Weekly News & Announcements

General Announcements

Applications have been reviewed and if the committee had questions, students were contacted over email. Please encourage your student to check email in case we’ve requested a response. Additional information regarding awards will be emailed to students mid-to-late June. Questions? Please contact us.

Membership & Fundraising

Looking for a unique graduation gift? Give a Legacy Brick and help leave a lasting impression on the Dons Legacy Wall! Families can pay tribute to your upcoming graduate, past graduates, a favorite teacher, or anyone who has contributed to your time at Acalanes.  You can even dedicate a brick to your AHS sports team, performance group or favorite club. To order your personalized brick, please fill out this order form and make your $250 tax deductible donation to Acalanes Parents Club on the AHS Web Store. Questions? Contact Legacy Brick Coordinator Melissa Arends.

General Announcements

To the Class of 2020, It is with teary eyes that we make the announcement that due to Shelter in Place orders for Contra Costa and surrounding counties, we have been advised that we cannot legally plan or host a grad night for your class. 🙁 Unfortunately the “Don Voyage” celebration on the Commodore Cruise boat in Alameda has been canceled. With the future SIP protocols unknown, it makes it difficult for us to set a date, even this summer, to celebrate your graduation as we had so dearly hoped! As parents of the Class of 2020, we are equally crushed by this decision but we want you to know that we have done everything we could up to this point to fight to make this night happen. But sadly, it’s now beyond our control. As SIP restrictions lift, we hope you will celebrate your success as a class. You deserve only the very best of all celebrations. As you graduate on June 4th, we will be cheering you on and saluting the incredibly dynamic and impressive class of 2020. We would like to congratulate you all on your amazing journey in high school and wish you a very heartfelt “Don Voyage” as you set sail into your bright futures! For information on how to receive a refund, please fill out the Grad Night Refund Form. All the Best, Your 2020 Grad Night Committee Julie Bishop, Lulu Braunstein, Carrie Daughters and Alison Minden

Co-Presidents’ Message

It’s hard to believe there are only two weeks left in the school year! If you’re looking for a way to remember someone special (e.g, teacher, coach, student), the AHS Legacy Wall of Bricks is a perfect way to do so. Bricks are on sale until tomorrow night for $200. See info in our APC fundraising section for more information. The Community Can’t Be Canceled Campaign last week focused on our wonderful teachers and resilient seniors. Up this week is a signing ceremony for senior athletes. Highlights include:

• AHS Teacher Appreciation Coffee Gift Cards Thanks to your donations, APC was able to provide each teacher with a $20 coffee card to say thanks for ALL their extra work during distance learning. Our long-standing Teacher Appreciation Coordinator Emma Bishopp spearheaded the effort, going above and beyond with hand-written thank you notes for each teacher.
• We Love Our Seniors Week Who knew cap and gown pick up could turn into a Shelter in Place silver lining? Seniors dropped by campus last week to pick up their cap and gown and were warmly welcomed back to campus by over thirty social distancing teachers and staff cheering them on along with a yummy ice cream sandwich. Seniors went home with a goodie bag thanks to our Senior Liaisons!
• AHS Collegiate Sports Celebration & Recognition on Tuesday, May 19 Join the live Zoom call hosted by Acalanes Boosters recognizing our amazing senior student athletes who have been recruited to play their sport at the college level. It’s a great way to show your Dons spirit! Details on the Acalanes Booster website.

This week, we’d like to extend a special thank you to APC Newsletter Editor Sarah Ortman who has seamlessly published over 80 issues every Sunday for the past two school years. We also appreciate the numerous hours that Diane Archer and her APC Volunteer Services Team log to manage the Acalanes and President’s Volunteer Service Awards program. We look forward to recognizing the service award winners soon. Dawn Brightbill and Sarah Cusumano

Acalanes Community Always

Graduation is Thursday, June 4th, and Lafayette retailers have put together some great gift ideas to congratulate our AHS graduates. You’ll even find some great ideas for Dads too (Father’s Day is June 21). Additionally, local restaurants have created special family meals to celebrate. You can find more info on the Lafayette Chamber’s website. Buying local helps our Lafayette businesses survive and provides sales tax dollars to the City of Lafayette.

General Announcements

We have one open position to finalize our team for next year. Please let Nominating Committee Chair Meg Fellner know if you’re interested in the following role:

• Student Directory/Parent Handbook Coordinator. We are considering an online directory option and are looking for someone who can research options and manage the student directory and parent handbook process.
• Co-Chair Parent Education. Join Anna Eppinger in overseeing the parent education calendar for the upcoming school year. It’s a great way to get involved by sharing relevant content and speakers to the AHS parent community.

APC Grants

Thanks to your APC donations in the fall, and despite COVID-19, Acalanes Parents Club is pleased to fund the following spring grants totaling almost $10,000:

• Funding to help support the Performing Arts project to update the PAC lighting system 
• A new podium for student and parent events on campus
• Funding towards a refresh of the Main Quad 
• Additional funding for a new water station

Special thanks to our Grants Coordinator Laura White for doing such a fantastic job managing the grants process this school year. 

 

General Announcements

If you haven’t yet had the chance to browse Blueprint’s new annual literary magazine, The Azure, now is your chance. Enjoy both written and visual art, featuring some great works from students across campus. Congratulations team Blueprint on this impressive achievement!

Counseling

Counselors are working from home and are still here to support our students. We miss seeing our students! Please contact us if you have questions or want to check in.  DVC summer classes:  Diablo Valley College (DVC) published a schedule of summer classes. It looks like they are preparing to offer all summer classes online. If your student is looking to take a college course for enrichment purposes, it could be a good opportunity. Students need to apply to DVC online ahead of time. Check back with DVC after May 4 for a paperless concurrent enrollment process. Transcripts Students can still request official transcripts on the webstore here. Our registrar is processing requests regularly. Unofficial transcripts can be requested from our registrar or a counselor.   We want to remind you of some valuable community resources: 

• For non-life threatening mental health support: Contra Costa Crisis Center. Call 211  or text HOPE to 20121 available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for mental health needs.  
• www.211cc.org can help you reach other community resources. 
• In the event of a mental health emergency, please contact 911.  

As a reminder, here are the counselor assignments and emails.  Counselors prefer using the auhsdschools.org email but School Loop messages are also fine.

College & Career

Mandatory Senior Survey For Release of Final Transcripts to Attending College 
All seniors need to update the results of their college applications and post AHS plans.  Transcripts will be sent once the senior survey is received.  Transcripts are free!

Wednesday, May 13 from 10:30-11:15am Wendy’s C&CC Weekly Parent Check In
Join me to answer any parent questions related to the college admissions process, summer programs, community college, Naviance, internships, jobs and more! All grades welcome. Join Zoom meeting here. ID: 651 363 0875 & Password: DONS2020

Junior Interest 

• Tuesday, May 12 Virtual College Tours While our juniors can’t visit college campuses in person, Applerouth is bringing a few college campuses to us.  Your junior can hear from current students about campus life from colleges such as Barnard, University of Wisconsin and others.  Use the link here to access the 1-hour webinar.
• College Application/Acceptance Anxiety?  This is a great article from a college admissions dean to all high school juniors.  Worth a read!  Use the link here.

What will Fall Semester Look Like at College?
A hot topic this week is how colleges and universities will handle the fall semester and beyond. Here are some recent articles:

• Anxiety builds as California colleges consider how and when to resume on-campus fall courses
• Coronavirus Pushes Colleges to the Breaking Point, Forcing 'Hard Choices' about Education
• Opinion | College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here’s How We Do It.
• Here’s a List of Colleges’ Plans for Reopening in the Fall

Student Meetings
I will be available via School Loop or email: Wendy Reicher to support all students/families.  Seniors and juniors: meet with me on the phone! To schedule appointments use this Calendly link.  This can be students only or include parents, too.

CCC Website
Check for updates in the new section, “News and Updates during distance learning”.

Let’s Connect

• Follow us on Instagram: @acalanesccc
• Facebook Page for Students Have your senior or junior join the College and Career Student FB page to post where they are going to college and share information about the process with each other.  

Naviance Portal Update
If you or your student is having trouble logging in, please see School Loop News for detailed instructions.  Sign up for daily Loop News Bulletins.

Freshman College Planning
Sophomore College Planning
Junior College Planning
Senior Checklist

 

Wellness Center

We’re having many rewarding interactions with students right now that are interesting for two reasons. Firstly, we notice how productive it is for them to name their challenges right now. Whether it’s procrastination or motivation or fear over uncertainty, they feel better just by voicing it and having the news met with understanding (versus judgment or advice). “That makes sense because this is hard!” is the best response you can offer. The second interesting thing is that by being curious and asking follow up questions we find that they have many answers to the challenges presented by the shelter-in-place. What is in short supply for them right now is self-kindness.

Finally, we must share The Importance of Safe Gun Storage During the COVID-19 Pandemic. If you have them in your home, make sure firearms are locked, unloaded, and stored separately from ammunition.