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LPIE
The 2020/21 Annual Giving Campaign – In School or at Home
This year's Annual Giving Campaign is off to a strong start and we would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to our incredibly generous parent community.
Did you know that $900,000 of the Acalanes High School budget is funded by LPIE this year? These are essential dollars put to work every day during distance learning. Click here for more information about how LPIE supports every student and to make your donation today.
Laura-Kate Rurka & Jennifer Palmer
Acalanes LPIE School Chairs
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Legislative News
For up-to-date reliable information on school funding and the steps that are being taken to support our schools during this pandemic, www.edsource.org is a great resource. Here’s a selection of recent items:
- California Legislature approves state budget; here are the highlights for education funding
- COMMENTARY: Budget deferrals today could force schools into a $23 billion hole next year
- Some teachers unions, districts at odds over live distance learning instruction
- Education and the coronavirus crisis: What’s the latest?
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Performing & Visual Arts
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 Secretary
- APAB Publicity Chair
- APAB Parliamentarian
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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
Be sure to join us for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Forum on Race Tuesday, Aug 18 at 6:30pm. Visit the DEI section for details. Be sure to check back each week for more Parent Education events coming soon. -
School Nurse
I encourage all families to continue submitting all medical forms for the school year, including medication forms and immunization updates. All forms are posted on my Google Site (link below).
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
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Counseling
We hope our Dons are settling in and getting ready for our first week of Distance Learning starting tomorrow. As we mentioned last week, please note the slight adjustments to the counselor assignments. We had to adjust to make the distribution more even. We know it can be hard to shift, (hard for us, too!) but we hope this means better access for everyone. We will be posting links to calendars soon. In the meantime, email is the best way to reach us. Class Schedules The schedule change request form will be open until Friday, August 21. Students need to use their @auhsdschools.org to use the form. As always, the priority is fixing errors and everything is subject to space available. Students will be notified via email if there is a change. Please follow the schedule that is in Aeries. In the event that a change is made, Aeries is updated immediately. Canvas will update overnight. Students cannot start a new class after Monday, August 24. Students may still drop a class (depending on credits and remaining schedule) until the end of the first quarter. Counselor Assignments Student last names: A- Ed Anne Schonauer Ee-Kr Christine Todd Ku-Ros Marissa Meadows Rot-Z Susan Martin -
College & Career
Welcome Dons to your College and Career Center (CCC)! I am available for individual student meetings and would love to work with your Don. Students can sign up here. I will be hosting an academy on Wednesdays and Fridays for seniors to work together on college applications. I’ve also booked admissions rep visits for juniors and seniors so make sure your interested student checks Naviance and signs up to attend via Zoom on Mondays. We have so many events and resources to support our Dons! Tuesday, Aug 25 7pm Value Priced College Night Presented by Tim Lenahan, CPA. Stay tuned for registration and Zoom link. 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
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Wellness Center
We hope the first week was positive for your students. Like the entire Dons community, we have much to learn about new technologies and procedures. We’ve been busy connecting with students who’ve reached out, as well as developing content for upcoming events. We are planning brief visits to virtual classrooms that will take place over the next month. We'll introduce ourselves, wellness services and how to access them, and emphasize the need for students to prioritize their mental health. You can find our referral form here. And in the spirit of supporting the new habits and attitudes we must cultivate for distance learning, here is a video on neuroplasticity (our brain’s innate capacity to reorganize itself based on experience.) Our theme for this semester is “Try It On with Wellness” -- we hope you’ll join us in trying on new ways of doing things and new ways of living. Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist For updates and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness -
School Nurse
I want to wish a warm virtual welcome to all new and returning students and families.
While more information will be coming, I want to encourage all families to continue with submitting all medical forms for the school year, including medication forms and immunization updates. All forms are posted on my Google Site (link below).
Please get in touch with me for any questions, concerns, and/or requests.
I look forward to being in touch and connected!
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
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Wellness Center
Wellness is excited to get back to work in support of all of the Dons! We are training, planning, and anticipating needs. The most important thing that students and parents should know is that they can access the referral for services here. In the first few weeks we will be pushing into classrooms to connect. We are planning a variety of offerings that will proactively support mental health. Parent education workshops are in development and coming soon. Social-emotional learning student modules will be developed. Happy start of the school year! Please follow us on Instagram. Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist Follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness -
Counseling
Welcome back Dons family! Counselors miss our students and will be excited to see you online. Please note the slight adjustments to the counselor assignments. We had to adjust to make the distribution more even. We know it can be hard to shift, (hard for us, too!) but we hope this means better access for everyone. We will be posting links to calendars soon. In the meantime, email is the best way to reach us. Class Schedules Please go to the schedule that is in Aeries unless notified of a change. The first four days of school will be focused on school-wide curriculum presented in Academy cohorts. Schedule change requests will re-open on August 12. As always, the priority is fixing errors and everything is subject to space available. Student last names: A- Ed Anne Schonauer Ee-Kr Christine Todd Ku-Ros Marissa Meadows Rot-Z Susan Martin -
College & Career
Welcome new and returning Dons! I’m Wendy Reicher from the College & Career Center (CCC) and I look forward to helping our students plan their course for the future. Stay tuned in to the newsletter for more CCC information and events. In the meanwhile, be sure to visit the resource pages below. Go Dons!- CCC Website
- Follow us on Instagram: @acalanesccc
- Facebook Page for Students Have your senior or junior join the College and Career Student FB page
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Co-Presidents’ Message
What an incredible week! Though it hasn’t been a typical Dons Day experience with the whole campus coming together at the same time, it has been so wonderful to connect in small groups and see each other in person. We’ve had the privilege of welcoming our Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores to campus so far and we cannot wait to meet our Freshmen tomorrow for their big welcome!
None of this could happen without our incredible parent volunteers, and we are so grateful for you all. A monumental amount of work went into this year’s Dons Days, thanks to our Dons Day Chairs Meredith Meade and Mary Beth Towery, and our VP Services Veronique Kuhner. We appreciate the care they took in making these the safest, and most efficient and spirited Dons Days we could ask for. To the Dons Day volunteers, some of whom worked multiple shifts, to Pancoast Pizza who generously donated lunches for the all-day team, and to the parents and students who graciously accommodated the new schedule, we give a big thank you!
And now, on to the start of school! We have so much happening this year! We are excited to work with our administration to expand the Community Can’t Be Canceled campaign that was started last spring into “ACA” - Acalanes Community Always; a long-term commitment to remaining connected to each other, and to integrating Acalanes High School into the greater Lafayette community. More information about this campaign can be found in the ACA section below.
Additionally, our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team has been working all summer with school and District administration toward Acalanes’ commitment to being an antiracist school. This incredibly important work includes facilitating a Parent Forum on Race, featuring Dr. Lori Watson and Principal Bell next Tuesday, August 18. Read more about this committee in the DEI section below and on our website.
All of this work is possible because of the generosity you show us each year. If you haven’t yet donated to APC, we hope that you consider doing so in whatever way is meaningful to your family.
Finally, we hope to (virtually) see you all at our first Dons Dialogue on Friday, August 14. These monthly events offer parents the opportunity to hear directly from administration on relevant topics. With the shift to a new learning management system and a full distance learning model this year, this will undoubtedly be an informative and helpful discussion. Details and registration link are in the section below.
APC In Action
Social Media
