Archive for November 8, 2017

Our First Day at the Wiseburn High School Campus

It was a phenomenal first day at our new home! It was awesome to see the students enjoying the beautiful new space and learning in a true 21st century atmosphere.

While the day inside the building was wonderful, we recognize that traffic during drop off and pickup was difficult today and appreciated everyone’s patience, especially this afternoon, as we learn how to best navigate this at our new home. We are working on several possible plans to help relieve the congestion at pickup and drop off times, including meeting with El Segundo police tomorrow to discuss potential options.

Regardless of what measures we take to improve the flow of traffic during drop-off and pick-up, the reality of 1400 students being picked up and dropped off in a short window of time will always be difficult. You can help this situation by:

  • carpooling
  • dropping off your students earlier in the morning
  • picking up your students later in the day
  • encouraging your students to use public transportation
  • having students walk, ride bikes, skateboards, scooters, etc. to campus

We appreciate your patience and support as we work to provide your students with the best education possible!

Week 12 Update – First Days at the New Campus!

Designers, we cannot wait to welcome you into the new building on Wednesday 11/8.  Our staff has been working hard since Friday to prepare the space for our students to arrive. It is such a beautiful space, but it doesn’t feel complete without YOU!

All families should have received a mailer at home with crucial information about the new campus and the first few days. You can also find all of this information on the blog if you view previous posts.

A few reminders for Wednesday:

  • DVD students should arrive no later than 8:50, ready to find their advisory teacher and head into the building when instructed to do so.
  • Students will all gather in the outdoor area behind the building (on the west side of the building) prior to the start of the day. They will eventually find their advisory teacher and then be dismissed by grade level to head into the building with their class.
  • Once students get to the Design (4th) floor, they will go to their advisor’s classroom, drop off their things, and get about 10-15 minutes to explore the Design floor (no others at this time).
  • After exploring, students will attend advisory from 9:25-9:45 to receive a copy of their schedule with updated room numbers and a map, as well as other pertinent information for the day (stair usage, lunch info, etc.).
  • Students will then follow the bell schedule below for the remainder of the day, and will have a similar schedule on Thursday 11/9.

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There is NO SCHOOL on Friday 11/10 in observance of the Veteran’s Day holiday.

Also please note, the last day of seminar is Thursday, 11/9 for this semester at DVD.

The following week is EXHIBITION which will take place on Thursday 11/16 from 6-8 pm. We look forward to seeing families and community members there!

 

Welcome Message from Dr. Wunder, CEO, Da Vinci Schools

Dear Da Vinci Students (and Families):

This is it!  We are so excited to see you enter your new high schools in the brand new Wiseburn High School building for the very first time–ever. Wednesday will be a historic day!

Your community has long wanted a world-class campus that better enables you to develop the essential knowledge and real-world skills you’ll need to be prepared to live a happy and successful life. As you well know, COLLABORATION is one of our most essential habits/skills that we believe are critical for you to master. It has been these collaborative skills, along with tens of thousands of thoughtful, effective, gritty and generous acts over many years by countless people, that have made your brand new $160 million, 21st-century school, a reality.

There are still a few items needing to be completed over the coming months in the main Wiseburn building — and the field, gym and aquatics center will complete the campus for the 2018-19 school year.

We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday!

All the best,

Matt Wunder

CEO

Da Vinci Schools

Update #3 – Drop off, Pick Up, Map and Directions

Hello Designers, please read this post in it’s entirety as it contains very important information regarding student drop-off, pick-up and overall traffic and safety from our team! There is also a MAP at the bottom for a visual!

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Important Directions for Arrival and Dismissal for Wiseburn High School at 201 N. Douglas Street

We are all very excited about the move to our new high school facility. Our primary concern is for the safety of all of our students. During our opening year, we will still be under construction of Phase 2 of the campus which will include a future pool, soccer field and gymnasium. With a new campus and ongoing construction continuing, it is essential that all students and families follow the directions of our Campus Safety and Grounds Supervision staff that will be actively directing vehicle and pedestrian traffic each day. While we expect our traffic flow to be a great improvement from our old campuses, it will take the cooperation of everyone to make it work for all. We have staggered start and end times for each school to help ease the crunch of traffic during peak times. Please carefully read the following driving directions:

During Arrival:
All drivers for students at Da Vinci Science, Da Vinci Communications and Da Vinci Design will enter at the north driveway entrance on Douglas Street. Drivers may enter by making a right turn from the southbound lane or by making a left turn from the designated left turn yield lane from the northbound direction.
When dropping-off students in the morning, all cars will be directed towards the single drop-off lane nearest the sidewalk (in front of the construction area for the soccer field, gymnasium and Pool). This lane is for actively dropping off students; it is essential that this lane is kept moving with no lengthy goodbyes during drop-off. Students will exit their car on the right-hand side and move directly to the west towards the long sidewalk. Students will walk south along the sidewalk towards the school building. All cars will exit from the middle driveway which is r ight turn only (illegal turns will be ticketed by the El Segundo P.D.) For cars that need to head north, it is suggested to turn right on El Segundo Blvd. and right on Nash street.

Regular School Start Times (not including office hours):

· Da Vinci Science – 8:40 AM (Floor 2)
· Da Vinci Communications – 8:50 AM (Floor 3)
· Da Vinci Design – 9:00 AM (Floor 4)

Students need to arrive early enough for time to walk to their floor to avoid being late!

Parking for students is by permit only. Students may inquire about obtaining a permit at their school office. The parking area for students is located at the far north end of the parking lot, which is to the right of the entrance driveway. Permit parking tags must be displayed on rear-view mirror or on dashboard at all times.

Short-term visitor parking is available during arrival. Our grounds supervisors and campus safety personnel (wearing yellow safety-vests) will direct you to an open parking area.

During Dismissal:
All drivers for students at Da Vinci Science, Da Vinci Communications and Da Vinci Design will enter at the north driveway entrance on Douglas Street. Drivers may enter by making a right turn from the southbound lane or by making a left turn from the designated left turn yield lane from the northbound direction.
When picking up students in the afternoon: All cars will be directed towards a specific line-up area for each school (DVS, DVC or DVD). Because Da Vinci Science has the earliest dismissal time, DVS cars will be directed to the single drop-off lane (on the far right) closest to the sidewalk (in front of the construction area for the soccer field, gymnasium and Pool. This lane is only for actively picking up students that are present and waiting to be picked up. It is essential that this lane is kept moving and unblocked; no cars will be allowed to park or wait for a student that is not yet ready and waiting at the sidewalk as this would result in gridlock for all. If the student is not yet ready for pick-up, the driver will be directed to return through the parking lot to the line of cars, or to park in an available parking space. Student pick-up will only take place from the sidewalk to ensure the safety of all pedestrians. Early-arriving cars picking up students from Da Vinci Communications or Da Vinci Design will be directed to loop around into a line-up area to await the Pick-Up Time Window for their school. All cars will exit from the middle driveway which is right turn only (illegal turns will be ticketed by the El Segundo P.D.). For cars that need to head north, it is suggested to turn right on El Segundo Blvd. and right on Nash street.
School Pick-Up Time Windows (these times include enough travel time for students to walk to the dismissal area)
· Da Vinci Science – 3:35-3:45 PM
· Da Vinci Communications – 3:45-3:55 PM
· Da Vinci Design –4:00-4:10 PM
Please avoid arriving prior to your Pick-up Time Window, as this will create an unnecessary back-up of cars in the parking lot. Please don’t come early for dismissal time!

Please note that our campus is in the middle of a commercial and industrial zoned area in the City of El Segundo. All drop-offs and pick-ups of students must be done only on our campus and not on any surrounding streets or business areas. Douglas Street and El Segundo Boulevard are extremely busy and dangerous commuter thoroughfares. Students are never to be illegally dropped-off or picked-up from cars on these streets or in any private parking lot surrounding our campus. Please plan ahead so that you are you are able to keep your student and all other students safe during arrival and dismissal. For any student that requires a specialized plan due to a temporary or permanent mobility-related disability, please contact your school principal.

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