Capitol Hill Headliner

Monday, December 16: Girls Basketball, 4:30 vs Washington Middle @ Capitol Hill

Tuesday, December 17: 2nd Grade Winter Wonderland 10am-noom

Tuesday, December 17: 5th Grade Band and Middle School Orchestra Concert, 6-8:30pm

Thursday, December 19: Wrestling Meet, 4:30 @ Murray Middle School

Friday, December 20: 4th Grade to the Heights Theater, 9:45am-2pm

Monday, December 23-Friday, January 3: NO SCHOOL, Winter Break

Monday, January 6: Girls Basketball, 4:30 vs Washington Middle School @ Washington Middle School

Tuesday, January 7: 1st Grade Schwab and VandenHeuvel to Belwin, 9:45am-2:45pm

Wednesday, January 8: 1st Grade Brzinski to Belwin, 9:45am-2:45pm

Thursday, January 9: Wrestling Meet, 4:30pm @ Capitol Hill

Friday, January 10: 3rd Grade Lang and Peterson to Planetarium, 10:15am-12:15pm

Saturday, January 11: Wrestling Meet, 9:00am @ Highland Park High School

Monday, January 13: Girls Basketball, 4:30 vs Global Arts @ Global Arts

Monday, January 13: PTO Meeting, 6-7:30pm

Wednesday, January 15: Wrestling Meet. 4:30 @ Hmong Language Upper Campus

Thursday, January 23: 2nd Grade to Bell Museum, 9:45am-2:15pm

Hello Capitol Hill Families,

I am looking for parents to sign up to call prospective Capitol Hill families and tell them about your experience of our school. After touring the school, some prospective families indicated that they would like to receive a call from a current Capitol Hill family. You may be contacted to call these families between now and early February. You will also receive a Google form of questions and suggestions to guide you through your conversation with the prospective family. Please sign up on this form. Thank you for helping us welcome prospective families and spread the word about Capitol Hill!

In appreciation,

Marcus Freeman

Principal, Capitol Hill

6th grade A day Media Arts was lucky enough to have a Q&A session with Wicked movie supervising sound editor/sound designer, John Marquis! They were able to ask questions about what college he attended (Berkeley School of Music and the School at the Art Institute of Chicago), who was his mentor (Dane A. Davis of The Matrix), and what have been his favorite projects (Wicked, Transformers, and The Flash). It was neat to see the inside of a Warner Brother's Sound studio too!

Donate today to save Voice, Choice, and Joy Day; the Spring Carnival; and 8th Grade Recognition

Your donations to PTO-sponsored fundraisers are essential to supplement the school’s budget, allowing us to pay for field trips, classroom supplies, community events like Doing Good Together, and much more. To minimize the number of fundraising asks, we focus on two major drives each year: the Direct Drive (including Give to the Max Day) and the Read-A-Thon in February.

We have created a graphic to illustrate the need and what is at risk, which you can find along with our 2024-25 PTO budget (updated monthly) in our PTO Google Drive.

Unfortunately, we’ve fallen short of our fundraising goals. So far, we’ve raised about $26,000—far below the $65,000 we anticipated by December. With a total PTO budget of $105,000, we need to raise $39,000 by mid-January to avoid mid-year budget cuts. These cuts could affect critical programs, and we’ve already asked teachers to delay reimbursement for classroom supplies.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. Your generosity has made a real difference!

There’s still time to help us reach our goal. Every donation counts!

Give today through one of the following ways:

· GiveMN: givemn.org/organization/Capitol-Hill-Fund-Raising

· PayPal: paypal.com/paypalme/CapitolHillPTO

· Cash or check: Drop off donations at Capitol Hill’s front desk (make checks payable to "Capitol Hill PTO").

Together, we can preserve the programs and events that make our school community special.

Do you get the newspaper? When you are finished, please send it into the Capitol Hill office. We will be using them for our middle school play, Newsies.

With cold and snowy winter weather coming, please do not park in the MLK lot, both in and outside of the parking spots, and no parking on the west side of Mackubin Street, You may park on the east side of Mackubin, on Carroll, on Iglehart, and Marshall. Parking on the restricted streets will impact the flow of traffic. Once we start getting more snow, it’s going to impact things even more. Please help keep Parent pick up safe for everyone.

The 4th annual Capitol Hill Read-a-Thon will be February 3-17! Will Capitol Hill students surpass our 506,000-minute reading total from last year? During I Love to Read Month, students will celebrate our love to read and solicit pledges to support Voice, Choice and Joy Day, other field trips and school student enrichment activities and clubs.

Look for more information about individual, classroom and school-wide goals and family packets in mid-January. However, you do not need to wait until January to start reaching out to family and friends to support your reader and solicit pledges.

Thank you for all you do to foster a love of reading among our students. Thank you to our sponsors RED BALLOON BOOKSHOP, CUB FOODS and GREAT HARVEST.

Capitol Hill: WE DID SO MUCH GOOD, TOGETHER! Thank you to everyone that joined us for our annual community service fair. Together we…

• Painted an awesome community mural on the wall at the top of the green stairs in our school (check it out next time you’re in the building!)

• Packed 154 snack packs and made 154 kindness notes for Loaves & Fishes

• Packed 80 craft kits for children who are hospitalized at Masonic Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Mpls/St. Paul

• Packed 100 hygiene kits for Avivo and Union Gospel Mission

• Learned about food insecurity from Every Meal

• Learned about native grasses and root systems from Friends of the Mississippi River

• Made 65 fidgets for mental health

• Learned about and visited with rescue dogs from Secondhand Hounds

• Learned about and visited with service dogs from Helping Paws

• Learned about and visited with reptiles from Remarkable Reptiles

• Made 97 fleece toys for The Bond Between

• Made 40 thank you cards for staff at our school

• Made 90 toys for rescue birds at MAARS

We also collected SO MUCH food for Hallie Q. Brown Community Center!!! The kindness and generosity of our community is an amazing thing to witness.

Special thanks to all of our amazing volunteers and school staff - we absolutely could not have done this without you!

• Janna Garramone, Stephanie Lein Walseth and Madeline, Tim Feyma, and Sarah Berman-Young (food servers)

• Liz Collier, Dionne Reinhart, Ann Linde, and Sarah Wilmer (greeters)

• Stacie Sinclair and the last minute crew that showed up to help pack food (snack packs and kindness notes for Loaves and Fishes)

• Rin Garramone and Aditya Bhargava (thank you cards for staff)

• Meg Bredeson and Madeline Gragg (fleece dog toys)

• Beth Scudder and Melina Hoehn (fidgets)

• Madeline Strom, Ms. Ballard, Jay Amundson, and the crew from MAARS (bird toys)

• Jeremy Page and John Riederer (craft kits)

• Jeanie Swenson and Suzanne Joy (child hygiene kits)

• Tim Leier, Libby O'Connoll, Allison Burnett, and Scout Pack #9561 (general event assistance, energy efficient night light distribution, and reflection station)

• Ms. Letellier, and WEB students (community mural painting and an appearance from Cougie)

• Der Thao, Sunny Neiger, and Pa Kou Yang (school level support for all the things)

• Clem McKay (providing security for the evening)

• David Odeen and the custodial team (set-up, clean-up, and other logistical support)

• Principal Freeman (support for this event every year)

• All of the parents and students that showed up on event night and volunteered to help lead activities

• Helping Paws

• The Bond Between

• Every Meal

• Loaves & Fishes

• Friends of the Mississippi River

• Xcel Energy (night light distribution)

• Midwest Avian Adoption & Rescue Services (MAARS)

• Jim Gerholdt with Remarkable Reptiles

• Doing Good Together (the non-profit organization)

• Martha Au-Yeung (scavenger hunt)

• Dr. Fried and our quartet of student musicians (providing music for the event)

• Event planning team: Abby Heuckendorf, Anne Harris, Carrie Au-Yeung, Jill Miller

See you next year!

The Doing Good Together Team: Abby, Anne, Carrie, and Jill

4th - 6th grade EDL ORCHESTRA!

Ms. Weltzien (Ms. W.) has worked with orchestras at Central and Murray and is now teaching EDL Orchestra at Capitol Hill. All 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students are welcome whether you are a beginner, advanced, in orchestra during the school day, or not. If interested, complete this Google Form or go to: bit.ly/EDL456Orch

Ms. Weltzien (Ms. W.) has worked with orchestras at Central and Murray and is now teaching EDL Orchestra at Capitol Hill. All 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students are welcome whether you are a beginner, advanced, in orchestra during the school day, or not. If interested, complete this Google Form or go to: bit.ly/EDL456Orch

Each week our elementary classrooms will highlight star students.

As many of you know, there has been a significant shift in funding this past year resulting in a decrease of Flipside Afterschool program sites. This has left over 1500 middle schoolers with less options for afterschool programming.

Saint Paul Public Schools, the City of Saint Paul and Saint Paul Children’s Collaborative are working together, to connect youth and families to additional opportunities in our community and to communicate the need for more resources for youth programming in Saint Paul. We have been working to connect our community organizations to use the SPPS digital flyers website, Peachjar. Each SPPS school website has a Peachjar link under the FAMILY menu. Here you will find electronic flyers for youth and family programs available across the city. We encourage you to visit your school’s website and sign up for a Peachjar account, so you don’t miss out on any new programs or activities not just at your school but within the community as well. Sign up at https://my.peachjar.com/signup#

Our heath office is looking for donations of gloves and mittens to keep students warm during recess.

Winter is creeping up on us and that means it’s almost time to hit the slopes!

Whether you are a total pro or just starting out,

you are invited to sign up for The Capitol Hill Ski & Snowboard Club.

This year the Ski Club will have an option of 3 to 5 visits to Afton Alps after school on Fridays where kids can participate in Afton’s “Slope Days” program. In Slope Days, kids learn the basics of skiing or riding while gaining confidence, perseverance, endurance, and a true love for the outdoors!! Lessons are the first hour of the night with independent skiing to follow.

Details below.

• WHEN: Option of 3, 4 or 5 Fridays (12/20, 1/10, 1/24, 2/7, 2/21)

• WHERE: Afton Alps Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/JGyPJdey7Dw6qQY36

• TIME: Bus departs Capitol Hill at 4:10PM arrives back at Capitol Hill at ~9:35/45PM Parents/caregivers expected to pick up their kids at Capitol Hill at 9:35/40PM

• COST OPTIONS:

• Option 1: All inclusive Slope Days Program (includes bus transport): $279 for 3 days, $257 for 4 days, $435 for 5 days. This program is inclusive of bus transportation, lessons, lift tickets and rental equipment for all nights.

• Option 2: Bus Only (assumes you have an Epic lift ticket/pass and your own equipment already): 3 days = $70, 4 days = $85, 5 days = $100. Note: have an Epic pass–which you can purchase now from Afton directly at this link. Note, pass prices go up Sunday, November 17.

• AGE REQ’S: Due to safety concerns with kids skiing on their own (and at a relatively large ski area), the club is geared towards independent middle schoolers in grades 6-8 as there will be minimal adult supervision other than a few chaperones in the Ski Chalet. Reach out to me if you have younger siblings or kids interested...we just want to make sure everyone is safe. :)

• HOW TO REGISTER:

• Step 1: Fill out a permission slip here. Return this slip with your bus payment to the front office OR send it in via email to anne.halvorson@gmail.com.

• Step 2: Pay.

• For OPTION 1 you will pay Afton directly for Ski Slope program and the PTO for the bus fee. To Register & pay for Slope Day via Afton directly here--it will give you the option of 3, 4 or 5 days. Then write out a check for bus transport (3 days = $70, 4 days = $85, 5 days = $100) and drop off in the front office with your permission slip.

• Important note re: Afton Instructions: After you check out you must enter our unique group code (AACHSC3FRI) into the “special conditions” field–this last part is very important so we can identify our club during registration.

• For OPTION 2 (bus only): Write out a check for bus transport (3 days = $70, 4 days = $85, 5 days = $100) and drop it off in the office. OR, you may pay via PayPal: (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/CapitolHillPTO) with a note of "ski" or "ski club for [child's name]" in the "What's this for" field.
  
  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Anne Halvorson at anne.halvorson@gmail.com or text 503-593-4096.

Co-Ed Wrestling and Girl's Basketball began on Monday, November 11. Practices are held Monday-Thursday from 4 to 6pm. Parent pick up will be at the green doors at 6pm.

Boys Basketball will begin Monday, January 20, 2025.

An activity registration start- up guide for families is provided on the athletic website.

Athletes can still join! To register online: middle school athletic registration form document

District Athletic Website: SPORTS.SPPS.ORG

If you have questions, please email our athletic director, Ms. Bergstrom. nadine.bergstrom@spps.org

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to support Capitol Hill. Thank you to all parents and guardians who have already submitted the volunteer background checks paper form.

Due to a policy/procedure change, from our human resource department, there is a new volunteer background check process.

A volunteer background check electronic form must be complete before volunteering. It is now the responsibility of the staff members leading the event to send the volunteer background check link out to families. We recognize that the this change in the process and understand that this change came weeks after the paper forms were sent to families.

For those who have submitted the paper form you will need to submit an electronic form. Our HR department is no longer accepting paper forms. If you have turned in a paper form, we will shred it for you.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you,

Marcus

Capitol Hill is working on acquiring Title I status and we need your help! Being a Title I school would mean additional funding that could pay for multiple staff at our school next year. Attaining Title I status relies heavily on the Application for Educational Benefits (commonly known as the application for free and reduced price lunch). Every family MUST complete this form, even if you think you do not qualify for benefits, and even though meals are now free for all students. Why? These forms provide important data that determines both our compensatory and Title I funding for the following school year (2025-26). We are still missing forms from many families at our school! Forms can be completed online here or you can contact school for a paper form. Unsure if you filled the form out or not? Log into your School Cafe account and check! Only one person in the household needs to complete the form. The forms are due by December 15!

Additional information:

Income Guidelines for the Application for Educational Benefits from MDE

Questions? Reach out to school, or any of the following district staff:

Stacy Koppen, Director of Nutrition Services: stacy.koppen@spps.org

Lynn Broberg, Assistant Director of Nutrition Services: lynn.broberg@spps.org

Anne McInerney, Director of the Office of Federal Programs: anne.mcinerney@spps.org

The Capitol Hill visitor policy was made with the health and safety of students, staff and our Capitol Hill community in mind. Parents and guardians will need to make an appointment prior to meeting with a staff member at Capitol Hill. Also, families will no longer be able to walk their student(s) to their respective classes. Families can drop their scholar off at the main office and then the student will be able to walk to class by themselves. Lastly, families are more than welcome to come and pick their child up to have lunch, but families will not be able to eat lunch in the cafeteria with students.

Thank you for your partnership and commitment in keeping all of our students, staff and Capitol Hill community safe.

The Capitol Hill Gifted and Talented Magnet school policy about the use of electronic devices, including, but not limited to, cell phones, mp3 players, headphones & earbuds, and personal gaming systems, is as follows:

1. ALL electronic devices that are brought to school are to be TURNED OFF & STORED in students’ backpacks or lockers from the time students arrive on campus until they are off campus after 4PM.

2. Cell phones and other non-district devices should not be used in classrooms (including the gymnasiums/locker rooms), the library, lunch room, restrooms, or hallways.

3. Students who violate this policy must turn over their electronics/equipment to staff upon request.

4. The following consequences are in place for students who are in violation of this policy.

1. 1st offense – Teacher and student will discuss and problem solve how to eliminate the distraction.

2. 2nd offense – Teacher will hold the item until the end of class.

3. 3rd offense – The phone will be held until the end of the day and an Administrator will call home.

4. 4th offense – Parent/Admin/Student Meeting to pick up the device.

Note: A Parent or Guardian may come to the school at any time to reclaim the confiscated item and take it home with them.

Why don’t we allow cell phones in class/lunch/bathrooms/halls during the school day?

1. We prioritize real human interaction. We believe that learning the skills of in-person communication and collaboration are much more important. Students are already good at using electronics -- they do not need social media practice or gaming practice at school. One of the most important skills our students will learn at Capitol Hill is how to get along and work well, face-to-face, with a variety of people.
   
   

2. Electronics are disruptive. Cell phones ringing and buzzing disrupt both the student and the class. We want students focused on the lesson, not who’s calling or texting them.
   
   

3. They cause drama. Students tend to say things online that they would never say out loud. We don’t need extra drama at school.
   
   

4. They get lost and stolen. Unfortunately, as wonderful as our Capitol Hill students are, phones are lost and stolen. While we try to help students problem-solve, the school is not responsible for lost or stolen items.
   
   

Students don’t need them. Every student at Capitol Hill is given an iPad for academic use.

Office Hours: 9:00 - 4:30.

Morning Drop-off Time

We want to ensure each child is safe when arriving for school. Staff

supervision begins at 9:15am. Please do not drop off your child

any earlier than 9:15

Dismissal

Please send a note or email your child's teacher, if you are picking up your child early or letting your

child go home any other way than their normal route. For early pick up, we do not call your child to

the office until you arrive to sign them out. Elementary students will always need confirmation for

changes. Students are NOT allowed to ride a bus home that is not assigned to them. This means

that your child may not ride the bus home with a friend or relative that has a different bus than your

child.

It gets extremely busy in the office at the end of the day. For any changes to your normal

dismissal process, please make sure to call the office no later than 3:00 pm, at 651-325-2500,

as this allows time for the message to be received/delivered. To guarantee that all students

make it home safely, changes and messages will not be delivered after 3:00pm.

Sign In

We always welcome parents and visitors to our school. If you choose to come during teaching hours,

please make sure you have an appointment or a planned visit with the respective staff member.

Please make sure you always stop by the office to check in, sign in, and get a visitor's badge.

Attendance/late arrivals:

Please make sure to always report your child's absences. You can do this in two ways:

· Dial the attendance line directly at 651-325-2599 -OR-

· Email us at capitolhill.attendance@spps.org.

Please include your child's name (spell their name if calling), grade, the reason for their absence,

your relationship to the child, and a return phone number that you can be reached at if we should

have questions.

Questions about SPPS Attendance Policies?

Please click on this link. https://www.spps.org/attendance

Health Related Absences:

If your child is ill, you may receive a follow up call from our nurse or

nurse designee.

Calling Your Child

When calling the school to speak to your child, the office staff will deliver your message to have your

child call you back. We will not transfer calls. Teachers are teaching during the day and we are trying

our best to lessen the interruptions during instructional time. Thanks for understanding.

Capitol Hill Arrival Procedure:

• Parents/guardians drop off students on Concordia Avenue.

• Please follow the cars lining up.

• Please wait your turn and do not go in front of other cars already in line.

• Students can get out of the car after the entrance to the parking lot.

• Pull up as far as you can to Mackubin Avenue, behind the car in front of you, without leaving gaps between cars (please do not stop at the stairs if you have room to pull forward)

• Students get out on the right side (curb). Use the FULL drop-off Zone.

• Parents/guardians stay in the car.

• There will be staff there to assist if needed.

• When your student(s) is out of the car, please safely pull out of the line and follow traffic on Concordia (no right turns onto Mackubin Street).

Capitol Hill Dismissal Procedure for Elementary students:

• Parents/guardians will get out of their vehicles and line up on the sidewalk on Mackubin and let staff know the name of the student(s) being picked up.

• Parents/Guardians of students with last names starting with A – G will be located between the far MLK driveway and the corner of Mackubin and Marshall

• Parents/Guardians of students with last names starting with H – O will be between the MLK driveways

• Parents/Guardians of students with last names starting with P – Z will be between the MLK driveway and the Green Doors

• All Students are to remain inside the school until outside staff have radioed that their parent/guardian has arrived.

• Inside staff will call the student’s name they will walk outside to meet their parent/guardian. Parents/guardians wait for student(s) on the sidewalk.

• Middle School sibling(s) cannot pick-up Elementary sibling(s).

• Parents and/or Guardians are the only ones allowed to pick-up Elementary students.

• At 4:15, any student still left will be escorted to the main Office and the parent/guardian will be called.

Capitol Hill Dismissal Procedure for Middle School students:

• Students will exit the building through the Green doors and go to their assigned bus, walk home, or meet their parent/guardian.

• Middle School students cannot pick up their Elementary sibling(s).

• Middle School students can meet their Elementary sibling(s) outside.