A Day Off or On?

Teacher In-service Day…students “off” and teachers on, right? It doesn’t have to be an “off” day for Summit students. Learning Extension Camps are new this year at Summit. While most of our staff works together on professional development initiatives and school planning, a select few, connected with our community partners, will spend a day full of adventure and wonder with our kids. It’s a day ON!

Monday, February 16 marks the third full day Learning Extension Camp at Summit, and this month we’re heading down to the NewBo District. Our full day of experience is hosted at The Vault, in the Geonetrics Building.  The Vault is “a community of founders, innovators, entrepreneurs, starters and creatives.” We’ll be teaming up with a few of those starters and creatives and tapping into the innovative energy of the NewBo/Czech Village neighborhoods. Our kids will experience everything from coding to cookies on Monday. CR Coder Dojo founder David Tominsky is on tap for hands-on coding & circuits (banana piano anyone?). Later in the day, we’ll explore the Czech culture, learning traditional Czech and Slovac dances and sampling ginger cookies with our friends from the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. That’s not all we’re doing; we’ll also team up with the Science Center and with Movmnt Dance Company (wondering how we’ll move this time? Think Stomp-style body percussion!)

“Great alternative to staying home!” ~ Summit Parent

With two successful Learning Extension Camps under our belts (in October and November) we’ve introduced kids to dramatic production through Theatre Cedar Rapids, creating fantastic works from clay with The Ceramics Center and deep nature exploration at Indian Creek Nature Center just to name a few elements. Feedback from our parents indicates having an experience-based alternative on a non-school day is a plus.

“I loved eating lunch on the library roof!” ~ Summit student

Feedback from our kids is priceless! Students attending extension camps ask when we’re doing it again. Eating lunch on the roof of the Cedar Rapids Public Library still gets brought up in lunch room conversations. Our kids get the chance to connect with each other outside of the classroom, AND get the chance to hang out with some pretty amazing community partners at the same time.

It’s not too late to sign up for Monday’s Learning Extension Camp. To get full details, including registration information, CLICK HERE.

Hope to see you there on Monday!

To Recieve

“It’s just so nice to give a gift to someone in your family and have it be a total surprise.”

“I like picking something out to buy that I think my dad will love to open.”

“It was so fun to shop without my parents or grandparents. Then the present was a secret for everybody.”

As adults we understand the joys of giving. Of spending time considering the gift and the recipient. Of anticipating the reaction and enjoying the surprise. It’s no wonder that our children want in on this action! The quotes above are from current and recently graduated Summit students talking about Summit’s Annual Holiday Gift Market. Every year, Summit volunteers create a shopping experience for our students. We transform the multi-purpose room into an eclectic gift shop featuring gifts for parents, siblings, grandparents and even pets!

Here’s how it works: for two days in December, the MPR (multi-purpose room) is magically transformed into a gift shop. Gift prices range from a quarter to a dollar, so kids come to school with around $5 and then get down to business. “Personal shoppers” help our kids select gifts, check out and wrap and tag their treasures. Fast forward to your holiday celebration and get ready for your surprise!

To pull this off, we need your help. We estimate it takes around 50-60 volunteer hours to make the Summit HGS work. We’d love your help setting up, shopping with the kids, wrapping gifts (don’t worry if you’re not a great wrapper…we use lots of gift bags!) and finally tearing down. And the benefit to you? Helping our kids pull off a holiday gift exchange they can be proud of (and that just might turn into an annual holiday story!)

“As a volunteer, I love interacting with the kids. Preschoolers are focused on the wonder of buying gifts all by themselves. First graders are looking for the best gift. The fifth graders are trying to use their money to their best advantage.”

How can you help? Two ways:

1) Volunteer your time! We need help setting up on Wednesday, December 10th, starting at 5:30PM. “Many hands make light work” and if we have a some great hands, we think we’ll have everything set up within an hour and a half.  We also need personal shopping assistants, check-out help and gift wrappers on Thursday, December 11 from 8:40AM-2:30PM (with a break for lunch) and again on Friday, December 12 from 8:40-10:30AM and from 12:40-1:50PM. Stop by the front desk or email Molli (molli.cunningham@summitschools.org) OR look for the VolunteerSpot sign up form coming soon to your email box to sign up for a spot. Join us for as little or long as your schedule allows.

2) Make a donation: While we’ve got a small collection of gifts already, we can use more! Our goal, of course, is to have enough gifts so each child can purchase a gift for all of his/her immediate family members. If you have gently used, no longer wanted items (books, flashlights, decor, stuffed animals) or would like to donate a few new things (lotions/soaps, cards, candles, hot chocolate or other holiday foods/mixes) please drop them off at the front desk by Monday, December 8. If you’re short on collecting time and would like to donate cash, we’ll shop for you!

Thanks for being part of this Summit holiday tradition!

“We’re going to Yale!”

It’s actually Y.A.L.E. = Yet Another Learning Experience. But at it’s inception, saying one was “going to Yale” was half the fun!

Y.A.L.E. had its start at McLeod Academy. One of the teachers at the time, Tracy Corell, wanted to share her passion for knitting with her students. Knitting wasn’t part of the curriculum…Y.A.L.E. was born. The idea for having staff, parents and students share their passions and learn with and from each other took off. Early Y.A.L.E. activities included sessions on kite making, paper airplanes, quilting, math puzzles and science experiments and creating with duct tape (before it was a “thing”).

Summit focused the Y.A.L.E. program into multiple aspects: a physical component, a community project/service learning component and a financial literacy component facilitated through Junior Achievement.  Since then our kids have participated in swimming lessons, ice skating lessons, gymnastics classes, taekwondo classes and more. Parents and grandparents have played a key role in transporting our kids to these classes and lessons.

During the first few years of the service learning component, Pat’s students took on the responsibility for organizing and implementing a blood drive. The Char Hegland Memorial Blood Drive was well organized and successful in the hands of Pat’s students. Char was the long-time office manager, starting at Linn Academy, staying through McLeod Academy through the start of Summit Schools. In previous years, Char had organized a blood drive for school staff. As a well loved member of the McLeod and later Summit family, it was fitting for Pat’s students to honor Char’s memory with their work on the blood drive.

Since then service projects have covered a broad range of events and opportunities to connect to our community: Kindergarteners have worked with Head Start kids to write a play for parents; PreK students have loved stray animals and baked treats for the Cedar Rapids Humane Society, we’ve had can drives and penny drives and we’ve packed meals for Horizons and tied blankets for the Madge Philips center.

 

Join us!

Please join us this Wednesday evening at 7pm for the Summit Schools Board of Trustees regular monthly meeting. We will be meeting at the school.

Some thoughts for discussion:

This video is a segment of a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson recorded in 2010.

Additional readings: Nostesia (Jamie Vollmer, 2010).  This piece is an excerpt from Vollmer’s book Schools Can’t Do It Alone. Read the introduction to the book by clicking HERE.

1000 Words

Thanks to all who attended our Summit Schools Board meeting last week. We had some great discussions about a variety of things! Full board meeting notes for the September meeting will be posted to Renweb after approval at the October meeting.

One of the topics that led to thoughtful discussion involved the Summit logo. When you think of our school, what visual logo-ish image comes to mind? For some, it’s this lovely green, gray and blue logo, which has graced the Regent Street side of the school for years.  Many Summit parents no doubt, have countless photos of kids standing near this sign on the first day of school.

Perhaps for others, the blue and orange logo that has graced much of our communications in the past two years comes to mind.  This logo is on our external website, was incorporated into many of our Summer Camps promotional materials and communications last summer, and is part of our current letter head.

If you frequent the Summit Facebook page, you might notice a combination of the two logos. Here  the blue background is pulled in from our latest version, but the triangle and a bit of green remain from the building sign.

In our board meeting the Marketing Committee presented a sneak peak at a new logo. But first, they helped us all understand WHY THIS MATTERS? You may be thinking…is it important to work on this logo? Does it really matter if we use blue or green or we dot the i with a triangle or a dot? Is anyone really paying that much attention?

Turns out, it does matter. Dan Schuster is a Summit parent who is working with the Marketing Committee to create a visual identity for Summit. You may recognize Dan’s graphic design work at NewBo City Market, or NewBo Books, or Brucemore to name a few. He joined the board meeting to help us understand the importance of our visual identity. According to Dan a good logo should answer these questions:

• is it appropriate?
• is it distinctive/memorable?
• is it scalable?
• is it relevant?
• can it be well coordinated?

Do any of the logos we currently use feel relevant or memorable? There are LOTS of Summits around (there is a Summit Pointe nursing home in Cedar Rapids, Summit beer, Summit racing, Summit farms, Summit ministries and schools with the name of Summit are in NC, OH, MN, CO, AZ, UT, AR, NY, MI and more!) We need our logo to help set us apart, to be an immediate identifier and to reflect a memorable impression.  In essence, we need this one picture to speak a thousand words about us!

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine

 

You’re Invited: Summit School Board Meeting

The Summit School Board is meeting this Wednesday evening for our regular monthly meeting. We will meet in the MPR at Summit at 7pm.

Committee updates (as of Tuesday afternoon):

Marketing: The Marketing Committee has met several times since the last board meeting. Working with Summit parent Dan Schuster, the committee will be presenting a new logo to the board for consideration.  The committee is defining/refining its goals for the 2014/15 school year.  Some of the current goals/outcomes include:

1. Full enrollment for 2015/2016 school year
2. Adopt and implement new logo and materials by  November 7, 2014
3. Improve and update the website
4. Support and promote Summit Students activities in the community

Technology:

• Installing a printer for the accounting office
• AppleTV install for Monica’s room
• Network is an ongoing issue: Rick is working on the reconfig of wireless hubs

Buildings & Grounds: Kitchen work is complete. Rachel will begin onsite food prep in October. The counter tops for the MPR book shelves have been put on hold due to budget. Current projects/updates:

1. During the last power outage we noticed emergency lighting was very dim. Getting quotes for newer LED fixtures that will spread more light, and last longer on battery power.
2. Updating bids for MPR window replacements (bids are over one year old).
3. Curb Appeal: last year at the Adult Social we had several families direct funds to the curb appeal project. These funds are being used to work with an architect who is currently pulling together a budget and feasibility plan. We should have this report by the November board meeting so we can establish a realistic budget. We have asked the architect to consider the possibility of adding a circular drop off drive to the front entrance to ease traffic congestion.
4. Fall Festival/Clean up is on the calendar for November 4.
5. Need to replenish playground bark: $616/load and we should need two loads.
6. Playground spider repair: Chris is in contact with manufacturer and will have information soon.

HOS (Head of Schools Report):  Learning Extension Camps are being finalized. Connections with community partners include (1) Cedar Rapids Public Library, (2) Ceramics Center, (3) Theatre Cedar Rapids, (4) LD Kidd, (5) Carol Maxwell Rezabek. Our first full day extension camp is scheduled for Friday, October 17 and will be held at the CRPL and TCR. All of the full-day Learning Extension camps will center around the theme “Happiness.” This theme is inspired by Amie Olhmann (U of I PhD Candidate in Language, Literacy, & Culture) and her work with the poet Mary Szybist and her poem Happy Ideas. Szybist is a graduate of the U of I’s Writers’ Workshop and an award-winning poet. She will be working with Amie this year to recreate her work through art. We hope to include Szybist in our later sessions and after-school programming.  For more HOS news, read the full HOS Report here.

BRAIN POWER: new to this month’s board meeting – homework! As a way to increase our understanding and focus our discussions on philosophies, research, trends and current topics in and around education, we’re introducing a short reading/discussion to our monthly meetings. This month’s reading is an article written by Elliot Eisner in 2002 titled “The Kind of Schools We Need“. Discussion starters:

• How does Summit address Eisner’s vision of the “kind of schools we need?”
• What are our aims of education (a “Summit education”)? What do we consider important? What kind of educational culture do we want our children to experience
• How do we imagine Summit’s future?

The Board meeting will take place in the Multipurpose Room at 7pm on Wednesday, September 17. Hope to see you there!

 

It takes a village…

to make our school a success! As a small, not-for-profit independent school we rely on volunteers…a lot!  The strength of our school isn’t in the bricks or the books or the lesson plans, it’s in the people. From our dedicated staff to the dedicated parents, grandparents and friends that share our community, it’s true – the power is the people!

Working together to wash windows at the Fall Clean Up/Harvest Festival 2013.

Summit gains a lot from your involvement: your time and expertise help us accomplish tasks and plans we might not be able to tackle without you. We all benefit from multiple perspectives and experiences and view points. And you show your kids it’s worthwhile to participate in a community and you consider their school a worthwhile cause. Summit has several “standing committees” that meet on a regular basis. If you’re new to the Summit community or just new to the idea of joining a committee, feel free to “try on” a few. Come to some meetings or email/call a committee chair and find out what’s going on. Don’t feel as if you’re committed for life if you come to a meeting or two just to check things out!  And, these standing committees aren’t the only place we need you: watch your email for specific call-to-action volunteer opportunities that sprout up  throughout our school year: from school improvement days to helping in individual classrooms to decorating for events and more.  We know we have a place for your talents at Summit!

Summit Standing Committees

Buildings & Grounds: got a green thumb? Handy with a hammer? Have a vision for a building and it’s long life? The B&G Committee tackles everything from making sure the roof doesn’t leak to ensuring our interior is beautiful and inviting for all members of our community. This group keeps an eye on the long term development and maintenance of the building and grounds, while making sure current plans are executed thoughtfully and inline with the school’s mission.

Development: The Development committee’s main purpose is to help fill the gap between what our tuition covers and the real cost of operating our school. This committee supports the school in more ways that just financially, though. Activities planned by Development draw our families together through social occasions, while supporting the yearly and long term needs of the school.

Technology: While Summit strives to stay abreast of thoughtful and integrative educational technologies, this committee helps push us forward. The Tech Committee works with the staff to make sure technology needs are in place for staff and student success, while planning for the near and not-so-near tech needs of the school.

Marketing: Help us make Summit known! Work in this committee centers around getting our name and mission known in the area. Help us communicate the quality of our school and programs to the public.

SIAC: School Improvement Advisory Committee was formed as a requirement of our school accreditation by the State of Iowa.  SIAC analyzes school data, looks at educational needs, learning goals and long range indicator goals and makes recommendations for improvements. This committee is the only committee required to report data outside of the Summit Community, and the only committee with mandates on membership (we must have student, alumni, staff and parental membership).

If you are interested in learning more about ANY of these standing committees, please email Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine (lisa.wiebenga@gmail.com) or Molli Cunningham (molli.cunningham@summitschools.org) and we’ll get you in touch with the right people. Be sure to let us know WHICH committee you’d like to connect with.

Have a GREAT week!

Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine

 

Thanks for Coming!

The Summit School Board met for our first academic year meeting last week. A big thank you to our community members and staff, both returning and new, who took time out of their week to join us! Your input is appreciated.

Full board minutes, upon board approval, will be posted to Renweb, under School Information>Resource Documents. Look for June’s approved minutes coming soon!

The HoS (Head of Schools) Report included an update on Summit’s Learning Extension Camps. With the adoption of our innovative calendar for 2014-15, Summit will NOT follow the early out calendar set by the Cedar Rapids Community School District (like we did in previous years); instead we’ll utilize several full-day non-class dates for Staff Professional Development. On these days we’ll also provide full-day (optional) “development” for our students! We are working with our community partners, including Theatre Cedar Rapids, The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art and the Cedar Rapids Public Library (and more!), to provide full-day, engaging, learning-centered activities for our students.  Our first full-day Extension Camp is scheduled for Friday, October 17.  In addition to the full-day camps, Summit will also offer after-school Extension Camps. These camps will run in 8-week sessions starting in late September.  Our after school Extension Camps will include a variety of themes throughout the school year. As a parent who relies on after-school care, I’m so excited about this program! Look for more information on our Learning Extension Camps programming coming soon!  

A few quickly approaching calendar highlights:

• Discover Summit Night: tomorrow (Tuesday, August 26).  Join your fellow parents for a social time from 5:30-6:00PM, then take some time to meet with your child’s/children’s teacher(s). We have rotating sessions set up to accommodate parents with multiple kids at the school.
  • 5:30-6:00 Welcome/light snacks/social
  • 6:00-6:30 Classroom sessions with Chris, Pat, Monica and Deb
  • 6:00-6:30 Learn about the Common Core at Summit (multipurpose room)
  • 6:30-7:00 Classroom sessions with Ashley/Amanda, Chris, Pat and Monica
  • 6:30-7:00 Learn about the Common Core at Summit (multipurpose room)
  • 7:00-7:30 Classroom sessions with  Ashley/Amanda and Deb
• Family Literacy Night: Tuesday, September 9 at 6pm. Join Summit staff to learn more about how we teach literacy and what you can do to support your young reader at home.

The next Summit Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17 at 7pm at Summit Schools. Hope to see you there!

Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine
Summit School Board

 

You’re Invited: Summit School Board Meeting

Please join us for the first School Board meeting of our academic year!  The Summit School Board will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) evening at 7pm at Summit Schools.

As of this posting, there is no business (beyond approving the June meeting minutes) that will require a Board vote. Instead, much of our agenda will be spent on updates from our committees and from the Head of Schools.

If you’ve attended a board meeting in the past, you know there is potential for lengthy discussions. We’re attempting to streamline the meetings by inviting our guests to share comments prior to board reports (we want to hear you right away! and want to make sure you have the floor in the event you need to leave early), and we’re moving some rote committee reporting online. As with all changes, it might take us a meeting or two to work out kinks, please bear with us. We’ll be using this blog as a way to keep you informed on topics we’ll be discussing at future meetings and we’ll post a summary of each board meeting after the fact. Full board meeting minutes will get posted to Renweb as they are approved.

Hope to see you tomorrow night!

Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine

Gearing Up!

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

Yes, I know that’s actually a Christmas song, but if you are connected in any way to the excitement associated with a new school year, you might be humming it, too.

The halls are humming at Summit and preparations are in full swing for the 2014-15 school year!  If you stopped by today the word chaos might come to mind. The hallways are full of a variety of supplies, the smell of fresh paint is in the air, crews are hard at work installing bulletin boards, updating iPads and refreshing our kitchen. In addition to painting and prepping their rooms, our teaching staff are also knee deep in planning and development sessions. Not to worry; it will all come together and be ready for our first day of school on Wednesday, August 20!

A few improvement highlights: more iPads! Our teachers are excited to engage students with technology and you’ll see more iPads in the hands of our kiddos this year. COLOR: be sure to pop into ALL the classrooms during our Ice Cream Social Monday night; the transformations are amazing! Kitchen: a new stove and refrigerator allow us to bring lunch home! Chef Shawn is working with our new foodie Rachel to fully integrate lunch into our health and wellness initiatives. Stay tuned for how YOU can get involved.

There’s lots going on! In addition to our Facebook page and email communications, we’ll use this blog to highlight  special initiatives at the school and keep you up to date on School Board happenings. The board meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7pm at the school. We’d love to see you there. We’ll publish a general agenda on this blog the week of the meetings. We’ll also share some of the work the standing committees are doing here.

Hope to see you all at the Ice Cream Social on Monday, August 18 from 6:00-7:30PM at the school. Let’s make it a great year!

Lisa Wiebenga Stroschine
Summit School Board