News & Announcements

BOYS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan 4 v. Miramonte. Freshmen at 4pm, JV at 5:30pm and Varsity at 7pm
Thursday, Jan 6 v. Northgate. Freshman at 4pm, JV at 5:30pm and Varsity at 7pm

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan 4 at Miramonte. JV at 5:30pm and Varsity at 7pm
Thursday, Jan 6 at Northgate. JV at 5:30pm and Varsity at 7pm

BOYS SOCCER
Tuesday, Jan 4 v. Las Lomas. JV at 5pm and Varsity at 7pm
Thursday, Jan 6 at Northgate. JV at 5pm and Varsity at 7pm
Saturday, Jan 8 v. Monte Vista. JV at 1pm and Varsity at 3pm G

GIRLS SOCCER
Tuesday, Jan 4 at Benicia. JV at 5pm and Varsity at 7pm
Thursday, Jan 6 v. Concord at 5pm and Varsity at 7pm 

Click here for the full Winter Sports Schedule (subject to change) 

We have your students covered as they finish their semester strong this week!

Monday, Dec 13 at Lunch Canine Stress Busters
Come hug it out with your favorite four-legged friends. Therapy dogs will be on campus to provide smiles and tail wags to help reduce stress and provide a general sense of connection to our students.

Tuesday, Dec 14 from 8 to 10am Teacher Office Hours
Have some last minute questions? Students can coordinate a time to meet with their teacher during office hours.

And don’t forget to encourage your student to take advantage of these additional resources:

• Peer Tutoring Finals Week Hours: Monday, Dec 13 regular hours (Academy, Lunch, 7th Period and after school until 4pm) Tuesday, Dec 14 through Thursday, Dec 16 from 12:30 to 2:30pm.
• Wellness Center open Monday regular hours 7:30am to 3:30pm, Tuesday through Friday from 7:30am to 1pm.
• Acalanes Library is open from 7:30am to 5:30pm daily.

Last chance to help with 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.

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!

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. Get yours today and share your school spirit. Go Dons!

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.

However you and yours celebrate, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ōmisoka, Boxing Day, and Christmas!

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”  –Proverb borrowed from our Parent Partners at Campolindo
 
Often, the holiday season can bring high expectations for a cozy and festive time of the year. However, for many this time brings feelings of anxiety or being overwhelmed by the never-ending “to do” list. New research suggests that one aspect of the holiday season can actually lift the spirits and rewire our brains – practicing gratitude and giving.  Read more in this blog from the Harvard Medical School or from Cal Berkeley’s Greater Good Magazine. Research reports that being grateful helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals – whether to other people, nature or a higher power. The Neuroscience of Gratitude is well-documented in research and there are very simple acts that you can incorporate into your family’s life and encourage your teens to do to help them practice gratitude:

• Take a moment to simply acknowledge your gratitude daily. Start each morning with writing or sharing 5 things you are grateful for.
• Write a thank you note – to a teacher or a friend or a neighbor or our local fire or police department – to express your gratitude.
• Find opportunities to volunteer or give.  Our students just participated in a few donation drives but several local charities can use our help. A few include GratefulGatherings and the Food Bank of Contra Costa County.

Tuesday, Dec 14 at 4pm Challenge Success Healthier Approach to College Admissions Talk – This event will help parents 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.

Save the Date – Thursday, Jan 20 Challenge Success Well-Balanced Student Virtual Workshop.

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.

Adopt-a-Family Thank you to our incredible community for opting in to adopt 74 families this holiday season (it is the most EVER)! We delivered the gifts to Families First on Friday and they were overwhelmed with gratitude for our school’s support and response to need. THANK YOU!

Sock & Heavy Coat Drive Together, Stanley & Acalanes, donated 25 FULL black bags of heavy coats & socks to a homeless encampment in Martinez over the weekend. THANK YOU for all your support!
 
Acalanes Spirit Wear  Spiritwear is still available and pick-up is this week! Purchase via the web store. Check them out!

As we end the first semester, we just want to say thank you for all your support, energy, spirit, thoughts & participation. It has been SUCH a pleasure to be back & we look forward to all that is to come in 2022!
 
Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

Finals are here! 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 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 or less during finals. Sleeping and 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.

(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!
• Rossmoor Scholarship Foundation: If your family has financial need and your child has been actively involved in community service, please check out this generous $2,500 scholarship!
• American Association of University Women: (AAUW) offers three $2,000 Scholarships to a graduating young woman 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 or email me.
• 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 for next year! 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