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Piedmont Unified School District Newsletter - January 2022
HALFWAY THERE!
Record Year for PEF's Giving Campaign
Piedmont High School Students Named to All-State Band
Congratulations to Piedmont High School Jazz Band students – senior Will Davies and freshman Dorothy Nemeth – for their recent acceptance to the CA All-State Band and Orchestra Ensembles! Will and Dorothy were two of over 6,000 student-musicians who submitted their individual auditions in December and learned of their acceptance over Winter Break. Both will participate in rehearsals for several days and perform with their ensembles at the CA State Music Education Conference, February 17-20, in Fresno. They will have the opportunity to rehearse with accomplished directors and sit alongside the best musicians in the state of California! Read more
PUSD Work Featured in 2022 PADC Art and Essay Showcase
Piedmont/Millennium High Schools Present 'Beauty and the Beast'
The Piedmont/Millennium High School production of Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ will be presented February 4-6, at Holy Names High School, 4660 Harbord Dr., in Oakland. Directed and choreographed by Amy Moorhead, with vocal direction by Amy Belles, the stage musical is based on the Academy Award-winning animated film, and includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Mr. Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Read more
Construction on New Theater Building Continues
PUSD News & Notes
Student Vaccination Requirement Update - At its January 26th meeting, the PUSD Board of Education approved revised Administrative Regulation 5141.31 removing the COVID-19 vaccine from the list of required vaccinations for student enrollment. Read full background.
Outdoor Mask Requirement Update - Also at the Jan. 26th meeting, Superintendent Booker gave an update on the District's outdoor mask requirement.
Pandemic Response Survey - As a follow-up to last year's survey, PUSD will soon be sending families an updated Pandemic Response Survey to gather feedback regarding the effectiveness of the District's communications during the COVID pandemic. Details will be sent soon.
Food Service for 2022-23 - PUSD will participate in the National School Lunch Program to offer students free breakfast and lunch for the 2022-23 school year. More information and a survey coming soon!
Enrollment for 2022-23 School Year - PUSD is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 school year. Visit the District website for more information.
Daily Health Screener - Students and families are reminded to fill out the District’s Daily Health Screener daily before coming to school. The information provided is important in assessing student health and is vital for contact tracing in the event of a positive COVID case. The screener is sent to all families every morning via email and text.
Local & State COVID-19 School Guidance - The Alameda County Office of Education and California Department of Public Health are great resources of COVID-19 information for families.
Adult School Spring Catalog - Register now for spring classes at the Piedmont Adult School. Call (510) 594-2655 with any questions.
Board Meeting Summaries - Summaries of all Piedmont Unified Board of Education meetings are available on the District website and social media. Read summaries of recent meetings below:
Work for PUSD - PUSD is accepting applications for several positions including substitute teachers and food service workers. Visit the District’s EdJoin page for a complete list of all available positions.
Follow PUSD on Social Media - Keep up to date on everything happening around the District on PUSD’s social media outlets. The District Facebook (@piedmontunified), Twitter (@piedmontunified) and Instagram (@piedmontusd) pages are active with multiple posts daily. Watch PUSD video content on the District's YouTube page.
DEI Update - The new Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Marguerite Vanden Wyngaard, was in the district in December prior to the end of the semester and spent a whirlwind day visiting classrooms and meeting with leaders across the district. Being introduced to students in the courtyard or at recess and singing Happy Birthday in Italian at the middle school were some of the highlights of her day. It was a welcome change from the multitude of online meetings she attended in previous weeks – meetings with DEI Council members, district and site leaders, and community leaders from Piedmont Racial Equity Committee and Piedmont Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee. She spoke of how wonderful it was to see faces in person!
“Dr. V” provided leadership on the design and facilitation of the district professional learning day on January 3. It also was an opportunity for her to introduce herself to the entire staff and for them to have a glimpse into who she is and how she thinks as a racialized person and as a leader for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. There will be opportunities for her to continue this dialogue on racial identity in the next District Circle on February 8. And the professional learning that was launched in January with the administrative team will continue with administrators and the school board throughout the remainder of this year.
The DEI Council received an update from Gitanjali Morris of Extracurricular Consulting as she continues her work in leading focus groups across the district. A report will be completed in March and shared with the community in April.
The DEI subcommittees have been hard at work. The BIPOC Hiring subcommittee has been working on recruitment strategies and developing protocols that support best practices related to hiring.The Curriculum Professional Learning subcommittee members are working to create a curriculum review cycle that supports tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion and aligning professional learning to support this process. Finally, the Inclusion and Belonging subcommittee is working on processes that ensure that students of color and recruited staff of color feel a true sense of belonging in the Piedmont learning community.
Upcoming Events
- February 4-6 - PHS/MHS Winter Play - 'Beauty and the Beast'
- February 9 - Board Meeting
- February 18 - Millennium High School Talent Show
- February 21-25 - President's Week - No School
Piedmont Unified School District
Email: communications@piedmont.k12.ca.us
Website: www.piedmont.k12.ca.us
Location: 760 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA, USA
Phone: 510-594-2600
Facebook: facebook.com/piedmontunified
Twitter: @Piedmontunified