Message from your Associate Principals

NOVEMBER 30, 2025

Spotlight on the Arts: Acalanes VAPA Programs Shine!

Hello Acalanes Parents,
We are thrilled to share an exciting recap of the phenomenal activities and upcoming events in our Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) programs! It’s been an incredible start to the year, and our students and staff continue to amaze us with their talent, dedication, and energy.

Our visual arts students have been busy flexing their creative muscles with some engaging and technically challenging projects. Students in Art classes created a cross contour drawing of a pair of interacting hands and challenged themselves with conceptual thought while studying the Art of Minimalism. In Digital Design, students honored a rich cultural tradition creating intricate and colorful sugar skulls for Día de los Muertos. These digital pieces were vibrant and truly showcased their design skills!

The VAPA calendar was packed this Fall, and our performance students are consistently rising to the occasion. The Choir and Jazz ensemble rocked the Art & Wine Festival in their first performance of the season—setting a high bar for the year ahead. This year’s Pops Concert was perhaps our strongest yet! Bohemian Rhapsody was a hit, and combining the vocal and instrumental programs for the final piece, Baba Yetu, was truly special. Check out the livestream made by our Broadcasting Club! We are so fortunate to have the facilities and resources to make this happen.

The SoCal AcaCampoLomas MegaTour 2025 collaboration involved over 180 students, four buses, two combined instrumental groups, and one vocal ensemble. A huge shout-out to Edwin Cordoba & Tana Barnett (Campo) for planning and immense gratitude to our 20 wonderful parent chaperones—we couldn’t have done it without you!

Coming Up…
Don’t miss our annual holiday tradition, the Winter Choral Concert, on Thursday, Dec 4, at 7pm in the PAC.
The choir will take the stage at the St. Mary’s College Winter Choir Concert on Dec 6 at 4:00pm and at the beloved Lafayette Tree Lighting on Sunday, Dec 7, with a grand finale at the Oakland Temple’s “Celebration of Christmas”.

Casting for Chicago, our Spring musical, has completed and students will shine on, back, and off stage in performances Apr 15-19.

AHS Orchestra Band was honored with an invite to the prestigious ASTA National Festival in February.
The entire VAPA department is preparing for our major VAPA Showcase at the end of January. This is a spectacular event featuring all our programs. Please look out for more information soon!
None of this would be possible without the passion and dedication of our entire VAPA community. Thank you to our VAPA Staff for inspiring excellence, to our Student Leaders and participants for your hard work, and especially to our Parents. Your volunteer hours, logistical support, and belief in the arts make these rich experiences a success.

Warmly,
Colin and Neku

Jocelyn