Summit Scoop
A monthly District newsletter
Issue #7 March 2024
Summit Scoop is a monthly newsletter for families and staff members in the Summit Public School District. Summit Scoop features stories of student achievement, events in the District, and positive news around the school community! The newsletter will be sent out on the last Thursday of the month. You can find an archive of newsletters sent throughout the year on the District website.
Translate this Newsletter
Summit Scoop can be translated into many different languages. All you need to do is open the newsletter in a web browser, and then click on the "Translate" button. If you open it on your phone, you will need to find the accessibility icon which will bring you to the translation option. It is usually at the bottom. If you open it on a computer, the option is at the top of the page.
Summit Scoop se puede traducir a muchos idiomas diferentes. Solo abra el boletín en un navegador web y luego haga clic en el botón "Traducir". Si lo abre en su teléfono, necesitará encontrar el ícono de accesibilidad que lo llevará a la opción de traducción. Suele estar en la parte inferior. Si lo abre en una computadora, la opción está en la parte superior de la página.
District News
Register Now for the Summit Wellness Symposium
Summit Public Schools is proud to host the inaugural Summit Wellness Symposium, a groundbreaking event aimed at fostering community engagement and awareness around the critical issue of mental health and wellness for K-12 students. The symposium is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at Summit High School.
The primary objective of the Summit Wellness Symposium is to emphasize the collective responsibility of the entire community in ensuring the well-being of its youth. With the theme "Community Health is Everyone’s Responsibility," the event seeks to bring together parents, guardians, educators, and local stakeholders to address the multifaceted aspects of mental health in young individuals.
Aligned with the District’s goal to support mental health, wellness, and social-emotional learning, the symposium will feature a distinguished keynote speaker who will offer insights and perspectives on the importance of nurturing mental health in school-aged children. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of breakout sessions tailored to equip parents and guardians with practical skills and strategies to support their children's mental health and wellness journey effectively. Each presenter will target their topic towards elementary parents in one breakout session and middle and high school parents in the other.
In addition, the symposium will serve as a platform for local non-profit organizations and other community agencies to showcase resources and provide valuable information related to mental health and wellness. Tables set up outside of the auditorium will offer attendees the chance to connect with these organizations and access additional support networks. The Summit Wellness Symposium will also feature a raffle and door prizes, courtesy of donations from local Summit businesses and organizations.
To enhance accessibility and participation, dinner will be provided, and babysitting services will be available during the event. Registration for the Summit Wellness Symposium is requested, however, if attendees plan to attend the dinner portion of the event and/or utilize the babysitting services, registration is required.
In addition to Summit Public Schools, the Summit Wellness Symposium is sponsored by Shaping Summit Together, Summit Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO), Pomptonian Food Services, and KAW Foundation. To register for the Summit Wellness Symposium and learn more about each of the breakout sessions, please click on the button below.
Teacher of the Year
Each year, Summit Public Schools participates in Union County's Teacher Recognition Program. These staff members, nominated at each school, serve as exceptionally skilled and dedicated educators, inspire students of all backgrounds and abilities to learn, and demonstrate leadership and innovation inside and outside of the classroom. Congratulations to this year's Teacher of the Year recipients from Summit Public Schools!
Support Staff of the Year
Summit Public Schools is thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural Support Staff of the Year Award! This award aims to celebrate and honor the outstanding contributions of our support staff who consistently go above and beyond to ensure the success of our team and organization. It also seeks to shine a spotlight on those individuals who truly embody our core values: student-centered, collaboration, ethical conduct and professionalism, respect for diversity and inclusion, and commitment to professional growth. Congratulations to this year's Support Staff of the Year recipients from Summit Public Schools!
Summit Public Schools Budget Approved for 2024-2025
Superintendent Scott Hough and Business Administrator Derek Jess presented the District's 2024-2025 tentative budget in front of the Board of Education and Board of School Estimate on Thursday March 7, 2024. To view the presentation, please click here. Later in the month, the final budget was voted on and approved by the Board of Education and Board of School Estimate on March 22, 2024. To view the 2024-2025 User Friendly Budget, please visit the District website.
Board of Education Hosts Coffee and Conversation
The Summit Board of Education invites members of the community to Coffee and Conversation on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 from 7pm-8pm in the Summit High School cafeteria. We hope to see you there!
Summit Public Schools Hosts Educator Recruitment Expo
Spread the word! Summit Public Schools invites all talented and passionate educators to join us at the Summit Educator Recruitment Expo on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School. At the Expo, candidates will have the opportunity to hear directly from administrators and staff about our schools, as well as interview with an administrator for current and future career opportunities in the District. To find more information, please visit the Summit Educator Recruitment Expo webpage.
Speech and Debate Team Places 2nd at NJ State Championship
The Summit High School Speech and Debate Team placed Second in Speech, Sixth in Debate, and Second in Overall Sweepstakes at the New Jersey State Championship Tournament at Hunterdon Central Regional High School! Select members of the team will soon compete at the New Jersey District Tournament, which will determine what three NJ competitors in each speech and debate event will advance to the National Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa in June. The team had three State Champions who will be recognized at the Governor's Awards, 25 finalists, and 9 semi-finalists.
ADVANCING TO ELIMINATION ROUNDS:
DECLAMATION
Semi-finalist-Evan Markowitz
DRAMATIC INTERPRETATION
2nd-Scarlet Ashcroft Bale Dyer
4th-Rebecca Leung
Semi-Finalists: Oliver Henderson-Charilas, Rory Gingeleskie
DUO INTERPRETATION
2nd-Sarah Walsh and Ella Macgill
3rd-Chloe Lee and Angelina Tung
4th-Reid Whitley and Lucy Adams
6th-Rory Gingeleskie and Ainsley Valerio
HUMOROUS INTERPRETATION
1st-Sarah Walsh
6th-Ben Schachne
Semi-finalists: Anna Przybylko, Matt Krunnfusz
IMPROMPTU SPEAKING
4th-Matt Lameo
7th-Becca Kampel
IMPROVISATIONAL ACTING
2nd-Sean Espeland
3rd-Ben Schachne
6th-Clara Schulz
7th-Scarlet Ashcroft Bale Dyer
INFORMATIVE SPEAKING
2nd-Callie Shroff
3rd-Isabella Estupinan
6th-Emma Vachal
ORAL INTERPRETATION
3rd-Amelia Jorek
7th-Angelina Tung
ORIGINAL ORATORY
1st-Ben Strauss
Semi-finalists: Matt Lameo, Owen Siegel
PROGRAM ORAL INTERPRETATION
1st-Becca Kampel
6th Kate Robertson
NOVICE PUBLIC FORUM
4th-Ava Zahtila and Aanya Sood
VARSITY LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATE
6th-Mabel Rieger
8th-Abby Kane
VARSITY PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE
3rd-Andrew Cheung and Kira Bhatia
6th -Scott Au-Yeung and Adam Livnat
LCJSMS Student Competes in Gymnastics State Championships
LCJSMS student Stefan Hayes recently competed in the 2024 NJ State Championships in gymnastics at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He competed in six events: Floor, Pommel Horse, Parallel Bars, High Bar, Vault and Rings, winning three gold medals and three bronze medals! He will be competing in regionals next month in Maryland. We'll be rooting for Stefan at regionals and beyond!
LCJSMS Students Shine in American Mathematics Contest
In January, there were 287 LCJSMS students in Enriched 7th and 8th grade math courses (along with some select 6th graders) who took the American Mathematics Contest. The AMC8 was taken by 80,685 students nationwide and two LCJSMS students received the Honor Roll Certificate for scoring in the top 5% nationally with their score of 18 out of 25: Adrija Adhikary and Jason Guo; Adi Kumar received the Certificate of Achievement for scoring 15 points as a 6th grader. Congrats to all test takers and to these three standouts!
Around the Classroom
Read Across America Week
Thank you to all of our school librarians for scheduling and organizing guest speakers and special events at our schools, like vocabulary parades, potato character contests, and having our high school peer leaders visit and read to our elementary students! Thank you to Mayor Fagan, members of Summit Common Council, as well as members of the Summit Police and Fire departments for being guest readers at our schools. This is a great opportunity for students to enhance their love of reading and learning, and for our schools to connect with the broader Summit community!
LCJSMS Peer Leaders Visit Primary Centers
LCJSMS Peer Leaders and PALS (Peer Assistance Leaders) attended a field trip where they visited Wilson and Jefferson Primary Centers. Our LCJSMS students read the book One by Kathryn Otoshi to Kindergarten students. The book One is about a quiet color Blue, who gets picked on by Red. The colors Green, Orange, Yellow and Purple are disappointed by what they witness, but they aren’t strong enough to stand up to Red. Eventually One comes along and teaches the other colors to stand up and COUNT. This children’s book sends a powerful message to both the LCJSMS students along with the elementary school students about being up-standers rather than bystanders. The LCJSMS students that participated in this program did a wonderful job explaining this message to the students. They asked insightful questions and conveyed a message of significance: Stand up and COUNT! After the activity was completed, all of the LCJSMS students and Kindergartners signed an “ink blot” and placed it, symbolically, on a large ONE. It was an insightful, powerful, and moving program.
Middle School Mixes It Up
Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School "mixed up" their Advisory across all 3 grade levels! Mix It Up Day, which was organized by LCJSMS school counselors, encouraged students to step out of their comfort zone and interact with peers they might not typically engage with. By mixing up social groups and students, we help create a more inclusive and welcoming student environment. 8th grade Peer Leaders were also a huge help by creating the advisory lesson and assisting homerooms in completing the task!
World Language Students Perform Puppet Show at Brayton Elementary School
World Language students from LCJSMS presented puppet shows to elementary students at Brayton! The performances were presented in Spanish, French, Mandarin and Latin. Before each skit, the students taught vocabulary and phrases in the target language to help the younger students understand the skit. The elementary students were exposed to authentic vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural nuances through a captivating and memorable experience!
Intermediate Spanish Students Visit the Spanish Tavern
Students enrolled in Intermediate Spanish at LCJSMS recently visited the Spanish Tavern. This trip is aimed to immerse students in the vibrant culture as they sample various Spanish foods such as chorizo, tortilla and flan while using the target language with their peers and waitstaff. As students indulged in a traditional meal, they also enjoyed a vibrant and educational Flamenco show. Students learned about this dynamic dance form and then joined the dancers on the floor, immersing themselves in the captivating artistry of Flamenco. Thank you to the SEF for funding this amazing Flamenco performance. ¡Olé!
Students Participate in Community Based Instruction Opportunity
Students in the M.E.R.I.T.S. program visited the Berkeley Heights campus of Fiserv for a Community Based Instruction opportunity. The students toured the tech bar and cyber security labs, learning about the presence of Fiserv technology in everyday life, including creating credit cards and mobile payment options like Clover. We had the pleasure of meeting the head of Accessible Programming, who was visiting from New Zealand and he shared all of the wonderful resources he has put in place to meet the needs of all employees with varying needs. The students left with care packages and BIG smiles!
AP Spanish Literature and Culture Field Trip to NYC
Students from the AP Spanish Literature and Culture class attended a performance of Federico Garcia Lorca's play "La casa de Bernarda Alba" at Repertorio Español in New York City! This play is on the reading list for the AP Exam. This field trip was possible thanks to a grant from the Summit High School PTO.
Students Venture to Spain
Summit High School students and staff recently ventured to Spain during the week of February 17-25! Their trip took them through the vibrant capital city of Madrid, and the historic cities of Toledo, and Segovia, each offering a unique blend of culture, art, and history. In Madrid, they were awestruck by the grandeur of the Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and marveled at the masterpieces housed in the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums. For the sports fans, a visit to the Santiago Bernabeu, the iconic stadium of Real Madrid Football Club, was a dream come true. Venturing beyond Madrid, they explored the breathtaking city of Segovia, where they were transported back in time by the awe-inspiring Roman aqueduct and the majestic Alcázar fortress. In Toledo, a guided walking tour unveiled the city's rich tapestry of cultures, encompassing Christian, Muslim, and Jewish influences. They also had the opportunity to immerse themselves in Spanish culture through a hands-on cooking class. On their last night, they took a flamenco class, and learned some basic flamenco dance moves!
SHS Students Pack Lunches for Bridges Outreach, Inc.
Members of the Summit High School Interact Club assembled 100 sustainable lunches for Bridges Outreach, Inc. Students in the Interact Club volunteer throughout the year for a variety of service opportunities in the community.
Athletics
Molly Fagan Named NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Congratulations to senior Molly Fagan who has been selected as Summit High School's NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2023-2024! Molly has been the varsity field hockey goalie, captain of the county champ girls swim team (holds multiple school records), and captain of the defending state champ girls lacrosse team! Molly plans to study neuroscience and continue her lacrosse career at the University of Michigan!
Arts
Food Donated from LCJSMS Spring Musical
Important Dates
APRIL 10
Summit Wellness Symposium
Summit High School Auditorium at 6:00 p.m.
APRIL 18
Board of Education meeting
LCJSMS auditorium at 6:30 p.m.