Summit School Newsletter
INNOVATIVE TEACHING. EXPERT EDUCATORS. THRIVING STUDENTS.
November 19, 2021
From the Head of School...
Dear Summit School Community,
It is hard to believe that mid-November is already here. It will be winter break before we know it, and the 2022-2023 Summit School registration materials will be available soon. Choosing a school for your child is an important decision and we are grateful that you have chosen Summit School. We look forward to working with you and your child into the future.
I’ve attached some highlights of our programs. We are all Summit School Sabrecats, and each of our grade level teams have unique characteristics and unique offerings for your child. Whether you are transitioning from preschool to elementary school or from upper elementary to middle school, our expert educators are here to support you and your child.
As we look to the future of Summit School, there are many exciting items on the horizon. We are committed to innovative teaching, providing expert educators, and supporting thriving students. Beginning in fall of 2022, Summit School will provide every child in kindergarten through grade 8 with a school owned and managed technology device. These iPads and Chromebooks will provide our students with opportunities to use their growing technology prowess to research, express, and share their learning.
We will continue to offer Robotics and other unique technology experiences, and will be exploring new innovation to enhance the program. Some of the options on the horizon include a true makerspace that includes not only art and crafting materials, but also tools, 3D printing stations, and other resources for creative design and problem solving. In addition, we look forward to introducing added STEAM opportunities at all grade levels and a school garden.
With our focus on academics and supporting thriving students, Summit School will be boosting up our assessment programs to provide current student data that will drive our academic programs, supports, and enrichment opportunities. Students will be using computer-based testing technology to complete efficient and reliable assessments a minimum of three times a year in fall, winter, and spring. These computer-based assessments will provide data that can show comparisons of Summit peers, Arizona peers, and national peers. In addition, beginning in 2022-23 Summit School students in grades 3-8 will participate in Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA) and grades 5 and 8 will also take the AzSCI, the Arizona standardized science assessment. Summit staff will meet on a regular basis to review data for grade levels and individual students.
Student data is an essential part of a high-quality education program. This information will help us to support our students through the use of intervention (academic support) blocks for math and reading as well as enrichment blocks for math, reading, and project based STEAM opportunities. Teacher and support teams will work in collaboration with parents to focus student learning on scaffolding areas of need while also supporting students who have a need for high-level enrichment programs. The goal is that every child, no matter who, will make a year’s worth of progress.
To further boost our academic programming, our exceptional team of teachers are digging into education standards and checking our current teaching resources and textbooks for alignment and best practice principles. Our goal is to ensure all standards are covered in a consistent manner with student success and high expectations at the center. Our assessment data will also be used to support any necessary changes in textbooks or resources in the future.
In addition, we know that the beginning of a great educational experience is preschool. We will be reorganizing our preschool program to include a preK program for children who turn four on or before September 1. This program will remain play-based, developmentally appropriate, and will work closely with our kindergarten program to ensure a smooth kindergarten-ready transition. We will maintain our current preschool student-teacher ratios for PreK of one highly-qualified teacher for every 9 students. Our 30 month to young 4s will remain in a multi-age room that will now offer half-day and full-day options. Looking ahead, we are also in the planning stages of a future daily toddler program at Summit to serve students 18 months to 36 months.
Academic success is certainly a primary focus of Summit School; however, we also focus on the thriving student as a whole child. Sabrecat Athletics will continue to remain a part of our program. Music, band, art, and a variety of electives will be offered to our students each year to ensure that they have a broad range of experiences while they are students at Summit School. Service, ROPES, and other activities will also continue. As Summit School moves forward we will hold onto what makes Summit special, while also continuing to grow.
Please consider joining me to discuss our school, and to reinforce your answers to the question, Why Summit? I look forward to meeting you at one of the meetings scheduled below. Please feel free to attend more than one. All meetings will take place in the Summit School MPR. Thank you for all you do for Summit School. We look forward to continuing to partner with you in the future.
- Wednesday, December 1 at 5pm - Looking ahead to middle school (grades 4, 5, and 6)
- Tuesday, December 7 at 5pm- Looking ahead to preschool (interested and current preschool)
- Wednesday, December 8 at 5pm - Looking ahead to upper elementary school (grades 1, 2, and 3)
- Wednesday, December 15 at 5pm- Looking ahead to elementary school (preschool and kindergarten)
Sincerely,
Dr. Stephanie Nardi
Head of School
Inviting 4th and 5th Grade Parents...
Summit School Toddler Program Survey.
Check out these pull toys made by Summit School Middle School students in the Automation & Robotics Elective.
Taiko Drumming at Summit School for Grades 2-4
Off-Campus COVID Exposures
COVID-related Absences
Masking at Summit School
Summit School Sabrecat Band
Saturday, Dec 4, 2021, 03:30 PM
Chandler Fashion Center, West Chandler Boulevard, Chandler, AZ, USA
Dorsey Guitar Studio Hosted by Summit School
Saturday, Dec 11, 2021, 03:30 PM
Chandler Fashion Center, West Chandler Boulevard, Chandler, AZ, USA
Recycle Me to the Art Room!
Clean metal parts: bicycle parts, tools
Nuts, bolts, screws
Small pieces of plywood – no bigger than 2 feet square
House paint
Small tiles
Wood, tile, paint and wallpaper samples
Fabric
Neckties
Trim, buttons, yarn, spools of thread
Old board games, cards
Small toys
Kitchen tools
Jewelry
Unique plastic containers
Color plastic bottle caps
Artificial flowers
Aluminum foil
Picture frames
Picture mats
Wine bottle corks
DVD’s, CD’s
Old, broken crayons>to melt!
TP rolls
Paper towel rolls, any cardboard tubes
Shoe boxes
Jewelry boxes
Small boxes: not more than 12” square
Coffee cans: metal or plastic
The Dinosaur is No Match for Sabrecat Cross County
CAA Cross Country State Championship
The boys team was led by their captain Mason Cavallo who placed 15th overall and earned a medal. The girls and boys middle school teams both placed 2nd amongst the Division 1 teams however placed 4th and 6th respectfully amongst their combined D1/2 State race. Tyler Thomas, Christopher Warbington, Ryan Van Kirk and Bradley Lane all scored for the boys team! Outstanding performances were also seen by Colby Cavallo, Steele Stevenson, Carson Haapala, Zane Kuhn and Andre Zelich.
We are so proud of all of our runners for their effort and perseverance! Congratulations on a fantastic season!!
Summit Apparel Store
Gear up with back to school apparel! Check out the Summit apparel store for customizable shirts, pants, and accessories with your favorite Summit logos!
Link: https://apparelnow.com/summit-school-of-ahwatukee-apparel
Referral Credits
Our families are Summit’s best advocates and we appreciate when you share your Summit story with family and friends. We ask for your help in continuing to spread the word about Summit School!
In addition to helping create a thriving community of learners, Summit School has temporarily increased the Referral Credit from $500 to $1,000 as a credit toward your tuition liability for each newly enrolled student of a new family. This temporary increased referral credit amount is for new students (not applicable for siblings of current students or for returning students) that enroll between April 12, 2021 and March 11, 2022. Each credit is applied to your FACTS tuition account after the new family makes two tuition payments for the new student(s). During these stated dates there are no limits to the number of referral credits you may earn by supporting our school! Please contact Summit Admissions or Business Office if you have any questions regarding the family referral program.
Note: Referral credits of $600 or more require the completing of a W-9 form claiming the income. Referral credits are not applicable for voting members of the Board of Trustees.
Summit School
Email: Summit.School@SummitSchoolAZ.org
Website: https://summitschoolaz.org/
Location: 4515 E Muirwood Dr, Phoenix, Arizona 85048, USA
Phone: 480.403.9500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SummitSchoolAZ
Twitter: @SummitSchoolAhw