Friday, Sept 17 from 8:45-10:00am Dons Dialogue with Principal Shawn The meeting will take place both in the Collaboration Center and over Zoom. We will hear updates from Principal Shawn about happenings on campus, a share out of the Student Belonging Assessment Data, get a Homecoming update from our Student Activities Director Katherine Walton, receive our monthly report from Student Leadership and more! Look for an email later this week with details and a Zoom link.
The first part of the meeting will be our APC General Meeting to approve our budget.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
APC in Action
Acalanes Community Always (ACA)
ACA IS BACK: Calling all Acalanes Alumni & Parents of Alums
One of the primary goals of ACA is to engage and better connect former students and their families to campus. An effort is underway to create an Acalanes Alumni Database that can be used to find ways to help former students remain active members of the ACA family after graduation. We invite all ages and classes of alumni to fill out the following Google form so you can be part of the lifelong ACA family. Click here to register.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Happy Yom Kippur!
Save the Date! Tuesday, Oct 12 at 7:00pmAUHSD’s DEI Book Club will be hosted by Miramonte High School. More info coming soon.
In case you missed it, the unstoppable Canadian tennis player Leylah Fernandez has defeated another US Open champion this week! Read how the US Open champions diversity, inclusion, and respect as its irreplaceable cornerstones.
September is Hunger Action Month, so it seems fitting to look at food insecurity right here in Contra Costa County. It turns out a staggering 40% of our children cannot access enough food every day, in part caused by food deserts — neighborhoods without enough access to fresh produce or other fresh, healthy foods. How did this happen? Read this blog on root causes to find out more.
Facts Corner
- 2020 saw a 6% increase in reported hate crimes, defined as “crimes directed against individuals because of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender or gender identity.” Although this represents the highest total in twelve years, the Anti-Defamation League reports this statistic is likely low. Learn more here.
Parent Education
How do we as parents help our teens become more technology-literate especially since they have so much access to it? What are the risks for our teens while on social media? The Social Dilemma can help you learn more about the risks. It is available for free in a variety of languages on YouTube until the end of the month.
You are invited to join Miramonte’s first parent education event of the year with JustineFonte, Monday, Sept 20 from 6:45-8:15pm via Zoom about the impact of the pornography industry on the sexual health of our students. The digital age brings a new level of complexity with regard to sexuality. How do we understand our bodies, behaviors, and beliefs about sex when they are heavily influenced by pornography and other explicit media content? Our youth are particularly vulnerable. How can we promote sex-positivity when pornography is the default sex ed for many teens? This session will examine these questions, equip parents to talk with their teen(s), and offer time for Q&A. Please click the link to register.
Feel free to reach out and connect with us with ideas for future topics, shareable resources, or thoughts: parented@acalanesparentsclub.com
JenniferFrom the Activities Director
2021-2022 Clubs
We had an amazing club day during academy this past Friday. Club meetings will begin this week. To see our 2021-2022 clubs, check out the spreadsheet.
The Student Support board is hosting a suicide awareness week from Sept 13-17 in honor of suicide awareness month. To begin the week, we are creating a mural with an inspirational quote where kids can imprint their hands on the poster with purple paint. On Tuesday we make purple friendship bracelets. On Wednesday, we have a struggling and grateful posters event where people can write what they are struggling with and what they are grateful for in the 300 wing. On Thursday, we hand out goodie bags with candy, purple masks and more. To end the week, we will wear purple to honor suicide awareness month.
Class Shirts, ASB Spirit Shirt & Spiritwear
If your student missed picking up their class shirt, ASB shirt or spiritwear, please encourage them to stop by room 314 during breaks.
Peek at the Week:
Homecoming 2021 – September 26 through October 2 – Let the Games Begin!
We have solidified Homecoming 2021-2022 and are so excited for it to begin! A couple highlights for our community and students to join in!
- Monday, Sept 20 – Friday, Oct 1 Canned Food Drive (class competition)
- Sunday, Sept 26 from 10am-3pm Hallway Decorating
- Wednesday, Sept 29 from 7:30-9:30pm Student Dodgeball
- Friday, Oct 1 during Academy Homecoming Rally
- Saturday, Oct 2 from 7-10pm ACA Homecoming! Encourage your student to join for an evening full of food, carnival games, tons of activities, and more. Tickets go on sale this week via the webstore. $25 with ASB; $55 without ASB.
Saturday, Oct 2 from 7-10pm Homecoming Event Chaperones Needed
We will host a homecoming event for our students on the football field. Although it won’t look the same as previous homecoming dances, we have a fun night planned with plenty of activities and games to keep the students engaged & having fun. In order to ensure a safe night, we are looking for 25 parent chaperones. Please view this sign up and consider signing up today! Thank you!
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
College & Career
SENIORS
- College Visits in the CCC
Seniors! All visits are held in the CCC. Tell your student to come by the CCC in the morning to pick up a pass. Sign up on Naviance or email dlevy@auhsdschools.org.
Monday:
- Merrimack College 9:30am
- Occidental College 10:15am
- Reed College (virtual)11:15am
- Soka University (virtual) 12:00pm
- Cal State Chico (virtual) 1:30pm
- Grand Canyon University 2:15pm
Tuesday:
- Oregon State University 8:00am
- University of Puget Sound 8:45am
- Kenyon College (virtual) 9:45am
- Louisiana State University (virtual) 12:00pm
- University of Delaware (virtual) 12:55pm
Wednesday:
- US Navy 10:15-11:15 Sign up on CCC Academy
Friday:
- College of the Holy Cross (virtual) 8:35am
- Boston College 9:20am
- Macalester College 11:25am
- Bucknell University (virtual) 12:55pm
- Hamilton College (virtual) 1:35pm
- Gonzaga University 2:20pm
JUNIORS
- Join a College Visit – Check out the VISITS above.
SOPHOMORES / FRESHMEN
- Volunteer and Work in the Community – Click here for some ideas to get you started. We will be visiting with all students this year to introduce them to Naviance and ways to expand their interests.
RESOURCES
Counseling
Counselor assignments are by last name.
A – Dr Anne Schonauer
Du-Kr Christine Todd
Ku-Rog Marissa Meadows
Roh-Z Susan Martin
Counselor Appointments
Counselors have begun their individual meetings with seniors this week to review graduation status and talk specifics about post-high school plans. Counselors will either pull students out of elective classes for a 15-20 minute meeting, and they will also offer 6th and 7th period meeting options either in person or via Google Meets. If students need to see their counselor for any reason, they can stop by anytime! If our door is open, come on in! If it’s closed, leave us a note or send us an email. We love talking/working with/helping your students!
Thursday, Sept 30 – CSF Applications Due
The CSF application period is now open! Juniors and seniors, especially, should apply. You can download a form here or pick up a blank one in the counseling office. Turn in completed forms to the counseling office and pay dues on the webstore by September 30. CSF is an honor society to recognize students with high academic achievement. Please read the application for more information.
School Nurse
Thursday, Sept 23 from 5:30 to 7pm Tobacco, Vaping, and Cannabis: Everything Adults Need to Know
Join the Contra Costa County Office of Education for this live webinar presentation, featuring local adult and youth experts. The event is free, but pre-registration is required. Register here.
REMINDERS
- Everyone wears a mask indoors 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 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.
QUICK LINKS
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
Sports
This week’s can’t miss events:
Girls golf
Monday, September 13 v. Northgate HS at Contra Costa CC at 3:30 pm.
Thursday, September 16 v. Las Lomas HS at Boundary Oak CC at 3:30 pm.
Girls tennis
Tuesday, September 14 hosts Campolindo HS at 4:00 pm.
Wednesday, September 15 v. Redwood HS at 4:00 pm. Varsity is home and JV is away.
Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19 in James Logan Invitational.
Girls volleyball
Thursday, September 16 host Pittsburg HS. Freshmen at 4:00 pm, JV at 5:00 and Varsity at 6:00 pm.
Girls water polo
Thursday, September 16 host Heritage HS. JV at 4:00 pm and Varsity at 5:00 pm.
Boys water polo
Thursday, September 16 host Heritage HS. Varsity at 6:00 pm and JV at 7:00 pm.
Football
Friday, September 17 host Damonte Ranch HS at 7:00 pm.
Cross country
Saturday, September 19 in the De La Salle Nike Invitational at Newhall Park.
Here are the Fall sports schedules (subject to change):
