Parent Newsletter #2: 7/31/26

Website | Phone: (510) 594-2626

Location: 800 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611
Instagram: @piedmonthigh

Bell Schedule (Regular) | Library Schedule

Road to Graduation | Athletic Newsletter

College & Career Newsletter | Yearbook Info

2025-26 School Profile | Student Handbook (draft)

Principal: Dr. Yoshihara | Asst. Principal: Mr. Marik

Dear Highlander Families,

We are just over a week away from the start of school, as we do final preparation for the upcoming school year. Counselors will be available starting Monday. Please see more information below about how to make requests.

Walkthrough Registration information has been updated. It will be on August 7th and compressed into a shorter time frame. More information is below. Priority will be given to students who come at their assigned time. The New Student Orientation (9th grade) will be on August 6 and the New Parent Orientation (all grade levels) will be later that evening.

Warmly,

Dr. Yoshihara

July 31: Annual Registration opens in Parent Portal on Infinite Campus

August 6: New Student Orientation (4-6 pm, AHT)

August 6: New Parent Orientation (6:30-7:30 pm, AHT)

August 7: New Student Orientation, 10th-12th grade (11 am, AHT)

August 7: Walk Through Registration / Picture Day (12-6:30 pm)

• Before Walkthrough Registration or to be able to check your schedule on Infinite Campus, every student has to be registered through the Infinite Campus Parent Portal. Please make sure you complete the online registration ahead of time.
• Any fees, including overdue books, are due at this time. You may be sent to the office to address this issue.
• Students will be able to view their schedule in Infinite Campus on August 8.

August 10: First Day of School

August 12: 9th & 10th Grade Welcome Meeting (Academy, AHT)

August 14: 11th Grade Welcome Meeting (Academy, AHT)

August 19: 12th Grade Welcome Meeting (Academy, AHT)

August 21: Senior Sunrise (6:30-8 am, Baseball Field)

August 28: Parents' Club Meeting (9 am, AHT Lobby)

September 3: Back To School Night (6:40-8:55 pm)

September 4: Senior Picnic Fest

September 9: Picture Retakes (9-3:30, AHT Lobby)

Walkthrough registration will take place on August 7. Students should report at the following times:

• 12:00-12:30: Last name A-B
• 12:30-1:00: Last name C-E
• 1:00-1:30: Last Name F-Hi
• 1:30-2:00: Last Name: Ho-Le
• 2:00-2:30: Last Name: Li-M
• 2:30-3:00: Last Name: N-Sa
• 3:00-3:30: Last Name: Sc-Ti
• 3:30-4:00: Last Name: To-Z
• 4:00-4:30: All Names

Students who come at their assigned time will be given priority for pictures, chromebook checkout, etc. We plan to have a few food trucks at this year's event as well. They should be parked along Magnolia Ave and great food may be purchased if you'd like some nourishment while you are waiting around.

Note: Last week, we listed an earlier time for certain student athletes. If your time for a school-sanctioned sport truly conflicts, please come as close to your assigned time as possible. Parents will have lists of students registered for sports to verify.

Hello PHS Community!

Welcome back! I'm Andrea Zambrana, your Parents' Club Vice-President. I have a 10th grader here at PHS and a 12th grader doing Independent Studies through the District — from Germany, — so I understand firsthand the full spectrum of the PHS experience. I'm so glad to be serving this community and can't wait to meet more of you this year.

Our first Parents' Club meeting is Thursday, August 28th at 9am, and all are welcome. If you're new to having a high schooler, here's a truth nobody warns you about: the information pipeline gets very quiet once they hit 9th grade. The Parents' Club may honestly be your best source for what's actually happening at school — events, updates, and a direct line to the administration every single month. Come once and see for yourself.

Speaking of what's happening — your Parents' Club parent volunteers have been busy. Here's what's coming up:

• Walk-Through Registration — parents are helping organize and set up this event to help all PHS students feel welcome, get their schedule, have their picture taken and get their Chromebooks back.
  
• Learn more about the Parent's Club at the New Parent's Orientation on 8/6 @ The Alan Harvey Theatre (AHT) from 6:30-7:30.
• Teacher Appreciation Breakfast on August 7th, because our teachers deserve it
• "Last-First Day" — a special, time honored tradition of acknowledging the last time our Seniors will have a "first day" of HS. *sniff*
• Senior Parent Social & Information Night — August 12th, 7–8:30pm
• Senior Fest — September 4th {corrected date on 8/2)

And don't forget to join the the Parents' Club when registering your kiddos. Beyond the monthly meetings, membership gets you access to the Parent Directory — and trust me, with our private, secret-squirrel high schoolers, you're going to want it. Find everything at the PHS Parents' Club website.

Warmly, Andrea Zambrana PHS Parents' Club, Vice-President

Calling all parents (yes, that means you! 👋): Our awesome Parents’ Club is putting together a Welcome Back Breakfast for our hardworking staff as they prep their classrooms, hallways, student center, offices, library, and outdoor spaces for 700+ eager students. Let’s treat them to an incredible morning! ☕🥐 Check out the link below to sign up and lend a hand—we appreciate you so much!

Sign up Genius for Welcome Back Staff Breakfast

Need to see a counselor? We know the beginning of the year will be very busy. Counselors will be available starting on August 3rd if you wish to stop by the counseling office between 8:30 and 3:30. You are also encouraged to fill out the waitlist/course request change form, if applicable.

Reasons for course change will be addressed in this order:

• Missing a graduation requirement
• Placed in the wrong level
• General course change requests
• We do not allow for specific teacher requests for classes.

We will be restricting all cell phone usage, bell-to-bell, this coming year. This applies to all personally connected devices while on campus aside from "dumb phones". A dumb phone shall be a device that can only text and call--no apps or camera. A comprehensive list can be found in the student handbook on page 17.

We will be collecting phones, watches, ear pods, personal laptops, etc. from students who have these devices out during the school day. Once the bell rings, these devices should be put away for the remainder of the school day. They should not be in your hand or visible at any time.

Also note that smart glasses are not allowed on campus. It is important that families not purchase this as their child's only pair of glasses.

I know Piedmont is an extremely generous community. We are grateful for the amazing approval ratings of the parcel taxes and PEF Giving Campaign donations. If you still have opportunity to give specifically to classes/programs, the Infinite Campus school store is now open. This document describes the various suggested amounts. Please know that these items go directly to the department/program and is managed by the department chair. These funds do not go away and may roll over to the next year if the department anticipated a future need.

General site funds are used for overall school needs--most commonly items like copy paper, general classroom supplies, etc. I thank you in advance for your consideration of these donations.

If you are new to the district or speak Spanish, French or Chinese at home and never taken a language class at PHS, this is your chance to know what level you should be enrolled in the Fall.

Date: August 7

Time: 10 am

• Chinese Registration, Rm 38
• French Registration, TBD
• Spanish Registration, Rm 36/37

Would you like some general spirit wear for PHS? We have polos, hoodies, and beanies. They are great to wear to games, performances, or on campus any time of the year. You can submit your orders in the Infinite Campus Store. Orders are placed when I have about a dozen orders. Please reach out if you have any questions.

We have been busy these past few months hiring a number of new staff who will be joining us this fall. Please help us welcome all of them.

• Aaron Duran, Counseling
• Anjuna Lohnes, Librarian (Monday)
• Heidi Fredrickson, French
• Dr. Eva Bravo, Spanish
• Jessica Carlson, English
• Khori Vondenbenken, Science
• Olesia Parasuik-Zasun, Math
• Mandy Mudde, Math
• Darnell Reed, Campus Supervisor
• Judith Cathell, Para II
• Yifeng Huang, Para II
• Saree Rice, Eng. Lab Coordinator
• Emily Haus, Library Media Tech
• Shantequa McKinney, Para II
• Malea Lews, Para I

For the first time since I've been here, we will run a "regular" schedule the first week of school. Please refer to the image below for the details.

We will have a student-centered activity on Friday, August 14 in Academy. More details to follow.

We continue to refine our counseling loads for the coming year. For returning students, your counselor will not change. For 9th grade students, they will be assigned as such:

Amanda Carlson:

MHS Counselor

PHS Last Names: A-D

Chris Hartford:

PHS Last Names: E-N

Aaron Duran:

PHS Last Names: O-Z

We will offer the following college entrance exams next school year. The dates are still tentative but we want to get information out to you know for planning purposes. All orders will be made through Infinite Campus School Store which can be done when the school year starts next year. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik

• Pre-ACT - Saturday, 10/3/26
• PSAT - Saturday, 10/17/26
• SAT - Monday, 3/15/27

We will be able to fully staff our library for this coming year. The library should be open every day during school hours. We will post the final schedule once it is finalized, but students can expect to have a place to go every day during school hours.

The California Education Code requires the school site council to develop a Single Plan for Student Achievement. The purpose of the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is to create a cycle of continuous improvement of student performance, and to ensure that all students succeed in reaching academic standards set by the State Board of Education.

The PHS Site Council serves as a forum where school staff, parents, and students can discuss a variety of issues that affect student performance at Piedmont High School. To support focus in the area of curriculum, agendas are typically developed in order to coincide with the curricular areas that are up for adoption.

If you are willing and able to join us on the school site council for this coming year, please email me. We meet roughly four times a year (fifth meeting may be added). I will then see if an election is needed and if so, put that out in a future newsletter. Parents and students are welcomed to apply.

The group will meet from 3:40-4:40 at the PHS Main Office area. The tentative dates are:

• September 14
• November 16
• January 25
• March 22
• May 10 (only if needed)

The World Languages Department is excited to announce the Spanish Honor Society chapter at Piedmont High & Millennium High: Innovadores de Exedra. This is a nationally recognized honor society for students excelling in Spanish. Spanish Honor Society Application

Before completing the application, please review the qualifications below to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria.

• Thank You Andrea, Parents' Club VP, for all the work preparing for the opening of the school year.