News & Announcements

APC Fall Grants Awarded
We are pleased to announce two grants have been awarded to Science and Mathematics and Special Education. The two awarded grants will fund pilot programs that may become more widely adopted by teachers beyond our current school year: 

• Problem Attic, a tool to be used to garner deeper assessment data and comprehension checks for students in science and mathematics. A total of 23 teachers will pilot the program in their classrooms. 
• Study.com, an online intervention program which will serve mild to moderate special education students. It will provide modular, on-demand content and short teaching videos to help students access curriculum. It will also provide assessment data for teachers who create the individualized learning plans.

Thank you to our APC community, as your donations help fund our grant program.

Hot Lunch Volunteers
Thank you to our parents who have signed up and volunteered to help with our free hot lunch program. Unfortunately, we are receiving shift deletions the morning of which is leaving our administration and cafeteria staff short-handed.  We understand emergencies arise so please try your best to reach out to another parent who can fill your slot. If not possible, contact Caroline Volk cvolk@auhsdschools.org or Rebecca Ward rward@auhsdschools.org to notify them of your absence. 

There are still slots to be filled so please do sign up here if you are able to help any day of the week, 12:45pm to 1:15pm. Thank you for your help!

ACA Moments are Contagious!
A BIG thank you to all the students and Acalanes family members who showed up to the Fall Clean Up to help campus shine yesterday. There was so much positive energy of students giving back to school and showing their support of the Acalanes custodial team who work so hard everyday.

Question: What holiday uses marigolds, monarch butterflies, and sugar skulls as symbols of its celebration?  If you guessed Dia de los Muertos, then you are correct! Celebrated around Halloween, it may surprise you that Day of the Dead is a celebration of life, not death. Ancient cultures like the Aztecs and Mayans believed that new life sprang from death, similar to nature’s cycles. Placing offerings on a temporary altar along with pictures of the deceased is a way for many families, typically from Mexico and Central America to honor loved ones that have passed.

Also celebrated this time of year is Diwali, which is the “festival of lights” and is a five-day celebration that begins in the early Fall after summer harvest and coincides with the longest night of the year. It is widely celebrated by Indians around the world and is an official holiday in Fiji, Guyana, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Trinidad, Jamaica as well as in India. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, and signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. Celebrants perform ceremonies, decorate and light up their homes and workplaces, enjoy fireworks, partake in family feasts and exchange gifts and sweets.

Facts Corner:
Deb Haaland recently made history when she was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior, making her the first Native cabinet secretary in US history. The agency manages over 500 million acres of public land, much of which was once seized from indigenous people. It also houses the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which services the 574 federally recognized Native tribes, as well as the 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in the country.

Every child wants to succeed. Every child wants to have a good relationship with others.  Every child wants to have a sense of belonging and significance. When we remember this, we will give misbehaving children the benefit of the doubt. Instead of assuming they want to be difficult, we will assume they want positive results and are simply confused about how to achieve them. -Jane Nelsen

In case you missed Dr. Michael Bradley’s talk, Yes, Your Teen is Crazy! Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind, here is a recording. He also provided handouts: The 7 C’s of Resilience Building with Teenagers, English version and Spanish version, and The Ten Tenets of Parenting, English version and Spanish version.

Tuesday, Nov 16th at 7pm via Zoom MVLA Parent Speaker Series is hosting Colin Seale -The Question is the Answer. Practical Strategies to Unleash Critical Thinking At Home. Mr. Seal is an educator, attorney, and author of Thinking Like a Lawyer. He will share powerful, yet practical tools to equip parents to foster and engage critical thinking in their children. Not only for them to more fully understand the way that the world is, but to learn to question it and imagine the way the world ought to be. Registration link for this free event is here.

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

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

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