The Acorn

Greetings AOC Families,

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! Friday is a T/TH schedule. Here is the student bulletin. Thank you to all of the families who attended the ASB AOC talent show! ASB did a wonderful job organizing this event and our students' talents were very impressive.

We hope that you have a wonderful Spring Break next week! We will look forward to seeing you when you return on April 8th.

Our Seniors are starting to receive their college acceptances. Thank you to our students who have shared this news with us. We're so excited to celebrate with you.

Upcoming Events

• March 27th- ROOTS PTA Meeting on Zoom at 6:00pm
• March 29th-Senior Photos Due
• April 1-5--Spring Break for AOC, No School for WSHUHSD and COC Spring Break (1st-7th)
• April 26-End of 4th Quarter Progress Report Card
• May 16th-Showcase, AOC Open House
• May 30th- Graduation at 6pm in the COC Performing Arts Center (PAC)
• May 27th-No School, Memorial Day
• May 30th-Last day of school, end of second semester, Last day of COC Spring 2024 classes
• May 31st-Teacher work day, no students
• June 1st-August 11- Summer Break
• August 12th- First day of the 2024-2025 school year. The 2024-2025 WSHUHSD Calendar is attached.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Dr. Juliet Fine

Principal of AOC

(661) 362-3056

jfine@hartdistrict.org

661-362-3056

Carla Tuttle, Office Manager/ Registrar- ctuttle@hartdistrict.org

You are Invited to a ROOTS PTA Meeting on 3/27 at 6:00pm on ZOOM

Learn how to get involved as a parent or guardian at AOC. We will discuss up-and-coming events on the campus including end-of-the-year culminating events and the final exams schedule.

Topic: ROOTS Meeting-5:00pm for Executive Board 6:00pm General Meeting for Public

Time: Mar 27, 2024 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://hartdistrict-org.zoom.us/j/88694657235?pwd=eGhFdEkvR3UwOGx6ejhsMXdWUWkzQT09

Meeting ID: 886 9465 7235

Passcode: 535167

Students may apply and sign up for free enrichment after school arts classes paid for by Proposition 28 funding. Classes will be filled by a first come, first serve basis. Sign ups will be shared this week via email. Students can sign up for graphic design, photography and video/storytelling classes held on Friday afternoons from 3:30pm-5:30pm. More information will be provided this week.

~ Dr. Fine, jfine@hartdistrict.org

Hey Seniors, are you going to the Senior Dance? Senior dance tickets are $85.00 each through the end of March. They will go up in price to $90 after spring break, so buy one today! Come on out and make memories to last a lifetime. Please remember that the Senior Dance will be on Friday, May 3rd from 7:00 to 10:30 p.m.

Senior Photographs

Hey, seniors!! I know that we tried this in the fall, but we still need your photographs for the Senior Slideshow. Please submit a jpeg link instead of an actual physical photograph, unless, of course, you only have a physical photo that you want to submit, in which case you will be allowed to do so. We need them by Friday, March 29th (the last day of school before spring break).

For this year, please use the Google form link below to submit a photograph of yourself. The photo can be ONE of the following.

1. You can submit an image of yourself as a baby or toddler. Until now, this has been the picture traditionally requested.

2. You can submit an image of yourself taking part in a favorite hobby or activity (for example, playing soccer or going on a hike). This photo can show you at any age.

3. You can submit an image of yourself in a favorite location (for instance, visiting the Grand Canyon or at the Lincoln Memorial). This photo can show you at any age.

If you wish to submit a physical photograph, please put it in an envelope with your first and last name on the envelope and give it to Dr. Shapiro. Additionally, if you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact Dr. Shapiro. Thank you! AND REMEMBER, WE NEED THE PHOTOGRAPH or jpeg link by the end of the day on Friday, March 29th.

Photograph submission

I wanted to share some good news with you and the rest of the school. The FIRST Robotics team, Hermit Social Club, which consists of all seniors; Hallea Pocrass (ASB), Varun Ramanan (ASB), Purvi Patil (ASB), Cole Schutte, Aditya Jain, Nyali Latz-Torres, Sidharth Nair (ASB) and Sachiv Sekaran from VHS, made it all the way to championships again this year.

Our region now has over 180 teams competing for coveted spots at the champions level. This team persevered through SAT's, college apps, school projects, and working many long hours through the night to achieve great success this season.

I am so proud of these students for all their hard work and accomplishments this season. They won multiple matches and: Inspire, Think, Connect, Promote (ask Varun about his winning Promote video) and Compass Awards. I had to share.

Awesome job kids!!!

-Written by and submitted by parent and coach,

Connie Pocrass

Hermit Social Club coach

For the rest of the school year, students and parents are invited to share any good news that they are proud of with the rest of the AOC community. Please share the good news with me, jfine@hartdistrict.org and I will share it with the entire community. Let's celebrate our students' accomplishments together.

Our visit with our youth ambassadors from Matsudo, Japan has come to an end. We held a beautiful discussion with AOC students and our guests in UCEN 107 on Tuesday at lunch and the City of Santa Clarita and Sister Cities recognized our students as youth global ambassadors. Thank you to our hosts, Emma Finch, Sidharth Nair, and Chloe Williams and their families for hosting our guests. They have safely arrived home and invited our students to visit.

Happy Easter to all of our AOC families. Easter is held on Sunday, March 31st. May this holiday bring you joy and happiness! Easter, principal festival of the Christian church, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. Holy Week is also the last week of Lent. It begins with Palm Sunday and also includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. On Palm Sunday, Christians commemorate Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper. And, Good Friday, the most solemn day in the liturgical calendar, commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion and death. Christians started observing Holy Week in the early days of the church, reenacting the events leading up to Easter Sunday.

Holi is the Hindu festival of colours and is celebrated to mark the start of spring in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora. Celebrants rejoice by throwing coloured powders at one another on the street. Festivities also involve special holiday foods, music and dancing. Holi (Hindi pronunciation: ['hoːli:]) is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring.

Seniors will have a week filled with activities and COC final exams for the last week of school at AOC that will include rehearsals, a pancake breakfast hosted by our Senior Parents, graduation cap decorating and ASB's Senior Sunset event. Students will also receive their gowns and graduation tickets that week. Students must attend school everyday to receive their graduation tickets and gowns and participate in the graduation ceremony.

Spring Break is from April 1st-5th and there is no school.

Located on the campus of College of the Canyons, AOC is proud to be the middle college high school in the William S. Hart Union High School District serving students 9th-12th grades in the Santa Clarita Valley. Students have the opportunity to earn between 24 and 44 transferable college units, prior to receiving their high school diplomas. Upon graduation, the majority of Academy students pursue their post high school education by continuing at COC and completing their college transfer requirements in only one year after high school. Other AOC students go directly into a four-year university, bringing their community college units with them and placing themselves well into their freshman and sophomore years at the college level. While attending AOC as a high school student, community college tuition is waived for established California residents.

Email: jfine@hartdistrict.org
Website: https://www.academyofthecanyons.com/
Location: Academy of the Canyons, Rockwell Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA, USA
Phone: 661-362-3056
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Academy-of-the-Canyons-Middle-College-High-School-330158873741614
Twitter: @Academy_Canyons