Archived Posts

Monday, Nov 8 through Wednesday, Nov 10 – Auditions for Beauty and the Beast Spring Musical
We are so excited to announce that auditions for our spring musical are here! We would love to invite everyone to participate, regardless of previous experience. Sign up for auditions right outside the choir room. Please go to www.ahsperformingarts.org for more details and direct questions to either Ms. Gibson or Mr. Meehan. We are looking forward to an excellent show!

Tuesday, Nov 16 at 7pm – Jazz Concert in AHS Performing Arts Center
The musical festivities continue in November with a Jazz Concert hosted by our renowned Acalanes High School Jazz Ensemble, led by Music Director Lauren Gibson. They will be joined by members of the Las Lomas High School Jazz Ensemble. Come and enjoy some fabulous music! Free admission, masks required.

Here are the Fall sports schedules (subject to change):

• Cross Country
• Football
• Girls Golf
• Girls Tennis
• Girls Volleyball
• Boys Water Polo
• Girls Water Polo

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.