Campus Culture Committee
Acalanes Parent Club | February 2026
Upcoming Important Dates:
- February: Black Excellence Month
- Feb 17-Feb 27 Chinese New Year/ Lunar New Year
- Feb 17-Mar 19: Ramadan
đź’ś Welcome to February! đź’ś
As we step into February, we’re excited to celebrate a month rich in culture, history, and connection for our students and school community. February offers meaningful opportunities for learning, reflection, and celebration, honoring the diverse identities and experiences that make our campus vibrant.
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Throughout the month, students may engage in learning and activities connected to Black Excellence Month, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and themes of love, kindness, and friendship often associated with Valentine’s Day. These moments allow students to deepen their understanding of history, culture, and one another—while building empathy, pride, and belonging.
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We encourage families to continue these conversations at home and to celebrate the many traditions and stories represented in our community. Thank you for partnering with us to make February a month of inclusion, curiosity, and care for all students.
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Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora, initially lasting a week before becoming a month-long observation in 1970. Our school district recognizes it as Black Excellence Month to celebrate not only the history but the present excellence in the Black community. Students from the Black Student Union (BSU) will be holding events throughout the month. Please support them by encouraging your students to attend the club’s events, including the Feel the Glow Dance at the end of the month.
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BSU Dance: “Feel the Glow”
It's that time of year again for the AUHSD's District-wide BSU Dance. This year the event will be hosted by the Acalanes Black Student Union (BSU) in partnership with AHS Leadership Students on Friday, Feb 27, from 7:00pm-9:00pm in the Big Gym. The theme this year is FEEL THE GLOW (students are encouraged to wear neon colors). Along with black light dancing and an amazing DJ, there will be food, prizes, face paint, glow sticks, a place to hang out with friends, and much more! Tickets will be $10 and can be found on your school’s GoFan website. WE ARE EXCITED TO SEE YOUR STUDENTS THERE!!!!
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To help support this fun event, we are asking families to sign up to donate food, money, and/or your time. This event happens at little to no cost for the school. So please sign upHERE and help make this dance an amazing event for our students.
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Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 17th day of the year. It is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture.
 
SAVE THE DATE! LUNAR NEW YEAR POTUCK - WEDNESDAY, FEB 25
Campo DEIB parent club is planning a Lunar New Year potluck Feb 25 at 6:00pm. All district parents are welcome!
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đź“… Join Us Monthly!
CCC Meeting Schedule | 6:00–7:30 PM
- Feb 27– In-Person (6-7pm)
- Mar 16 – Virtual
- Apr 20 – In-Person (Final Meeting)
- May – No Meeting
📬 Stay Connected
If you’d like to get involved or learn more, please reach out:
📧 diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com
You Are Influential to Your Children and Your Community – Stand Up to Hate
In addition to producing events that help us connect, learn and grow, the DEI committee is also here to support parents. As we head into United Against Hate Week across Lamorinda, it feels like a good time to take a pause from our regular style of communication and acknowledge that the work is heavy and sometimes slow to yield results. We encourage you to keep going and to reach out if you need support. Try to approach equity work in a way that brings results, such as opening up a discussion with your kid(s). Our parent community is making a difference and our work is valuable.
Hate crimes occur right out in the open. Over the last few years, violent Anti-Asian hate crimes have been on the rise here and nationwide. Last month, Ye issued strong anti-seminitic statements that were intended to be divisive and harmful. These are just a few examples of hate speech and hate crimes taking place in our nation. In order to effectively fight structural racism and discrimination we have to have purposeful conversations with our communities and with our children. Did your family talk about what Ye said or discuss increased assaults on Asian Americans in our area? Perhaps your family talked about how those behaviors circulated on social media and maybe even how it showed up in your daily lives?
While often difficult to corral your kid for another “important” discussion (yep, we get the teen eye rolls, too) we feel it is vital that you make time to talk about discrimination and acts of hate this week. An easy way to open up a conversation might be to simply ask if your student knows that the City of Lafayette observes a United Against Hate Week. You don’t need to supply all the content – it isn’t a lecture, just start the discussion. Our kids are intelligent and thoughtful. You can be honest that you find these conversations challenging, deep, difficult, confusing, frustrating and fill in the blank. It is tough but ok to be in discomfort for a few minutes. Those sticky, tricky moments are where people may find the most growth.
We encourage you to keep building community and celebrating our individuality. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
About Campus Cultural Committee
The APC is committed to working with our Acalanes parent and student community as well as our staff and our school and district administration to promote a positive school climate at Acalanes that encourages a culture of inclusivity and belonging for all. It is not enough to denounce acts of racism, we must also work to challenge ourselves and our students to be anti-racist every day. The scope of this committee will encompass the full spectrum of diversity including gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and mental and physical ability.
OUR VISION
Our vision is a positive school climate in which all members of our school community feel welcome regardless of their differences and in which students feel empowered to enter the world as engaged and active global citizens.
OUR MISSION
We are dedicated to identifying, implementing, and supporting a strategic approach to building an empowered school community that celebrates diversity and actively opposes discrimination of race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of one’s identity.
OUR GOALS
- Create a safe and healing space for our school community to communicate with one another within the scope of DEI (social issues, identity, current events, school culture)
- Facilitate parent educational opportunities for DEI
- Support and promote cultural events organized by Acalanes and its students
- Partner with Acalanes and District Administration to support and advance school and district efforts
