Parent Newsletter #14: 11/1/24

Website: https://phs.piedmont.k12.ca.us/
Location: 800 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 594-2626 | Instagram: @piedmonthigh

Parent Newsletter: Archives

2024-25 School Profile | Bell Schedule (Regular)

Road to Graduation | Yearbook Info

College & Career Newsletter | Athletic Newsletter

Principal: Dr. Yoshihara

Assistant Principal: Mr. Marik

Dear Highlander Families,

Happy November. Just a few more day before election day. I hope everyone can find the time to vote, if you haven't yet. A gentle reminder to set your clocks back Saturday night. Enjoy the extra hour

Sincerely,

Dr. Yoshihara

November 3: DST. Remember to set your clocks back.

November 4: Lockdown drill (special schedule)

November 5: Election Day--please vote!

November 8: Parent Club Meeting (9-10:30, Alan Harvey Theater)

November 11: Veteran's Day (no school)

November 12: PHS Boosters (7-9 pm, Student Center)

November 13: PHS State of the School Presentation (7 pm start at Board meeting)

November 14-16: PHS Fall Play (7 pm start at Alan Harvey Theater)

This is a reminder that we will have a lockdown drill on Monday 11/4. Students will report to period 5. We will hold announcements at 11:55 followed by a few minutes to review lockdown expectations with students.

Wednesday and Friday - Academic Support for all - students can tag their teacher for homework help, study support or assessment questions. Remind your child to tag a teacher in FlexiSched starting Tuesday morning at 8am.

This is a reminder that students must report to the academy they are assigned to (or sign-up for) on any given academy period. If students do not show up to the correct space, they will be marked absent which is unexcused. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

Starting (earlier) today, students will be receiving a daily quote in their school email. Millennium High School's ASB will produce the quote and Piedmont High School's ASB will create and maintain a bulletin board that is updated weekly. The quotes will come from historical figures, civil rights activists, and authors. We invite the students to reflect on the quotes and share with those around them any impact the quote may have for them. Thank you for supporting our student leadership in this effort.

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dress Best For Less (DBFL) for their generous funding of another year of a district-wide New York Times subscription for PUSD students and staff. Their support makes a meaningful difference, opening up valuable learning resources for our students and enriching the classroom experience for teachers. This academic subscription plan also provides PUSD staff with a powerful resource to stay informed. Details on setting up a PUSD-based subscription account will be shared with students next week.

Thank you, DBFL, for investing in our PUSD community’s learning and growth!

Maddy Sage (she/her/hers) joins the Wellness Center as a Health Clerk for the 2024-25 school year, and is super excited to get to know the students and the rest of the MHS/PHS community! Maddy is a Bay Area native who spent her early childhood years in Rockridge before moving to Castro Valley where she played water polo and swam on the swim team.

In 2020, Maddy moved to Santa Barbara to complete her Bachelor's of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations and a minor in Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice. During her time at UCSB, she completed various internships in the area as she began to explore different career paths. She started out interning at a local workers' compensation law firm in Downtown Santa Barbara where she assisted attorneys and caseworkers manage hundreds of files, and worked to move injured workers' cases forward as quickly as possible.

After spending some time getting to know the private law sector, Maddy wanted to explore the non-profit side of things a little bit more. She interned at the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County under the Director of People and Culture, where she managed a variety of different projects including policy research, course of action directives/suggestions, in addition to supporting the Foodbank's efforts to introduce a new HR platform to staff.

Maddy is super interested in the impact that both domestic and international laws/policies have on citizens on the ground, and is especially interested in the intersection between education(of youths specifically) and politics, and hopes to discover new ways to equip young people with the necessary tools to understand the political complexities around them.

In the future, Maddy would love to continue studying International Relations on the East Coast. In her free time she loves to go to concerts/discover new music, spend time with her friends, and get more in touch with the community and environment around her!

The Piedmont Pride Staff is hard at work creating an awesome yearbook for 2024-2025! But we need your help!

Please take a few minutes to fill out the following forms (they are short!) and share your photos with us. These topics will be covered in our first deadline -- which is coming up quickly -- so don’t delay!

• Yearbook Pet Photos!
• Extracurricular Hobbies & Jobs
• Summer Photos!

By Monika Riddle

The Giving Campaign has launched this year’s Class Participation Challenge! The grade with the highest percentage of parent participation in the Giving Campaign will win an age-appropriate celebration hosted by PEF. Every contribution counts—let’s make it happen!

As of last week, we have raised just over $1.6 million and are making progress toward the community’s $4 million goal. Thank you to those who’ve already donated! If you haven’t donated yet, make sure to contribute by November 1st to receive a purple Giving Campaign lawn sign. These will be delivered the week of November 6th.

While waiting for your sign, keep an eye out for a flock of pink flamingos visiting homes that have already contributed! Will they land at yours next?

To donate, visit www.piedmontedfoundation.org/donate. Every gift makes a difference!

Let’s come together to support our schools and celebrate the spirit of giving. Thank you for being part of this incredible effort!

We are looking for members to serve on a Cell Phone Policy Task Force. Please email the Principal if you are interested.

The purpose of this task force is to explore all of the factors that should be considered in developing an effective Cell Phone Use Board Policy. This is a working group that will collaborate with staff on the following tasks:

1. Reviewing and summarizing relevant research
2. Reviewing and summarizing other districts' Cell Phone Use Board Policies, including strengths/weaknesses
3. Piloting various phone-free school days/weeks, including surveying/interviewing students on the impact
4. Analyzing the logistical factors that could impact various policy options
5. Coming to consensus and making a recommendation to the Superintendent and School Board by March 7, 2025.

The ideal candidates for this task force do not necessarily have their minds made up and are willing to consider all of the factors in making a recommendation that is effective for PUSD. Thank you for your interest.

Hi Senior Families!

If you would like to place a Senior Recognition Ad honoring your senior, please find all the information you need on this flier: Senior Recognition Ad 2025

Discount pricing applies until 10/31/24.

If you have any questions, please email our Yearbook Advisor,

Melanie McCauley (mmccauley@piedmont.k12.ca.us)

The Wellness Center provides allergen free MadeGood granola bars, string cheese and fruit (Cuties are best) for students.

We could use your help with donations.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044EA9AD2EA1FC1-50731393-wellness#/

You can drop the items off anytime during school hours of your selected week at the Wellness Center, located in the library/30s building at the high school.

Thank you so much for supporting student mental health in our community.

Wellness Center Support Committee

We are in the process of updating Honors Society Eligibility requirements. The requirements have not changed for students in the class of 2025, 2026, and 2027. All requirements are outlined on the website and can be found here.

Starting with the class of 2028, volunteer hour requirements will be as follows:

9th Grade: n/a

These adjustments are in line with hours requirements prior to the pandemic as well as requirements at peer schools. Please reach out to Mr. Marik if you have any questions. More formal details to come.

As marijuana use continues to grow with the presence of dispensaries and general public acceptance, we wanted our parent (and student) community to be aware of the potential harm in today's cannabis. We hope the attached article is a helpful read.

It is almost that time to enjoy our performing arts production. It is not to early to get your tickets now and secure your seat to one of three performance in about a month. We hope you can make it to see some great acting and support our burgeoning theater program! All shows start at 7 pm at the AHT.

Purchase Tickets Here

Please consider helping the PHS/MHS Library by:

Purchasing a book from our Amazon Wish List

OR

The student newsmagazine, TPH, does not have resources this school year to publish our print magazine. Due to a technical glitch in our learning management system at the start of the year with walk through registration, we were only able to sell 39 subscriptions.

Subscriptions to TPH are $60.

We invite our families to support TPH so we can continue this worthwhile experience, including printed publications for our student body, faculty, and greater community. The TPH product can be found under ASB in the school store.

The deadline for registering and payment for AP Exams is Friday, November 8th.

There is a two step process to both register for the exam with College Board and to pay for the exam in the IC School Store. Please follow the steps below for all exams you wish to take.

Step 1 - Register for the Exam(s) on the College Board Website

• Students must indicate that they are taking the exam on the College Board website. Instructions on how to do that can be found here. If you do not complete this step for each exam, an exam will not be ordered!

Step 2 - Pay for each test in the IC School Store

• Go into the school store and individually pay for each exam. Each exam costs $130. This cost covers proctors, testing space, and AP materials for the year. You should see an icon for AP Exams which leads to a list of all the different tests we offer.

Based on responses received from the survey of Additional AP Tests Students Want, we have added the following exams:

• AP Psychology (3AQ444)
• AP English Language & Composition (M3Y2A3)
• AP Statistics (M9N36N)
• AP Physics C: Mechanics (YRD6LE)
• AP Physics 1: Algebra Based (XREV6E)

If your student wants to sign up for any of the above, follow the instructions provided in the AP Exam Ordering Section in the newsletter and use the Join Codes provided in parenthesis above.

There is still time ...

Interested in taking an exam for a course we don't offer? - Please fill out the survey here. We may offer additional exams if enough students sign-up.

If you have any questions, contact Darlene Low at dlow@piedmont.k12.ca.us or Joe Marik at jmarik@piedmont.k12.ca.us.

Speaker Series: Tuesday, November 12 from 7:00-8:30 pm: Rethinking Success: Parenting Teens in a High-Pressure World (PHS Student Center)

Come listen to experienced therapists Jen Valera, LCSW and Sarah Campbell, LMFT, who have worked with Piedmont Families, discuss:

• How parents can help teens establish a solid foundation for adulthood
• Parenting adolescents: shifting from micromanager to guide
• How to address the toxic expectation problem some high school kids face

Please RSVP by accepting this Google calendar invite, or by responding to PPNPiedmont@gmail.com. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Upcoming Grade Level Meetings:

9th/10th Grade: November 14, 7:00 - 8:30

11th Grade: November 21, 7:30 - 9:00

12th Grade: November 13, 7:00 - 8:30

Topic: Financing College: FAFSA, Financial Aid and Funding

As the cost of 4-year college continues to rise, it is vital that families understand the inner workings of the current financial aid system that they are relying on to help fund their student's higher ed experience. Come learn what the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is, what is involved in filling it out and how it helps calculate financial aid. This session will also cover the factors that schools consider in awarding financial aid, the difference between "need based" and "merit based" financial aid, potential places to look for scholarships and other funding, and a framework for understanding how your financial reality should impact the final list of colleges your student should apply to.

Please RVSP to carolinesantander@gmail.com.

To support PPN and help bring in more speakers and community events that support our parents - join HERE.

We are back with our regular feature, the Highlander of the Week. This week's students is Angelina Wu. We start off by having staff share some thoughts on Angelina.

1. What quality(ies) best describes this student? Independence, leadership, a conscientious attitude, and positivity
   
2. How long have you known the student? I have known Angelina for four years. She has been a student in my Chinese classes from 2021 and is currently enrolled in my AP Chinese class as a Senior (2024-25), where she has consistently earned superior grades.
   
3. What is the most memorable event you have of this student?
   Angelina has served as my teaching assistant, where her meticulousness and compassion have been unparalleled. Often, she would anticipate needs I hadn’t yet recognized, reminding me of important details, and always went out of her way to help others in need.
4. How does this student Achieve the Honorable? Angelina is undoubtedly one of the top students in my Chinese class, consistently achieving the highest grades. Angelina may not outwardly display her passion, but through her hard work and dedication, she demonstrates a deep commitment to the things she loves. In addition to her involvement in sports and stage management, what stands out most is her independence. This isn’t just reflected in her ability to handle many tasks on her own but also in her capacity for independent thought.
   
5. If there was one word to describe this student, what would it be? Conscientious

And from Angelina herself:

1. So far this year, what has been your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience so far this year was probably going to NYC in the summer and seeing the show Cabaret on Broadway.
2. If you were to describe PHS to someone who is thinking about coming, what would you say to them? I would say that PHS is a close community that will do their best to make you feel welcome.
3. If you were in charge at PHS, what is one action you might take to make it better? I'd probably want to add a few more humanities/social science classes as well as incentivizing people to go all out on spirit days.
4. If you could share one sentence with your parents/guardians, what would you say? Thank you for being my biggest supporters.
   
5. What is your favorite word? discombobulated, nonchalant, or lackadaisical
   
6. What is your favorite song? Anything from the 2000-2010 pop era
7. What is your favorite food? Korean BBQ and tofu soup
8. Can you share a photo of something from your summer and why it is special to you? This is a photo of my club softball team playing a qualifier for Nationals during this past summer.

• For Devon C.: "Always has a positive attitude during and after school, and he's just very fun to be around!"
• A Shout Out to Sparrow for always coming to school with so much joy. From her arrival at school, to her presence in classes, to her after school practices and tournaments; she is always a positive impact to those around her.
• Kudos for Ruqaiyah and Keda for their wonderful school spirit. We share their enthusiasm with MHS, and they are all among the most supportive fans at our football games, always cheering the team on and staying until the end!

Have someone you'd like to appreciate? Please use the form below.

As we are preparing course offerings for the 2025-26 school year, we would like to gauge general interest from our student/parent community. If we are to offer calculus-based physics, which format would you prefer:

• AP Physics: This calculus-based program is offered as two, semester-based courses--Mechanics and Electricity & Magnetism. This would be taught by trained, credentialed staff in the area of physical science. Curriculum is largely determined by the College Board.
• General Physics with Calculus: This calculus-based course would be offered as a dual enrollment option with a community college (e.g. Berkeley City College). Students would receive college credit, be treated as a college student, and courses would appear on PHS transcript per our Alternative Credits Policy.

Thanks to all those that participated in the Highlander Trivia question last week.

The 2-part question: According to our records how many students signed up for the pre-ACT last week (10/19)? 86 students signed up for the Pre-ACT

According to our records how many students signed up for the PSAT (10/26)? 147 students signed up for the PSAT

Congratulations to Ella S. with guesses of 96 and 117. Her combined proximity (11.6% and 20.4%, respectively) to both answers was the lowest of the participants. Ella, please come to the office to claim your prize.