Parent Newsletter #13: 10/17/25

Website | Phone: (510) 594-2626

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

Parent Newsletter: Archives | Parent Club

Bell Schedule (Regular) | Library Schedule

Road to Graduation | Athletic Newsletter

College & Career Newsletter | Yearbook Info

2025-26 School Profile | Student Handbook

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

Dear Highlander Families,

We are midway through October in what should be a beautiful weekend. Fall sports is just about wrapping up their seasons with some programs heading into playoffs. Feel free to come out and cheer, dance, and lead spirit songs at any of our events. Our students love the support.

I would like to thank all our parent volunteers for their support during the Great Shakeout yesterday. We welcome feedback and do find these drills invaluable should a real disaster happens.

Warmly,

Dr. Yoshihara

October 17: Date of Determination (Eligibility for extracurriculars)

October 18: PSAT at PHS

October 27: Parents' Club Meeting (6 pm, AHT Lobby)

October 29: Consent Assembly (Gr 9 & 12, Academy)

October 29: Financial Aid Night (rescheduled, 6-8pm, Library)

November 1: Day of the Dead Celebration (5-7pm, Student Center & Amphitheater)

November 2: Daylight Savings Time ends

Grades for PR2 should be available by midnight tonight in IC. Please note that we have some technical difficulties in our newly offered courses, so please be patience as we work promptly to fix this. It may actually be resolved by the time you read this communication too.

Also, please work with your teacher first on any questions/concerns related to your grades. They are the best resource to help answer any questions you may have on this.

In recognition of Diwali and to encourage greater parent input into course offering discussions, we have been asked to change the date and time of our next Parents' Club meeting to Monday, October 27, at 6pm in the Alan Harvey Theater lobby. We previously moved the meeting date and time from the original schedule to offer a nighttime meeting for families who find Friday morning meetings challenging. The first half of the meeting will be a regular Parents' Club meeting, and the second half will be led by faculty, administrators, and school board members regarding World History course offerings. We welcome all parents/guardians of PHS students to our meetings and hope you will attend. Here is the agenda:

PHS Parents' Club Meeting - October 27, 2025, 6:00-7:30 pm

Alan Harvey Theater Lobby

Agenda

I. Welcome

II. Approval of September 19, 2025 Minutes - Vote

III. Announcements/Reminders

A. November Meeting on Zoom

B. Library Volunteers Update

C. Giving Campaign Update

IV. Planning for November Meeting - Ideas for topics to discuss with PPD Officer Diaz

V. Administrative Staff Report - Dr. Yoshihara (including update on AP course offerings)

VI. Adjourn

Transition to World History Course Offerings Meeting - Presentation and Discussion Led by Faculty, Administrators, and School Board (Approximately 6:45 pm)

Happy Weekend,

Sally Baack and Dana Lung

Co-Presidents, PHS Parents' Club 2025-2026

As we continue to monitor attendance, we want to share updates throughout the year as we monitor the impact of our policies and accountability structures. Below find some data for overall attendance from the start of the year until Friday 10/10 and a comparison to the same timeframe last school year. We are particularly happy to see a 2% increase in attendance for our seniors! Thank you to all who are supporting our students to be at school. Higher average daily attendance leads to more time with teachers and more funding for the school.

Speaking of attendance, I would like to congratulate Charles L. for winning this week's Quest to Zero campaign. Charles, please email the principal on which Crumbl cookie flavor you would like, and you'll have it personally delivered.

For those wondering what this is about, we are working to improve attendance and reduce tardies. This problem is most acute during the first class of the day. As a result, for any student who arrives by 8:15 and comes to me, they can get a "ticket" for a weekly drawing. Each Friday, we will draw a lucky winner to will get a Crumbl cookie.

In addition, I would like to raise the bar and see if we can have a day with 0 tardies. If we are successful, we will allow have special food in the student center. We are looking at warm blueberry and chocolate chip bagels with strawberry cream cheese--yumm!

Again, we must have 0 tardies to the first class on a given day to get this prize. To give some perspective, here is how we did this week:

10/17: 21 tardies to period 2

10/16: 23 tardies to period 1

10/15: 17 tardies to period 2

10/14: 22 tardies to period 1

This is a reminder that today is the first Date of Determination regarding eligibility for sports and other extracurriculars through the end of Semester 1. The admin team will review attendance, tardy, and grades data next week. Students and families will be notified next week and ineligibility will begin on 10/24. Please see the Student Handbook for information and for details requesting probation (available 1x throughout high school).

Do you enjoy new adventures? Do you like dancing and interacting with others, particularly young children? If so, we have the gig for you!

We are seeking potential students who would like to be the new mascot, Harvie/Harvey The Highlander. You need to be at least 5'8" (to fit into the costume) and available in the evenings as many of the events that are applicable to a mascot take place at events occuring at night.

If you are up for this, or would just like more information, reach out to the principal.

This is just a reminder that if students are interested in dual enrollment in the spring semester, please reach out to your counselor to verify eligibility and get you enrolled in the course. We have two courses that are available only for our students:

• Linear Algebra (3 units on W/F)
• Small Business Management (3 units on T/Th)

These courses do receive the extra grade point for GPA calculation purposes. The college must make a determination in the coming month if the numbers justify running the course. Low enrollment will likely result in cancellation of the course. Please email the principal if you have any questions.

Dear Students/Families and teachers,

I’m excited to announce that we are opening registration for the Spring 2026 China Trip (previously limited to Chinese Program students) to all current Piedmont High School students, their parents/legal guardians, and teachers in PUSD!

The trip will be organized by IPERC, the nonprofit student exchange organization that coordinated last year’s China trip. This spring’s trip will take place over 10 days (April 3–12 or April 4–13, exact dates TBA) and will be a private trip exclusively for Piedmont students, their parents/guardians, and teachers.You can find detailed trip information, including the itinerary, cost, and inclusions, in the attached brochure. (Please see the flyer and the detailed slides)

Please reach out to Ms. Xia for more information.

This past Wednesday, our School Board approved a number of new courses that will become available for student selection in the 2026-27 school year. The primary reasons for this include:

• More choices for students to explore courses that are interesting to them
• Increasing rigor for underclassmen to allow smoother ramp-up to junior year loads
• Increasing availability of non-STEM courses

We appreciate the Board's boldness to take these steps for our future students. The courses that were approved are:

• AP Business with Personal Finance
• AP Research
• Honors English 3-4
• Honors Art 3
• Honors Ceramics 3

We will provide more information regarding these courses in the future weeks. You may view the entire presentation here.

If your student is planning to take an AP exam this spring, please follow the two-step ordering process below. The early deadline for ordering exams is Friday, November 7th. Exams cost $130 which covers instructional materials, testing materials, proctors, and other costs. Orders placed between November 8th and March 1st, 2026 cost $170, which includes a $40 College Board imposed late fee. The last day to order is March 1, 2026.

STEP 1 - Your student should log-in to their College Board account and indicate which exams should be ordered. Instructions on how to do this can be found here. All students should have access to their teacher's AP course page. If you do not complete this step for each exam, an exam will not be ordered. If students have questions about this, they should contact their teacher. Write down the AP class join code for each course you are ordering an exam for. You will need this for step 2.

STEP 2 - Log-in to the Infinite Campus School Store and place an order for all exams your student plans to take. Input the Join Code(s) from Step 1. This will allow us to track ordering with more accuracy.

If you have questions on payment or ordering, please contact our registrar Darlene Low (dlow@piedmont.k12.ca.us)

Interested in taking an exam for a course we don't offer? - Please fill out the survey here. We may offer additional exams if enough students sign-up.

We have a name! Thanks to all our students that participated in the naming of our mascot. We now have an official name: Harvie/Harvey the Highlander. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this process. It was a lot of fun, and we can now advertise Harvie/Harvey wherever they show up.

PHS and MHS Senior Families

The deadline to purchase a Senior Recognition Ad (placed in the yearbook in the Senior Class Section) at the discounted price is quickly approaching.

Senior Recognition Ads are only available for purchase through Jostens. Please use this link:

Senior Recognition Ad_2026_discount

*discount pricing for ads applied through Oct. 31, 2025

And if you haven’t purchased a yearbook yet for your senior, yearbooks are only available for purchase through Jostens. Please use this link:

PHS Yearbook_Jostens

If you have any questions, please reach out to Melanie McCauley, PHS Yearbook Adviser at

mmccauley@piedmont.k12.ca.us

This is a reminder that we have two deadlines for submitting hours. Please adhere to the schedule below to ensure your hours are counted and accurate. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

We were able to extend the deadline for tagging a teacher during office hours to 9AM the day of Academy for the month of October.

Because teachers can also now tag a student until midnight the night before, students MUST LOOK at their assignment in Infinite Campus the morning of Academy to look where they are supposed to be for that day's office hours.

We still have four Office Hour Academies in October - Wednesday 10/15, Wednesday, 10/22, Friday 10/24 and Friday 10/31.

So tag a teacher and TAKE ADVANTAGE of support time during Academy.

The Moraga bald eagles aren’t the only stars in town. The Piedmont Education Foundation reports that a flock of flamingos escaped their office last week and are now tree-hopping through Piedmont. The first five photographers to post pics of the fugitive flamingos on Instagram and tag @piedmonteducationfund will win $25 Mulberries gift cards.

The playful stunt kicks off PEF’s 2025–26 Giving Campaign, which aims to raise $5M and reach 100% family participation. So grab your camera and go find those birds!

Class of 2028 Parents are hosting a social. Details are below:

Date: Wednesday Oct 22nd,

Time: 6:30-8:30 PM

Location: 51 & Tel, 5018 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA

- Beverages for purchase

All students should have completed and passed the Digital Citizenship Quiz at this point. Students who have not completed or not passed the quiz (email with score was emailed) will lose access to much of their internet access at the end of next week. An email from Ms. Branisa to take or retake the quiz is going out again this weekend. Please have your student reach out to Ms. Branisa if they have questions.

If your student is leaving early for an appointment, we ask that you send a note with your student and the student drops it off at the front office. A physical note allows us to process immediately and ensure a pass is delivered to the appropriate teacher on time.

Athletes have a few options for storing equipment during the school day when needed:

• Football Team - Please store your equipment in the Witter locker rooms, we are working with coaches to have adequate space available
• Binks - Athletes can check a locker out in Binks for use during their season. Please see Coach Peters to do so.
• STEAM Building Staircase - Athletes can store a bag under the 1st floor staircase in the STEAM building.

We at the DEIB office are finally able to begin offering "The Belonging Space" once again. If you do not know or remember, "The Belonging Space" is held after school every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month in PMS Room 306 as a non-threatening space where students and staff can exist and be validated in their identities. The space is casual and can be used as a safe meeting place, homework space, or just to hang out. Our first day was Thursday, 10/2.

Please see this flyer for more info.

The Giving Campaign is officially underway, and we’re aiming for 100% participation from PHS families. This fundraiser is critical to maintaining excellence in our Piedmont schools, and every gift, at any level, truly makes a difference.

Please consider giving what feels meaningful for your family. To see the impact of your donation, take a moment to watch this short video: Giving Campaign Impact.

If you have any questions - such as where the money goes, how the per-student ask is calculated, or how to donate through a DAF or company match - please don’t hesitate to reach out to your PHS liaisons: Charlotte Ero (charlottevburton@gmail.com) and Cortney Allen (cortney.allen@gmail.com).

Peer Tutoring has officially started! Tag yourself to Peer Tutoring with Mr. Ortak on Wednesdays in rm 127 and Peer Tutoring with Ms. Branisa on Fridays in the Library for homework help, study sessions, and test review. Tutors are well-versed in Biology, Chemistry, Spanish, IM 1, 2 and 3, with more to come. Email peertutoring@piedmont.k12.ca.us with any questions!

Calling all tutors! Any expertise is appreciated, and there is no required attendance. Honors society hours are available for Academy tutoring session you can attend. Tag yourself to Peer Tutoring too. Email peertutoring@piedmont.k12.ca.us with your interest and tutoring focus.

What is PPN?

Piedmont Parents Network (PPN) is a parent-run organization that holds monthly meetings to provide parents with the opportunity to meet, connect and discuss issues affecting their child, the school, and our community All parents of students at PHS/PMS/MHS are welcome - there are no membership dues - RSVP and show up!

When are the next meetings?

12th Grade:

Tuesday, October 21: 7:30-9:00 pm

Facilitators: Sara Ironside, Jen Ferguson

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

Meetings for the remainder of the year:

• Wednesday, November 19: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Wednesday, December 17: TBD (tentative date)

• Thursday, January 22: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Wednesday, February 25: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Wednesday, March 25: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Thursday, April 23: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Tuesday, May 19: 7:30-9:00 pm

11th Grade:

Wednesday, October 29: 7:00-8:30 pm. Please RSVP by Saturday Oct. 25 for location..Topic: College Choices: What’s the best fit for your child?

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

Facilitator: Kristen Brett

RSVP: kbrett@srvusd.net

Meetings for the remainder of the year:

• Thursday, November 20: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Thursday, January 22: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Wednesday, February 25: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Thursday, March 26: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Thursday, April 23: 7:00-8:30 pm

10th Grade

Next Meeting Date: Coming Soon!

Facilitators: Sarah Puckett, Maggie Mittan

RSVP: sarahbeamish@hotmail.com or maggie.mittan@gmail.com to be added to the 10th grade PPN email list.

9th Grade:

Thursday, November 13: 8:45-10:00 am.

Facilitators: Judy Lin, Yoko Ichikawa, Anne Hawkins

RSVP: hawkins42@gmail.com for location information

Upcoming Meetings:

• Tuesday, December 9: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Kudos to Adelina and Audrey for being the Dynamic Duo at the recent Forestry Challenge. They placed 3rd out of 32 teams and while many teams have 4 or 5 students working together for several years, our ladies came together and impressed the judges. Nice work!