Da Vinci Science

We hope all students enjoyed the PD day off today and have a Happy Veteran’s Day! We thank all of our veterans and their families for their service to our country. Enjoy the four-day weekend!

Last week, the Vitruvian Bots did an amazon job at the Beach Blitz Robotics Competition. The robot, Gridlock, made it to the playoffs, hundreds of team buttons were passed out, and the team won the Judge’s Award! This award is given to a team whose unique efforts, performance, and/or dynamics deserve special recognition. Way to go, Vitruvian Bots! 

Even though it was a short week, it was still a busy week. Seniors in the Rock the Street, Wall Street program visited Cetera, a financial services company, to learn more about careers in finance. Rock the Street, Wall Street is a non-profit organization that empowers women in finance to explore opportunities, mentorships, and internships. Through the program, students participated in a series of workshops on the DVS campus that were taught by volunteers from Cetera.

We also had our first DVS Parent Association this past Wednesday. We are grateful for our parent community and looking forward to continued teamwork to support our school. Parents are always welcome to join and participate in DVS Parent Association meetings. Please reach out to Julia Ehlers (parent volunteer) for more information.

Announcements for Week 14 (11/13-11/17)

• Progress Reports: Staff update grades on PD days in order for grades to be up-to-date by the following week. Since Thursday, 11/9 was the PD day of the semester, progress reports will be mailed out during Week 15. Please continue to reference Canvas for all coursework and grading information.

• • Student and Parent/Guardian Canvas Link: https://davincischools.instructure.com
  • Additional Canvas resources are available at the bottom of the Academics page on our blog.
• Wellness Screener: In an effort to be more proactive in supporting students’ mental health, a wellness screener will be given on November 14th to all DVS students to identify students who may need support. Results from the screener will be used by the counselors to offer students interventions such as coping skills groups, counselor check-ins, and referrals for therapy.
  • Scores will not be shared with students or parents. Parent/guardian consent is required if a student is referred to receive counseling services delivered by Antioch, Pepperdine, or Luminarias therapists. If you would like your child to OPT-OUT and NOT PARTICIPATE in the screener, please fill out this form by Monday, November 13th.

• Thanksgiving Staff Gratitude Baskets: We will be continuing our tradition of showing appreciation to staff through Thanksgiving Gratitude Baskets. Each staff member will receive one basket containing things they like and words of appreciation from students and parents/guardians. Baskets will be delivered on November 17th. If you wish to contribute to the Gratitude Baskets, here are some ways you can do that!
  • Items: Please consider using this list of the DVS staff’s favorite things for ideas to purchase gifts for specific staff members. If you’d like to make a general contribution to be shared amongst the whole staff, you can send an e-gift card to dvsappreciation@gmail.com. Your gift will be used to purchase items for the baskets and your name will be included with the baskets.
  • Words of Appreciation: There is nothing that means more to school staff than words of appreciation or encouragement! Please consider handwriting a note of thanks.
  • Any items or notes for the Gratitude Baskets can be dropped off in the front office between today and Thursday, November 16th. We will be looking for parent volunteers during the week of 11/13-11/17. If you are available and willing to help, please reach out to our Office Manager, Liz Diaz at ediaz@davincischools.org. Thank you for your support! 

• Youth & Government Conference: The Da Vinci Delegation will be at the Youth & Government Camp Roberts Training Conference from 11/9-11/12. We are excited for them and wish them luck!
• School Apparel: Da Vinci is launching a new Apparel and Merchandise store that will be open for a limited pre-order period on MySchoolBucks until Sunday, November 19th at 11:59pm! Place your order today through MySchoolBucks. Once the pre-ordered items are produced, they will be delivered to each school site for distribution through the front office.
• SAT/PSAT Scores: SAT scores for 12th grade students were released on November 1st and PSAT scores for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students will be available on November 6th. Students are/will be able to access their scores through their College Board account at this link. PDFs of score reports will also be mailed home along with progress reports. Here are some resources to understand scores:
  • PSAT 8/9 (9th Grade) Understanding Scores for Students and Families
  • PSAT/NMSQT (10th & 11th Grade) Understanding Scores for Students and Families
  • SAT (12th Grade) Understanding Scores and More SAT Score Resources

Week 14 Schedule (11/13-11/17)

Important Upcoming Dates:

• Friday, 11/10: No School, Veterans Day 
• Monday-Friday, 11/20-11/24 Thanksgiving Break
• Monday-Thursday, 12/18-12/21: POL/Finals Minimum Day Schedule with 2:25pm dismissal
• Semester ends December 21st

Rock the Street, Wall Street Field Trip:

Vitruvian Bots at Beach Blitz: