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Acalanes Community Always (ACA)
A Few Important Dates!
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)
This Month’s Important Dates:
Aug 12 International Youth Day
Aug 26 Women’s Equality Day
Welcome back DONS!!! We are so glad you are here! Please join us this year in making sure all students, staff, and families feel welcome each and every time they step on our campus. The APC DEIB Committee is here to help students and families promote diversity, equity, inclusivity and belonging in every aspect of our school. From classrooms to clubs to parent education nights, our goal is to help provide spaces of discussion where we can learn from one another. If you would like to be a part of this group, please visit our table at DONS DAY or send us an email at diversityandinclusion@acalanesparentsclub.com .
On Aug 12 the United Nations recognizes International Youth Day by bringing youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrating the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society. You can learn more about the UN Holidays and Celebrations by clicking the links to discover why they are so important.
And…Please check out the new AUHSD DEIB website for many great resources and events!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. -
Student Activities
Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! And to new families, welcome to the Acalanes community! We are so glad you are here. A few announcements and reminders as we start the year:
ASB Stickers: Thank you to all who have purchased the ASB sticker via the webstore! There is still time to purchase and this money drives student activities at Acalanes. ASB costs $110 and the sticker gets printed on the ID Card. Perks include:- Free spirit shirt
- Discounts at local businesses
- Free admission to home athletic events
- Discounts to on campus dances
Acalanes summer spiritwear - store is open until Friday!
Looking for new student designed spiritwear? You can buy now through Aug 16 and proceeds benefit the classes of 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028.
Dons Day: Encourage your student to check out their class table tomorrow morning, along with our clubs, who will also have tables. It is a great way to get connected!
Frosh Orientation is tomorrow from 12-1:30pm and is all student led. Students can check in at the PAC. The Transfer Student Orientation is from 11:30am-12:30pm and students will meet in front of the flagpole.
Homecoming informational meetings will be held Monday, Aug 19. These are a great chance for your student to learn more, get involved and experience an incredible tradition at Acalanes High School. Homecoming week runs from Sept 15-21.
New and Returning Club Applications: Anyone can start a club at Acalanes and we encourage students to do so. Club applications will be available for any new or returning club on Monday, Aug 19 and due on Thursday, Aug 29. There is a mandatory meeting at lunch on Wednesday, Aug 23 in room 314 for anyone interested in starting or renewing a club.
Class Shirts: Friday, Aug 16 is the last chance to order your class shirt via the webstore. Students typically wear their class shirts to rallies and other on campus events and this is a great fundraiser for each class. Shirts will be distributed in mid Sept during lunch - more details coming soon!
A few additional important dates:
Sep. 15-21 Homecoming 2024
Apr 19: Junior & Senior Prom
My goal is that every student at Acalanes is connected to one activity outside of class. I am always happy to meet with students and/or parents about on campus programming and opportunities. If I can help, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.
Katherine Walton, Activities Director -
Counseling
Counselor assignments are by student last name:
A-F Anne Schonauer
G-Ka Erika Vasquez
Ke-Re Marissa Meadows
Rh-Z Susan Martin
NEW COUNSELOR ALPHA With the recent decision by the Board to cut counselor staffing at Acalanes, we have had to redistribute our students to accommodate this change. Ms. Schonauer, Ms. Meadows and Ms. Martin have taken on extra students, while Ms. Vasquez will have a reduced caseload. Ms. Vasquez is now working a split position between Acalanes and Miramonte. She will be on campus M/W/Th, and will be at Miramonte Tu/F. She is always available by email or phone M-F. If your student needs something urgently on a day she is not at Acalanes, they can always ask another counselor for help.
DONS DAY and CLASS SCHEDULES We are excited to see our students tomorrow as they pick up their schedules! It’s always so fun to reconnect and hear about summer adventures. Please have your student email us immediately if there is an error in their schedule - missing a period, in the wrong class, two classes in the same period, etc. Any class change requests will be accepted from students beginning Wednesday afternoon, Aug14. We will post a Schedule Change Request Form on the main page of the AHS website at that time. All changes will be made on a space-available basis and are not guaranteed. Any teacher change requests will not be accommodated - however, we will try to move a student to a new teacher if they have had the teacher for a full year previously. Students have the first ten days of school to finalize their schedules (until Aug 26).
DROP DEADLINE Students may ADD a class during the first ten days of school only, but they may DROP a class at anytime during the first quarter, which ends on Oct 11. After this date, any class dropped will receive an automatic F grade. -
School Nurse
Welcome Dons to our 2024-25 School Year!
I will be present at Dons’ Day if you have any questions, updated forms to submit, or just to say HI!
You can access the Medical Forms page HERE or use the QR code below.
My office hours are:
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and some* Thursdays
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 8am - 3:50pm
Wednesdays: 7:30am - 3:20pm
AHS School Nurse Calendar
See my website for more information.
Always Your School Nurse,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org, 925-280-2970 x7128
IG: acalanesschoolnurse, School Nurse Website -
Performing & Visual Arts
Acalanes Symphonic Orchestra plays the National Anthem
at the Oakland A’s game on Monday, Sept 2!
Come to the Coliseum to cheer on the Symphonic Orchestra at this fundraiser. Tickets are $31 and all proceeds support AHS Instrumental Music. (Seats in our section retail for $59 on MLB.com!) Game time is 4:07pm against the Seattle Mariners. Purchase tickets here! -
LPIE
Welcome all new and returning families!
Please join us at Metro on Friday, Aug16 at 6pm to help us kick off the 2024-25 school year. No RSVP is needed. Everyone is welcome, and we hope to see you there! -
Sports
*The game schedule below reflects dates and times as of last Friday. Games may change for several reasons, including weather. If you have questions or comments, please contact Acalanes Sports Boosters.
This week’s can’t miss events:
Girls water polo
Saturday, Aug 17 Alumni Game at 3pm.
Boys water polo
Saturday, Aug 17 Alumni Game at 5pm.
You may view the full 2024-2025 Athletic Schedule by clicking HERE. -
General Administration Announcements
Please review AUHSD’S Fall Registration and Residency Verification email sent Wednesday, May 29 via Parent Square. The email shares a lot of valuable information for summer. Below are two important excerpts to review.
FALL REGISTRATION
All families must complete online registration, aka Data Confirmation, beginning Jul 29. You will receive directions on how to complete registration on Tuesday, Jul 23 through Parent Square. Parents/guardians must complete registration prior to attending Dons Day on Monday, Aug 12.
RESIDENCY VERIFICATION
All rising 9th graders, 10th graders, new students or students who have moved, must complete in-person residency verification starting July 29 through Aug 12 at the Acalanes main office between 8am and 4pm. We will also host evening events for in-person residency verification on Jul 31 at Acalanes High School and Aug 1 at the AUHSD District Office. Both offices will be open until 8pm. Please click here for more information on what documentation is required to confirm your residency.
See APC in Action below for more important dates. -
APC in Action
WHAT TO EXPECT OVER SUMMER - SAVE THESE DATES!- AUHSD postcard to arrive on or after: Jul 8
- Parent email from AUHSD with detailed online registration instructions: Jul 23
- Online registration open: Jul 29 - Aug 12
- Classes of 2027 and 2028 families, new families or families who have moved must complete IN PERSON residency verification:
- Jul 29 - Aug 12 from 8am-4pm in the Acalanes Main Office
- Jul 31 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the Acalanes Main Office
- Aug 1 evening hours (open until 8pm) in the AUHSD District Office
- Dons Day: Aug 12 from 7:30-11:30am
- New Student Orientation: 11:30am (meet at flagpole)
- Frosh Orientation: 12-1:30pm (start in PAC)
- New Parent Orientation: 12pm (in Library)
Please save these dates and be on the lookout for the registration postcard. You can access the 2024-2025 AUHSD calendar here.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!- President - Kelly Daggs
- Past President/Parliamentarian - Veronique Kuhner
- Assistant Treasurer - Eng Young
- Campus Enhancement - Denise Cain
- Social Media Manager - Veronica Valencia
- LPIE AHS School Chair - Jaime Roder
- Dons Day Coordinators - Amy O’Rear
- Parent Education Events - Elsa Troy
- Senior Class Liaisons - Claire Gallacher, Beth Goldberg, Becki Hanson, Joy Martin, Amy Parlett
SERVICE AWARD GUIDELINES UPDATED
Congratulations to the 215 students who received an AHS or President’s award for their outstanding community service! This was a record high year for community service with Dons volunteering 15,970 hours.
Please note that important revisions have been made to the award guidelines to clarify what service counts and to promote student service for the broader community. Some of the changes include:- New requirement to submit hours within one month of service
- New limits on AHS and AHS Club service hours
- New guidelines that allow for some for profit volunteering (senior centers, camps, teaching assistants and coaches)
- NEW Excellence in Community Service Recognition for graduating seniors
You can find the detailed updated guidelines here that will apply to all service hours submitted between Apr 20, 2024 to Apr 18, 2025. If you or your student have any questions, please email us at communityservice@acalanesparentsclub.com. (And if your student emails us but hasn’t heard back, please make sure they check their spam folder!).
Happy summer! -
Student Activities
ACALANES SUMMER SPIRITWEAR - store is open!
Looking for new student designed spiritwear? You can buy now through Aug 16 and proceeds benefit the classes of 2025, 2026, 2027 & 2028.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR '24-'25:- July 19: 2024 Homecoming theme reveal via ahs_dons on Instagram
- August 12: Orientation
- August 16 at 7pm: Frosh social
- September 15-21: Homecoming 2024
- April 19, 2025: Junior & Senior Prom
We cannot wait to meet again in August. Until then, have an awesome summer!
Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.
Katherine Walton, Activities Director -
Counseling
Counselor assignments are by last name:
A-Em Anne Schonauer
En-Kr Erika Vasquez
Ku-Rog Marissa Meadows
Roh-Z Susan MartinAlpha Change for the Fall: With the decrease in counseling services voted on by the board recently, our alpha will be redistributed in the fall. Erika Vasquez will reduce her caseload here, and Anne, Marissa and Susan will absorb about 140 of her students. Erika will be at AHS on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays next year, and Tuesdays and Fridays at Miramonte. She will be accessible by email, virtual meetings, and phone (just two different numbers).
Summer School: Summer School begins Tuesday, Jun 11 and ends on Friday, Jul 12. Please check here for more information. Any required classes with grades of D/F may be repeated in summer school for a better grade.
Counselors will return to work at the beginning of August - have a wonderful summer! Congratulations to the Class of 2024! -
School Nurse
HAPPY SUMMER DONS AND GRADUATES!
Many students and families go to visit college campuses over the summer. If you are visiting or taking your students to start school, make sure to actually visit the Student Health Center. This valuable resource center offers more services than most people are aware of, including, but not limited to, physical AND mental health services. Many offer wellness programs, classes and workshops, as well as supplies and resources. Especially if it’s your student’s first time away from home, it’s important for them to feel empowered about how and where they can go for support when they’re not feeling well.
It’s also a good idea to create a mini first aid kit for new dorm students and it’s a great way to create a dialogue on some important issues.
For new and returning Acalanes students, we need NEW medical forms for each school year. Get them filled out at the doctor’s office this summer and turn in to me at the start of school in August. Check out this QR code for the various forms your student might need:
See my website for more information.
Always Your School Nurse,
Dvora Citron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org, 925-280-2970 x7128
IG: acalanesschoolnurse, School Nurse Website
Social Media
