Sports Season Begins!
Cross country, track and field, swimming and diving, boys tennis and boys and girls golf are underway with excitement and energy. The projected start of baseball, softball and girls lacrosse is Monday, March 1.

Saturday, Feb 20 Cross Country
Virtual meet v. Las Lomas HS and Northgate HS at Newhall Park at 2pm. No spectators please.

The beginning of each sport may come quickly. Do not wait to complete your athletic clearance. Get it done now. You may access detailed instructions to complete the athletic clearance on Sportsnet here.

Sport Camps Will Continue
Current programs are set and may not add participants at this time. The next sport camp session will begin Monday, March 1. Football, boys and girls volleyball, boys lacrosse and wrestling are expected to conduct camps. You may contact the coach for more information here.

AHS Course Preview & Open House
As students begin to consider academic schedules for next year, there are several upcoming events to support our Dons:

• Thursday, Feb 11 at 6pm Incoming Frosh Course Preview & Open House Webinar – Incoming 9th graders and their families as well as students & families new to Acalanes are invited to join Principal Bell for a live webinar outlining the course selection process and various ways for the family to get connected to the Acalanes Community. Register to attend this event here. 
• Thursday, Feb 11 at 6pm AHS Course Preview & Open House –AHS students and parents are welcome to tune in to a series of pre-recorded videos from AHS teachers on both elective and required courses. Visit the AHS website to view.

Friday, Feb 12 – Regular Instruction Day
Please remember that Friday, February 12 is now a regular instructional day, not a school holiday for students. Monday, February 15 remains a school holiday. Refer to the district website calendar for details. 

ICYMI: Monthly Message from Principal Bell
Click here to read Principal Bell’s February email to our community!

Peer Tutoring
Encourage your student to take advantage of remote Peer Tutoring. Thanks to APC donations, this service is free for all students on every academic subject. Here’s how and when students can participate (this information is also posted for students in TeachMore):

• Mondays – 10a-4p: Monday Peer Tutoring link.
• Tuesdays and Thursdays – 7th period from 2-3p: 7th period link.
• Wednesdays and Fridays – Academy period from 9-10a: Academy link.
• Tuesdays through Fridays – After school from 3-4p: After school link.

Every Thursday-Sunday Until Feb 14 5:30-9:00pm – ACA STRONG Campus Light Display
The kick-off night that included Acalanes students DJing a local radio station while families drove through the campus light display was a huge hit! It’s not too late to check it out. Students, parents, siblings & community members are invited to drive through campus to enjoy the ACA STRONG light display and engage in some fun community spirit! 

When you come to campus, please consider bringing peanut butter and/or boxes of cereal to donate to the Monument Crisis Center. Donations can be placed in collection bins located by the flagpole.

February “We’ve Got Heart” Throughout Our Lafayette Community 

• ACA STRONG Blue Heart Displays – Show your ACA Spirit by showing how much “heart” you have for Acalanes and our Lafayette community. Beginning tomorrow, chalk your driveway with a BIG BLUE heart, hang blue hearts in your windows & look out for blue hearts & ACA STRONG posters throughout Lafayette. Check out @ahs_dons on instagram to see pictures & to submit yours! 
• • • Today through Friday, Feb 12 – Get Your Chalk and Treats at Sideboard Lafayette – Stop by for a treat and ask for a stick of complimentary blue chalk. They have great Valentine’s gifts too!

• Local Gifts, Outdoor Dining & Take-Out in Lafayette – Local businesses and restaurants need our support more than ever! Restaurants are welcoming outside dining again and would appreciate patronage by Acalanes families in their outdoor seating areas or via take-out. Valentine’s Day is around the corner and local boutiques have some creative gift ideas. Check them out here. Let our local businesses know how much our ACA family supports them!

Questions, comments, or feedback, email aca@acalanesparentsclub.com.

We Value Your Opinion The LPIE Survey is critical to our strategic direction and should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. Our target is 100% participation and the feedback you provide is anonymous. 

This survey will close on Sunday, February 14, 2021.

Laura-Kate Rurka & Jennifer Palmer
Acalanes LPIE School Chairs

www.lpie.org

As we continue celebrating Black History Month, ask your students what they are learning about. This week’s “Black Heroes” can be found here. 

• Be sure to follow us on Instagram, where prominent Black Americans will be featured daily through Black History Month. Also follow Acalanes Diversity Board for student updates.
• See the full calendar of student and family events here.

This month, we are also learning about various holidays that are celebrated both here and around the world! The traditions and customs reflected in these holidays highlight the diversity of America. 

February 8 is Buddhist Nirvana Day

February 12 is Chinese New Year – 2021 is the year of the Ox

February 14 is Frederick Douglass Day 

Are you “Zoomed out” yet? We recognize that most people’s plates are full, and hope that you’ll still consider joining us for at least one of these upcoming events:  

• • Tuesday Feb 9, from 7-8:30pm – Racial Equity Series, Session 4 Reminder to join Dr. Lori Watson for a discussion on “Whiteness.” Zoom link will be sent out to all those registered prior to the meeting.
  • Tuesday Feb 23 from 6:30-7:30pm – Private Virtual Speaker Event with Arshay Cooper, author of the novel “A Most Beautiful Thing” and co-star of the movie with the same name. Space is limited, so sign up here to ensure your spot! Purchase the book here, and watch the movie on Amazon Prime or Xfinity. The students will have access to a special film screening from Feb 19-21.

• Thursday Feb 25 at 6pm Student Poetry Night with Reve Family Dinner Special Join us for Acalanes BHM Poetry Night and skip the cooking while supporting REVE, a local Black-owned business! Get your REVE order in before 2/20 by calling 925-385-0793 and ask for the Acalanes School Special.

• REVE meal is $89 featuring Coq-a-vin (8 pieces of chicken; leg or thigh), a REVE salad including mixed greens, olive tapenade, and parmesan cheese with a lemon thyme vinaigrette and a loaf of par-baked bread to finish at home.

Lastly, please consider joining our committee!
Meetings are usually two Tuesdays per month. If you have ideas or questions, or you want more information, email us! Stay current by visiting our webpage, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Student Government 2020-2021
If your student is interested or might be interested in joining student government next year, applications will be available beginning Wednesday. All the information including the link will be sent out via canvas. Applications are due February 26th. We know that student government operates best when it has a variety of voices and experiences! Opt in! There are various entry points. Check out an overview of the various committees. 

Wednesday, Feb 10 from 5:30-6:30pm – Class of 2025 Welcome To Acalanes Drive Through
If you have or know of students coming to Acalanes next year, pass along this date! We want to welcome them to Acalanes with goodies, staff hellos, and a connection to campus!

ACA STRONG Light Display
This school year has looked different and felt different AND YET we are here, together. We want each student & family to know that our community is strong and we stand together. Please join us as we display thousands of lights on our campus.  Brighten up your night from 5:30-9pm Thursday-Sundays through Presidents’ Weekend. 

ACA STRONG
We’ve got heart! Show your ACA Spirit by showing how much “heart” you have for Acalanes and our Lafayette community. Chalk your driveway with a BIG BLUE heart, hang hearts in your windows and look out for blue hearts and ACA Strong posters throughout Lafayette. Check out @ahs_dons on Instagram to see pictures and submit yours!

Through Feb 14 – Donate to Monument Crisis Center
Consider providing some of the most needed items for Monument Crisis Center – peanut butter & cereal. Donation boxes will be at Acalanes through February 14.

Black History Month Continues This Week!
There is a lot to celebrate, and a lot of dialogue in which to engage. Our challenge to the Acalanes community is to engage in at least one event and we encouraged students to do this in last week’s cohort. Check out the calendar of events here. Two community events to register for ahead of time:

• Wednesday, Feb 17 at 5pm Women in Leadership Series with Elizabeth Brown – Elizabeth Brown is a resident of Georgia and is a Director at the Housing Authority.  Prior to that, she was a Social Worker at The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University in the Department of Psychiatry & Health Behavior. Link to register in advance.
• Tuesday, Feb 23 at 6:30pm Arshay Cooper Dialogue – Join us in conversation with author Arshay Cooper. The dialogue will be facilitated by AHS parent Dan Meade, along with three AHS student panelists: Ava Freeman, Franny Daughters, and Miles Burger. Arshay will share more about his life, trauma, police brutality, film career, experience as a rower, and more. The novel and film chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in this country (made up of young men, many of whom were in rival gangs from the West Side of Chicago, coming together to row in the same boat). Order your copy from Orinda Books and a percentage of the proceeds will go to a BSU-selected charity. Please register in advance here. 

2020-2021 Clubs
Club meetings continue. Check out our 49 clubs! Clubs continue to be one of the best ways for students to connect. We will be pushing out more information about clubs at the end of the week. Please encourage your student to check Canvas to learn more.

If I can ever do anything to help you or your student, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

In honor of Black History Month, Wellness is supporting the great programs being produced to celebrate Black History, Black Excellence, and the Black Experience. In April and May, we’ll extend the celebration by creating some of our own programs to continue the learning and engagement. We believe that Black history is our history and that it should be a focus year round. On Instagram this month, we’re highlighting Black heroes from the fields of psychology, mental health, and wellness. 

The first person we’re sharing about is Resmaa Menakem, trauma specialist, therapist, and the author of “My Grandmother’s Hands,” an indispensable read about racialized trauma and the path to healing it. He merges history, the latest neuroscience, and the wisdom of our elders to understand that the effects of racism are stored in our bodies whether we are Black or white. Try this experiment: think about a racist incident or about racism in general. Tune in to your somatic (bodily) experience. Does your: pulse quicken, face flush, heart pound, or body constrict? That’s your body letting you know that racism is felt and stored by the body. Practicing mindful awareness of this pain can help us navigate difficult conversations and help us step out of bystander status and into the role of “upstander.” Because whatever the level of charge in white bodies, it is exponentially more traumatic in Black bodies. We can’t recommend Resmaa’s book strongly enough but you can also check out this wonderful interview with him as part of the Civil Conversation Project here.

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

For updates, tips and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness

This Week Starting Tonight! Sunday, Feb 7 and Tuesday, Feb 9 at 7pm Naviance Workshops for AHS families and students. Grades 9-11 welcome. Sign up here! Be sure to have your name displayed on your Zoom log in.

Junior Families 

• New! Feb 13 and Feb 17 Practice ACT and SAT Tests available for students  proctored under live test conditions; cost: $20ea. Sign up link.
• Parents: One-on-One Appointments – All juniors should book an individual meeting with Ms. Reicher here. Parents can absolutely join. Let’s make sure we are creating a solid timeline for post Acalanes planning. Day/Eve times available!
• Academy for Juniors this Wednesday and Friday: College 101 Q&A.

Sophomore Families: One-on-One Appointments – All sophomores and their families should book an individual meeting with Ms. Reicher here to discuss timelines, summer options and any college/career related planning.

Seniors: 

• DVC enrollment presentation, please pre-register to attend here.
• Update college application results in Naviance.  
• Look for the required senior exit survey coming in March on Naviance.

Scholarships:

• The Richard C. Hansen Music Scholarship – $500 awarded to a college bound senior who has been accepted to a 4-year college or university as a declared music major. Due 4/1/21. Application emailed to students.
• Lafayette Water Polo Scholarship – $1000 to AHS player who demonstrates athletic, academic and leadership qualities. Due 3/26/21
• Matt Lynn Scholarship – $1500-2000 awarded to college bound students intending to play varsity sports. Students check Naviance for application.
• Rossmoor Scholarship – $3000 award. Min. GPA 3.0 and max expected family contribution of $20k.
• Assistance League of Diablo Valley Scholarships – Philanthropic program aids students with college expenses based on need, school/community activities, and GPA. Applicants must be residents of Contra Costa County.
• AAUW Scholarship – $2000 awarded to a Senior woman who demonstrates a sustained commitment to community service as well as a grade point average of at least 3.0. Apply now!
• TZU Chi USA Scholars – $1500 awarded on the basis of financial need, academic achievement, and community involvement. Min GPA 3.0, Due 4/22/21

Job Opportunity
Local Food Group recently opened a kitchen in Lafayette and is looking for greeters/hosts. Tons of hours available! $14-$16/hr. Check job posting for application details.

Facebook Page community resources for our parents to get the most updated information on college related topics in the news.

Keep connected:

• CCC Website 
• Facebook Page for Students – Have your senior or junior join the College and Career Student FB page.

Thank you for all your support!
Wendy Reicher, College and Career Advisor: wreicher@auhsdschools.org

Friday, Feb 19 – Deadline for 2021-2022 Course Selection
Students must enter their course selections for the 2021-2022 school year in Aeries by February 19. We are not collecting paper forms this year, so it’s important that choices with alternates are entered online. This website has handouts, worksheets, info, and videos to help you. Virtual Open House will happen this week with videos from academic departments providing information on the choices in each subject area. Counselors have emailed their students with links to appointment calendars.

Summer School
The District will offer Summer School June 7-July 15. Summer school is for students who need to repeat a required course after earning a D or F grade. Email your counselor for an application.   

Geometry for Advancement
The District is also planning to offer a summer geometry class for those who want to advance more quickly through the math curriculum. This course is only open to students who are currently enrolled in Algebra 1 in 9th grade and have strong performance in Algebra 1. Email your student’s counselor if interested. 

CSF Application Period Underway
California Scholarship Federation’s spring application period began on February 1. Current students in grades 10-12 should apply to this honor society. Students need to complete an application and pay $7 dues on the webstore. This semester, the application is a Google form. Students need to use their school email to complete the form. 

Counselor Appointments
We love talking to our students! Email is the best way to reach us. Counselors have appointment slots for students and will email them a link for signing up. We are trying to reserve the limited slots outside of class time for students. Parents can schedule a time when students are in class. 

A- Ed  Anne Schonauer
Ee-Kr  Christine Todd
Ku-Ros  Marissa Meadows
Rot-Z  Susan Martin