• From the Activities Director

    October 30, 2020

    ACA Spirit Week: Wicked Week November 2-6
    Students have a very fun spirit week planned and there are multiple ways to get involved and engaged. The week will be a competition in cohorts. Cohorts will compete in daily challenges including GooseChase (scavenger hunt), dress up days, and two lunchtime activities. 


    MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

    • Cohort GooseChase Competition Begins - Encourage your student to opt in to the scavenger hunt via GooseChase. Students & their cohort teacher will compete against other cohorts for points to crown the winner at the end of the week. It is a great opportunity to connect with students & staff and have a little bit of fun. Every day new challenges are released through the goosechase app.


    TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3

    • Cohort GooseChase Continues (check your app for details)
    • Lunch - Staff-student Shark Tank. Students will compete along with staff members to pitch their best invention to the judges (aka admin team). Encourage your student to opt in.


    THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4

    • Cohort GooseChase Continues (check your app for details)
    • All day - Our first dress-up day of the week is Wacky Wednesday. Consider making it a household dress-up day!

    Wednesday, Nov 4 at Lunch - Dialogue on Gratitude & Anxiety
    Encourage your student to join us! It will be a meaningful discussion about anxiety and ways to cope with it especially during the month of gratitude!  Link will be sent out via Canvas.

    Ends Tomorrow! Canned Food Drive for the Contra Costa Food Bank
    Bins are at the flagpole and in front of Whole Foods. Thanks for all your support!

    2020-2021 Clubs
    Club meetings continue this week. Encourage your student to attend even if they missed the first meeting last week. Check out our 45 clubs!


    Save the Date: ACA Days + next Women in Leadership Event

    • ACA Days - will run over multiple days as we program in-person, socially  distanced opportunities. Stay tuned for details & how to sign-up.
      • Frosh/Soph: Monday, November 16th from 3-5p
      • Juniors: Wednesday, November 18th from 3-5p
      • Seniors: Tuesday, November 17th from 2:30-4:30p
    • Wednesday, Dec 2 at 7pm Women in Leadership # 2 - Mark your calendar!


    Save the Date: Equity Week Nov 16-20

    • Wednesday, Nov 18 at 7pm Lori Hayes “Be an Upstander, Not a Bystander” Equity speaker Lori Hayes will join us to dialogue about how we can address issues of equity on our campus and in our community. Register here!
    • Every day, our equity clubs will be holding lunchtime events that will allow students to engage in education and dialogue about various issues of equity. Stay tuned for the calendar of events!

    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

    October 30, 2020

    When you read this, we will be on day three of our “7 Days/7 Hacks” Whole Health Challenge. With pandemic fatigue settling in for many of us and the tension created by conflicts and divides that can cause us to feel more separated than connected, it’s perfect timing to make a self-care related change. We can’t eliminate our stress but we can chip away at it by investigating and adopting new (small and incremental) habits. We’re focusing on seven areas of quality of life and we’re providing tips, links to valuable learning sources, and a challenge to the community to try out one per day. You can learn more at our instagram account and we’ll be sharing more broadly as well. And speaking of self-care, please REGISTER HERE for a parent ed. event, “Caring for Oneself & Others” on November 19th at 5:30pm. This is a joint event from the Contra Costa County Office of Education, the Contra Costa Crisis Center, and CourAge Youth Health Coalition.

    Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
    Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

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

  • College & Career

    October 30, 2020

    Practice ACT Exam, Nov. 14, 9am-1pm
    Live, online, proctored exam, cost: $10.  Sign up here.

    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.

    Tomorrow, Nov 2 Admissions Virtual Reps Visits for Junior and Senior students via Naviance.
    Have your student sign up! Here are some of the schools this week: URichmond, Texas Tech, Tufts and more!

    Tuesday, Nov 17 at 7pm Parent Naviance Workshop for Juniors
    Zoom ID: 651 363 0875 Password: DONS2021. Log in using your students AUHSD Zoom account.

    Helpful Links:

    Freshman College Planning
    Sophomore College Planning
    Junior College Planning
    Senior Checklist

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

  • Counseling

    October 30, 2020

    Seniors
    Many seniors have still not ordered official transcripts for college apps or updated their Naviance accounts. Students pay the $5 fee for official transcripts on the webstore. Mrs. Finn, the registrar, will process requests. Documents will be sent electronically through Naviance whenever possible. Please contact Mrs. Finn with questions. Students can review unofficial transcripts in Aeries.

    AP Exam Registration
    AP Registration ends on November 12th! Any student that may be interested in taking AP Exams must be registered in AP Classroom by November 12th - no exceptions. Students then pay on the webstore starting Nov. 1. Exams need to be paid for by March 10. Contact Hannah Welling hwelling@auhsdschools.org with questions about registration.

    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

  • School Nurse

    October 30, 2020

    (Fore)HEADS-UP!
    Part of our “new normal” needs to be checking our temperature each morning, especially if you are leaving your house to be in any public/social environment. That means if you don’t already have a thermometer, this is a good time to get one!

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

    Flu Vaccine is available NOW!
    Reduced illness from flu will also ease the burden of illness from Covid in our hospital facilities. Flu vaccines are available at most medical practices and pharmacies. 

    Parents: Feeling Overwhelmed? Who isn’t???
    I found this     TedTalk with Elizabeth Gilbert validating and nourishing.

    Here’s a great one-pager on SLEEP to remind you why it’s so good for us.

    Is your student interested in joining the Acalanes Health & Medicine Student Club? They meet at lunch on the 2nd and 3rd Tuesdays. Check it out here.

    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
    dcitron@auhsdschools.org
    IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

  • LPIE

    October 30, 2020

    The LPIE Podcast series turns its attention this week to the arc of student growth into adulthood.
    Though Acalanes students have made it through the middle school years, Episode 4's focus on Stanley Middle School gives us good insights into how to prioritize the whole student, regardless of where our children are in their growth path. Adam speaks with three prominent Stanley staff members, Stanley Principal Betsy Balmat, Counselor Mary Nolan, and Psychologist Melodi Dewey. The panel explains how distance learning has provided a unique opportunity to reach the entire student body, enabling staff to foster communities and create spaces to check-in and discuss topics and issues that are relevant to students right now on a weekly basis – both personal and academic. Click here to listen!

    Laura-Kate Rurka & Jennifer Palmer
    Acalanes LPIE School Chairs

    www.lpie.org