Capitol Hill Headliner
Friday, March 26, 2021
Message from Principal Hodges
Hello!
I hope you all are doing well! We have a few updates this week!
- Elementary: Please find the elementary school conference sign up here
- Middle School: Please find the middle school conference sign up here
- Elementary and Middle School: For 3rd-8th Graders - Please fill out this form regarding the MCA standardized testing
This week we have exciting content in our newsletter!
- PTO Update
- Middle School Update
- Travel Guidance for Students and Families
- MCA Update
- 1,000,000 Page Reading Challenge!
- COVID Testing
- MITY
- Discovery Club Summer Programming
- Office Updates
Feel free to contact me with any questions at andrew.hodges@spps.org or 612-398-9579.
PTO Updates
PTO Co-chair Opening
Passionate about helping Capitol Hill? Like energizing others to help out? Join the PTO team as we wrap up Spring 2021 and plan for Fall 2022! We're looking for a new Co-chair now to fill an unexpected vacancy. Please e-mail Jen at ptochair.capitolhill@gmail.com if you (or someone you know) may be interested.
Thank you Capitol Hill families!
The staff appreciation lunch was a huge success. Thanks to your generosity each staff member received a box lunch and a gift card from local businesses. It was a fantastic show of support for our awesome Capitol Hill team!
From Doing Good Together
Thank you for making our first try at a virtual Doing Good Together event so successful! It was a really fun night! While it definitely looked different from years past, the same spirit of kindness and giving was present and many wonderful conversations were had. We absolutely could not have done this without the support and talent of the following people:
- Lisa Schibel
- Anne Hebble
- Der Thao
- Michelle Neal
- Sunny Neiger
- Principal Hodges
- Noah Logan
- Erin Moore
- Rhia Currie Ickes
- Elsie King
- Kavanaugh Kim
- Gray Weil
- Nic O'Reilly
- Mackenzie Reinhart
- Sririta Phidavanh
- Gwen Heuckendorf
- Kelly Moore
- Nicole Navratil
- Hayley and Anthony Sisler Newman of Graceful Monsters theatre collaborative
- Scouts Troop 7091: Lucy Dosch, Kate Celichowski, and Hannah Gliedman
...and of course, our fabulous Doing Good Together team: Abby Heuckendorf, Jill Winter, Carrie Au-Yeung, Suzie Todnem, and Bridget Axelson
Please keep an eye out for an email next week with some resources we shared at the event. See you all next year, hopefully, back in-person!!!
Middle School Update
Key points from this e-mail are:
- SPPS is unfortunately not able to offer middle school athletics this spring.
- Families should conduct a health screening every morning before sending their student to school or the bus stop. School staff will also monitor for symptoms throughout the school day. If your child is exhibiting any COVID-19 symptoms, do not send them to school. Report the absence to your child’s school and submit a report to the COVID-19 Reporting System the same day for next steps.
- In line with the Minnesota Safe Learning Plan, students must maintain 6 feet of physical distance whenever possible; when 6 feet is not possible, a minimum of 3 feet between students must be maintained.
- Buses will be limited to 50% capacity. Families will receive a postcard in the mail with their bus route information starting March 29. Students will have assigned seats on buses to ensure spacing and assist with contact tracing. Face coverings are required for all K-12 students and staff, both on the bus and at school.
We will use the schedule here for in-person students. Students in Virtual Learning will check-in to the same class periods in Schoology for their work using this schedule as well. We will have our schedule for afternoon Virtual Learning Student Support in next weeks Headliner.
Travel Guidance for Students & Families
Spring break is April 5-9. Unnecessary travel is highly discouraged. If you must travel, do what you can to protect yourself and your family.
Before you decide to travel, think about:
- How much COVID-19 is spreading where you are going and how much it is spreading in your local community.
- Whether you or someone you are traveling with could get very sick from COVID-19.
- How easy or difficult it will be to keep 6 feet between people.
- Whether you would be able to miss work, school or other activities if you get sick.
For international travel, follow federal guidelines. Visit U.S. Department of State: Travel and CDC: COVID-19 Travel Recommendations by Destination for more information.
MCA Testing Information
Capitol Hill will begin the MCAs after Spring Break.
Please see the 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 take the MCA/MTAS tests or if your student(s) 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
1,000,000 Page Challenge!
We are almost over 600,000 pages! That is 200,000 more than last week! Encourage your child to read and log their pages! They even got to hear me sing this week in celebration of getting over 500,000!
Students can log their pages by filling out this form!
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 sports operating, and ensure we are limiting the spread of COVID-19.
MITY Summer Programs
MITY is officially accepting applications for summer ExplorSchool and summer EYM! Both programs will offer in-person and online classes to help meet the needs of families. There are tons of great classes thanks to many of you!
You can find flyers for both programs here. Full and partial scholarships are available so that ALL deserving students can attend.
Discovery Club
Office Notes/Procedures
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
Please make sure to always report your child's absence. You can do this two ways:
1. Dial the attendance line directly at 651-325-2599 or 2. Email us at capitolhill.attendance@spps.org. Please make sure to include your child's name (spell their name), their 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.
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 send a note with your child, to their teacher, if you are picking up your child early or letting your child go home any other way than his or her normal route. Please also make sure to call the office no later than 3:00pm if you have to make changes. If you call later than 3:0pm, we cannot guarantee that your child will get the message.