News – Page 150 – Acalanes Parents Club

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

May 23, 2022

The Acalanes Parents Club would like to thank the following APC Board members 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 – Angela Ketcham (now Co-Director, Peer Tutoring)

VP Communications – Lisa Spiegler

Secretary – Audra Fraioli (now Co-Hospitality Coordinator)

Assistant Treasurer – Kathleen Brekke

Co-LPIE AHS School Chair and Newsletter Content Coordinator – Jennifer Palmer

Co-Hospitality Coordinators – Kim Siegel & Marlene Peacock

Grants Coordinator – Catherine Habas

Co-Dons Day Coordinators – Meredith Meade & Mary Beth Towery

Volunteer Coordinator – Melanie Brinkman

Co-Parent Education – Emilie Gunnison & Alisa Patatucci

Student Awards Coordinator – Amy Norstad

DEI Liaison – Rupy Krishnan

Senior Class Liaisons – Jen Fish (now Newsletter Content Coordinator)

Angela Ketcham, Kristin McPhail & Jill Milnes

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

May 23, 2022

Thursday, June 2, 6:00pm. Save the Date for the third Angelversary of Miles Hall ‘s death. Please help us turn Pain into Purpose with a Miles For Miles: Walk For Justice and Rally. Meet at Remembrance Park between Lilac Dr and Newell in Walnut Creek at 6pm and walk together to Civic Park (1.3 miles) for a special event to honor Miles at 7:15pm. Park at Las Lomas High School.

In honor of Jewish Heritage Month we spotlight Ralph Kuznitzki, a 15-year-old Jewish refugee living in the US during World War II. He was housed at the Ft. Ontario refugee camp near Oswego, NY, where he was able to attend local schools. Kuznitzki wrote this composition, The Flower and I for a high school English assignment.

Notice something different at this year’s Met Gala? The historically exclusive fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY has come under fire recently, with fashion experts agreeing that exclusivity is outdated. “Because of the industry’s interest in selling aspirational, unattainable fantasy, it may never be able to change until cultural standards of beauty steer away from thin and white…” writes USA Today.

Do you love reading this section of the newsletter every week? Are you curious about different people and cultures? Please consider volunteering for one of our communications spots for next year. For more information, email us here or visit our Acalanes DEI website. Other committee positions are open too!

Parent Education

May 23, 2022

Dear High School Seniors, Over the next few months, if you sense your mom (or parent) just looking at you, go ahead and carry on with whatever you’re doing. It’s fine. (They are) just trying to store you up. – Guilty Chocoholic Mama for Grown and Flown

Congratulations parents/guardians and teens for being so close to the end of the academic year! And congratulations to our graduating seniors! We can all almost say it’s another year done. Take care of your teens and yourself this upcoming week- your teens may be feeling stressed and overwhelmed, especially given all we have been through this year, so the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your teens will be loving validation (finals are A LOT!) and perspective (although it may feel like it, that grade will NOT determine your happiness and joy in life). Take a walk with your teen in nature, give them a hug if they need, have some dark chocolate or a good laugh, and remind them that this too shall pass. In the end, you will keep moving forward to the next thing, together.

Finally, if your teen is struggling with academics or feeling down or frustrated about school, don’t forget to connect with our Counselors, our Nurse, and our Wellness Center. Connection and belonging are critical to a teen’s well-being, as well as ours, and will help us all feel more resilient.

College & Career

May 23, 2022

Seniors

Enjoy summer!

Juniors

College Essay Workshops at Acalanes Mark your calendars for Wednesday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 22 from 10:30am-2:30pm. Must attend both workshops in order to register. Sign up here.
Additionally, the College Essay Guy offers insightful sessions on the college essay process. Students leave with tangible ideas and drafts too! Our school is registeredand courses are FREE! I highly recommend checking some of these out! They are a fun and simple way to start/finish essays.
Community College Summer Classes Open. Enrollment for summer courses at California Community Colleges has begun. You can likely take them asynchronously at many schools. If you’d like to explore a subject you are passionate about, click here.

Sophomores/Freshmen

Summer Volunteer: Send your child to the CCC for volunteer opportunities this summer.
Resources: CCC Website

Counseling

May 23, 2022

Counselor assignments are by last name.
A-Dr Anne Schonauer
Du-Kr Christine Todd
Ku-Rog Marissa Meadows
Roh-Z Susan Martin

Summer School Applications Available If your student has D or F grades currently or from past semesters and they want to make them up, they can enroll in our Summer Schoo l program. F grades in required classes need to be made up, D grades can be made up to stay 4-year college-eligible. Please have your student see their counselor to sign up.

School Nurse

May 23, 2022

Congratulations to our Senior class and families! We are so proud of you all and wish you much success, happiness and wellness as you launch into the greater community and world! Suggestion to college-bound students- when you get on campus, find and visit the Student Health Center. You will find they have a wealth of programs and resources. Make plans to get your fall flu shot there so you know where it is.

COVID- All I’m going to say right now is that you can order 8 more Covid tests here.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy summer. I’m going to continue to encourage you to eat healthy and be active. Here is a great video on Summertime plant-based eating. No matter how you eat, it’s important for EVERYONE to include LOTS of fruits and vegetables. I hope you find the video inspiring to create and prepare great meals (adapt to your needs) with your family.

Please be in touch with me to discuss any medical, health, or wellness concerns.
Stay healthy and be well,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron @auhsdschools .org
925-280-2970 x7128
Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
IG: acalanesschoolnurse

Wellness Center

May 23, 2022

As the AHS Tobacco Use Prevention Education(TUPE) site coordinator I want to reiterate, one final time this year, the importance of talking to your students about the dangers of tobacco use and vaping. While teenagers have drastically decreased their cigarette and chewing tobacco use in recent years, vaping is still widely used among this demographic. Generally, the odorless, or sometimes even pleasantly scented, vapor makes usage among teens much easier to hide than cigarettes. With usage sometimes occurring in the home or at school without adults ever suspecting it, nicotine is more accessible to teens than ever before.

While vaping is often advertised as a safer alternative to smoking it should be noted that vaping is EXTREMELY addictive as nicotine levels of some popular products can be 50 times stronger than cigarettes. Since teen brains are still developing, nicotine addiction in teens has been linked to mood disorders and even damage to parts of the brain responsible for memory, emotion regulation and critical thinking.

Through education and awareness it is possible to change tobacco and nicotine outcomes in teens! If you suspect that your teen may be using nicotine or tobacco, a heartfelt conversation about the dangers is a great place to start. If you are interested in quitting resources for your teen, or even for yourself, please visit Truth Initiative for more information.

LPIE

May 23, 2022

Dear LPIE Families and Friends,

As the end of the academic year approaches, we have ample reason for gratitude. Our students returned to campus full time and successfully navigated the school year, we celebrated a joyful 40th Anniversary Gala this spring, and we are well on our way to rebuilding a stronger community after nearly two years of the pandemic. I am so inspired by the resilience of our students, teachers, and staff.

And I’m grateful for you. Thank you for the many contributions you make as a part of our extended LPIE family to support all our students. Your gift to LPIE produces lasting effects – in classrooms, theaters, science labs, and on the fields. Your gift helps sustain the academic programs that support our chorus and band performers, our student-athletes’ awards, AP and Merit Scholars, and seniors who earn college scholarships. Last year, support from donors helped maintain a dynamic classroom environment even when we were learning from home.

I also want to acknowledge the inspiration and excitement you helped generate in support of LPIE this year. Your partnership has encouraged thousands of alumni, families, and community members to engage in giving, resulting in a 17% increase in donor participation in the 2021-22 school year. I am proud of the ways in which our community came together, and I am pleased to share with you our annual report coming in July, that celebrates the impact of your generosity.

Thank you for your vital partnership, which continues to keep LPIE’s light shining brightly.

Have a safe and wonderful summer!

Danielle Gallagher
LPIE President 2021-2022

Sports

May 23, 2022

This week’s can’t miss events:

Softball
Tuesday, May 24 or Wednesday, May 25 NCS Semifinals at 5pm.
Friday, May 27 or Saturday, May 28 NCS Championship.

Track & field
Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28 CIF Championship at Clovis West HS.

General Administration Announcements

May 15, 2022

A few housekeeping items for the end of the year:

Finals Schedule – There was an error in our Student Planner with the Finals Week Schedule. Please access the current Finals Schedule by clicking here .

Books – If your student has any books they are not currently using, please have them turn them in. They do not need to wait until the end of the year!

Devices – Acalanes will collect all school-owned chromebooks, chargers, and other devices. These electronics can be returned to the library anytime Monday, May 16 through Friday, May 20.

Should your student(s) want to keep their device, etc. to study for finals, the last chance to drop these items off is during Finals week, from 12:30 to 1:30pm on the following days:

12th grade – Monday, May 23
11th grade – Tuesday, May 24
10th grade – Wednesday, May 25
9th grade – Thursday, May 26

On Friday, May 27 the library will be open from 8am to 4pm in case a student misses their assigned day for any reason.

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