Great News! Peer Tutoring is Back
Peer Tutors are available to help students across all academic subjects starting NOW. To access a tutor, encourage your student to visit TeachMore, select “Peer Tutoring” and access the Zoom link for the desired time slot. Peer Tutoring looks forward to being a vital part of the remote learning experience. And remember, Peer Tutoring is free to all families thanks to the generosity of your APC parent donations. Below is the Peer Tutoring schedule:

• Mondays from 10:00am-4:00pm
• Tuesdays and Thursdays during 7th period (2:00-3:00pm)
• Wednesdays and Fridays during Academy (9:00 -10:00am)
• Tuesdays through Fridays after school from 3:00-4:00pm

Canvas Tutorial & Q&A Support
Acalanes parents and guardians! Check out this helpful 7 minute tutorial video on Canvas, for both the desktop and the app. If you still have questions, consider attending a drop in Q&A support session on Monday, August 31 from 8-9am. You must RSVP to Katherine Walton to receive the zoom link. 

Textbook Return & Pickup
Thanks to those Dons who have returned materials. For those still holding on to books, please drop them outside the AHS Library as soon as possible. If your student is still waiting on books for a class this year, please make an appointment to pick up your resources by emailing jcrain@auhsdschools.org.

Updated APC Volunteer Service Awards
Updated program guidelines and forms will be released shortly as a result of limitations on volunteer work due to Covid. Once you have reviewed the new guidelines, please email us if you have any questions about qualifying hours or opportunities.

Student Work Permits
Students need to complete the following steps if they will be employed during this school year. Parents, please keep this information handy as a reference.

• Download this California Work Permit.
• Students fill out and sign the student information section, then have parents and employers fill out and sign their sections.  
• Scan the work permit to both Mrs. Perlman and Mrs. Gullberg in the main office.
• Once we receive a student work permit application, we will process it and let students know when they can pick it up from the main office.  

Contact us with questions:
Mrs. Gullberg, tel. 925.280.3970 ext. 7126 
Mrs. Perlman, tel. 925.280.3970 ext. 7125

Part of our ACA initiative is to build an Acalanes alumni network and make it a rich resource for current students and alumni. If you are a current alumni of Acalanes and would like to be involved in developing this program, please email us at aca@acalanesparentsclub.com! 

Dawn Brightbill & Sarah Cusumano

New Bias Incident Reporting Tool!
Please let your student/s know that Acalanes has developed a tool to assist students in reporting racism or bias incidents. A report can be made anonymously and can be accessed using a valid auhsdschools.org email address. More about this tool here.

21 Week Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge
Join us for the next 21 weeks as we build habits supporting racial equity. Each week, we will suggest one article or activity which will help you become more educated and thoughtful in this area.

• Week 1 of 21: Read Nikole Hannah-Jones, America Wasn’t a Democracy, UntilBlack Americans Made It One, The New York Times (Aug. 14, 2019).

• Week 2 of 21: How to Not (Accidentally) Raise a Racist, Longest Shortest Time Podcast

Did you miss our Forum on Race?
Watch it here. We are so grateful to those who joined us and tried it on.

Tuesday, Sept 22 at 6:30pm Teacher-moderated Book Club: How To Be An Antiracistby Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
The book, a NYTimes Bestseller, brings a “groundbreaking” approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society — and in ourselves. Copies are available at Orinda Books, and a portion of each sale will be donated to the Center for Antiracism Research. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acalanes-dei-quarterly-book-read-tickets-118207875939

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

Peer Tutoring is back and ready to support your student! This program is 100% funded by donations to the Acalanes Parents Club. If you have not had an opportunity to make your donation, please join us today!  

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

Class Shirts and Yearbooks
We are handing out class shirts and yearbooks in the next two weeks. Here are the days and times:

• Class of 2024: September 2 from 3-4pm (all students; class shirts only)
• Class of 2021: September 8 from 2-4pm (A-L is 2-3; M-Z is 3-4)
• Class of 2022: September 9 from 3-5pm (A-L is 3-4; M-Z is 4-5)
• Class of 2023: September 10 from 3-5pm (A-L is 3-4; M-Z is 4-5)
• Alternate pick-up: September 11 from 8-9am 

Spirit Wear
If you missed ordering spirit wear, the webstore is back open until September 7! Any items purchased will be shipped to your house. 

Due Thursday, Sept 3 Club Applications
Although we are beginning the year in distance learning, we want to get our clubs up and running! Any student can start a club and the process will be digital this year. Club Applications are available here, due by Thursday! All club guidelines and FAQs are in the registration form.

Friday, Sept 4 During Academy Kick Off Workshop on Organization
Encourage your student to attend a student-led workshop. Upperclassmen will walk through systems of organization including Google Drive, a calendar system, and Canvas. Students can sign up by joining Katherine Walton’s Academy. 

ASB Card Support
Thank you to all who purchased ASB cards. The money directly funds student activities throughout the year AND gives your student discounts throughout the community. Look for stickers in business windows then show a student ID card to receive the discount. Thank you to those Lafayette businesses for supporting Acalanes!

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

Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

We always want to practice what we preach and so this past week, we were “Trying On” lots of new things. Here’s one of the things that we’ve never done before that worked really well: a lunchtime community conversation where students opted in to engage in dialogue with each other around racism. We used the four agreements and the compass (believing/thinking/feeling/acting) from the equity curriculum the students have been learning. These tools really benefited the conversation and the participants. At the close, we tried on connecting to our emotions and the feelings in our body–how it felt to talk about painful things and how it felt to do so with a new community. Here are some of the words shared by our 60 attendees in the chat box as they exited: enlightened, safe, comfortable, respect. We learned a lot about how much students want to engage with each other and how badly they want all students at AHS to feel welcome and included. There’s an amount of fear that always accompanies trying new things but when you push through that fear, there can be wonderful things on the other side. 

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

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

Please have students check their AUHSD gmail accounts for communications from the CCC. Students can book an individual meeting with me here. 

Admissions Reps Virtual Visits This Coming Monday
Please encourage your student to sign up in Naviance for the following schools this week: Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Lafayette College, UOP, Pitt, Loyola Chicago, Drexel, Vanderbilt, USF.

Tuesday, Sept 1 from 7-8pm – Navigating the College Admissions & Testing Landscape
Tried & True’s College Night presentation helps families learn how best to navigate standardized testing for the college admissions process. This informative hour covers topics including differences between the PSAT, SAT and ACT, how test scores are weighted in the admissions process, understanding the impact of Coronavirus on admissions and testing, and much more. Interested Freshmen, Sophomore and Junior families, register in advance and receive your login credentials here. 

Tuesday, Sept 8 at 7pm – Class of 2021 College Resources Presentation
Hear from your parent Senior Liaisons about important information as well as a college planning presentation by Wendy Reicher and Counselor Anne Schonauer. Watch for a Zoom link sent via email; students and families need to sign in using their student’s AUHSD gmail.

Freshman College Planning
Sophomore College Planning
Junior College Planning
Senior Checklist

• CCC Website 
• Follow us on Instagram: @acalanesccc
• Facebook Page for Students Have your senior or junior join the College and Career Student FB page 

Always feel free to contact me with questions:  wreicher@auhsdschools.org

Wendy Reicher

Attention Seniors
Counselors sent Seniors a link to sign up for an appointment. On Tuesday, September 8 at 7pm, Counselors and Ms. Reicher will discuss the college application process and resources.

Transcripts
For Seniors ordering transcripts for college applications, we will start processing those around September 15. We are updating the school profile information. To request a transcript, have your list of colleges updated on Naviance and pay the $5 fee for official transcripts on the webstore. Mrs. Finn, the registrar, will process requests. If you absolutely need an official transcript before then, contact Mrs. Finn. Students can review unofficial transcripts in Aeries.

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. 

Counselor Assignments Student last names:

Is it COVID-19, the Flu, a Cold, Allergies or Asthma?

August is Immunization Week! 
School Immunization Requirements are still in place. Please check in with your local pediatrician’s office, Primary Care Provider, or our County Health Department (call 925-313-6767 for additional hours through September).

Beginning in October, please 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.

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.

Still on Quarantine! Transitioning Back to School Routine After Summer Break

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

Dvora Citron, RN, MS
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site