Parent Newsletter #15: 11/8/24

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,

It has been a roller coaster week from election Tuesday to a three-day weekend. We appreciate all those that voted and are extremely grateful for the overwhelming support of Measure P. A giant THANK YOU!

The next 24 school days before 2026 will be very busy with many activities. I hope you can find the time to come enjoy some of the fine display of talent that PHS has to offer, including the fall play next Thursday through Saturday.

I hope everyone gets some extra rest and comes energized for the nine days prior to the Thanksgiving break. I'll see all your Highlanders on Tuesday morning.

Sincerely,

Dr. Yoshihara

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: Kay Sibal (Lunchtime in Rm 212-acting classroom)

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

November 15: Special Schedule (see below)

November 15: PR 3 ends

November 19: Community College Night (6-8 pm in Christopher Stevens library)

November 21: Financial Aid Night (6:30 pm start in the Alan Harvey Theater)

November 22: PR 3 grades available

November 25-29: Thanksgiving break

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.

Friday Schedule:

Period 2 - 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Brunch - 10:00 AM - 10:05 AM

Period 4 - 10:15 AM - 11:45 AM

Academy - 11:55 AM - 12:40 PM

Lunch - 12:40 PM - 1:10 PM

Period 6 - 1:20 PM - 2:50 PM

Recent Alumni and current The Voice contestant, Kay Sibal, will give a short Q&A on Thursday (11/14) at lunch in the Acting Classroom (Rm 212). Students are welcome to come and hear Kay share her experiences and journey to her current station from her days at PHS.

We are formally announcing that we will be offering the SAT on Monday, March 17th 2025. The exam will be digital and operate in the same way the PSAT has for the last two years. Priority for testing will be current 11th and 12th graders. More information and ordering details to come in January 2025. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

We have added the following AP exams to the list of tests being held at PHS in May:

• AP European History ( ZEPJE4 )
• AP US Government & Politics ( WRL74L )
• AP Macroeconomics ( 49Q23D )
• AP Physics C: Elec & Magnetism ( G42XEW )

If your student wants to sign up for any of the above, follow the instructions provided in the AP Ordering Section of PHS Parent Newsletter #10 and use the Join Codes provided in parenthesis above.

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

Each semester the World Languages department hosts a friendly singing competition in the amphitheater where the students sing in Spanish, French, and Chinese.

Our fall singing competition will be held every period on Monday, November 18th in the amphitheater and we are looking for judges to help us. We have created a rubric and base the student's performance on artistry, memorization, and enthusiasm. Here is the link to a Google doc to sign up for the different time slots if you are able to give us a lending hand.

Your presence would also be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Sahagon or Mr. Smith.

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!

Giving Campaign Reaches $2 Million—More Support Needed to Set Students Up for Success

PEF is thrilled to share that the annual Giving Campaign has raised an impressive $2 million in contributions. Yet, as we aim to provide outstanding educational resources and opportunities, additional support is needed.

Rick, a parent of a recent Harvard graduate, shared his gratitude for his daughter Genevieve’s education in Piedmont City Unified School District (PUSD). "Our daughter received a top-notch education through her years at Havens, PMS, and PHS, with access to a strong mix of regular, Honors, and AP courses, plus great extracurriculars and friendships," he said.

Success stories from alumni like Genevieve, Chloe Fineman (cast member on "Saturday Night Live"), and Dr. Gary Ruvkun (Nobel Prize winner) highlight the impact of PUSD’s educational support.

Visit www.piedmontedfoundation.org/donate to support our students.

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.

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.

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.

This week's students is Martha Diephaus. We start off by having staff share some thoughts on Martha.

1. What quality(ies) best describes this student? Martha is serene, introspective and engaged.
   
2. How long have you known the student? I met Martha on the first day of this school year.
   
3. What is the most memorable event you have of this student? I remember when Martha presented her trio's choreography in dance class. I was struck by her strength, technique, the elongation of her legs and arms as she danced, and her commitment to the movement.
4. How does this student Achieve the Honorable? Martha has distinguished herself this semester in my dance class (as well as in my junior English class) as a student who, without exception, is above the fray. She quietly completes outstanding work and brings warmheartedness to PHS culture.
   
5. If there was one word to describe this student, what would it be? Centered

And from Martha herself:

1. So far this year, what has been your most memorable experience? My most memorable experiences are definitely my exchange to the US and all the things I had the privilege to learn and experience here.
2. If you were to describe PHS to someone who is thinking about coming, what would you say to them? I would tell them that PHS is a great school with open-minded teachers that care about their students.
3. If you were in charge at PHS, what is one action you might take to make it better? I would offer more support to the student athletes since they often have to manage lots of school work in combination with their private life and their sport.
4. If you could share one sentence with your parents/guardians, what would you say? I'm really thankful for you supporting me the way you do!
   
5. What is your favorite word? The German word "Fernweh"
   
6. What is your favorite song? "National Anthem" by Lana del Rey
7. What is your favorite food? Everything made by my grandma :)
8. Can you share a photo of something from your summer and why it is special to you? This is a picture of me and my sister during our family vacation in Germany this summer, it holds a special place in my heart because the whole trip was a very happy and recovering one.

• A general shout out to all the voters in our community for their support and passage of Measure P. At close to 80% passage, it is reassuring to know that high quality schools is such a priority for our community. Thank you!
• Kudos to Cary for his genuine affability. Such a good-natured person, always with a smile, brightening the day of those he is around.
• Much appreciation to Luc. This is a student who will always see the glass as half-full. Even when he is down, he will find a way to make your day better. A great conversationalist too!

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

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

Of the Highlander Hunts this year, how quickly was the fastest Hunt found? We've had 17 hunts this year. The fastest hunt was solved in roughly 30 minutes. It actually might have been less, but since our buildings typically open at 8:00 am, and the students came to me just shy of 8:30, I'm considering it around that time frame. It was amazingly fast for what I thought a very difficult challenge.

Of the Highlander Hunts this year, what was the longest it took to find the prize? The longest hunt took in excess of 6 days. It actually was not found. I typically put the initial image up and wait 48 hours. Then I zoom out a bit and repeat after 48 hours. This happened one more time. After 6 days, I took the item down. A student to me the next day and asked about the item. He said he noticed it in the room by identifying the location, but didn't know it was part of the Hunt.

Congratulations to Raey Y. with guesses of 30 minutes and one week. You must be Nostradamus with those answers! Raey, please come to the office to claim your prize.