Weekly News & Announcements

Counseling

End of First Semester Transcripts - Transcripts are now updated with first semester grades and are visible in Aeries. Mid-year reports were sent to colleges last week.

Counselor Appointments - We love talking to our students! Email is the best way to reach us. Counselors have appointment slots for students and will email them a link for signing up. We are trying to reserve the limited slots outside of class time for students. Parents can schedule a time when students are in class.

A- Ed  Anne Schonauer
Ee-Kr  Christine Todd
Ku-Ros  Marissa Meadows
Rot-Z  Susan Martin

Legislative News

Governor Newsom recently released the proposed state budget for next year. The budget, which is typically revised and presented again in May, increases total funding for K-12 and community colleges to $89.2 billion. Gov. Newsom proposes $4.6 billion for summer school, more learning time in 2021-22 budget. It also includes a reduction of 2 percentage points in the districts’ share of pension payments, provides a cost-of-living adjustment, and pays off two-thirds of the deferrals (money owed by the state to the districts) which were used to balance last year’s budget. 

Parent Education

Replay: Challenge Success presents “A Healthy Approach to College Admissions” Did you miss the chance to join this informative and engaging session? Watch the replay here. Additionally, here are several follow-up resources suggested by Challenge Success:

• Essential criteria ranking document 
• Challenge Success website, College Information Resources 
• Book recommendations:

Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be by Frank Bruni
What Matters the Most by Paul Tough
The Truth About College Admissions by Brennan Bernard
Who Gets In and Why by Jeff Selingo

School Nurse

• Current license: RN, LVN, EMT, or DDS, PharmD or MD. 
• Completed background check and TB Test (provided by Contra Costa County)
• Completed online mandatory trainings Covid-19 Vaccine Training (ca.gov)
• Ability to volunteer 24 hours a week from Sunday through Saturday. Hours vary depending on assignment.
• Candidates must be able to work at all Contra Costa sites and have reliable transportation. 
• If you can meet the minimum requirements, please complete the Volunteer Information Form and send to: COVID19Volunteers@cchealth.org.  

Sports

The CIF North Coast Section (NCS) met last week and approved a sports framework to allow local leagues to create a sports schedule in accordance with guidance from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Read the statement here.

Diablo Athletic League (DAL), the local league for AHS sports, also met last week to establish a preliminary schedule for “purple tier” sports beginning February 1. (If the current, regional Stay at Home Order extends beyond February 1, the season would be postponed.) Read more from the DAL here. 

General Announcements

Cancelled: Tuesday, Jan 26 PSAT for Sophomores
The AUHSD District has cancelled the PSAT for Sophomores at Acalanes High School on January 26 due to the extension of the California Stay at Home Order. The school day schedule has been adjusted accordingly, with Tuesday, January 26 returning to a regular class schedule. 

Registrants may either defer their exam payment/registration to be applied to the Fall 2021 PSAT exam (date TBD), or receive a full refund of the $30 exam cost. To choose the refund option, please email Hannah Welling at hwelling@auhsdschools.org by January 31. If you do not email your refund request by January 31, your student will automatically be registered for/paid for the Fall 2021 PSAT. Please contact Hannah Welling with any questions.

APC in Action

Dons Dialogue Replay
If you missed Friday’s Dons Dialogue with Principal Bell, click here for a replay. (approx. 90 minutes)

ICYMI: A Healthy Approach to College Admissions presented by Challenge Success
Visit the Parent Education section below for a replay link to last week’s presentation.

2020-21 Acalanes & President's Volunteer Service Awards Program
Spring is the time for students to submit their volunteer service applications and now is the time to start getting organized! Given the limited volunteer opportunities, we reduced the service hour minimum to 20 hours to help more students qualify for the Acalanes Award. The President's Volunteer Service award is a federal program and we cannot modify their minimum number of hours/program requirements. 

We encourage students to be creative with ideas that can turn into volunteer opportunities while following guidelines to keep yourself, families and neighbors safe.  Ideas to consider (verification of hours is still necessary):

• Grocery shopping or running errands for senior, disabled or at-risk neighbors
• Tutoring or Homework help (unpaid) for younger students in your neighborhood (non-family members)
• AHS Clubs focused on service such as Key Club, Children's Hospital, Equip for Equality, Environmental, Asian Student Union, SAGE, Protect Animals Worldwide

If you have a great idea about a way to be of service in your community and want to see if it qualifies under the AHS program, email us!  In the meantime, download the service award application forms here. Then submit completed, scanned applications between March 25 and April 10, 2021 to communityservice@acalanesparentsclub.com.

Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

Tuesday, Jan 26 at 10am ACA Chat Live with Andrea Powers & Katherine Walton
Join the first ACA Chat Live of 2021. If you haven’t joined before, these are “not to miss” events. Topics and Zoom details will be shared next week.

Thursday, Jan 28 ACA “We’ve Got Heart” DAY Campus Drive-Thru
ACA Strong spirit has kicked into high gear for 2021. Encourage your students to participate in the first ACA DAY of the new year. 

• • ALL students who attend will receive a new! ACA Strong blue t-shirt
  • Monument Crisis Center’s Food Drive - Donations of peanut butter and boxes of cereal would be greatly appreciated. The crisis center is servicing twice as many families during COVID-19 so all donations are welcome!

• ACA DAY Schedule
  • 2:30-3:00pm SENIORS (Celebrating “College Apps are Done!”)
  • 3:00-3:30pm Juniors
  • 3:30-4:00pm Sophomores
  • 4:00-4:30pm Freshman

ACA Strong T-Shirts for Sale at ACA DAY
For AHS parents (and siblings) who also want the new ACA Strong t-shirt, we will have extras available for purchase at the ACA DAY Campus Drive-Thru on 1/28. $10, cash only please. 

Questions, comments, or feedback, email aca@acalanesparentsclub.com.

LPIE

Thank you for the outpouring of support given to students through your donations last month. 

• Our $60,000 Matching Gift Opportunity from two generous families resulted in donations of over $216K!
• Our #40for40 Community Campaign raised more than $7K and this number continues to grow! 

As we turn to 2021, let’s keep this momentum going into the Spring so that we can preserve the resources that support our students every day. Our goal is $4.3M and we are halfway there.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

We have a busy few months ahead! Get those calendars out as we invite you to several exciting events! 

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when we honor the contributions of the famous civil right leader. Stanford University’s “The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute” is hosting a webinar and online documentary series. Get inspired with more ideas for how to celebrate and honor Dr. King. 

For the first time in history, our country will have a female Black and South East Asian Vice President. Experts and activists from both communities predicted that Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, would rally minority voters and keep them engaged in the political process. Read more here. 

Tuesday, Jan 19 from 7-8:30pm Racial Equity Series with Dr. Lori Watson
If you haven’t already signed up for Tuesday’s session, sign up here. Remaining dates: 

• Feb 9 “Whiteness”
• March 3 “Children and Race”
• May 6 “Disrupting Racism/Co-Conspiratorship”. 

Wednesday, Jan 27 from 6-8pm - AUHSD Equity and Social Responsibility Workshop
Featuring Dr. Ammar Saheli. Click here to join. 

Thursday, Feb 4 from 6:30-8pm District Book Club Event
Dive into the novel “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Watch this powerful film adaptation of the book.  Book copies are available at Orinda Books, who will donate proceeds to the Miles Hall Foundation in honor of Black History Month. Sign up here, and invite a friend! Event is open to all. 

Tuesday, Feb 23 from 6:30-7:30pm Private Virtual Speaker Event with Arshay Cooper
Arshay Cooper is the author of the novel “A Most Beautiful Thing” and co-star in the movie of the same name. Sign up here! The book is a true story about the first all-Black high school rowing team in the US. The critically acclaimed film adaptation was executive produced by rapper Common, NBA basketball stars Grant Hill and Dwayne Wade, along with music producer 9th Wonder! During this panel-moderated interactive Q&A event, Arshay will share more about his life, trauma, experience as a rower, film career, and more. In the meantime, purchase the book here. The movie is available on Amazon Prime and Xfinity. 

To join us, or if you have ideas or questions or you want more information, email us! Stay current by visiting our webpage, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.