Weekly News & Announcements

Parent’s Club Pro-Tip

ATTENDANCE Q&A
How do I excuse my student for an appointment during the day? 
Call the 24-hour attendance line at 925-280-3973 and leave a message. The messages are checked frequently. If your student needs to leave right away, please call the office directly at 925-280-3970 ext. 7126.
 
Can tardies be excused?  Yes, with a medical or dental note and a student sign in. Otherwise, parents cannot excuse tardies.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)

Book a Night Out with Your Student! Over the next several weeks, Acalanes is hosting a set of engaging evenings open to students and parents. We encourage you to join and to talk to your students about attending at least one community event with (or without) you. Drawing on a theme that keeps bubbling up from our speakers over the last 24 months, we build the community we want to live in with our actions. These upcoming activities are great opportunities to meet new people and make new connections.

• TOMORROW NIGHT, Monday Sept 19, Arshay Cooper will share how he chose hope despite many obstacles. Arshay doesn’t shy away from talking about uncertainty and difficult circumstances. But, he also talks about developing trust, making space for feelings, and naming the things that can hold us back so we can go forward. He shares powerful life lessons through his accessible and entertaining storytelling. Moderated by AUHSD students!
• On Thursday, Oct 6 at 5:30pm students are hosting a potluck in the quad and are inviting all parents to attend so let’s show up! Sign up to bring a dish & celebrate Latine Heritage Month in community.
• On Wednesday, Oct 12 at 6:30pm singer, recording executive and advocate DorisAnahi Munoz will be joining us to share her unique story. Disney recently picked up the rights to her movie, Mija which shares about her life, her music career and the pressure of success.

As a reminder, Sept 15 to Oct 15 is Latine Heritage Month! We honor the heritage, culture, and peoples of the Latine community. How are you celebrating? Let us know!
 
Stay current: Add us to your Instagram at @acalanesdei
Have something to contribute or a question? Contact us

Student Activities

TOMORROW NIGHT AT 6:30pm: A Community Night with Arshay Cooper in the Acalanes PAC
Join us for this can’t miss event: An Interactive Chat with Arshay Cooper. His book, “AMost Beautiful Thing” is a true story of a group of young men growing up on Chicago's West side who transform their lives when they form the first all-black high-school rowing team in the nation. The film adaptation of the book is star-studded and streaming on Peacock and Amazon Prime. It is narrated by Rapper Common; and executive produced by Common and NBA stars Grant Hill and Dwayne Wade, along with Grammy-winning producer 9th Wonder.
 
During the chat, Mr. Cooper will share about his life, trauma, experience as a rower, film career, and more. The evening will be conversational in nature, facilitated by a panel of 4 district student leaders in a Q&A format including Acalanes students Aca Freeman & Ellis Burger. Please join us!
 
Homecoming 2022 U.S. Cities Begins in 7 Days!
Homecoming is always one of the most talked about weeks at Acalanes - the camaraderie amongst classes, the friendly competition, the hallways, STUDENT DODGEBALL, class skits and the culminating NIGHT OUT! I can feel the excitement building on campus! Dates to note:

• Sunday, Sept 25 from 10am-3pm Hallway decorating (students can drop in anytime to help-there is a job for everyone!) Please encourage your student to attend.
• Wednesday, Sept 28 at 7:30pm A student favorite: Student Dodgeball (students can come to play or just watch)
• Saturday, Oct 1 from 7-10pm HOCO: A Night Out in our stadium. It is an event for your student not to miss with so many different activities! We do need parent chaperones for the evening so please consider signing up. Tickets are on sale via Go Fan. If students want to bring a guest, they must fill out a guest contract and return it by Sept 26. Contracts are on the door of room 314.

As part of Homecoming, we also host a community canned food drive. It begins TOMORROW, Sept 19 and donation bins will be by the flagpole each morning. Please consider donating cans or money. All donations go directly to the Contra Costa Food Bank. The record is 22,000 cans in 2019- as a community, can we beat it?
 
For an up-to-date look at all the plans with detailed information, check out the 2022 HOCOOverview!
 
Unified Soccer
Our Unified Soccer team debuts this Wednesday, Sept 21 at lunch. Please encourage your student to come out and root the team on in their 1st match.
 
Clubs
Our clubs are up and running! We have 60 recognized clubs this year and all will hold their first meetings this week or next. Encourage your young person to check one or two out.
 
Equity Events
Latine Heritage Month kicked off Sept 15 and lasts through Oct 15. We have several events planned throughout the month to celebrate and educate and two are open to our community:

• Thursday, Oct 6: Community Potluck- sign up to bring a dish!
• Wednesday, Oct 12 at 6:30pm via zoom: Doris Anahi Munoz

As always, if there is anything we can do for you or your student, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to connect students with activities and interests.
 
Katherine Walton, Leadership Teacher

College & Career

SENIORS
 
Essay Workshops: Essay writing will continue for all Levy academy sessions.
College Visits This Week in the CCC Office Sign up on the Naviance home page or email to register. Have your students speak with their teachers to get permission. Follow the CCC instagram @ahs_college_career for timing each week.

• Monday, Sept 19: Gettysburg College, College of the Holy Cross, Lewis & Clark
• Wednesday, Sept 21: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Boston College, Case Western Reserve, Dickinson College
• Friday, Sept 23: University of Miami, Berklee College of Music

College Application Support Your student can click here to make an appointment to work on essays or get help with the entire process.

JUNIORS
 
Jobs available: Round Table Lafayette, Crumbl Cookies near Rossmoor, See’s Candy Lafayette. Come by the CCC for details.
 
Practice SAT and ACT Exams Click here to register your student for a free online practice on Saturday, Sept 24 from 9am-1pm with Revolution Prep.

Volunteer Opportunity Encourage your child to check out these great places to give back!

SOPHOMORES/FROSH
 
Volunteer Opportunity This is also a good site to search for teen volunteer work.
 
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 Christine Todd  
Ku-Rog Marissa Meadows 
Roh-Z Susan Martin

Schedule Changes
Counselors will still process requests to drop classes through the end of the first quarter, Friday, Oct 7.
 
Individual Student Appointments
Beginning last week, counselors have been meeting individually with Seniors to discuss post-high school plans. For those applying to 4-year colleges, we will be walking  through the process of requesting required documents for their applications. Individual Frosh appointments will happen after Seniors, likely starting in October.  
 
CSF applications are open! 
The deadline to apply is Sept 30. CSF is the only honor society at Acalanes.  Students need to apply each semester. Application forms are available in the counseling office or on the website. Read the form for more details about membership requirements. Seniors who qualify are recognized with gold stoles to wear at graduation.

School Nurse

COVID: Please call in your student’s absence to the Attendance Recorder and continue to follow the district’s Covid guidance. The school is not notifying teachers, so students should access Canvas as much as possible and stay in contact with their teachers to communicate their remote progress in their classes.

Here is a  California COVID-19 Isolation & Quarantine Calculator
Information about Staying Up-to-Date with COVID-19 Vaccines and Boosters
 
One Pill Can Kill
 
Please see my website for more information on medications, health issues, forms, etc.
 
I’m at home myself this week with Covid (yes, it’s true), and I started using my Instant Pot again to make healthy soups and stews. I threw in a bunch of vegetables with veggie broth and a cup of red lentils (and some dried chili powders). It’s an easy and healthy way to use up produce (which I hope you’re buying a lot of). I’m still reading and enjoying Atomic Habits!
 
Nutrition Tips:  

1. Take your kid(s) to the grocery store (or better yet, your local Farmers’ Market) with you and have them pick out healthy snacks and foods (especially fruits and vegetables). They’ll be more invested in their food choices when they get to help choose! 
2. Have an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruits available for them (apples, bananas, celery, carrots, salad ingredients). 

Book Recommendation:  Atomic Habits - I’m still reading it but it has a great framework for designing effective strategies for change based on cultivating qualities vs. just achieving goals. Wonderful way to engage in family discussions.

Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org
925-280-2970 x7128
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

Wellness Center

When it comes to mental health and overall wellness, locus of control is a key factor in how your student relates to the world. In psychology, locus of control is related to the extent to which an individual believes that they are in control of facets that impact their lives. To have an external locus of control, an individual believes that life happens to them. In other words, there are external influences driving the events that occur in one’s life. Opposite to this is an internal locus of control, when an individual believes that they have control over what happens in their life. An example of this would be a student understanding the fact that they do have the choice of whether or not they will attend a class.
 
While we are well aware that there are plenty of things that happen in life that are entirely out of our control (a pandemic for example), locus of control becomes relevant when considering what to do in the face of said thing. Research has proven time and again that people with a higher internal locus of control are happier and more mentally healthy. When interacting with your student, consider the role you play in fostering an internal locus of control. As a caregiver it is easy to want to rescue your student in a time of need, however, what might be more beneficial is teaching them the value in advocating for themselves. With that being said, it is equally important to be a soft place for them to land if things don’t work out how they would have hoped.
 
Kiara Thomas- Wellness Intake Specialist

Performing Arts

Our Acalanes instrumental bands have a fabulous opportunity to play the national anthem at the Oakland A’s game this coming Tuesday, Sept 20! If you wish to come out to support the students and watch their once-in-a-lifetime performance, there are a few tickets still available.
 
Details:
Event: Oakland A’s vs Seattle Mariners
Place: RingCentral Stadium, Oakland CA
Date: Sept 20, 2022
Time: National Anthem starts 6:30pm; Game starts 6:40pm
 
Ticket Information:

• Price: $20.60 each - $5 of which goes directly back to support our instrumental program; includes $0.60 PayPal transaction fee
• Fill out the GOOGLE FORM to purchase your tickets
• Pay through Instrumental Music PayPal Account: apab-treasurer@ahsperformingarts.org  **Please add a note in the message field indicating "A's Game"**
• After you purchase your tickets, your email will be used to send you the tickets electronically.

Looking forward to seeing you at this amazing fundraising event!

LPIE

It’s hard to believe, but we are over one month into the school year. In just one month, Acalanes' LPIE contributions are already at 47% participation. Help us get to our goal of 100% participation, at any amount meaningful to your family. What better time to contribute than during our September Sweepstakes where all contributions made by September 23rd, 2022, as generous as possible, will automatically be entered for a chance to win amazing prizes. DONATE here, to help us meet our participation goal, and help LPIE continue to support a well rounded educational experience for our students.

Questions? Please contact Andrea Hilsabeck or Michele Colaco
www.lpie.org, Follow us on Instagram

Sports

This week’s can’t miss events!
 
Girls Volleyball
Tuesday, Sept 20 at Benicia HS. Frosh at 4pm, JV at 5pm and Varsity at 6:30pm.
Thursday, Sept 22 host Campolindo HS. Frosh at 4pm, JV at 5pm and Varsity at 6:30pm.
Saturday, Sept 24 Sonoma Valley Invitational
 
Girls Tennis
Tuesday, Sept 20 Northgate HS at 4pm. Varsity is away and JV is home.
Thursday, Sept 22 Las Lomas HS at 4pm. Varsity is home and JV is away.
 
Girls Water Polo
Wednesday, Sept 21 at Las Lomas HS. JV at 4pm and Varsity at 5pm.
Friday, Sept 23 and Saturday, Sept 24 Amanda McDonald Invitational at Menlo School
 
Boys Water Polo
Wednesday, Sept 21 at Las Lomas HS. Varsity at 6pm and JV at 7pm.
Friday, Sept 16 and Saturday Sept 17 St. Francis Invitational.
 
Girls Golf
Thursday, Sept 22 Campolindo HS at Moraga CC at 3:30pm.
 
Special Event
Monday, Sept 26 Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) presentation in the PAC at 7pm. NCSA provides recruiting services for high school athletes. Included in their package is searching for colleges, contacting college coaches and assisting in the application process. There is no charge for this event.
 
The fall sport schedules will be found on the Acalanes High School website by clicking here.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Randy Takahashi at rtakahashi@auhsdschools.org or Haley Walsh at hwalsh@auhsdschools.org.

General Administration Announcements

AUHSD is hiring Instructional Assistants for the classrooms. The District is looking to parents for help in filling these important positions. Please review the Sept 8 email fromAmy McNamara, Assistant Superintendent, for more information on open positions, qualifications and the competitive pay and benefits.

APC in Action

Please join us this Friday, Sept 16 at 8:45am in the Collaboration Center for our monthly Dons Dialogue. You will hear all about whats happening on campus directly from Principal Shawn, plus valuable open Q&A time. APC will provide coffee and treats. All parents/caregivers welcome. 

APC Fall Grant Application Window is Now Open! We invite all AHS teachers, staff, students, and parents to submit a grant application for programming, materials or projects that enhance the educational experience for our school community; all ideas are welcome. Click here for criteria and application. Completed proposals and questions can be submitted by Friday, Sept 16 to Nicole Sanders, APC Grants Coordinator, or delivered to the APC Box in the front office.
 
Follow Acalanes Parents Club on Instagram. Contact APC here with any questions.

APC Membership & Fundraising

A big thank you to those who have joined the Acalanes Parents Club (APC) - your contributions make a big difference!
 
There are still copies of printed directories in the Acalanes Main Office. Any APC member can stop by Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm to pick up a printed directory with addendum.
 
If you have questions about your APC Membership please contact our VP Fundraising, Lori MacLeod.