Dons Dialogue Replay
If you missed Friday’s Dons Dialogue with Principal Bell, click here for a replay. (approx. 90 minutes)

ICYMI: A Healthy Approach to College Admissions presented by Challenge Success
Visit the Parent Education section below for a replay link to last week’s presentation.

2020-21 Acalanes & President’s Volunteer Service Awards Program
Spring is the time for students to submit their volunteer service applications and now is the time to start getting organized! Given the limited volunteer opportunities, we reduced the service hour minimum to 20 hours to help more students qualify for the Acalanes Award. The President’s Volunteer Service award is a federal program and we cannot modify their minimum number of hours/program requirements. 

We encourage students to be creative with ideas that can turn into volunteer opportunities while following guidelines to keep yourself, families and neighbors safe.  Ideas to consider (verification of hours is still necessary):

• Grocery shopping or running errands for senior, disabled or at-risk neighbors
• Tutoring or Homework help (unpaid) for younger students in your neighborhood (non-family members)
• AHS Clubs focused on service such as Key Club, Children’s Hospital, Equip for Equality, Environmental, Asian Student Union, SAGE, Protect Animals Worldwide

If you have a great idea about a way to be of service in your community and want to see if it qualifies under the AHS program, email us!  In the meantime, download the service award application forms here. Then submit completed, scanned applications between March 25 and April 10, 2021 to communityservice@acalanesparentsclub.com.

Tuesday, Jan 26 at 10am ACA Chat Live with Andrea Powers & Katherine Walton
Join the first ACA Chat Live of 2021. If you haven’t joined before, these are “not to miss” events. Topics and Zoom details will be shared next week.

Thursday, Jan 28 ACA “We’ve Got Heart” DAY Campus Drive-Thru
ACA Strong spirit has kicked into high gear for 2021. Encourage your students to participate in the first ACA DAY of the new year. 

• • ALL students who attend will receive a new! ACA Strong blue t-shirt
  • Monument Crisis Center’s Food Drive – Donations of peanut butter and boxes of cereal would be greatly appreciated. The crisis center is servicing twice as many families during COVID-19 so all donations are welcome!

• ACA DAY Schedule
  • 2:30-3:00pm SENIORS (Celebrating “College Apps are Done!”)
  • 3:00-3:30pm Juniors
  • 3:30-4:00pm Sophomores
  • 4:00-4:30pm Freshman

ACA Strong T-Shirts for Sale at ACA DAY
For AHS parents (and siblings) who also want the new ACA Strong t-shirt, we will have extras available for purchase at the ACA DAY Campus Drive-Thru on 1/28. $10, cash only please. 

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

Thank you for the outpouring of support given to students through your donations last month. 

• Our $60,000 Matching Gift Opportunity from two generous families resulted in donations of over $216K!
• Our #40for40 Community Campaign raised more than $7K and this number continues to grow! 

As we turn to 2021, let’s keep this momentum going into the Spring so that we can preserve the resources that support our students every day. Our goal is $4.3M and we are halfway there.

We have a busy few months ahead! Get those calendars out as we invite you to several exciting events! 

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when we honor the contributions of the famous civil right leader. Stanford University’s “The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute” is hosting a webinar and online documentary series. Get inspired with more ideas for how to celebrate and honor Dr. King. 

For the first time in history, our country will have a female Black and South East Asian Vice President. Experts and activists from both communities predicted that Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, would rally minority voters and keep them engaged in the political process. Read more here. 

Tuesday, Jan 19 from 7-8:30pm Racial Equity Series with Dr. Lori Watson
If you haven’t already signed up for Tuesday’s session, sign up here. Remaining dates: 

• Feb 9 “Whiteness”
• March 3 “Children and Race”
• May 6 “Disrupting Racism/Co-Conspiratorship”. 

Wednesday, Jan 27 from 6-8pm – AUHSD Equity and Social Responsibility Workshop
Featuring Dr. Ammar Saheli. Click here to join. 

Thursday, Feb 4 from 6:30-8pm District Book Club Event
Dive into the novel “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Watch this powerful film adaptation of the book.  Book copies are available at Orinda Books, who will donate proceeds to the Miles Hall Foundation in honor of Black History Month. Sign up here, and invite a friend! Event is open to all. 

Tuesday, Feb 23 from 6:30-7:30pm Private Virtual Speaker Event with Arshay Cooper
Arshay Cooper is the author of the novel “A Most Beautiful Thing” and co-star in the movie of the same name. Sign up here! The book is a true story about the first all-Black high school rowing team in the US. The critically acclaimed film adaptation was executive produced by rapper Common, NBA basketball stars Grant Hill and Dwayne Wade, along with music producer 9th Wonder! During this panel-moderated interactive Q&A event, Arshay will share more about his life, trauma, experience as a rower, film career, and more. In the meantime, purchase the book here. The movie is available on Amazon Prime and Xfinity. 

To join us, or 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.

2021!
In cohort tomorrow, students will see a quote that really resonated with me as I begin to plan and dream for 2nd semester. I wanted to share it with the parent community as well:

“Your school’s culture is the sum of its parts, yet one person, just one spark, one believer, armed with a relentless passion, can ignite a cultural revolution. Be that person. Be that spark. Be that believer.” -Dr. Phil Campbell

Let’s do this together ACA. Let’s stay in it together as a community. 

Thursday, Jan 28 ACA Day from 2:30-4:30pm
Please mark your calendars and drive through Acalanes! We will have goodies on hand to pass out, staff to wave to & our community to connect with. We are also collecting two of the most needed items for Monument Crisis Center-peanut butter & cereal. Please consider donating!

Post-Inauguration Dialogue
At lunch on Thursday, students can join Acalanes staff for a discussion and support forum following the inauguration. Zoom link will be sent out via Canvas.

Women in Leadership Series Tuesday, Jan 26 at 7pm
Abby VanMuijen is a Berkeley-based graphic recorder, illustrator and founder of RogueMark Studios. She has lived in the Bay Area her entire life. Her work is known for being handmade, rooted in deep study, and oriented in the direction of justice and dignity for all humans. She creates compelling visuals and visual narratives that challenge systems of oppression. We are looking forward to hosting her on the 26th!

Due Friday, Jan 29: Senior Quotes/Activities
Please encourage your senior to fill out the Senior quotes and activities. We want to hear from everybody!

Mark Your Calendar! February is Black History Month
There is a lot to celebrate, and a lot of dialogue in which to engage. Look for more information coming in the next couple of weeks and for the evening events, please consider attending, and encourage your student to attend as well. 

2020-2021 Clubs
Club meetings continue. Check out our 45 clubs! If your student wants to start a club for spring semester, they can! Have them email me and we can get the club up and running.

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

Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

There are so many reasons we are proud to be members of the Dons Community. This is an amazing collective of students and staff and we are inspired every day by the resilience, innovation, and authenticity that has come to define what it means to be a Don. These are difficult times with challenges and opportunities nearly everywhere we look! 

One of the most pressing, and exciting, opportunities is to engage with one another on the issues of the day respectfully and with genuine curiosity. In addition to the abundant one-on-one meetings we facilitate, we are also extending our mindful communication skills to other spaces where students assemble online. This past week we joined students in a district-wide discussion on equity engagement. This coming Thursday, we will hold space for students to process and dialogue following the inauguration of the country’s new president. Students who are deeply interested in civic life will facilitate and participate. 

We are always impressed by how respectfully students engage with one another at these events, regardless of their perspectives and passions. With that in mind, we share the following great resource on how to be a part of building and maintaining hate-free communities. 

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

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

How to Order Transcripts
If you are applying for anything that requires a transcript, or simply want to have a copy, use this link for instructions.

New!
For those of you who missed our Challenge Success presentation Tuesday night, “A Healthy Approach to College Admissions”, check out the Parent Ed section below for the recording.  Relevant information for all grade levels!

New!
Follow me on my new Facebook Page.

New!
Boys State applications available for Juniors who demonstrate leadership, character, scholarship, loyalty, and service in their school and community. Please have your student inquire for more information.

Seniors
Please update your college application results in Naviance.

College Planning Info for Class of 2022
Important information this week, be sure to read as it shares lots of details!

Juniors: College Planning Academy Sessions
Encourage your students to sign up and use Ms. Reicher’s Zoom link to attend. 

• Wednesday, Jan 20: About Me/Personal Assessments
• Wednesday, Jan 27: Building Your College List

Scholarships

• Rossmoor Scholarship – $3000 award. Min. GPA 3.0 and max expected family contribution of $20k.
• Taco Bell Foundation – Students who are passionate changemakers.  Submission is a two min video on how they plan to use their passion to change the world. Juniors can apply too and defer funds! Due by Jan 20, 2021.
• Assistance League of Diablo Valley Scholarships – This philanthropic program of Assistance League Diablo Valley aids students with college expenses based upon their need, school/community activities, and grade point average. Applicants must be residents of Contra Costa County, California.
• 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.

One-on-One Appointments
All students grades 9-12 can book an individual meeting with Ms. Reicher here. 

Helpful Links:

• Career Exploration
• Alternatives after High School
• Freshman College Planning
• Sophomore College Planning
• Junior College Planning
• Senior Checklist

Keep connected:

• CCC Website 
• Follow us on Instagram: @acalanesccc
• 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

End of First Semester Transcripts
Transcripts are now updated with first semester grades and are visible in Aeries. Mid-year reports were sent to colleges this week.

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

Last week Governor Newsom released the proposed state budget for next year.  The budget, which is typically revised and presented again in May, increases total funding for K-12 and community colleges to $89.2 billion. Gov. Newsom proposes $4.6 billion for summer school, more learning time in 2021-22 budget. It also includes a reduction of 2 percentage points in the districts’ share of pension payments, provides a cost-of-living adjustment, and pays off two-thirds of the deferrals (money owed by the state to the districts) which were used to balance last year’s budget.