Weekly News & Announcements

Student Activities

EVENTS THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, Oct 3: Girls Volleyball vs. Benicia
Wednesday, Oct 4 @ lunch: Loteria with Latinos Unidos in room 507 & Hispanic Heritage Month movie at 3:15 with Ms. Voellm in room 403
Thursday, Oct 5: Girls Tennis vs. Campolindo & Pops Concert in the PAC
Friday, Oct 6: Home football vs. Northgate (wear pink for breast cancer awareness)
 
IT'S THE 1-WEEK COUNTDOWN TO HOMECOMING WEEK!
October 9-14: Acalanes celebrates music genres!
Check out the overview of Homecoming 2023 and encourage your student to get involved! It is one of the best weeks on campus and we want every student to feel a part of it. The week has multiple “entry” points so everyone can participate. The first event is Hallway Decorating on Monday, Oct 9 from 10-3. Please encourage your student to attend for an hour or more!
 
Monday, Oct 9 from 5-6pm we are hosting a Community Walk Through of the Homecoming Hallways! Bring younger siblings, neighbors, friends, family, & alumni to view the incredible work. There will be treats & music in each main hallway.

Our annual canned food drive begins tomorrow and runs through Friday, Oct 13. We will collect cans and money in the front quad in the morning and also have online donation links. The canned food drive is a part of class points for Homecoming. As a community, can we surpass the 40,000 can record set last year? Donation links:
Class of 2027
Class of 2026
Class of 2025
Class of 2024

Saturday, Oct 14 is our HOCO Night Out from 7-10pm. It is a campus wide event (1100+ attended last year) and a night not to miss. Tickets are on sale via Go Fan and are:
$25 with ASB
$52 without ASB
$75 for an outside guest
Outside guests do need to fill out and return a guest contract by Tuesday, Oct 10 to the main office. Homecoming will feature a game truck, laser tag, arcade games, caricaturist, henna, casino games, food for purchase & dancing. There is something for everyone.
Attire: Students are welcome to wear what they are comfortable in. Most students wear slacks, a collared shirt, or a semi-formal dress. Dancing is outside on the cement so please plan footwear accordingly.
 
In order to make sure it is a safe event for all, we are in need of 15 more parent chaperones. Please consider signing up!
 
LatinX/Hispanic Heritage Month began September 15 and runs until October 15th. Students have planned a host of various events & celebrations. One opportunity for our entire community is to attend the speaker event on Tuesday, Oct 17 at 7 PM in our library. Dr. Alberto Ledesma, assistant dean for diversity, equity & inclusion at UC Berkeley will be with us to share his story, his experience as an undocumented immigrant, and more about the book he authored, Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer. Please save the date!
 
Clubs at Acalanes
This year we have 72 approved clubs at Acalanes and they are a great way to connect with a passion and get involved. Please encourage your student to attend meetings, reach out to the presidents and get involved! Check them out here!
 
Class shirts will be delivered to all students who have yet to pick it up on Monday during 3rd period.
 
Ordered spiritwear? It has arrived! Check your email for details on pick-up this week!
 
Looking to stay informed? Follow us on Instagram for the latest on student activities and class happenings.
 
Katherine Walton, Activities Director

College & Career

Seniors

• College Visits This Week in the CCC: Students MUST pick up a pass from the College & Career Center to attend.
  • Monday: William & Mary, Colby College
  • Tuesday: Syracuse University
  • Wednesday: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Notre Dame, Bowdoin College
• College Application Academy Support: Remind your student to come to academy sessions in the CCC. 6th and 7th period is OPEN for seniors to DROP BY anytime! No appointments needed.
• New FAFSA Changes and How They Impact Your Family: This is a very informative video on the new changes to FAFSA, which opens in December.

Please visit our College & Career Counseling website any time for additional information and support. 

Counseling

Counselor assignments are by last name:
A-Em AnneSchonauer
En-Kr Erika Vasquez
Ku-Rog MarissaMeadows
Roh-Z SusanMartin

Progress Reports for the first grading period were available in Aeries as of Friday, Sep 22. The next grading period will be quarter grades the week of Oct 16. Athletic eligibility will be renewed with the quarter grades.
 
Dropping Classes: Students may still drop a class until the end of the first quarter, Friday, Oct 13. If the class is in the middle of the day, a student may add a TA period. TA is the only class a student can still add to their schedule.   
 
Letters of Recommendation: Counselors are busy writing letters of recommendation for seniors applying by Nov 1. If your senior is still making adjustments to their college list, and they need a letter of rec, please have them come see us!

School Nurse

Happy Fall!
It’s a great time to have you and your family get flu shots. If you have a college student, encourage them to go to the Student Health Center on campus to get their flu shot and see what resources are available.

Here’s a great Autumn recipe to try: RedLentil & PumpkinSoup

Always Your School Nurse,
DvoraCitron, RN, MS
dcitron@auhsdschools.org, 925-280-2970 x7128,
IG: acalanesschoolnurse, ​SchoolNurseWebsite

Wellness Center

Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) has developed a new online guide titled, “Substance Use, Mental Health, & Teens: A Guide for Parents & Other Caring Adults,” which focuses on information and resources to protect and care for teens facing substance use and mental health crises. Created by the agency’s Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) program, in collaboration with community partners, the resource was inspired by CCCOE Education Champion April Rovero, Founder/Director of National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA). The guide is intended to equip adults with the knowledge and resources they need to support young people in their lives to make pro-health decisions.

The Parent Guide is available to view and download in English and Spanish: www.cocoschools.org/ParentGuideSUMH

LPIE

Sports

This week’s can’t miss events:

Girls Golf
Monday, Oct 2 Campolindo HS & Miramonte HS at Contra Costa CC at 3:30 pm.

Girls Volleyball
Tuesday, Oct 3 host Benicia HS.  Freshmen at 4:30 pm, JV at 5:30 pm and Varsity at 6:30 pm.
Thursday, Oct 5 at Northgate HS.  Freshmen at 4:30 pm, JV at 5:30 pm and Varsity at 6:30 pm.

Girls Tennis
Tuesday, Oct 3 College Park HS at 4:00 pm.  Varsity is away and jv is home.
Thursday, Oct 5 Campolindo HS at 4:00 pm.  Varsity is home and jv is away.

Boys Water Polo
Wednesday, Oct 4 at Campolindo HS.  Varsity at 6:00 pm and JV at 7:00 pm.
Friday, Oct 6 and Saturday, Oct 7 Jesuit Classic at American River College.

Girls Water Polo
Wednesday, Oct 4 at Campolindo HS.  JV at 4:00 pm and Varsity at 5:00 pm.

Flag Football
Wednesday, Oct 4 Berean Christian HS at 3:00 pm, Alhambra HS at 5:00 pm at Berean Christian HS.

Football
Thursday, Oct 5 Freshmen at Napa HS at 5:30 pm.
Friday, Oct 6 host Northgate HS.  JV at 4:30 pm and Varsity at 7:00 pm.

Cross Country
Saturday, Oct 7 Crystal Springs Invitational.

You may view the 2023-2024 Athletic Update by clicking HERE.

General Administration Announcements

Acalanes is hosting two important events on campus this week. Please see below for detailed information and RSVP links.

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FAIR 

Acalanes College and Career Services is hosting an International College Fair in the library on Thursday, Sep 27 from 6:30-8pm. 15+ universities will share information on applying to schools abroad. Please sign up here.

*Did you know that APC helps fund College and Career Services at Acalanes? Thanks to your generous support of the Acalanes Parents Club, we are able to support valuable College Counseling services and events like this.

PARENT ED: SONG FOR CHARLIE FENTANYL DISCUSSION

AHS Hosts A Community Parent Education Night THIS Thursday, Sep 28: What Everyone Needs to Know About the Drug Landscape Today in the Acalanes Performing Arts Center (PAC). This will be presented by Song For Charlie, local law enforcement agencies, and the Acalanes administration.

This is an opportunity for our parent community to come together to learn the facts about fentanyl and take empowered action to protect yourself and your loved ones. 

• 5:30-6:30pm: Community Programming with Wellness, Counselors, AHS Admin and Lafayette Community Responders
• 6:30-8pm: Fentanyl Presentation by Song for Charlie
• RSVP here

We will host a student presentation from this content for our juniors and seniors on Friday, Sep 29 during Academy.

APC in Action

PEER TUTORING: Off to a Great Start this year!
Our first seminar, Note-Taking 101, was at full capacity on Wednesday. The presentation, given by one of our highly organized and exceptional Peer Tutors, offered insights into the different methods of note-taking, how and why those methods work for different learning styles, and how to use those notes to study. Stay tuned for future great programming offered by Peer Tutoring!

With 25 talented tutors staffing shifts at lunch, Academy, 7th Period, and after school, academic help is always available to Acalanes students. Peer Tutoring is open on a drop-in basis and always completely free. Acalanes is uniquely able to offer Peer Tutoring at such a high level solely because of funding from the Acalanes Parents Club. Your donations to APC allow us to offer more programming and services to your students. Thank you!

Kristen Labrosse & Angela Ketcham, Co-Directors, AHS Peer Tutoring

 
APC FALL GRANT APPLICATION WINDOW IS NOW OPEN!
We invite all AHS teachers, staff, students, and parents to submit a grant application for programming, materials or projects that enhance the educational experience for our school community; all ideas are welcome. Click here for criteria and application.  The deadline is Friday, Oct 6! Completed proposals and questions can be submitted to Nicole Sanders or delivered to the APC Box in the front office.

Follow the Acalanes Parents Club on Instagram to keep up to date on what's happening at Acalanes and reminders for important dates.
 

SEPTEMBER DONS DIALOGUE - Listen to the Recording!
Thank you to all who attended our APC General Meeting and September  Dons Dialogue on Friday, Sep 22. If you were not able to attend, here are the recording or slides from the discussion.
This month's topics included;

• End of Grading Period Tips
• Peer Tutoring Update - A Growing Program
• Song for Charlie (Fentanyl education) Community Education Events
• Student Activities Report
• Open Q&A w/ APC Board

Thanks as always to Mia Heglie and Monica Stassi for providing the welcoming coffee and treats at every Dons Dialogue!

If you were not able to attend the APC General meeting and would like to view the APC budget, please email APC President, Kelly Daggs to request access.

Please reach out to APC here with any questions.

Parents Club Pro-Tip

GRADING WINDOWS AND REMINDERS
Parents/guardians should have received an email Friday morning from Parent Square with a Progress Report for your student(s). Note, the Progress Report shows just a snapshot of the grading status on Friday, Sep 15 and may already show something different in Canvas now.
1st Semester Grading Window:

• Q1 Progress Report: Sep 15
• Q1 Ends: Oct 13
• Q2 Progress Report: Nov 9
• Semester 1 Ends: Dec 22

The best way to support our students academically is not necessarily through these report cards but more so by being an "Observer" in Canvas and encouraging and assisting our students with self advocacy.
 
The Acalanes educational philosophy reinforces the learning over the points. When reviewing Canvas with your students please help your students keep this in mind.
 
For more detailed information on grading please refer to the Dons Dialogue slides or recording from Friday. Many parents found the discussion very helpful