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Weekly PHS Bulletin 01/28/2015
Monday | Tuesday | Wednes- day | Thursday | Friday | Weekend | ||
Jan 26 A-Day: Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Peer Advisor Mtg | Jan 27 B-Day: Classes 2, 5, T, 6 Mandatory Tutorial | Jan 28 C-Day: Classes 1, 3, 4, 7 Youth Educator Mtg | Jan 29 D-Day: Classes 2, 3, 5, 6 ASB Club Day at Lunch 8th Grade High School Transition Group Mtgs | Jan 30 E-Day: Classes SC, 1, 4, 7 Fire Drill @ 12:25 | Jan 31 - Feb 1 Jan. 31 - Winter Ball | ||
Feb 2 | Feb 3 9th Grade Counseling Meetings Last Day to Add/Drop Classes | Feb 4 9th Grade Counseling Meetings CAHSEE Math Makeup Test | Feb 5 District Technology Committee Meeting - 3:30 | Feb 6 | Feb 7-8 ACT 7:30 Sat/Sun | ||
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PHS Calendar of EventsVisit the PHS Calendar to download the calendar to your home computer or mobile device, or view Special Schedules and School Year Highlights. Block ScheduleView or print the daily schedule of bell times. Student Newspaper TPHNewsCurious about what’s really going on with students? Read the PHS student newspaper, The Piedmont Highlander. PHS Yearbook's | What’s Happening?Theatre Renovation Begins American Seating has begun work on renovating the Theater seating this week. This work should take 5 or 6 days. They will repair the seating and remove the first row and last row of seating. There is a 40-foot dumpster in the PHS main entrance to support this work. The company will also park their trucks in the main entrance, so no one will be able to park in the driveway during this scope of work. District Technology Advisory Committee February 5th 3:30-5:00 Havens Library Join students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board and community members in a dialogue around the District’s use of technology to support effective learning and instruction. This second meeting of the school year will focus on changes to computer instruction and review feedback on the Connected Learning pilot. Our District Technology Advisory Committee (DTAC) meets Thursday, February 5th, 3:30-5:00pm at the Haven’s Library. School AnnouncementsSecond Quarter and First Semester GradesGrades for the second quarter and first semester were posted on Infinite Campus (IC) on Monday, January 26 at 5 pm. Footloose The Musical - February 5 - 8th
Footloose is an exhilarating musical adapted from the movie of the same name by Walter Bobbie and lyricist Dean Pitchford, with music by Tom Snow. Set in the 1980s, Ren and his mother move from Chicago to a small farming town, and Ren is prepared for the inevitable adjustment period at his new high school. What he isn't prepared for are the rigorous local edicts, including a ban on dancing. The heartfelt story that emerges is of a father longing for the son he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. Set to the rockin' rhythm of its Oscar and Tony-nominated top 40 score (the soundtrack album reached number one on the Billboard charts and has sold over 15 million copies) and augmented with dynamic new songs for the stage musical, Footloose celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people, guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind. The show is rated PG-13. Please feel free to contact Amy Moorhead with any questions about content. Directed and choreographed by Amy Moorhead, with musical and vocal direction by Justin Pyne, all performances are at the Alan Harvey Theater and begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are $17 for adults and $11 for students and seniors 65+. Reserved seats are $25. Tickets can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/footloose-phs
9th Grade Service Learning Project The 9th-grade service learning project this year (theme is the environment) will encompass campus clean-up, beautification of our campus, and turning our campus into a real life, project-based learning environment. The main area we will be focusing on this year is the walkway behind the science building that leads to Piedmont Park. The goal, after getting input from the 9th grade students during the first mandatory tutorial, is to create the following: a sustainable garden, a cohesive educational area that can be used by many different departments, and to create a student friendly environment. The garden will be dedicated in memory of Eileen Rohmer. | |||
Daily AnnouncementsRead exactly what the students hear daily by checking out the daily PHS Announcements Infinite CampusVisit Infinite Campus, the student and parent portal, for access to copies of messages from school, grades, progress reports, report cards, class schedules, attendance records and more. Parents can provide updates to parent/guardian contact information, household information, and emergency contacts too. PUSD Online Registration The PUSD online registration system will remain open all year so that parents can return to the system as needed to pay for school activities, purchase School Spirit Wear, join Parents' Clubs and more. Please use you the login information you created during online registration. Click here for password recovery or email the Joint Fundraising Office for help with your account. | Student Forums on the Current Bell Schedule Pilot Over the last few months, PHS administration has provided student forums to discuss the current Bell Schedule Pilot with small groups of PHS students. We are going to continue these forums in the months to come and want to extend our invitation to your student once again. If your student would like to attend one or more of these forums, they can go to the signup link that was sent to them via email on November 17th. Student forums are held on Voluntary Tutorial Tuesdays @ 8 AM and on Fridays @ 8 AM (except on the first Friday of each month when Staff Meetings are held). Our latest student forum was held on Tuesday, December 9th. Upcoming student forums will be held on January 30th with more to follow. Student forums will not be held during finals week from January 12th through the 16th. Senior Yearbook AdsSENIOR PARENTS: Would you like to recognize your graduate's friendships, memories or milestones with a recognition ad in the PHS yearbook? Please visit JostensAdService.com for information on how to design and purchase your ad. Important note: The final, final deadline for senior recognition ads is January 31st, 2015. Due to publishing deadlines, no ads may be placed in the yearbook after this date. | |||
PHS Athletic DepartmentTo learn more about participating on PHS athletic teams, policies, guidelines, and more, visit the PHS Athletic Department. PHS Athletic Director Craig Best 510-594-2621 cbest@piedmont.k12.ca.us PHS Boosters ClubFor information, visit the PHS Boosters Club.
The PHS Athletics Directors suggest you visit the NCAA website to get information on eligibility for college-bound student athletes. | AthleticsSpring Sports start February 9thSpring sports start on Monday, February 9. All participating student-athletes must have their signed PHS physical exam form to the school's main office no later than Friday, February 6. The form is required before participating in any sports tryout. If students already completed a form for fall or winter sports, a new form is not required for spring. If you have not already done so, please go to the Piedmont Online Registration site to register your student for athletics. There are additional forms that must be completed (beyond the physical exam form) and we highly encourage you to make the $325 athletic participation donation for spring sports. This per sport donation is used to help pay stipends for the coaches working with your student-athlete; having a competitive stipend helps us to attract and retain quality and passionate coaches. | |||
College and Career CenterThe PHS College & Career Center is a resource available to all PHS students, offering many services to students, including one-on-one college and career counseling, visits with college admissions reps and practice ACT and SAT tests. Stay up to date with the College & Career Center by reading the bi-monthly bulletin. Wellness CenterThe Wellness Center provides a range of resources to support students and families in meeting the challenges of adolescence. For more information visit the PHS Wellness Center site. | Student ServicesPlanning Guide and Course Catalog for A.Y. 2015-16Updated versions of the Planning Guide and the Course Catalog for academic year 2015-16 are now available at the PHS-Counseling Department Website.
It is highly recommended that students and parents consult these two documents side by side as they make plans for the next academic year (and perhaps beyond). The course catalog is expected to be updated by March as the Board of Education makes a decision on Math Course Pathways. It is also anticipated that two more courses will achieve A-G approved status this year. For questions, please contact your student’s counselor. Parent Nights with Counselors re: Graduation and A-G RequirementsMark your calendars! Counselors will be hosting parent meetings to discuss in-depth graduation and A-G requirements. These are the dates: 8th grade parents: January 28th & 29th 4-7 pm 9th grade parents: February 3rd & 4th 4-7 pm 10th grade parents: February 10th & 11th 4-7pm During these meetings, counselors will meet with approximately 10 families at a time and go over in detail the role of the counselor, graduation requirements, 4-year planning and college requirements. To sign up for a session, please follow the appropriate link: · Current 8th grade: http://secure.ossi.com/piedmont/counselor8/ · Current 9th grade: http://secure.ossi.com/piedmont/counselor9/ · Current 10th grade: http://secure.ossi.com/piedmont/counselor10/ If you have further questions, please contact your student’s counselor. 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade Parents/Guardians, Course Planning for Academic Year 2015-16 This is to inform you that we have began the process of obtaining course requests from students in preparation for academic year 2015-16. Counselors have been conducting classroom visits to: 1. Show students how to use the IC portal to request for classes 2. Provide advice on required classes and electives 3. Address questions on course/academic year planning Students should log into their Infinite Campus account and share with you their tentative course requests that may be incomplete or complete. We ask that you review this with your student, print the course requests, sign and return by February 13 at 8:00am The classroom visit dates are as follows:
For further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Counseling Office. Other Announcements
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PHS Parents’ ClubThe PHS Parents’ Club provides support to the High School. PHS Parents' Club meetings are held in the District Boardroom from 9-11 am and are open to all. Meeting dates are: Tuesday, November 4 Wednesday, December 3 Wednesday, January 7 Wednesday, February 4 Tuesday, March 3 Tuesday, April 14 Wednesday, May 6 Wednesday, June 2 The PHS Parents’ Club is a member the Associated Parents’ Clubs of Piedmont. Visit the APCP website to learn more about how APCP supports our schools. | PHS Parents’ Club NewsThe Piedmont Giving Campaign: Our Goal is 100% ParticipationGiving Campaign participation is down from last year, but we can make up the difference! Imagine PHS with less technology, a library with fewer resources, reduced AP offerings and no Wellness Center. Without Giving Campaign funds, PHS would not have these essential programs for our children. We all want a quality education for our children, so we all need to pitch in. No gift is too small — we need 100% parent participation. Go to www.piedmontgivingcampaign.com or call the fundraising office at 653-1816 for more information. Site Council UpdateAt the January 22 PHS Site Council Meeting, Assistant Principal Eric Mapes presented a summary of the Social Emotional Learning program currently offered at PHS. The overall SEL program is a research based, data driven program which through its various components is designed to provide the framework of a safe, cooperative & collaborative learning environment which complements the rigorous academic environment at PHS. Data shows that the principles learned through SEL programming can lead to better academic performance and success in school and life. A link to the Power Point presentation is included here and special attention is directed to slides 2 and 3 which give the reader specifics on the PHS SEL program. Mr. Mapes described how existing SEL components such as Youth Educators, Rallies and Peer Advisors, will continue to be offered along with newer programs like Camp Everytown, Open Session and later start times to provide PHS Students with the best possible learning environment. PHS Site Council is composed of parent, teacher, student and administrative reps and meets once a month. The next Site Council meeting is Thursday, February 26 at 3:30-5:00 PM in the PHS Student Center. All parents are welcome to attend Site Council meetings. The PHS parent club reps for the 2014/15 school year are Lisa Joyce, Marianne Mitosinka and Dane Copeland. Message from PHS Parent Club President Katie KorotzerDear PHS Parents,PUSD Budget UpdateAt the January 22 PUSD Budget Advisory Committee meeting (Note: all BAC meetings are open to the public, the next one is Thursday, March 5 at 3:30 in the District Boardroom), Song Chin-Bendib, PUSD Chief Business Officer explained the impact to PUSD of Governor Jerry Brown's proposal to have California School Districts contribute funds to stabilize long underfunded state pension plans. Over the coming years until 2021, every California school district will be facing the requirement to dedicate significant portions of their budgets to stabilize state pension plans known as CalSTRS (California State Teachers' Retirement System and CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System). Classroom teachers typically belong to CalSTRS and other employees of public schools may be covered by CalPERS, depending on their classification. Teachers and employees will also be increasing their contributions to the pension plans. Funding these state pension plans will not mean any increase in the amount of retirement benefits these employees receive. The passage of Prop 30 brought financial stability to the California State Public School system as well as a new funding model designed to give local districts more control over how dollars are spent in their own district. The new Local Control Funding (LCFF) model provides PUSD with a little over $110,000 per year in new funds; however this is much less than districts with many students who are English Language Learners, receive reduced or free lunch or are foster youth. Beginning with the 2015/16 PUSD Budget, our school district will need to expect and be prepared for the increase in the STRS & PERS contribution rates. Despite the increased funds and greater funding stability gained by LCFF, PUSD will, along with every other California School District be faced with larger expenditures than previously thought to fund these state pension plans. The estimated increased contribution from PUSD is expected to be close to $962,000 by the 2016/17 school year. In the next few weeks Ms. Song-Bendib along with other PUSD District Staff will be developing the 3 year projected budget and presenting it to the School Board. Stay tuned for more information on how PUSD will be approaching the need to contribute funds to STRS/PERS. In the meantime, more PUSD budget information may be found on the district website and a short informative video clip by Sacramento Bee reporter Dan Walters provides a quick synopsis of the budget dilemma school districts are facing. College and Career Center Director Unfortunately the new College Center director who was to replace long time CCC Director Sandi Brod will not be taking the job. The CCC director position will be reposted. In the interim, please join me in thanking Sandi Brod for delaying her long anticipated retirement for the next few weeks to begin work with the juniors. Readmont & The Education Speaker Series The next Education Speaker Series event is Thursday, January 29 at 7:30PM in the Alan Harvey Theatre with Dan Meyer. Mr. Meyer discusses Common Core Math and the importance and method of teaching students to formulate and solve problems rather than memorize and apply formulas. A Great Good Place for Books will have a book sale table at the event and will have copies of the Readmont book, The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley. Be sure to pick up a copy and join the community wide discussion led by PHS teachers Beth Black and Mercedes Foster of the education reforms examined in the book on Wednesday, February 11 at 7:30 PM at the Piedmont Center for the Arts. Math Task Force The Math Task Force, which consists of a group of parents, students, math teachers and administrators has been hard at work since August to accomplish their charge to consider and recommend options for math courses and math pathways in middle and high school. Please take a look at recent PUSD Math updates by clicking here. Daily Attendance Daily attendance makes a difference for our schools. Lower attendance rates will impact district funding for the following school year. Not only that but daily attendance is important for students' mastery of subject matter. Thank you, Katie Korotzer PHS Parents Club President Next Parent’s Club MeetingThe PHS Parents Club meeting will be held Wednesday, February 4 at 9AM in the District Boardroom. PHS PC board members may not miss more than 3 meetings per year. All parents are invited to attend PHS PC meetings to hear directly from Principal Daniels, School Board Members, ASB President and District Administrators about current district events. PHS PC Board nominations for the 2015/16 school year will begin soon. Please contact any PHS PC board member to express your interest in joining the board. A listing of current PHS PC board members can be found in the Gray Pages in the Student Directory. | |||
School Board Meeting NotesLooking for more information on current and past school board meetings? Please visit the Board Meeting Materials provided by the Board of Education.School District InformationFor more school district information, please visit the PUSD website. | PUSD and School Board InformationPUSD Board MeetingsRegular Board of Education meetings are usually held on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The next regular PUSD Board meeting is on February 11th at 7pm. | |||
Links to published bulletins can be found here. | The PHS Bulletin
The Piedmont PortalFor Community and District-wide news, please visit The Piedmont Portal. The Piedmont Portal s a joint endeavor provided by volunteers of The Piedmont Educational Foundation and the Associated Parents Clubs of Piedmont and includes additional news about things happening in and around Piedmont. Subscribe to the free, weekly Piedmont Portal bulletin to stay up to date on these school and community announcements. |
