Da Vinci Science

From our families to yours, Happy Holidays!

The students did a great job ending the semester well, with amazing POLs, finals, and a fun CD. We are so proud of all of our students for making it through the first semester! We sincerely hope students can enjoy time with friends, family, and loved ones and take time to rest and recuperate. We wish you and your families a wonderful holiday season!

A few items to note: 

Semester two officially begins and classes resume on Tuesday, January 16th. 

PowerSchool access has been turned off while final grade processing occurs. Access will be returned and report cards will be mailed home next week.

DVS staff will also be on winter break from December 22nd to January 7th. Staff return for Professional Development on January 8th. 

DVS Front Office Hours:

Wednesday, December 27th 10am-12pm

Wednesday-Friday, January 3rd-5th 10am-12pm

• For records requests (including work permits): reach out to Front Office Manager, Liz Diaz, at ediaz@davincischools.org

• For attendance and student information: reach out to Attendance Manager, Brittany Alvarez, at balvarez@davincischools.org. 

Week 19 Schedule: 

Important Upcoming Dates: 

• Winter Break: December 22- January 15
• First day of Semester 2: Tuesday, January 16th
• DVS Class of 2024 Graduation Day: Thursday, June 6th 

Helpful Links:

DV/Wiseburn Athletics 

DVS Planning Calendar 

DVS Announcements Slidedeck  

Happy Holidays from the DVS Family! 

Good morning Junior and Senior families,

We’re in the final stretch of Fall Semester! For this upcoming Spring semester, Da Vinci Schools is offering three dual enrollment courses. Two of these courses are asynchronous online, and one is in-person at our Da Vinci Schools 201 Campus (Room # TBD) on Mondays & Wednesdays from 3:00 pm- 4:25 pm. Course details are listed below:

Who:   Juniors and Seniors from DVC, DVD, and DVS. Based on academic performance and review, 10th grade students are able to take COMS 100. Ms. Marquez can request exception for eligibility.  

What: College courses at Da Vinci Schools, through El Camino College. Courses meet transfer requirements for most Cal State and UC campuses, as well as most private colleges and universities.

Why:   Get a start on your college credits! It looks great on your college applications. 

Cost:   Free! The state of California and Da Vinci Schools pick up the costs, including textbook fees. Donations to help cover the cost of the textbooks from families that can are appreciated.

Where: Classes will be held virtually on the El Camino College student portal (Canvas & MyECC), or they will be in-person in a DVC/DVD/DVS classroom.

Dual Enrollment form and DV Sponsored Dual Enrollment Supplemental Form must be completed and submitted to Ms. Marquez by Friday, February 2nd, 2024 at 3:30pm

Dual Enrollment Application

DVS Sponsored Dual Enrollment Form

To be eligible to take a dual enrollment class, the student will need to pass all their academic classes from first semester, have no credit recovery for a-g classes, and be a junior or senior student. Space is limited and we are accepting forms on a first come first serve basis!

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For more information click on the following links:

Applying to El Camino College

Application for Admission Help

Dual Enrollment Application

Da Vinci Schools will be closed for Winter Break December 22- January 8th. El Camino College is closed December 22-January 1 for the Winter Break. The El Camino Dual Enrollment Office will return on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. Dual Enrollment support will resume after our respective Winter Breaks. 

Happy holidays to you and yours!

Ms. Marquez

College and Career Counselor

fmarquez@davincischools.org

We had a busy last week of regular classes for the semester. Students have been working hard to finish the semester well and did a great job with culminating assessments and projects. Next week is POL and Senior Finals week! Please note that next week is a four-day week and students will be dismissed at 2:25pm every day this week. There is no school for students on Friday, 12/22 (professional development day for staff).

Also, 11th graders had a wonderful time at Griffith Park today where they enjoyed a beautiful hike and gave out Growth Awards to students.

Announcements & Reminders: 

• Presentations of Learning: Presentations of Learning (POLs) for our 9th-11th grade students are next week (12/18-12/21), while 12th grade students will be taking finals. Click here for an information sheet for families with details about presentations of learning. All POLs and senior finals will be scheduled between Monday 12/18 and Thursday 12/21. Specific information about the format, requirements, and preparation process for POLs and finals have been shared to students via Canvas, during Targeted Support, and in individual classes. We encourage 9th, 10th, and 11th parents and guardians to attend your student’s POL. Please ask your student for their presentation time or check on Grade Level Canvas for POL times.
• Semester 1 Grades and Report Cards: Please note that PowerSchool access will be turned off later next week while teachers complete final evaluations of students’ grades. As the last day of the Fall 2023 semester is Thursday, December 21st, report cards will be mailed home the following week.
• Parent Association Meeting: The DaVinci Science Parent Association will have its meeting this month at a local establishment owned by a DVS parent. The meeting is on December 20th at Five Point Five Brewery in El Segundo from 6:30 to 7:30. (137 Nevada Street/ El Segundo, CA) Please stop by this informal meeting to meet other parents from Da Vinci Science. Five Point Five Brewery has pizza for purchase if you want to multitask and grab dinner during the meeting! No RSVP necessary, just show up if you are able. Questions can be emailed to annewtittle@gmail.com. 
• F=ma Exam: DVS will be administering the F=ma exam, the preliminary exam for the U.S. Physics Team on Thursday, February 8, 2024 from 3pm-5pm (during seminar and after school)! The F=ma exam is a 75-minute exam with 25 multiple-choice questions focusing on mechanics, and all DVS students are eligible to attempt it. Interested students can find out more about F=ma and the U.S. Physics Team at this link and should sign up via this form by 2:30pm on Thursday, December 21st. Students don’t have to be fully committed yet when they sign up, but taking the F=ma is a great opportunity to test physics skills and is an amazing resume booster.

Week 18 Schedule (12/18-12/21)

Important Upcoming Dates: 

• Monday-Thursday, 12/18-12/21: POL/Finals Minimum Day Schedule with 2:25pm dismissal
• Semester 1 end date: December 21
• Winter Break: December 22- January 15
• First day of Semester 2: Tuesday, January 16th
• DVS Graduation Day: June 6th 

Helpful Links:

DV/Wiseburn Athletics 

DVS Planning Calendar 

DVS Announcements Slidedeck 

11th Grade Field Trip – Griffith Park Observatory:

• Get a head start in college credits – Ethnic Studies is a General Education requirement at the CSU and will be for the UC schools, as well.
• Save money- This course is FREE for DVS students
• Great college application booster!

Hello DVS Families,  We hope you’ve had a great start to your week! Applications for many Summer Pre-College Programs are now open.  These programs feature rigorous courses which help support a student’s preparation for college level work. For more information, click links below:

Free Summer Programs for High School Students

Carnegie Mellon University Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS)

Girls Who Code

Princeton Summer Journalism Program

Research Science Institute (MIT)  application closes on 12/13/23

Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)

Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS): Hosted at Cornell University, University of Maryland, and University of Michigan

In State

California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science (COSMOS): hosted at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego

California State Summer School for the Arts 

Cal Poly SLO Summer Springboard 

Cal Poly SLO Engineering Possibilities in College (EPIC)

Loyola Marymount University Pre-College Programs

Stanford University Summer Session 

Stanford Summer Humanities Institute

Stanford Pre-College Summer Institute 

UC Berkeley Pre-College Scholars

UC Berkeley Business Academy

UC Davis Pre-College Summer Programs

UCLA Pre-College Summer Institute

UCLA Film and Television Summer Institute

UC Santa Barbara Summer Research Academy

UC Santa Cruz Summer Session 

USC Summer and Online Pre-College Programs

Out of State

Columbia University Pre-College Program

Brown University Pre-College Program

Harvard University Pre-College Program

Northwestern University Accelerated Pre-College Program  : Boston Campus  and Oakland Campus 

The New School Parsons Academy Pre-College Summer Intensive Studies

This list will be updated regularly here as new opportunities are announced.  Also, many colleges have Pre-College Summer Programs. If there is a college that is not on this list, we encourage you to search “Pre-College Summer Programs” at college(s) of interest directly on their sites.   

We had a busy week as students were finishing projects, prepping for POLs, and gearing up for finals. Today, students in Mr. McGregor’s CEA Honors did a great job presenting their projects on an “improbable project in a new world” at Gensler in Downtown LA. Students have been working with Gensler mentors for the past six weeks and gave fantastic and professional final presentations. Thank you, Gensler!

Youth & Government’s Bill Hearing Night last Friday, 12/1, was a great success! Delegates introduced and debated the bills they created, and the audience selected one bill for the Da Vinci Delegation to take to Sacramento. Their bill will be debated among student delegates across the state.

Announcements & Reminders: 

• Shelter-in-Place Drill: In light of school safety concerns in a neighboring school district, the Da Vinci high schools located at the 201 N. Douglas location (including DVS) will be participating in a Shelter-in-Place Drill next Tuesday, 12/12. Please note that this is NOT an active shooter drill. Shelter-in-Place drills are designed to educate students and staff and to provide practice opportunities for what to initially do in the event of an on-campus or nearby emergency that requires a lockdown. Students will be informed of the start of the drill via the school speaker. They will then go into the nearest classroom if they are not already in one and work together to lock down the classroom. We will review lockdown procedures and expectations during announcements in advisory on Tuesday before the drill.
• Presentations of Learning: Presentations of Learning (POLs) for our 9th-11th grade students are 12/18-12/21 (Week 18), while 12th grade students will be taking finals. Click here for an information sheet for families with details about presentations of learning. All POLs and senior finals will be scheduled between Monday 12/18 and Thursday 12/21. Specific information about the format, requirements, and preparation process for POLs and finals have been shared to students via Canvas, during Targeted Support, and in individual classes. We encourage 9th, 10th, and 11th parents and guardians to attend your student’s POL. Please ask your student for their presentation time.
• Lunchtime Math Tutoring: Math tutoring by peer math tutors has been thriving! It will continue to be available every day during lunch until Friday, 12/15. There are no sign-ups. Students can just show up. Thank you tutors and tutees for working together!
• Semester 1 Grades and Report Cards: Please note that PowerSchool access will be turned off later next week while teachers complete final evaluations of students’ grades. As the last day of the Fall 2023 semester is Thursday, December 21st, report cards will be mailed home the following week.
• Parent Advisory Committee: Our second Parent Advisory Committee meeting is on Wednesday, December 13th at 4pm via this Zoom link. We will send members a reminder email next week, but any parent/guardian is invited to attend.
• Parent Association Meeting: The DaVinci Science Parent Association will have its meeting this month at a local establishment owned by a DVS parent.The meeting is on December 20th at Five Point Five Brewery in El Segundo from 6:30 to 7:30. (137 Nevada Street/ El Segundo, CA) Please stop by this informal meeting to meet other parents from Da Vinci Science. Five Point Five Brewery has pizza for purchase if you want to multitask and grab dinner during the meeting! No RSVP necessary, just show up if you are able. Questions can be emailed to annewtittle@gmail.com. 
• 12th Grade Advanced Physics Exhibition: Advanced Physicists have taken on the role of playground architects to design safe and unique playground structures toddlers. Join us next week on the afternoon of Tuesday 12/12 to judge the best designs and learn about the forces and kinematics involved in the engineering process. This “Westy’s World” event will be gallery walk/exhibition style in the carpeted forum area on the DVS 2nd floor. RSVP here.
• F=ma Exam: DVS will be administering the F=ma exam, the preliminary exam for the U.S. Physics Team on Thursday, February 8, 2024 from 3pm-5pm (during seminar and after school)! The F=ma exam is a 75-minute exam with 25 multiple choice questions focusing on mechanics, and all DVS students are eligible to attempt it. Interested students can find out more about F=ma and the U.S. Physics Team at this link and should sign up via this form by 2:30pm on Thursday, December 21st. Students don’t have to be fully committed yet when you sign up, but taking the F=ma is a great opportunity to test physics skills and is an amazing resume booster.
• WinterMusic Showcase: Winter music concert will be held on Tuesday, 12/12 in the Gym of the 201 North Douglas Campus at 6:30. We look forward to hearing studio orchestra and choir students share their talents with the community!

• DVS Announcements: Besides Canvas and the DVS blog (please subscribe!), we also share important information with students through live student-led announcements during advisory on Tuesdays. You can find recordings of those announcements on this Youtube channel, courtesy of our DVS News seminar! In addition, these slides are projected on a big screen in the Forum (common space on the DVS floor) every day.

Week 17 Schedule (12/11-12/15)

Important Upcoming Dates: 

• Wednesday, 12/13: DVS Parent Advisory Committee meeting at 4pm on Zoom
• Monday-Thursday, 12/18-12/21: POL/Finals Minimum Day Schedule with 2:25pm dismissal
• Semester 1 end date: December 21
• Winter Break: December 22- January 15
• First day of Semester 2: Tuesday, January 16th
• DVS Graduation Day: June 6th 

CEA at Gensler:

Y&G Bill Hearing Night

Peer Math Tutoring

Hello senior parents and guardians! We are quickly approaching the end of the semester.  Mr. Perez and Ms. Marquez are very excited to have had the opportunity to support seniors with their college applications this semester.  As you may know, November 30th was the application priority deadline for UC applications and most CSU applications.  Prior to submitting, Ms. Marquez and Mr. Perez worked with most students individually to review applications for accuracy.  We are excited to see some great results for our students! Please note:  There are a number of CSU campuses that are continuing to accept applications and a list can be found here.  Students can also apply to UC Merced until January 15, 2024.

Other highlights: 

• Community College: applications are open! Most students who have a community college on their college list completed their application during their College, Career and Life (CCL) course.  In the spring, we will take prospective seniors to El Camino College and Santa Monica College to help them complete the enrollment process.
• Private Universities: Many seniors submitted their applications during the months of November and December.  Some seniors are still working through their private university applications via the Common App. and will continue to do so until early 2nd semester for those universities that have a later deadlines.
• University Portals: Once applications are submitted, many universities will require students to create a portal.  Portals are the main method of communication for many universities.  Please encourage your student to keep a close eye on their email, including spam, to access important information from prospective universities.

Financial Aid Update: 

The Department of Education just announced that the FAFSA will be available by December 31, 2023.  We encourage you to create an FSA ID, which allows you to digitally sign the FAFSA, prior to the launch. Both student and at least one parent need FSA IDs. Financial aid updates and resources are below:

• Create an FSA ID – it takes 2-3 to process so creating one now will allow you to start the FAFSA when it opens

• Changes to the FAFSA (video)
• The California Student Aid Commission announced that the California Dream Act Application (CADAA), financial aid application for undocumented students, will be launch at the same time as the FAFSA.
• Complete the CSS Profile,  if applicable.  The CSS Profile is used by private universities.  Here is the list for participating schools. Please check each university’s financial aid website for CSS and FAFSA deadlines as they vary.
• Seniors have access to a scholarship database via their CCL class. Scholarships are announced weekly via Canvas.  Below is a list of scholarships with upcoming deadlines:

• 1. Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship – due 12/15/23
  2. Edison Scholars – due 1/23/24
  3. Equitable Excellence Scholarship Program– due 12/18/23

Deadlines for FAFSA/CADAA:

• University of California: March 2, 2024
• Cal State University: April 2, 2024
• Private Universities: Check each university site as deadlines vary

We know there are a lot of updates and we are here to help!  Please don’t hesitate to reach out for support.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Marquez, College Counselor

fmarquez@davincischools.org

Mr. Perez, CCL Teacher

rperez@davincischools.org