Da Vinci Science

Next week is the final week of Season 13! We are proud of our students for doing an excellent job on their Presentations of Learning, demonstrating their mastery of course content and reflecting on the significance of their strengths and struggles in this first year back from “Zoom School”! We have a POL schedule on Monday and Tuesday, and a modified short-day schedule on Wednesday when students will attend each of their classes and end with a student-led community dialogue and time together with advisory families.

Our school nurse, Dr. Emily green, has asked us to advise families that DVS is experiencing high numbers of COVID infections (9th-13; 10th-6; 11th-4; 12th- 9; Staff- 1) that are linked to exposures on Grad Nite and 2 other possible off campus social gatherings. We have reported 32 student cases and 1 staff case since 5/20 (within a 14-day period). The COVID Compliance team has filed a “cluster” report with LA County Dept of Public Health who are investigating and will determine if an outbreak case is warranted and further mitigation strategies. We have been sending individual notices of close contact, but overall, consider your student exposed. We are going to continue monitoring/reporting new cases.

From now until graduation, we strongly recommend indoor masking and limiting close contacts. Please continue to test if symptomatic and 3-5 days after exposures and to overall monitor symptoms and choose activities wisely given the number of cases both in our school and in the community in general right now. We want everyone to make it to graduation and summer activities!

See testing info below.

• • Rapid covid tests are available at school sites during school hours, no appt needed. Student, please pre-register for testing here. It is a rapid test and results are available 15 minutes later.

• • PCR tests available at 201 N Douglas Street every Monday/Tuesday 815-315pm. Results available approx Weds pm. Pre-​registration required https://ihd-patient.preciseq.com/davinci-schools

• • Home Tests are available at school sites during school hours, please request from health office/front office.

Please monitor your health. If you child develops illness symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19, please stay home and notify the school. Signs and symptoms include:

• • Fever or chills
  • New Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea or vomiting

For current quarantine, isolation, and other COVID FAQs please see here.

We are excited for the beginning of Presentations of Learning this week! POLs give students the opportunity to develop important speaking and presentation skills and are an opportunity for students to reflect publicly on their learning. Because these are formal presentations, students are expected to wear formal attire. Our POL days are shortened days with a 1:45pm dismissal time. All students will be dismissed from school at 1:45pm starting on Tuesday, 5/31.

• Parents & Guardians: We encourage all parents and guardians to come and watch your student’s POL, and please note the visitor policy: Visitors to Da Vinci Schools must show proof of either a COVID vaccination or negative PCR/Antigen test (taken within the last 72 hours); masking is strongly recommended. We also know that Presentations of Learning (POLs) can be a stressful time for students and their families. The two most important things you can do to help your student during their POL is (1) assure them that it is ok to make mistakes and (2) have them practice their POL many times to as many people in your household as possible.
• Students: Please know that this presentation is a great opportunity to practice public speaking in front of a live audience. This is an important skill to develop; we ask you to do your best, but we are not expecting perfection. Please practice your presentation for your friends and family as many times as you possibly can. The more you practice, the more confident you will feel on the day of your presentations.

Please note that Powerschool access is turned off while teachers complete final evaluations of students’ grades based on all work submitted by last week’s deadline.

Sincerely,

Steve Wallis, DVS Principal

We hope you have a terrific Memorial Day Weekend and wish to extend a special word of gratitude to all those who have served or are currently serving in our country’s armed forces. We are grateful for the safety and freedom we enjoy because of your service!

Next week is the beginning of Presentations of Learning! POLs give students the opportunity to develop their speaking and presentation skills and are an opportunity for students to reflect publicly on their learning. Because these are formal presentations, students are expected to wear formal attire. Any student in need of formal attire, please contact the front office and we will do our best to accommodate.

Students have been preparing and practicing for these important year-end professional presentations, and you can learn more about them in this document: Spring POLs Details & Policies.

Students will be participating in learning activities throughout the week and are expected to attend school weeks 37 and 38 from 8:10 am – to 1:45 pm.

Dear DVS Family,

The tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas has shaken all of our nation and our school family. We are deeply saddened by the horrific and heartbreaking events, as surely you are as well. Our hearts are with every family affected by this tragedy, and with the entire Uvalde community as they respond and grieve. 

For educators, parents, and students, school violence is something we all feel deeply. We encourage all students and families too to reach out to our counselors if your children are in need of support.  Here are some resources that may be helpful as you navigate your classrooms in the wake of this violence:

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (National Association of School Psychologists)

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News (Child Mind Institute)

Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting (American Counseling Association)

Trauma and Disaster Mental Health (American Counseling Association)

Teaching in the Wake of Violence (Facing History and Ourselves)

I want to reassure all of you that these events, while too common, are rare, and that our school is very safe. I join you in feelings of sadness today, but am encouraged by the collective strength of our school community.

Sincerely,

Steve Wallis, DVS Principal

Last week was another terrific week at DVS, including the Grand Rounds event for our Biomedical Career Pathway on Thursday and the DV Science & Engineering Showcase on Friday! Also, in case you were unable to view them earlier, you can see a slideshow of our 9th & 10th grade camp retreats here and the entire photo galleries at these links for 9th Grade and 10th Grade. It was awesome!!!

If you were unable to watch the college planning webinars earlier, I encourage you to watch view your respective grade level Webinar and reach out to your counselor if you have questions. (9th Grade Webinar/Slides) (10th Grade Webinar/Slides) (11th Grade Webinar/Slides).

We are looking forward this week to our final meeting of seminars before POL prep begins, as well as our School Site Council meeting (on this Zoom link) where we will discuss our progress on this year’s LCAP plan and possible adjustments for next year.

It’s hard to believe that there are only four more weeks of school before summer break! There are only two weeks left of instruction before we begin Presentations of Learning (POLs). The last day of academic instruction for the semester is Friday, May 27th, and this is also the deadline for students to submit any late or missing assignments for consideration in their final grade. Please check your student’s grades on PowerSchool and email teachers if you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, thank you to all 136 parents who took our Spring Parent Survey – if you haven’t taken it, we’d really appreciate it if you would take a couple of minutes to do so! This is helpful information for us as we reflect and plan for next year.

As always, please let us know how we can help and support your students in our final weeks of the 2021-2022 school year!

 

We had an *awesome* time last week with the 9th and 10th grade students at camp and at Senior Awards night and Prom! We are excited for the final 4 weeks of the school year!

You can see a slideshow of our 9th & 10th grade camp retreats here and the entire photo galleries at these links for 9th Grade and 10th Grade. It was awesome!!!

This week is a regular schedule, wrapping up with the Grand Rounds for our Biomedical Career Pathway on Thursday and the DV Science & Engineering Showcase on Friday!

Student progress reports will be mailed home this week, so check your mailboxes and encourage your students to finish the 2021-2022 school year to the best of their ability!

Happy Saturday, DVS Families! I hope you are having a terrific weekend and that you have a chance to go to the Wiseburn Ed Foundation’s Rock Around the Block event at Dana Middle School today! Week 33 is an exciting week at DVS with our camp retreats for 10th & 9th grade, Senior Awards Night, and Senior Prom… here’s what you need to know!

9th and 10th grade parents, please make sure you have signed and returned permission slips for both the Camp Pondo trip and the Fulcrum teambuilding day. Students have received additional details about the week from their teachers – if you have additional questions about each grade-level team’s plan for the week, please contact your child’s teachers. We’ve got a lot going on in the final 6 weeks of the school year – you can view the calendar anytime using this link.

Thank you for all that you do to encourage and support your students in finishing the year well, and have a terrific weekend!

Hello DVS Families! Due to a scheduling conflict for both Steve and Grace, we are canceling this week’s parent office hours. Please contact us directly if you have any questions.

Parents of 9th and 10th grade students, please make sure to sign and turn in the permission slips for next week’s Camp Retreats and Fulcrum Activities! It’s a busy week next week!!!

• Monday 5/2: 10th Grade Camp Retreat (9am-9pm)
• Tuesday 5/3: 9th Grade Camp Retreat (9am-9pm) & 10th Grade On-campus Fulcrum Activities
• Wednesday 5/4: 9th Grade On-campus Fulcrum Activities
• Thursday 5/5: Senior Awards Night @6pm
• Friday 5/6: PD Day & Senior Prom @ the Proud  Bird

Thank you!

I hope you’ve all had a terrific spring break! We are excited to begin tomorrow with the “home stretch”, the final 8 weeks of the school year! We have a special schedule on Monday, beginning our day in Advisory, to help students begin these final weeks with focus and intentionality in order to finish the school year well.

There are many exciting events happening in the coming weeks, including:

• our FRC robotics team 4201‘s trip to the world championship in Houston this week
• Wiseburn’s Rock Around the Block on Saturday 4/30
• Camp retreats in Running Springs on 5/2 (10th grade) and 5/3 (9th grade)
• Senior Awards Night on Thursday 5/5
• Senior Prom on Friday 5/6 (also a PD day)
• Senior Grad Night on Saturday 5/21

You can see the calendar for the rest of the school year under “Resources” to the right or by clicking here, and as always you’re invited to join us for our weekly “Office Hours with Steve & Grace” this Wednesday at 4:30 at this Zoom link!

Thank you to all the DVS parents and guardians who came out to our Exhibition nights this week! We had a terrific time welcoming you back to campus, and are proud of our students for sharing the projects they’ve done and the things they’ve learned!

Next week is a professional development week (a 4-day week for students) and then we are on Spring Break!

When we return from spring break, we have a busy 9 weeks left in the school year!

Also, we are thrilled to be able to bring back the spirit of the “Overnighter” tradition this year with “Camp Retreats” for our 9th and 10th grade students! These will be full-day (but not overnight) retreats at Camp Pondo, with students leaving the Da Vinci campus at 9am and returning at 9pm. The DVS Camp Retreat days are Monday, May 2nd for 10th graders and Tuesday, May 3rd for 9th graders. The retreats will include a wide variety of recreational and team-building games and activities including a zipline, skate park, and more! Details of the retreats will be coming next week, but for now you can mark the dates in your calendar if you have a 9th or 10th grade student!

Have a terrific weekend!