Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

SEED HIGH SCHOOL FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE – where our special needs high schoolers hang out with their typical peers.
Upcoming regular meeting dates:

  • Thursday, Nov 16, 5-6:30pm
  • Thursday, Dec 14, 5-6:30pm

There’s also a special holiday movie date on Saturday, Dec 16 from 11am-12:45pm.
Volunteers and participants can RSVP here (volunteers get 2 hour community service validation per session). To receive SEED High School updates, sign up to the High School newsletter here.
 
AHS GARDEN UPDATE
We had a garden workday on Sunday, Nov 5. Lot of students, a few parents, and a few community members show up to help clean out the raised beds in the farm and the weeds behind the meditation garden and in the farm. We received a small grant from the Parent’s Club to add more gravel to the meditation garden – thank you APC! We also have plans to reinforce the raised beds in the farm, add hardware cloth to keep gophers out and add some good soil all in time for a spring planting. Looking ahead, the garden club has saved seeds from some of the summer crops. We hope to use these, as well as seeds that have been donated, to start the plants for our summer crop. Please take a look at our updatedwish list. Our next work day is Sunday, Dec 3 from 10am – 2pm.

Thank you for the continued support! If you have questions or donations, feel free to reach out to me: LTewksbury@auhsdschools.org (room 201).  

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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)

Upcoming Important Dates
November     Native American Heritage Month
Nov 12-18     United Against Hate Week
Nov 20          Transgender Day of Remembrance
 
As we move toward our season of gratitude, we would like to pay respect to the people who have lived on and stewarded the lands in and around Lafayette. These include the Ohlone, Miwok, Yokut, Karkin, Saklan, and at least four other tribes. If you would like to learn more about some of them through the eyes of East Bay Regional Parks, please click here. The Lafayette Library has also put together a book list to learn more as well. Click here for more information.

United Against Hate Week (Nov 12-18) is a call for local civic action to stop the hate and implicit biases that are a dangerous threat to the safety and civility of our neighborhoods, towns and cities. United Against Hate Week emerged from a United Against Hate poster campaign created by Bay Area cities in response to white supremacist rallies in Berkeley and San Francisco in 2017. The original 13 communities were convened in 2018 by Not In Our Town, a national anti-hate organization and partner in the LA vs Hate campaign, and committed to an annual week of action and awareness. Since inception, United Against Hate Week has spread to over 200+ communities. Learn more at www.unitedagainsthateweek.org.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. You can learn more and find out how to get involved here.

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Student Activities

If you have yet to watch the 5-minute video highlighting the incredible community we have at Acalanes and how we can make it even better, please take some time to do so. We want you to see it so check it out here!
 
Adopt-A-Family
As the holiday season approaches, the Acalanes Community Outreach board is kicking off Adopt-A-Family. Acalanes has partnered with Pacific Clinics for over 15 years to support 60+ families this holiday season. Our community can either adopt an individual or a family.
 
If you would like to adopt an individual, along with their wishlist of gifts, please fill out the sign up genius here. If you wish to adopt a family, please fill out the google form linked here. All wrapped gifts will be collected the morning of Friday, Dec 15 in front of school. As this date approaches, we will be in touch with more details! If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to Laila Vivek at laila.vivek24@auhsdschools.org or Katherine Walton at kwalton@auhsdschools.org!

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College & Career

Seniors
  • Hispanic Heritage Scholarship: The Youth Awards honor Latinx high school seniors who excel in the classroom and community.
  • Chevron Corporation’s Black Employee Network (BEN),would like to cordially invite high school seniors to participate in our 2024 College Scholarship Program.
  • Electrician Apprentice: Seniors interested in a 5-year paid apprenticeship? Application here.
  • California State OR UC Application Support: Send your student by this week! Deadline is Thursday, Nov 30 for these applications. We have college counselors available to help during Academy and after school.
  • New FAFSA Changes and How They Impact Your Family: This is a very informative video on the new changes to FAFSA, which opens in December.

Please visit our College & Career Counseling website any time for additional information and support.
 
Juniors
 
College & Career Planning Meeting for Parents: Parent night is upcoming in the library on Tuesday, Nov 14 from 6:30-7:30pm. This is an opportunity for junior parents to hear from counselor Susan Martin and College and Career Center advisor, Debbie Levy on post-high school plans.


AUHSD Out of State College Fair: Sign up here to meet college admission counselors from more than 15 colleges in the Acalanes library on Wednesday, Nov 29 from 6:30-8:30pm. Learn about the benefits of out of state schools, scholarship opportunities, financial aid and costs, and how to find your “match” school.
 
Sophomores/Frosh-  Please join us for an Out-of-State College Fair! See details above.
 

 

 

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Counseling

Junior Parent Night: Come to the library this Tuesday, Nov 14, from 6:30-7:30pm for a talk with Debbie Levy, our College and Career Advisor, and Susan Martin, one of our academic counselors. Hear all about what you should be thinking about, talking about and researching with your junior, as well as some helpful hints/tools!
 
Frosh appointments and 4-year planning: Counselors are reaching out to all 9th graders to check in about their transition to high school and to discuss individual 4-year plans. These plans will be entered into the AERIES system and will serve as a useful visual aid for students and parents to monitor graduation status, as well as college eligibility. These individual appointments will continue through November and December.
 
Letters of Recommendation: Counselors will still be writing letters of recommendation for seniors with regular or rolling admission deadlines. Please send your senior in to see us if they have questions, need transcripts sent, or need a letter!

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School Nurse

Sleep and Teens:
I listened to a great webinar this week on sleep and melatonin sponsored by Let’s Sleep. Check out their parentpage for great resources on sleep.

Easy Fall Recipe:Chili– andCinnamonRoastedButternutSquash
This easy seasonal winter squash recipe is delicious and nutritious!
This is also a really easy dish for kids and teens to make.
Eating (and making) a family meal is one of the best ways to support the health and wellness of your kids. Try this easy recipe and let me know what you think!
See my website for more information.

Always Your School Nurse,
DvoraCitron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org, 925-280-2970 x7128,
IG: acalanesschoolnurseSchoolNurseWebsite

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Wellness Center

This Thursday November 16, you can join the Contra Costa County Office of Education and TUPE (Tobacco Use Prevention Education) at 6pm for Vaping & Teens 101: A Webinar for Parents & Other Caring Adults. This live, virtual presentation from adult and youth presenters will discuss how tobacco and cannabis impact young people, ways to provide support, and available resources. Following the presentation, there will be an optional Q&A session from 7-7:30pm. There is no cost to attend, although registration is required. More information on the session can be found via the registration link, but topics to be covered include: 

  • the latest tobacco products used by young people
  • the impact of vaping (tobacco & cannabis) on young people
  • ways that adults can support young people in their lives

We will also share information from our new resource: Substance Use, Mental Health & Teens: A Guide for Parents & Other Caring Adults.
 
Can’t make it to the live webinar? A recording will be accessible on demand at the CCCOE TUPE Website.

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LPIE

Gala Tickets on Sale Now!
Tickets for the 6th Annual LPIE Gala are on sale NOW! Click HERE to make sure you don’t miss out on this amazing event!

Jocelyn Werner and Jaime Roder, Acalanes LPIE School Chairs
www.lpie.org, Follow us on Instagram


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Sports

This week’s can’t miss events:
 
Girls volleyball
Tuesday, Nov 14 CIF NorCal Championship at 6pm
Friday, Nov 17 or Saturday, Nov 18 CIF Championship
 
Girls water polo
Tuesday, Nov 14 CIF NorCal Quarterfinal at 5pm
Friday, Nov 17 CIF NorCal Semifinal at 5pm
Saturday, Nov 18 CIF NorCal Championship
 
Football
Friday, Nov 17 or Saturday, Nov 18 NCS Semifinal at 7pm
 
Cross country
Saturday, Nov 18 NCS Meet of Champions at Hayward HS
 
Girls basketball
Saturday, Nov 18 host Folsom HS scrimmage at 10am and Archbishop Mitty HS scrimmage at 2pm
 
Boys basketball
Saturday, Nov 18 at San Rafael HS scrimmage. Varsity at 1pm, JV at 2:30pm and Frosh at 3:30pm.
 
You may view the 2023-2024 Athletic Update by clicking HERE.

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General Administration Announcements

Take note, there is NO SCHOOL on Friday, Nov 10 in honor of Veterans Day. As a result, Acalanes will follow a Friday “block schedule” on Monday, Nov 6.

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