Da Vinci Science

We hope all students and families had a great week. Freshmen had a great “Fulcrum Day” where students got to engage in fun team-building activities. There are “Fulcrum Days” days scheduled for every grade level. Honors certificates were also passed out during advisory. 266 Honors certificates were given. We are very proud of all of our students. This week was also National Counselors Week, we are very grateful and appreciative of our DVS counselors: Corrinne Valle (9th and 11th), Carolyn Ruiz (10th and 12th), and Francisca Marquez(College & Career). Our counselors care very much about all of our students and work hard to support them. 

• Progress Reports – will be going out next week on Tuesday, Feb. 14th. In the mean time, we always encourage students and parents to check Canvas for assignments and grades. Please use this document: Parent and Student Access to Canvas as a resource for how to get access. 
• Spirit Week: Next week (2/13-2/17) is Spirit Week! We are looking forward to seeing our classrooms filled with Spirit Week fun! Please keep in mind that the DVS Dress Code still applies during Spirit Week.  

• • Monday- Jersey Day
  • Tuesday – Valentine’s Day (wear Red, White, or Pink)
  • Wednesday – Dress like a Teacher Day
  • Thursday – Tourist Day 
  • Friday – Pajama Day
• LA Metro’s GoPass Program: Da Vinci Schools is participating in LA Metro’s GoPass Program! This means each DVS student can receive a free Metro card that, once activated, will allow them to ride on the Metro for FREE until June 30, 2023. Students can pick up a card and instructions to activate their card from Summer Munoz (mmunoz@davincischools.org) at the DVS Front Desk. Here is more information on the GoPass Program if you are interested.
• Senior Activities–  Reminder, senior contracts were passed out during CCL class this week. In order to participate in senior activities. Senior Contracts need to be signed and returned to Mr. Perez by Tuesday, February 14th. 

• Black History Month: In honor of Black History Month, students will be participating in a jeopardy game next Friday (2/17) during advisory. There will also be a Community Dialogue (CD) with all DVS students on Friday 2/24.
• Youth & Government: We wish our Y&G delegation the best during their Model Legislature & Court Conference in Sacramento this weekend! 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
• Friday, 2/24: Black History Month Community Dialogue during Advisory
• Friday-Sunday, 3/3-3/5: FRC Regionals at Port Hueneme 
• Monday-Thursday, 3/13-3/16: Student-Led Conference (SLC) Week
• Friday, 3/17: PD Day, No school for students
• Friday-Sunday, 3/17-3/19: FRC LA Regionals at Da Vinci  
• Monday, 3/20: Freshmen College Webinar 5:00-6:00
• Tuesday, 3/21: Sophomore College Webinar 5:00-6:00
• Wednesday, 3/22: Junior College Webinar 5:00-6:00
• Wednesday, 3/22: Medical Interventions Grand Rounds 6:00 pm
• DVS Graduation date is scheduled for Thursday, June 8th at 5:00 pm
• School Calendar Link

We hope students had an enjoyable and restful Friday. The staff had a productive professional development day together. Some of the topics discussed in today’s staff development included: supporting students who may struggle with stress & anxiety, discussing strategies for belonging for students of all diverse backgrounds, embracing our own identities to impact our practice, and learning fun and new advisory games!

Updates and information:

• Progress Reports – will be going out next week on Tuesday, Feb. 14th. In the meantime, we always encourage students and parents to check Canvas for assignments and grades. Please use this document: Parent and Student Access to Canvas as a resource for how to get access Canvas. 
• Senior Activities–  Seniors will be hearing more about these activities during CCL class this week. Parents and students will be provided a Senior Contract to be reviewed and signed.  
• Advisory –  Semester 2 Advisory Overview: One signature practice that has a large role in shaping our school culture at DVS is Advisory. Advisory curriculum is curated by DVS teachers and staff with heavy involvement from students. We hope that these Advisory topics allow our students to share stories, gain perspectives, and have rich conversations at school and at home about life in high school and events around the world. Please feel free to reach out to Saya Wai at swai@davincischools.org if you would like to find out more about Advisory. This semester, in addition to community and relationship building, Advisory time will be used to promote college and career readiness, address socio-emotional learning and mental wellness, and discuss the following Heritage and Awareness Months.
  • February: Black History Month
  • March: Women’s History Month
  • April: Autism Awareness Month
  • April: Sexual Assault Awareness Month
  • May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 
• School Site Council & Parent Office Hours. We have DVS School Site Council Meeting this Thursday, 2/9 at 4:30 pm at this zoom link: SSC & Parent Office Hours Zoom Link. It is also an even week and so we invite parent office hours participants to join us for the SSC meeting! 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, 2/6: Freshmen Fulcrum Day 
• Thursday, 2/9: School Site Council Meeting #3 (4:30 at this Zoom link)
• Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
• Friday, 2/24: Black History Month Community Dialogue during Advisory
• Monday, 3/13-Thursday 3/16: SLC Week
• DVS Graduation date is scheduled for Thursday, June 8th at 5:00pm
• School Calendar Link

Another week down! Next week, we will be on a four-day schedule since we have a PD Day next Friday, February 3rd. Staff will be busy with professional development and we hope the students have an enjoyable and safe three-day weekend! To students who consistently read the DVS blog, thank you, and great job! 

Week 21 Schedule

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Thursday, 2/2: Shelter-in-Place Drill (all-campus, more info TBA)
• Monday, 2/6: Freshmen Fulcrum Day 
• Friday, 2/3: Professional Development Day (no school for students)
• Thursday, 2/9: School Site Council Meeting #3 (4:30 at this Zoom link)
• Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
• Friday, 2/24: Black History Month Community Dialogue during Advisory
• DVS Graduation date is scheduled for Thursday, June 8th at 5:00pm
• School Calendar Link

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.

__________________________

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. 

______________

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: 

It was great to see the students back in school and in the swing of things. There was a lot of reconnecting with Advisory and a lot of learning with launching new projects. We love seeing our students here! In order to maximize learning opportunities, attendance is important. Thank you for working together with us to promote positive attendance. 🙂

In observance of Martin Luther King Day, we will have no school on Monday, January 16th. We honor and are grateful for Dr. Martin Luther King who championed racial equality, nonviolence, and justice. We strive to be a school where all students experience love, acceptance, equity, inclusion, and celebration for who they are.

Week 19 Schedule:

Important Upcoming Dates:
Monday, 1/16: Martin Luther King Holiday (no school)
Thursday, 1/19: School Site Council Meeting #2 at 4:30 on Zoom
Friday, 2/3: Professional Development Day, No School
Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
School Calendar Link

We hope all DVS students and families had a wonderful, restful, healthy, and fun winter break! DVS staff has been working hard this week to get ready for an awesome Semester 2. We are looking forward to seeing our students back tomorrow, Monday, January 9th.

 

School Schedule: As a reminder school begins at 8:50 and dismissal is at 3:55. Students will start their day in their Advisory class tomorrow, Monday 1/9. For the most part, all student schedules will remain the same for Semester 2. Seminars will begin next week and students will receive directions on how to make seminar change requests if needed. 

Parent Office Hours with Grace & Saya: Parent Office Hours with administration will be held every even week. Since it is Week 18, we will be meeting at this zoom link this Thursday, January 12th from 4:30-5:30. This will be a casual time of updating, chatting, and Q&A.

Here is the Week 18 schedule:

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, 1/9: School Resumes & Semester 2 Begins
• Wednesday, 1/11: Bill Hearing Night for Youth & Government Students 
• Monday, 1/16: Martin Luther King Holiday (no school)
• Thursday, 1/19: School Site Council Meeting #2 at 4:30 on Zoom
• Monday, 2/20: President’s Day Holiday (no school)
• School Calendar Link

Thank you and congratulations on making it through Semester 1! This week, students exhibited critical thinking, hard work, reflection, and articulation of learning in their Presentations of Learning. They did a great job! We are very proud of our students for working hard and learning well this semester. Semester 1 report cards will be mailed home early next week. 

We hope all students and families have a wonderful, safe, restful, and fun winter break. We will see you back Monday, January 9th. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

-DVS Staff

We had another great and very busy week at DVS! Students finished up their week of core classes and regular schedule and have been preparing for their Presentations of Learning next week. We had a few great field trips as well! 

Biomedical Pathway students went to BioScienceLA in Culver City to engage with professionals in the industry and complete a design challenge.

Civil Engineering Pathway students presented their final Amusement Park and pitched their ideas through story to the Gensler Architect firm in downtown LA. They did a great job working with and impressing our industry partners! 

The entire junior class went to Griffith Observatory to spend some quality time together before POL week.

Next week is the last week of 1st semester! 

• Da Vinci Fall Surveys: Thank you to those who have already filled out the fall survey. If you have not done so already, please take a few minutes to provide your feedback. We’d love to hear from parents and students, and your voice is vital for our continued growth and success!

• Fall Parent/Guardian Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dv_parent_survey_fall22 
• Student Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/dv_student_survey_fall22
• Presentations of Learning: We are excited for the beginning of Presentations of Learning for our 9th-11th grade students next week! (12th-grade students will be taking finals) Click here for an information sheet for families with details about presentations of learning. All POLs will be scheduled between Monday 12/12 and Thursday 12/15, and we encourage parents and guardians to come and watch your student’s POL. Please ask your student for their presentation time.
• PowerSchool Access: Please note that PowerSchool access is turned off while teachers complete final evaluations of students’ grades. 
• CHYA Presentations: Dr. Green and Nurse Lucero will be presenting the health & sexual education curriculum (“CHYA”, or “California Healthy Youth Act”) to freshmen throughout next week. Click this link to read the notification letter from Dr. Green. If you have any questions about the content that will be covered, please email Dr. Green at egreen@davincischools.org. Parents have the right to “opt-out” of this presentation for their child; if you wish to do so, please email Saya Wai, DVS Dean of Students, at swai@davincischools.org. 
• First-semester report cards will be mailed home on Monday, 12/19. Students will have a 3-week winter break, and the second semester begins on Monday, January 9th.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• 12/12-12/15, Monday-Thursday: Presentations of Learning – Early Dismissal at 2:25 all week
• 12/15, Thursday: Last day of Semester 1
• 12/16, Friday: Professional Development Day, No School
• 12/19-1/6: Winter Break (No School)
• Monday, 1/9: School Resumes & Semester 2 Begins
• Monday, 1/16: Martin Luther King Holiday
• Thursday, 1/19: School Site Council Meeting #2 at 4:30 
• School Calendar Link

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Break and enjoyed the time with your family and loved ones. 

We return to school tomorrow, Monday, 11/28! As a reminder, there are only three weeks left during Semester 1. Grades earned at the end of this semester appear on students’ transcripts, and a new semester begins in January 2023. 

Student Grades: This is an important time to sit down with your student and check their grades in Powerschool or Canvas parent portal. Click here for the Powerschool website; please email Liz Diaz at ediaz@davincischools.org if you need your username and password. For Canvas support please email IT at studentsupport@davincischools.org. 

Presentations of Learning (POLs): POLs are just around the corner! POLs begin on Thursday, 12/8 and continue through Thursday, 12/15; students will be dismissed from school at 2:25pm on these days.

Important Upcoming Dates:

• 12/3 Saturday, Winterfest 11:00-3:00pm – contact Kat Ramos kramos@davincischools.org
• 12/8-12/15, Thursday-Thursday: Presentations of Learning – Early dismissal at 2:25 during POL week. 
• 12/15, Thursday: Last day of Semester 1
• 12/16, Friday: Professional Development Day, No School
• 12/19-1/6: Winter Break (No School)
• Monday, 1/9: School Resumes & Semester 2 Begins
• DVS Planning School Calendar Link

On behalf of Da Vinci Science staff, we would like to thank you for your generous, thoughtful, and wonderful contributions to the Gratitude Baskets that staff received from DVS families. It is a joy and honor to educate your students and we are truly grateful for our students and families. The staff will enjoy reading every note and will enjoy every treat. We wish you all a restful, safe, and fun Thanksgiving Break!

The school will resume the regular weekly schedule Monday, November 28th. 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• 12/3 Saturday, Winterfest 11:00-3:00pm
• 12/8-12/15, Thursday-Thursday: Presentations of Learning – Early Dismissal at 2:25 all week
• 12/15, Thursday: Last day of Semester 1
• 12/16, Friday: Professional Development Day, No School
• 12/19-1/6: Winter Break (No School)
• Monday, 1/9: School Resumes & Semester 2 Begins
• School Calendar Link