School is in full swing, and this week marked the start of Seminars. We have amazing Seminar choices including Soccer, Pickleball, Sewing, Collegiate Mathematical Thinking, Intro. to Sign Language, Makerspace, Chess, Acting, and many more. Check out the full Seminar List below. Week 3 will be busy with Shelter in Place Drill, Honors roll out, and Freshmen Overnighter–all after a Happy Labor Day Weekend!
Week 3 Schedule:
Week 3 Announcements:
-
- Shelter-in-Place Drill: The Da Vinci high schools located at the 201 N. Douglas location (including DVS) will be participating in a Shelter-in-Place Drill on Tuesday, September 2nd. 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. Drill expectations and procedures were reviewed during announcements this week.
- Freshmen Overnighter: Freshmen overnighter will take place from 9/4-9/5. Advisory Leaders leave 9/3. All Overnighter permission slips and Medical Release forms should have been sent home. Please return ASAP. The Overnighter info document can be found here.
- Back-to-School Night: We are excited to invite parents and guardians to Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 11th from 5:30pm-7:30pm! Please note that this is an evening designed for parents and guardians to be in their children’s classrooms and learn about the courses they are taking. Students are not required to attend. An email with specific schedules and information will be sent soon.
-
- Seminars: Students can request a seminar change through this Seminar Change Request Form (DV account required) until 2:30pm next Friday, September 5th. Requests for schedule changes will not be accepted after the deadline (certain exceptions apply). See this Seminar Descriptions & Statuses document for options. Please allow counselors at least two full school days to process your request, and note that although we will do our best, not all requests can be accommodated.
- Opt-in SAT School Day for 11th and 12th Grade: DVS 11th and 12th grade students will have the option to opt-in to take the SAT during the DVS SAT/PSAT School Day on Monday, October 13th, free of charge to the student , by signing up on this Fall 2025 DVS Opt-in SAT School Day Interest Form (DV account required) by Monday, September 12th. Please note that 11th grade students opting to take the SAT means they would not be taking the PSAT/NMSQT, which is the qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship.
- American Mathematical Competition: DVS will be administering the American Mathematics Competition (AMC) 10 and 12 on Thursday, November 13th, 2025 from 3pm-5pm (during seminar and after school) to those who sign up.The AMC 10/12 is the first in a series of competitions that eventually lead all the way to the International Mathematical Olympiad. Find out more at this link: https://maa.org/student-programs/amc/. Interested students should sign up via this form by Friday, September 19th (DV account required).
- FREE Metro GoPass for DVS Students: Da Vinci Schools is participating in LA Metro’s GoPass Program again this year! This means each DVS student can receive a FREE metro card that, once activated, can allow them to ride on the Metro for FREE until June 30, 2027. Students should drop by the front desk (not during class time) and ask Liz to pick up a card and instructions to activate their card (one card per student). Find more information on the GoPass Program here.
- Class of 2026 Senior Portraits: There are two more dates in September (9/13 and 9/14) for seniors to take their portraits with Stacee Lianna! See more information in this flyer, and sign up for a session at this link.
- South Bay / Los Angeles College Fair: The Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD), in proud partnership with the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) and the Redondo Beach Council PTA, is hosting the 2025 South Bay/Los Angeles College Fair. This event is free and open to the public and will take place on Sunday, September 7, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Redondo Union High School. This dynamic annual fair will bring together 100 colleges and universities from across the country, offering students a one-stop opportunity to explore diverse post-secondary pathways. Representatives from public and private universities, community colleges, and military academies will be available to share insights, answer questions, and help students envision their future. For more information, please visit this WACAC page or contact Dr. Anthony Taranto, Executive Director of Career Pathways, at ataranto@rbusd.org. Please RSVP at this link.
- Latino College Expo: DVS is excited to participate in the 12th annual Latino College Expo on Saturday, September 13th from 9am-2:30pm at the University of La Verne. Students of any grade level can attend and do not have to be Latino/Latinx identified. The Expo will host over 75 colleges: public, private, independent, military, and trade schools. Some colleges will accept seniors for admission, waive college application fees and give away scholarships on the spot! Additionally, the expo will offer workshops on topics including college application strategies, financial aid, scholarships, career planning, and more! We will depart from 201 N. Douglas promptly at 9:00 am and we expect to arrive back by 2:30 PM. Students must bring their own lunch or bring money to purchase food on campus. We only have a limited number of spots available and spots are on a first-come, first serve basis. If interested in attending, please pick up a field trip permission slip from Ms. Marquez. Permission slips are due by Wednesday, September 10th at 3:30pm to Ms. Marquez or until all spots are filled. Please reach out to Ms. Marquez (fmarquez@davincischools.org), College and Career Counselor, with any questions.
- UCLA Blood Drive: The DVS Red Cross Club is partnering with the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center for another blood drive on Thursday October 9, 2025! This blood drive is taking place in the DV Black Box Theater. Donating blood saves lives; every unit donated can save three lives! Every donor will receive a $10 Gift Card redeemable at AMC/Regal Theaters, Chipotle, Amazon, Starbucks, Panda Express, Shake Shack, Subway, McDonald’s, or Target! Schedule your appointment at this link. Note: Donors must be at least 16 years old and weigh a minimum of 110 lbs. at the time of donation. 16-year-old donors must present a signed Parental Consent Form that can be obtained from Mr Besina.
- Parent Association:
- Save the Date – First DVSPA meeting for 2025-26 is Wed, Sept 17th, 5:30pm on campus. All DVS parents/guardians are welcome to join in supporting DVS staff through our projects (no membership or anything to do to sign up, just show up). Come get to know other DVS Parents and see how we’ll be supporting DVS this year.
- DVSPA Merch is available for pre-order. Show your school spirit and support DVS with your T-shirt and Hoodie orders. Place your ORDER HERE (make sure you’re logged into your MySchoolBucks DaVinci Schools account if you also have a Wiseburn account). Images and more details HERE. Questions to DVS parent Lori, lj.bowk@gmail.com.
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Monday, 9/1 Labor Day Holiday – No School
- Tuesday, 9/2 Critical Incident Drill
- Thursday, 9/4 – Friday, 9/5 Class of 2029 Overnighter
- Tuesday, 9/9 11th Grade NACAC Field Trip
- Thursday, 9/11 Club Fair during Advisory and lunch
- Thursday, 9/11 Back-to-School Night 5:30pm-7:30pm
- Friday, 9/12 Professional Development Day – No School
Helpful Links:
Some Highlights from the Week:
9th physicists collecting data for their DYOE(design your own experiment) projects!
Sophomores exploring the thermochemistry of ice cream!
Design Challenge in CEA and Gensler Kickoff in CEA Honors
