November is here! We have some fun, meaningful & grateful activities planned for the next few weeks.
 
Monday, Nov 1 at Lunch- Cake Walk and Junior/Frosh bonding

Wednesday, Nov 3 at Lunch- Shawn Tells All in Room 314
Mr. Shawn would like to spend time with students hearing more about what little things our teachers can do to help students and what students need at this time.

Friday, Nov 5 at Lunch-Just Dance Party in Room 314 with the friendly faces club & our essential skills students.

Friday, Nov 5 at 7pm at the home football game all of our fall Varsity sports will be honored & celebrated at halftime. A great opportunity to celebrate so many wonderful accomplishments!
 
CARE Leader Applications are available. Is your student interested in encouraging equity on campus and continuing the dialogue? Sign up to be a CARE Leader! The application was sent via canvas and is also in the daily bulletin. Each year, Acalanes puts on what is called CARE week (Compassion, Acceptance, Respect, and Equality). CARE leaders will lead a CARE Workshop during Academy time in order to continue our education around issues of equity. Students will be trained on the content of the workshop along with facilitation tips and techniques.
 
2021-2022 Clubs We are just kicking off the 2nd quarter and it is never too late to start attending club meetings. Clubs are continuing to meet and it is one of the BEST ways for students to get connected at Acalanes. Club meeting times and contact information are in the spreadsheet.
 
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

In recent years, statistics around teen use of combustible tobacco products have decreased, however, statistics around teen use of e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, are at an all time high. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration:

• About 40% of high school students have used e-cigarettes 20 or more days in the past month.
• What’s more, about 23% of high school students use e-cigarettes daily.
• These numbers indicate an alarming dependence on nicotine by young people that is exacerbated by disposable e-cigarette devices that contain up to 400 cigarettes (yes, 20 packs of cigarettes) worth of nicotine.

While it is not possible for parents to be aware of what their students are up to 24/7, it is possible for parents to keep up with the ever changing e-cigarette market. Independent research goes a long way in helping to understand how accessible these products are, the effects they have on student health as well as what to watch out for in packaging and marketing. Check out Know the Risks, a website hosted by the Surgeon General, providing a plethora of information about youth e-cigarette usage. It is also important to understand the appeal of e–cigarettes to our youth. Teen e-cigarette usage is a public health crisis that affects youth, families and communities but through proactive efforts of prevention it is possible to curb the effects.

Seniors

• Scholarship Opportunity: Please click here if your senior is in the foster care program. There is a significant scholarship awarded by the Assistance League of Diablo Valley. If you have a child interested in pursuing a vocational/culinary/tech ed program, there is a scholarship as well! An application for scholarships for seniors experiencing financial need can be here.
• DVC will host a panel of course instructors and program coordinators will discuss their various fields. Attendees will learn about course offerings and career pathways. Featured areas include: Culinary Arts, Dental Hygiene, Industrial Design/Engineering, Pre-Apprenticeship and Music. Register here!
• College Visits in the CCC (have your student come by for a pass before school)
  • Monday: UC Santa Cruz, University of La Verne, Landmark College
  • Wednesday: University of Montana
  • Thursday: Westminster College
• Academy: We will continue working on Cal State Applications, Common App, Coalition App, and UC apps this week!  Share essays on Google Docs with me too!
• Virtual visits are upcoming on Tuesday, November 2 and Sunday, November 14. These are quite engaging!

Juniors

• Jobs! See’s Candy in Lafayette is paying $16 and is actively recruiting Acalanes students. Tell your child to stop by the CCC for an application.
• Virtual College Visits Check out these interesting virtual visits- Midwest Colleges on Tuesday, November 2 and Sunday, November 14- Art and Stem Fair.
• DVC will host a panel of course instructors and program coordinators will discuss their various fields. Attendees will learn about course offerings and career pathways. Featured areas include: Culinary Arts, Dental Hygiene, Industrial Design/Engineering, Pre-Apprenticeship and Music.  Register here!

Sophomores/Freshmen

• Community Jobs! See’s Candy in Lafayette is paying $16 and is actively recruiting Acalanes students aged 16+. Tell your child to stop by the CCC for an application.
• 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

Counselor assignments are by last name.
A – Dr  Anne Schonauer
Du-Kr  Christine Todd
Ku-Rog  Marissa Meadows
Roh-Z  Susan Martin

Tuesday, Dec 14 through Friday, Dec 17 Final Exams
2nd Quarter is going by fast! There are four more full weeks of school before finals week! 

Counselor Appointments
Counselors are checking in with all 9th and 10th graders during November. We want to start getting to know them and help them as best we can! We are always seeing any student for drop-in appointments.

• FLU SHOT REMINDER
• COVID VACCINE:  I continue to encourage you to get your students and your families vaccinated. Please contact me for support if needed.
• Proof of vaccination: Try this site:  https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/
• Need more masks? Your students do!!!  Many students are arriving at school without a mask. Please make sure to have a generous supply of clean masks at home for your students. Keep an extra supply in the car too! And maybe even their backpacks and lockers…  Everyone wears a mask indoors (outdoors optional with social distancing) and is encouraged to practice good hand hygiene.
• Any student that has illness symptoms should stay home until they have been symptom-free for at least 24 hours. If your student has NOT been vaccinated for COVID and/or has had a fever, please provide a negative Covid test result.
• If your student has a medical condition and/or needs medication available at school, please go to this link on my webpage to get the appropriate forms. All forms need to be filled out completely and signed by both the parents and the physician. Please bring any/all unexpired medication in its original bottle directly to me so that I can review the required medical documentation at that time.
• If there are any updates to your student’s vaccination record, please send me a copy. If your student is missing any required immunizations, they may not be able to be at school until those are complete. Please get in touch with me as soon as possible.
• PLEASE EAT MORE PLANTS to keep your student healthier and smarter.

Quick Links

• AUHSD Safety Plan
• COVID-19 Vaccination Record Submission Form

Please be in touch with me to discuss any medical, health, or wellness concerns.
Stay healthy and be well,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org
925-280-2970 x7128
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

Reminder! LPIE Gala tickets go on sale Sunday, November 7th at 9am
Saturday, April 23, 2022
6 pm to midnight
Four Seasons Hotel
757 Market Street, San Francisco
Click here for all the information

 Let’s Get Reading
Thank you to every student who has already created an LPIE Read-a-Thon pledge page. If you haven’t had the opportunity to create your pledge page yet, click here.
 
Need more books to keep on reading? Visit your school library, the Lafayette public library, or LPIE’s new business partner Reasonable Books! Fabulous Prizes include: Warriors tickets, AirPods, gift cards and more surprise gifts to be announced…


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

This week’s can’t miss events:

Cross Country
Saturday, Nov 6 DAL Championships at 1pm

Girls golf
Monday, Nov 1 NCS Championships 8 am to 5 pm

Girls volleyball
Wednesday, Nov 3 Semifinals at 7pm
Saturday, Nov 6 NCS Championships

Girls water polo
Thursday, Nov 4 NCS Playoffs, First-round
Saturday, Nov 6 NCS Quarterfinals

Boys water polo
Wednesday, Nov 3 NCS Playoffs
Thursday, Nov 4 NCS Playoffs
Saturday, Nov 6 NCS Playoffs

Football
Thursday, Nov 4 at Alhambra. Freshman at 5pm
Friday, Nov 5 host Alhambra for Senior Night. Varsity at 7pm and JV at 4:30 pm

Here are the Fall sports schedules (subject to change):

• Cross Country
• Football
• Girls Golf
• Girls Tennis
• Girls Volleyball
• Boys Water Polo
• Girls Water Polo

Friday, Oct 29 Staff Appreciation Lunch
We are in need of a few more volunteers to complete the Sign Up Genius for the lunch APC is providing our teachers to show how much we appreciate all they do! Click here for details and to see what we still need. Thanks for your support!

Saturday, Oct 30 from 11am-2pm – Fall Campus Clean Up
Join our ACA Community and lend a hand to spruce up our campus! Click here to sign up. Participation hours can be counted towards the Acalanes Volunteer Service Award.

Did you miss the October 15 Dons Dialogue? Click here to view the webinar, or here to view the slides!

ACA Moment in Action
It was AMAZING to see so many students show up to support their friends in Music and Chorus at the ACA Pops Concert last Thursday night. It was an incredible show and the icing on the cake was all the cheering from so many different student groups. A big thank you to all the students who turned out for the Pops Concert! Your attendance was a perfect example of an ACA Moment.

We have all seen reports that frontline workers of color are disproportionately affected by Covid-19, and the Filipino American population is no different. According to National NursesUnited, Filipinos make up 4% of registered nurses in the US and yet they accounted for 26.4% of nurses who died from COVID-19 and related complications. October is Filipino American History Month, and it seems fitting to recognize these frontline workers as heroes. Follow the history of why 1 in 4 health workers in the US are Filipino through photos on CNN.
 
Tuesday, Nov 9 at 1pm  “The History Against Truthful History” Webinar Don’t miss Season 2 of La Historia Uncovered, a conversation about the history of voting rights in Latino communities, with University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service Dean, Victoria DeFrancesco Soto. Click here to sign up.

Facts Corner:
October is Arts Month! Ever wonder why ancient Europeans are depicted as White even though Ancient Europe was actually more diverse? While paintings from Ancient Rome and Greece show a wide variety of skin tones that reflect a multi-ethnic society, statues do not. Learn why here.