Parent Newsletter #28: 2/27/26
Highlander News from the Principal's Office
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
2025-26 School Profile | Student Handbook
Principal: Dr. Yoshihara | Asst. Principal: Mr. Marik
Our WASC visitation will be taking place next week from Monday through Wednesday. The visiting team will be meeting with many stakeholder groups, including parents. They will be meeting with the parent leadership on Tuesday morning. Please reach out to them if you have any information you'd like them to know ahead of the meeting.
Your children may see various adults around campus and in their classrooms during these days. Instruction and school activities should proceed largely as normal. The visiting team will provide a report to all staff on Wednesday afternoon. I will have an update for parents in the next newsletter.
The 57th Annual Piedmont Bird Calling Contest is taking place on Friday, March 20th, 2026 at 7pm in the Alan Harvey Theater. This year's theme is 'Free As A Bird'.
Students interested in participating in the competition can sign up here https://forms.gle/A5YULADwpap68Zff9
For questions, please contact phsbirdcallingcontest@gmail.com
Tickets for the event can be purchased at Ludus - Piedmont Bird Calling Contest
The winning entry from this year's Piedmont Bird Calling Contest Poster Competition was from PHS Freshman Mo Wang. Here is Mo's winning design. Congratulations Mo, and thank you to all of the students who entered submissions for this very intense competition!
Families, we wanted to make sure you were aware that the first progress report for semester 2 is available to view on Infinite Campus. Please remember this is a progress report, a snapshot of your student's progress in their classes. These grades were determined by the close of the progress period of 2/6.
- PHS counselors encourage you and your student to:
- Review Schoology as their grade may have changed since this progress report.
- Encourage them to connect with their teachers concerning their grades and any missing work.
- Utilize the Responsive Scheduler in IC to move to another academy class if needed to make up work or ask for support from a teacher.
- Utilize Peer Tutoring during academy time. Students can look for "Peer Tutoring" in the Responsive Scheduler to engage with a peer for academic support.
- Of course, come by the counseling office to discuss grades with their counselor.
Over the last two years, we have offered a number of new weighted courses. At the same time, this increases the complexity of scheduling. We are in the midst of creating a master schedule that best meets the needs of all students. In doing so, we are basing it on student course request. As such, it is important that students (and their families) understand that the courses you are signing up for are the ones that you really plan to take.
As a discrete example, if 28 students sign up for Honors English 3-4 and 28 students sign up for English 3-4 (non-weighted), we would allocated one section for each course. After the school year starts, and a student in Honors English 3-4 wants to change to English 3-4, it begins to disrupt the balance. This is the simplest of scenarios, but demonstrates the complexity in scheduling.
In short, if a student is signing up for a course with the thought of "trying it out", it may not be that simple. This could involve multiple class changes, class sizes limits, etc. Please reach out to your counselor if you think this may be your situation. Reach out to the administration if you have any additional questions.
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.
Please sign-up here if you are interested in proctoring the SAT. Parent volunteers are needed to ensure we can provide this opportunity for our students on site at PHS. Testing runs approximately from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm. There will be required training on on Monday, 3/9 at 3:30 p. If you are interested or have questions, please reach out. Thank you for your support!
The Advanced Acting class is presenting the comedic drama Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl in the Alan Harvey Theater on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7 at 7 pm each night.
The play is directed by senior Amelia Addington, and the cast includes PHS and MHS students Yiyou Fang, Kirstin Fedor, Jack Herrlinger, Nico Kaltenecker, Sparrow Lieu, Lila Schwab, and Grette Willats.
Eurydice is a comedic drama that reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, focusing on Eurydice's journey through the Underworld. With contemporary characters and plot twists, Eurydice is a fresh look at love and loss.
Eurydice is recommended for most audiences, though some material may not be suitable for younger audience members. This production explores themes of love, loss, memory, and the afterlife. Contact producer Kimberly Taylor with any questions.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased at phsacting.ludus.com.
We hope you’ll join us for our fair on MARCH 9TH, 5:30-8PM! Please register for a barcode before the event at www.StriveFair.com. This event will be offered this year and every other year moving forward (RACC). If you are a sophomore and/or parent/guardian of a sophomore, we highly recommend attending this event this year.
During the fair, representatives will scan your barcode to connect with you further. The day after the fair, you will receive a report with information on the institutions with which you scanned.
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 chrome book for these exams and should plan to bring their charger as well. More details to come on adjusted schedule and other information in the coming weeks.
From website: https://piedmont.ca.gov/news/nominate_volunteer_of_the_year_feb_2026
Know a Piedmonter who shows up consistently, helps others, and makes community life better? Nominate them for the City of Piedmont’s Volunteer of the Year awards.
Piedmont has long been known as the “City of Volunteers.” This award, first introduced in 2014, recognizes community members whose volunteer service helped strengthen Piedmont in 2025 – whether through neighborhood improvement, arts and culture, direct community support, or building a more welcoming and inclusive community.
This year, the City is reviving the Volunteer of the Year award for the first time since 2019. We’re also introducing a new award: Young Volunteer of the Year (under age 25), intended to uplift the meaningful contributions young people make across Piedmont.
AI is evolving at breakneck speeds. Interestingly, the challenges PUSD has known about for some time still emerged as topics of conversation at the conference. What guardrails need to be in place? And how do we avoid the unintended consequences that result from the very guardrails we needed for the previous iterations? Interesting and vexing questions.The CS staff said it was great to wrestle with many of these topics at AI in Education Summit with other educators, policay makers and private sector implementors https://acceleratelearning.stanford.edu/conference/aieducation-summit-2026/
Thank you for those who are using our independent study process for outside sports, college visits, and other non-school affiliated activities. As a reminder, paperwork must be completed and provided to Mr. Marik at a minimum the day before a student leaves. We have to properly approve and document independent study paperwork for record keeping and state auditing purposes. Please reach out to Mr. Marik if you have any questions.
Senior Launchpad provides practical life skills to prepare high school seniors for college and beyond. The second session is now open for sign-ups. Sessions are FREE, but space is limited to 50 students, so sign up now!
Session 2: Financial Literacy: Cash, Class & Ramen Noodles: Managing Money in College and Beyond
Practical tools and lessons to become financially responsible as a young adult
Date: March 15, 2026
Time: Female-identifying students: 12:30-2:30pm; Male-identifying students: 3pm-5pm
Location: 80 Wildwood Gardens, Piedmont, CA 94611
Highlander Robotics is excited to announce a Toy Drive at Piedmont High School to support our outreach program, where we modify toys for children with special needs. We adapt these toys to have an alternate way of powering them: an external switch. Many commercially adapted toys are not affordable, as they can cost hundreds of dollars per toy. These children use the toys to interact with other peers as well as having a large impact on their social belonging and classroom engagement.
What we need: We are looking for donations of new or gently used toys that have a physical switch or on/off button, which allows us to modify them.
February 23rd – March 6th
Drop Toys off at the PHS main office
Questions? Reach out to Annalise Gudiksen at annalise.gudiksen@gmail.com.
We are approaching the last third of the year and it is not too late to get some spirit wear for wearing to school, in the community, or anywhere you go. Display the Highlander Pride proudly! Items are available in the IC Store under "PHS Spirit Wear". Note these are not sports-specific and designed for general wear.
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:
- 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
PHS counselors are reviewing course requests for the next school year, including looking at course prerequisites. Many Honors and AP level courses require students to earn a certain grade in both semesters of the prerequisite course. Based on our review of first semester grades, counselors are making some adjustments to student requests. Counselors will review semester 2 grades in early June and make adjustments.
As a result, some student course requests have been adjusted from the weighted-level course to the corresponding non-weighted course for next year. This change ensures that students are placed in courses where they can be most successful and supported. If a change was made for a student, the student and a parent/guardian have been emailed. Feel free to reach out to the counselor for more information, or to schedule a conversation.
It's time to sign up for the Bird Calling Contest, taking place Friday, March 20th, 7pm in the Alan Harvey Theater. This year's theme is: Free As a Bird. A favorite PHS tradition, this fun evening is open for signups on the Google Form here. Please sign up at your earliest convenience - we are hoping to fill the slots before leaving for February Break. If you have questions please email phsbirdcallingcontest@gmail.com to find out more (or see short clips of previous years of this event).
Piedmont is excited to host Inspirit AI for an on-campus AI project-building program this summer 2026.
We will be holding an information session on Zoom for families on Thurs., Feb. 26 at 6.30pm PT. The session will be led by Maddie Bradshaw, a Harvard & Stanford alum and Insiprit's curriculum director. Please find the link to sign up for the information session here.
This summer, students from rising 6th-12th grades will learn the fundamental concepts of AI and gain a deeper understanding of how AI is used to build ChatGPT and generative AI, fight pandemics, power self-driving cars, and more. Students will learn to program AI using Python, discuss ethics and bias within AI, and complete a group project applying AI to a discipline like healthcare, astronomy, finance, among others. No prior computer science experience is required to participate. Separate middle and high school sections will be offered.
If you may be interested in participating in this summer please fill out this short interest form and peruse the program brochure for more information about curriculum, schedule, projects, teaching team, and more! Bring your questions to the info session - sign up here for the Zoom link.
The WASC Report is now available for our parents and students to view. It has been shared with PHS staff and district administration.
Deep appreciation to Ms. Black and the hours (upon hours) of work to bring this together. The work is not finished, but this was definitely a heavy lift.
This week's report was run from 1/12-2/13 (4 weeks). 83 students had perfect attendance during this period. This includes:
- No tardies (of any type)
- No absences (of any type)
Congratulations to Elias for such great attendance. Please email the Principal with your Crumbl cookie choice, and I'll personally deliver it to your class.
2/23: 14 tardies to period 1 (2/6/6/3)
2/24: 25 tardies to period 1 (3/9/9/4)
2/25: 24 tardies to period 2 (1/10/10/3)
2/26: 22 tardies to period 1 (5/5/8/4)
2/27: 7 tardies to period 2 (1/6/0/0)
Our freshmen did the best overall, but it was Friday that yielded the results. Our juniors and seniors had no unexcused tardies. As such, they will have open campus next Wednesday (3/4) at brunch.
Our freshman did achieve 0 tardies back on 2/4. As such, they will get to have warm chocolate chip or blueberry bagels on 2/26 at brunch.
We hope everyone has a wonderful week off and we look forward to gathering once we return. We hope these meetings continue to provide support and a space to build community! All PHS/MHS parents and guardians welcome!
12th Grade:
Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 24, 7:30-9:00 pm
Special presentation by Birdy Launcher - more information to come!
Facilitators: Sara Ironside, Jen Ferguson
RSVP: jen.c.ferg@gmail.com for more information
Meetings for 2026:
- 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, 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
Meetings for 2026:
Thursday, April 23: 7:00-8:30 pm
10th Grade:
Next Meeting: Tuesday, February 24, 8:00-9:30 pm
Facilitators: Sarah Puckett, Maggie Mittan
RSVP: maggie.mittan@gmail.com for more information
Meetings for 2026
- 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: Friday, March 6: 8:45-10:15 am
Facilitators: Judy Lin, Yoko Ichikawa, Anne Hawkins
RSVP: hawkins42@gmail.com for location information
Upcoming Meetings:
Thursday, March 19: 7:00-8:30 pm
Friday, April 24: 8:45-10:15 am
Thursday, May 21: 7:00-8:30 pm