Weekly News & Announcements

Wellness Center

We always want to practice what we preach and so this past week, we were “Trying On” lots of new things. Here’s one of the things that we’ve never done before that worked really well: a lunchtime community conversation where students opted in to engage in dialogue with each other around racism. We used the four agreements and the compass (believing/thinking/feeling/acting) from the equity curriculum the students have been learning. These tools really benefited the conversation and the participants. At the close, we tried on connecting to our emotions and the feelings in our body--how it felt to talk about painful things and how it felt to do so with a new community. Here are some of the words shared by our 60 attendees in the chat box as they exited: enlightened, safe, comfortable, respect. We learned a lot about how much students want to engage with each other and how badly they want all students at AHS to feel welcome and included. There’s an amount of fear that always accompanies trying new things but when you push through that fear, there can be wonderful things on the other side. 

Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

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

College & Career

Please have students check their AUHSD gmail accounts for communications from the CCC. Students can book an individual meeting with me here. 

Admissions Reps Virtual Visits This Coming Monday
Please encourage your student to sign up in Naviance for the following schools this week: Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Lafayette College, UOP, Pitt, Loyola Chicago, Drexel, Vanderbilt, USF.

Tuesday, Sept 1 from 7-8pm - Navigating the College Admissions & Testing Landscape
Tried & True’s College Night presentation helps families learn how best to navigate standardized testing for the college admissions process. This informative hour covers topics including differences between the PSAT, SAT and ACT, how test scores are weighted in the admissions process, understanding the impact of Coronavirus on admissions and testing, and much more. Interested Freshmen, Sophomore and Junior families, register in advance and receive your login credentials here. 

Tuesday, Sept 8 at 7pm - Class of 2021 College Resources Presentation
Hear from your parent Senior Liaisons about important information as well as a college planning presentation by Wendy Reicher and Counselor Anne Schonauer. Watch for a Zoom link sent via email; students and families need to sign in using their student’s AUHSD gmail.

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 

Always feel free to contact me with questions:  wreicher@auhsdschools.org

Wendy Reicher

Counseling

Attention Seniors
Counselors sent Seniors a link to sign up for an appointment. On Tuesday, September 8 at 7pm, Counselors and Ms. Reicher will discuss the college application process and resources.

Transcripts
For Seniors ordering transcripts for college applications, we will start processing those around September 15. We are updating the school profile information. To request a transcript, have your list of colleges updated on Naviance and pay the $5 fee for official transcripts on the webstore. Mrs. Finn, the registrar, will process requests. If you absolutely need an official transcript before then, contact Mrs. Finn. Students can review unofficial transcripts in Aeries.

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. 

Counselor Assignments Student last names:

School Nurse

Is it COVID-19, the Flu, a Cold, Allergies or Asthma?

August is Immunization Week! 
School Immunization Requirements are still in place. Please check in with your local pediatrician’s office, Primary Care Provider, or our County Health Department (call 925-313-6767 for additional hours through September).

Beginning in October, please have everyone in your family get a Flu vaccine. We all want to stay as healthy as possible, individually and collectively as a community. Reduced illness from flu will also ease the burden of illness from Covid in our hospital facilities.

Medical Forms and Medications at School
Please turn in any relevant medical forms your student might need for the 2020-21 school year. Those forms should be dated no earlier than June 2020. You can access forms here.

Still on Quarantine! Transitioning Back to School Routine After Summer Break

Please get in touch with me with any questions, concerns, and/or requests. I look forward to being in touch and connected!

Dvora Citron, RN, MS
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site

Performing & Visual Arts

The APAB Board is still seeking New Board Members
If you have a passion for the arts, join us today! APAB has the following Board openings:

• VP Choral (must have student in Choral to hold this role)
• APAB Publicity Chair
• APAB Parliamentarian

Contact APAB President, Debra Bussey, if you’re interested in one of these positions or any other performing arts volunteer opportunities.

Debra Bussey

Acalanes Performing Arts

Legislative News

For reliable information on education legislation, school funding, and distance learning, www.edsource.org is a great resource. If you have questions about the basic structure of school funding, www.ed100.org is also very useful.  

LPIE

AHS families are invited to join LPIE's monthly board meeting Tuesday, September 1st, 9:00am, Zoom Link Here

Did you miss the LPIE Back to School Night video? Please take 90 seconds to learn about why LPIE exists in Lafayette and be part of the solution by participating in our annual giving campaign - Check out our video here

Laura-Kate Rurka & Jennifer Palmer
Acalanes LPIE School Chairs

www.lpie.org

Sports

Athletic Clearances
Use this down time to fill out athletic clearance paperwork for your student athlete. Forms can be found here. Fill them out with your pediatrician, then email Randy Takahashi for further instruction.

acalanesboosters.com

General Announcements

Textbook Return & Pickup AHS is still missing hundreds of unreturned textbooks and novels and our Dons need them for this academic year. If your student has outstanding materials, please drop them off as soon as possible outside the AHS Library. For students who still need textbooks and novels for this year, the Library will be open as follows this week: Monday, Aug 24 from 10am-12pm and 1-3pm Tuesday, Aug 25 from 1-3:30pm Thursday, Aug 27 from 1-3:30pm Missed Back To School Night? Watch the welcome video here. Individual teacher videos will be available on Canvas this week. Updated APC Volunteer Service Awards Updated program guidelines and forms will be released shortly as a result of limitations on volunteer work due to Covid. Once you have reviewed the new guidelines, please email us if you have any questions about qualifying hours or opportunities. Acalanes Attendance Procedures All absences, including full school day, late zoom arrivals and early zoom departures need to be called in at 925-280-3973. Remember, it is the responsibility of parents to call the message recorder for each and every student absence including dental and medical appointments. All absences not cleared within 48-hours are turned into cuts. For your convenience, the AHS message recorder is available 24-hours a day. Please bookmark and refer to the AHS website for detailed instructions and additional information.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

21 Week Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge Join us for the next 21 weeks as we build habits supporting racial equity. Each week, we will suggest one article or activity which will help you become more educated and thoughtful in this area.  Week 1 of 21: Read Nikole Hannah-Jones, America Wasn’t a Democracy, Until Black Americans Made It One, The New York Times (Aug. 14, 2019). Did you miss our Forum on Race? Watch it here. We are so grateful to those who joined us and tried it on. Tuesday, Sept 1 at 6pm A Virtual Conversation with Dr. Jane Elliott Register to join Campolindo BSU President Amia Bonilla for this virtual discussion on issues of race within our educational and community environments. Space is limited! Tuesday, Sept 22 at 6:30pm Teacher-moderated Book Club: How To Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi The book, a NYTimes Bestseller, brings a "groundbreaking" approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society -- and in ourselves. Copies are available at Orinda Books, and a portion of each sale will be donated to the Center for Antiracism Research. Stay tuned for registration and participation details.

Membership & Fundraising

We are grateful for our APC donations and participation to date! If you haven’t had a chance to contribute yet, we’d love to count you in. Your donations are vital to our ability to fund our initiatives - well underway in Distance Learning - like Peer Tutoring, Staff Development and outdoor classroom furnishings. Click here to join our efforts. If you have any questions, please contact VP Fundraising Kelly Daggs.

If you’re looking for a way to show some spirit at home, consider purchasing an Acalanes Flag to fly outside or to decorate your student’s room. Order today on the webstore!

Campus News

Class Shirts and Yearbooks
During the first and second week of September, we will be passing out class shirts and yearbooks to those who ordered them. Stay tuned for exact dates and times!

Spirit Wear
If you missed ordering spirit wear, the webstore is back open until September 7th! Any items purchased will be shipped to your house. 

Clubs
Although we are beginning the year on distance learning, we want to get our clubs up and running! Any student can start a club and the process will be digital this year. Club Applications are available here, due by September 3rd. Within the registration form are all the guidelines and FAQ about clubs. We have a lunch meeting this Wednesday to go over the registration process for clubs, things to expect with virtual clubs and more. Please encourage your student to attend if they are interested in starting a club. Students will receive the Zoom link via Canvas on Monday.

Tuesday, Aug 25 at Lunch Meet n Greet with Admin
Join us for a Meet n Greet and Q & A with our Admin team. It will be held over Zoom where students will get to know our three administrators and ask any questions about the year or problem solve. Zoom link will be sent out via Canvas on Monday. 

Missed the virtual rally on Friday?
Watch it now!

Getting Connected
We will advertise any and all student activities and opportunities via the Acalanes home page, through Canvas and through social media. If you or your student are on social media, I would encourage you to follow @ahs_dons on Instagram! In addition, each class runs their own instagram account (see class updates above). 

New Student Support
We are committed to supporting our new students and welcoming them into our Acalanes family. Please see the Freshmen class update above for social opportunities throughout the next few weeks. In addition, we will be hosting opt-in workshops during “lunch” throughout the first month of school. We will go over time management, how to get involved, best strategies for distance learning, Canvas Q&A, and more. Schedule will be in this APC newsletter and on our home page. 

ASB Card Support
Thank you to all who purchased ASB cards. The money directly funds student activities throughout the year AND gives your student discounts throughout the community. Look for stickers in business windows then show a student ID card to receive the discount. Thank you to the Lafayette businesses for supporting Acalanes!

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

Try It On With Wellness At the most recent Dons Dialogue, we announced our theme for the first quarter-- “Try It On with Wellness.” Trying on new ways of thinking, living, and doing is key to thriving in an environment where there are so many uncertainties. Adapting, evaluating, and adjusting are necessary not only to success but to wellbeing. We also talked about the five core competencies of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). The first competency is self-awareness, the skill of listening to ourselves. When we are truly self-aware, we recognize our emotions, our assets and deficits, and rights and responsibilities, and respond to that information. As students get up to speed on Canvas, Zoom learning, and all their course work, they will have to “try on” so many new things! Our tip for this week is to share with your student how YOU adapt, evaluate and adjust to meet the challenges you’re facing. Wednesday, Aug 26 from 6-8 pm Parenting Teenagers During Covid Register here for this presentation sponsored by Wellness and the district. This is one in a series of parent/guardian education events, so keep an eye out for future conversations!  Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist For updates, tips and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness