Congratulations to Summit Senior Zion Hall!

Zion received notification of his acceptance to

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

in Savannah, Georgia.

When asked what made him choose SCAD for the next step in his educational journey, Zion said, "It's a nice art school, and it has everything I want. I really like the individualized attention. It kind of reminds me of The Summit."

Zion plans to pursue a degree in advertising with a

photography minor.

Questions? Contact the Front Desk.

School Picture Retakes are TOMORROW, Thursday, November 4th at The Summit. To retake your official school picture, just bring back your original photo packet to turn in to the photographer.

Photos may be purchased online through Pearce Photo.

🚨🚨 🚨 Attention, Ravens! 🚨🚨🚨

We have a new match announcement!

One of our Raven Partners, BKD, has generously offered a $5,000 match for the month of November! Celebrate The Summit and independent education in this season of giving and your contribution will be DOUBLED from now through November 30th!

Don't forget about our other November challenge... We would love to reach 50% family participation by Thanksgiving! Remember, the only gift too small is the one not made at all... and your gift this November will be doubled by BKD to help support our students, faculty, and staff at The Summit.

Thank you for your continued support!

Come out and support some local businesses!

4th Grade is opening their Class Marketplace on Thursday, November 11 from 3:00-3:30 pm, and you're invited! 

Come shop a variety of homemade goods such as slime, stress balls, goody bags, catapults, and jewelry made by The Summit's very own 4th grade students.

Bring your cash (exact change is preferred) to shop for yourself or pick up a gift for a friend! Items range in price from $1-$5. 

With winter approaching, we would like to provide you with information regarding potential school closings and/or late starts due to inclement weather. A decision to close school or delay the start of the school day will be made as early as possible, and no later than 6:30 a.m.

Please note that, in accordance with current school policy, consideration may be given to starting the school day at 10:00 a.m., when feasible.

School closing or a delayed start will be communicated through TV and radio media, posted on The Summit's website and social media pages, and communicated through email and text message.

Teachers will provide information regarding "at home" activities through their email or Google Classroom and on their class blogs. In the event of back-to-back or extended cancellations, teachers will update information each morning by 8:45 a.m.

In the event of inclement weather that is NOT deemed serious enough to cancel school but creates a situation where it may not be possible for you to safely make it to school, perhaps due to the location of your home, use your best judgment. Absences or late arrivals due to difficult road conditions will be considered excused.

Rest assured, we will exercise good judgment when considering a school closing or delayed start to the school day, always keeping in mind, first and foremost, the well-being of our Summit community members.

This rainy, blustery fall weather in the Ozarks has been perfect for the fifth grade's studies on erosion and weathering! Last week, they were joined by botanists and Summit parents, Dana and Justin Thomas, who taught the fifth graders about Missouri geology. Highlights included demonstrations showing Missouri’s geological layers and how plant life (and especially native species) slow erosion. Did you know that eastern Missouri used to be a volcano?

After their discussion, Mrs. Verney and her students took their learning on the road! Down at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center, the class took a long looping hike that brought them to an overlook of the highway (where they discussed how engineers try to limit erosion caused by runoff from roads), then down along Galloway Creek that led them to Lake Springfield.

Along the way, the students pointed to places where they could observe erosion happening and learned about methods people use to limit it. From retaining walls to logs sunk into walkways to switchback trails, the examples were everywhere to see!

Stopping by Galloway Creek, students learned how waterways both cause and suffer from erosion and how to identify healthy waterways. Along the way, they observed and identified different types of rocks, observed and identified native plant species, and even found a large fossilized tooth (identification of animal pending). Many thanks to Justin and Dana Thomas who shared an immense amount of knowledge with our students!

Students kicked off their Día de los Muertos celebrations on Monday by making sugar skulls to place on the ofrenda.

This week, Summit students celebrated one of the most popular Mexican holidays, Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. While the name of the holiday doesn’t exactly sound happy, students discovered that it is all about celebrating life and remembering our loved ones that have passed on.

Led by Señoras Leighninger and Souza, we began the week with an all-school altar, or ofrenda. Students were invited to bring in pictures, favorite foods, collections, or any items that reminded them of their loved ones, pets included! These items were on display in the school's lobby. All the photos, flowers, and personal items collected on the ofrenda made a stunning tribute to all of our loved ones and was quite a conversation starter at our Fall Open House!

After learning about the foods, traditions, and activities that are associated with this 2-day holiday, students participated in some hands-on activities all themed around Día de los Muertos. Students made artwork inspired by the holiday, created beautiful paper butterflies and flowers, and even decorated authentic sugar skulls with icing, glitter, sequins, foil paper, feathers, and sprinkles.

Thank you to our parent volunteers for all their help making 150 skulls for students to decorate! We love seeing all the unique designs and creativity on display with this extra sweet, hands-on project.

We love seeing the joy of learning extending beyond our classroom walls here at The Summit! First grader Keylon P. was inspired to create his own ofrenda at home after sharing all he learned about Día de los Muertos with his family.

Keylon's mom, Kendra, said, "I'm so grateful he is part of a program that encourages and prioritizes learning about a variety of cultural practices and traditions! It was, needless to say, a great opportunity to talk about our ancestors."

We love celebrating this Summit tradition!

Beall, a sophomore at Springfield's Summit Preparatory School, does not yet have a driver's license but she is captivated by the science of flying. She wants to learn all she can and spend as much time as possible in the clouds.

"It's kind of hard to describe. It feels like freedom to me," she said. "Everybody else says that driving is like freedom. I like flying better than the driving that I have done."

The Girl Scout, student leader and competitive swimmer still marvels at her ability to talk her parents into letting her take flying lessons this year — starting at age 15.

The move puts her in rarified air. The U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics reported by the Federal Aviation Administration show in 2019 just 146 females in the U.S., ages 14 and 15, and 3,416, ages 16-19, were pursuing a pilot certificate.

Read more about Maren's flying pursuits in the Springfield News-Leader series "Future of the Ozarks"!

“We appreciate the support of State Farm and their commitment to the success and growth of our Springfield community. This grant allows us to continue to expand our STEM offerings for our students to prepare them with the critical thinking skills and creativity to be resourceful and effective future leaders in our community and beyond,” said The Summit’s Head of School, Dr. Katie Heet.

You heard it here in the Raven Report first! The Springfield Business Journal highlighted The Summit's STEM grant from State Farm last week including some words of gratitude from The Summit's own Dr. Katie Heet and Mr. Rob Powers.

The first round of Raven Clubhouse after school enrichment sessions will begin next week, starting Tuesday, November 9th, and run for six weeks.

Clubs meet once a week, from 3:30-4:30 p.m., on the days listed on the registration form below.

Feel free to invite your non-Summit friends to join as well!