General Announcements

Acalanes Back to School Night (BTSN) is this Thursday, Aug 31 from 5:15-8pm!

Please plan to join at 5:15pm in the front quad for a Parent and Staff Reception hosted by the Acalanes Parents Club (APC).  Principal Shawn will share some remarks around 5:30 and classroom visits start at 6pm.

As mentioned above, this evening is for us, the parents/caregivers, to experience what our students experience each and every school day – you don’t want to miss it!

Important Reminder: be sure to print the BTSN Program here and write down your student’s schedule and room numbers so you know where to go!

August APC Dons Dialogue – View the Slides!
Thank you to all who attended our first Dons Dialogue of the school year on Friday, Aug 25. We had a packed room. This month’s topics included attendance reminders, academy review, counseling and wellness updates, athletic PE and a student activities report. If you were not able to attend, here are the slides from the discussion. 

Thank you to our APC Hospitality Co-Chairs, Mia Heglie and Monica Stassi, for providing the welcoming coffee and treats!

Peer Tutoring is Now Open!

 
The program is located in Room 107 under the supervision of Co-Directors, Kristen Labrosse and Angela Ketcham. Students are welcome to drop-in to receive help from junior and senior student tutors in almost any AHS academic subject, or just come in to do homework, read or study.
 
Hours this week: Lunch, 7th period, and every day 1 hour after the last school bell rings.
Academy sessions start this Friday, Sep 1. For Academy only, students need to sign-up in advance using TeachMore. Space is limited.
 

Join us for the Dons Dialogue Friday, Aug 25 at 8:45am:  Acalanes Parents Club is pleased to invite you to our first Dons Dialogue of the 2023-2024 school year! Dons Dialogues are the best way to find out what’s going on at Acalanes! 

These monthly forums provide parents with the opportunity to hear directly from Principal Eric Shawn and other AHS faculty regarding academics, student activities, department information, hot topics on campus, plus open Q&A. APC will provide coffee and treats. All parents/caregivers welcome.
 

Peer Tutoring is Now Open! Peer Tutoring aims to better the educational, social and emotional well-being of all Acalanes High School students and support them in developing the skills necessary to succeed in academics and life post high school.

The program opens tomorrow (Monday, Aug 21) in Room 107 under the supervision of Co-Directors, Kristen Labrosse and Angela Ketcham. Students are welcome to drop-in to receive help from junior and senior student tutors in almost any AHS academic subject, or just come in to do homework, read or study.

Hours week of Aug 21: Lunch, 7th period, and every day 1 hour after the last school bell rings. Academy sessions start September 1!

Thank you, Acalanes Parents Club! Peer Tutoring is 100% funded by APC. We could not operate without your donations to this valuable organization.
 
Volunteer Opportunities: In case you missed it in the registration process, please complete this volunteer form so we know what you’re interested in helping with this year. There are plenty of parent volunteer opportunities, starting with Homecoming this fall!

Stay Connected:  Follow the Acalanes Parents Club on Instagram to keep up to date on what’s happening at Acalanes and reminders for important dates. Please reach out to APC here with any questions.

Important reminders from APC to help make back to school time a success.

• Dons Day is tomorrow, Monday, Aug 14 from 7:30-11:30am! Please complete your annual online registration in Aeries before coming to Dons Day. As a part of registration, please visit the Acalanes Web Store and check out how to support all Acalanes partners such as APC. You can also purchase yearbooks, class activity funds, ASB card, apparel and more!
• If you are a 9th or 10th grade family and still need residency verification, please come to the collaboration center starting at 7:30am. Please bring all of the necessary proof of residency documentation listed here. We recommend bringing copies to expedite the process.
• Frosh orientation will be held from 12-1:30pm and meets in the Performing Arts Center (PAC).
• New parent orientation meets in the Library from 12-1pm.
• Transfer students are invited to meet near the flagpole at 11:30am for an orientation and tour.
• In addition to Dons Day, Chromebooks will be available for pick up on the first day of school. Students may use their own devices if preferred.
• Please remember there is an adjusted bell schedule for the first week of school.

Volunteer opportunities: In case you missed it in the registration process, please complete this volunteerform so we know what you’re interested in helping with this year. There are plenty of parent volunteer opportunities, starting with Homecoming this fall!

Please reach out to APC here with any questions

Welcome Back! Please review all the important information included in Principal Shawn’s email from Friday, August 11. Click here to view the email in Aeries Parent Square.
 
First Week of School Schedule
We have an adjusted bell schedule for the first week of school. Please share with your students. Tuesday and Wednesday are Anchor Days (aka “see all days”), Thursday and Friday will follow the regular block schedule.

Please review Prinicpal Shawn’s end of year message sent Friday, May 16 via Parent Square. The email shares a lot of valuable information for summer. Below are two important excerpts to review.
 
Fall Registration and Residency Verification
All families must complete online registration beginning July 31. You will receive directions on how to complete registration on July 25 through ParentSquare. Parents/guardians must complete registration prior to attending Dons Day on August 14.
 
NEW THIS YEAR: All rising 9th-grade and 10th-grade families (Class of 2026 & 2027) must complete in-person residency verification starting Juyl 31 through August 14 at the Acalanes main office between 8:00am and 4:00pm. We will also host evening events for in-person residency verification on August 2 at Acalanes High School and August 3 at the AUHSD District Office. Both offices will be open until 8:00pm. Please click here for moreinformation on what documentation is required to confirm your residency.
 
See APC in Action below for more important dates.

1. AUHSD postcard to arrive on or after: July 12
2. Parent email from AUHSD with detailed online registration instructions: July 25
3. Online registration opens: July 31 – Aug 14
4. Classes of 2026 & 2027 families must complete IN PERSON residency verification:  
   1. July 31 – Aug 14 from 8am-4pm in the Acalanes Main Office
   2. Aug 2 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the Acalanes Main Office
   3. Aug 3 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the AUHSD District Office
5. Dons Day: Aug 14 from 7:30-11:30am
   1. New Student Orientation: 11:30am (meet at flagpole)
   2. Frosh Orientation: 12-1:30pm (start in PAC)
   3. New Parent Orientation: 12pm (in Library)

Thank You to All our Volunteers!
The Acalanes Parents Club would like to thank the following APC Board Members and Committee Chairs 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 – Kristen Labrosse (now Co-Director, Peer Tutoring) 
• Treasurer – Katharine Wallace
• Community Partners – Natasha  Acuña
• Co-Head Class Liaison & ACA Liaisons – Jen Dodge & Heidi Hambidge
• Auditor – Nina Ruebner
• Webmaster  – Danielle Gallagher
• Student Directory – Sharon Hunt
• Co-Hospitality Coordinators – Audra Fraioli & Kari Trimble
• Co-Staff Appreciation – Jennifer McCarthy
• Co-Finals Fuel – Sheryl Platt & Janice Metzger
• Co-Dons Day Coordinator – Pam Severson
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Liaison – Teli Thayer
• Senior Class Liaisons – Catherine Burns, Charlene Condy, Jen Dodge, Daniele Upp 

Finals Fuel
Thank You to all the families who helped make Spring Finals Fuel a success!  The students were very appreciative – many “thanks and thank you’s” were heard amongst the rush for snacks! 
And special shout out to our Finals Fuel Co-Chairs, Sheryl Platt and Janice Metzger. They made sure our students were well fueled for exams all year.
 
AHS Service Awards & Presidential Awards – NEW PROCESS & NEW GUIDELINES for Next Year
Thank you to all students for their community service this past year and we look forward to another great year of service in ’23-24!  Please note that we will have several changes next year. First, the minimum hours for the AHS service award for next year will be 30 hours (back to the pre-Covid threshold). Second, and more importantly, your students will be able to record and verify their hours throughout the year using a new app called Helper Helper. Please check out the AHS website (under College and Career Center) for more information on the NEW guidelines and NEW instructions for students to validate and record their service hours for the coming year. If you have any questions, please email us!

Finals Schedule: May 23 – 26
Parents take note of the spring finals schedule. Monday, May 22 follows the regular schedule and the finals schedule begins on Tuesday, May 23. A great way to help support our students during finals is to help out with Finals Fuel (see below).

During Finals, Peer Tutoring will be open Tuesday-Thursday from 12:50-2:50pm. The Library will be open from 7:30am to 3:00pm Tuesday & Thursday and from 7:30am to 1:00pm Wednesday & Friday. 
 
IMPORTANT INFO FOR ALL SENIOR FAMILIES
Here is all the information senior families need to know to close out the year.

1. Senior Wrap–Up & To–Do List – print this off and use the to-do list as you wrap up senior year.
2. Senior Graduation Information – anything and everything senior families need to know for graduation and all leading up to it.
3. Graduation field map for families – please share this with your family and friends that will be attending graduation. Remind your students to let all family members know which side of the stadium they will be sitting in (they find out at rehearsal) so you can have a better view of  your senior walking the stage.
4. AHS Senior Survey – seniors need to take a few minutes to fill out your final AHS survey.

Congratulations Class of 2023!

Finals Fuel is THIS WEEK!
Let’s re-fuel our students between final exams with healthy snacks!
 
Thank you to everyone who has already donated or volunteered, but we are still in need of snacks, donations and volunteers for this much-loved event!
 
Click here for the Sign-Up Genius, which includes more information on donating and volunteering.

Finals Schedule: May 23 – 26
Parents take note of the spring finals schedule. Monday, May 22 follows the regular schedule and the finals schedule begins on Tuesday, May 23. A great way to help support our students during finals is to help out with Finals Fuel (see below).