Dear Summit Families,

We have enjoyed a very successful start to the school year. Your children have shown tremendous scholarship, maturity, respect, and responsibility in all aspects of school life from rigorous academics to community building and athletics. As usual, parent support has been high and we greatly appreciate your effort, care, and generosity.

We hope you enjoyed Back to School Night and we are looking forward to welcoming you for Parent Teacher Conferences next week. As conferences approach, now is the right time to pay attention to your student’s academic effort, achievement, and progress while keeping in mind that all children are unique learners who grow and develop at different rates. Please don’t expect perfection and embrace areas of growth as opportunities to encourage, not criticize. During our professional learning day this week, we revisited the topic of praise with our teachers. This is something I often do with parents noting three types of praise: general, specific, and effective praise.

General praise is saying “good job’ with a pat on the back. Specific praise is identifying the skill or action which led to the achievement and/or growth. Effective praise explains why the specific praise is important and how it makes a positive impact in the community. I often tell students “success starts with your achievements and ends with your contributions”. The positive messaging and modeling we provide to our middle school students is as important as any facts they learn in class, so please keep it up! Don’t forget the most important message you can give your child: I love you unconditionally and you are the most important person in the world to me!

A successful future for our students starts today with a bold vision for expanding the impact of a Summit education through Career & Technical Education (CTE). Our goal is to prepare students for their future as professionals in any career they choose as well as provide innovative opportunities to apply academic rigor. Construction is slated to begin after Winter break and conclude by 2026!

Special thanks to all of the Summit friends and families who are generously supporting our Design Futures fundraising effort. We have raised nearly $65k so far!

We hope you will get on board and come celebrate with us at our Design Futures Launch Party on Friday, October 18th from 5 to 7 pm at Milehimodern, 2015 Pearl St, Boulder. This is an adult only open house event, so drop in any time to gather and celebrate the future of Summit. We will provide adult beverages and hors d'oeuvres as well as discuss Design Futures plans. We might throw in a surprise or two! Please RSVP if you know in advance you can attend. Otherwise, just drop in!

Have a great Fall everyone and I hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Adam Galvin,

Principal

10/10-10/11: Fall Parent Teacher Conferences 1/2 Day of School

10/14: No School

11/11: Veterans Day - No School

11/25-11/29: Thanksgiving Break - No School

12/13: BEAST Half Day

12/16-12/20: Finals Week

12/23-1/6: Winter Break - No School

1/7/2025: Second Semester Begins

2/13 - 2/14/25: Spring Parent Teacher Conferences 1/2 Day of School

3/24-3/28/25: Spring Break - No School

4/18/25: Summit Day Off - No School

5/22/25: 8th Grade Graduation

5/23/25: Last Day of School

While listening to the Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting podcast this morning, I was reminded to approach a challenging teen with listening empathy rather than solely with the mindset of needing to be right. Dr. Lisa Damour explained,”Try to see the world from your teen's perspective and acknowledge their feelings, even if you don't agree. Celebrate small victories and improvements, which can help you stay encouraged. Lastly, take care of yourself. Engage in activities that rejuvenate you to better handle the daily ups and downs with your teen.”

With that said, hopefully you are able to read her NYT bestseller, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through The Seven Transitions Into Adulthood in preparation for our parent admin book talks coming up on Tuesday, October 15th (ch 1- 3) and Monday, December 2nd (ch 4-6, conclusion). Whether this is your first middle school go-around, or you are a parent of boys, please know there are anecdotes, conversation starters, and metacognitve tools discussed within this book that will improve your communication with your child and their peers. All parents and guardians are welcome (even if you haven’t really read). We would love you to be a part of our book talk community. We are asking that attendees RSVP here.

We are off to a great start with our Design Futures Building Campaign! Thanks to all who have contributed to this exciting project. Our goal is to raise $500,000 and we have raised almost $65,000. Below are the names of people who have contributed to Design Futures through September 30th.

To learn more about the Building Campaign, please visit the Design Futures webpage. You can contribute on this page and consider asking your employer if they will double your gift!

• All giving at our Purple level of $2,026 or higher will be recognized on a display with desired family name(s).

• Giving levels include: $5k Silver Level, $10k Gold Level, and $25k Platinum Level.

• Highly impactful gifts of $100K or more will be eligible for naming one of the new learning spaces: Innovation & Prototyping Lab, STEM Classroom, Culinary Classroom, Innovation Commons, Outdoor Build Lab, and Outdoor Learning Landscape.

• We also have opportunities for corporate giving and sponsorship.

All giving is greatly appreciated and will be acknowledged through our newsletters unless anonymous is preferred.

All giving levels removed

Willa Anderson

Megan MacLean & Ben Bang

Cat Bode

Lisa Schneder & Peter Booth

Elke Adler & Jim Callanan

Teri Carlson & Konoy Mandal

Robin & Dan Catlin

Laura Mancini Chan & Yu Chen Chan

Rico Changeux

Mary Class

Joelle & Matt Dahl

Jennifer & Sterling Dorish

Tickets to the Frozen Musical

Angela & Adam Galvin

Mercedes & Ron Gitter

Annie & Brian Haselfeld

International Night Donations

B.E.A.S.T. (“Bringing Everyone at Summit Together”)

B.E.A.S.T. programming during the month of September has been focused on building connections with one another, both during grade level time and on our BEAST day. On our BEAST day this month, we welcomed Resilience Speaker, Duncan Kirkwood. Duncan is the director of the Center for Resiliency at Villa Maria College and was a Master Resilience Trainer in the United States Army. He is the author of "Rerouting: Resilience Tools and Tactics." Duncan jump started our BEAST day with messages around the importance of being present, having courage, taking on new challenges, accepting that failure is a part of improving and the importance of living life like a GPS, being willing to reroute as necessary. We are grateful to have had Ducan join us again this year! If you would like to order Duncan’s book, please use this link.

Upstream Education

Through our partnership with Ustream, our students are learning ways to respond to their stress and build resilience. Through this partnership, we let our students know that their mental health is a priority. In sixth grade, students are given opportunities to try out these tools in Summit Seminar and through BEAST grade level time. In seventh grade, time is set aside every Tuesday so that students have the opportunity to pause and try out a new tool. Through the eighth grade Health course, Mr. Gattas incorporates elements of the Upstream curriculum into what he is calling “Focus Fridays.” As we introduce new Upstream tools, students have ongoing opportunities to learn and practice new ways to respond to their stress and anxiety. We encourage you to ask your student about these tools.

PARENT RESOURCES

Resetting Sleep Habits for Back-to-School, Delaney Ruston, MD

Why I Told Attorneys General That I Am Optimistic, Delaney Ruston, MD

Yearbooks are now on sale for $20. Yearbooks will be handed out the last day of school.

Summit held its annual Husky Bowl in September. Two teams were formed from the 6th and 7th grade Flag Football Intramural. They went head to head in an extremely close game!

Cross Country had a phenomenal season this year with meets against Nederland, Eldorado K8 and Southern Hills. These athletes worked hard by challenging their endurance, breaking records and making new friends along the way!

8th grade Flag Football held games against Broomfield Heights, Angevine, Platt, Southern Hills and Eldorado K8

Students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade had a great time connecting with their classmates at our first BEAST day of the year. We look forward to our next one in December where Summit focuses on community service.

This June, Summit sent a record number of National History Day competitors to the national competition held at the University of Maryland. Twelve students qualified for the competition with projects ranging from a timely and enlightening essay on the Bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946 to an immersive performance documenting the transformative power of Joseph Bazalgette’s sewer system that ended the Great Stink of London of 1858. Alex Kang and Joy Vernerey’s display on Buddy Bolden’s influence on the jazz music genre was featured on CBS Sunday Morning and aired across the country.

In addition to the competition, where students presented their projects to judges from across the country to best the other 3,000 competitors, we explored the sights and history of Washington DC! Summit students were a part of the Colorado cohort who met with Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennett to share their projects, ask questions, and celebrate the accomplishments of the entire Colorado delegation.

Summit students were standout competitors with two major achievements under our belt on the final day of the contest. Michael Zhang and Colin Eisner won a special award from the Library of Congress for Chronicling American History with their website on the impact of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring on the environmental movement in the US. Mina Berger, Sophia Duan, and Jessie Yan’s website on Colorado’s own Marion Downs’ groundbreaking work on pediatric audiology won the award for Best Junior Project from the state of Colorado.

Thanks to the incredible efforts of these students, Summit Charter Middle School continues to serve as a bright spot for future historians around the country! Thank you for the support from Summit families, and we look forward to the 24-25 participation in National History Day!

With gratitude,

Anna Royal

The Summit DI team placed 8th out of over 50 teams in their division at The Global Competition this summer. They had some setbacks but powered through and did amazing. The competition was on May 22nd-25th 2024 in Kansas City Missouri. This team has taken first at State for four years in a row, and this year they really crushed it. The team built a giant automated pin-ball field that uses a soccer ball, and had a funny and engaging skit to match. It was wildly creative and clever. They also crushed the instant challenge at both competitions. Congratulations to DI team!

Destination Imagination has been a important part of the BVSD offerings for nearly 20 years. Many students and parents have found it to be an incredible experience.

We now have our information nights set-up to kick-off this program for the 2024/25 school year and we want to get this information out to parents so that they can take advantage of this program. Destination Imagination is a BVSD sponsored program – see the BVSD web page: https://www.bvsd.org/parents-students/academics/bvsd-sponsored-events/destination-imagination

Could you please review the announcement below and include it in the upcoming school newsletters?

Please feel free to contact me.

Scott Dalgleish – BVSD Parent & Volunteer Destination Imagination Northern Colorado Regional Director - 720-988-8572, scottd442@gmail.com

Here is my suggested announcement…

Destination Imagination Experience

Discover the world of creativity and problem-solving with our BVSD-sponsored Destination Imagination program! This exciting program provides students with the opportunity to develop essential skills like innovation, project management, teamwork, and critical thinking while having a blast. But it's not just about the kids—being a team manager can be incredibly fulfilling for parents too. If you're curious about this enriching experience, please attend one of our information nights – or reach out to Scott Dalgleish at scottd442@gmail.com for more information.

· On-line Zoom information meeting will be held on the following dates: Sept 16 6:30, Oct 2 7:30, Oct 7 7:00, Oct 15 5:00, Oct 23 7:00, Nov 4 7:30.

• Preregistration is required for virtual Zoom meetings – register here: https://www.dicolorado.com/information-night-reservation-page-for-noco-canyon-region/

· In-Person meetings will be held on these dates: Sept 18 Superior Elementary Info Table 5:30, Sept 23 in-person Nativity Faith & Reason 6:30, Oct 16 5:00 Escuela Bilingüe Pioneer.

Learn more at: https://www.dicolorado.com/ and https://www.bvsd.org/parents-students/academics/bvsd-sponsored-events/destination-imagination . We look forward to welcoming both parents and students to explore Destination Imagination!

Take a quick peek in Mr. English's Robotics Class. Students were having a blast testing out their Robots! They used force sensors to sense a wall and turn 180 degrees and then end in the same starting position.

Click Below for more information on earning and where to spend Trip Tracker dollars.

The first Parent Connections meeting is next Friday, September 6th at 8:00am. Join other Summit parents to connect, collaborate and build community! Meetings are typically the first Friday of every month.