Field trips are back, and they are in full swing this spring!

4th and 5th grade students traveled to Jefferson City this week to tour the State Capitol and Supreme Court building to learn all about Missouri state history and government.

Did you know the limestone marble used on the building exterior as well as many of the floors was quarried in Carthage, Missouri?

Questions? Contact the Front Desk.

It's never too early to learn more about volunteer opportunities with SPO. For the 2022-2023 school year, SPO will be electing an SPO Coordinator to serve with SPO Class Reps and an Admin Liaison. If you would like to nominate someone (or yourself) for one of these roles, please fill out the Nomination Form.

Nominations must be submitted by Monday, April 25, 2022. Voting will be held at the SPO Meeting on April 28, 2022.

Please direct any questions to Amy Maas.

Next Friday, April 29th, all students will have the opportunity to help make a difference on our campus for our second All School Native Garden Day in the Big Backyard. Students will work in staggered groups outside preparing garden beds, pulling weeds, planting new native plants, and helping our gardens flourish this spring and summer to create a sustainable habitat for helpful insects, including bees and butterflies.

After students wrap up in the gardens, all parents and guardians are invited on campus for an All School Pizza Picnic Lunch in the Big Backyard. All students will have lunch and recess from 11:45 am-12:45 pm before packing up for early release at 1:00 pm.

If you would like to order pizza lunch for yourself that day, please contact the Front Desk no later than 9am that Friday morning. You may also bring lunch. Blankets and lawn chairs encouraged!

Spend your summer at The Summit with Camp Raven! These weekly camps provide a fun, safe, and stimulating way to continue learning over the summer break. Each camp, led by talented and enthusiastic instructors, focuses on a central theme from explorations in STEM and art to music and movement. Campers will have fun while learning and making new friends!

Check out some of these exciting camp offerings, and register today!

I joined The Summit when I moved to Missouri in 9th grade.

The Savannah College of Art and Design.

Marketing, advertising, and social media marketing.

As social media affects the world more every day, I believe that marketing will soon evolve its industry to cater to social media. 

I am looking forward to having roommates and living in a new city on my own. 

I am proud to say now that I feel more like myself than I ever have. 

Kanye West, Tyler The Creator, Donald Glover, and Kendrick Lamar. I am really into music, and all are modern examples of black excellence and being out of the control of a system that is meant to oppress them. 

Uncertain. I don’t know where I see myself in 10+ years, and I am okay with that because I am living my life now. 

To My Zion, My Zibbidee Boo Baa,

 

I am grateful. 

 

I am eternally grateful to God for choosing me to help be your guide throughout this journey. 

 

I am grateful for who you are: your incredible adaptability, courage to challenge status quo, creativity and independence, which has allowed me to grow and pursue my dreams. 

 

Looking at the world, through your eyes, you’ve taught me so much. For this, I am grateful. 

 

As you continue to traverse life’s journey, I ask that you remember a few things:  

 

1. You are special, and you are loved dearly

2. You win or you learn; there is no failure

3. Not just to think outside of the box, but rather to imagine limitless possibilities with no boundaries

 

You've been blessed to have some incredible experiences thus far, including your time at The Summit, but this is just the beginning. Here’s to creating more awesome experiences!

Love,

Mom

Third grade has been learning all about our eyes and light, including how we see color and the visible spectrum of light (ROYGBIV).They have discussed the differences between translucent, transparent, and opaque, and they are learning all about the rods and cones of our eyes. Students loved watching videos of optical illusions to learn more about how our eyes process information!

Next, Mr. Powers will be coming into the classroom to help the students dissect cow eyes... Mr. Powers says, "There are a lot of anatomical similarities between a cow eye and a human eye, and all mammals for that matter. Eye dissection provides a valuable hands-on experiment for students to learn not only about the anatomy of the eye but also about how lenses can bend and focus light, which involves an understanding of physics. It's an icky, but highly educational experience!"

Last week, Upper School students traveled to the Springfield Art Museum to view the "Mend" exhibit by Yoko Ono. “Mend” is a hands-on installation which is based on the belief that things can be beautiful after they’ve been broken. Students and volunteers were presented with broken ceramic pieces and implements with which to “mend” them, and the results were truly fantastic! Students thoroughly enjoyed creating their own art at the unique exhibit.

The general collection offered all manner of art to inspire. Just a few of the styles the students were able to take in were: portraiture, ceramics, abstract, modern, social commentary, and landscape, just to name a few. Students were also able to learn about how to enjoy art through concepts like proper aesthetic distance and light.

“Mend” will be at the Springfield Art Museum through July 10th.

Last week, high school students Leo Y. (11th), Caroline Y. (10th), and Sean M. (10th) competed at Missouri State University’s Pummill Math Relays. The team took first place (out of about 20 schools) in the Algebra 2 Team Test! Leo also took home second place in the Algebra 2 Individual Restricted Test.

Faculty sponsor, Mrs. Anna Cook, says, "I'm so proud of Caroline, Leo, and Sean, who were willing to be the Summit's first representatives at the Pummill Relays! Despite not knowing exactly what they were walking into, they were willing to give it a try with positive attitudes (even after running through the rain to get to the competition). I heard many times, 'We'll just do our best and see what happens.' Using their talents, skills, and knowledge they collaborated to win 1st place in the team Algebra 2 test! They have already asked about preparing for returning next year!"

Well done, Ravens! MSU has hosted the Pummill Math Relays for over forty years, and we are very proud of this small but mighty team and their stellar representation of their school!

The LAD Fair accolades keep coming! We just received word that not one, not two, but THREE Summit students had their poetry selected for LAD Fair's special Dance-a-Poem program! This program highlights student poetry with dancers dramatizing selections from first place poetry winners' writing as the poems are read aloud.

Judah A. (Kindergarten), Mayukha V. (2nd), and Vivien B. (4th) were selected from among all first place poetry winners across the range of categories to have their poetry featured in the Dance-a-Poem program later this month. Check out their winning titles below!

The Summit's accrediting body, The Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS), is offering a five-part parent education webinar series in Spring 2022.

We hope you consider joining other independent school parents for any of the five evening sessions led by a variety of experts to help you support your children socially, emotionally, educationally, and developmentally as we all continue to learn and grow. Please use the link below to register for the live webinars, which will be held from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Central time.