January 2012 CAPITAL HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Principal: Clinton H. Giles Our job is to improve, not just maintain. Vice Principals: R Tommy Canterbury Wendy D Bailey Susan M Young Angela S Cruikshank

Welcome Back!
We take this belated opportunity to welcome everyone back from what we hope was a very restful and enjoyable Christmas/holiday/winter break. With the additional day off due to the harsh, hazardous winter weather that we experienced, everyone should have been well rested, ready, and eager to return to the rigors of academia. We did not have to delay our final exam schedule, which afforded teachers and students the best opportunity to do well with the finals and complete those important assessment activities while beginning the second semester of this school year according to how it is scheduled on the Kanawha County Schools calendar. We did lose an additional preparation day in the building as a result of the snowy weather. However while we were out with the snow, all students should have utilized that time to engage in additional study on their own. Finally, we want to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year and encourage all students to put forth either their best or even better efforts in all of their classes and their studies the second semester!

INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES

Below please find information regarding INCLEMENT WEATHER PROCEDURES for the 2011 - 2012 school year. This will be announced by the local media and the Parent Link System WHEN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED FOR STUDENTS: CODE A ---All employees are to report to work at their regularly-scheduled time when possible. If they run into a problem (i.e., hazardous roads, etc.) they should call their Immediate Supervisor/Principal and advise them of their particular situation.

Administrators should use good judgment in considering conditions that may cause employees to be late for their assignments. CODE A will be used on days when schools are closed but roads are otherwise passable for vehicular traffic. This will provide additional opportunities for inschool staff development activities, planning, etc. CODE B - All custodians/maintenance employees are to report to work at their regularly scheduled time if at all possible in order to prepare buildings, etc. Cooks report if a food delivery is scheduled for their building. All 261 day employees are to report to work on time. All other staff ARE NOT REQUIRED TO WORK. WHEN SCHOOLS ARE OPEN FOR STUDENTS ON A DELAY OR EARLY DISMISSAL: CODE C ---WHEN SCHOOLS ARE OPENING TWO HOURS LATE: All employees are to report to work at their regularly scheduled time when possible. If they run into a problem (i.e., hazardous roads, etc.) they should call their Immediate Supervisor/Principal and advise them of their particular situation. Administrators should use good judgment in considering conditions that may cause employees to be late for their assignments. THERE WILL BE NO PRESCHOOL, WHICH INCLUDES HEAD START AND L.E.A.P. WHEN A TWO (2) HOUR DELAY IS ANNOUNCED. Days Scheduled for home visitations may be scheduled for Pre-School instructional days allowing home visitations on 2 hour delay days! All morning vocational classes will be canceled. Announcements regarding changes in bus schedules and routes will be made by 8:00 a.m. CODE D ---WHEN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED EARLY: All vocational, LEAP, Head Start, Evening Alternative, Extra-Curricular activities, and Community Education classes scheduled for that afternoon or evening will be canceled. News media will be notified of early dismissal as soon as decisions are made in order that announcements can be made by noon. PLEASE NOTE: When a decision is made to close schools for the day, the news media will be notified by 6:00 a.m. When schools are open for students on a delay and conditions still do not look favorable, a decision to close will be made by 8:00 a.m.

Tardiness to School on Delayed Schedules

The official position of Capital High School is that no student, faculty, or staff, shall be late to school on a day when we are operating on a two hour delay, especially, -or any day for that matter - without having contacted the school in advance. Faculty and Staff persons should contact the principal as soon as they realize they will be unable to arrive on time. Extenuating circumstances will always be taken into consideration. Every student who lives in the Capital High School attendance area is eligible to ride a bus! Students attending from out-of-area are not going to be held to standards different from those standards that are established for students residing in our attendance area. Also, students who arrive to school by private conveyance (parents/relatives/friends) will not be exempted from the requirement to be on time to school either. It has always been the position of the administration of Capital High School that students who choose not to ride Kanawha County Schools busses will not be held to a standard different than students who do ride the buses. Our first bus arrives on campus at 6:38 AM causing these students to have to rise from bed very early in the morning. Most all buses with the exception of those transporting exceptional students arrive on our campus before 7:00 AM. Since classes beginning at 7:25 AM students who ride buses arrive on campus well before the time for classes to begin. Examples of extenuating circumstances include but are not limited to: Catastrophes ex. (house fires: car wrecks involving their own or family vehicle or private means of conveyance): (utilities outages electric gas water sewer, etc) Illness ex. (sudden extreme illness/injury of student documented: parent hospitalization, etc.: sudden death in the immediate family) Kanawha County Schools causes ex. (Late bus: failure of a bus to run: bus schedule changes) Parents and students are encouraged to tune in to WCHS radio 58 AM, WCHS TV channel 7, and/or log on to the West Virginia Department of Education website to obtain information about school closings and/or delays. Respectfully, Clinton H. Giles, Principal

CSU News
The Nutcracker Field Trip in Review
On December 15, 2011, the CSU took the 9th grade class to see The Nutcracker Ballet at the Clay Center in downtown Charleston. Teachers worked for 6-8 weeks prior to the field trip on a Cross-curricular Unit which included the English department working with the story of the ballet, the History department prepared lessons and class discussions concerning theatre etiquette. They emphasized the proper means in which everyone in society is expected to demonstrate knowledge of being consumers of the arts, particularly how one should conduct themselves at such a performance. Additionally, The Math department created lesson plans that incorporated the ballet with math concepts students need to know. They worked with students to use algebraic formulas to calculate proportions relating to the holiday tree growing in the ballets story.

Second Semester
The second semester began on January 12, 2012. Freshmen have completed their first semester and now know exactly what it means to be in high school. Parents and guardians are encouraged to talk with their student(s) to reflect on what went well, and what the student needs to improve upon for the second semester. Parent /Student Suggestions for Success: Punctual and Regular Attendance to school and class is the first step to academic success Review the Capital High School Student Handbook togetherremind yourself and your student of school policies and procedures. Assist with book bag/notebook/folder reorganization in preparation for the new semester Remind students to keep all papers Ensure that you and your student(s) can access Edline www.edline.net --if you need assistance please contact the school. View the schools website on a regular basis for information www.capitalhigh.org Establish a set time for where and when homework will be completed at home Talk you your student about his or her day on a regular basis Communicate with the school via phone or via e-mail (e-mail addresses are located both on Edline and on the schools website

Counselor Corner
Seniors Its financial aid time!!! Begin working on your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at www.fafsa.ed.gov The deadline to submit the FAFSA is March 1, 2012. Please see the bulletin board outside the counseling office and visit Capital website for scholarship opportunities. Make sure you inform your counselor when you apply to colleges. If you have not signed up for the Promise, see your counselor to do so. A reminder to all studentsOn January 26th, any 10th, 11th, or 12th grader who signed up in the counseling center will be going on a tour of Carver Career and Technical Education Center. Carver will bring their Road Show to Capital on January 27th. Every program will be represented. Stop by the commons on the 27th to learn more about Carver, their programs and to apply for admission. Its scheduling season! Start thinking about what classes you would like to take next year. Get feedback from your current teachers on the next level of math and science you should take and if you should take AP, honors, or regular classes. January 23-27th scheduling Juniors January 30-Feb. 3- scheduling Sophomores February 6-10- scheduling Freshman

From the Studio

We started the new semester out right away with a performance at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on January 14th. In addition, we were invited to be a part of the WV Physical Activity Plan Launch on January 19th at the Capitol Rotunda. Students will be spending the next eight weeks working on Student Choreography and preparing for the WV Dance Festival. Student Choreography will be featured at our March 10th and 11th showcase along with a couple of very special professional works.

April 2-6 will find us sailing as we embark on our spring break cruise. April 2729 is the WV Dance Festival and May brings on our Musical. Many students will be auditioning for scholarships, summer intensives and college opportunities. If you would like to help the dancers raise money, we have Kroger cards, Papa Johns coupons and Save Around books currently on sale. Please contact Ms. Legg if you would like one of the books, coupons or cards. Below you will find some bullets regarding things we have upcoming. Please feel free to email or call Ms. Legg for more information on ANY of these events or to book us for a performance. Email: alegg@kcs.kana.k12.wv.us Phone: 304-348-6500 ext. 159 EVERY Wednesday and Friday are rehearsal days Jan. 14th MLK, Jr. performance @ the Cultural Center Jan. 19th WVPAP @ the Capitol Rotunda Feb. 24th WVDF adjudications March 10th and 11th Dance Show April 20th Arts Alive April 27-29th WV Dance Festival May 2nd-5th Musical May 9th Dance Company Auditions May 15th Banquet May 23rd and 24th dance workshops

Dance Rehearsal every Wednesday and Friday until 6PM through March 12th. The 2nd Tuesday of Every month is the Dance Booster meeting at 6PM.

Orchestra News January 2012

The orchestra performed throughout the Kanawha Valley in December to great acclaim. Students were honored to be part of the Dance Company's Winter Show at Capital High School. Later in the month they performed in the Grand Lobby of the Clay Center prior to the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra concert. Performances at South Charleston High School and Capital High School rounded out the performance calendar for the month. Two of our students were honored to be finalists for the Andrew and Amy Vaughan fellowship competition sponsored by the WV Symphony Orchestra: Philip Nichols and Nathan Shin. After the finals, Nathan Shin was selected to be a Fellow for the program. Congratulations, Nathan! Many of the students are preparing music for the All-State Orchestra audition this month. Those accepted will perform in Morgantown at the State Music Conference as part of the All-State Orchestra on March 15-17. Students will be notified shortly of admissions to the WVU Honors Orchestra in Morgantown. This event features students from five states and the opportunity to work with WVU faculty. The event will take place February 16-18. Preparations are underway for our performance trip to Williamsburg in April (20-21). Students are working on the music in classes.

Be sure to place your pizza, pepperoni rolls, cheeses, and other delicious snack food items orders through an orchestra student soon!

CSU December Students of the Month

The ninth grade teachers are pleased to recognize the following Students of the Month for December. These students have demonstrated excellence in academics and citizenship in their specific academic courses. English 9 Josiah Cook by Mrs. A. Miller Belinda Britton by Mrs. J. Swayne Jamsen Hayden by Mrs. S. Garrison

Algebra IA Lezrea Harbison by Miss. S. Choi Algebra I Richard Siders by Miss S. Choi Algebra IA Kyra Walker by Mr. B. Clark Geometry Preston Turner by Mr. B. Clark Algebra IA Emily Calvert by Mrs. G. Turner Honors Geometry- Evan Blackwood by Mrs. J. Price Physical Science - Dymond Terry by Mrs. A. Hoskins Skylar Workman by Mr. M. Greene Ashley Akers by Mrs. A. Roach Biology Jamie Ransbottom by Mrs. A. Roach World History Imani Carey by Mr. S. Swayne Dugan Slappe by Mrs. K. Snyder AP World History- Nate Goodwin by Mrs. P. Kerner HS 101 Hope Peters by Mr. M. Greene Marina Walker by Mrs. S. Garrison Taylor Woodrum by Mrs. A. Miller Nicholli Matheny by Mrs. C. Pennington Katelynn Brown by Mrs. D. Barnett

Art 9 -

On the Basketball Court

The boys basketball team is pushing through the regular season. We have played 7 games, we are 4- 3.We lost to George Washington on the Hill, who is the number four team in the state and defending state champions, 81-76. We lost to Woodrow Wilson who is the number three team in the state by a last second shot 63-61.We lost to Massanutten Military Academy, who has a team of Division One players, 83-60.We have beaten Wyoming East, the number two team in the state in double A, 67-62, Spring Valley 85-53, Huntington High 55-52 and Riverside 97-59. We took a loss from

Parkersburg on the road, but added wins over Greenbrier East and Nitro to bring our record over 500. This team is very exciting to watch! Wed like to see all of our students and faculty come out and support us. We also have a much-needed addition to our games this season: Mr. Jenks and the Pep Band are playing at some of our games. They are great! They have brought a new spirit to the games. Become a part of the new Spirit-join us for some exciting basketball and great music. The girls basketball team got off to a quick start with a win over Huntington! Our season has been a rocky one, with a few losses not only on the court but also to our roster, but our positive attitude and athletic ability is winning us more and more games as the season progresses. We appreciate all the fan support weve received so far this season, and would love to have even more at our games! Senior Night is Thursday, February 9. Come out and support our ladies as they host Braxton County.

Student Council News

Student Council is ready for the new semester! We are currently participating in Aeropostales Teens for Jeans Campaignstudents can bring in any size or brand jeans to our local Aeropostale store and the school who returns the most pairs wins $5,000 and a pair of jeans for every student! The contest runs from January 16-February 12. Additionally, we are gearing up for our next Blood Drive on February 7 and Spirit Week II February 8-10. This year, we will feature a basketball game (the staff will enter a team, too!) on Wednesday. This will be Class Color Day as well. On Thursday, back by popular demand will be Cougars Got Talent, showcasing our talented students. Friday will end the week with Ultimate Blue and Gray Day, and an introduction of our Winter sports teams.

Spotlight on VIPs
Happy New Year from the Capital High School VIPs and Choral Department! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Students have been off on break, so it's important to ease everyone back into the swing of things. We finals and students had a 90 minute final in each of their classes beginning January 4-10. Hopefully they all did well! VIPs are very busy this month as we begin competition season. January 7 and 8 brought our choreographer, Gates Crisler, back to West Virginia for our choreography clean-up workshop in readiness for our first competition the end of the month. January 14th the VIPs were invited to perform for the Martin Luther King, Jr. West Virginia Celebration at 7 PM at the Cultural Center. Additionally, Dayja Legg received the Charlene C. Byrd Memorial Scholarship Award during this celebration. All were invited to attend this very special event that was free and open to the public. The All

State Chorus students had a workshop on January 21 from 9 AM until 3 PM rehearsing the All State music with Dr. David Castleberry serving as our guest clinician. January 28th the VIPs begin their competition season at Marysvilles (Ohio) Showcase Show Choir Invitational Competition, competing against 19 other schools from Ohio and Indiana. We will represent the state of West Virginia to the best of our abilities. The competition begins at 8:00 AM and awards will be around 10:45 PM. For further information, feel free to contact Mrs. Corbett at kgcorbett.chs.vips@gmail.com.

College Credit in High School

It is time for Spanish 3 and 4 students to register for the college credit class. Second semester students of those classes are eligible to register for the college class through the University of Charleston. Those credits for Spanish 101 and Spanish 102 are transferable to any other accredited instruction of higher learning. Students choosing not to take the class will continue on with the class as with first semester. Those students wishing to register will need to fill out the appropriate forms and make a check payable to the University of Charleston by the end of January. Students can complete the first two semesters of their foreign language college requirement while still in high school at a very reasonable tuition. Please contact Mrs. Alcazar for further information about the classes.

Spanish Club Community Service

Spanish Club members selected a community service project within their home school for first semester. All members worked very hard to improve the holiday season for some of their classmates at Capital High School. The club members raised enough money to give Mrs. Shaffer, the social worker $125 to help some of their less fortunate classmates with expenses during the holiday season. Mrs. Shaffer was very grateful for the help. She said that many times the older children are forgotten during this time of the year. The members have decided to continue with this project during second semester as well. It is very satisfying to work with such considerate students.

Amity Scholar for Advanced Spanish Classes

It is time to begin the annual search for a host family for next years Amity Scholar. Noelia Lerma, this years Amity Scholar, is being hosted by Mrs. Ayers. I hope that the family of one of our Spanish 3, 4 or prospective AP Spanish students will consider hosting the Amity Scholar for next year. Kanawha County Schools covers the scholars stipend and the processing fee to the Amity Institute. It is our responsibility as the host school to find a suitable host family for the person who is such a benefit to our students. Capital High School is the only school in West Virginia to offer their students this opportunity. Each year it becomes more and more difficult to find host families. It can be wonderful sharing of culture for both the Amity Scholar and the family. I do hope some of you will

contact me about hosting next years Amity Scholar for our students. dalcazar@kcs.kana.k12.wv.us

National Honor Society

Members of the National Honor Society were busy over the holidays collecting and donating various items for their Community Service Projects. They collected over 300 cans of food for the Union Missions Food Fight campaign during the Thanksgiving Holidays. They then, collected many toys for the Toys for Tots Program and the Good Shepherd Mission. Pictured are a few senior members of the NHS at Capital High School (Leanne Mobayed, Kenzie Cable and Elaine Barry). Members will be working on their individual community service projects then will be rewarded with a NHS T-shirt after completing ten hours during the second semester.