Parent & Student Newsletter #15

Website | Phone: (510) 594-2626

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

Bell Schedule (Regular) | Ed Concern Protocol

Road to Graduation | Athletic Newsletter

College & Career Newsletter | Yearbook Info

2026-27 School Profile | Student Handbook

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

Dear Highlander Families,

One of the greatest gifts of the Piedmont community is the vibrant partnership between our schools and families. On September 22nd, the Piedmont Education Foundation (PEF) kicked off its annual Giving Campaign—a vital partnership that directly enriches our students' day-to-day experience across the district.

At Piedmont High School, PEF funding touches nearly every corner of campus life. It provides essential support for classroom teachers, academic counseling, library services, IT, the Wellness Center, our reading specialist, special education, and athletics. One can see the full PEF breakdown here.

Because PHS offers such a robust variety of programs, our high school receives the largest share of PEF funds across the district. We recognize that high school brings new expenses for families, but our goal this year is simply to raise our overall participation rate.

Every contribution—no matter the size—makes a tangible difference. To learn more about this year's ask, please visit the FAQ's. A gift, regardless of the amount that suits your family best directly impacts our daily work and reflects our shared investment in our students. Every donation counts, and every family's involvement matters. Please consider donating today.

To add a little friendly motivation, we’re planning a special recognition for the class level with the highest participation rate—stay tuned for details soon!

Thank you for your ongoing care, generosity, and spirit. It shines through in our students every single day.

Warmly,

Dr. Yoshihara

November 1: DST. Remember to set your clocks back one hour.

November 2: Lockdown Drill (special schedule)

November 3: Community College Night (6-8 pm, PHS Library)

November 6: AP Regular Order Deadline (Fees go up after this date)

November 12-15: Peter Pan

November 16: Parents' Club Meeting (6 pm, Zoom) [839 6338 4862 Passcode: 333352]

This is a reminder that we will have a full lock down drill on Monday. The drill includes barricading classroom doors and remaining silent in a safe location in the room. While we hope to never be in a situation where this is necessary, we want to prepare as much as possible in the case of an immediate threat on campus. Please reach out to Mr. Marik if you have any questions. The adjusted schedule for the day is below.

This is the last week to get a purple Giving Campaign sign for your yard! Make your gift to the Giving Campaign by Sunday, November 1, and a sign is yours. Let’s turn every street in town purple and show our teachers and staff that Piedmont families stand behind them.

Why it matters: Piedmont families have backed our schools for more than 50 years. PEF was founded in 1975 and has since granted more than $60 million to our schools. Today, public funding still falls short of what it costs to educate our kids. This year, the gap is $2,528 per student. Your gift helps fund teachers, small class sizes, counselors, specialists, art, and music. Every family, any amount. It takes all of us.

Give at www.piedmontedfoundation.org/donate

We held our monthly meeting this morning, and it was a good one! Thank you to everyone who came. Here is some of what we covered:

• Math Pathways: a brief discussion of the newly adopted sequence
• A new school phone option, coming soon: for urgent matters, you will be able to call the school and speak with a live person. The Parents’ Club has been working with school leadership on this, and I am very proud of it.
• Board update on heard information from parents about technology, the cellphone policy and superintendent search.
• Met our newest School Counselor Aaron Duran -- students with last names O-Z are in great hands with Mr. Duran.
• Dress Best for Less shared what they do and how you can help - including a sneak peak of their 11/14 Ski Sale.
• And more. Our minutes should be posted on the website by next Friday.

Go Highlanders! Our volleyball team has made it to the second round of NCS. They play this Saturday, October 31st at 1pm @Binks Gym. Come cheer them on before you get your Halloween on!

Two things the Parents’ Club has in motion:

• Teacher Grants: We have begun our annual teacher grant process and hope to get funds to teachers in time to spend them before the semester ends.
• Reserve funds: We are also looking for ideas on how to spend part of our reserves. The goal is to benefit the whole student body. Send your suggestions to me.

Our next meeting is Monday, November 16th at 6pm on Zoom. The Zoom link is on our website, here are the credentials: 839 6338 4862 Passcode: 333352

Have a question for school leadership? Our Ask Your Administrator series is open. Send it my way, and we will bring your questions and inquiries to school leadership and do our best to get you answers. Confidentiality available upon request.

If you have been meaning to join the Parents’ Club, please do. Membership is what funds the grants, the teacher events, and more. Sign up at the Piedmont Store.

Andrea Zambrana

avzambrana@gmail.com
PHS Parents’ Club, Vice-President

2027 PHS Graduation Names form

We wanted to do a special thank you to Dress Best for Less. They have given a lot to Piedmont schools over the years, including PHS. They continue to provide our site-wide subscription to the NY Times each year. This is available to all students and staff. They also contributed $30,000 the Wellness Center and help fund a wellness position. We are so appreciative of your support.

If any student at PHS would like volunteer hours, please reach out to Ms Yamamoto at nagisa2000@gmail.com.

The Deadline to register for AP tests without the College Board imposed $40 late fee is Friday, November 6th. Remember that you need to complete BOTH steps before a test can be ordered. Currently there are 523 tests that students have indicated they plan to take, but only 240 exams have been paid for in Infinite Campus. Please check in with your student(s).

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.

STEP 2 - Log-in to the Infinite Campus School Store and purchase each exam your student plans to take. We cannot order an exam for you until payment has been received.

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.

Based on your responses to our survey (see link below), we are adding the following tests to our list of AP exams offered this Spring. If your student is interested in signing up, follow the 2-step ordering process using the Join Codes given below:

• AP Macroeconomics (Join Code: Z2VEAL )
• AP Microeconomics (Join Code: 9DEPDV)
• AP US Government & Politics (Join Code: 46X3X4)
• AP Statistics (Join Code: R9E266)

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.

Ready for fame, glory, and a place in school history? The Mascot program is expanding, and cast and crew recruitment starts now! A few standout performers and collaborative coordinators will be chosen to join the iconic Harvey the Highlander team.

Have fun and earn community service hours. Tryouts and interviews will be held in mid-November. Sign up using the QR code, and email Dr. Yoshihara with any questions.

The Mascot is an ambassador for Piedmont High School, and the embodiment of Highlander pride! The Mascot performs at PHS rallies, sporting events, awards ceremonies, graduations, fundraisers, and community events.

The Mascot Manager is the Mascot’s sidekick and behind-the-scenes partner. They help coordinate appearances and costume care, work with school groups on event plans, and help develop choreography and performances with spirit leaders. At events, the Manager guides the Mascot, keeps them safe, and helps bring the fun to life.

Team members are encouraged to train for both roles, but specialists are welcome.

Please fill out this form if you're interested!

Seniors- Q1 grades- Did you apply Early Decision? Please check your email or college application portal to see if the college is requiring Q1 grades. You must email your counselor to have these grades sent in. We do not automatically send in Q1 grades.

Community College Night- Check the College and Career Center newsletter about this informational night, Nov. 3, Library at 6pm-7:30. Its a great opportunity to learn about taking classes at a community college, transfer programs, and post high school opportunities.

Raffi Banin, a senior as PHS, has been named a Semifinalist for the 2027 class of the Coca-Cola Scholars Program. 1,227 high school seniors were selected as Semifinalists from a pool of more than 113,000 submitted applications from across the country based on their academic excellence, leadership, and service demonstrated in school and community activities.

As a semifinalists, Raffi is in the running for 150 college scholarships worth $20,000. We wish him the best as he enters phase 2 of this prestigious competition. It will include essays, a recommendation, and transcript analysis.

With Halloween just a week away, we wanted to provide some guidance on costumes. While we hope many of you may want to enjoy the spirit of the day, we also want people to feel safe and included. As such, the following is provided as guidance for Halloween at PHS this year:

• Costumes should not cover the face, beyond a typical face mask or hat
• No full face coverage
• Fake weapons of any type are not permitted
• Fake blood is not permitted
• Adult-oriented costumes and costumes that could be deemed offensive should be avoided
• Students showing up in these may be asked to change
• Inflatable costumes should be avoided

• We are wrapping up the college rep visits with 8 more between now and November 12th. If you have a 9th or 10th grade student who has not yet attended a visit, it might be worth their time to to attend one before the fall visits are over.
• In addition we have 2 evening events coming to campus in the next 2 weeks: How to Pay for College on 10/28 from 6-7:30pm in the library and Community College Night 11/3 from 6-7:30pm in the library. Please pre-register so we know how many to expect. Both events are open to all grade levels/students/parents/guardians to learn more and plan ahead.
• Lastly, I'm available to read senior's essays or answer any questions they may have. There is a link on the PHS College and Career website for 30 minute meetings.

We are hosting the CA Community College Night on November 3, 2026, 6-7:30pm, in the PHS/MHS Library. We will have 2 CA Community Colleges share about their school programs/courses and then have time for Q&A. In order to have enough seating available, we would like you to complete this form to pre-register.

Thank you in advance.

Join our fellow PHS/MHS Freshman parents & guardians for a fun night out at 51 & Tel in Oakland. Come and catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, and enjoy a little grown-up time.

Link to sign up for head count:

https://piedmontstore.org/products/9th-grade-parent-social-1

Any students wishing to find out about becoming part of this year's PHS Mock Trial team, please come to a meeting at lunch, next Tuesday in Room 22.

Freshmen and sophomores are especially encouraged.

Hello! My name is Malea Lewis and I am so excited that I have had the opportunity to join the Piedmont community as a para this year! I am originally from Modesto and moved to the Bay Area in 2022 and have never looked back!

I have been working as a para on and off for about 3 years, mostly in Modesto and Berkeley. My absolute favorite part about being a para has to be the connection that you are able to make with students and being able to see the progress that they make throughout the year, both academically and personally.

In my spare time I love to travel, hike, camp, and of course spend as much time as I can with my dog, Winston. My goal is to visit every National Park in the U.S. So far, I have been to 17/63 and although incredibly hard to choose, my favorite is either Olympic or Crater Lake (subject to change at any moment).

I am so excited to be here at PHS and cannot wait to get to know everyone better!

Dear Community Partners,

I’m excited to announce that the Office of Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12) is now accepting applications for our Spring 2027 District Office Internship Program!

Applications are due by Saturday, October 31st at 11:59 PM PST. The application webform can be found here: https://simon.house.gov/services/internships. We encourage you all to reshare our office's internship announcement social media post on Instagram or Facebook.

Interns will work part-time, 12 hours per week and receive a monthly stipend. Interns are expected to work in-person at our downtown Oakland District Office for the duration of the program.

Ideal candidates are organized and passionate undergraduate students, graduate students, or recent college graduates with an interest in government, constituent services, and social justice. Applicants should be self-starters with excellent verbal communication, writing, and organizational skills.

Selected candidates must not be working or interning in another Legislative or Federal department at the same time as they are a part of our program. The Spring 2027 Internship Program will run from January 25th to May 21st. Priority will be given to those with ties to California’s 12th Congressional District.

Please don’t hesitate to connect any interested candidates who wish to learn more by emailing or calling us at (510) 763-0370.

Thank you for your continued partnership!

Best,

Ryan Gottschalk

Staff Assistant

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12)

o.510-763-0370 I he/him/his

My name is Yifeng Huang, and I’m happy to be part of the Piedmont team as a Level 2 Paraprofessional. I joined in August and have enjoyed getting to know the students and staff.

I studied Sociology and Art with a focus in photography at UC Santa Cruz, and my background includes supporting students both in classrooms and as a behavior interventionist aside from being a paraprofessional. I enjoy helping students work through challenges and become more confident and independent. When not in school other than spending time with friends and family, I enjoy playing guitar, filming/photography, playing video games and watching movies/shows.

I look forward to getting to know more of you and learning from your experiences. I also speak Cantonese as well. If you see me around campus, please say hello!

Friday 10/16/26 is the next Date of Determination for sports and extracurricular activity eligibility. Students and families will be contacted next week if they are deemed ineligible to participate due to grades, unexcused absences, and/or tardies. Please reach out to Mr. Marik if there are any questions.

We realize we have been enforcing this, but starting with winter sports, at any ticketed event (e.g. men's & women's basketball) students will need an Activities Sticker on their ID card for free entry. Otherwise, you will need to purchase a ticket to enter. You will also need to you have your ID on you at all times to show that you are a PHS student. Single game tickets for youth will be $6.

Lastly, as we wrap up fall sports, for any playoff game that is ticketed, you must purchase these. The Activities Sticker is not included for playoff games.

[Updated] We will also add the ASB Athletics and Activity Card back to the IC Store if a student wants to purchase one outside of the value package. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Marik.

The Wellness Center needs your help with donations of allergen free granola bars for students. These delicious goodies help make the Wellness Center a warm and welcoming place.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044EA9AD2EA1FC1-66724522-wellness

You can drop the items off anytime during school hours of your selected week (preferably on Monday) at the Wellness Center, located in the Library/30s building at the high school.

Thank you so much for supporting student mental health in our community.

Take care,

The Wellness Center Support Committee

PHS Booster's Oktoberfest fundraiser benefiting PHS sports programs needs both student and adult volunteers. Students can receive community service hours and free food as a thank you. Teachers, coaches and adults are also invited to volunteer and join the fun. See available positions via this sign up link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094EAAAE2FA3FC1-65603184-2026#/

All grades welcome to attend our How to Pay for College Workshop on October 28, 2026 from 6-7:30pm in the library. Our speaker will cover a range of information. It is never too early to start thinking about financing a college education, whether that be a 2 year or 4 year plan. In order for us to prepare, please fill out this pre-register form or use the QR code on the flier no later than October 26th. Thank you.

Upcoming Grade Level Meetings:

9th Grade: Facilitators: Judy Lin & Rita Fabi. Please email judywlin@gmail.com with any questions.

• Tuesday, November 3: 6:30-8:00 pm- please RSVP HERE

10th Grade: Facilitators: Judy Lin, Yoko Ichikawa & Anne Hawkins. Please RSVP to hawkins42@gmail.com for location information.

• Thursday, November 19: 8:45-10:15 am

• Wednesday, December 16: 7:00-8:30 pm

11th Grade: Facilitators: Maggie Mittan, Sarah Puckett & Catherine Minor. Please RSVP to maggie.mittan@gmail.com for location information:

• Wednesday, November 18: 7:30-9:00 pm

• Wednesday, December 16: 7:30-9:00 pm

12th Grade

• Save-the-date for possible meeting on Tuesday, November 17

• Kudos to Ms. Adams and all the ASB students for a hugely successful Spooky Spirit Week. The "carnival" today was amazing. Can't wait to see what is in store for next year!