Parent Newsletter #27: 2/28/25

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've closed out February with a week of sunshine. Enjoy it while it lasts as it seems we'll be in for a wet start to March.

That aside, we hope you can find some time this weekend to attend our student athletes as they try to bring home two more section banners. On Saturday at 3 pm, our men's basketball will be at San Leandro HS and at 7 pm, our men's soccer team will be hosting on Witter Field.

Lastly, we have Mock Admissions night this coming Tuesday (more information below). We'll see everyone in March!

Best,

Dr. Yoshihara

March 3: Reverse Lockdown Drill (special schedule)

March 4: Case Studies Night (Save the Date, details forthcoming)

March 7: Spring Rally (during Academy)

March 3-7: Spirit Week (image below)

March 9: Daylight Savings Time starts

March 12: Board discussion on cell phone options (info below)

March 14: Non-student day

March 17: Non-student day

March 21: End of PR2, Semester 2

March 22: Underclassmen Dance (Save the Date, details forthcoming)

March 28-29: Dracula (Starts at 7 pm, AHT)

April 2-4: The Grown Ups (Starts at 7 pm, AHT)

April 18: Bird Calling Contest (Save the Date, details forthcoming)

Wednesday will be Academic Support for all. Remember to tag a teacher!

Friday will be the spring rally with a special schedule.

Link to FlexiSched: https://piedmont.flexisched.net/

Schedule for 3/3

Period 1 - 8:30 AM - 9:10 AM

Period 2 - 9:20 AM - 10:00 AM

Brunch - 10:00 AM - 10:05 AM

Period 3 - 10:15 AM - 10:55 AM

Period 4 - 11:05 AM - 11:45 AM

Passing - 11:45 AM - 11:55 AM

Reverse Lockdown- 11:55 AM - 12:25 PM

Period 5 - 12:35 PM - 1:15 PM

Lunch - 1:15 PM - 1:45 PM

Period 6 - 1:55 PM - 2:35 PM

Period 7 - 2:45 PM - 3:25 PM

Schedule for 3/7

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

Brunch - 10:00 AM - 10:05 AM

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

Spring Rally - 11:55 AM - 12:40 PM

Lunch - 12:40 PM - 1:10 PM

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

The Cell Phone Task Force has been meeting since December to research options to restrict personal connected devices during the school day. The Task Force will present these options for the Board to consider pursuant to AB 3216 on March 12. The impact of this will reach every student and may be significant for secondary students, particularly at the high school level.

We invite interested members of the community to attend, virtually or in person, the Board meeting on March 12. Start time is 7 pm at 120 Vista Ave or via Zoom. Members will have an opportunity to speak during the agenda item. Please email the Principal if you have any questions.

Thank you for all those that were able to make it out to our Young Professional's Panel yesterday. We truly appreciate our community's engagement, especially on a weeknight. And a shout-out to the panelists once again:

• Frances "Frannie" Lahey-Teare, class of 2019
• Jordan Marcus, class of 2017
• Sara Siqueira, class of 2018

They were amazing! You can watch the recording here. I would also be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Linda Wendel, Sara Ironside, and Kim Hunter for their tremendous efforts at coordination and recruitment to make this go off so smoothly. And "thank you" to PPN for sponsoring the reception and Boosters for donating the gifts for the panelists. Lastly, kudos to Joe and Ms. ML for all the support.

We are so pleased that PHS will be offering the SAT for the first time on Monday, March 17, 2025, with a commitment to host March 2026 as well.

PHS cannot administer this exam without proctoring support by parents. This opportunity where your student is guaranteed a seat and knows the testing environment, and you do not need to drive/fly/spend hotel money requires nothing more than a few hours, being timely and reading instructions.

Please note:

Training will be held Monday, March 10th at 3:30pm via Zoom and recorded for those who can’t make it (30 min to train, plus additional time to help you set up College Board account)

Proctoring time is Monday, March 17th from 8:30am to 12:30pm (end time is approximate, dependent on room start time)

If your student is taking the SAT, you are strongly encouraged to support and will be placed in a different room

PLEASE SIGN UP now!

Questions, please contact Joe Marik (jmarik@piedmont.k12.ca.us), Nairobi Kim (robikim@gmail.com) or Amy Aubrecht (amy.aubrecht@gmail.com)

ASB has officially released the spirit week theme for each of the days on March 3-7. We hope our students can participate in this next week.

Counselors will be meeting with all Juniors from Monday 3/3/25-Thursday 3/13/25 for a short, individual meeting with your counselor. During this meeting, we will:

• Review course selections for next year
• Complete a graduation credit and A-G credit check
• Discuss Letters of Recommendation
• Discuss Common Application and UC/CSU application information
• Discuss SAT, ACT testing

Are they needed for your student for college applications? You may need to miss part of a class and will be responsible for any missed content. If you have any exams, please schedule your appointment around this.

Students, before your meeting, please complete the following steps in Naviance:

Step 1 - Complete Naviance’s “Colleges I am Thinking About” by saving 3 colleges to this list, preferably try the Supermatch option in Naviance.

Step 2- You can also utilize the Self Discovery surveys “ Career Interest Profiler” And “Career Cluster Finder” to look at how your interests match with college majors.

Step 3 - Sign-up for a meeting using your counselor’s calendar link below between Monday 3/3/24 - Thursday 3/13/24

• Ms. Carlson (A - G)
• Mr. Hartford (H - O)
• Ms. Hoang (P - Z)

If you have any questions, please reach out to your counselor.

There are spaces left for this event and we are opening it up for 9th grade students/families if interested! Registration is important so we can send you materials prior to the start of the event!

We hope you'll join us for our Mock Admission/Case Studies Night and small College Fair on Tuesday, March 4th! The event will be facilitated by the Regional Admissions Counselors of California (RACC) and the following 7 universities are planning to attend:

• Purdue University
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• High Point University
• University of Tennessee
• Washington State University
• Southern Methodist University
• University of Pittsburgh

Please register before the fair at www.StriveFair.com or by using the QR code below.

A few quick pointers:

• Select event location: California
• What event are you attending: 3/4/25 Piedmont High School
• What type of attendee: students or parents
• Complete registration

Priority is given to Juniors but we are opening the opportunity up.

Schedule for the event:

5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: Students/Families arrive
6:00 PM: Quick Introduction Presentation with all participants then break into groups
6:20 PM: Guests begin application review led by college reps
7:30 PM: Small group discussion ends/final wrap up, college fair begins

8:00 PM: Event ends

Save the date for the 11th annual Piedmont School Maker Faire at the Piedmont High School campus on Sunday, May 18 11am - 3pm! Come celebrate K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math (S.T.E.A.M.) education for the Piedmont community & beyond.

Our “Call for Makers” is now OPEN. Students & the community can show off your creativity – drones, cosplay, puppets, kites, virtual reality, Legos, music – or check out our project ideas page for inspiration. When ready, submit your project by April 30th.

This week's student is Jaden Jones. Thank you for getting your responses to me so quickly. We start off by having staff share some thoughts on Jaden.

From Mr. Wolbert: She's such a gem! She is intrigued by sophisticated philosophical topics, and she is without fail so engaged in class each day. She accepts all challenges with composure and grace, and it is students like her that make teaching such a joy.

And from Jaden herself:

1. So far this year, what has been your most memorable experience? My most memorable experience has been playing basketball and through that meeting so many amazing people.
2. If you were to describe PHS to someone who is thinking about coming, what would you say to them? I would describe PHS as a fun and caring community who is very connected and focused on the goals of education and sports.
3. If you were in charge at PHS, what is one action you might take to make it better? I might try and simplify the Schoology platform since it is pretty difficult for me to navigate, and increase the amount of awareness assemblies.
4. If you could share one sentence with your parents/guardians, what would you say? That they have been my leaders my whole life and I look up to the with the utmost respect.
   
5. What is your favorite word? My favorite word is Resilience.
   
6. What is your favorite song? Right now my favorite song is Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar.
7. What is your favorite food? My favorite food is Mexican food.
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 1 and a half year old cousin. I love spending time with her and she is one of the biggest lights in my world right now. She is incredibly sweet and curious and I love her so much!

• A shout out to the many folks who helps with today's career presentations, including but not limited to: Alder Yarrow, Judy Lin, Sara Ironside, Scouts for sponsoring the breakfast for presenters, and the 40+ presenters themselves.
• Kudos to Alder Yarrow, Judy Lin, Kim Hunter, Virginia Nido, Amy Aubrecht, Mary Wells, counseling team, PHS Parents Club for donating pizza lunch, Stefanie and Joe for a successful resume workshop.

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

The question for tis week was: At that point, most of you know that I have 4 children. I also have a grandchild. When was my grandchild born (month/day/year)? The correct answer to this is August 22, 2024. Kaiden was born in Portland on that day, officially making me a grandfather!

Our participants actually all did quite well once again. Congratulations to Noah who got the closest with his answer of July 13, 2024--a repeat winner at that too! Please come to the main office at your convenience to claim your prize.