Weekly News & Announcements

APC in Action

1. AUHSD postcard to arrive on or after: July 12
2. Parent email from AUHSD with detailed online registration instructions: July 25
3. Online registration opens: July 31 - Aug 14
4. Classes of 2026 & 2027 families must complete IN PERSON residency verification:  
   1. July 31 - Aug 14 from 8am-4pm in the Acalanes Main Office
   2. Aug 2 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the Acalanes Main Office
   3. Aug 3 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the AUHSD District Office
5. Dons Day: Aug 14 from 7:30-11:30am
   1. New Student Orientation: 11:30am (meet at flagpole)
   2. Frosh Orientation: 12-1:30pm (start in PAC)
   3. New Parent Orientation: 12pm (in Library)

Thank You to All our Volunteers!
The Acalanes Parents Club would like to thank the following APC Board Members and Committee Chairs who are stepping down from their role or graduating from Acalanes. APC is grateful for their dedication to making our community stronger and our school a better place for all of our students.
Thank you!

• Past President/Parliamentarian - Kristen Labrosse (now Co-Director, Peer Tutoring) 
• Treasurer - Katharine Wallace
• Community Partners - Natasha  Acuña
• Co-Head Class Liaison & ACA Liaisons - Jen Dodge & Heidi Hambidge
• Auditor - Nina Ruebner
• Webmaster  - Danielle Gallagher
• Student Directory - Sharon Hunt
• Co-Hospitality Coordinators - Audra Fraioli & Kari Trimble
• Co-Staff Appreciation - Jennifer McCarthy
• Co-Finals Fuel - Sheryl Platt & Janice Metzger
• Co-Dons Day Coordinator - Pam Severson
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Liaison - Teli Thayer
• Senior Class Liaisons - Catherine Burns, Charlene Condy, Jen Dodge, Daniele Upp 

Finals Fuel
Thank You to all the families who helped make Spring Finals Fuel a success!  The students were very appreciative - many “thanks and thank you's” were heard amongst the rush for snacks! 
And special shout out to our Finals Fuel Co-Chairs, Sheryl Platt and Janice Metzger. They made sure our students were well fueled for exams all year.
 
AHS Service Awards & Presidential Awards - NEW PROCESS & NEW GUIDELINES for Next Year
Thank you to all students for their community service this past year and we look forward to another great year of service in '23-24!  Please note that we will have several changes next year. First, the minimum hours for the AHS service award for next year will be 30 hours (back to the pre-Covid threshold). Second, and more importantly, your students will be able to record and verify their hours throughout the year using a new app called Helper Helper. Please check out the AHS website (under College and Career Center) for more information on the NEW guidelines and NEW instructions for students to validate and record their service hours for the coming year. If you have any questions, please email us!

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

The 4th annual Senior Car Rally was a HUGE success! We want to thank all of the volunteers who helped greet and park the seniors, decorate the route before and clean up after. APC would like to extend an enormous thank you to Laura Bergman and Lulu Braunstein for organizing the incredible afternoon! And it goes without saying - thank you to our fabulous Acalanes families, Oakwood Athletic Club, Lafayette Police Department, Lafayette Rotary Club, Lafayette Chamber and the greater Acalanes and Lafayette community for making our seniors feel so loved! We all thank you! GO DONS!

See more 4th annual Senior Car Rally pictures here.

Student Activities

As the year comes to an end, I just want to thank you for the generous support, time and energy that you provided to students. I am incredibly proud of the abundance of programming that happened on our campus and the leadership that was shown by students. A special thank you to the team of parent liaisons who have given hundreds of hours to support the Classes of 2023, 2024, 2025 & 2026. To our “graduating” liaisons - Catherine Burns, Charlene Condy, Jen Dodge, Heidi Hambidge and Danielle Upp….there are no words that can capture my appreciation and gratitude for what you have done throughout the past four years for our students and families of the Class of 2023 - simply amazing!
 
Acalanes Spirit Wear Webstore. Looking for new Acalanes gear? Check out our summer webstore open now through Friday, Aug 18. All proceeds benefit the Classes of ‘24, ‘25, ‘26 & ‘27!
 
A few important dates for next year:
Aug 14: Dons Day & new student orientation
Aug 15: 1st day of school
Oct 9-14: Homecoming 2023
Apr 27: Junior & Senior Prom
 
Have a great summer and see you Monday, Aug 14 for Dons Day and frosh orientation!
 
Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.
 
Katherine Walton, Leadership Teacher

College & Career

Final Transcripts: These requests were made when the Senior Exit Survey was completed by your student. If your student gets off a waitlist and/or has a change of plans, please contact Ms. Finn (efinn@auhsdschools.org) in the Counseling Office; she is in charge of sending these to the colleges.

JUNIORS/RISING SENIORS SUMMER IDEAS
 
Summer can be a great time to get started on your college application if you want to get a jump start (you can also get everything done once you return to school in August).

• Log into Naviance
  • Add to the “Colleges I’m Thinking About List”
  • Research colleges
  • Update your resume
• Go on college tours (virtual or in person)
• Begin brainstorming (or writing) for the UC (Personal Insight questions) or Common App essay (all prompts are easily found online)
• Register for a fall SAT or ACT (if taking)
  • Spend some time doing test prep (if taking a test)
• Complete the Junior Survey
• Volunteer
• Get a job
• Have fun!!!

Free - College Essay Workshop Tuesday, May 23 and Thursday, May 25
Must register ASAP - be sure to select “register to all dates below” to register - the event is not full.
 
Looking for college resources over the summer? Please see links below.
 
College Essay Guy

• Free College Essay Resources for Students-

Registration required for live summer courses
How to Write the College Application + Supplemental Essays Course
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/how-to-apply-for-college

• How to Write a Personal Statement Online Course for Students

https://www.collegeessayguy.com/how-to-write-a-personal-statement

• Additional College Resources

https://www.collegeessayguy.com/college-application-hub
https://www.collegeessayguy.com/webinars-live-events
 
SOPHOMORES/FROSH
 
Volunteer Ideas: Check out this website for ideas too! It’s best to set a search filter for teens.
 
Please visit our College & Career Counseling website any time for additional information and support.  

Counseling

Counselor assignments are by last name:
A-Em Anne Schonauer  
En-Kr Erika Vasquez  
Ku-Rog Marissa Meadows 
Roh-Z Susan Martin
 
New Counselor in the Fall: We welcome Erika Vasquez to our team next year! Erika comes to us from Miramonte High School. She will take over the En-Kr alpha. Christine Todd has accepted a counseling position at a middle school closer to her home in Pleasanton. 
 
Counseling Office Summer Hours: The Counseling Office will be open through Friday, Jun 16, with the registrar, Emily Finn. Counseling will close between Jun 19 and Jul 31, re-opening on Tuesday, Aug 1.
 
Summer School Information: The summer school website is available for information about summer school offerings/dates. Please have your student see their counselor to sign up, get forms, and figure out which classes to take. Any D/F grade in a required course for graduation may be taken in summer school.

School Nurse

Congratulations 2023 Graduates!
Remember, I am ALWAYS your School Nurse so please KEEP IN TOUCH!!!
I wish you and your families well in this next step in your amazing journey!
 
For Students Returning Next Year:
Please use the QR code below to access the appropriate medical form you may need.

I will be at Don’s Day on Monday, Aug 14 and you can come by to turn in forms, medications, and supplies to me.
 
My Schedule Next Year: The AUHSD School Nurse position has been .5 FTE for many years. When we went into quarantine for COVID and federal funds became available, the District asked the School Nurses at each site to work full-time. I agreed to do that here at Acalanes. 
 
Working full-time here has been the best experience for me professionally in the history of my School Nurse career. It has been my true honor and privilege to serve this entire community: students, families and staff. With the expiration of the Covid pandemic funding, the District is returning the School Nurse positions back to half-time. What that means here at Acalanes beginning next semester is that my schedule will usually be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and some Thursdays. As always, I will keep my schedule updated on my website.
 
Always Your School Nurse,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org
925-280-2970 x7128
IG: acalanesschoolnurse
​School Nurse Website

Wellness Center

The Wellness team had the privilege of serving about 250 unique students with over 2,300 visits to the Wellness Center this year! We couldn’t do this without the support of our Acalanes parent community. We want to wish everyone a restful summer break and best of luck to the class of 2023 graduates!
 
If you are interested in any summer resources for wellness, including crisis support, community counseling and connection, you can find them here. Be sure to spend some time with your AHS student this summer and we’ll see you soon for the 2023-2024 school year!

LPIE

www.lpie.org, Follow us on Instagram 

Sports

Save the Date: Saturday, Jul 15 - Sports Physicals for Student Athletes
 
All students that will participate in athletics must complete the Athletic Clearance to attend and participate in any athletic program. The documents must be completed by a physician. This event is a fundraiser for the Acalanes Boosters Club.

For more information on Athletics and Sports Clearance click here.

General Administration Announcements

Finals Schedule: May 23 - 26
Parents take note of the spring finals schedule. Monday, May 22 follows the regular schedule and the finals schedule begins on Tuesday, May 23. A great way to help support our students during finals is to help out with Finals Fuel (see below).

During Finals, Peer Tutoring will be open Tuesday-Thursday from 12:50-2:50pm. The Library will be open from 7:30am to 3:00pm Tuesday & Thursday and from 7:30am to 1:00pm Wednesday & Friday. 
 
IMPORTANT INFO FOR ALL SENIOR FAMILIES
Here is all the information senior families need to know to close out the year.

1. Senior Wrap-Up & To-Do List - print this off and use the to-do list as you wrap up senior year.
2. Senior Graduation Information - anything and everything senior families need to know for graduation and all leading up to it.
3. Graduation field map for families - please share this with your family and friends that will be attending graduation. Remind your students to let all family members know which side of the stadium they will be sitting in (they find out at rehearsal) so you can have a better view of  your senior walking the stage.
4. AHS Senior Survey - seniors need to take a few minutes to fill out your final AHS survey.

Congratulations Class of 2023!

APC in Action

Finals Fuel is THIS WEEK!
Let’s re-fuel our students between final exams with healthy snacks!
 
Thank you to everyone who has already donated or volunteered, but we are still in need of snacks, donations and volunteers for this much-loved event!
 
Click here for the Sign-Up Genius, which includes more information on donating and volunteering.

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

Acalanes Garden Update The meditation garden is "done" as much as any garden is ever done. If you happen to be at the school this summer, please come check out the space. It's across from room 507.

The "farm" is a work in progress and we could definitely use some help! We plan to be there this summer on Tuesday evenings from 5-7pm to weed, harvest and distribute food (when there is harvest available). We also have two larger "work parties" scheduled to help prune pear trees, get a head start on weeds, review and update the irrigation, and plant the last of our plants for this season. These will be on Tuesday, May 30 and Tuesday, June 13 from 5-8pm. Please complete this form if you can help on a regular Tuesday or during the work parties.

We have also updated our wish list. If you have any items you'd like to donate, please email Ms. Tewksbury so we can work out a time for drop off. 

Finally, if you would like to be notified when we have harvested food available for pick up, please complete this form. We are not sure how much food we will actually harvest this season, but we definitely want to share whatever we get with the staff and Acalanes community. 

Looking to next year, we are going to need to replace the beds in the farm so we can eliminate our gopher problem. After that, we hope to have winter plantings for the spring and then spring plantings for the summer/fall. Our art teachers are working on ways to get students involved in making garden art for both the meditation and farm spaces. We also hope to restart the Garden Club to get more students actively involved in both spaces.

Thanks for all of your support! And, thank you to Janet Thomas, Pam Winther and Jeanie Hill from the Lafayette Community Garden for all of the support, guidance and volunteers. These renovations would not have been possible without them.

Have a great summer!

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)

Thank you to the committee volunteers who contributed wonderful energy to our work: Pam D., Natasha, Anji, Melissa, Pam O., and the dance volunteers. Apologies if we forgot anyone.
 
Congrats to all of the students for finishing up another school year! A special shout out to the clubs and student liaisons we worked with this year: JSA, QSA, BSU, Latinos Unidos, the Equity Board and the leadership class. 
 
Drawing inspiration from the blooming wildflowers all around us, the collective beauty we see across our majestic hills is formed by each flower being exactly what it is. To quote Ola Joseph, "Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness.” Like the hillsides giving space to every wildflower, DEIB work is centered around creating capacity. If there is something in your landscape that gives you pause, try to explore it. See you next year!
 
In community,
APC DEI