DEI

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Black History/Excellence Month (February)
• Feb 6 AUHSD Parent/Caregiver Workshop Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth
• Feb 10-24 Lunar New Year
• Feb 19 Day of Remembrance
• Feb 23 BSU Dance at Miramonte

Miramonte’s BSU and leadership group are hosting a district-wide Mardi Gras dance for all students on Friday, Feb 23 from 7-9pm! Along with dancing and an awesome DJ, there will be food, a 360 open-air video booth, a place to hang out with friends, and an airbrush tattoo artist! Tickets will be $10 and can be purchased on GoFan here.
 
Do you have a recommendation or highlight to share about Black Excellence Month? Please chime in and we will do our best to share!
 
On Tuesday, Feb 6 from 6-7:30pm in the AHS library, the Contra Costa Office of Education Wellness in Schools Program will share more on how to support the LGBTQ Youth in your family and community. Learn about being an adult ally and how to create a culture of acceptance. Stay informed about common terminology. Learn about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Learn about the important role that families play in promoting well being for LGBTQ young people. Register here.
 
Please check out the new AUHSD DEIB website for many great resources and events! And follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Black History/Excellence Month (February)
• Feb 6 AUHSD Parent/Caregiver Workshop Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth
• Feb 10-24 Lunar New Year
• Feb 19 Day of Remembrance
• Feb 23 BSU Dance at Miramonte

Black History/Excellence Month is HERE and PARENTS we NEED your help. Please use this link to sign up to help us decorate a few doors around campus as we celebrate the achievements of Black Americans that have shaped our culture.
 
Black History/Excellence Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history. You can learn so much more here.
 
Do you have a recommendation or highlight to share about Black Excellence Month? Please chime in and we will do our best to share!
 
On Tuesday, Feb 6 from 6-7:30pm in the AHS library, the Contra Costa Office of Education Wellness in Schools Program will share more on how to support the LGBTQ Youth in your family and community. Learn about being an adult ally and how to create a culture of acceptance. Stay informed about common terminology. Learn about gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Learn about the important role that families play in promoting well being for LGBTQ young people. Register here.

And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Jan 25: Mahayana New Year
• Jan 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Mahayana New Year is celebrated this year on Thursday, Jan 25 by Buddhists around the world. The term Mahayana encompasses Buddhist ideologies and philosophies. Mahayana is one of the two main branches of Buddhism and is mostly practiced in Northeast Asia — China, Japan, Tibet, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Korea. Each region has its own customs and traditions for practicing Mahayana Buddhism. You can learn more about it here.
 
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is on Saturday, Jan 27 and commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the genocide of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945. Jan 27 was chosen to commemorate the date when the Auschwitz concentration camp wasliberated by the Red Army in 1945. Many countries have instituted their own Holocaustmemorial days on the same day, while others, such as Israel’s Yom HaShoah, are observed at other times of the year. There is more information available here.
 
As we approach February, we are supporting our students in celebrating Black Excellence month. They have requested parent assistance in decorating and informing Acalanes students and families about the many contributions of Black Americans in our world. If you would like to help please reach out to us at diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com.

And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Jan 15: Martin Luther King Jr Day
• Jan 16: National Day of Racial Healing
• Jan 25: Mahayana New Year
• Jan 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950s and ‘60s to achieve legal equality for African Americans in the United States. He is the only non-president to have a national holiday dedicated in his honor and is the only non-president memorialized on the Great Mall in the nation’s capital. He is also memorialized in hundreds of statues, parks, streets, squares, churches and other public facilities around the world as a leader whose teachings are increasingly relevant to the progress of humankind. Please learn more here.

As we approach February, we are supporting our students in celebrating Black Excellence month. They have requested parent assistance in decorating and informing Acalanes students and families about the many contributions of Black Americans in our world. If you would like to help please reach out to us at diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Jan 13: Korean American Day
• Jan 15: Martin Luther King Jr Day
• Jan 16: National Day of Racial Healing
• Jan 25: Mahayana New Year
• Jan 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The DEI committee hopes everyone had a wonderful break and is excited to learn more about one another in the new year! Please reach out if you have any suggestions for upcoming newsletter updates.
 
Korean American Day is on Jan 13 and commemorates the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States in 1903. The day also honors the Korean American’s immense contributions to every aspect of society.
 
Some exciting news for the upcoming school year…the AUHSD school board unanimously approved AP African American Studies as a course offering for 10th-12th graders starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The course is an accessible AP course, providing students with an in-depth look into African American history and culture. The course was piloted at schools across the US for two years and is now available to all interested schools. AHS teachers Bruno Moreland, James Munoz and Joe Schottland originally proposed the course, which was approved by all sites. For in depth information on the course and its framework, parents can view the 2024-2025 course at AP Central.AUHSD teachers who teach the course will be provided training from the College Board, which typically happens in the spring and summer. We are very excited about this new addition to our AUHSD course catalog!
 
If you’d like to be a part of the upcoming 2024 celebrations, such as Black Excellence Month and Lunar New Year, please contact the DEIB committee here. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Dec 25: Christmas
• Dec 26- Jan 8: Kwanzaa

December is a time set aside by many to celebrate a variety of traditions and enjoy time with family, friends and community. The APC DEI committee wishes you all a winter break filled with peace, love and yummy traditions.
 
Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities. You can learn more about it here.
 
Created in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga, Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates history, values, family, community and culture. The ideas and concepts of Kwanzaa are expressed in the Swahili language, one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa. There is much more to discover here.
 
If you’d like to be a part of the upcoming celebrations in 2024, such as Black Excellence Month and Lunar New Year, please contact the DEIB committee here. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Dec 10               Human Rights Day
• Dec 7-15            Hanukkah
• Dec 25               Christmas
• Dec 26- Jan 8    Kwanza

The month of December is a time set aside by many to celebrate a variety of traditions and enjoy time with family, friends and community. If you have some information you feel is important for the DEI committee to share about a celebration you partake in, please let us know. 
 
Hanukkah (Chanukah) is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. More information can be found here.

Contact the DEIB committee here. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Dec 10               Human Rights Day
• Dec 7-15            Hanukkah
• Dec 25               Christmas
• Dec 26- Jan 8    Kwanza

The month of December is a time set aside by many to celebrate a variety of traditions and enjoy time with family, friends and community. If you have some information you feel is important for the DEI committee to share about a celebration you partake in, please let us know. 
 
Hanukkah (Chanukah) is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods. The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. More information can be found here.
 
Dec 10, 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on Dec 10 1948 and set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Available in more than 500 languages, it is the most translated document in the world. You can read it and learn more about this special day here.

Contact the DEIB committee here. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates:

• Dec 3                 International Day of Persons with Disabilities
• Dec 10               Human Rights Day
• Dec 7-15            Hanukkah
• Dec 25               Christmas
• Dec 26- Jan 8    Kwanza

We hope you had a wonderful week off that included time spent with family and friends. The DEI committee is grateful for our school that strives to include ALL in Acalanes Community Always. Our goal is to ensure that we are not excluding anyone, so if you feel we have forgotten something or someone, please reach out. We will looking for help in the coming months to celebrate our many cultures and holidays.
 
Parents, please remind your students that Marge Grow-Eppard, a Miwok/Me-Wuk Tribal Elder of California will be visiting Acalanes on Friday, Dec 1 to talk with students during academy.
 
The annual observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in 1992 by United Nations General Assembly resolution 47/3. It aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. Please click here to learn more. You can also learn about The Curb–Cut Effect and how teachers, parents and leaders can change how they approach projects that benefit all of us in this wonderful YouTube video. 

Contact the DEIB committee here. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Upcoming Important Dates
November     Native American Heritage Month
Nov 12-18     United Against Hate Week
Nov 20          Transgender Day of Remembrance
 
As we move toward our season of gratitude, we would like to pay respect to the people who have lived on and stewarded the lands in and around Lafayette. These include the Ohlone, Miwok, Yokut, Karkin, Saklan, and at least four other tribes. If you would like to learn more about some of them through the eyes of East Bay Regional Parks, please click here. The Lafayette Library has also put together a book list to learn more as well. Click here for more information.

United Against Hate Week (Nov 12-18) is a call for local civic action to stop the hate and implicit biases that are a dangerous threat to the safety and civility of our neighborhoods, towns and cities. United Against Hate Week emerged from a United Against Hate poster campaign created by Bay Area cities in response to white supremacist rallies in Berkeley and San Francisco in 2017. The original 13 communities were convened in 2018 by Not In Our Town, a national anti-hate organization and partner in the LA vs Hate campaign, and committed to an annual week of action and awareness. Since inception, United Against Hate Week has spread to over 200+ communities. Learn more at www.unitedagainsthateweek.org.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. You can learn more and find out how to get involved here.