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
Principal: Dr. Yoshihara
Assistant Principal: Mr. Marik
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.
With Halloween just a few weeks away, we wanted to provide some guidance on costumes. While we hope many of you may want to enjoy the spirit of the day, we also want people to feel safe and included. As such, the following is provided as guidance for Halloween at PHS this year:
- Costumes should not cover the face, beyond a typical face mask or hat
- No full face coverage
- Fake weapons of any type are not permitted
- Fake blood is not permitted
- Adult-oriented costumes and costumes that could be deemed offensive should be avoided
- Students showing up in these may be asked to change
- Inflatable costumes should be avoided
Students learn best when they arrive at class on time and ready to learn. Mr. Bell monitors student tardy and class cut data very closely to ensure we are supporting students to be in class. Moving forward, we will start including parents in messages that are sent to students around Tardies and Cuts. We appreciate your collaboration in supporting all of our students to maximize time in class.
What is a Tardy?
- If a student arrives after the bell rings, they are considered Tardy.
- If a student is 15 min or more late to any given class period, they must check in at the attendance office. If they do not, their teachers will send them back to obtain a time stamped tardy slip. It is the responsibility of the students who are tardy to follow up with their teachers to ensure they were marked tardy and not absent.
- Tardies can only be excused when accompanied by a medical note, parent call or corroborated by a staff member
What is a Cut?
- If a student leaves campus during closed times (i.e. brunch) without permission or clearance from the office.
- If a student leaves class and is gone longer than the agreed upon time or does not return.
Based on responses received from the survey of Additional AP Tests Students Want, we have added the following exams:
- AP English Language & Composition (M3Y2A3)
- AP Statistics (M9N36N)
- AP Physics C: Mechanics (YRD6LE)
- AP Physics 1: Algebra Based (XREV6E)
If your child 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
The Piedmont Parents Network is excited to announce our first PPN Speaker Presentation for the year!
The intention of these presentations is to provide advice and guidance from local experts in adolescent development to parents and guardians so we have the tools we need to best support our children. Our second presentation will be in the spring. This session will focus on the high-school student experience, but everyone is welcome to attend this FREE event regardless of your child's age.
Please RSVP by accepting this Google calendar invite, or by responding to PPNPiedmont@gmail.com. Walk-ins are also welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!
Rethinking Success: Parenting Teens in a High Pressure World
Tuesday, November 12 from 7:00-8:30pm, at the PHS Student Center
Presented by: Sarah Campbell, LMFT, and Jen Valera, LCSW. Come listen to experienced therapists who have worked with Piedmont families, to 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
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session
Jen Valera, LCSW is a psychotherapist who has worked with Piedmont families for over twenty years. She specializes in helping teens and their parents re-find trust and common ground. Her favorite clinical work is debunking toxic social expectations and harmful assumptions, sorting through outdated patterns, and supporting her clients to define for themselves what works best for them - in adolescence, adulthood, work-life, partnering, parenting and aging. In addition to psychotherapy, Jen provides clinical supervision and facilitates clinical consultation groups. For more information go to Piedmontpsychotherapy.com.
Sarah Campbell, LMFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Oakland. She has worked primarily with adolescents and families since her start as an Intern at the PHS Wellness Center in 2007-2008. Sarah is certified as a Yoga Instructor with a specialization in Restorative Yoga and completed the Bauman College Nutrition Consultant program in 2021. For more information go to www.sarahcampbellmft.com.
The Piedmont Parents Network (PPN) is excited to present the first event in our speaker series on Wednesday, October 23 from 7:00-8:30 pm at PMS Multipurpose Room (MPR). All parents/caregivers of middle school students are invited to attend.
Mindy Szelap will share insights and knowledge about how parents can shift their behaviors to encourage resilience and independence in kids as a means to reduce anxiety. Question and Answer session to follow the talk. Mindy Szelap (https://www.bayareaspacetreatment.com/) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 25 years of experience working with children, teens, and families in pediatrics.
Ms. Szelap specializes in the treatment of anxiety, OCD, depression, and pediatric chronic illness and pain, utilizing evidence based treatments, including cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure/response prevention, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), strategic therapy, internal family systems (IFS), and clinical hypnosis. She works extensively with families of young children to interrupt anxious patterns before they take hold. Her background is strongly rooted in pediatrics, child and adolescent development, and behavioral therapies.
This event is free for our Piedmont parent community, and is an adults only event. Please register here: https://calendar.app.google/APHRyGQb2SM4DrVY6
I am delighted to continue our Highlander of the Weeks. This week's student is Austin White. We start off by having staff share some thoughts on Austin.
- What quality(ies) best describes this student? Austin is kind, friendly, hard working, nice to all his peers and teachers, and one of the most delightful students I've ever had in class.
- How long have you known the student? I've only had the pleasure of having Austin in class for a quarter or so, but he has already made a great impression.
- What is the most memorable event you have of this student?
Everyday is memorable with Austin, honestly. He just goes about his business, always puts his best foot forward, and is a joy to talk to. When I think of an outstanding all around student, Austin is the first name that comes to mind. - How does this student Achieve the Honorable? I think the best way to describe how Austin achieves the honorable is how he conducts himself everyday in class. He is hardworking, reliable, responsible and kind, not because that is what is expected of him, but because that is who he is as a person.
- If there was one word to describe this student, what would it be? Stupendous!
And from Austin himself:
- So far this year, what has been your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience would probably be going to Hawaii over the summer!
- If you were to describe PHS to someone who is thinking about coming, what would you say to them? If I were to describe PHS to someone thinking about coming, I would say "The school is super cool! The new high-tech steam building is an awesome improvement from my old school!"
- If you were in charge at PHS, what is one action you might take to make it better? To make PHS better I would
a. Install a tram up PE hill so it would be easier to get to school in the mornings.
b. Make the water fountains in the steam building colder, they are kind of lukewarm at best.
c. We all always hear about teacher appreciation meals, and lunches where they get catered food and stuff, when is it our turn, after they get paid! - If you could share one sentence with your parents/guardians, what would you say? If I could share one sentence with my parents/ guardians is would be "The food here is much much much better than the old school!"
- What is your favorite word? My favorite word would probably be "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis!"
- What is your favorite song? My favorite song would be no particular one! Whenever I'm asked that I just say that I don't have one, I just like music.
- What is your favorite food? Battery Acid :D [Mr. Yoshihara is assuming this is some type of candy]
- Can you share a photo of something from your summer and why it is special to you? This was on the trip I went to Hawaii this summer. We were coming back from hiking to a giant waterfall!
If your student is planning to take an AP exam this spring, please follow the two step ordering process below. The deadline for ordering exams is Friday, November 8th. Exams cost $130 which covers instructional materials, testing materials, proctors, and other costs. Orders placed after November 8th will incur a CollegeBoard imposed $40 late fee.
Step 1 - Log-in to the Infinite Campus School Store and place an order for all exams your student plans to take.
Step 2 - Your student should log-in to their College Board account and indicate which exams should be ordered. Instructions on how to do this can be found here. If you do not complete this step for each exam, an exam will not be ordered! All students should have access to their teacher's AP course page. If students have questions about this, they should contact their teacher.
If you have questions on payment or ordering, please contact our registrar Darlene Low (dlow@piedmont.k12.ca.us)
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.