Da Vinci Science

Hello DVS Families!  Visits from college representatives will continue this week.   All meetings are during lunch time and in Mr. Perez’s classroom.  Two meetings are scheduled for this week:

Wednesday, 9/14: U.S. Air Force
Thursday, 9/15: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Future college representative visits will be included in the “Week Preview” . We encourage students to come learn about the programs and services of universities they are interested in.  All grade-levels are welcome!

We had another great and busy week at DVS! Students started seminars this week and seem to be enjoying their seminar classes as they explore interests and/or participate in physical activities during this time. 

• School Reminders– we are off to a great start and would like to maintain a positive and safe learning environment for all students. This week, students were reminded of the following:
  • Keep cell phones put away in backpacks during class
  • Keep the school clean (please no gum on campus)
  • Keep to dress code policy
  • Please be on time for all classes (school start time 8:50:00)
  • Thank you, students and families, for helping us with these reminders.
• Freshmen Overnighter Pics– here is the link to Freshmen Overnighter Pictures. As always, shout out to Stacee Lianna for capturing these wonderful memories for our students. We hope the DVS culture continues to stay strong, positive and welcoming.
• Progress Reports will be sent out Week 7 (delayed one week). Thank you for your patience as we are transitioning, adjusting, and learning Canvas. For now, to see your student’s work and assignments, we encourage you to log in with your student’s Canvas account. For some classes, grades may be seen on Canvas, and you may continue to view grades on PowerSchool. 
• Seminar Change Request Form– closes Tuesday, September 13th. 
• DVS School Site Council  – Reminder that we are still looking to form our DVS School Site Council. School Site Council (SSC) is an opportunity for parents, students, and staff to work collaboratively to review the school program, review data and identify needs, and make recommendations for the Local Control and Accountability Plan. If you are interested in joining our DVS School Site Council, please fill out  School Site Council Parent Interest Form by Wednesday, 9/14 (extended due date). All submissions will be added to a voting form that will go out to the DVS parent community by 9/15. School Site Council members will be notified, on September 16th. SSC Meetings will be held on the following dates: 9/22, 1/19, 2/9, 5/18, and 6/1 from 4:30-5:30 via Zoom. 
• Senior College Planning and Post-DVS Planning Meetings start this week and run until mid-October.  If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for a meeting with Ms. Marquez here.  Ms. Marquez is excited to support you this year as we begin the college application process. The agenda for these meetings will be a brief description of College, Career, and Life class, college letter reviews, a review of graduation requirements, and a discussion of colleges of interest. 
• Parent Office Hours with Grace and Tim – will be even weeks, Thursdays 4:30-5:30 on this zoom link. The next parent office hours will be Week 6, Thursday, September 22nd at 4:30.
• Upcoming Important Dates: 

• • 9/14- CEA Downtown LA Field Trip 
  • 9/16 PD Day (No School)
  • 9/22 School Site Council Meeting #1
  • 10/12 PSAT/SAT Testing Day
  • 10/17-10/21 Student-Led Conferences (SLCs)

Week 5 Schedule:

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day

Individuals and organizations around the world join their voices to broadcast the message that everyone can take action for suicide prevention. We all have a role to play in suicide prevention. There are actions you can take right now to support yourself and those around you:

• Together we can Take Action for Mental Health by learning more, checking-in with ourselves and others, and getting support when needed. Visit www.takeaction4MH.com for more information.
• Together we can Take Action for Suicide Prevention by knowing the signs for suicide, finding the words to check-in with someone we are concerned about, and reaching out to resources. Visit www.suicideispreventable.org for more information.

We view mental health and well-being as a priority. In support of this, we have invested in several resources that you can access whenever you need help. Remember, you are not alone and it is a true act of bravery and strength to seek help.  

We encourage you to utilize on-campus resources, and save the community resource so you can easily find them if you or someone you know needs help.

On campus:

• Students can access support with a counselor. Email Ms. Ruiz, cruiz@davincischools.org to set up an appointment.

• Students can receive on-going on-campus therapy with a therapist from Antioch University or Pepperdine University. Please contact Ms. Ruiz, cruiz@davincischools.org for details. Parent permission is required to receive services from Antioch or Pepperdine.

In our community:

Da Vinci Schools has partnered with Care Solace to support our community’s mental health.

If you or a family member is looking for help with mental health or substance use, Care Solace can quickly find treatment options matched to your needs, regardless of the circumstance.

Care Solace’s care navigation services are confidential and complimentary to  Da Vinci Schools’s students, staff, and their families. Care Solace’s team is available 24/7/365 and can support you in any language.

If you would like to use Care Solace to help you find a provider:

• Call 888-515-0595 available 24/7/365
• Visit www.caresolace.com/davincischools and either search on your own OR click “Book Appointment” for assistance by video chat, email, or phone.

In an emergency:

• Call 911 or and request a Crisis Intervention Trained (C.I.T.) response
• Go to the closest emergency room for support
• Call the National Suicide Prevention & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
• Text “Hello” or “Home” to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor
• Trevor Lifeline LGBTQQ+ Crisis Support: 1-866-488-7386

Hello DVS Families!  Visits from college representatives started this week and will continue throughout the semester.  All meetings are during lunch time and in Mr. Perez’s classroom.  Below is the schedule for this week:

Wednesday, 9/7: CSU Dominguez Hills
Thursday, 9/8: University of Southern California (USC)
Friday, 9/10: University of San Francisco

Future college representative visits will be included in the “Week Preview” . We encourage students to come learn about the programs and services of universities they are interested in.  All grade-levels are welcome!

Hello DVS Families, 

We hope you are having a fabulous Labor Day weekend! We had a great time at the Freshmen Overnighter last week. Students were immersed in DVS culture by building relationships, having fun, playing games, and engaging in meaningful discussions about the type of school they want to have, and the type of people they want to be. It was a great time! Link to photos will be posted soon.

We also had our DVS Club Fair last week. We are looking forward to supporting students’ interests in various clubs. Please visit our DVS Club Site for more information.

This week we begin our Seminar Launch! Students will receive their new seminar schedules Tuesday morning during first period. We are happy to offer a wide variety of seminar choices and we do our best to honor seminar requests, however, please note there are capacity limitations on some seminars. If students would like to put in a seminar request change, the QR code and link to the Seminar Change Request Form will be posted around campus on Tuesday, 9/6, and will be due Tuesday, 9/13. 

This week, we will also be forming our DVS School Site Council. School Site Council (SSC) is an opportunity for parents, students, and staff to work collaboratively to review the school program, review data and identify needs, and make recommendations for the Local Control and Accountability Plan. If you are a parent interested in joining our DVS School Site Council, please fill out  School Site Council Parent Interest Form no later than Friday, September 9th. All submissions will be added to a voting form that will go out to the DVS parent community on September 13th, School Site Council members will be notified, on September 14th. SSC Meetings will be held on the following dates from 4:30-5:30 via Zoom: 9/22, 1/19, 2/9, 5/18, and 6/1.

Upcoming important dates:

9/16- PD Day (no school)

9/19- Honors Roll Out 

9/16- Progress Reports will be sent home

9/22- School Site Council Meeting #1

10/12- PSAT/SAT Testing Day

Happy Labor Day and have a great rest of the week! 

 

Happy Friday!

We are excited to support seniors as they begin exploring their Post-DVS plans.  All seniors are enrolled in College, Career & Life (CCL) with Mr. Perez, which is a course dedicated to the college application process during the fall semester.  Below are a few key topics we’ll be working on in CCL:

• Finalize College List
• Support with Personal Statement– process of self-exploration to help students share their story
• Instructions about how to complete applications for California State University (CSUs), University of CA (UCs), community college and Common Apps (private and out of state universities)
• Structured work-time with the goal of completing all college applications, which includes applying for financial aid prior to the Winter Break (CSU/UC – 11/30/22 deadline)

Additionally, seniors and their parent/guardian will have the opportunity to meet with Ms. Marquez, College Counselor, for an individualized Post-DVS planning meeting.  The purpose of this meeting is to have a personalized discussion on colleges of interest and answer questions about the application process, including financial aid. If students have plans other then attending college, we invite you to still set up a meeting to gain support with this planning. Meetings will run from September 13th and conclude in mid-October.  Parents/Guardians will attend the meeting via Zoom.  Please use this link to sign up for your meeting.

We’ve had a lot of success supporting DVS students as they seek their next steps in life and we are confident this year’s seniors will find similar success.  We look forward to continuing to support seniors!

 

Ms. Marquez and Mr. Perez

fmarquez@davincischools.org

rperez@davincischools.org