We have your students covered as they prepare to finish the semester strong! This week’s options are listed below, and make sure to visit our website for even more information!
 
Tuesday, Dec 7 from 2:45 to 3:45pm – Wellness Winter Workshops (#2) Our Wellness Winter Workshop (session 2 of 2) is a space to gather together and practice coping skills to thrive during finals and a long break with family. We will have an afternoon snack of Boba with good company. Space is limited and registration is required. Sign-up here.
 
Wednesday, Dec 8 from 3:15 to 5:30pm in the Library – ExamJam for All StudentsStudents can drop in to get questions answered by teachers on hand from each subject. Peer tutors will also be available for guidance. It is a great two hour block of time to jump into final exam preparation.
 
Thursdays before finals from 3:30 to 5pm in Room 105/106 – MATHursdays with Mr. Plant Current Associate Principal and forever Math teacher, Mr. Plant, is providing valuable math support for students every Thursday. Appointments are not required, but students should come prepared with specific material (study guides, homework) to work on. This is not an open tutorial. 
 
And don’t forget to encourage your student to take advantage of these additional resources!

• Peer Tutoring This week, Monday through Friday every Academy, Lunch, 7th Period, and after school until 4pm
• Wellness Center This week, open for students to drop in Monday through Friday from 7:30am – 3:30pm (with teacher approval during class hours)
• Acalanes Library Open from 7:30am to 5:30pm daily

Parent VOLUNTEER Opportunities:

• LAST CALL-Staff Appreciation Holiday Cookie Exchange This is the best way to show our Teachers & Staff how much we appreciate all they do for our students. We provide the treats and they get to take home a plate full of holiday cookies. Sign up here if you are able to bake and/or purchase holiday goodies for this Friday, Dec 10.
• Finals Fuel This is a wonderful way to get on campus and make a difference! Help our students finish strong by providing snacks in between their finals.  Please sign up here if you are able to donate snacks and/or work a shift.
• Hot Lunch Help This is the final week of hot lunch for 2021. It’s just 30 minutes of your time but it makes a HUGE difference in and out of the cafeteria. Sign up here if you’re able to help from 12:45-1:15 any day this week.  

Nominating Committee Volunteers NEEDED! APC Nominating Committee NEEDS your Help! We are looking for volunteers to join the 2022 Nominating Committee to help fill our 2022-2023 APC Board. This role has SMALL time commitment with LARGE importance. The committee will begin shortly after we return from Winter Break. To volunteer, please contact Angela Ketcham, APC Parliamentarian at theketchams@sbcglobal.net or 925-286-9907. We look forward to working with you! We CAN’T do it without you!

Read-a-thon
Thank you to all the students who participated in this year’s read-a-thon. Together, the 748 participants across all the Lafayette schools & Acalanes High School logged 257,223 minutes read – and raised $91,000 this year! Incredible!
 
And congratulations to Addy Jeffery, the top Acalanes reader, who also won a gift certificate and bracelet from Luck in Lafayette!
 
Giving Tuesday
A heartfelt Thank You to everyone who gave and made this year’s Giving Tuesday a huge success! During this season of giving, we are especially grateful to you for making LPIE and your child’s education part of your giving priorities. It is the support from our Lafayette community that has ensured the quality of our public schools for over four decades. It will be this same commitment that ensures the strength of our schools in the 2021/22 school year and years to come. If you have not yet given your 2021-22 donation, now is a great time since all donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $150,000 through Dec 31, 2021. Click here to donate today!

Jennifer Palmer and Michele Colaco, Acalanes LPIE School Chairs
www.lpie.org, Follow us on

Holiday Gift Giving Guide
‘Tis the season for giving – and receiving – the perfect gift: Acalanes Flags!
Flags are available in two sizes on the Acalanes web store purchase here. Get yours today and share your school spirit. Go Dons!

Friday, Dec 10 is the last chance to give to AHS Sock and Heavy Coat Drive Acalanes families looking for ways to give back this holiday season can do so by supporting Acalanes Key Club & Leadership’s Sock and Heavy Coat drive for a homeless encampment in Martinez. Donation bins will be at the AHS flagpole and in the attendance office in the morning and throughout the day through Friday, Dec 10. Thanks for your consideration of this meaningful community effort!
 
Holiday Shopping & Dining- ACA Supports Lafayette Shops & Restaurants Shop Local Lafayette. Our downtown retailers and online shops are thankful to Acalanes families for shopping and dining in Lafayette! They look forward to helping you with your holiday gift giving needs. Check out the downtown Lafayette Dining and Gift Guide brochure & the Lafayette Chamber’s online gift guide that includes links to those businesses that offer online sales or are not included in the PDF guide. Thank you for your ongoing support of these local businesses!
 
P.S. Seniors are partnering with Sideboard to sell their holiday hot cocoa kits (a perfect gift for students during finals). Email here to order one.

If anyone missed out last year and would like to join in on the Race-Work education series, Dr. Watson is tailoring a series for parents to intimately explore issues of race and identity. Participants will learn the tools necessary to speak with our children, friends, and community members about this difficult and important topic. Please RSVP below to save your spot. Sessions will be at 6:00pm on Tuesday, Dec 14 (register here), Tuesday, Jan 18 (register here) and Tuesday, Feb 15 (register here).
 
Facts Corner:
Kwanzaa (celebrated Dec 26-Jan 1) is an African American and pan-African non-religious celebration of family, community, and culture that was established in the 1960’s by Dr Maulana Karenga. Inspired by the Civil Rights and Black Freedom Movements, Dr Karenga asked “How do you create a just and good society?  What does it mean to be human? What is our moral obligation to each other?  What is our rightful relationship with the environment?”  He realized that “Those questions, we usually don’t ask Africa those questions. We usually ask Europe or Israel… we just don’t ask Africa what does it mean to be human? What is my relationship with God or anything like that?… So, I wanted to do that. And so I began to draw from the best of African culture, synthesize it and put into this philosophy called Kawaida.” Learn more about how Dr Karenga developed Kwanzaa as a celebration of Kawaida philosophy.
 
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @acalanesdei

Dear Parents,
 
The exams of your children are to start soon. I know you are all really anxious for your child to do well. But, please do remember, amongst the students who will be sitting for the exams, there is an artist, who doesn’t need to understand Math…. There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t care about History of English literature…. There is a musician, whose Chemistry marks won’t matter…. There’s an athlete… whose physical fitness is more important than Physics…. If your child does get top marks, that’s great!  But if (they) don’t, please don’t take away their self-confidence and dignity from them. Tell them it’s OK, it’s just an exam! They are cut out for much bigger things in life. Tell them, no matter what they score… you love them and will not judge them.
 
From a school principal, courtesy of @russellbrunson

For some ways to help your students prioritize well-being in preparation of exams, refer to Dear Freshman Self, by Lauren Chan- A senior reflects back on her high school experience after she reads a letter she wrote as a freshman to her senior self. With hindsight, she realizes that high school is about much more than achieving a 4.0 or playing a single sport. Remind your student to:

• prioritize sleep
• always err on the side of believing in oneself.
• try something new or they are terrible at (hip-hop!)
• discuss the idea of trusting oneself to course-correct. If honors math is causing debilitating stress, think about the shift to a different track next year and to move forward with their head held high.

Read more for concrete ideas from the Center of Parent and Teen Communication.

Tuesday, Dec 14 at 4pm Challenge Success will be hosting a Healthier Approach to College Admissions talk, helping parents to support their students’ well-being during the college admission process and beyond. Registration link is here with a recording sent afterwards for those who cannot attend the live event. Cost is $10.

Thursday, Jan 20 Save the Date  Challenge Success will present a virtual workshop on the Well-Balanced Student.

Finally, if your teen is struggling with academics or feeling down or frustrated about school, don’t forget to connect with our Counselors, our Nurse, and our Wellness Center.

Feel free to reach out and connect with us with ideas for future topics, shareable resources, or thoughts at parented@acalanesparentsclub.com.

Wednesday Dec 8 from 3:15-5pm in the Library ExamJam- All Students Students can drop in to get questions answered by teachers on hand from each subject. Peer tutors will also be available for guidance. It is a great two hour block of time to jump into final exam preparation.
 
Adopt-a-Family Thank you to our incredible community for opting in to adopt 72 families this holiday season (it is the most EVER)! If you opted in to adopt-a-family we are asking that you drop your wrapped gifts off December 10 between 7:30 to 8:30 am in front of the small gym. See your email for more specifics. We are so grateful for our community’s support!

Sock & Heavy Coat Drive Key Club & Leadership are running a sock and heavy coat (new or gently used) drive through Dec 10 for a homeless encampment in Martinez. Donation bins will be at the flagpole in the morning and in the attendance office throughout the day. We are working in conjunction with the Stanley Leadership program to make this a community effort. Thank you in advance for your donations!
 
Acalanes Spirit Wear If you ordered spiritwear, check your email. Pick-up will be Thursday, Dec 9 from 3 to 4 pm and Friday, Dec 10 from 7:30 to 8:30 am. We have a few more items available for purchase via the web store. Check them out!
 
A Peek At The Week Ahead: Winter week is here with dress up days and winter-themed events!

• Monday, Dec 6 Pajama Day and movie showing in 314 during lunch & Open Mic Night at 6 pm at Sideboard. Open Mic Night is a traditional favorite-come grab dinner & listen to student entertainment
• Tuesday, Dec 7 Lumberjack Day & snowball stressbusters during lunch & winter instrumental concert at 7 pm.
• Wednesday, Dec 8 Ugly Sweater Day, Holiday Educational Kahoot in 314 during lunch and Winter Around the World Potluck at 6 pm followed by the winter instrumental concert at 7 pm.
• Thursday, Dec 9 Penguin Party (wear white or black)
• Friday, Dec 10 Frozen Friday! Hot cocoa in the quad before school, adopt-a-family wrapping party during academy, and snow globe making for Children’s Hospital in 314 during lunch.

As always, I am here to support you and your students. If there is anything I can do, please don’t hesitate to reach out via e-mail.
 
Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

The countdown to first semester finals is on! These are sure to be highly stressful times for most students. In addition to the standard stressors such as jobs, extracurriculars and homework, the changes in weather as well as the desire to perform well on finals have the potential to throw students for a loop. To help your student perform at their best, help them beat stress by utilizing “Four A’s”:

• Avoid unnecessary stress- Teach your students the importance of boundaries and prioritization. It is okay for them to say no to people and activities that might might add extra stress during finals preparation
• Alter the situation- Encourage your students to talk about their stress instead of keeping it in. This is also a great opportunity to reinforce the value of self care activities that might help them decompress instead of overloading on academics.
• Adapt to the stressor- Take the time to help your students shift their behaviors toward things that will benefit them during this time. Scientists recognize that teens need 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night. Unfortunately, most teens sleep only 7 hours each night and during finals, they may be tempted to sleep even less. Sleeping, and even eating, regularly not only decreases stress but powers your students bodies to perform their best mentally.
• Accept things you can’t change- Finals aren’t going away. By accepting this reality, students have greater control over the things they can change in relation to finals. Study time, gratitude, personal time and self care are in your students’ control. Each of these things can work toward positively influencing their finals experience.

Finally, encourage your students to participate in the fun activities offered during the school day! There are a ton of school-wide activities taking place this week (Dec. 6-10) that can help your student chill out and de-stress including Winter Week dress up days, movie showings and gift wrapping. The Wellness Center is also offering easy, stress relieving crafts during lunch time each day including origami, slime making and more!
Happy All-idays to you and your loved ones from your Wellness Center team!
 
(Source: Keep Calm During finals by Lisa Brickert, MSW, LCSW)
Kiara Thomas- Wellness Intake Specialist 

Seniors

• Scholarship Opportunity Check out this site for many scholarships!
• American Association of University Women (AAUW) offers three, $2,000 Scholarships to a graduating young woman from Acalanes, Campolindo and Miramonte who demonstrates a sustained commitment to community service as well as a grade point average of at least 3.0. If you know someone who meets these criteria, please share.
• Academy The priority deadline for Cal State Application for many campuses has been extended to December 15. We will continue working on any application support. Students can share essays on Google Docs with me too!

Juniors

• Parent Night-Mark your calendar! Susan Martin, our counselor, and Debbie Levy will host a Junior Parent night to learn more about the college application timeline and career opportunities on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 in the PAC at 6:30pm. The event will be recorded and posted.
• PSAT review Please set up a 1:1 appointment to go over your child’s PSAT scores and take a deeper look at your students’ strengths and areas for growth.
• University of California TIPS! Check out this to learn the Comprehensive Review criteria for which the UC’s follow to evaluate students for admission.

Sophomores/Freshmen

• PSAT review Please set up an appointment to go over your student’s PSAT scores if taken.
• Jobs! There are many job opportunities once your child turns 16. Please send them to the CCC to learn more.
• Volunteer  Here are some volunteer options to get you started. Check out the newforms for tracking volunteer service hours for recognized service awards.

 
Resources:

• CCC Website