Night of Code—Thursday, Hosted by Black Parent Advisory Group
The Black Parent Advisory Group will be hosting a "Night of Code" Thursday, May 31st from 6 - 8 pm in the Albany Middle School Library. Check out this flyer for more information. Hope to see you there!
Mandatory Meeting For Students Taking ENG 3 Honors Next Year
10th Graders: Do you intend to enroll in English 3 Honors next year? Be sure to attend the MANDATORY informational session Tuesday, May 29, from 3:45-5:15 p.m. in the Multi Purpose Room. At the session, we will go over the skills and competencies you will need to complete the required summer reading work and be prepared for the start of the new year.
Feel free to contact Ms. Edber or Mr. Rusich if you have any questions.
Dashka Slater author visit - to speak about her award winning YA non-fiction book 57 Bus
This Thursday - 6:30pm - Albany High School Theater - 603 Key Route Blvd Albany, CA - free!
57 Bus recounts the true story of the incident that occurred a few years ago wherein one teen set another teen's skirt on fire on an AC Transit bus in Oakland. The book explores topics such as gender nonconformity, the autism spectrum, the juvenile justice system, and the socioeconomic imbalance between the hills and the flats of the East Bay. The book also explores the limitations and distortions of media narratives.
Help Fund SchoolCARE—Help Fund Electives
Dear AHS Families,
Since 2001, SchoolCARE has provided AHS and other AUSD schools with essential and varied support, all with funds donated by Albany families.
Please consider giving generously to SchoolCARE. All the proceeds directly benefit our Albany students! Having additional electives at AHS has been invaluable to providing much needed services to our students. We are so appreciative to SchoolCARE for supporting our students in this way.
SchoolCARE needs to raise an additional $75,000 district-wide by early summer to fund the staff that are most important to the community - like elective courses at AHS. Donations are important now for planning the coming school year.
For more information or to make donations, you can go to www.albanyschoolcare.org
Thank you for your ongoing support,
Alexia Ritchie, AHS Principal
French Students Place in National Contest
Students from French 3, 4 and AP participated in this year's Grand Concours, a national French contest that took place on March 29th.
French 3 (14 161 students nationwide participated in this category)
- Bain, Phoebe : 95th percentile gold medal
- Bain, Isabelle 95th percentile gold medalist
- Malat Del Valle, Gabriel 95th percentile gold medalist
- Cristina Martinez Mikheicheva, 95th percentile gold medalist
- Ferus-Comelo, Milan 95th percentile gold medal
- Zhou, Melissa 90th percentile gold medalist
- Xin, Cindy 90th percentile silver medalist
- Zoe A Ou 90th percentile silver medallist
- Panian, Stephan 90th percentile silver medalist
- Horton, Hazel 90th percentile silver medalist
- Yang, Jennifer 90th percentile silver medalist
- Damdinbazar, Lkhagvasuren: 85th percentile silver medalist
- Adler, Zachary 85th percentile silver medalist
- Xin, Becky 85th percentile silver medalist
- Liam N., Henson, 80th percentile bronze medalist
French 4 ( 8624 students nationwide participated in this category)
- Gonzales, Jacqueline 80th percentile bronze medalist
- Silva, Margaret Tamang, 90th percentile silver medalist
- Shreya Tamang, 90th percentile silver medalist
- Vacher, Perrine 90th percentile silver medalist
- Monnet, Salome 85th percentile silver medalist
French AP (3909 students nationwide participated in this category)
- Chemla-Vogel, Sophie 95th percentile gold medalist
- Niwinski, Sophie 95th percentile gold medalist
- Ding, Angela 90th percentile silver medalist
- Ingalls, Serena 90th percentile silver medalist
- Kiriruangchai, Jirachaya 90th percentile silver medalist
- Williams, Jared 90th percentile silver medalist
AP Exam Volunteers Needed
We are in need of volunteers for the AP Exams, which start next week. Eligible volunteers must have no relatives taking exams this year, nor have ever taught the subject for which they are volunteering. The current openings are listed on Sign-Up Genius at http://bit.ly/APhelpers2018. Please contact Ms. Parrott, the AP Coordinator, at cparrott@ausdk12.org if you have any questions.
Help Mr. Bryant Become an NBC Sports Bay Area All-Star Teacher!
Did you know that our very own Craig Bryant is a finalist for this year's NBC Sports Bay Area All-Star Teacher award? The winning teacher's school receives $20,000. Help Mr. Bryant and Albany High by casting your vote here, now through June 1st. Congratulations Mr. Bryant. Good luck!
ACT Parent Engagement Survey Follow-up
Dear Albany Parent Community,
On behalf of the Parent Engagement Committee that was formed as a part of the Albany Coming Together (ACT) group that responded to the 2017 incidents of racism and bullying on social media last year, a big thank you to those who completed the survey regarding racism and bullying in our schools. The response was robust (225 total responses) and informed recommendations ACT made to the School Board in February.
To see the results, click on the "Responses" tab at this link. (Note you MUST select the responses tab (right side), not "Questions" to see the results.)
Highlights More than 1 in 4 parents said their child(ren) had been bullied or teased because of their race, religion or other aspect of their identity. Parents were split between whether the incident was handled properly, but more than 1/4 felt it was not handled well. Notably, more than half of all respondents think several days of school should be devoted to teaching our kids 4th grade and up about responsible use of social media and the internet. More than half of respondents said they are interested in attending talks/workshops regarding racism, implicit bias & how to talk to their kids about race.
Background ACT was convened last year by Superintendent Val Williams in the wake of the 2017 hate incidents as a way for stakeholders to provide input on racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of bias and oppression in our community. ACT recommendations to the Board can be found in the February 13, 2018 School Board Agenda starting on p. 24.
The ACT recommendations envision an ongoing partnership among staff, parents and students to foster an equitable, nurturing and inclusive school climate. While the formal work of the ACT is complete, there's lots more work to be done and progress depends in large part on how much we, as parents, remain engaged. Keep your eyes out for more opportunities to be part of this conversation.
Best regards,
ACT Parent-Engagement Committee:
Andrea Clark
Michael Goldbach
Rebecca Long
Francisco Lopez
Kate Mehler
Jason Patent
If you have questions or want to be involved in discussions about next steps for this work and parent-engagement around these issues, please contact Rebecca Long at rebeljlong@gmail.com
Thanks!
Last Chance to Pre-purchase Yearbooks
Last chance to pre-purchase yearbooks. Cost is $90 and checks can be written to AHS and given to Ms. Radford. Cut off date is Friday, April 28. Some books will be available for purchase during distribution days in June. Questions? Email jradford@ausdk.12org
AUSD Summer School
AUSD Summer School is currently enrolling students. This 4-week, free program will be held from June 25 - July 20 with a holiday taken on July 4. The program will be held at Cornell Elementary School. The courses being offered are English and History. Students who have failed an English or History class and need to make up those credits in order to graduate will be given priority enrollment. Students who have received a D in English or History may also request an opportunity to improve their grade in summer school, but enrollment to these students will be given on a first-come, first-served basis based on space in the program. Registration forms are now available in the counseling office.
The deadline to register for AUSD Summer School is Friday, May 4 or before. If you need to make up credits for English or History classes that you've earned a D or F in, please turn in your registration forms by May 4 or before. Early registration is encouraged as changes can me made up to the day Summer School begins. Enrollment space is limited. Forms are in the counseling office.