Parent Newsletter #31: 3/20/26

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

Nutrition Services Newsletter

2025-26 School Profile | Student Handbook

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

Dear Highlander Families,

Wow, it was another toasty day as we close the door officially on winter. Kind of hard to believe. We wrapped it up with a fantastic rally full of joy and spirit from our students. The display of colors was impressive.

We remind families, particularly if you have a junior, that state testing begins next week. Please makes sure to be well rested and have a nutritious breakfast ahead of the exams on Tuesday and Wednesday. We will be on special schedules and other students will have grade-level-specific activities. More information is found below.

Warmly,

Dr. Yoshihara

March 20: 57th Annual Bird Calling Contest (7 pm, AHT)

March 21: Spring Fling: Freshman/Sophomore Dance (6-8 pm, Student Center)

March 23: Prom Reveal (Lunch, Student Center Quad)

March 24-25: State Testing (Special Schedule)

March 27: School Site Council (3:40 pm, ST 117)

March 27: Career Exploration Day

March 31: Planning for Career After High School (7-8:30 pm, AHT)

March 31-April 1: State Testing (Special Schedule)

April 20: State Test (Special Schedule)

April 25: Senior Prom (6-11 pm, TBD)

Our annual Career Experience Speaker Day will be on Friday 3/27. Please review the bios of speakers here (more speakers have being added!) and support your students to pick two speakers for two different sessions. Space is limited for each speaker. Sign-ups will start next week with directions on how to do so emailed directly to students!

Our 10th and 12th grade students will be taking a state survey on Tobacco awareness and use. More information on the survey can be found here. If after reviewing the information you do not want your student to complete the survey, please email Mr. Mark directly.

We are close to finalizing the master schedule which will then move to departments to determine specific teacher assignments. At this stage, counselors will be making adjustments as follows:

• For classes that we do not plan to offer or that over-requested, we will review the alternates that have been listed. If we plan to offer the alternate course, we will make that change for your child. If no alternates are listed or are available, our counselors will be calling in your child to discuss options.
• Seniors will have priority in courses where enrollment is limited. Freshmen will have the lowest priority.
• Our priority is core classes (graduation requirements) and keeping class sizes small.
• As such, students may not get their first (or second) elective choice.

1th Grade State Testing

11th grade students will be completing required state testing on the following dates:

ELA CAASPP - 3/24 and 3/25

Math CAASPP - 3/31 and 4/1

Science CAST - 4/20

Students will need to use their school issued Chromebook for these exams and should plan to bring their charger as well. Students should also bring a pair of plug-in headphones. An email with testing room locations and other test logistics will be sent directly to students.

Our students are well prepared for these exams and 100% of our students taking the test is incredibly important for state accountability and school rating purposes. Please support your student to complete these exams!

9th, 10th, 12th Activities During Testing Days

All other students will be engaging in differentiated activities based on grade.

Adjusted Testing Schedule

Tickets are on sale now for our 9th and 10th grade Spring Fling gathering that will take place this Saturday, 3/21, from 6-8 pm in the student center. Join for games, music, dancing, and delicious food.

Purchase your tickets for $10 in the IC store today! Note that students will be breathalyzed when they enter. Guests are welcome with a completed guest pass form and a pre-paid ticket.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

The WASC Visiting Committee visited out campus on March 2-4. I have included their final report for your leisure reading. A special Thank You to Beth for yeoman's work over the last several years. We also appreciate all our students and parents who participated in this process. We will not get the term-determination for a few months. I will share that once it is known.

LOCATION: Ellen Driscoll - Havens Elementary

TIME: 7-8:30 PM

This is an invitation to the broader Piedmont community to join award-winning New York Times bestseller Kate Schatz for an engaging Q&A session illuminating her experience as an author, educator, and activist. Through this Q&A we want our community to engage with Kate's story, listen to her perspective, and come to understand that making a difference in the world can look like writing a book, telling a story, or educating others.

Copies of "RAD WOMEN" book series and "DO THE WORK!" will be available for purchase at the event.

Although this event is free, it would help us with planning if you could RSVP using PIEDMONT STORE LINK. We look forward to seeing you there!

Co-sponsored by the Piedmont Affinity Mentors and Trischool DEIB Committees.

The PHS Jazz Trio of Maximo Miller, Deniz Radzik, and Eric Venner will be providing the music for the evening.

The winner for this year's Bird Calling Contest Poster Competition was PHS Freshman Mo Wang.

Jerry Yu represented the United States at the International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (IAIO), held in Ljubljana , Slovenia from February 23–27. He was one of only four students selected nationwide to compete as part of Team USA at this prestigious global competition and earned an Honorable Mention for his outstanding performance.

The family would like to express their deep appreciation to all the teachers and counselors at Piedmont High School for giving him the strong academic foundation and tremendous support along the way! Jerry wouldn't have a chance to stand on the stage without the help of his amazing teachers!

At the closing ceremony, John D. Stubbs from the US Embassy in Slovenia attended to support and congratulate Team USA. It is pretty amazing when a student of ours can represent PHS on the world stage. Way to go Jerry!

Senior Prom is on Saturday April 25th from 6-11 pm.

We’re planning a fabulous evening at a surprise location. Get your tickets now - you won’t want to miss this unforgettable night! Theme reveal coming soon. Dinner, dancing, entertainment, and transportation included. Tickets are $250 per person and are available for purchase at the Piedmont Store.

Our goal is 100% class participation. Full and partial scholarships available. Please note that scholarships are for PHS/MHS students only. Scholarships are not available for event guests.

To request a scholarship, please fill out this form. If you have any questions about scholarships, please contact PHS Vice Principal Joe Marik at jmarik@piedmont.k12.ca.us. All requests are confidential.

Did you know that we serve soup at lunch everyday for students. They can get this along with their lunch entree. This along with the salad bar makes for a complete lunch offering for all students. We also have a new fruit in our rotation--Cara Cara Oranges. Lastly, Nutrition Services will try some scratch cooking on March 10th. Come check out their delicious offerings each day. I have included a permanent link in the header of the newsletter as well. It will be updated each month.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already a quiet part of our daily lives, shaping everything from Siri’s answers to the recommendations we see on Netflix. On March 27th, we will join schools across the country for National AI Literacy Day. This is a nationwide day of action focused on two vital questions: “What is AI?” and “How do we prepare our students to thrive in an AI-enabled world?”

Our Partnership with You: Starting today, we will be sending weekly "AI at Home" emails designed to spark curiosity and conversation at your dinner table in the lead up to National AI Literacy Day. We hope they support you and your child in navigating AI safely, ethically, and effectively.

AI at Home Newsletter #1

The 12th annual Piedmont School Maker Faire on the Piedmont High School campus on Sunday, May 17th at 11am - 3pm! Come celebrate K-12 STEAM education in our community.

Students, parents, teachers, makers of all ages! Our "Call for Makers" is officially open. This event wouldn't be possible without you sharing your projects! Whether you've built a flying robot, crocheted a plushie, created a cardboard arcade game, illustrated a comic, coded an interactive story, grown a hydroponic garden, or your latest experiment or creation, we want to see it. Come share your work or lead a maker activity and inspire our community.

Submissions are due April 30th → Submit your project here

Need a spark? Our website has a bunch of project ideas to get you started. But honestly, the best projects are the ones you're already excited about.

This week's report was run from 2/2-3/13 (4 weeks). 122 students had perfect attendance during this period. This includes:

• No tardies (of any type)
• No absences (of any type)

Congratulations to Omar for such great attendance. Please email the Principal with your Crumbl cookie choice, and I'll personally deliver it to your class.

3/17: 27 tardies to period 1 (4/7/8/8)

3/18: 25 tardies to period 2 (3/13/5/4)

3/19: 18 tardies to period 1 (2/10/4/2)

3/20: 23 tardies to period 2 (2/10/5/6)

This was a tough week for students. Maybe it was the change in Monday schedule or the short week. We'll see if next week is better.

We hope you will join us on Tuesday, March 31 for our panel discussion on Planning Your Career After High School. The event will be in the Alan Harvey Theater from 7:00-8:30 pm and will explore which majors matter, the core skills that set students up for success, and how AI is reshaping the job landscape. Here are the dates for our upcoming grade-level meetings:

12th Grade:

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 26: 7:30-9:00 pm

Facilitators: Sara Ironside, Jen Ferguson

RSVP: jen.c.ferg@gmail.com for more information

Upcoming Meetings:

• Thursday, April 23: 7:30-9:00 pm
• Tuesday, May 19: 7:30-9:00 pm

11th Grade:

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 26: 7:00-8:30 pm

Please email if you are willing to host.

If you have thoughts, please fill out this form: Google Form for 11 Grade

Facilitator: Kristen Brett

RSVP: kbrett@srvusd.net

Upcoming Meetings:

• Thursday, April 23: 7:00-8:30 pm

10th Grade:

Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 24, 8:00-9:30 pm

Facilitators: Sarah Puckett, Maggie Mittan

RSVP: maggie.mittan@gmail.com for more information

Upcoming Meetings:

• Tuesday, April 28: 8-9:30 pm
• Tuesday, May 26: 8-9:30 pm

9th Grade:

Next Meeting: Friday, April 24: 8:45-10:15 am

Facilitators: Judy Lin, Yoko Ichikawa, Anne Hawkins

RSVP: hawkins42@gmail.com for location information

Upcoming Meetings:

• Thursday, May 21: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Thanks to our ASB students for all their hard work and planning for spirit week, the spring rally, and Spring Fling tomorrow.
• A bit early, but kudos to Sally Baack for her leadership with the Bird Calling Contest. You not only stepped up, but you've made this such a special night!