Parent Newsletter #22: 1/9/26

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,

2026 has come in nice and sunny for PHS. I know we had lots of wet weather just prior to the return, but it has been nothing but beautiful this week. We have started semester 2, and students have not missed a beat.

An important reminder for all returning students that course selections will close on Monday at midnight. Please make sure to remit this to get priority scheduling. We will begin running course requests next week to determine which courses will be offered in the 2026-27 school year.

Warmly,

Dr. Yoshihara

January 11: Build Like a Girl (1:30-3 pm, Student Center)

January 12: Course selections close for all students

January 12: Semester 1 grades available

January 12: Date of Eligibility (see below)

January 12: Special Testing Schedule (see below)

January 16: Senior Class Panoramic Photo (Academy)

January 22: Last day to add semester 2 classes

January 26: Student Health & Wellness Workshop (6-8pm, AHT)

February 7: Winter Ball

Course requests closes on January 12. Please make sure to submit your selections by then to achieve priority in placement. You may check in with your counselor with any questions. Thank you.

Students will complete the spring Map Reading test on Monday. Our schedule will be as follows:

Our next date for determining extracurricular eligibility is on Monday 1/12. Administrators will review data and reach out to ineligible students (and their families) by the end-of-the week. Please reach out to Mr. Marik if you have any questions.

As the December meeting, the Board approved the 2026-27 Academic Calendar. It sets the first student day as August 10. PHS is looking at the role of Walkthrough registration for the coming year. Normally, we would hold this on August 7--the Friday prior. With the evolution of technology and such, we are exploring options for removing this day altogether. At this time, we have some details to work out and will get back to families as soon as we have definitive information on this.

Happy New Year! Hope your holidays and break were wonderful. Our next Parents' Club meeting will be next Friday, January 16, from 9:00-10:30am in the Alan Harvey Theater lobby. Our featured guest speaker will be Ruth Alahydoian, PUSD's Chief Business Officer, who will inform us about the District's financials and the PHS budget. Please join us. Here is the agenda:

PHS Parents' Club Meeting

January 16, 2025, 9:00-10:30am

Alan Harvey Theater Lobby

Agenda

I. Welcome

II. Approval of December 12, 2025 Minutes - Vote

III. Administrative Staff Report - Dr. Yoshihara and Mr. Marik

IV. School Board Report - Ms. Struble

V. Topic of Interest: Discussion with PUSD Chief Business Officer Ruth Alahydoian

VI. Announcements/Reminders

VII. Adjourn

Have a lovely weekend,

Sally Baack and Dana Lung

Co-Presidents, PHS Parents' Club 2025-2026

The Senior Class Panoramic Photo (the class poses in a "26" in your class color) is scheduled for Friday, January 16th during Academy at Witter Field!

Please plan on the following:

1 - wear your class color BLUE

2 - after the class photo we will take the elementary school group photos (Beach, Havens, Wildwood, and Outside of Piedmont)

Have a daughter who is curious about robotics? Sign her up for our special Build Like a Girl event presented by Piedmont Makers. She’ll get to hear from and speak to a panel of girls in middle and high school involved in robotics plus we have a special guest - a woman roboticist who will talk about robotics as a career! Plus she’ll get a chance to try her hand at driving a real live robot. Don’t miss out on the fun!

January 11 - 1:30 to 3pm at PHS Student Center. Please RSVP at this Link here so we have enough refreshments.

Senior Launchpad Seminars - Sign up now!

Welcome to 2nd semester senior year! There is a lot to look forward to as you get ready for this next stage of life. Senior Launchpad provides practical life skills to prepare you for college and beyond. Two sessions are currently planned. Sessions are FREE, but space is limited to 50 students, so sign up now!

Session 1: Sexpectations with Natasha Singh

Date: Sunday, January 25, 2026
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Location: PHS Library

Sign up HERE

Calling all artists and writers! The Piedmont Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee (PADC) invites K-12 students to submit their art or writing inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The art and writing will be showcased at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Monday, Jan. 19. (Check out last year’s amazing work!). All participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of 10 gift cards to Mulberry’s. The deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 14.

The theme of this year’s celebration is “Choosing our Future: Chaos or Community.” Students are asked to create a piece of art or writing imagining what they’d like our future community to look like.

Art should be made on 8.5. X 11 paper; writing should be limited to one page. It can be dropped off at the front office of your school or uploaded to PADC’s website. Please include your name somewhere on your work. If you are dropping it off, please fill out and attach this form.

More info is available at www.padc.info/artandwriting. Questions? Please reach out to Ellen Lee at hiellenlee@gmail.com.

Thank you to all the families that were able to come out to the 10th-12th grade course information night. I am bummed that the video did not work properly. It seems to have the camera panned incorrectly. Nonetheless, I will share it for families who would like to follow along.

• Rising 10th-12th Grade Course Info Night Video Pt 1
• Rising 10th-12th Grade Course Info Night Video Pt 2
• Rising 10th-12th Grade Course Info Night Audio Pt 1
• Rising 10th-12th Grade Course Info Night Audio Pt 2
• Slide Deck

During winter break especially – and throughout the year – parents can manage their child’s time on a PUSD Chromebook using the GoGuardian Parent App.

Get Started Quickly

• Download the GoGuardian Parent App:
• Download via Apple Store
• Download via Google Play Store
• Open the app and enter the email address you use with the school.
• Check your email for the verification link and tap “Verify your email.”
• If using another device for email, select “Login with verification code” and paste the code from your email.

What Parents Can Do with the App

• View Chromebook browsing activity.
• Turn off internet access anytime after school hours.
• Block specific sites.
• Controls apply only to the school-issued Chromebook.
• More info: GoGuardian Parent for Guardians

PUSD is partnering with Inspirit AI to offer an in-person, 31.5-hour AI program hosted at Piedmont HS. The summer program will teach students in grades 6-12 fundamental AI concepts and guide them to build socially impactful projects such as safe ChatGPT bots, exoplanet search, self-driving car systems, and more! Stanford and MIT alumni and graduate students in AI will lead the program in-person from June 8-18, 2026. Separate middle and high school sections will be offered. Please read more information in the program brochure and apply here. Program contact: Jared Greene, jared@inspiritai.com.

We will be offering the SAT on Monday, March 16th. The test can be ordered in IC and will be available through 2/13/26. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

This is a reminder that any volunteers completed during semester 1 must be submitted into Mobile Serve by January 10th, 2026. See the Student Handbook for more details on volunteering and the Piedmont Honors Society.

We are thankful for all the time parents put into volunteering, and so very thankful for the financial support that your families provide our schools. Together, our contributions make up nearly 7% of our school's budget. That might not seem like a large number, but believe us it makes all the difference. Imagine what our schools would be like without those funds. Larger class sizes, less qualified teachers, fewer counselors, and the list goes on.

So far this year, 49% of PUSD families have contributed to the Giving Campaign. It’s crunch time. Let’s not rely on only half of our families to carry our schools. If you haven’t made a gift, now is the time. Send a check to Piedmont Education Foundation at 401 Highland Ave, or give online at PiedmontEdFoundation.org/Donate.

This week's report was run from 11/10-12/12 (4 weeks). 200 students had perfect attendance during this period. This includes:

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

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

12/15: 35 tardies to period 1 (3/15/7/10)

12/16: 7 tardies to period 2 (1/3/3/0)

12/17: 20 tardies to period 3 (3/4/8/5)

12/18: 20 tardies to period 4 (4/6/6/4)

12/19: 9 tardies to period 1 (3/2/2/2)

1/7: 7 tardies to period 1 (2/2/1/2)

1/8: 22 tardies to period 1 (8/4/5/5)

1/9: 22 tardies to period 2 (5/3/10/4)

This latest run was for the week prior and current week. We had a few days with just a few tardies, but our seniors pull it off again. On December 16, we had no seniors (and one freshmen) tardy to period 2. As such, our seniors will be allowed open campus at brunch on Tuesday, January 13.

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:

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 22: 7:30-9:00 pm

Facilitators: Sara Ironside, Jen Ferguson

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

Meetings for 2026:

• 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:

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 22: 7:00-8:30 pm

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

Facilitator: Kristen Brett

RSVP: kbrett@srvusd.net

Meetings for 2026:

• 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: Tuesday, January 27: 8:00-9:30 pm

Facilitators: Sarah Puckett, Maggie Mittan

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

Meetings for 2026

• Tuesday, February 24: 8-9:30 pm
• Tuesday, March 24: 8-9:30 pm
• Tuesday, April 28: 8-9:30 pm
• Tuesday, May 26: 8-9:30 pm

9th Grade:

Next Meeting Date: Thursday, January 29: 7:00-8:30 pm

Facilitators: Judy Lin, Yoko Ichikawa, Anne Hawkins

RSVP: hawkins42@gmail.com for location information

Upcoming Meetings:

• Friday, February 27: 8:45-10:15 am

• Thursday, March 19: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Friday, April 24: 8:45-10:15 am

• Thursday, May 21: 7:00-8:30 pm

• Thanks to our amazing parent community for bringing this year to a fantastic close. I am excited by what 2026 has in store!