• APC Membership & Fundraising

    October 9, 2020

    October 16-31 - Virtual Lafayette Res Run For Education
    There’s still time to register. Encourage a friend to join you for this race, get some exercise and earn money for your school! Support Acalanes and sign up now. Go Dons!

    If you have any questions, please contact VP Fundraising Kelly Daggs.

  • From the Activities Director

    October 9, 2020

    New Spirit Wear With A Purpose!
    Acalanes! Check out the new spirit wear available and order by TOMORROW! There are a few cancer awareness items, an Acalanes bucket hat (highly requested by students) and our Acalanes anti-racist shirt. Orders will be available for pick-up October 29. 

    Looking for CARE Leaders
    Acalanes is continuing our education around issues of equity. One of the ways we will do this is through CARE Week & CARE Workshops, which are student-led.  We are looking for 55 students to lead a workshop in Monday cohort about on campus discrimination, bias and lived student experience at Acalanes and in our community. We are looking for students who are versed in the protocol (compass and agreements) as well as students who can be comfortable leading uncomfortable conversations. Apply here.

    2020-2021 Clubs
    Club meetings continue this week. Encourage your student to attend even if they missed the first meeting last week. Check out our 44 clubs!

    Tuesday, Oct 13 - Staff Tell All-Lunch with Admin
    Encourage your student to attend Tuesday’s lunch dialogue with admin. Ask them questions about the return to campus, asynchronous Mondays, homework load and more. Zoom link sent via canvas. 

    Wednesday, Oct 14 at 6:30pm - Screening & Dialogue of The Social Dilemma
    Tune in and watch the Netflix movie The Social Dilemma. We will watch the film and then use break-out rooms to dialogue further. Zoom link will be sent to students via Canvas.

    Save the Date: Wednesday, Oct 21 at 7pm - Women in Leadership with Kelly Galuska
    Kelly is a writer and executive producer on Netflix. She has worked on the shows     BoJack Horseman, Big Mouth, and is currently producing Human Resources with Nick Kroll. Come hear about her story, her experience as a female in Hollywood and engage in dialogue. 

    Acalanes Community Always Fire Relief Fund
    Fires continue to plague our state and our local community. Together, as an Acalanes community, we wanted to support our first responders and those who have been affected. Consider contributing to the Acalanes Fire Relief Fund. If everyone at Acalanes donates $1, we would be at $1,400 total. Let’s do this Dons - we are at $1060 so far. Donate here.

    If I can ever do anything to help you or your student, don’t hesitate to reach out!

    Katherine Walton, Student Activities Director

  • Wellness Center

    October 9, 2020

    We’re big fans of, to borrow a phrase from Dr. Dan Siegel, the belief that when it comes to emotions, you have to “name it to tame it”. Even when our emotions aren’t new and even when they are part of our daily experience. The pandemic is hard, online learning is hard, and doing those two things while being an adolescent is really hard! We want to share an article sent to us by one of the many amazing teachers at Acalanes, Erin Barth who teaches English and is a TOSA (teacher on special assignment). She cares deeply about kids and about how online teaching can be improved with Social Emotional Learning (SEL). THIS ARTICLE from UC Davis’s health psychologist speaks to the notion of getting real about Covid fatigue (the stage we’re in collectively) and outlines some essentials for dealing with it. We hope you find as much wisdom in it as we did.  

    Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
    Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist

    For updates, tips and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness

  • College & Career

    October 9, 2020

    One-on-one Appointments
    Students can book an individual meeting with Ms. Reicher here. 

    Tuesday, Oct 13 - FAFSA workshop
    The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form allows students to request federal grants, work-study, and loans all in one application. Learn about how and why to fill out these crucial financial aid forms for your future college freshman.

    Tuesday, Oct 27 at 7pm - Financial Aid Night (rescheduled)
    Join us for an online presentation about college costs. The meeting link is     here, and you can review this helpful handout for details. Learn more about presenter Tim Lenahan. 

    Tuesday, Nov 17 at 7pm - Parent Naviance Workshop for Juniors. 
    Zoom link to follow!

    Helpful Links:

    Freshman College Planning
    Sophomore College Planning
    Junior College Planning
    Senior Checklist

    Keep up the good work! 
    Wendy Reicher/College and Career Advisor: wreicher@auhsdschools.org

  • Counseling

    October 9, 2020

    End of Quarter
    October 9 is the end of the quarter grading period. Grades will be updated the following week. It’s gone by fast! Quarter grades are essentially progress reports at the halfway point in the semester. Grades and credits are updated on the transcript at the end of each semester. 

    Transcripts
    For Seniors ordering transcripts, have your list of colleges updated on Naviance and pay the $5 fee for official transcripts on the webstore. Mrs. Finn, the registrar, will process requests. Please contact Mrs. Finn with questions. Students can review unofficial transcripts in Aeries.

    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

  • Parent Education

    October 9, 2020

    Friday, Oct 23 from 11-11:45am Challenge Success reVISION 2020
    Join Challenge Success co-founders Dr. Denise Pope and Dr. Madeline Levine in a 45-minute live streamed event featuring NY Times bestselling author Lori Gottlieb as they examine how 2020 has highlighted the importance of how we view well-being and relationships. Topics include what really matters for our children, families and schools, and how education can best support students to become balanced, healthy and engaged learners. This event is a fall fundraiser for the Challenge Success organization, but registration is free. Learn more here. 

  • School Nurse

    October 9, 2020

    Be Covid Proactive!
    See update on my google site. Stay healthy by keeping this symptom checklist in mind.

    School Immunization Requirements are still in place.
    Many students are missing the 2nd dose of Varicella (Chicken Pox) vaccine which is now required for school entry. 

    Those families will receive an email that their student’s immunization record is incomplete.  Please submit updated immunization records if you receive this email or/and/if your student gets an updated immunization at their physician’s office.

    Please check in with your local pediatrician’s office, Primary Care Provider, or our County Health Department.

    Flu Vaccine is available NOW! 
    Make sure to have everyone in your family get a Flu vaccine. We all want to stay as healthy as possible, individually and collectively as a community. Reduced illness from flu will also ease the burden of illness from Covid in our hospital facilities. Flu vaccine is available at most medical practices and pharmacies.     Free CC County Flu Shot Clinics begin next week.

    Medical Forms and Medications at School
    Please turn in any relevant medical forms your student might need for the 2020-21 school year. Those forms should be dated no earlier than June 2020. You can access forms here.

    Here’s a great article on How To Be Stronger Co-Parents During The Pandemic

    Please get in touch with me with any questions, concerns, and/or requests. I look forward to being in touch and connected!

    Is your student interested in joining the Acalanes Health & Medicine Student Club? Check it out here.

    Dvora Citron, RN, MS
    Acalanes School Nurse Google Site
    dcitron@auhsdschools.org
    IG:  acalanesschoolnurse

  • Acalanes Community Always (ACA)

    October 4, 2020

    It’s an exciting month ahead for all things ACA. Check our ACAtober details below:

    Thursday, Oct 8 ACA Day  
    It’s ACAtober and the first ACA Day is a “not to be missed” drive-by event on campus. Check out the class sections for more info. In addition to some old-fashioned Acalanes spirit, the first 50 students from each class will receive a     cool gift of ACA SWAG!! Students will also have a chance to write/drop off thank you notes for Lafayette firefighters & police officers, health care workers and/or our awesome AHS teachers & staff. Acalanes families can help with the ongoing fire devastation by donating to the Acalanes Community Always Fire Relief Fund.

    Tuesday, Oct 6 at 10am ACA Chat Live!
    This event, hosted by co-Associate Principal Andrea Powers & Student Activities Director Katherine Walton, is a “not to be missed” informal, engaging and interactive parent forum. Pandemic exhaustion tips for students will be highlighted along with ways parents can help students stay engaged. Expect a light-hearted but highly informative hour. Watch your email box tomorrow for details on how to participate. 

    Campus Clean Up
    WOW!! Students (and parents) turned out BIG for the effort to spruce up the campus on Saturday.  It was the largest student turn-out ever and it was great to see Acalanes students so motivated to connect and give back. 

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

  • APC in Action

    October 2, 2020

    APC Student Directory
    The directory is now available to APC Members (families who donate any amount to APC are members!) via Acalanes Parents Club website.  For privacy reasons, the directory is password protected. Members can look for an email with password information in their inbox later today. Not sure if you’re a member?  Go to the Web Store, log into your account and view your order history. Thank you for your support! A huge thank you to Sharon Hunt, Danielle Gallagher and Linda Choi for creating the directory and making it accessible to our members. 

    Applications Due October 9: APC Grants, All Ideas Welcome!
    Acalanes Parents Club will continue its APC Grant Program this year with a focus on creative solutions to enhance the educational experience of AHS students during distance learning, and with an eye toward ideas for when we gather again in-person. Teachers, students and parents are encouraged to submit a grant proposal by accessing the criteria and application form here. Email APC Grants Coordinator Catherine Habas with questions. To submit your completed proposal, email Catherine or deliver to the APC box in the office. 

    2020-21 Acalanes & President's Volunteer Service Awards Program
    The 2020-21 program year continues to be challenging for identifying volunteer opportunities. It is very important that students looking for opportunities to volunteer in our local community follow safety guidelines in order to keep yourself, families and neighbors safe. This year we are reducing the volunteer service hour minimum to 20 hours and adding in flexibility to volunteer requirements. This reduction applies only to the Acalanes Volunteer Service Award. The President's Volunteer Service award is a federal program and we cannot modify their program requirements. We encourage students to be creative with ideas that can turn into volunteer opportunities. Ideas to consider (verification of hours is still necessary):

    • Grocery shopping or running errands for senior, disabled or at-risk neighbors
    • AHS Stege Elementary pen-pal program
    • 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!

  • Parent Cohort Preview from AHS Admin

    October 2, 2020

    Nationally recognized speaker Keith Hawkins, will help lead a student dialogue about resiliency, perseverance and finding your “why” during Monday morning’s Cohort session. Check in with your student after school and see how it went. Here are some questions you can ask to continue the dialogue at home:

    • What current struggle are you dealing with right now? What are the reasons you will stick it out and persevere even though I know it might be a struggle. 
    • Turn your “I can’t” statements into “I can” statements. Resilience starts in your mind. Your self-talk is one of your most powerful tools. Take challenges in stages. Break down the challenge into steps that are more manageable. Do one task at a time.
    • What is a goal you have for yourself? What is your first step towards meeting that goal? How can I support?

    In addition, Keith will be live on Wednesday at lunch to further dialogue with our students around resilience and perseverance. Please encourage your student to attend. The Zoom link will be sent out through Canvas.