Book Return: Drop-off Hours For The Month of June
Click here to view the Book Room drop-off hours. In addition to dates and times, there are some important deadline reminders for seniors and yearbook info for all students.
Superintendent's Community Update
Dear Albany Community,
We are moving quickly to the end of the school year amidst a greatly improved pandemic outlook. Conditions are so much better now that the CDC released new guidelines last Thursday suggesting that fully vaccinated people can forgo wearing a facemask in many situations. I am thrilled to see our progress—this was unimaginable in dark days earlier this year. However, and I must state this strongly, the State of California and Alameda County have not yet relaxed facemask guidelines. Anyone on our school campuses, adult or child, must be masked, and I thank everyone in advance for adhering to this requirement. The state has announced that California will be announcing new standards on June 15, 2021, and we can all look forward to new, more lenient restrictions in the near future, after the school year has ended. You can see the joint statement by the Bay Area Health Officials at this link.
Local Pop-Up Vaccination Clinic
Albany Unified School District, in partnership with Safeway Pharmacy, is hosting a COVID-19 pop-up vaccination clinic for those 12 years and older! The clinic will be on Friday, May 28 from 10:00 am–3:00 pm at the Albany High School Gymnasium. Appointments are highly recommended, and you can book a slot at this link. Walk-in appointments will be available, space permitting.
Also note that vaccinations are easily available at many locations now. Walk-in vaccinations are available at the Buchanan Street parking lot of Golden Gate Fields (more information is available at MyTurn.CA.gov), and both the CVS Pharmacy and Safeway on Solano Avenue are taking appointments for vaccination. We have updated the District’s COVID-19 Info webpage with some of these local resources. Many other locations also have availability. Please sign up to get vaccinated if you are eligible! It is the single most important thing you can do to keep yourself, your family, and our school community safe.
Stay hopeful and encouraged,
Dr. Frank Wells
Superintendent of Schools
Albany Unified School District
Vaccine Walk-in Clinic @ AHS for Ages 12 and Up
AUSD will be hosting a vaccination pop-up clinic at the Albany High School Gymnasium (entrance on Thousand Oaks Blvd.) on Friday, May 28 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm for those 12 years and older. Sign up for a slot at this link. Second doses will be given on Friday, June 18. You must have photo ID and insurance card (if insured). It is helpful, but not required, to bring a printed copy of this Consent Form (it can be filled in after printing).
May Is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
A month of great, free events has been planned! All are welcome.
May is API Heritage Month and the API Parent Engagement Group has prepared a fun line-up of cultural and educational events throughout the month of May. Join us as we celebrate and share our rich diverse cultures. We'll be learning hula, kung fu, and Bhangra dance as well as folding origami and learning about Tibetan prayer flags. There will also be a parent education night and a panel discussion about the importance of speaking up.
Everyone is welcome! A detailed calendar of events, with descriptions, Zoom links, etc. can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/api-heritage-month/.
Thur, 5/6 @ 7pm -- Origami Toys
Wed, 5/12 @ 7pm -- Marin IDEA Parent Ed Night: Parenting with Identity in Mind
Sat, 5/15 @ 10am -- Bhangra Beats Dance Party
Wed, 5/19 @ 7pm -- Tibetan Prayer Flags
Thur, 5/20 @ 7pm -- Hula: The Heartbeat of the Hawaiian People
Sat, 5/22 @ 2pm -- Kung Fu Training
Thur, 5/27 @ 7:30pm -- API Panel Discussion: Speaking Up and Sharing Our Stories
If you are interested in joining the API Parent Engagement Group, sign-up here.
Questions? Email AlbanyAPIparents@gmail.com
Black Parent Advisory Group Town Hall Meeting
Kadijah Means, Equity and Intentionality Consultant, will speak and take questions at this Town Hall meeting on Thursday, April 22, 2021, 6:00pm. Join Zoom Meeting https://ausdk12-org.zoom.us/j/94039795603/
Kadijah Means is featured on various podcasts, most notably NPR’s This American Life, where she discussed racial identity development in children. For more information on fostering community, nonviolent communication, and anti-racism philosophy, read her chapter, “How To Address Racism In Schools,” in Teaching Resistance: Radicals, Revolutionaries, and Cultural Subversives in the Classroom (2019).
Ms. Means serves on the Board of Directors for Nonviolent Communication Santa Cruz. She integrates the principles of nonviolent communication and harm-reduction into anti-oppression education. Ms. Means has worked with organizations in the private and public sectors to facilitate conversations around gender, sexuality, race, and other topics of systemic oppression.
Through her work, she invites us, "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing," into a space the poet Rumi imagined could transform conflict into connection. By integrating introspection, empathy, and critical theory, Ms. Means adopts a holistic approach to anti-oppression learning.
Celebrate Asian Pacific American Culture With the AHS Library
We are celebrating Asian Pacific American stories and cultures at the Albany High Library. Staff has gathered together a wide variety of resources in this collection, which takes you right to our online catalog.
If you're in the mood for something lighter and fun, try out I'll Be the One, which follows Skye Shin's auditions for a K-Pop singing contest. This break, I'm looking forward to reading These Violent Delights, a mystery set in 1920s Shanghai, with echoes of Romeo and Juliet. Thank you, ChiChu Tchang, for recommending the new graphic novel Tiananmen 1989 : our shattered hopes. Whatever your taste, stop by the library and pick up a great book for Spring Break reading!
Musical, Meal, and More!
Don't miss out on AHS Theatre Ensemble's online musical "The Drowsy Chaperone" on 4/1 @ 7pm, 4/2 @ 7pm, 4/3 @ 2pm & 7pm. Tickets are available at: https://bit.ly/AHSDrowsy Don't forget to support the drama programs at AMS & AHS by shopping at PFAB's online auction 3/29-4/5 https://www.biddingowl.com/AlbanyPFAB and mentioning "PFAB" when you eat at Chez Mansour, Duo Grill House, Everest Kitchen, Rendez Vous Cafe Bistro, Solano Junction 4/1-4/4, and they will donate a portion of the cost to the Albany Performing and Fine Arts Boosters (PFAB).
Albany Disability Squad Family Support Group
Please join us for the next meeting of…
The ADS Family Support Group:
Supporting each other in raising kids who learn differently.
So much of our time, energy and heart goes toward supporting our kid(s)! It can be rewarding but also exhausting, overwhelming, and lonely. Join us for this drop-in group where we support each other in our frustrations and triumphs.
Date: February 10, 2021
(and the second Wednesday of every month)
Time: 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88600184968?pwd=bEgvZ0NLSFY5aWM4OHN5UGxZanQwZz09
or
Dial by your location:
(408) 638 0968
Meeting ID: 886 0018 4968
Passcode: 798604
albanydisabilitysquad@gmail.com ◽ https://albanydisabilitysquad.org
Honor Black History Month with AHS Library
We are celebrating Black History Month at the Albany High Library this month and all year long. This year, we stand with our community supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. Read stories and nonfiction from Black authors, exploring many facets of life and history. This collection takes you right to our online catalog: Black Lives Matter at AHS Library.
Here are a few favorite books at the AHS Library:
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
Black Enough, short stories edited by Ibi Zoboi
A Blade So Black, by L.L. McKinney
Dear Martin, by Nic Stone
Genesis Begins Again, by Alicia Williams
Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Hip Hop Family Tree
Hot Comb, by Ebony Flowers
How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
Not So Pure and Simple, by Lamar Giles
Notes from a Young Black Chef, by Kwame Onwuachi
On the Come Up, by Angie Thomas
A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell
Slay, by Brittney Morris
The Voting Booth, by Brandy Colbert
Remember that the library is open every Friday from 9am till 4pm to pick up and return books. If you have any questions, just send me an email.
Mary Ann Scheuer
AHS Teacher Librarian
mscheuer@ausdk12.org
