We hope everyone had a great week. Seminars started this week and students are settling back into the routine of things. We also had our School Site Council meeting this week and had a great collaboration session with staff, students, and parents.
- Positive attendance – We love seeing our students here on campus and believe that attendance is important to maximize students’ learning experiences. Please see the message below from the central office and from the school about current attendance policies.
- Parent Office Hours with Grace & Saya: Parent Office Hours with administration will be held every even week. Since it is Week 20, we will be meeting at this zoom link this Thursday, January 26th from 4:30-5:30. This will be a casual time of updating, chatting, and Q&A.
- Bill Hearing Night – Last week, our Youth and Government students did a great job presenting their bills. Y & G students will be representing the Da Vinci Delegation in Sacramento in February and will propose a bill supporting more primary healthcare providers in the field. Thank you to Ms. McBee and the students in Y&G for doing such a fantastic job presenting your bills, and thank you Dr. Brann and Dr. Wunder, for your support and for being guest judges.
- Senior Portraits:
- If you would like to book a retake session with photographer, Stacee Liana, you may do so here: https://book.usesession.com/s/a7wSfElh5. Retakes are scheduled for January 28th at her studio in Palos Verdes.
- The cost for reshooting will be $25. If you want to pass the sign-up along to anyone who might be interested you can do so here:
- Senior Portraits are available here: https://staceelianna.smugmug.com/DaVinciSchools/Class-of-2023 The password to access your gallery is your Student ID Number
- Attendance Policy Updates: See the message below from the Da Vinci Schools Central Office.
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Good afternoon Da Vinci families!
With the start of a new semester, we would like to keep you informed and involved as we continue to support all of our students in their success at Da Vinci Schools.
We are working diligently this year to regularly monitor student progress in academics, socio-emotional well-being, behavior, and attendance to ensure that we are able to communicate with families, respond to concerns, and intervene with supports as quickly as possible when our students are struggling to access the educational opportunities that we provide. In particular this semester, we will be more closely monitoring attendance because research has shown that regular attendance is vital for the success of students in school. Students who are present are more likely to succeed academically, engage with others, and be better prepared for success beyond school. This semester we are increasing our communications with families when a student’s attendance falls below 90%, as that is the state threshold for students being classified as chronically absent. In addition to daily absence notification calls, every two weeks our schools will email or directly call the families of chronically absent students to keep them informed of their student’s attendance status and let them know whether or not their student’s attendance has improved over the past two weeks. Parent meetings may be held for student’s whose attendance fails to improve over the course of multiple weeks, with the goal of coming together as a team to identify the challenges and implement supports to ensure that we are doing all that we can to help get students back on track.
California law states that absences are excused only if the child is ill or there is an excuse that meets the requirements of the California Education Code Section 48205. Even excused absences that cause your child to miss significant amounts of school can cause your child to fall behind in class and can cause them to be classified as chronically absent. Our school will continue to require verification of absences due to illness or quarantine if your child has missed school for three consecutive days. Please be aware that going “out of town” when school is in session with your child is an unexcused absence.
We hope that all of our students will be in attendance every day, but we also understand that there are times when absences may become a challenge. As we continue our pursuit of our students’ learning and growth, we look forward to strengthening our partnership with our families to ensure that all Da Vincians have the support that they need to access their education and achieve success.
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Youth and Government at Bill Hearing Night, Jan. 11th.
Important Upcoming Dates:
- Thursday, 1/26: Parent Office Hours with DVS Admin at 4:30pm (at this Zoom link)
- Thursday, 2/2: Shelter-in-Place Drill (all-campus, more info TBA)
- Friday, 2/3: Professional Development Day (no school for students)
- Thursday, 2/9: School Site Council Meeting #3 (4:30 at this Zoom link)
- Friday, 2/10: Black History Month Community Dialogue during Advisory
- Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
- School Calendar Link
Week 20 Schedule:
