On Friday, October 8, ACDS embarks on a five-week journey to raise $490,000 during our Annual Giving Campaign. Our campaign chairs, Jennie Berto (Ellie 8th, Dylan 4th) and Kimberly Ahlgren (Payton 8th, David 5th, Austin 3rd) invite you to join them in supporting the campaign that impacts every student, every teacher, every day. Watch your mail this weekend for campaign details.

For more campaign information and FAQs, or to donate online and learn if your gift can be matched by your employer, visit this page.

Spirit Week is a fun way for the school community to share their school and class spirit. Show off your Cougar Pride!

Reminders:

Monday, October 4
Silly Sock Day
(with school uniforms - top and bottom)
 
Tuesday, October 5
Favorites Day - Share your passion, be it a hobby, favorite band, favorite Broadway show, sports team, and more
(with uniform bottoms)
 
Wednesday, October 6
Wacky Hat and/or COVID Mask Day
(with school uniform - top and bottom)
 
Thursday, October 7
Favorite Color Day - Wear as much of your favorite color as you like! You can even spray paint your hair!
(no uniform required)
 
Friday, October 8
Cougar Pep Rally and Cougar Games
(Students wear their class color shirt, with comfortable bottoms and athletic shoes)

After a one-year hiatus due to COVID restrictions, the Big Buddy Program is back! This year, fifth through eighth grade students will serve as mentors for a “Little Buddy” in kindergarten through third grade (Pre-K cannot join this year due to their CA licensing COVID policies).

Buddies are matched at the beginning of the year, and the relationships are nurtured all year long through weekly visits and activities on campus pairing the older and younger children. This year, the Big Buddies will join their Little Buddies in a variety of outdoor-based activities and play. They will also partner with them in school-wide activities including the Cougar Games.

The Big Buddies Program is an integral part of our social-emotional teaching, fostering the close, caring, and kind relationships that abound at our school, affording role models to the younger children, and providing eagerly anticipated leadership opportunities to children entering the upper Elementary and Middle School grades.

A friendly reminder that hot lunch ordering for the month of October is available. To order from October’s menu, please follow these steps:

1. Log into https://pastamarket.boonli.com/login
2. At the Welcome screen, click on the arrow to the right of the month of September to change the month to October
3. To order lunches for the rest of October, please select the range October 4-29

On Friday, October 29, ACDS is excited to bring back some of our beloved Halloween community traditions while keeping our community safe.

School-day Events

Halloween Costumes
Please note that while we appreciate the creativity and fun this holiday presents, masks and weapons are not permissible in the annual Halloween parade on campus. Costumes may not be demeaning to any ethnic group, race, religion, nationality, disabilities, gender (boys as girls and vice versa), or individual (staff or student) at the school. Thank you for your compliance.

Halloween Parade, Grades K-8*
The ACDS annual Halloween parade will take place on the blacktop on the afternoon of Friday, October 29. To maintain the safety of our community, the parade will not be open to parents or visitors this year. ACDS will take lots of pictures and share them via Homeroom.

*Due to CA licensing requirements for COVID safety, our Pre-K students are in a cohort model this year and cannot mix with our K-8 students on campus. The Pre-K students will have their own Halloween celebration in their wonderful play yard.

Halloween Class Parties
Students will celebrate Halloween with grade-level parties. Students and teachers will brainstorm fun games and activities to build community across their grade. The celebrations will not include food. 

Evening Events

Pumpkin Carving, Grades K-5*
Get ready for a great evening under the stars. This year’s event will run from 7-9 pm and is designed for K-5 families. Please eat dinner beforehand because masks will be required at all times on campus. The PSA will provide music, entertainment, Halloween-themed activities, and a pumpkin to carve for each K-5 ACDS student. Additional details will be shared next week.

*Due to CA licensing requirements for COVID safety, our Pre-K students are in a cohort model this year and cannot mix with our K-8 students on campus. ACDS is developing a fun and safe Halloween celebration for our Pre-K students.

Halloween Middle School Social, Grades 6-8
Middle School students, get ready to show off your favorite dance moves! The first Social of the year will be held from 7-9 pm in the Fisher Event Center. Following COVID protocol, Nanawall doors will be open for air circulation and masks will be required at all times except when drinking water outside. No food will be allowed, and there will be no slow dancing to maintain physical distance. Costumes are encouraged but not required. There will be a costume contest with prizes awarded in multiple categories. More details to come.

The website’s parent resource area has been redesigned to help you gain access to day-to-day information easily. 

Parent Life: Designed to give parents day-to-day information at their fingertips, the page offers quick links to ordering hot lunch, carpool procedures, COVID updates, parent news, and more.

Parents Corner: Accessible from Parent Life, it is a password-protected parent resource area. You can access Parents Corner by using your Veracross credentials. Once you're logged in, you will find quick links into Veracross that use single sign-on, links to parent letters from Dr. Jorgenson, State of the School recordings, and more. 

Veracross Parent Portal: Did you know? You can manage your Veracross profile anytime throughout the year as things change like your contact information, employer, health/medical information, and more. Verifying your information is correct in Veracross ensures that the school has the right information to help care for your child during things like emergencies or illness.