Weekly News & Announcements

APC Membership & Fundraising

All APC members should have received an email with a link to the Acalanes 2025-2026 Online Family Directory! If you donated to the APC and did not receive the email, please contact our Communications Team at vpcommunications@acalanesparentsclub.com.

It is not too late to donate here. With a donation of any amount, you will receive the directory, and you can also get an Acalanes tote bag. If you have any questions, or if you have donated and would like a tote bag, please contact Jen Ruhl.

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

Lafayette Res Run for Education – Next Weekend!
Show your community spirit, and support Acalanes (Go Dons!) – sign up for the Lafayette Res Run for Education on Sunday, Oct 19. 15% of Acalanes designated registrations + donations go back to Acalanes Parents Club. Every registration counts! Be sure to select Acalanes when you register!

Thank you for supporting our schools! Go Dons!

 

Travel to Southern Spain with Señora Holland from AHS and Señora Frank from MHS
Travel Dates: June 1-June 13, 2026
Enjoy a Spanish speaking immersion program to southern Spain with two Spanish teachers from AUHSD. You will be guided by the best program with an itinerary that has been designed for you by your Spanish teachers. See the beautiful and historical sites of Southern Spain, participate in fun activities at lovely beaches, and partake in a language school in the city of Granada. The trip is full of enriching cultural experiences that you will cherish for a lifetime. Please reach out to Señora Holland or Señora Frank if you have any questions. Attached are photos from our past trip and a poster for sign ups. Muchas Gracias.

General Announcements

Lost and Found is Overflowing
 Our lost and found bin is located in the glass hallway, to the left of the attendance office. Please remind your student to look for clothing, water bottles, shoes, etc. It is overflowing with valuable items at the moment. These items will be donated to a charity

APC in Action

APC Sends a Heartfelt Thank You to Katherine Walton!
A big thank you to Katherine Walton and the Leadership students for organizing an incredible Homecoming week! This year’s celebration was one for the books! Close to half of the student body participated in HOCO skits, over 1,100 students attended the dance, and together we raised $23,260 and filled up the entire student store with nonperishable items for the Contra Costa Food Bank. What an amazing community effort!

Katherine’s passion, dedication, and school spirit help make Acalanes such an enthusiastic, inclusive, and connected community. We’re so grateful for all she does to make Acalanes a special place for our students!

 
Thank you to our amazing custodians!
National Custodian Appreciation Day was on October 2, and we had a lot to celebrate! We celebrated our incredible Custodial Team with some Dons swag and tasty treats!  We want to say a huge THANK YOU to our wonderful custodians for ALL they do to support our students and school!  We are so grateful!!
 
And a big thank you to Stacey Hastings and Jocelyn Birrell for making this day a special one!


FRIDAY, OCT 10 WAS A SNACK ATTACK DAY FOR THE ACALANES STAFF!
Thank you to our Staff Appreciation team, Dominique Mickelson and Stacey Hastings, for creating this yummy snack bar for all our Acalanes Staff. Your generous donations to APC allow us to make sure the staff know how much we appreciate all they do to support our students.

 
DONS DIALOGUE – FRIDAY AT 8:45AM
Please join us on Friday, Oct 17, at 8:45am in the Collaboration Center for our October Dons Dialogue. APC will provide coffee and treats. All parents/caregivers welcome.

Campus Culture Committee

Acalanes Parent Club – Campus Culture Committee (CCC) Update
As we continue the 2025-2026 school year, the Campus Culture Committee (CCC) is focusing on building a stronger parent support system for all student groups on campus. We are also working closely with staff on issues that impact our students.
We recognize that supporting our students starts with supporting parents — which is why part of our mission is to ensure parents feel cared for through mental health and wellness support. This year, we launched a 3-Part Wellness Workshop Series which began in September and continues with Part 2 during our November in-person meeting.

October Days to Remember

• All October: LGBTQ History Month
• All October: Filipino American History Month
• Oct 13: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• Oct 20: Diwali

Join Us Monthly! (In-Person & Virtual Meetings)
Meeting Schedule | 6:00-7:30pm

• Oct 20 – Virtual
• Nov 17 – In-Person (Part 2 of the Wellness Workshop Series)
• Dec – No Meeting
• Jan 12 – Virtual
• Feb 9 – In-Person
• Mar 16 – Virtual
• Apr 20 – In-Person (Last Meeting)
• May – No Meeting

If you’d like to get involved, please email us at diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com. All are welcome!
💙 Reminder: Acalanes is a No Hate Zone
If your student experiences hate or bias, please encourage them to use the Bias Incident Reporting Tool (BIRT) available on the AHS website.
Submit a BIRT Report Here »

Student Activities

PEEK AT THE WEEK:
Wednesday @ Academy: Special Education training
Wednesday @ lunch: Staff/Student Pickleball + Unified Soccer
Thursday @ 3:30pm: BIG 10 – Girls Tennis
Thursday @ 6:30pm: BIG 10 – Girls Volleyball (Pink Out!)
Friday @ Academy: Finance Club speaker in room 314
Friday @ lunch: Staff/Student pickleball
Friday @ 7:00pm: Friday Night Lights against Campolindo. Wear BLUE!

Wednesday during Academy our special education staff is offering a training for students to learn more about disabilities, communication strategies when working with our ESC students, and to provide a space to ask questions. ACA Buddies & Unified Partners will be in attendance but all students are welcome.

Homecoming skits & a Homecoming recap video are online. Links can be found in the Daily Don & on ahs_dons. Relive the awesome week!

NEXT WEEK:
Fall Play (Wednesday, Oct 22-Saturday, Oct 25)

Pink Dons Shirts
They will arrive this coming week and I will email once they arrive so your student can stop by room 314 and pick up!

Spiritwear
If you ordered spiritwear via Gryco over the summer, please have your student stop by room 314 to pick up.

Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.

College & Career

Juniors and Seniors: Davidson College is offering free Virtual workshops to support students with navigating the college search and application journey. You don’t need to be applying to Davidson to join.


 

Counseling

Counselor assignments are by student last name:
A-F Anne Schonauer  
G-Ka Erika Vasquez on campus MWTh
Ke-Re Marissa Meadows 
Rh-Z Susan Martin

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: Counselors plan to spend the month of October writing letters of recommendation for all of the Early Decision and Early Action deadlines for Seniors!  Please make sure your student has completed the student survey, parents have completed the parent survey, and the student has sent their counselor a resume if they want a letter of recommendation from their counselor. Students need to request teacher letters on Maia Learning, and match their Maia account with their Common App account.
 
QUARTER 1 HAS COME AND GONE: Quarter grades will be available by Friday, Oct 17, or Monday, Oct 20. These grades will be used to determine continued eligibility for fall sports.