Weekly News & Announcements

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

ACA STRONG IN 2021!
While students may not yet be back on campus, efforts are still actively underway to show our ACA Strong spirit in various ways. Be on the lookout for more information regarding how to get Acalanes students, families, alumni, and community members reengaged. Welcome back!

Have any Extra Blue or White Holiday Lights?
Team ACA is looking for donations of blue & white holiday lights for a campus project in January. Maybe you’ve switched to LEDs and don’t know what to do with your old lights? You can now donate them to Acalanes. Or, if you bought too many holiday lights and don’t need them, we’d love to take them off your hands! Email aca@acalanesparentsclub.com if you have lights to donate and they will happily be picked up off your doorstep.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

Week SEVENTEEN in the Challenge to Build Habits Supporting Racial Equity
Happy New Year! If you are interested in joining our group, email us! We need you and we welcome you! It will take all of us to join in, educate ourselves, and start the crucial work to create racial equity. As part of your commitment to this important work, we invite you to join us for these upcoming DEI events. 

Tuesday Jan 19 from 7-8:30pm, Dr. Lori Watson Racial Equity Series: Biases, Beliefs, Consciousness
Join us for the remaining sessions of Dr. Lori Watson’s insightful seminar series on Racial Equity. If you haven’t already registered, sign up here. 

“I truly appreciate these important workshops. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to come together with other parents and create a space where I can develop a deeper understanding of my role in creating an anti-racist community. Initially, I was both nervous and curious about the content and framework. I appreciate everyone giving each other a little grace in this personal process. Each session helps me build and practice the skills I need to have open, honest conversations on racism. It is not easy but it is necessary.”

--Teli T., Acalanes parent

The remaining dates for this series are:

• February 9 “Whiteness”
• March 3 “Children and Race” 
• May 6 “Disrupting Racism/Co-Conspiratorship” 

Thursday Feb 4, 6:30 - 8 pm - DEI Book Club
We are reading the critically-acclaimed novel Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Order your copy from Orinda Books and sign up here for the next discussion. 

Save the Date! Tuesday Feb 23 - Speaker Event with Arshay Cooper 
Plan to join us for an evening with Arshay Cooper, the author of the powerful memoir “A Most Beautiful Thing,” about the first U.S. all Black rowing team. If you didn’t have a chance to read the book over winter break, it can be purchased from Orinda Books. The book was also adapted into a film, which is available on Amazon Prime or Xfinity. And, the Acalanes community will have the opportunity to watch the film adaptation in an exclusive Acalanes screening event! More details coming soon!

We encourage you to take a survey developed by CMERA (Committee for Multicultural and Educational Reform at AUHSD) and Grassroots Law Project (GLP). Grassroots Law Project AUHSD aims to bridge the gap between grassroots organizing and legal expertise in criminal justice reform. Working with CMERA, the group is campaigning to make the school curriculum more accurately diverse. 

• Curriculum survey for AUHSD students
• Curriculum survey for AUHSD parents

To get involved with GLP AUHSD, fill out this Google Form. Check them out on Instagram: GLP and CMERA 

What reflects culture more than food does? Email us your recipes and ideas. We want to honor everyone’s culture and share with this group!  

To join us, or if you want more information or have questions, email us! Stay current by visiting our webpage, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

LPIE

Welcome to 2021!

We Hope You Listened to Your LPIE Donations at Work!
LPIE supports Instrumental Music, Choral and Drama performing arts, plus visual arts at Acalanes. The Winter Performances helped kick off winter break - if you missed any of them please check out LPIE’s social media site or find links here.

LPIE's Community Campaign Podcast
Take a walk down memory lane with long-time residents, Mary McCosker and Kelly Daggs, as they dive into the history behind LPIE. Mary and Kelly take the listener back 40 years, to what started as a response to budget cuts in music and the arts, and has grown into a significant partnership with the two Lafayette school districts. Episode 6 reminds us why we all choose to move here: "Green Hills, Great Schools." When you live in Lafayette, you truly understand what community means. Click  to listen.

Laura-Kate Rurka & Jennifer Palmer
Acalanes LPIE School Chairs

www.lpie.org

From the Activities Director

2021!
We are here and we are ready to kick off 2nd semester with lots of programming. Look for more updates next week as we restart & get up and running. 

2020-2021 Clubs
Club meetings continue. Check out our 45 clubs!

If I can ever do anything to help you or your student, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

Wellness Center

Everyone who endured the pandemic has much to be proud of and that goes for students especially. Adolescence is a critical stage that requires so much in the way of social development. And while they may not have had the developmental opportunities we wanted for them, we assure you that each and every student was rising to meet incredible challenges. As the new year begins, it is critical that there be a period of reflection on 2020 to help inform 2021. We created the Wellness Review (a list of 20 questions about 2020) for students to use a reflection tool. Research shows that self-reflecting not only embeds learning, it also creates a foundation for future learning. As your student begins second semester knowing that the vaccine is on the horizon, we really can say with confidence that the pandemic will end. Let’s make sure they take the opportunity to look at 2020 with an assets-based lens, rather than a deficit one so they can enter the new year with resilience and a commitment to take care of their bodies, hearts and minds.

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

For updates, tips and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness

College & Career

How to Order Transcripts
If you are applying for anything that requires a transcript, use this link for instructions.

How to Log On to Naviance
The holiday break is a great time to investigate Naviance and all the tools this incredible service offers.

For Juniors: Upcoming College Planning Academy Sessions
Students use Ms. Reicher’s Zoom link to attend. 

• Wednesday, Jan 13: Things to Do
• Wednesday, Jan 20: About Me/Personal Assessments
• Wednesday, Jan 27: Building Your List

Scholarships!!!

• Taco Bell Foundation - Students who are passionate changemakers.  Submission is a two min video on how they plan to use their passion to change the world. Juniors can apply too and defer funds! Due by Jan 20, 2021.
• Assistance League of Diablo Valley Scholarships - This philanthropic program of Assistance League Diablo Valley aids students with college expenses based upon their need, school/community activities, and grade point average. Applicants must be residents of Contra Costa County, California.
• AAUW Scholarship - $2000 awarded to a Senior woman who demonstrates a sustained commitment to community service as well as a grade point average of at least 3.0. Apply now!

One-on-One Appointments
Students can book an individual meeting with Ms. Reicher here. Please encourage your student to take advantage regardless of where they are in the process.

Helpful Links:

• Career Exploration
• Alternatives after High School
• Fall CCC Newsletter for updates!

Freshman College Planning
Sophomore College Planning
Junior College Planning
Senior Checklist

• CCC Website 
• Follow us on Instagram: @acalanesccc
• Facebook Page for Students Have your senior or junior join the College and Career Student FB page 

Keep up the good work! 
Wendy Reicher/College and Career Advisor: wreicher@auhsdschools.org

Counseling

End of First Semester Transcripts
Mid-year reports with first semester grades will be available the second week of January.

Counselor Appointments
We love talking to our students! Email is the best way to reach us. Counselors have appointment slots for students and will email them a link for signing up. We are trying to reserve the limited slots outside of class time for students. Parents can schedule a time when students are in class. 

A- Ed  Anne Schonauer
Ee-Kr  Christine Todd
Ku-Ros  Marissa Meadows
Rot-Z  Susan Martin

Legislative News

While our school district moves ahead with comprehensive plans for a return to in-person instruction using a hybrid learning model, other districts around the state have not been able to agree to do so. Now a group of state legislators, including Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, have proposed a bill requiring every school district to physically return to school in stages once that district has returned to the red tier. The bill is particularly focused on the huge numbers of English learners and low-income, foster, and homeless students who have fallen behind during distance learning. California Assembly leaders press for all districts to resume in-school teaching in the spring.

Parent Education

Tuesday, Jan 12 at 7pm - Challenge Success presents “A Healthy Approach to College Admissions”
The college admissions process can be a source of stress and anxiety for students and parents alike. This research-based workshop addresses many of the important questions we hear from families. What do college rankings really measure? Are students who attend more selective colleges better off later in life? What is “fit” and why does it matter? Participants will learn practical strategies to help reduce unnecessary pressure around the college admissions process and ways to support their student’s overall well-being and readiness for life in college and beyond. Stay tuned for more information and registration details.

School Nurse

Medical Documentation for Students
We still need updated medical documentation for your student, especially if they will be participating in the Hybrid Model. Does your student need medication available at school? Does  your student have updated medical issues/health issues? Do they have a new immunization record? Parents, please make sure you turn in any pertinent medical forms for your students for this school year, especially if your students will be in the Hybrid Model. See this page on my website and let me know if you have any questions.

PTG (Posttraumatic Growth): Using Challenge To Cultivate Resilience
During this pandemic, we are ALL experiencing trauma, grief, and loss, individually and collectively, and that cannot and should not be minimized in any way. This, undoubtedly, is going to be the hardest holiday season that most of us have ever experienced. But I want to encourage everyone to look for opportunities for growth and resilience. We can set an intention to practice anchoring ourselves in core values that support health and wellness, including gratitude, self-care, and generosity (to name a few). Try visualizing those values as “eyeglasses” that you put on (ex: now I am putting on my gratitude glasses. What does my perspective look like from here?).

In anticipation of the opportunity to return to our school sites to some degree in January, I implore you and your families to be vigilant about staying healthy and taking whatever precautions you can to prevent the spread of Covid in your households and families, and in our community. Our school district is working hard to create a protocol to promote safety and health on our school sites and in our school community. We need to be cohesive partners in working together to promote health and safety in our community.  Thank you for your commitment!

Be Covid Proactive!
See update on my google site. Stay healthy by keeping this symptom checklist in mind.

Improve Mental Health
Cook meals together as a family! It doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as easy as arranging a fruit platter or putting a salad together.

This is a perfect opportunity with the upcoming holidays and our plans to STAY HOME. There are so many benefits!

Happy Healthy Holidays to all!
Dvora Citron, RN, MS

Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
dcitron@auhsdschools.org
IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

Performing & Visual Arts

ICYMI: Performing Arts Events
Visit the Performing Arts website to replay end-of-year winter events from Choral Music, Instrumental Bands and the DramaDons. Enjoy the shows!

General Announcements

APC Newsletter Schedule
This is the last issue of the year. Our next edition will publish on Sunday, January 3, just before students head back to class. Happy New Year!

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

Shop Local For Take-Out/Delivery Meals & Gifts During the Holidays
Help our awesome Lafayette business community and restaurant owners during this challenging economic time by shopping local and getting take-out/delivery from Lafayette restaurants! Many of these businesses regularly give back to our ACA community! A bonus is that sales tax from your purchases will be funneled back into our local economy. Visit here for more ways to support Lafayette businesses.  

Questions, comments or feedback, email aca@acalanesparentsclub.com.