Da Vinci Science

We are almost at the finish line for this school year! It has been a busy week, and we continue to be grateful for all of our students, families, and staff. We have been working hard and will continue to work hard to finish this year well. Please be assured that Da Vinci Science will continue to thrive, service, and love our students to the best of our abilities. We truly enjoy seeing and being with our students every day. 

Two and a half weeks to go… and we are looking forward to graduating and celebrating the Class of 2023! More details about Graduation specifics to follow.

• Spring 2023 Da Vinci Schools Experience Surveys: Your feedback is valuable to us. Please take a moment to complete this semester’s experience surveys if you have not done so already.
  • • Link for Parents/Guardians: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QLM5T2G
    • Link for Students: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K9CRCP3

• Course Selections for 2023-2024 School Year – 9th grade and 11th grade were provided course selection forms for their class requests for next school year (10th grade will get theirs this week). Requests are made electronically through this form: 23-24 Course Request Form. Please reference this DVS Career Pathways document for course options. If you have questions or need guidance regarding course selections, please see your counselor. Corinne Valle (9th and 11th) cvalle@davincischools.org or Carolyn Ruiz cruiz@davincischools.org (10th, 12th).

• Presentations of Learning: “POL” preparation begins next week since POLs will begin the week of May 30th! Click here for an information sheet for families with details about presentations of learning. Attendance is expected for all days through the last day of school, which is Wednesday, June 8th. We have lots of meaningful learning activities planned for POL week!

• Extended Learning Rooms: When not presenting or watching presentations during POL week, students will be augmenting their learning in Extended Learning Rooms. 

• • 9th and 10th grade students will be spending most of their time completing standardized (MAP) testing in English and math. This will be valuable information in order to prepare and support them more effectively next year and beyond. In addition, they will have sessions to explore their interests and careers with the Da Vinci Institute staff as well as resources for mental health with guest speakers from Pepperdine.
  • 11th grade students will be in a series of sessions pertaining to career-related guest speakers, college admissions information, and leadership development activities in preparation for their last year in high school.
  • 12th grade students will be ramping up their preparation for graduation, which includes fun, celebratory activities (cap decorating, lei making, photo signing, etc.) as well as sexual and drug awareness education. We believe that this information is essential for seniors as they embark on the next steps in their lives.
    • CHYA Presentations: Dr. Green and Nurse Lucero will be presenting the health & sexual education curriculum (“CHYA”, or “California Healthy Youth Act”) to seniors on May 31st and June 1st. 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. 
    • Drug Awareness and Prevention: Da Vinci Schools is aware and concerned about an increase in substance use and risky behavior in our communities. This mirrors trends that are being recognized across Los Angeles County and the nation. As part of our ongoing efforts to keep the health and well-being of your child and our school community a top priority, seniors will be participating in Drug Awareness and Prevention education on May 31st and June 1st. 

Week 36 Schedule:

Advisory Friday!

 

Important Upcoming Dates

• Monday, 5/29: Memorial Day Holiday, no School
• Tuesday, 5/30: 11th Grade Del Aire Park Field Trip, 9th Grade Ice Skating Field Trip
• Tuesday, 6/6: 9th Grade Del Aire Park Field Trip
• Thursday, 6/8: DVS Graduation at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link
• First Day of School for the 2023-2024 school year will be Monday, August 14th. 

5/12/23

The word to describe this week– is beautiful! It was beautiful to see all the love and appreciation from DVS students and families to our Teachers and Staff. Thank you to all of you for feeding us all week with notes, gifts, treats, snacks, and lots and lots of food! You really made teachers and staff feel like VIPs! Thank you! 

We also had our Senior Awards Night, it was beautiful to celebrate the many accomplishments and achievements of students in the class of 2023. It was a great evening of story-telling and celebrating students for all their hard work and contributions to our school and community. 

We also had a most memorable Community Dialogue celebrating AAPI month with beautiful dances representing Tonga, Tahiti, the Philippines, and Hawaii. Our students and staff did an amazing job representing and sharing their talent and culture with the whole school. 

Last, we would like to wish every mom out there a beautiful and Happy Mother’s Day! 

Week 35 Schedule:

Important Upcoming Dates

• Thursday, 5/18: School Site Council Meeting #4, 4:30-5:30pm using this Zoom Link.  
• Monday, 5/29: Memorial Day Holiday, no school
• Thursday, 6/8: DVS Graduation at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link
• First Day of School for the 2023-2024 school year will be Monday, August 14th. 

This was an exciting week for seniors as Monday was National Decision Day! We celebrated their achievements and post-high school plans with cheers, speeches, donuts, and a photo booth in the Black Box. Although knowing we only have a few more weeks with them is bittersweet, we are so proud of our seniors!

• Prom is today, May 5th at 6:00 at the Proud Bird. Contact kramos@davincischools.org with any questions.
• The 10th grade Ocho de Mayo Fiesta is next Monday, May 8th! 10th grade teachers have been communicating with students and families to contribute to the morning potluck festivities.
• May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Our DVS counselors kicked off the month with a photo booth, music, and giveaways at lunch this week. Students, check out the Forum whiteboard next week for more!
• Individual Post-DVS Planning Meeting for 11th grade students begin next week with Ms. Marquez (fmarquez@davincischools.org), the DVS College Counselor. Every Junior is expected to schedule a meeting and have at least one parent/guardian present. If you still need to schedule a meeting, please do so using this link.
• “Ghosted” Kaiser Play and Workshop: This week, 9th grade students participated in a two-part mental health and resilience program provided through Kaiser Permanente’s Thriving School Resilience in Schools Environment (RISE) initiative. Find out more about “Ghosted” and RISE here.
• National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12th. If you are interested in coordinating or helping out with providing breakfast or lunch for staff, please use this SignUpGenius link to sign up or let Liz know at ediaz@davincischools.org. If you are able, we are also grateful for any gift card donations to be used as prizes and purchasing of supplies for staff appreciation week (no obligation, completely voluntary). You can make ecard donations to dvsappreciation@gmail.com or drop off gift card donations to the front office. Thank you in advance for your support! We also encourage students to show appreciation for your teachers, counselors, and staff in the following ways:
  • Monday, May 8th: Fan Mail– Shower your teachers with fan mail! Write a note or card with written words of why you are a fan of them.
  • Tuesday, May 9th:  Selfie and Autographs Day- ask your teachers for their autographs and get a selfie with them. Email the pic to that person. 
  • Wednesday, May 10th: Sweet Movie Treats- Offer a sweet treat for a teacher (boxed candies like at the movies, red vines, etc).
  • Thursday, May 11th: Salty Movie Snacks – Bring a salty snack for a teacher (their favorite popcorn, chips, etc.)
  • Friday, May 12th: Oscar Awards– Award your teacher with something that you enjoy and share with them why you enjoy it! 

Important Upcoming Dates

• Monday, 5/8: 10th grade Ocho de Mayo Fiesta
• Thursday, 5/11: Senior Awards Night 6:00pm (by invitation)
• Thursday, 5/18: School Site Council Meeting #4
• Thursday, 6/8: DVS Graduation at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link
• First Day of School for the 2023-2024 school year will be Monday, August 14th. 

Pictures Highlights

National Decision Day Celebration

PC: Kai Golston

 

Mental Health Awareness Month Photo Booth

PC: Kai Golston

Our community partner, South Bay Families Connected, offers our families a variety of youth wellness resources. For Mental Health Awareness Month, we feature their resource pages covering trending youth wellness topics on the minds of parents and caregivers:

• Supporting healthy social media and screen time management
• Recognizing and supporting mental health challenges
• Understanding and managing stress and anxiety
• Helping youth build healthy relationships and foster empathy and compassion
• Practicing mindful parenting

 

Visit our own Da Vinci Families Connected page for more youth wellness resources from Da Vinci Schools and SBFC

Hello Junior Families,

I hope your week is off to a great start!  If you have not done so already, please sign up for your Individual Post-DVS Planning Meeting.  Please sign up for your meeting here 

I’ve posted instructions on Canvas to support juniors in best preparing for their meeting,  which includes a tentative college list and the A-G GPA calculation. If student need another copy of their transcript, please reach out to Ms. Valle, Academic Counselor for the 9th and 11th Grade.

If you have any questions reguarding this meeting, please reach out to me directly.   I look forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your Post-DVS Plans!

Ms. Marquez

fmarquez@davincischools.org 

College Counselor

 

Ms. Valle

cvalle@davincischools.org

Academic Counselor (9th and 11th Grades)

We had a great, busy, and fun week last week. Juniors buckled down to take part in state testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, then refreshed with team and character-building activities with Fulcrum on Thursday, and then many students went on field trips to consider post-high school plans. We visited El Camino College, Cal Poly (SLO), and NACAC to learn about possibilities and to have career pathway experiences. 

Week 33 is a short week with Friday, 5/5 being a PD Day (students no school), and in the evening, Prom at the Proud Bird! 

• Monday, May 1st is Decision Day! We will be celebrating seniors and their post-high school plans. Students are encouraged to wear college or career gear that represents their post-high school plans or goals. We will be celebrating the seniors in the Black Box during 1st period.
• National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12th. If you are interested in coordinating or helping out with providing breakfast or lunch for staff this week, please let Liz know at ediaz@davincischools.org. If you are able, we are also grateful for any gift cards to be used as prizes and purchasing of supplies for staff appreciation week (no obligation, completely voluntary). You can give e-card gifts to dvsappreciation@gmail.com or drop off gift cards at the front office. Thank you in advance for your support! We are going to celebrate our teachers with a Movie Theme — and our teachers are the stars of the show! Here are some ideas to give our teachers and staff the “royal treatment” this week:  
  • Monday, May 8th: Fan Mail– Shower your teachers with fan mail! Write a note or card with written words of why you are a fan of them.
  • Tuesday, May 9th:  Selfie and Autographs Day- ask your teachers for their autographs and get a selfie with them. Email the pic to that person. 
  • Wednesday, May 10th: Sweet Movie Treats- Offer a sweet treat for a teacher (boxed candies like at the movies, red vines, etc).
  • Thursday, May 11th: Salty Movie Snacks – Bring a salty snack for a teacher (their favorite popcorn, chips, etc.)
  • Friday, May 12th: Oscar Awards– Award your teacher with something that you enjoy and share with them why you enjoy it! 

• “Ghosted” Kaiser Play and Workshop: 9th grade students will be participating in a two-part mental health and resilience program provided through Kaiser Permanente’s Thriving School Resilience in Schools Environment (RISE) initiative. They will be audience members for a play called “Ghosted” on Wednesday, May 3rd and will participate in a virtual workshop on Thursday, May 4th. Find out more about “Ghosted” and RISE here.
• Parent Office Hours: We will have parent office hours on Thursday, 5/4 at 4:30 pm at this zoom link. Please join us for any questions or updates, or just to chat! 
• Prom is this Friday, May 5th at 6:00 at the Proud Bird. Contact Kat Ramos at kramos@davincischools.org. We look forward to having a fun and safe evening event.

Week 33 Schedule

Da Vinci Science students were greeted by Cal Pol President Armstrong

El Camino College Visit 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Wednesday, 5/3: “Ghosted” Kaiser Play for 9th grade
• Thursday, 5/4: Kaiser Virtual Workshop for 9th grade
• Thursday, 5/4: Parent Office Hours on Zoom at this link at 4:30pm
• Friday, 5/5: PD Day, Prom at 6:00pm
• Thursday, 5/11: Senior Awards Night
• Thursday, 5/18: School Site Council Meeting #4
• Thursday, 6/8: DVS Graduation at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link
• First Day of School for 23-24 school year will be August, 14th. 

 

 

We had another great week here at DVS! Time is flying by as we are already heading into week 32! We are very proud of our students for still learning well. They are engaged in heart dissections, moot court debates, fashion shows in Spanish, and more! We also wish our Robotics team well in Houston. They are having a great time at the FRC World Championships in Houston. Team 4201 is doing very well and is currently ranked 9th. “Takeoff” (the name of the Robot) looks smooth and zippy out there! Here’s the link to the competition if you would like to keep up with the action this weekend: https://www.thebluealliance.com/team/4201.

•  FYI this Welcome Incoming Families email was sent out to new families – welcome to DVS Class of 2027!
• Administrative Professionals Day is Wednesday, April 26th. We are grateful for our front office staff, Liz Diaz, Brittany Alvarez, and Summer Munoz.

• National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12th. If you are interested in coordinating or helping out with providing breakfast or lunch for staff this week, please let Liz know at ediaz@davincischools.org. If you are able, we are also grateful for any gift card donations to be used as prizes and purchasing of supplies for staff appreciation week (no obligation, completely voluntary). You can make ecard donations to dvsappreciation@gmail.com or drop off gift card donations to the front office. Thank you in advance for your support! 
• A message from the Wiseburn Education Foundation: Wiseburn Education Foundation’s Rock Around the Block, coming up on April 29th at Dana Middle School. Did you know that WEF runs a Rock Around the Block silent auction, which is live right now? You can log on to WEF’s auction website at bit.ly/RABAuction2023 to view and bid on items such as restaurant gift cards, summer camps, museum tickets, and more! You also will not want to miss the “School Packages” category, which has items such as front-row seats for graduations and end-of-the-year concerts, principal for a day, and special experiences with your student’s favorite teachers. Bidding on items in this auction is an easy way to support WEF, because 100% of winning bids will go right back to our schools, teachers, and students. The auction ends on Saturday, April 29th at 9pm, so don’t miss out!
• 11th grade- next week is a busy week, especially for our juniors! 11th-grade students have state testing followed by a team-building Fulcrum Day and then a field trip to Cal Poly SLO College Visit or National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). We hope these experiences will be positive and helpful to their learning journey

Week 32 Schedule

Important Upcoming Dates:

• FRC Robotics World Championships in Houston: 4/19-4/23
• Tuesday and Wednesday, 4/25 and 4/26: 11th Grade State (SBAC) Testing
• Thursday, 4/27: 11th Grade Fulcrum Day
• Friday, 4/28: 11th Grade NACAC Field Trip, Cal Poly SLO Pathways Fieldtrip
• Friday, 5/5: PD Day, Prom at 6:00pm
• Thursday, 5/11: Senior Awards Night 
• DVS Graduation: Thursday, June 8th at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hello Junior Families,

I hope you had a fantastic weekend!  The Individual Post-DVS Planning Meeting for Juniors and their parent/guardian will begin May 9th and run through POL Week. The purpose of these meeting to discuss next year’s plan; including the college application process, career selection and post-high school plans.  Every Junior is expected to schedule a meeting and have at least one parent/guardian present. This meeting can be in person or via Zoom.  These meetings can also be conducted in Spanish if needed.  Mrs. Valle, Academic Counselor for the 11^th grade, and I will provide classroom presentations on 4/24/23 to prepare students for this meeting. I will post a video and slide of that  presentation on Canvas for those of you who are not at school that day.

 

Please sign up for your meeting here 

Here is a short video with an overview of the meeting agenda.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.  I look forward to meeting with each of you to discuss your Post-DVS Plans!

 

Ms. Marquez

fmarquez@davincischools.org

College Counselor

It was great to welcome everyone back from Spring Break this week!

10th-grade students started off their week with fun, team-building activities led by Fulcrum staff. The day culminated with a boat build and race in the pool. Many memorable moments were captured (PC: Stacee Liana)!

• Wiseburn Education Foundation’s Rock Around the Block is April 29th (9:30am-2:30pm)! Get a jump ahead by purchasing your food and tickets for the day. While you are planning your day, please consider volunteering for a shift. There is something for everyone! We all know that volunteers help an event run smoothly and we all want to ensure the best possible day for everyone. The links to presale tickets and volunteer sign-up can be found at www.bit.ly/WEF2023RAB.
• Since April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, we will be reviewing and reiterating the importance of consent and how to be an active bystander in next Friday’s Advisory class (4/21). Students will also be provided with resources to access support for themselves or for another student. Please feel free to reach out to Saya Wai, DVS Dean of Students, at swai@davincischools.org with questions or concerns.
• Parent Office Hours: We will have parent office hours on Thursday, 4/20 at 4:30 pm at this zoom link.
• The Reaction Research Society has invited Da Vinci Students to their 80th Anniversary Rocket and Space Symposium that is held Saturday, April 15th from 8:00-5:00. See flyer for details. Here is the link for free tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rrs-80th-anniversary-rocket-and-space-symposium-2023-tickets-573646280467 
  • 

• State Testing is fast approaching for 11th-grade students. Please see this SBAC notification to parents. 
• Senior Activities Fundraising– we are continuing our efforts to support our seniors in their senior activities. If you are able to support this, please do so through MySchoolBucks. 

 

10th Grade Fulcrum Day:

 

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Monday, 4/17: Senior Beach Day
• FRC Robotics World Championships in Houston
• Tuesday and Wednesday, 4/25 and 4/26: 11th Grade State (SBAC) Testing
• Thursday, 4/27: 11th Grade Fulcrum Day
• Friday, 4/28: 11th Grade NACAC Field Trip, Cal Poly SLO Pathways Fieldtrip
• Friday, 5/5: PD Day, Prom at 6:00pm
• Thursday, 5/11: Senior Awards Night 
• DVS Graduation: Thursday, June 8th at 5:00pm
• Summer School (for credit recovery): Session 1: June 13-June 30, Session 2: July 11-July 27
• School Calendar Link

Hello Seniors! The 5^th annual Johnstone Scholarship application is now open for Da Vinci seniors to apply!   Through the Wiseburn Education Foundation, Dr. Tom and Terry Johnstone have established a scholarship to help five Da Vinci seniors (one from each DV school site) get a little head start with their freshman year of college. Dr. Johnstone was the superintendent in Wiseburn for many years and played a significant role in envisioning and actualizing the high school.  With his support, Wiseburn Education Foundation is honored to be able to offer scholarships to high school seniors.

Applications are due Thursday April 28th, by midnight. The application link is below.

bit.ly/JohnstoneScholarship2023