College Access & Success Symposium
The Association of Black Admissions and Financial Aid Officers of the Ivy League and Sister Schools (ABAFAOILSS) invites you to attend our College Access & Success Symposium. College representatives from some of America's top institutions will provide valuable insight and advice during workshops on the college admission and financial aid application processes. The program will include workshops for high school students and parents simultaneously.
To attend, please click here to complete the registration form.
Workshops for students and parents will include:
Financial Aid Plenary
Building a Thoughtful & Comprehensive College List
Women's College Panel
College Fair
About ABAFAOILSS
Recognizing the unique challenges facing African American, Native American, Latino, and Hispanic students during the college admissions process, the Association of Black Admissions and Financial Aid Officers of the Ivy League and Sister Schools (ABAFAOILSS) was founded in 1970 to provide vital assistance for these students as they make the transition from high school to college. Visit our website at www.abaschools.org
Message Regarding Recent Snapchat Incident
Dear Albany High School Community,
Thursday afternoon administrators were given a photo captured from Snapchat showing two AHS students with their arms raised in what some interpreted to be a Nazi salute. Staff looked into the incident and followed up with the students and families involved. AHS administrators determined there was no intent to convey an inappropriate message through the image, which was a reference to popular social media content entirely unrelated to Nazi imagery or sentiments.
We continue to encourage students to reach out to administrators, teachers or staff if they feel uncomfortable or unsafe at school for any reason. We will continue to work together to ensure AHS is a safe, inclusive community for all its members.
Alexia Ritchie,
Albany High School Principal
How Will You Help Address Our Vaping Problems?
Dear Albany High School students,
I’m extending an invitation to everyone who knows that our country, city and school has a vaping problem and wants to be part of the solution. Please consider the follow information and decide how your role in our community can help reduce this dangerous trend.
Administrators and campus security will increase the number of unannounced restroom inspections in all buildings and on all floors. The possession and use of all smoking/vaping products is a violation of Education Codes and consequences are outlined in our Behavior Matrix (the current AHS Behavior Matrix can be viewed here.) Thank you for respecting this rule within our community and on school grounds.
The Albany City Council will be hosting a study session on the effects of flavored tobacco products and the possibility of a city wide ban. You are welcome to attend that open session at City Hall this Monday, December 3 @ 6:00pm. The location is 1000 Jackson Street and the meeting is open to everyone.
Our very own Albany High school peer Tobacco Use and Prevention Education team sponsored the “Great American Smoke/Vape Out” today,. Many of you came by and caught up on how students in our area are finding ways to avoid this destructive addiction. Talk to Ms. Josette, program coordinator, on how you can join the efforts.
Once again, I need your help and commitment to address this growing problem in our community. Please feel free to email me with any comments, questions or suggestions as we work towards a common goal, dedicated to the welfare of all Albany High School students.
Best regards,
Alexia Ritchie
Principal
Exchange Student in Need of Host Family for Spring Semester
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 need of a permanent host family for Ali, for the Spring Semester. Ali attends Albany High.
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 Berkeley or Albany home to a new culture and provide a nurturing environment for this young man for the remainder of the school year, please contact our staff person, below. For more information about AFS, please visit afsusa.org.
Albany High School Choirs' 1st Annual Dessert Theater!
An Evening Of Musical Adventure And Pastry Perfection
Friday November 30, 7:30pm at Albany Veterans Memorial Hall
Saturday December 1, 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Our newly-designed fundraiser of the season features music across all styles, genres, and time periods (including Disney, Renaissance, and classic decade hits). Throughout the event, be ready to be entertained musically and filled to your heart's content with all-you-can-eat desserts! We'll have plenty of cookies, cupcakes, brownies, pies, and other assorted faire (with a good helping of fresh fruit, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly options).
Tickets are $15 at albanyvocalmusic.com/dessert or via any AHS choir student.
We hope you'll be part of a new annual tradition and help put this new fundraiser on the Albany map!
Help Albany Donate to Victims of the Camp Fire
Dear Albany community,
As you know by now the Butte County fire has affected numerous people in the north state. Being Chico natives who were raised in Chico, attended Chico State we are taking part in this effort to help those in need. Many many of our friends and family have been affected by the fire and have lost their homes and loved ones. The latest rumor is that my parents' house survived- one of five in a neighborhood between Chico and Paradise that had about 50-60 homes. My mom as she was leaving said, "there was a river of embers flowing down the street as the neighbors houses were burning." Fortunately they are ok, but sadly some people either didn't make it or their homes were lost, and some neighborhood friends are in the hospital from smoke inhalation or burns. It is very difficult to come to terms with this reality as people's lives have deeply been affected forever.
Please join us in our personal crusade to get a U-haul donated filled with essential items as there are 52,000 homeless people in need of basic essentials. Please read the following from people who are in the trenches and what they need:
Backpacks
Phone chargers are desperately needed
duffel bags, luggage
underwear
socks
Blankets are what are primarily needed
Toiletry items
Safeway, or Costco gift cards are also very useful
Soaps
The goal is to fill up the U-haul by 6pm on Friday. Please drop all donations off to the Albany High School front lobby.
Sincerely,
David Janinis, Marin PE
&
Ernesto Rogers, AMS PE
Award-Winning Documentary "Near Normal Man" Screening at UC Village
Prepared to stop hate? Make sure you see Near Normal Man at the UC Village Community Center on November 16th.
This award-winning documentary shows how one young man defied the forces that sought to destroy him in the Holocaust, then sparked a fierce public battle in Skokie, Illinois, 30 years later; leading a fight against Neo-Nazis with courage, kindness, and hope for this country. This 30-minute film and discussion (led by producer/director Charlene Stern) is co-sponsored by Albany Unified School District, City of Albany, University Village, and the Albany Community Foundation, as part of "Bay Area Stands United Against Hate Week", November 11-18, 2018.
Date: Friday, Nov. 16th
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: UC Village Community Center
Cost: Free, no tickets necessary. Please arrive early to be seated before the program begins at 6:00pm.
This event is dedicated to the victims of hate at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Suitable for high school students and adults.
Help Support Performing Arts @ AHS
Did you know that last spring Albany High School was not able to produce it’s annual spring musical? A group of us parents were alarmed to discover this and the following information -
Albany High is one of the only large high schools in the area without a theater class or full-time drama teacher.
The Theatre Ensemble, the drama club at AHS, is primarily student-run and they have struggled to find a faculty advisor every year because the workload is so large and the compensation is so small.
AHS used to support three amazing shows per year. Now, they are struggling to finance one show per year.
As a result, we parents mobilized and created the Albany Performing and Fine Arts Boosters (pFAB –silent “p”) and, as of July 2018, we are a non-profit organization (501 c.3).
I am writing to you at this time because we need to raise approximately $5,000 by December, 2018 in order to fund the Theatre Ensemble’s annual spring musical. We need this money to pay the following -
Stipends for the club faculty advisors, a professional theater producer, and musical and dance directors
Funds for the rights to the musical as well as costumes and sets
Costs for renting a theater and publicizing for the event
We hope that you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to PFAB at this time through our website, www.albanypfab.org or by mailing us a check made out to pFAB at 1005 Talbot Ave., Albany, CA 94706. Please support our children’s education in the arts and help the Theatre Ensemble produce a pFABulous (silent “p”) spring musical. In addition, please check us out on Facebook, and sign up on our website to become part of our mailing list and get involved in supporting theater arts at AHS.
Thanks so much for your consideration!
Heidi Ronfeldt
pFAB, President
AHS Career Fair This Wednesday
This Wednesday November 7, in partnership with our PTSA, Albany High School will be hosting over twenty local professionals at our Career Fair from 11:33-12:20 during your student's normally scheduled advisory. This revised format encourages all students to explore and ask questions of experts in fields ranging from education to engineering and many more! Join me in thanking our PTSA for all of their hard work, organization, and for providing this opportunity to all students.
A list of available presenters is here.
Alexia Ritchie, Principal