Be Covid Proactive!
See update on my google site. Stay healthy by keeping this symptom checklist in mind.

School Immunization Requirements are still in place.
Many students are missing the 2nd dose of Varicella (Chicken Pox) vaccine which is now required for school entry. 

Those families will receive an email that their student’s immunization record is incomplete.  Please submit updated immunization records if you receive this email or/and/if your student gets an updated immunization at their physician’s office.

Please check in with your local pediatrician’s office, Primary Care Provider, or our County Health Department.

Flu Vaccine is available NOW! 
Make sure to have everyone in your family get a Flu vaccine. We all want to stay as healthy as possible, individually and collectively as a community. Reduced illness from flu will also ease the burden of illness from Covid in our hospital facilities. Flu vaccine is available at most medical practices and pharmacies. Free CC County Flu Shot Clinics begin next week.

Medical Forms and Medications at School
Please turn in any relevant medical forms your student might need for the 2020-21 school year. Those forms should be dated no earlier than June 2020. You can access forms here.

Here’s a great article on How To Be Stronger Co-Parents During The Pandemic

Please get in touch with me with any questions, concerns, and/or requests. I look forward to being in touch and connected!

Is your student interested in joining the Acalanes Health & Medicine Student Club? Check it out here.

Dvora Citron, RN, MS
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
dcitron@auhsdschools.org
IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

It’s an exciting month ahead for all things ACA. Check our ACAtober details below:

Thursday, Oct 8 ACA Day  
It’s ACAtober and the first ACA Day is a “not to be missed” drive-by event on campus. Check out the class sections for more info. In addition to some old-fashioned Acalanes spirit, the first 50 students from each class will receive a cool gift of ACA SWAG!! Students will also have a chance to write/drop off thank you notes for Lafayette firefighters & police officers, health care workers and/or our awesome AHS teachers & staff. Acalanes families can help with the ongoing fire devastation by donating to the Acalanes Community Always Fire Relief Fund.

Tuesday, Oct 6 at 10am ACA Chat Live!
This event, hosted by co-Associate Principal Andrea Powers & Student Activities Director Katherine Walton, is a “not to be missed” informal, engaging and interactive parent forum. Pandemic exhaustion tips for students will be highlighted along with ways parents can help students stay engaged. Expect a light-hearted but highly informative hour. Watch your email box tomorrow for details on how to participate. 

Campus Clean Up
WOW!! Students (and parents) turned out BIG for the effort to spruce up the campus on Saturday.  It was the largest student turn-out ever and it was great to see Acalanes students so motivated to connect and give back. 

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

APC Student Directory
The directory is now available to APC Members (families who donate any amount to APC are members!) via Acalanes Parents Club website.  For privacy reasons, the directory is password protected. Members can look for an email with password information in their inbox later today. Not sure if you’re a member?  Go to the Web Store, log into your account and view your order history. Thank you for your support! A huge thank you to Sharon Hunt, Danielle Gallagher and Linda Choi for creating the directory and making it accessible to our members. 

Applications Due October 9: APC Grants, All Ideas Welcome!
Acalanes Parents Club will continue its APC Grant Program this year with a focus on creative solutions to enhance the educational experience of AHS students during distance learning, and with an eye toward ideas for when we gather again in-person. Teachers, students and parents are encouraged to submit a grant proposal by accessing the criteria and application form here. Email APC Grants Coordinator Catherine Habas with questions. To submit your completed proposal, email Catherine or deliver to the APC box in the office. 

2020-21 Acalanes & President’s Volunteer Service Awards Program
The 2020-21 program year continues to be challenging for identifying volunteer opportunities. It is very important that students looking for opportunities to volunteer in our local community follow safety guidelines in order to keep yourself, families and neighbors safe. This year we are reducing the volunteer service hour minimum to 20 hours and adding in flexibility to volunteer requirements. This reduction applies only to the Acalanes Volunteer Service Award. The President’s Volunteer Service award is a federal program and we cannot modify their program requirements. We encourage students to be creative with ideas that can turn into volunteer opportunities. Ideas to consider (verification of hours is still necessary):

• Grocery shopping or running errands for senior, disabled or at-risk neighbors
• AHS Stege Elementary pen-pal program
• 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!

Nationally recognized speaker Keith Hawkins, will help lead a student dialogue about resiliency, perseverance and finding your “why” during Monday morning’s Cohort session. Check in with your student after school and see how it went. Here are some questions you can ask to continue the dialogue at home:

• What current struggle are you dealing with right now? What are the reasons you will stick it out and persevere even though I know it might be a struggle. 
• Turn your “I can’t” statements into “I can” statements. Resilience starts in your mind. Your self-talk is one of your most powerful tools. Take challenges in stages. Break down the challenge into steps that are more manageable. Do one task at a time.
• What is a goal you have for yourself? What is your first step towards meeting that goal? How can I support?

In addition, Keith will be live on Wednesday at lunch to further dialogue with our students around resilience and perseverance. Please encourage your student to attend. The Zoom link will be sent out through Canvas. 

High School Poll Worker Program
For any student who plans to work at the polls on November 3, please remember that you need to have your form signed by one of our school administrators. As our campus is currently closed, please make sure your student emails both Mrs. Perlman and Mrs. Gullberg to let them know when they’d like to stop by and have their form signed. Our office is open by appointment only from 8:00aM to 4:00pm.

This is our seventh week in the challenge to build habits supporting racial equity. Let’s continue celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month!

For week seven, learn about labor leader Dolores Huerta, the woman who coined the slogan “Sí, se puede” (“Yes, we can”).

Tuesday, November 10 from 7-8:30pm – AUHSD DEI Book Club
The book selection is “Across that Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change” by late Congressman John Lewis. Sign up here to participate. 

Monday, November 16 from 7-8:30pm – Myself…My Story with Dr. Lori Watson
Last week we had our first valuable, inspiring and challenging session with Dr. Lori Watson. This is an Acalanes parent-specific series of six seminars, where we explore issues of race and identity. Join us for the next session on November 16 by signing up here! More details, including program dates and session topics are available here.

Reminder: Bias Incident Reporting Tool is available here. Students can report anonymously if they wish. 

Interested in joining our committee? Have questions? Email us.

October 16-31, Virtual Lafayette Res Run For Education
The race will be virtual this year, and we encourage you to join us for one of four races: 5k, 10k, 2 mile walk/run, or the 2.7 mile reservoir run/walk. Registration is $25; reference Acalanes and a portion of your fees go straight to our school. Zoonies, the newest ASB Spirit Card partner, has a gift for the first 100 sign-ups from Acalanes (thank you, Zoonies!). Support Acalanes and sign up now. Go Dons!

If you have any questions, please contact VP Fundraising Kelly Daggs.

New Spirit Wear With A Purpose!
Acalanes! Check out the new spirit wear available and order by Monday, October 12th. There are a few cancer awareness items, an Acalanes bucket hat (highly requested by students) and our Acalanes anti-racist shirt. Orders will be available for pick-up October 29th. 

Looking for CARE Leaders
Acalanes is continuing our education around issues of equity. One of the ways we will do this is through CARE Week & CARE Workshops, which are student-led.  We are looking for 55 students to lead a workshop in Monday cohort about on campus discrimination, bias and lived student experience at Acalanes and in our community. We are looking for students who are versed in the protocol (compass and agreements) as well as students who can be comfortable leading uncomfortable conversations. Apply here.

Monday, Oct 5 – Class Shirt, Spirit Wear and Yearbook Pick-up
Stop by room 314 from 7:30-8:45am or 1:30-3pm to pick up your class shirt, spirit wear order or yearbook if you have yet to do so.

Tuesday, Oct 6 – Volunteer Service Awards Informational Meeting
Join us for a Zoom meeting all about volunteer service on Tuesday at lunch. Zoom link will be sent out via canvas. College & Career Advisor Wendy Reicher and APC Volunteer Program liaison Diane Archer will join me in answering questions about the awards program and ways to give back to you community. Here are the 2020-2021 volunteer forms.

2020-2021 Clubs
Club meetings continue this week. Encourage your student to attend even if they missed the first meeting last week. Check out our 44 clubs!

ACA-Fire Relief Fund
Fires continue to plague our state and our local community. Together, as an Acalanes community, we wanted to support our first responders and those who have been affected. Consider contributing to the Acalanes Fire Relief Fund. If everyone at Acalanes donates $1, we would be at $1,400 total. Let’s do this Dons!

Tomorrow, Oct 5 – Last Day To Drop Off School Supplies for Stege
Acalanes is holding a supplies drive for Stege Elementary School, our sister school since 2013. Each year we make personal bags for every student at Stege and work with their administration to hand them out. This year we are collecting pencils, erasers, crayons and colored pencils between now and October 5. There are bins at the flagpole. 

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

Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

You can catch Wellness on Tuesday at 10am in the ACA Chat Live! And now here’s a contribution from one of our amazing mental health support interns: 

“Hello, my name is V and I’m one of the new Wellness Support Interns at Acalanes! We’ve made it to the end of Suicide Awareness Week, but this does not mean this is the end of suicidal thoughts or behaviors for students. As we continue to move through the fires and the pandemic, not to mention the upcoming election, it’s more important than ever to keep your eyes peeled for any shifts in mood, attitude, or behavior in your children. We recommend saving the Suicide Prevention Lifeline–you can never predict exactly what might happen, so it’s better to just be prepared. Please do reach out to the Wellness Center if you need further resources or support. Take care!”  

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

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