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Sports
*The game schedule below reflects dates and times as of last Friday. Games may change for several reasons, including weather. If you have questions or comments, please contact Acalanes Sports Boosters.
This week’s can’t miss events:
Girls golf
Monday, Sep 9 v. Las Lomas HS and Miramonte HS at Contra Costa CC at 3:30pm.
Boys water polo
Tuesday, Sep 10 host Encinal HS. Varsity at 6pm and JV at 7pm.
Thursday, Sep 12 Varsity host Pinole Valley HS at 5pm.
Friday, Sep 13 host California HS. JV at 4pm and Varsity at 5pm.
Football
Thursday, Sep 12 Freshmen host California HS at 5pm.
Friday, Sep 13 Varsity host Galena HS, Reno at 7pm and JV host St. Ignatius HS at 4:30pm.
Girls volleyball
Saturday, Sep 14 host the Acalanes Invitational.
Girls water polo
Saturday, Sep 14 v. St. Ignatius HS at City College, San Francisco. Varsity at 11am and JV at 12pm.
Cross country
Saturday, Sep 14 Viking Opener Invitational at Spring Lake Regional Park, Santa Rosa.
You may view the full 2024-2025 Athletic Schedule by clicking HERE.
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APC in Action
Peer Tutoring is Open!
We welcome Bill Powers as our new Co-Director, who joins Angela Ketcham, along with another outstanding Peer Tutoring staff!
Peer Tutoring aims to better the educational, social and emotional well-being of all Acalanes High School students and support them in developing the skills necessary to succeed in academics and life post high school.
We are open and ready to welcome students in Room 107. Students can drop in to receive help from junior and senior student tutors in any AHS academic subject, or just come in to do homework, read or study.
We are thankful to the Acalanes Parents Club for continuing to fully fund and support this program.
Hours of operation: Everyday @ lunch, Monday & Wednesday @ Academy, 7th period, and every day after school for 1 hour after the last school bell rings.
Stay Connected: Follow the Acalanes Parents Club on Instagram to keep up to date on what's happening at Acalanes and reminders for important dates. Please reach out to APC here with any questions. -
APC Membership & Fundraising
You can still donate to Acalanes Parents Club! Your donation goes directly to AHS and supports important programs that greatly benefit all Acalanes students and staff. These programs include:
- Peer Tutoring
- College & Career Services
- Campus Enhancements
- Parent Education
- Staff & Teacher Development
- Communications
- Grant Programs
- Volunteer Opportunities
- And more . . .
If you haven’t had a chance to donate, please consider doing so here. The suggested donation is $350, but any amount is welcome and greatly appreciated.
Every donor receives a new APC tote! If you did not have a chance to get your tote at Dons Day or Back to School Night, please reach out to cdaughters@yahoo.com and we can make sure you get one.
Also, all APC members will receive a link to the online AHS student/family directory in the next few weeks.
Another important source of funds is making your donations go twice as far with Corporate Matching. Please check if your company has a matching program and, if so, please contact corpmatch@acalanesparentsclub.com for further information.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! -
Acalanes Community Always (ACA)
Registration is NOW OPEN for the Lafayette Res Run for Education!
Run/walk downtown Lafayette in the 2-mile fun run/walk or 5k, or strive for your best 10k time, which includes going around the Lafayette Reservoir on race day, Sunday, Oct 20. There is also a virtual option around the paved trail of the reservoir from Oct 12-19.
Lafayette's public schools are beneficiaries of this event, with 15% percent of each registration going back to Acalanes - so be sure to choose Acalanes during the registration process!- The first 100 students to register from each school will receive a voucher at packet pickup for 1/4 lb of bulk candy from Zoonie’s Candy Shop! Yes, even high school students!
- The school who increases their number of runners most compared to last year will receive an additional $500 beneficiary check!
Let’s go Dons!
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Parent Education
Acalanes Adult Education provides comprehensive educational opportunities for adults aged eighteen and above. Situated at the Del Valle Education Center, adult learners have the privilege of enrolling in diverse courses, including Apple classes, Microsoft Excel, Creative Writing, English Language Learning (ESL), CPR Certification, Yoga, Money Management, History, Dreams and Nightmares, Estate Planning, Art, Crafting, Sewing, Fabric Collage, Crochet, World Languages (French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish) and many more. For further information, please visit auhsd.org/adulted. Additionally, you may access the Fall 2024 Course Catalog. To register online, visit https://tinyurl.com/
AAEFall24Registration.
Thriving, Engaged and Well-Balanced Students
Creating a positive "school experience" for our students has been a top District priority for over a decade. One of the instruments we have used to measure our students’ experience is the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of School Experiences. 83% of our students participated in the survey in April. The survey gathers student insights pertaining to academic engagement, support and belonging at school, homework load and habits, stress, sleep, academic integrity, extracurricular participation, and parent expectations. We have made some progress, but have much work to do to better support our students. This presentation includes district-wide data.
Dr. Denise Pope, founder of Challenge Success and an expert in student well-being, will visit our community on Wednesday, Sep 18 to share her insights and current research regarding supporting our students to thrive in our high-stakes and high-pressure culture. Increasing demands on students can lead to unhealthy stress, disengagement, or debilitating physical and mental health symptoms. Dr. Pope will address how to reduce academic stress and disengagement without sacrificing achievement and examine how to increase student resilience, creativity, competence and general well being. The presentation will be focused on supporting high school students and will include insights for navigating the pressures of college admissions.
The Lafayette Orinda Presbyterian Church will host the event from 6:30-8pm. Seats are limited and we expect high parent interest so please register and reserve your spot here. We hope to see you there! -
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
Important September Dates:- Sep 15 - Oct 15 National Hispanic Heritage Month
- Sep 19 Latinx Potluck (before the Campo/ACA volleyball game)
- Sep 27 National Native American Day
- Sep 30 Black Student Union (BSU) Summit
Our first DEIB Committee meeting last Monday was a chance to learn about each other and the needs of our school community. If you would like to get involved, learn more, or get signed up for our next meeting, please email us. There are ways to help both big and small, on campus or from the comfort of your own couch. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram or Facebook.
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Student Activities
Spiritwear
Did you order a class shirt? We will be handing them out to students during lunch on Wednesday, Sep 4. Did you order spiritwear through our online spiritwear vendor Gryco? It will arrive in mid Sep and you will receive an email with pick-up instructions.
Homecoming 2024- Musicals Sep 15-21
The countdown is on and preparation is underway. Check out this homecoming overview document for everything you need to know about the week!
Sep 21 is our HOCO Night Out from 7-9:30pm. It is a campus wide event (1,100+ attended last year) and is a beloved night not to miss. Tickets are on sale via GoFan and are:
$30 with ASB
$55 without ASB
$75 for an outside guest
Outside guests need to fill out and return a guest contract by Sep 18 to the main office. Stay tuned for confirmed vendors, food, games, activities, and entertainment.
In order to ensure that HOCO Night Out is safe for all, we need parent chaperones. Please consider volunteering as we expect over 1100 students that evening.
2024-2025 Clubs
Our fall club day is Friday, Sep 6 during academy. The full list of clubs will be posted in the bulletin this week for students to check out ahead of time.
My goal is that every student at Acalanes is connected to one activity outside of class. I am always happy to meet with students and/or parents about on campus programming and opportunities. If I can help, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.
Katherine Walton, Activities Director -
College & Career
Seniors: Please come by the College and Career Center during 6th, 7th, academy, lunch and/or brunch to work on your common application and UC application. Tips and strategies provided during all sessions. MaiaLearning tutorials are also provided at each visit. Great tips here!
Sports Recruiting Presentation: Acalanes is hosting a presentation for families of student athletes. This will be held on Monday, Sep 9 at 7pm in the PAC. Students and parents of all grades and sports are welcome to attend. For more information, click here.
Frosh, Sophomores, Juniors Out-of-State College Fair:
When: Thursday, Sep 5, 6-8pm
Where: Las Lomas Library
Join the Las Lomas College & Career Center for an out-of-state college fair on Sep 5 at 6pm. This is an excellent opportunity to meet public and private out-of-state college admissions officers. The program will include short presentations, including one on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) scholarship program.
Please sign up for the fair HERE.
PRACTICE SAT/PSAT/ACT: Our testing partner, Revolution Prep, is offering a free PSAT practice test on Sep 7, SAT practice test on Sep 21 and ACT practice test on Sep 14. Click here to learn more and register.
Frosh students can join a free webinar led by Revolution Prep on 3 Essential Skills Your Student Needs to Kickstart their School Year on Sep 24 at 5pm. -
Counseling
Counselor assignments are by student last name:
A-F Anne Schonauer
G-Ka Erika Vasquez
Ke-Re Marissa Meadows
Rh-Z Susan MartinCLASS SCHEDULES Students can now only drop a class, they can’t add any new classes. Students can drop a 1st or last class of the day for an Off Campus, or they can drop a class and add a TA that period. The deadline to drop a class is the end of the first quarter, Friday, Oct 11. After this date, any class dropped will receive an automatic F grade.
CLASS VISITS Counselors will be visiting Chemistry classes this week to present to sophomores. We will provide them with a transcript, and walk them through some things they should be aware of as they start 10th grade!
INDIVIDUAL SENIOR APPOINTMENTS Counselors will start seeing seniors individually starting the week of Sep 9. During these appointments, we will look at Maia, talk about schools and deadlines, discuss documents needed, and come up with a to-do list for you/your student, if they need one.
SENIOR PARENT NIGHT
Thursday, Sep 5, from 6:30-7:30pm in the Acalanes Library.
Join us for important information about post high school planning with Counselor, Anne Schonauer and College & Career Center Advisor, Debbie Levy. -
School Nurse
What’s new with COVID? Parents, we still want you to call the attendance office to report Covid, as we are still required to report cases. However, we are now considering Covid as any other respiratory illness: students and staff can come back if, for 24 hours, their symptoms are getting better overall and they have not had a fever (without taking fever-reducing medication). You can read these CDPH Guidelines: Considerations when a Child has Symptoms of Illness in Child Care or School.
Just a reminder to make sure your student has healthy food/snacks and water with them to nourish and fuel them during the school day.
You can access the medical forms page HERE or use the QR code below.
My office hours are:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and some* Thursdays
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 8am - 3:50pm
Wednesdays: 7:30am - 3:20pm
AHS School Nurse Calendar
See my website for more information.
Always Your School Nurse,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org, 925-280-2970 x7128
IG: acalanesschoolnurse, School Nurse Website -
Performing & Visual Arts
Concert Wear Donations Needed
Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of our talented Acalanes musicians? We're seeking donations of gently-used concert attire to ensure that every student can look their best for upcoming performances.
Our current inventory of loaner attire is running low, so if you have any of the following items that your student has outgrown or no longer wears, please consider donating them to our Instrumental Music Concert Attire Closet (website):- Black concert dress (from the past 4-5 years)
- Black tuxedos/suits
- Black jackets
- Black dress pants, black skirts (below knee)
- White, black, french blue button-down dress shirts
- White, black, french blue sleeved blouses
- Black ties (bow or regular)
- Black dress shoes
Your generosity helps to ensure that every musician has the opportunity to shine on stage!
Please bring the clothes to the AHS music/band room. If you have any questions, please contact Andrea Christie or info@ahsperformingarts.org.
Acalanes Performing Arts Boosters Update
We hope you enjoyed the phenomenal Acalanes Jazz Ensemble and Acalanes Choir at the Back to School Night reception on Thursday. This was the kick-off for this year’s performances of our talented musicians, actors and choralists. The general performance calendar is here and the Instrumental Music calendar is here. Your donations support extracurricular performance programs -- if you didn’t get a chance to donate, you still can here! - Black concert dress (from the past 4-5 years)
Social Media
