Capitol Hill Headliner
Friday, April 2, 2021
Message from Principal Hodges
Hello!
I hope you all are doing well! We have a few updates this week!
- Elementary and Middle School: For 3rd-8th Graders - Please fill out this form regarding MCA standardized testing happening in April.
This week we have important content in our newsletter!
- HEALTH REPORTING - Keep our Community Safe
- COVID Testing recommendations for students
- Middle School Update
- MCA Testing Update
- PTO Updates: Silent Auction, Chipotle Fundraiser, Next Meeting
- Debate Team Update
- History Day Update
- 1,000,000 Page Reading Challenge!
- Office Updates: 9:15 drop-off time, attendance reporting, early dismissal, changes in dismissal plan.
Feel free to contact me with any questions at andrew.hodges@spps.org or 612-398-9579.
HEALTH REPORTING - Keep our Capitol Hill Community Safe and Healthy.
The Capitol Hill Health Office is working hard to keep students healthy and families updated with information.
Please see this update regarding when the keep your child home from school and how we determine if a student needs to remain home from school for an extended period of time. Find the SPPS COVID Reporting Form here
If your child is ill, please contact the Capitol Hill attendance line at 651-325-2599 or capitolhill.attendance@spps.org. If you prefer, you may also contact Dr. Veglia directly
at 651-888-7609 or carolyn.vegliayoung@spps.org.
Please expect a follow up call from our nurse or nurse designees during these unique times.
COVID Testing for Students
MDH announced a recommendation for all school-age youth returning to school, youth sports, or extracurricular activities, and their families, to get tested every two weeks through the end of the school year. While it is not a requirement, regular testing complements other safety measures already in place, such as masking and social distancing.
Schools and youth organizations can send messages and resources available on COVID-19 Testing for Kids and Families to families to encourage testing. Getting tested every two weeks from now until the end of the school year can help keep schools open and ensure we are limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Testing locations can be found here.
Middle School Update
We are excited to welcome around 400 middle school students back to Capitol Hill in-person beginning on Wednesday, April 14th. Please see the text from an e-mail sent on April 1 with information regarding the middle school return, including logistics for arrival and dismissal.
MCA Testing Information
Capitol Hill will begin the MCAs after Spring Break. Please see the updated testing schedule here.
If you feel that it is unsafe to send your student to take the MCA/MTAS tests, we understand. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, we would like you to complete the form on this page to indicate if your student(s) WILL or WILL NOT take the MCA/MTAS tests..
For more information about Minnesota State Assessments:
• MN Dept of Ed state testing site: https://education.mn.gov/MDE/fam/tests/
• MCA Parent Fact Sheet - English: https://bit.ly/3kIM1xE
• MTAS Parent Fact Sheet - English: https://bit.ly/3qcXXZH
• Why State Assessments Matter - English: https://bit.ly/39NDNQW
PTO Updates:
PTO Silent Auction to Support Classroom Libraries!
It's not too late to donate to the Silent Auction! Please submit donations by the extended due date, April 16th!
Eat for Change, Support Capitol Hill on April 14! (you can even order online)
April 13 PTO Meeting
Google Meet Link: meet.google.com/yxv-emok-dax
Capitol Hill Debate Team Results!
Congratulations to our Debate Team! Below are the results for Capitol Hill from the MNUDL City Championship Tournament for Novices.
Novice Speaker Recognitions:
- 10th place - Hashim Benlhabib
- 9th place - Eddie Nagel
- 7th place - Isaiah Wang
- 3rd place - Lucio Pranis-Ricci
- 2nd place - Maya Nirmal
- 1st place - Willow Hovland
Novice Team Awards:
- 3rd place - Isaiah Wang and Eddie Nagel
- 2nd place - Hashim Benlhabib, Lucio Pranis-Ricci, and Stuart Strack
- 1st place and City Champs - Willow Hovland and Maya Nirmal
History Day Update!
Many middle school students recently chose to compete in the History Day competition. Students chose a topic in history that fit within the theme ‘Communication in History: The Key to Understanding”’. Students spent a lot of time learning about primary and secondary sources and how to find credible research on their topic. After researching their topic they picked which type of project they wanted to create: Research Paper, Documentary, Exhibit, Website or Performance.
History Day projects are more than just an assignment. Students learn valuable lifelong skills, such as how to research at a high school and oftentimes at a collegiate level, long-term time management and productive work with peers.
The Capitol Hill Social Studies Department would like to congratulate all of our students for their hard work. We were able to send 16 projects to the Saint Paul History Day Regional competition. We are honored to be sending the following projects to the History Day Minnesota State competition at the University of Minnesota on May 2nd. The MN History Center will live stream the results at 7pm on May 2nd on their Facebook page.
We encourage you to take the time and see the students' hard work here.
1,000,000 Page Challenge!
We are almost over 750,000 pages! That is 150,000 more than last week! Encourage your child to read and log their pages! Students can log their pages over Spring Break by filling out this form!
Office Updates & Procedures: Drop-off time, attendance reporting, early dismissal, changes in dismissal.
Morning Drop-off Time
We want to ensure each child is safe when arriving for school. Staff supervision begins at 9:15am. The earliest time to drop off your child for school is 9:15am. Please do not drop off your child any earlier.
Attendance/late arrivals:
Please make sure to always report your child's absence or late arrivals. 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, 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.
Health Related Absences: If your child is ill, please expect a follow up call from our nurse or nurse designee during these unique times. Please see current health considerations here.
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. Teachers are teaching during the day and we are trying our best to lessen the interruptions during instructional time. Thanks for understanding.
Dismissal
Please call the Capitol Hill office at 651-325-2500 if you are are picking up your child early or letting your child go home any other way than their normal route. Please make sure to call the office no later than 1:00 pm for grades 6-8 or 3:00pm for grades 1-5 if you have to make changes. If you call later than these times, we cannot guarantee that your child will get the message.