, teacher or volunteer! It's not too late to honor someone this school year. Contact Mrs. Woods if you would like to donate a book. (cathy.wood[at]bvsd.k12.co.us)
Recent, a copy of Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer was donated in honor of Ms. Frohbieter from a grateful family.
We're still accepting donations of travel guides from all over the world. Remember us when you return from all those exciting summer vacations!
Our students enjoy having a variety of comic books available in the library, but they wear out quickly! If you have gently used copies of Garfield, Far Side, or other comic books that you could donate to the library, please contact Mrs. Woods.
-- Mrs. Woods
This spring, English IV piloted a new independent drama unit, and the students performed to rave reviews from teachers and classmates. For the project, groups of students selected a play from a list of challenging works by playwrights from Sophocles to Arthur Miller. This year's class chose The Crucible, The Rivals, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Desire Under the Elms, and A Doll's House to research, read, and perform. While preparing their performances, students were expertly assisted by stage actor Howard Lester, our artist-in-residence from the Denver Center for Performing Arts, who taught them how to represent literature visually and to develop character through blocking, gesture, and voice. (Special thanks to Alison Shetter, who once again helped us access the DCPA grants for our artists-in-residence this year!)
In addition to performing a significant portion of each play, students undertook research on the playwright's life, the historical or cultural context of the play, the history of productions on stage or in film, and critical responses to the plays. Student groups then compiled these research pieces, adding a few creative bits -- like puzzles, drawings, or fictitious (and hilarious) bios of the "actors" -- to create playbills to publish to the audience before each performance.
Mr. Finell, Ms. Avallone, and the students and teachers who had the opportunity to see the students were amazed, not only by the quality of the acting, but also by the depth of analysis reflected in the discussions of the plays that preceded and followed each performance. Howard's reaction captured quite well the audience's response: "You know, you really wouldn't think middle school students could do this level of work." The class feted the close of the unit last week with some sweet rewards, including the "forbidden" macaroons Ibsen's protagonist likes to nibble, not to mention universally excellent grades!
After such a successful pilot of the unit, Ms. Avallone hopes to make the independent drama unit a permanent part of the English IV curriculum and welcomes suggestions for new plays to add to the list, as well as your continued support of Tools for Learning to help purchase copies of the plays for next year.
-- Amanda Avallone
Many of you may remember Samuel Shekanena who worked in the kitchen at Summit over the past couple of years. Samuel is now driving a school bus for BVSD. Samuel is originally from the Congo and he is going back there next month to bring his mother to Boulder to live. It is a dangerous situation in that part of Africa and Samuel tells me that he has seen his mother for only one week in the past 15 years. The cost of flying to the Congo and bringing his mother to the U.S.A. is exorbitant and Samuel is asking for help in paying the expenses. If you are interested in contributing something to help Samuel, please place your donation in the large manila "Samuel Shekanena Fund" envelope which is in the front office at the school. I will be turning over all donations to Samuel at the end of the school year. Thank you.
-- Mr. Finell
With the May pass, the TeenPass-by-Mail Program will come to an end. The program has been a great success, however, funding is not available to continue for the next school year. We appreciate your patronage. With almost 1,400 students enrolled from 35 schools in Boulder, the program has been successful in reinforcing the value of transportation options for students. In addition, the program has worked to reduce traffic congestion and auto pollution by removing cars from the roads.
Fortunately, the TeenPass itself lives! Next school year, the TeenPass will be available at middle and high schools in Boulder for a discounted price of $17.00 a month (cash or checks made to "BVSD"). For June, July, and August, the TeenPass may be purchased for the regular price of $23.00 at the Boulder RTD station, King Soopers and Safeway stores. For another by-mail option, please note that RTD offers the annual student ValuPass ($253.00). See www.RTD-Denver.com or call RTD at 303-299-6000 for more information. Again, thank you for your support of the TeenPass-by-Mail Program. Please feel free to call us at 303-447-5120 if you have questions or comments.
-- Landon Hilliard and Margaret Trevarton, Student Transportation, BVSD
Congratulations to the Summit Spanish Club on a wonderful year filled with culturally enriching activities and service projects benefiting the Hispanic community and others. Many thanks to our officers, Co-Presidents Erin Silk and Anahita Khosravi, Secretary Gwen McGillivray, Treasurer Sandy MacDonnel, Activities Chair Rachel Baum, Store Director Alison Ferris and the many club members who work hard to achieve success in our mission: Kate MacDonnell, Jordan Cahn, Lauren Berens, Lisa Han, Lizzy Halpern, Sabine Kunz, Boya Liu, Elizabeth Fleagle, Helen Sims, Caroline Melhado, Teresa Wong, Alexandra Rogers, Tomas Davids, Melanie Harwood, Sam Galler, Daniel Weidlein, Danielle Kushner, Dana Stepleton and Rachel Robinson.
This year, Spanish Club accomplished many goals. Activities included:
All students are welcome to join Spanish Club at any time. Our mission is to become culturally aware and provide support to the Hispanic community. Please see any Spanish Club member or Mrs. Blakemore if you have questions or would like to join the club!
-- Mrs. Blakemore
Congratulation to Summit's track team on a great season! Although the official results of the Districk Meet were not completely available at press time, there were some outstanding performances, wins and personal bests. Your efforts over the six weeks did not go unrewarded! A celebration was held at lunch on Tuesday, June 1st. You make Summit proud.
-- Mrs. Blakemore, Mr. Liebowitz, and Mr. Havens
Congratulations to all Summit students, families and friends who participated in the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day. It was a day full of effort as well as a tremendous amount of fun and camaraderie. Results will not be available until after graduation. Check the newspaper or on-line for your own results and we'll publish all the info on Summit's success in the fall!
---Mrs. Blakemore
P.S. Check the Lost and Found before leaving for summer break. There's lots of good stuff there, and some of it may belong to someone you know and love!