Dec. 5, 2025 Newsletter
Capital High School Family Communication
December 5, 2025
Upcoming Events
- 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
Donations Needed
We are in need of hygiene products (such as deodorant and toothpaste) as well as laundry soap and dish soap for families utilizing our new CHS pantry. If you are able, please drop off these items to our main office. We appreciate our wonderful CHS community and the amazing support of our new pantry.
If your family is in need of food or hygiene products, please stop by the main office Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. to visit our CHS Pantry!
Band News
CHS Band Gift Wrapping Fundraiser
Hello CHS Families,
Do you have gifts to wrap for the holiday season but no time? December 13, the CHS Band Program will be in the Capital Mall near JCPenney wrapping gifts as a fundraiser.
- We'll be there from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
- The CHS Jazz Band will also be performing their holiday set from about 12:00 PM-1:00 PM.
Come out and support the CHS Band Program, hang out, get some gifts wrapped, and listen to some holiday jazz. Hope to see you there!
CHS Library News
How can you support the CHS Library this winter? Consider stocking up on your future reads or purchasing holiday gifts on Saturday, December 6th, online or in-store at Browser's Books! Browsers has long been a great supporter of OSD schools, and 20% of your purchases made on Dec 6th only will go into an account for our library. You must mention the CHS Library Bookfair during checkout or in the comment section of online checkout. So as your list of things to-do begins to build or get checked off in the next few weeks, remember to support CHS students with your reading purchases at our fabulous local downtown bookstore!
Browser’s Flyer
New Market Student of the Quarter Awards
Congratulations to Karver Bulloch for being recognized as the Automotive Service Technology Student of the Quarter at New Market Skills Center.
This honor reflects Karver's hard work, dedication and exceptional contributions to the program.
Below is a photo of Karver receiving the Student of the Quarter certificate from Chris Bradshaw, Director of Student Services, during the New Market Student Recognition Ceremony.
Congratulations to Hunter Cannon for being recognized as the Video Game Programming Student of the Quarter at New Market Skills Center.
This honor reflects Hunter's hard work, dedication and exceptional contributions to the program.
Below is a photo of Karver receiving the Student of the Quarter certificate from Chris Bradshaw, Director of Student Services, during the New Market Student Recognition Ceremony.
CHS Literary Magazine
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
The CHS Literary Magazine is seeking visual art and writing for our third annual literary magazine! We are especially interested in hearing from a diverse representation of student voices. We seek poetry, personal essays/creative non-fiction, fiction, script excerpts, photography, and art (digital and otherwise. We're open to creative an hybrid forms, such as the lyrics of a song with a QR code to listen to the music or a photo essay. When in doubt, send it! We take digital art or pictures of art you’ve created in physical form.
POETRY: Submit up to 3 original poems.
PERSONAL ESSAYS/CREATIVE NON-FICTION: Non-fiction with a more personal, rather than an academic tone.
FICTION: Up to 3000 words of your original fiction. Excerpts okay, but include an introduction with some background/context.
SCRIPT EXCERPTS: A scene from your original play or screenplay. Include an introduction that gives background/context.
ART: For print, files must be at least 300 dpi. Consider photos of non-digital art for submission as well, such as paintings, ceramics, or sculpture.
Submit here before 1/31/2026.
Seasonal Community Resources
Please see additional seasonal community resources that are available.
CHSPO News
We hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. Capital High School Parent Organization (CHSPO) will be holding our next meeting on Tuesday, December 9th at 6pm in the CHS Library. We would love to have you join us.
Our agenda is as follows:
- Welcome
- Principal / Vice Principal Reports
- Budget Updates
- GN26 updates
- Website (Mission vs. Vision statement)
- Rummage Sale fundraiser
Here is the link for last month's meeting minutes:
Grad Night Meeting - We have been working behind the scenes to get contracts signed and deposits made and we are excited to share our progress with you at our meeting on Monday, December 15th at 5:30 pm in the CHS library.
We hope to see you there and please share this with your senior parent friends.
Warm regards,
CHSPO – Capital High School Parent Organization
Capital’s 1st Annual Debate Tournament
The Capital Speech & Debate Team is excited to host the 1st Annual Debate Tournament at Capital next Friday, December 12th from 3:45-6:00. This is a fundraiser tournament open to Capital students of all grade levels. No experience is required and all are encouraged to participate! There is no commitment to join the team by participating in this one day fundraiser event. Cost to compete is by donation (suggested $10). Students will meet in the library after school. The topics will be fun and engaging and everyone is guaranteed several rounds of debate. Then top competitors will match up in final rounds to compete for prizes! We look forward to seeing you after school on Friday the 12th!
Parent Square Notifications Update
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
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:
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
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DECEMBER
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EVENT
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LOCATION
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11th
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Central Washington University (CWU) On the Spot Admissions Event
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10-11:30am in the CCRC SENIOR ONLY EVENT
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20th-31st
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WINTER BREAK
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WINTER BREAK ALL CHS
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FOR SENIORS ONLY: FAFSA and WASFA information
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.
- Complete your BRAG Sheet in SchooLinks, yearly. This will help your teachers and counselors write informed recommendation letters for you later.
- 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.
- 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