Parent Newsletter #37: 5/16/25

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,

We are approaching our last full week of school next week. AP exams are finished (except makeups) and you can start to feel the excitement as the celebrations are in full swing.

We look forward to finishing the year strong and encourage everyone to stay focused into the final stretch. Next Friday is Day on the Green, where we are on a special schedule for the afternoon event on the baseball field.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Best,

Dr. Yoshihara

May 16: Highlander Athletic Awards (7 pm, AHT)

May 17-18: Makers Fair

May 19: PHS School Site Council (3:40 pm, Rm 117)

May 19: Senior Awards Night (7-8:30 pm, AHT)

May 20, 22: PHS Instrumental Concert (7-9 pm, AHT)

May 23: PHS/MHS Day on the Green (1:30-3:30, baseball field)

May 26: Memorial Day

May 28: Community Education Event on Opioid Use/abuse and Naloxone (Narcan) Training and Distribution (6:30 pm, Student Center)

May 28: Student Athlete/Parent Orientation (7 pm, AHT)

June 3: Senior Sunset (6:30-8:30 pm, Witter Field)

June 5: Graduation (5 pm, Witter Field)

June 5: Grad Night (7 pm, Front of PHS)

We have TWO Academy Support sessions left in the school year - Wednesday 5/21 and Wednesday 5/28. Additionally, we will be using Infinite Campus for students to either tag a teacher or be tagged by a teacher. The deadline for tagging a teacher is midnight the night before Academy.

Students must check in IC before Academy to check where they are supposed to be for Academy. (No email will be sent by IC like it was done by FlexiSched).

Below are videos for students (PUSD restricted access) to view for:
How to Tag a Teacher

How to Check Who Tagged You

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

Brunch - 10:00 AM - 10:05 AM

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

Period 6 - 11:55 AM - 1:25 PM

DOG - 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Click on the image to see full PDF of image.

*Note: PHS does not specifically endorse the Piedmont Post. We do work at being good partners with local media.

The class of 2025 will be getting onto buses immediately following the graduation ceremony on Thursday, June 5th. So the grads have the most time with their families and friends on the field it has been the tradition that the junior class staffs volunteers to load the kids on the buses. It is a simple 1 hour commitment and we are paying it forward for our grad nite next year. If you have the time, we would love your help. please sign up below. Thanks in advance for your help. (Senior parents are excused.)

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054EAFAD23A13-56676314-2025#/

Seniors, we are almost there, and we have a few big events ahead of us. One of them is Cap & Gown Day.

This is scheduled for Academy next Wednesday (5/21). We are inviting all seniors to partake in this. You will get a chance to visit your elementary school to celebrate your success in PUSD. You will need to sign up so we can create the field trip form for you to attend.

Students will meet up during brunch to plan to walk to the school. Students at Beach may meet a little earlier to allow extra time to get there.

For students who did not attend an elementary school in our district, you've been invited to Havens to partake in the celebration. Thank you for filling out the forms in advance. The permission slip should be turned into the main office.

Cap & Gown Day Signups

Cap & Gown Permission Slip

All grades- We are coming close to the end of the year and graduation and the last progress report has been entered into Infinite Campus.

Seniors & Parents/ Guardians- PLEASE review your grades, as the counselors send in final transcripts to your colleges, universities that you will be attending. Colleges are typically asking you to keep up your rigor and grades for admissions.

Also, if there are any classes needed for graduation that you are in danger of failing, it is imperative that you connect with your teachers.

Naviance senior survey- Seniors should be inputting admissions decisions into their Naviance account along with where to send in their final transcript. Please have this done before finals week.

Did you miss Phantasmagoria? Well, you can now watch the great performances that took place that evening. We'd like to thank Ms. Taylor and all the Advanced Acting students for putting this wonderful event on.

Phantasmagoria Pt 1

Phantasmagoria Pt 2

The stories contained here were written by PUSD 9th grade English students about their experiences. Their short pieces, modeled on the themes and literary techniques of Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango St., each emerge from a sense of place, and you'll find access points in the form of QR codes to these stories all over PHS, PMS, Havens, and beyond! Each QR code will be unique and link you to the stories that are set around that particular location. Our hope is to unconceal the experiences that might otherwise be irretrievably lost with the passing of time and to thicken the environment with the stories of the students who live them.

Dear Piedmont families,

Thank you for supporting our first Exchange Program this year. Now it is about time to know how many families are interested in participating in any of these exchange programs next school year. Please fill out any of the forms if your student will be in level 2 of a language, available to travel to Spanish/France/China during Spring Break in 2026 and host a student from any of these countries for about 12 days.

Thank you,

Exchange Program Leaders (Deysi Sahagon, Bryan Smith, Xinjia Xia)

Spanish

French

Chinese

Don’t Miss the Ultimate Send-Off!

The countdown to graduation has begun, and there's one tradition you absolutely can't miss - GRAD NIGHT 2025! This legendary celebration is your final chance to come together as a complete class before you all head off in different directions.

Why join the nearly 100% of your classmates who make this their last high school memory?

• Create lasting memories with ALL your friends in one place

• Exclusive access to amazing activities, dining and surprises (we're keeping the details secret!)

• A safe, supervised environment where you can truly celebrate

• The perfect bookend to your high school journey

Event is entirely self-funded. If you have not already, please purchase your ticket by May 15th!

Every year, nearly every graduate attends—be part of this tradition!

https://piedmontstore.org/products/grad-night

Questions? Contact the Grad Night Committee (details in link)

Note: If you have any special considerations around your student joining in the Grad Night fun, please reach out to the Grad Night committee [follow the link to Grad Night in piedmontstore.org] and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

One of the traditions of Piedmont’s graduation is to have a senior speak on behalf of their class.

We invite you all to audition to be the speaker at this year's graduation ceremony.

Auditions for Senior Speaker are Tuesday, May 20 from 3:45-5:00. If you'd like to audition, first sign up for an audition spot here. Then prepare a 3-5 minute graduation speech that shares your thoughts about the graduating class and your own "words of wisdom" to your classmates. At the audition, you'll present your speech to a panel of teachers and staff who will select the speaker. The panel is looking for confident speakers who present unique speeches that are inclusive to the class of 2025.

If you have any questions, please email Kim Taylor or Beth Black. Thank you for your interest.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 @ 6:30 pm - Piedmont High School Student Center, 800 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont

April Rovero of the National Coalition of Prescription Drug Abuse and the Naloxone Distribution Project will join the Piedmont Unified School District Nurses for an important discussion regarding prescription/illicit drug use and abuse, fentanyl awareness, and how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Overdose rescue training utilizing the opioid-antagonist naloxone will be provided, and free naloxone will be given to adults at the conclusion of the training.

All community members welcome: please bring your middle and high school students, and learn about the dangers of fentanyl and how to possibly save a life.

For more information, contact the PUSD Nurses at: nurses@piedmont.k12.ca.us.

The Wellness Center will be providing snacks on the quad for Mental Health Awareness Week Tues, May 20 - Thurs, May 22.

Please consider donating allergen free granola bars, popcorn, oranges and string cheese by Mon, May 19.

Mental Health Awareness Week, May 19-23

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044EA9AD2EA1FC1-56388406-mental

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

Take care,

Wellness Center Support Committee

This week's student is Layla Reed-Miguel. Thank you for getting your responses to me so quickly. We start off by having Mr. Wolbert share some thoughts on Layla.

Layla Reed-Miguel! She's a rockstar! She is super brilliant and such a model student. I think she might go on to rule the world, and I hope she does because she is so thoughtful, modest, and yet has such an exacting mind. She is a wellspring of insight in class! Layla for president.

And from Layla himself:

1. So far this year, what has been your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience this year is definitely winning the poster competition for the Bird Calling Contest. It was my first time working on a larger-scale art project and I spent around 25-30 hours on it overall, so it was amazing and really rewarding that it was the winning poster!
2. If you were to describe PHS to someone who is thinking about coming, what would you say to them? I would say PHS is a very strong school all around, there are a lot of great academic and arts programs here, all of these classes with teachers that really teach but also care about and make connections with us students.
3. If you were in charge at PHS, what is one action you might take to make it better? I would add more greenery around the school and maybe a school garden, with students being able to take a class to care for and plant in the garden.
4. If you could share one sentence with your parents/guardians, what would you say? Thank you for being such a consistent and positive part of my life for the past 15 years, love you guys.
   
5. What is your favorite word? Probably “silly” because it’s such a silly word.
   
6. What is your favorite song? Home by Cavetown
7. What is your favorite food? It changes, but I right now I really want udon!
8. Can you share a photo of something from your summer and why it is special to you? Here is a photo of me (in the green sweater) with my family at Christmas. This photo is special to me because even when life is hard, my family is there and I’m so grateful for all the time and holidays we spend together.

• A Shout Out to all the students who spoke at the Board meeting this past Wednesday. It is hard enough to speak in front of your peers. It is much more difficult to do it in front of a governing body. So kudos to: Harper, Logan, Ella, Sophena, Laura, Meher, Abby, Peter, Max, Megan, Sophie, and Lauren.

Thanks to all those that participated in the Highlander Trivia question in the last newsletter. Participation was a little lighter but still decent.

The question for last week was: So one of my hobbies is travel. But with school age kids for most of my life, I'm limited primarily to major holidays and summer. Given that, what is my lifetime miles with Alaska Airlines?

Some people definitely label me as the world traveler (smile). While I certainly like to travel, there are many places I have not been. Most total lifetime miles with Alaska is 127,587

Congratulations to Trenton D. for his answer of 123,456. Believe it or not, that was very close! Please come to the main office at your convenience to claim your prize!