Capitol Hill Weekly Update

Our Site Council includes parents and guardians who help guide our school’s improvement work. We currently have three continuing members from previous years and are looking to add one additional parent/guardian through our January election.

Site Council meets once a month on Mondays, 5:30–6:30 p.m., usually on the first Monday unless there’s a holiday.

If you’re interested in being considered, please email Principal Febe Armendariz (farmenda@pps.net) by December 20 with a short bio to include on the ballot. We’re grateful for families who are willing to share their time, perspectives, and partnership in support of our school community.

Attendance really matters for student learning. Did you know that missing more than 2 days a month (or 17 days a year) is considered chronically absent? Often it can make it harder for students to stay confident and connected—especially with reading. We want every child to feel successful and supported at school.

When Site Council reviewed our attendance data, we noticed that Mondays and Fridays—especially after long weekends—tend to have the biggest dip at Capitol Hill. Teachers shared that this can make things tough for students, since Mondays often introduce new learning and Fridays usually include important check-ins or assessments. When students miss those days, they can feel a bit lost, disconnected, or unsure of what they missed, which makes the next steps harder.

Often during this time of year, student attendance begins to drop. We miss your students when they’re not here, and more importantly, we don’t want them to fall behind their peers. Being at school each day helps them stay engaged, confident, and part of our community. Our teachers will be teaching every day through December 19, and we’d love your partnership in helping students be here to benefit from that learning.

If your child is out due to illness, please reach out to their teacher for learning resources they can use while recovering.

The Holiday Giving Program is off to a great start! The Giving Tree is on display outside of the front office with wish tags. These are wishes from 11 families at our school. We have lots of wishes left!

Here's how it works

• Select a tag
• Purchase the desired gift
• Tape the tag to the unwrapped item
• Drop it in the office at school by December 12th
  
  

In addition to the gifts, we also would like gift cards to the following stores to provide to families:

• Amazon
• Fred Meyer
• Target
  
  

If you would like to purchase a gift but don't come into the building regularly please reach out to Melissa (mlight@pps.net) and she give you a list of potential items for you to choose from.

On Friday December 12 the PTA will be showing Charlie Chaplin's comic masterpiece “The Circus!” This may be the first time many of our students will ever see a silent movie. The Little Tramp is still making people laugh 100 years later, and for good reason... this is a VERY funny film.

Doors open at 6:00, the movie starts at 6:15 and ends at 7:30 pm. Please remember to wear comfortable clothes and bring water bottles and blankets/pillows. Popcorn will be provided, along with a few surprises!

See you at the movies!

(*Please note: This is not a drop-off event.)

Our school year calendar has all of the important school-related dates for your reference.

• 12/10-Early Release-11:50 AM
• 12/10-PTA Meeting
• 12/12-Holiday Giving ends
• 12/12-Family Fun Night-Movie Night
• 12/23-1/2/26-No School, Winter Break (Return to School 1/4/26)
  
  

Reminder: When picking up students early please make sure you (or whomever is picking them up) brings their ID so we can check to make sure you are approved to pick up the student.

Our Winter after school classes are open for registration.

We are offering a variety of classes such as chess, yoga, spanish, art, Lego engineering and music, and are excited to offer a few new programs such as theater and french!

If you would like more information about the classes, or if you would like to register, click on the After School Classes tab on the PTA website or CLICK HERE. Registration is limited. Most classes start the 1st week back from Winter Break, so register today! (Registration could be a great holiday gift!!)

Please reach out to me with questions.

mariannemajors@gmail.com