Message from the Director

This has been a GREAT month here at Summit International Preparatory. Over 30 families, staff, and scholars came together as a community to give the gift of time to a family in need as we worked on the Hearts and Hammers community service project in South Dallas.

Our International Week celebrations are approaching and this will be a beautiful reminder of the vast diversity of our community as well as our shared American experience.

As we end of the 1st 9 weeks, please take a few minutes to check your child's grades on PowerSchool. We want all our scholars to be successful here and will work together with you, as a team, to support your children in that pursuit. That said, it is not uncom-mon for scholars to struggle with grades at some point in their high school career due to the transition from middle to high school, the transition from MYP to taking Advance Placement courses, entering the Diploma Program, or transitioning into a new school. I want to share excerpts from an article I read by Dr. Charles Fey in which he points out three important things to re-member if your child is struggling with grades I think they are par-ticularly important for parents to consider this time of year:

Many highly successful adults struggled with grades: "Some of the world's most successful people have struggled with grades. Albert Einstein [and] Henry Ford. . . are some notable ex-amples. What's most important is that our children develop good character, curiosity, and problem-solving skills."

We can't learn for our kids: "While it's easy to get down on ourselves when kids perform poorly, it's very important to our mental health and theirs to remember the following: We can't learn for kids. As educators and parents we can up the odds of high achievement by modeling responsibility, establishing a safe and calm environment, providing excellent instruction and demonstrating excitement for learning, [but] we can't control eve-ry action they take or decision they make.

Empathy over anger: "If we can consistently demonstrate empathy rather than anger or frustration, the odds of them over-coming their difficulties dramatically increase. Is empathy really that powerful? Yes indeed! In fact, a growing body of research is demonstrating that warmth (i.e., empathy) is strongly correlated with higher achievement and better behavior. So...let's remember to respond with sincere love and concern: 'Oh man. I bet these grades are really disappointing for you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. The good news is that this doesn't change the way I feel about you.'"

Thank you for your continued support! We look forward to seeing you on October 27th for our Girls’ Volleyball Senior Night and then again on October 30th for our International Festival! ! This year we are encouraging our scholars to celebrate their heritage with pride by dressing up and participating in the parade. Specific details regarding dress code will be communicated through the daily announcements.

Tracy Odom, High School Director

Uplift Summit HS Telegram October 1, 2015

Mark You Calendars 10/2 Missing work permanently recorded as a zero

10/6 Professional Photo Day - Platinum Uniform

Volleyball - 6pm

10/8 Scholar Half Day

10/9 Scholar Holiday

10/12 Scholar Holiday

10/15 ViP Meeting - 5:30pm @ Secondary Library

10/16 TED Talk @ SMU Campus

10/27 Volleyball - 6pm SENIOR NIGHT!

10/30 International Fall Festival - 4:30pm to 7pm

Everyone is welcome to attend

Scholar Reminders Stay organized and plan ahead! Check out the Testing Calendar on

the Summit website: http://upliftsummit.org/domain/2758.

The Class of 2016 is also sponsoring “Pink Out” week October 13th-

16th to raise Breast Cancer awareness and prevention. Shout out

to senior ,Jocelyn Martinez, who organized this important

event. Scholars will participate in daily activities and hear an inspira-

tional message from a breast cancer survivor.

Clubs and Activities: Clubs and afterschool meetings are off to a strong start. Over 90% of our clubs have had their first meeting, with the rest still in the planning stages. Clubs are held daily from 4:15-5:15pm. For any questions please email jopena@uplifteducation.org

Haunted House - Exciting news this year, the haunted house will be open for 2 weekends: Oct 23-24 and Oct. 30-31. Information meeting Oct 5th and 13th . Open to all Hs Scholars .

Message From the Deans

Dean of Instruction:

As the quarter comes to a close, you may wonder what your scholar has done this quarter. Scholars in AP classes have been introduced to the rigor of the classes and are learning what it takes to study for a college level course. MYP scholars are being taught in scholar-centered classrooms which allow for scholar inquiry and hands-on learning. Scholars are taking ownership of their educational experiences by submitting coursework online to teachers and community service hours to the RTC department though the Managebac program. If you have any questions about the instructional programming at the school, please reach out to Tiffany Starnes; tstarnes@uplifteducation.org.

Dean of Scholars’ Desk:

Greetings Summit family! It has been an incredible month of September with a whirlwind of activity and excitement building in our halls and classrooms around community service, upcoming events and senior activities. I am excited to report that our monthly community service project with Hearts and Hammers of Dallas. Over 30 staff, scholars and parents participated over 2 weekends as we completed the update to a home in South Dallas. Thank you for all who donated and participated in the pro-ject. Look out for October’s project soon.

Scholar Discipline:

In order to clarify SIP’s consequence policy I have attached a table outlining all reflection times.

For any questions directly regarding scholars discipline, culture, activities, or community service feel free to reach me at Jopena@uplifteducation.org

Dean of College Prep:

In order to prepare for Spring testing, please remember the following deadline for PSAT and AP (Advanced Placement) pay-

ment :

PSAT – The table below indicates the associated fee and deadline.

AP (Advanced Placement) - The table below indicates the associated fees and deadlines based on the number of AP exams your child is scheduled to take.

Regular Exam Fees Reduced Exam Fees*

*The College Board provides a $30 fee reduction per exam for students with financial need. Additionally, Texas has provided in the past, a state fee reduc-

tion of $30 per eligible exam for students demonstrating financial need. State-specific fee reduction information will be available in spring 2016. Students

who are either enrolled or eligible to participate in the Federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch Program qualify for the College Board and state fee reduc-

tions.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Margaret Rosenbaun regarding PSAT fees at mrosen-baum@uplifteducation.org or Tiffany Starnes regarding AP fees at: tstarnes@uplifteducation.org

Consequence Time Supervisor/Location

Tues./Thur. Reflection Hall 4:15-5:15 Teacher on Duty/Room 220

1st and 3rd Wednesday HW Hall 3:00-4:00 Teacher Assigned Classroom

Friday Attendance Hall 4:15-5:15 Dean of Scholars/Room 220

Saturday Reflection Hall 9:30-12:30 Dean of Scholars/Secondary Building

Grade Level Total Cost Deadline

9th/10th/11th $15 September 15, 2015

Number of Exams Total Cost Deadline Number of Exams Total Cost Deadline

1 $93 10/16/15 1 $33 10/16/15

2 $180 12/11/15 2 $60 12/11/15

3 $269 1/22/16 3 $89 1/22/16

4 $358 2/19/16 4 $118 2/19/16

5 $447 3/25/16 5 $147 3/25/16

Message From the Grade Level Chairs

Happy Fall 9th Grade

Thank you to all the parents who attended the 9th grade presentation with Mr. Pena, Dean of Scholars, at our “High

School 101” parent night. If you were unable to join us, the power point is posted on the Summit website under parent re-

sources. Our 9th-11th grade scholars will be taking the PSAT on Wednesday, October 14th. Please make sure your child gets a

good night’s rest the night before and eat a nutritious breakfast. Scholars will report directly to their testing room at 8:00AM so

please ensure they arrive to school on time. The following are some important reminders:

Please make sure to pay for your child’s PSAT and AP (Advanced Placement) testing fees.

Please be sure to purchase the AP Human Geography test prep book for your child. It can be found at most book stores and on www.amazon.com. Please direct all questions to Gregory Peebles at gpeebles@uplifteducation.org.

Your child’s Science Fair Project data is due October 16th. If you have any questions or need resources, please reach out to Kiara Hervey at khervey@uplifteducation.org or Brandon Pope at bpope@uplifteducation.org .

Please make sure your child is working on the National History Project. Please direct all questions to Gregory Peebles at gpeebles@uplifteducation.org .

Grade level chair: Nici Harper, nharper@uplifteducation.org

Autumn Greetings 10th Grade

Scholars have been working on their Hispanic Person Biography, presentations begin on Oct. 2nd. Feel free to come by and see your child present in Spanish. I’m very excited to see the outcome of their hard work. The 10th grade team invites the Skyhawk family to support out Theatre Department at Chuck E. Cheese located on: 2216 S. Fielder Rd., Arlington, TX 76013, let the cashier know you are there for SUMMIT! 15% of sales go to the Theatre Department. In preparation for our upcoming win-ter performance Ms. Gluck is seeking out motivated individuals for the following volunteer opportunities :

Earn Volunteer Hours by helping Theatre (Open to all HS Scholars):

Creating paper mache fish for our set

Strong individuals to help with our Ensemble Little Mermaid group. These are individuals are working as crew members and puppeteers.

Please reach out to Ms. Gluck at jgluck@uplifteducation.org, great opportunity to receive production hours .

Grade level chair: Yessenia Hackett-Evans, yevans@uplifteducation.org

Welcome Autumn 11th grade

Hello! It has been a beautiful start to the Fall season. As the trees transition, into wonderful and vibrant colors of gold, red, and purple, we soon move into a new quarter. First, let’s update the activities from this past month. Since our team’s pri-mary focus is Scholar Leadership through College Readiness, we will continue parent contacts discussing the success of your scholar. We have seen growth in scholar academic ownership, but it is not enough. We believe that our scholars can increase assignment productivity through more efficient time-management. Our administrative team works diligently to ensure all schol-ars have time throughout the school week for Study Hall. Please help us reinforce the importance of timely assignments. Schol-ars' participation in UIL athletics and clubs are affected by grades. Hence, a sense of urgency regarding assignments and assess-ments in a must.

Secondly, the junior class had its first meeting this past week. Officer candidates had an opportunity to introduce them-

selves. Please encourage your scholar to participate in this year’s activities and clubs (hence the importance of good academic

standing). Fall events, such as Homecoming, are fast approaching. The class will be responsible for decorating the major hall-

way entering the Secondary building. If you would like to volunteer your time and/or resources, please contact anyone on the

11th-grade team.

Grade level chair: Susan Patterson, supatterson@uplifteducation.org

Message From the Grade Level Chairs

Salutations 12th grade

October is a busy month for the Class of 2016. Scholarship season is in full swing as our seniors seek out and apply for opportunities to help bridge the financial gap towards their journey to college.

A few of the websites they use include:

www.chegg.com/scholarships www.fastweb.com

Info.scholarshipamerica.org Colleges.niche.com

Collegegreenlight.com Myscholly.com

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search https://www.raise.me/

Thank you to all the parents who attended the 12th grade presentation at our “High School 101” parent night. If you were unable to join us, please email mwoodhouse@uplifteducation.org so the power point presentation along with senior cal-endar of events, senior fee and scholarship hand out can be mailed to you.

Friendly reminder: 2nd Senior Fee payment due October 30th.

International Fall Festival Information

Starting the first week in October we will be accepting Donations of:

Drinks (Sodas, Juice Boxes and Water)

Paper and plastic ware (preferably for sample sized servings)

Plates (saucer sized preferred)

Food service boats

Spoons, forks and knives

Napkins

We will also double the amount of hours for the festival. For every $12.00 you spend for the festival donations you will get 2 hours of volunteer service. Drop off donations to the Center Street Office.

Guidelines for Dress on International Fest:

We are asking scholars to participate in international festival by dressing in traditional cultural garb that represents their country of origin. Scholars will parade around the school while parents, staff and community members look on and celebrate the diversity of our school community. Here are some guide-lines to help scholars choose what it is that they decide to wear. See you Friday, October 30th.

High school scholars may:

Select a country of origin to represent in a modest and respectful way that does not reveal too much.

If selecting the ‘American’ culture, scholars may select an era ranging from the 1900’s-1970’s.

Have fun and be as authentic as possible while maintaining our general dress code policy of modesty

If wearing garb that includes several additional pieces (scarfs, headgear, masks, etc.) pieces must remain in the scholars possession and not passed around or it will be confiscated.

Prohibited Items: bare Midriffs, bare Shoulders , overly revealing tops, no Shorts , short skirts and large costume pieces that may interfere w ith learn-ing.(i.e. head dresses, jewelry, masks, etc.)