The Acorn

Greetings AOC Families,

I hope that you had a wonderful four-day weekend! We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow, 2/21. We still have a late start Friday; it will be a Mon/Wed schedule.

Upcoming Events

• February 20th-President's Holiday
• February 21st- 7pm Informational Meeting for Home Stay for Japanese students at AOC
• February 24th- AOC ASB Talent Show
• March 4-Make a Blanket Drive for Project Linus at COC from 10am-4pm
• March 17-End of 3rd Quarter
• April 3--Spring Break for AOC, No School for WSHUHSD
• April 28-End of 4th Quarter Progress Report Card
• May 11th-Showcase
• May 17th- Graduation at 6pm
• May 22-26-AOC Final Exams
• May 16-19-COC Final Exams
• May 29-No School, Memorial Day
• June 1-Last day of school
• June 2-Teacher work day, no students

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

The AOC Talent Show will be held at the COC cafeteria on Friday, February 24th. Doors open at 5:30 PM, and we will start at 6:00 PM sharp, and end at 9:00 PM. We will have a total of 24 acts, including performances like singing, dancing, instruments (piano, guitar, violin), bands, and more.

Again, thank you so much! We really appreciate you supporting ASB and our events.

~ASB~

Returns on Thursday, April 27th, 6-10pm

Held in a “rooftop garden party” setting, be treated to beautiful lighting, live music, photo opportunities – and most importantly, great food and wine. We will welcome our guests to a remarkable, one of a kind special evening that our guests will not soon forget. Welcome to “Wine on the Roof.” Amazing, local restaurants/chefs/winemakers are providing the incredible, multi course meal that will be paired exclusively for you. The location of WOTR changes every year, from outside on a rooftop or inside with the atmosphere of a rooftop party. Wherever it is held, you can be sure to have a fabulous time at one of our community’s most anticipated annual events. Reserve early and get a full table of ten just for you and your friends (for the price of nine!).

This year, our event will be held at the beautiful Cedar Hall in The Centre, located in Santa Clarita near the corner of Centre Pointe Parkway and Golden Valley Road (formerly known as the Sports Complex). It has easy access and plenty of parking. We begin with our “wine hour,” and move on to dinner with the popular music from Lance Allyn. Our very own Ed Masterson will once again be our emcee. This is a 21 and over only event. Check our website for updated information and ticketing (wisheducationfoundation.org). Tickets are available now through 4/25 at 7pm.

Thank you to our wonderful participants and sponsors:

Salt Creek Grille

Wolf Creek Restaurant

Nealie's Skillet

Marston's

Olive Terrace Bar & Grill

Old Town Junction

Honu

Cardenas Legacy Tequila

PRP Wine International

John Shaffery, Private Donor

Damien White Farmer's Insurance

Morgan Stanley

Hello Auto Group

Ed Masterson

Lance Allyn

Jodie Fleming, Big Smile Caricatures & Entertainment

Santa Clarita Magazine

Peterson Printing

SCVTV

The Signal

KHTS

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE FOR THE WINE ON THE ROOF THROUGH APRIL 25TH AT 7PM

By registering for WiSH events you agree to receive email updates/reminders from WiSH.

AOC is very proud of Zayna Jawich and Emma Finch for presenting at the Middle College National Consortium (MCNC) winter conference. They presented the work representing 20 AOC students to a crowd of of principals and counselors from middle colleges from across the nation. Did you know there are only 14 middle college high schools in the state of California and only 43 in the nation? Zayna and Emma shared information about the student leadership conference that we are hosting for the nation this summer at COC. Our students are planning the entire conference. Currently, students are working on projects that create solutions for issues in their own communities. In South Carolina, students have selected a project on student homelessness at the community college, our AOC students have designed a project to combat loneliness for elderly by creating a pen pal project with a local retirement home and pairing seniors with our students, and other schools are assessing issues with local environmental pollution. The conference will showcase the student projects and train our future leaders to make an impact on their community. So very proud of these two intelligent, courageous and well spoken female student leaders! Well done, Zayna and Emma! And thank you to their parents, Hala and Wendy, who drove them to the conference!

Our AOC mock trial (Defense) team competed in Round 1 this last weekend and did a great job! Their next round (Round 3) is on March 2nd at the Antelope Valley courthouse (5:30 pm). Please send them positive energy for a win! It will be a great challenge for the students! Good luck, Mock Trial!

We are hosting Japanese students from our Sister Cities partnership. If you are interested in hosting female Japanese students, we are holding an informational meeting with the COC Department Chair of World Language, Claudia Acosta and Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Dave Le Barron on Tuesday, 2/21 from 7:00pm-8:00pm at AOC in room 101.

Please email sgarvar@hartdistrict.org with any questions about the event.

Greetings COC Global participants,

As you know, COC Global is participating in the college's Earthquake Relief donations. The Earthquake Relief Effort has adjusted their needs list based on current information from the affected areas. The needs list is as follows:

• New tents
• New sleeping bags
• Never opened first aid kits

The reason they need new is that the logistics of testing, cleaning, and refilling missing parts is extremely difficult. I know that this is counterintuitive. Based on the news reports we are all seeing, it seems that they are desperate for anything, and they are. The level of labor needed, however, to evaluate the gently used items is not feasible. Please contribute your donations with that in mind.

First Aid kit purchasing is being coordinated by Student Services. If you would like to contribute, please Venmo to @sarah-Cox-129 (phone confirmation 5604). All funds received will be spent on First Aid kits that meet the Relief Effort specifications.

Thanks everyone for supporting this important effort.

Thank you,

COC Global

Sent on behalf of Dr. Tim Honadel

Director, Office of International Services & Programs

The district is hosting a teacher recruitment fair on 3/11 from 9am-1pm.

Santa Clarita Sister Cities, in partnership with the City of Santa Clarita and Sister Cities International, is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Young Artists and Authors Showcase. Please share this information with your students and encourage them to participate.

2023 Theme: “Peace by Piece: Food Security in My Community”

Eligibility: Students 13-18 years old as of May 1, 2023

Categories:

· Art – Classic Medium

· Art – Digital Medium

· Essay/Creative Writing

· Poetry

· Original Music

· Photography

Deadline: April 10, 2023

Details & Submission: SantaClaritaSisterCities.org

Local winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony in late April, featured in a virtual exhibit, and recognized at a City Council meeting. The top five entries in each category will be sent to Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. to compete with submissions from other Sister Cities organizations across the globe for the $1,000-grand prize per category. We’re proud to share that Hart District students have always competed successfully at the international level, and we’re hoping that more will be added to this list:

2022:

* Grand Prize Winner (Essay): “The Great Dehydration” - Audrey Dornidon, Saugus High School

*2nd Place (Original Music): “Waterfalls” - Jonathan Myung, West Ranch High School

*2nd Place (Poetry): “In One Breath, Life, and In Another, Death” - Ashley Knutson, Valencia High School

2021:
* 2nd Place (Poetry): “The Light of Hope” – Brandon Cho, Valencia High School
* 3rd Place (Original Music): “Juven – We are One” – Julios De Jesus, Canyon High School

2020:
* Finalist (Art): “United We Stand” – Amber Lee, Valencia High School
* Finalist (Poetry): “Stronger Than Ever” – Sydney Hooper, Saugus High School

2019:
* Finalist (Essay): “Similarities and Differences” – Katherine Denzin, Saugus High School

2016:
* Finalist (Essay): “Peace through People” – Cristal Ramirez, Valencia High School

2013:
* Grand Prize Winner (Essay): “The Powerful Exchange of Love” – Seung Won (Ashley) Choi, Valencia High School

Thank you in advance for your help in getting the word out. We’ve found that extra credit or a class assignment motivates students to participate and hope you’d consider such, if appropriate. We look forward to receiving entries from your students!

Please visit SantaClaritaSisterCities.org for more information, and feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

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