SUMMER JAPAN TRIP
Acalanes staff are taking students on a trip to Japan this summer. Students from any grade and any of the four high schools can attend! The only requirement is an interest in travel! This trip has a little bit of everything — ancient/historical sites, awe-inspiring locations, amazing food, and a once-in-a-lifetime bonding experience with your Lamorinda peers. Send your student on the trip of a lifetime where they become a global citizen who values travel and exploration.
For anyone interested in going on the trip to Japan this summer, please follow this link to preview the trip and to register: June 2025 – Japan.
And check out our Instagram page to see photos from the last two summers! acalanes_travels
If you have any questions please reach out to Erin Barth or Tina Gullberg. This is not a school-sponsored trip.


I’m excited to serve alongside Lori MacLeod as an LPIE co-chair this year. Like my partner Lori, I too have been a parent in the Lafayette school district for over a decade. My oldest graduated from Acalanes last year and is now off at college, and my second son is a sophomore here. Like many of you, my husband and I moved to Lafayette for the green hills and great public schools. We were surprised to learn that Lafayette receives the LOWEST per pupil funding of any district in the state and that our public schools would not be what they are today without the ongoing financial support of LPIE. When my sons were at Springhill Elementary and Stanley, I, along with many other parents, volunteered in the classrooms and at LPIE sponsored events, chairing the Springhill Science Fair and later the districtwide Read-a-Thon. As we tacked LPIE art projects on the wall, listened to trumpet practice, and watched our kids grow crystals for the Science Fair, we had near constant reminders of how LPIE funding was enriching the lives of our young students. The transition to high school brings a welcome independence for our kids but also less visibility into exactly how and where LPIE impacts their education. A quick check of Canvas doesn’t tell you that LPIE has purchased one microscope for every student in your student’s Living Earth class (just down the road,1 microscope is shared by 3 students!). When you sign a field trip permission slip, you may not be aware that LPIE has funded the transportation to San Francisco and back. When your student is weighing whether to take Physics or AP African American History, you can thank LPIE that such a diverse selection of classes exists at Acalanes. As Lori so aptly put it, there is virtually no space at Acalanes that LPIE has not touched. I’m proud of the hours and dollars I have given to this Lafayette institution. It’s simply the best investment I could have made for my child’s education and for this community I love.

DramaDons present William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in a magical forest, the play weaves a tale of love, mischief, and transformation, where fairies meddle, lovers become entangled, and reality blurs with fantasy.