Parent Newsletter #3: 8/16/24

Website: https://phs.piedmont.k12.ca.us/
Location: 800 Magnolia Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611
Phone: (510) 594-2626
Instagram: @piedmonthigh

Principal: Dr. Yoshihara

Assistant Principal: Mr. Marik

Administrative Assistant: Ms. Valkonen

Dear Highlander Families,

It has been a successful week opening up our school and welcoming so many wonderful students and their families. Although our schedule was a bit different, our students did not miss a beat. It is such a treat to observe the learning in our classes. Our amazing teachers and support staff are providing a learning experience that is second to none. To get to see that on a daily basis, I consider myself lucky.

On Tuesday evening, Keri Elmquist led our booster parents in their first meeting of the year. We have a bevy of fall sports and they have hit the ground running. Many of our sports programs are the largest they have been in years. As such, we expect strong teams and some great competition in the months ahead. We hope you come out to support your scholar athletes. If any child wants an opportunity to play, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or athletic Director Tyler Small.

Continuing the sports theme, Wednesday evening provided us the opportunity to formally dedicate Witter Field to our community. The Witter family was there along with many other folks who helped make this dream a reality. What a special evening. We know it will provide thousands of students years of top quality practice and competition.

Our Parent Club had their first meeting of the year on Friday. This is a bedrock of our school supporting our teachers and many projects around campus. We encourage our families that can, to please get involved. It is this level of support that allows us to compete at the highest levels.

Lastly, in continuing to build a community to thrive, we hosted our first welcome back assembly to a packed house. Ms. Hayley Adams and her ASB students are a force to be reckoned with. Can't wait to see what they have in store for us next. They continued the Highlander spirit with music at lunch. Come join us on any given Friday to see what tunes await your children in the Student Center quad. Dancing is optional.

Sincerely,

Dr. Yoshihara

August 20: We will hold our first evacuation drill. Students are to report to period 5, do the drill review for the first 10 minutes of class (11:35 - 11:45) and the drill will proceed afterwards (11:45 - 12:15). [added on 8/18]

August 20: Senior Parent Night (6:30-8 pm) in the Community Center. If you have a senior, this is the place to be. We will have plenty to discuss.

August 23: Last day to ADD a semester 1 class.

Some sports have games/scrimmages next week s0 tune in to the sports calendar for that.

For the second week of school, we should be close to normal with our schedule.

August 20: Fire Drill Schedule

Period Start End

1 8:30 9:50

Brunch 9:50 9:55

3 10:05 11:25

Drill Review 11:25 11:35

Drill 11:35 12:05

5 12:15 1:35

Lunch 1:35 2:05

7 2:15 3:35

Did you know that PHS has a Code of Conduct? This is particularly important if your child participates in extracurricular activities. It is listed on page 22 of the Student Planner. It states that violations of the Code of Conduct may result in ineligibility for extracurricular activities. I will highlight one area this week and then one area next week.

• Attend all classes regularly

[From page 16 of the student planner]

Extracurricular Consequences for Absences

Students may become ineligible for all extracurricular participation on the Progress Report 2 Extracurricular Eligibility Determination Date in either semester if they incur two (2) unexcused absences in any one class or four (4) unexcused absences in all classes combines.

• S1 PR 2 Ends on 10/11/24 and eligibility determination is made on 10/23/24

Did you know that you and your children can access some important calendars related to PHS. We have 3 calendars that are actively maintained:

1. PHS/MHS Daily Schedule: This shows which bell schedule we are following each day. Clicking on the daily event will show the specific bell schedule being followed.

2. PHS Events Calendar: This shows all outward-facing events at the school, except sports.

3. PHS/MHS Academy: This shows what will be taking place in Academy each week.

You can add any/all of these calendars by going to this link.

The Athletic Games Calendar is maintained separately through a widget. You can access it through this link.

Students can email help@piedmont.k12.ca.us for non-urgent Chromebook and technology issues or if they have lost or misplaced their device.

For Chromebook service, students can go to:

• the PHS library during lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• the tech office located at PMS on the right side of the library building at the bottom of the ramp. Ring the bell.

For Infinite Campus issues or password reset email ichelp@piedmont.k12.ca.us

For Schoology access or technical issues email asaville@piedmont.k12.ca.us

For Academy scheduling issues in FlexiSched email jbranisa@piedmont.k12.ca.us

Students will receive FlexiSched scheduling training at their Friday, August 23, Academy Homeroom

We continue to refine our library schedule as we try to maximize the time it is open. The most recent library schedule can be found here. Feel free to bookmark that tab if you need to reference it often.

Related to the library, we need students to please return books from last year. With the price of textbooks continuing to increase, every book returned saves us from having to take dollars away from higher priority items. Parents and students can view the library account from home by accessing this link.

Schools pictures are here! If you took pictures back on August 9, they are now available to view and order online. If you missed picture day or felt you didn't look fabulous, you have a chance to do picture makeups on September 11 from 8:30-3:00 in the Alan Harvey Theatre (same location). No appointment is needed, but you do need permission if you are going to leave class for the photo.

View and Order Event Code: FE139424

As many of our families know, PHS is an open campus, but this is applicable to lunch time only. During brunch, which is only 15 minutes, inclusive of passing, the campus is not open. In the past, students would try to run to Mulberry's or somewhere nearby and risk being late to class. We plan to enforce the closed campus philosophy during brunch. Your child can use the student center to grab a quick snack but they are not permitted to leave the campus. Thanks for your support on this.

We wanted to share with parents that we will be keeping the main doors to many of the student restrooms around campus open for the time being. We receive alerts where there is suspicious activity in the restrooms and as such, we need to be proactive to get ahead of this as quickly as possible. We will also increase visibility in the halls to encourage students to "achieve the honorable". We ask that if students witness inappropriate activities in the restrooms, that they reach out to a trusting adult about it. We understand the "snitch" culture with today's youth but will also ask for the better angels of their nature in creating an environment where all Highlanders can thrive.

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 once per month. I will then see if an election is needed and if so, put that out in a future newsletter.

The Yearbook staff is already underway in preparing an amazing tome for all your Highlander memories. Please visit this link for all the specific information relating to the purchase and deadlines for the yearbook.

Seniors have additional specific information that can be found here.

Week 1 is now behind us and many important dates are coming for seniors. Please bookmark the Road to Graduation document as it will soon be removed from the weekly parent newsletter. This is a living document that will be updated throughout the year.

If your child has a food allergies and would like to participate in brunch or lunch, we would love to accommodate. In order to prevent food waste, we produce close to what we believe the demand it. As such, please fill out the attached form and bring it to the director of nutrition services, Ms. Spinks, or to the principal's office. Thank you.

Much thanks to Keri Elmquist and all the booster parents for their work with our scholar-athletes. We also appreciate Keri's support at the Witter Field ribbon cutting this week.

If you haven't seen the garden area between the 20's and 30's building, it is worth a visit. This couldn't have happened without help from our Parent Club and Kim's dedication. Thank you so much. It is beautiful.

From WSCS

Join us for the First Annual Positively Pickled Pickleball Tournament!

All proceeds benefit the PUSD Wellness Center to support the mental health of our high school and middle school students.

Saturday, September 21 (9 am-5 pm)

Sunday, September 22 (9 am-12 pm)

Piedmont Middle School Courts

3 Divisions: Beginner (coaching will be available); Intermediate (you know a kitchen is not where you cook); Competitive (ready to dink and dominate)

Tickets: $100/2-person team at piedmontwellness.org

Thank you all that participated in last weeks' Highlander Trivia.

The question was: Our school gets most of its funding through LCFF. What was our daily rate for LCFF funding in the 2023-24 school year (to the nearest penny)?

The correct answer was: $69.04

The closest answer was $59 provided by Alissa Welch. Congratulations. If Alissa or her child would like to claim their prize, please report to the principal's office.

Miss a prior issue or you just like reading the Highlander weekly? Never fear, old issues are here! Happy reading.