Message From Principal Ritchie Regarding Recent Vandalism
Dear Albany High School Community,
Yesterday afternoon we discovered a racist and anti-Semitic message written on the wall, over the weekend, inside the construction zone. We notified our superintendent, Albany police, and staff, removed it early this morning and are continuing our investigation to determine the persons responsible. If you have any further questions, concerns or information to share, please notify one of our counselors or any one of our administrators. Counseling staff is always ready to help students individually if needed.
Take care,
Alexia Ritchie
Principal
AHS Students Guaranteed $50K in Travel Abroad Scholarships
Albany High has been chosen again as a Global Navigator GOLD school, which means our students are guaranteed at least $50,000 in scholarships if we have 30 applicants. The last two years our students were awarded scholarships totaling $180,000 to live and study abroad in diverse countries such as Germany, Japan, Spain, Bonaire, and Africa.
Learn more about the CIEE Global Navigator Scholarship Program on Thursday, October 11th from 4-6p in the Albany High Library. Kelly Britt (CIEE rep), Profe Lim-McAlister (World Languages Department Chair), and AHS scholars who have spent summers abroad will present information and answer questions.
Message Regarding Today's Rally
Dear Albany High School community,
Today, student leaders organized a rally to support victims of sexual assault and to oppose the current nominee for the Supreme Court. School staff were there to help supervise and as mandated reporters, followed up with several students in need of support. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to any one of our administrators or counselors.
Best regards,
Alexia Ritchie
Principal
AHS Library Celebrates Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month
The AHS Library is celebrating Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month, featuring authors from throughout the Latin American and Hispanic community. Our students are drawn to a wide range of genres, from memoirs to fantasy to realistic fiction. Here are just a few of the books we recommend:
Becoming Dr. Q., by Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
Burn Baby Burn, by Meg Medina
Daughter of Fortune, by Isabel Allende
Mexican Whiteboy, by Matt de la Pena
My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo
Stop by the library or check out our Goodreads Latinx shelf to explore more books our students are reading & recommending.
If you haven’t had a chance to donate to our fundraiser yet, please go to https://www.titlewish.com/1091894 to securely donate by credit card. All donations will be used to purchase high-interest books for our students.
Mary Ann Scheuer
AHS Librarian
Urgently In Need of Host Family for AHS Exchange Student
AFS, the international student exchange program, is currently hosting a 17-year-old student from Jordan, the recipient of a prestigious full scholarship under the Kennedy Lugar Youth Exchange & Study (YES) program. We are in urgent need of a permanent host family for Ali, who is scheduled to attend Albany High for the full academic year.
Respectful, active and warm are just a few of the words to describe Ali. In the future, he plans to study medicine and become a doctor. His favorite hobby is playing soccer for the school's club. He likes soccer because it keeps him active and healthy. At home, Ali enjoys helping his mother prepare dinner and clean the house. He also participates in community service across his city. Hoping to discover a new world and become more independent in the process, he has been looking forward to participating in this exchange program. Ali is an amazing and highly accomplished individual.
The YES program provides scholarships for students from countries with a significant Muslim population. For more information about YES, visit http://www.yesprograms.org/.
If you or someone you know is interested in opening their Albany home to a new culture and provide a nurturing environment for this young man, please contact our staff person, below. For more information about AFS, please visit afsusa.org.
Veronica Buxton
vbuxton@afsusa.org
Team Development Specialist
San Francisco Bay Area AFS
650.499.9025
Parent Volunteers Needed for Help With PSAT
Parent/guardian volunteers are needed to help with the PSAT administration on Saturday, October 13th. Volunteers distribute and collect materials and assist teachers with monitoring students during testing. Please contact Ms. Reimuller, Assistant Principal, if you are available from either 7:45a-10a or 10a-12:45p.
Thank you! (ereimuller@ausdk12.org; 510-558-2503)
Help Support AHS Library: Online Fundraiser
Please help support our students’ love of reading & learning by donating to the Albany High Library fundraiser. Go to https://www.titlewish.com/1091894 to securely donate by credit card. All donations will be used to purchase high-interest books for our students.
The AHS library serves all of our students. Our nurturing community celebrates all learners, and we are committed to encouraging students’ growth and exploration of their interests through high-interest books. Your donation will help us purchase books that students want to read. We want to update our sports books, buy more graphic novels, and have more high-demand YA fiction. All of the romance books we highlighted last week are checked out already!
Thank you for your support of AHS readers!
Mary Ann Scheuer
AHS Librarian
Is it June yet? (Order Your Yearbook Online)
Online purchase of yearbooks will be available until April 5th (Friday before spring break).
Cost: $90
To purchase, please visit yearbookordercenter.com and enter order #12564
Some yearbooks will be available for purchase at distribution in June ($95), but if you want to guarantee that you have a book, please purchase now.
PSAT Information
Albany High School will be offering the PSAT on Saturday, October 13 from 8a-12p. The cost is $25. Pay for the test on the MySchoolBucks website: www.myschoolbucks.com. After paying online, students should pick up a PSAT Student Guide from the Book Room any day between 8a and 1p. Students can also pay for the test with a check payable to AUSD (with the student’s name on the memo line,) outside the Book Room during lunch according to the following schedule:
Juniors have priority- Monday, Sept. 24 to Thursday, Sept. 27
Sophomores- Friday, Sept. 28 to Tuesday, October 2
All other grades- Tuesday, Oct. 9 and Wednesday, Oct. 10
Please note: There will be no cash sales. If you have financial need, please contact your counselor.
Tired of Visiting the AHS Website For Important Dates?
Did you know that we actively maintain five separate AHS event calendars? All of the events are displayed on our website, but you can also add them to your own personal calendar.
It might sound annoying to have to subscribe to five different calendars, but this gives you the ability to choose which events are visible at any given time. For example, we have a lot of sporting events. If you left that calendar on all the time, you'd probably (hopefully?) miss a lot of other meetings in your life. On the other hand, we keep our General Events calendar pretty lean, posting only necessary events like schedule changes, assemblies, etc. So you might leave that one on all the time.
We don't have time to help the community figure out how to use the links below, but if you're a calendar power user, now you have the power :) Thanks to your PTSA co-president, Natalie Gaysinsky, for the suggestion to send this out.