Boulder Valley School District

September 5, 2017

Summit Middle School Summit News Calendar

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Late Start, Classes Start at 9:00AM

Cross Country District Meet 1

4:00PM at Waneka Lake

Friday, September 8, 2017

Community Coffee at 8:00AM

Monday, September 11, 2017

Intramural Flag Football

Culminating Tournament at Summit

4:00PM

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Intramural Girl’s Volleyball Culmi-

nating Tournament 4:00PM at

Nederland Junior High School

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Parent Connections Meeting at

8:00AM

Cross Country Time Trial, 4:00PM at

Nederland Junior High School

Friday, September 15, 2017

Half Day of School for All Students

8:00AM—11:45AM

Monday, September 18, 2017

Summit in Session

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

District Cross Country Final Meet

4:00PM at Harlow Platts Community

Park

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Late Start, Classes Start at 9:00AM

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Parent Connections Meeting 8:00AM

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Picture Retake Day!

Community Screening of Chasing

Coral at 6:30PM

Dear Summit Families, Wow! The rush and excitement of the start of school is finally starting to ease up; students and teachers are settling into patterns of deep learning, strong effort, and fun connections with friends. Ms. Frykholm spoke during the 8th grade Back To School night presentation about running into an alumnus at King Soopers who commented, “I hear Summit is changing.” Ms. Frykholm smiled, affirming many areas we are innovating, continu-ously improving and striving to provide what students need today, and not 12 years ago. Our new facility has opened avenues for innovation. Our faculty have been both challenged and invigorated by new practices this year, including: Schoology, The 8th Grade Pinnacle Experience, interdisciplinary partnerships, new courses, new tech-nology and as always modeling our mission of lifelong learning. So yes, Summit is changing, as it should. We continue to improve middle school education in Boulder Valley with our incredibly talented students who love to learn. Speaking of talented faculty and students...On the 2017 state assessments, Summit students once again showed very high achievement. The results for 2017 were:

87% of Summit students met or exceeded expectations in English as compared to 58% - BVSD and 43% - State.

82% of Summit students met or exceeded expectations in math as compared to 54% - BVSD and 35% - State. Note that most of our 8th graders took high school math tests in Algebra and Geometry.

67% of Summit students met or exceeded expectations in 8th Grade science as compared to 45% - BVSD and 30% - State.

69% of Summit students met or exceeded expectations in 7th grade social studies as compared to 28% - BVSD and 18% - State.

These results indicate that Summit students are well prepared for the more rigorous PARCC and CMAS assessment format. As well as meeting and exceeding student growth goals on state assessments, our participation rate is nearly 95% - amongst the highest in the school district. So while our curriculum and campus are keeping up with the 21st century, learning expectations are still true to our mission of rigorous academics with high lev-els of learning and achievement. I know all of your students will be thriving at Summit this school year, and we look forward to partnering with you along the way. Sincerely, Adam Galvin Principal

Principal’s Column

Dear Summit Families,

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I want to welcome all new and return-

ing families to Summit. This will be another great year in the new building, with

this year’s 6th grade class being the first to spend all three years in the new space.

I hope everyone enjoyed Back to School Night and is looking forward to a reward-

ing school year.

There are many ways to be involved with the Summit community. For those

of you that are interested, please consider joining the Summit Board of Directors.

The Board is responsible for the effective governance and continual support of the

school administration and teachers, to ensure an engaging successful middle

school experience for all students, families, and faculty. Information about the

Board can be found here.

Some of the Board committees include: Finance, School Accountability and

Strategic Planning and Development and External Relations. If you are interested

in potentially joining the Board of Directors, feel free to contact me. Board elec-

tions take place in early spring.

In addition to the Board of Directors, there are many different opportunities

to get involved. Please consider joining Parent Connections (there is a Parent Con-

nections Information Sheet that you can access off the Parent page on Summit’s

website), volunteering at some of the many school events, and donating money

and/or time to specific teacher requests. Click here for volunteer opportunities!

Thank you for your time and welcome!

Diane Sankey diane.sankey@bvsd.org Chair, Summit Board of Directors

The Board of Directors A Message From

Summit Middle School is honored to an-nounce that Andrew Busch, our 8th grade Advanced Algebra and Proof Geometry teacher, has been awarded the Colorado Council of Teachers of Math-ematics (CCTM) Outstanding Math Teacher of the Year for 2017. Join us in celebrating Andrew and his excellent accomplishments! Andrew Busch hasn’t simply taught second-ary math for 17 years - he has also integrated his teaching with embedded skills and curiosities in art, design, engineering, programming and real-world mathematical applications in both his classroom and his life. One of the reasons Andrew is so successful in his classroom instruction is because he holds a deeply-rooted conviction and purpose for his own understanding of mathematical concepts and the un-bounded intersections and mysteries of math, sci-ence, art, technology and music. He relates so well to his students because he is not afraid to model these interactions and to play, explore, experiment and question alongside his students. They feel his genuine desire to understand the world in ways ex-plained by mathematical thinking. That vulnerabil-ity and excitement is what makes for an outstanding teacher. In addition to being an outstanding teacher, Andrew is an innovator and team leader. He brings a fresh and innovative voice to the faculty at Summit and creates collaborative conversations that propel others to see potential for interdisciplinary and deep-

er thinking practices. He serves on STEM, hiring and math team councils and is the school representa-tive to the Boulder Valley Schools Math profession-al development team. He is an active researcher and presenter at local math conferences, including the most recent CCTM conference. Constantly learning and developing, Andrew regularly attends confer-ences in math, technology and art. He leads our math department in redesigning curriculum for alignment with common core standards and 21st century learn-ing skills. He works hard to vertically align student competencies in his classes with both his middle school team and with the advanced math teams at our local high schools. He is a teacher on the lead-ing edge - actively sharing his work and ideas through social media sites and professional learning forums. At the same time, he is a true Renaissance man, one who sees a new challenge, like painting, learning to play guitar or mastering a new program-ming language, and says to himself, “Of course, I can do that!” I recently sat down with Andrew and talked about his passions for teaching and math: What do you love about teaching and teaching math? “I love helping students make sense of the world around them. I want them to grow up to be curious and interesting people.” When you think about your journey as a teacher, what stands out? “In the last five years, I have shifted in my teaching to be very intentional and to improve my craft in deliberate ways. My teaching is now about being reflective and constantly growing and learn-ing.” Why is math important? “My first falling in love was with math. It was about beauty and elegance. That’s why I have a math degree and an art degree; they very much com-plement each other. I often talk to my students about math being magic - the mars rover, predicting eclipses - that’s sorcery. Being able to predict what is going to happen in the environment, it’s incredi-ble. It is the key to our future. I want students to know that it is what you do with the numbers (now that we are swimming in numbers), that counts. If you can tell the story that these numbers are telling, then you become vital to our storytelling.”

Celebrating our Outstanding Faculty Andrew Busch: Colorado Council of Mathematics

Teacher of the Year Written By: Cece Davis

Summit Athletics UPCOMING

SPORTS SEASON DATES

REGISTRATION

DEADLINE

6th/7th Grade Boys Basketball

(Intramural)

September 13 TO

October 4

September 18th

AT 9AM

8th Grade Girls Volleyball (Interscholastic) Physical Required

September 22 TO

October 30

September 15th

AT 9AM

Lost& Found

Lost & Found is located in the Art & Music wing, to the right of the Café through the main en-trance. If you have lost a planner, folder, sweatshirt, lunch box, PE t-shirt etc. please check the lost and found regularly!

Please remember that at the end of each month, things that are not claimed and do not have names on them will be donated!

The best way to avoid losing something is to put your name on it!

NOTE: Any small or expensive items that are lost (ie. computers, glasses, jewelry) will be stored in the office until picked up and identified by the owner! These items will be donated at the end of the year.

SAFETY Reminder! Parents, Students and Staff: Please remember to be aware of your surroundings while com-ing and going from school! Pay attention at crosswalks and intersections, make sure to look both ways before crossing the street, and please be respectful to our neighbors that live in the neighborhoods around the school. Thank you!

Student Well-Being Summit is “No Place for Hate” Join our No Place for Hate committee and work together with youth, other parents, and members of the wider community to ensure Summit is a prejudice-free, di-verse, and inclusive community. We will meet in the Math/Science Commons on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month from 11:45-12:15. Contact Elizabeth Bur-rows with questions and suggestions. Summit Seminar Resource This week in Summit Seminar, students learned about growth mindset. Together we explored the concepts of fixed and growth mindsets, the implications of one’s mindset on learning and personal success, research and resources, and our own mindset patterns. Ask your student what they learned and how they will apply this learning going forward. (this was their homework!). Ask what you can do to pro-mote a focus on growth and well-being.

Join us for a Community Coffee, with a growth mindset focus, on Friday, Septem-ber 8th from 8-9 AM in the Café.

To help aid disaster victims in Texas we are urg-ing members of the caring Summit community to pro-vide support. We will run a simple relief drive all this week beginning Tuesday, September 5th and ending Friday, September 8th at 4pm.

We will have Giant Texan 10-Gallon-Harvey-Hat, custom made by our art students, to collect donations! All proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross at the end of the week. Parents, students, faculty and staff can pitch any amount of money into the Harvey Hat, which is located in the front office! Please make checks payable to The American Red Cross.

Hurricane Harvey Donations!

Please join the Catalina Island travel elective for a community screening of Chasing Coral. All Summit families are welcome! Cast member and educational outreach di-rector Zack Rago will be in attendance to introduce the film and answer questions.

The Film: CHASING CORAL: AN EXPOSURE LABS PRODUCTION

Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of di-vers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover

why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world.

The community screening of Chasing Coral will be held in Husky Hall Thursday, September 28th, 2017 at 6:30PM

“An emotional race against time” – The New York Times

The Solar Eclipse

Community Screening of Chasing Coral

On August 21st, 2017 Summit Middle School students gathered on the field

to view and learn about the Solar Eclipse. This was truly an amazing experience!

While the total solar eclipse occurs somewhere on Earth about every 18 months, it

has been 38 years since the last total solar eclipse passed through the United

States, and 99 years since the last coast-to-coast eclipse. We were very fortunate to

get to experience this once in a lifetime event with all of our students!

All of the CU Wizards are thrilled and looking forward to seeing young audiences eager to learn!

First up: CU Wizards Seasonal Premiere Go with the Flow! Professor Janet deGrazia, CU Boulder

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, will delight young science enthusiasts by demonstrating

some extraordinary, and unexpected, properties of fluids. Did you know that you can use water to start a fire?

Or that hydrogen by itself won’t burn, but add enough air and BOOM! What happens to a little ethanol in a

bottle if we add a wee spark? How can two fluids become a solid, when mixed together? How is smelly red

cabbage juice especially useful?

Many more great CU Wizards shows are in the line-up for the 2017-18 season. Please check out the

attached schedule and mark your calendars. On our website you will also find an e-Calendar that can be

downloaded into your own with one click!

CU Wizards shows are held in exciting venues; including two stellar CU Wizard shows at the CU

Planetarium: Geology Professor Brian Hynek’s Rocks on Mars and Astrophysics Professor Andrew Hamil-

ton’s Blackholes. Also Madame Curie, played by Master Storyteller Susan Marie Frontczak, will be making a

very special appearance in Old Main Chapel, a special celebration of this upcoming year marking the 150th

anniversary of Curie’s birth.

In January, Nobel Laureate Physics Professor Eric Cornell will get 2018 going with Speed, followed

by Chemistry Professor David Nesbitt in February who will reveal the secret for perfect pie dough in The

Chemistry of Cooking.

Mother’s Day weekend will feature a special guest from Washington D.C., American Physics Society;

Physicist Dr. Becky Thompson will present an inspiring CU Wizards show especially for middle and high

school students, Above All Else: The Physics of Wonder Woman.

Please Visit the CU Wizards’ website for more information about all the upcoming shows.

Thank you, and ‘CU’ soon!

A Very Awesome Year of CU Wizards is Brewing...

Friday, September 15, 2017

is a Half Day!

Monday, September 18, 2017

we HAVE school!

Please note that Monday, September 18th,

2017 BVSD is off school for a professional

development day. However, Summit will be in

session.

Reminder! Calendar Oops! There will be no lunch served on Friday, Sep-

tember 15th because it is a half day of school for

Summit. The lunch listed on the School Menu

Calendar will be served Monday, September

18th, 2017.

Monday, September 18, 2017 Menu:

Chicken Strips & Dipping Sauce & Dinner roll

Tofu Bibimbap

Red Pork Tamales

Refried Beans and Brown Rice

Thanks to everyone in the community for learning our new Learning Management System, Schoology. Here is a quick list of the important steps to take:

1. Use the link from the Summit Webpage to access your log-on page.

2. When you log in, use the District-provided user name and password. Email Enrique Gonzales-Moore at enrique.gonzales-moo@bvsd.org if you did not get the Schoology email with this registration information. 3. Once you are logged in, go to Account Settings page to change your password.

4. Also, check your notifications on this same menu; turn notifications off for ease of use. 5. Explore the Calendar Link and the Grades Link on left hand column with your student to see upcoming assignments and progress in class. 6. Click the “Download Student Report” on Grades page, to see a comprehensive report of current grades in each class. 7. Explore class pages for materials and resources needed for class. 8. Let us know how things are going!

Schoology: Tips for Success

To provide a rigorous, academic curriculum that promotes high levels of student effort and academic achievement.

To foster high self-esteem through stimulating intellectual challenge and meaningful academic accomplishment.

To inspire in students a lifelong love of learning, a desire for self-development and good citizenship.

To create a caring community of peers who value scholarship, academic achievement, and creativity.

To serve as an excellent preparation for students intending to study in rigorous college preparatory high school programs, including International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement.

Summit Mission Statement

Boulder Valley School District

Summit Middle School

4655 Hanover Avenue

Boulder, CO 80305

720-561-3900

http://sum.bvsd.org

Diane Sankey, Chair diane.sankey@bvsd.org

Ron Wawrzynek, Treasurer ron.wawrzynek@bvsd.org

Carin Chow carin.chow@bvsd.org

Kevin Hall kevin.hall@bvsd.org

Michelle Moore Hernandez michelle.hernandez@bvsd.org

Nina Lopez nina.lopez@bvsd.org

Debbie Stewart debbie.stewart@bvsd.org

Ross Wehner ross.wehner@bvsd.org

Summit Middle School

Board of Directors