Capitol Hill Community News
November 2022
Principal's Message
Capitol Hill Community,
Happy Friday! I hope you all are staying warm and dry on this wet and cold November day. Thank you for your continued engagement in your child's education. Capitol Hill Elementary is a special place for students to be themselves, learn, explore, and feel safe at all times. I value each of your partnerships and have enjoyed developing relationships with many of you over the last several months. I look forward to meeting more of you soon!
I am excited for each of you to engage in meaningful conversations about your child's progress and experience at Fall Conferences. Look for communication from your child's teacher to sign up for a conference time.
Thank you for taking the time to review all of the important information and announcements in this newsletter.
- Mike
Important Dates
11/4 - No School for students/Teacher Plan Day
11/9 - PTA Meeting
11/11 - No School/ Holiday
11/21 - Parent/Teacher Conference, No School
11/21 - Holiday Sharing Kicks Off
11/22 - Parent/Teacher Conference, No School
11/23 - 11/25 - No School
Site Council Opportunity
Site Council will be made up of the principal, teachers, and parents. This team will identify ways to support the school community. By providing leadership, direction and support, we give input on developing school priorities and implement ways to improve them. At its core, our Site Council is about tailoring the Capitol Hill experience to the specific needs of our students and our community.
Our goal is to develop a diverse group of parents to be on this team. If you are a parent and are interested in joining this team. Depending on the number of parents who are interested, we may need to hold a simple election to determine who will fill these important roles. Please email Mike if you are interested. Due Date for notifying Mike of your interest: November 14th.
We will kick off with our first meeting in January 2023!
Recess and Weather
Lunch Challenge!
We will celebrate this week's winner on Monday.
Report Cards for First Quarter
For the past several years, PPS K-5 educators have used conference forms instead of the K-5 report card to communicate with families about student progress in the first quarter of school.
This year, however, we are returning to the use of first quarter report cards for all grades. This means that K-5 families will receive a first quarter report card for their children in mid-November.
How to see a report card? Report cards will be posted on ParentVue. In order to view the report card, each student must have a completed online verification process. Parents will need a ParentVue login to view their student report cards.
Parents may also request a hard copy report card by contacting their child's teacher.
Please look for communications from your child’s teacher about how to sign-up for a conference on November 21-22
Thanksgiving Food Boxes
Please see the flyer below to volunteer or request a box.
Holiday Sharing
It is that time of year again. What time you say? It is time for my favorite Capitol Hill Elementary Activity!
Each winter holiday season we create our own giving tree and help provide holiday cheer to some of our very own Capitol Hill families.
Beginning November 21st (just in time for conferences) our giving tree will be up and available for gift tag taking. Our giving tree is the nutcracker with gift requests all around them.
During conferences and the week following, families will be able to visit the giving tree and pull a tag. Once the gift is purchased we ask that you return it to school with the gift tag attached and leave it unwrapped. There will be a big bin to return gifts located near the giving nutcrackers. The tags will be color coded so we know which family it goes to.
Before we get to that piece of the fun we need to find out who could use some help over the holiday season. If your family could use some help, please complete this form. https://forms.gle/QTVdV5EzXLZRBfyu7. We will collect the names of all families that would like to participate. From the list, we will help as many as we can. If we need to prioritize, we will begin with families that are new to the list. Please note that the names of the families are confidential and will not be shared.
Holiday Greenery Sale
Beautiful wreaths and garlands may be ordered and picked up at Capitol Hill Elementary or shipped directly to family, friends and clients - even those out of town. What a festive and easy way to support the Capitol Hill PTA!
Online orders are due Friday, NOVEMBER 11th.
Greenery will be available for pickup on Saturday, DECEMBER 3, 9AM-12PM under the covered basketball court at the school.
Visit the Capitol Hill PTA website to order!
Thanks for supporting our great school!
Questions? Please contact
Marianne Majors (vicepresident@capitolhillelementary.com)
Yearbook Classroom Volunteers
In order to create the best yearbook with every class represented we would like to have one parent volunteer be the class photographer. You must be a cleared volunteer to perform this important task. Please sign up if you are interested.https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44ADAF2EA4FFC25-classschool
If you would prefer your student not be photographed, please complete the publicity denial form attached below and return to the office.
Volunteers will need an approved background check and be fully vaccinated.
Reminders...
Attendance Announcement
If your student is going to miss school please email the teacher and copy Heidi (hreichel@pps.net ) and Kristin (kluksonking@pps.net)
Free + Reduced Price Meals Eligibility and Payment
All PPS families are being notified of the opportunity to apply for free and reduced price meal benefits. Already, the Nutrition Services team has determined that over 9,000 students directly certified for free meals (through SNAP, Foster, etc) and have processed over 1100 applications. Please encourage families to use the online application for secure, confidential and quicker processing. Paper applications with translated copies are available for download on the Nutrition Services website as well. For questions or inquiries, please contact mealbenefits@pps.net.
Meal Payments:
Families have the following options to pay for school meals:
Pay as you go: Bring cash or check (payable to Portland Public Schools) directly to the cafeteria*
Prepay for meals with cash or check (payable to Portland Public Schools) in the cafeteria*. Funds will be deposited into the student meal account. Purchases will be deducted from the account balance.
Pay with a debit/credit card using SchoolCafe, a secure online meal payment system. NOTE: There is a minimum payment of $15 and a 5% fee per online transaction.
*Payments can be dropped off at the school office. Please put the payment in an envelope labeled 'cafeteria'. Checks can also be mailed to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N Dixon St, Portland, OR 97227.
Traffic Information
As it begins to be darker in the morning, we want to remind everyone to be cautious of our walking, riding families as they cross the street. Please see our recommended driving route below.
DO:
- Pedestrians and bikes only on Carson 7:30 - 8:15; 2:00 - 2:30
- Cross only at crosswalks
- Drop students off school curbside only
- Keep 17th One Way - south during drop-off times
- Be mindful of students crossing at 16th and Carson
Please don't:
- Make U-turns in front of the school (it's unsafe and illegal)
- Load/unload students at the crosswalk/yellow curbs
- Block the parking lot entrance/exit
- Park in the wrong direction
Pick up and drop off on 17th in the designated Drop Off Only Zone in front of school
- Drop students school curbside
- Do NOT drop at yellow curbs
- Limit vehicle traffic on Carson 7:45 – 8:05; 2:05 – 2:30
- Please no U-Turns
- Please park in the correct direction
Important PDF's to review
2. Consent to Test - If your child has covid symptoms, we can test at school with a signed consent form. Please turn this into your child's teacher or the office.
3. Publicity Denial -There are opportunities throughout the school year for your child’s photograph to be taken. These may include school field trips, classroom activities, and other general school activities. Schools enjoy using these photographs on the school website, in the yearbook, and for school related functions such as the auction. However, some parents do not want their children identified for various reasons. Please fill this out if this describes you and your wishes.
Parent Teacher Association
Connect with the Principal
Mike Sauers
Email - msauers@pps.net
Phone - 971-425-5415
Core Values
Student First Decision Making
Honesty and Transparency
Listen to Understand
Realize we are All Humans
Capitol Hill Elementary
Email: hrechelt@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/capitolhill
Location: 8401 SW 17th Ave
Phone: 503-916-6303