Capital High School

Nov. 14, 2025 Newsletter

 

 

Capital High School Family Communication 

November 14, 2025

 

• Did you know we are on Facebook?  https://www.facebook.com/CapitalCougs
• Please remember to check the DAILY BULLETIN on our website for weekly CHS information including details for all CHS sporting events.

 

Upcoming Events

• November 18 - CHSPO Meeting - 6:00 p.m.
• November 18 - Booster Club Meeting - 7:00 p.m.
• November 26-28 - Thanksgiving Break - No School
• December 9 - CHSPO Meeting
• December 16 - Winter Concert - 7:00 p.m.
• December 18 - Winter Concert - 7:00 p.m.
• December 22 - January 2nd - Winter Break - No School

 

CHS Food Pantry Now Open!  

If your family is in need of food, please stop by the main office Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 3:00 p.m. to visit our new CHS Food Pantry! 

 

CHS Booster Club

The next Booster Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 18th at 7:00 p.m. in the library.

 

CHS Speech and Debate Team Update

My name is Brendan Stanton and I am the new Speech & Debate Team coach at Capital. We have practiced after school the last few months and attended our first tournament this weekend in Gig Harbor. Seven students attended including: Leah Shipp ('29), Sydney Woehler ('28), Jacob Aubry ('28), Eden LaRock ('27), Donovan Jojola ('27), Henry Graunke ('27), and Jesse Aubry ('27). Students participated in prepared speech events, impromptu speaking events, and team debate.

Highlights include: 

1. Jacob Aubry 2nd in Spar Debate
2. Jesse Aubry Finalist in Extemporaneous Speaking 
3. Donovan Jojola 4th Top Speaker in Public Forum Debate

Coming up: We will attend the Tahoma Invitational November 21st and 22nd and plan to host an intramural debate tournament at CHS on December 12th. 

If you know students who might be interested in joining the team, please feel free to give them my email address and let them know all grades and experience levels are welcome! 

 

CHSPO News

Hello CHS Families,

CHSPO is reaching out with an urgent plea: we need parent volunteers!

Currently, only 5–8 parents regularly participate — and three of them have seniors graduating this year. Without new involvement, especially in board positions, CHSPO may not be able to continue after this school year.

CHSPO plays a vital role in supporting CHS staff, teachers, and students — but we can’t do it without your help!

 

What Does CHSPO Do?

We’re a 100% parent-run, non-profit group that relies entirely on the support of CHS families to make a meaningful impact.

Here are just a few ways we support our school community:

• Teacher & Staff Grants – for classroom supplies and essential materials (textbooks, PE supplies, safety equipment, calculators)
• Senior Grad Night Party – a safe and fun celebration for graduating seniors
• Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunches – to recognize and thank our dedicated educators

 

“Many hands make light work!”

That’s certainly true! At the high school level, most of the work we do happens behind the scenes.

We:

• Meet once a month
• Host small fundraisers during school events (Open House, Curriculum Night, sporting events)
• Organize 1–2 larger fundraisers each year
• Communicate and coordinate primarily by email and phone

Every bit of help makes a difference!

 

Join Us at Our Next CHSPO Meeting

• Tuesday, November 18th
• 6:00 PM
• CHS Library (enter through the front doors)

We’d love to meet you, answer your questions, and share how you can get involved!

 

Save the Date!

 

CHSPO 2nd Annual Rummage Sale

Friday, April 18th | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Get ready for our 2nd Annual Rummage Sale, hosted by CHSPO!

Early Sign-Ups

• Students & Staff: $10 per spot
• Community Members: $25 per spot or 2 spots for $40

This is a great opportunity for your classes, sports teams, or clubs to:

• Fundraise
• Showcase creativity or crafts
• Declutter your home
• Connect with our amazing CHS community

Held outdoors, rain or shine!
More details coming soon!

 

Questions?
[email protected]

 

Senior 2026 Grad Night

Please see additional information regarding our Senior 2026 Grad Night

 

 

Warmly,

Capital High School Parent Organization (CHSPO)

“Together, we make CHS stronger!”

 

Attendance Reminders

To Excuse a Student

A parent or guardian must call the attendance secretary to excuse a student's absence or tardy. Calls must be received within 24 hours of a student's absence or tardiness. The attendance secretary's voicemail is available at any time to excuse a student's absence or tardiness. Please call the direct line 360-596-8019 . For attendance purposes a note will not be accepted. 

 

Excused/Unexcused Absences and Tardies

Excused absences/tardies are acceptable for religious reasons, family emergency, illness, bereavement, pre-approved extended absences and professional appointment ( Appointments considered professional by nature are: doctor, dentist, orthodontist, attorney, and other licensed practitioners. Appointments not considered professional are: drivers testing, senior pictures, or long lunches). Unexcused absences/tardies are students/families running late due to traffic, car troubles, sleeping in, and transportation issues.

 

Other Absences

To facilitate a student who needs to leave for an appointment during the school day, please call before 9:00am. The student will be given a pass to leave class at the appropriate time. The student must then sign out at the attendance office BEFORE leaving campus and sign in UPON RETURN to school. Students who leave school without permission are deemed unexcused. If your student is feeling ill and needs to leave school early, they must first go to the Health Room to be checked out by the nurse.

 

DramaFest

Capital High School Theatre is thrilled to present DramaFest 2025 on November 20th, 21st, and 22nd at 7 PM. DramaFest is made up of four different plays, all student directed! 

Tickets are $8 for students/seniors and $10 general admission.

ART CLASS FIELD TRIP! (written and directed by Lynne Johnson; edited and co-directed by Juniper Bryan): Five teenagers are unwillingly grouped together to write a field trip report when they overhear their beloved art teacher planning to quit. They quickly change plans and begin to enact an incredibly stupid scheme to try and convince her to stay. ART CLASS FIELD TRIP! is a play about strange kids bonding and coming together for a common interest that remembers not to take itself too seriously.

Yellow Submarine (written and directed by Dante Zhang): Yellow Submarine is a short yet thought-provoking play about how society works. It highlights the differences between outward appearance and the true intentions of people's actions, as even the noblest of causes always have personal gain to them. The show is, in all, a critique on modern society and the world we live in.

He’s Made of Money (written and directed by Concetta Ullerich; assistant directed by Brendan Wright): Mr. Montiago, a billionaire nearing death, decides to host a series of contests in order to choose a worthy inheritor of his fortune. His chosen contestants head to his mansion, and begin to drink, only to find that one of their drinks has been poisoned.  The doors lock and the challenges begin.

The Great Gatsby (adapted from the novel by Julie K. Phillips and the Providence Academy Players; directed by Donovan Jojola; assistant directed by Izumi Huff): Nick Carraway, a young newcomer to New York, is drawn into the world of obsession, greed, and danger of the rich as Jay Gatsby, the self made millionaire, passionately pursues the elusive Daisy Buchanan through the glamorous and decadent 1920s Jazz Age.

 

Tickets can be bought at the door or online at https://olympiasd.booktix.com/dept/CapitalHS.

 

The show is performed at Capital High School's Performing Arts Center: 2707 Conger Ave NW, Olympia, WA 98502.

 

Counseling Center News

SENIORS:  If there are any seniors who have not yet met with your School Counselor to review your credits, discuss future options and review graduation details, please do so immediately!!

 

Community Connections

Thurston County Food Bank

• The mission of the Thurston County Food Bank is to eliminate hunger in our community. Thanksgiving Meal Distribution:  November 24th,  25th, and 26th 
• 360-352-8597

Stonewall Youth

• Founded in 1991, Stonewall Youth is a youth-led organization that empowers LGBTQ2S+ youth to speak for themselves, support one another, educate their communities, and work towards social justice. Most of the programming is for youth ages 21 and under.

JBLM Military and Family Support

• The Military and Family Support Center's programs and services are a key resource for you and your family.  
• Highlighted: 
• School Support Services 
• Our JBLM School Liaison Officer (SLO) is:
• Antoinette Walker
• 253-967-7195
• and
• JBLM Rental Partnership Program.

 

News from the CCRC

We want to thank JC Penneys for participating in our first Career Spotlight of the year. Thank you for your help in teaching our students about Retail and Cosmetology.

Here are more Events below that you don't want to miss

FOR SENIORS ONLY: FAFSA and WASFA information

• The FAFSA: Financial Aid (FAFSA/WASFA) is open NOW studentaid.gov
• WASFA information https://wsac.wa.gov/wasfa
  
  

FINANCIAL AID COMPLETION NIGHT: was October 16th 2025 at CHS

• If you missed that event and would like more information, please feel free to contact Mrs. Smith at CHS in the CCRC. Other workshops can be arranged, if needed or check below at all of the resources provided, to see if this helps in your FAFSA/WASFA journey.

FOR ALL STUDENTS and FAMILIES

Here are Other Financial Aid Resources that you may want to check out!

Financial Aid Resources:

Materials & Tools

• Financial Aid Padlet for Students: This digital information board includes all the links to financial aid applications and where students can find support applying.
• Financial Aid Calculator: Use Washington’s financial aid calculator to estimate your Washington College Grant and Federal Pell Grant awards.
• Otterbot: Otterbot is a free texting service created to support high school seniors who have signed up for the College Bound Scholarship. Otter sends financial aid info and reminders to College Bound seniors
• CSS Profile: The CSS Profile is a supplemental financial aid form from the College Board, that SOME colleges require in order to determine how much institutional, need-based scholarship money to award. Watch this short video for more information on what to expect when filling it out. Here is the list of Participating Institutions with CSS Profile
• Parent/Guardian Financial Aid Glossary: Helpful resource for understanding the language related to financial aid.

Websites

• How to Apply for Financial Aid: Applying for financial aid is a crucial first step toward an affordable degree or credential. This is especially true for students from low- and middle-income families. If students don’t apply for financial aid, they can’t get scholarships, grants, or loans from schools or state and federal financial aid programs. This web page provides information on both the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA).
• Washington College Grant: The Washington College Grant is one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. The grant gives more money to more people for more kinds of education and training beyond high school. Funding is guaranteed for eligible students. The guarantee of financial aid can help reduce the affordability barriers that currently prevent students from pursuing college and career education.
• Plan Your Future: The Plan Your Future page provides information on career exploration, applying to colleges, state financial aid programs, and more for high school juniors and seniors.
• College Bound Scholarship: The College Bound Scholarship is an early commitment of state financial aid to eligible students who sign up in middle school and fulfill the scholarship pledge. Visitors to the site can find information on College Bound eligibility and access. Counselors will also find a host of resources to help parents and students understand and access the program.
• Passport to Careers: The Passport to Careers program helps students who have experienced foster care or unaccompanied homelessness to prepare for and succeed in college, apprenticeships, or pre-apprenticeship programs.
• Visit the Federal Student Aid Resources site for downloadable resources in English and Spanish on a variety of topics from “Who’s my parent?” to “Understanding dependency”.
• WASFA information https://wsac.wa.gov/wasfa

College Information: Early Action: for some colleges this has passed but there are others that are still open for early action.  Be careful to understand the difference between Early Action, Early Decision to make sure they are NOT binding. If they are binding, it is a good idea to know what you are bound to. Please check with your student's colleges to see when they need to apply. Remember, after you apply to your colleges, you must ADD your college in SchooLinks so your school information can be provided to your college. Here is the College Application guide: SchooLinks_Student_College_Application_Guide_1_1.pptx.pdf

 

Teacher RECOMMENDATION is also through SCHOOLINKS under each COLLEGE they apply for. If you are requesting any recommendations from any other people outside of an educator, you will do that either through Common App or the School Specific app, BUT all teacher recommendations will go through SchooLinks. You may refer to this SchooLinks_Student_College_Application_Guide_1_1.pptx.pdf or come into the CCRC to get help from Mrs. Smith.

 

SchooLinks: Remember to do your SchooLInks tasks that help with learning more about Financial Aid and your High School and Beyond Plans.

1. Complete your BRAG Sheet in SchooLinks, yearly. This will help your teachers and counselors write informed recommendation letters for you later.
2. Submit your SMART GOALS, Tasks and High School and Beyond Plans-yearly-This helps your teachers and counselors and guardians see what you are hoping to do after high school. It opens up communications and allows us to see how we can support your future decisions.
3. Resumes-If you haven't already-you will want to upload your resume to your High School and Beyond Plan as a pdf document. (This is for ALL SENIORS-including Running Start students).

Scholarships: Remember to be accessing the CCRC Scholarship Website to see what Scholarships you might be eligible for: 

https://capital.osd.wednet.edu/counseling/career_center/scholarship_information

 

All Students Families: 

Scholarships for all grades: Remember to be accessing the CCRC Scholarship Website to see what Scholarships you might be eligible for: 

https://capital.osd.wednet.edu/counseling/career_center/scholarship_information

 

OSD Notice of Non-discrimination