Da Vinci Design

Hey Design Family!

It’s a busy and important week here at DVD! Students will be participating in both MAP Growth (MAPS) testing and CAASPP State Testing, so our schedule will look a bit different midweek. Please be sure to check the updated schedule, which will also be shared on our social media platforms.

As we head into testing, we want to remind our students that this is an opportunity to show what you know and how much you’ve grown. These assessments matter—they help us understand your progress and how we can continue to support you. Set yourself up for success: get a good night’s sleep, fuel your body, and come in ready to give your best effort. You’ve put in the work all year—now is your time to show it. We believe in you!

We also want to take a moment to celebrate last Friday’s Community Dialogue. A huge thank you to our Diversity Council for the time, care, and intention you put into planning such a meaningful experience. The message was clear and powerful: there is No Place for Hate. From the poetry to the music to the games, each element created space for reflection, connection, and community. We are proud of the voice you continue to bring to DVD.

Upcoming Events:

Monday April 20th: PAC Meeting 5pm

Tuesday April 21st: 11th Grade Getty Field Trip

Wednesday & Thursday April 22nd, 23rd: CAASPP Testing English

Thursday April 23rd: 9th/10th Grade Family College Planning Meeting 5pm

Friday April 24th: CLD

Wednesday & Thursday April 29th, 30th: CAASPP Testing Math

Friday May 1st: Professional Development Day (No Students)

Friday May 1st: Prom

Wednesday May 6th: Coffee with Admin

Let’s Go Design! Here’s to another week!!

• Pam Baker: Last names A-GL
• Nicole Tafoya: Last names Go-O
• Omar Sanchez: Last names P-Z

What an incredible moment for Da Vinci Design!

This past week/weekend, our talented Fine Arts students, alongside our amazing staff, including Mr. Kartez, traveled to Houston, Texas to participate in the world-renowned Houston Art Car Parade and Awards Ceremony. For those who may not be familiar, the Houston Art Car Parade is the largest event of its kind in the world, celebrating creativity, innovation, and artistic expression through fully transformed, moving works of art.

Artists from across the country bring their vision to life by turning everyday vehicles into bold, imaginative masterpieces, and this year, Da Vinci Design was right in the mix.

Our students didn’t just participate…they made history.

Da Vinci Design took home FIRST PLACE!!

Let that sink in.

This achievement is a true reflection of the creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit of our students and staff. From the early design concepts to the countless hours of building, refining, and problem-solving, this project embodied what we believe in at DVD: learning that is hands-on, meaningful, and rooted in real-world application.

This wasn’t just an art project. It was engineering, storytelling, teamwork, and perseverance all rolled into one incredible experience.

We are beyond proud of our students for representing Da Vinci Design on a national stage and showing what it means to think boldly and create fearlessly. A huge thank you to Mr. Kartez, Steve Wallis, Bryan Benedict, and our Fine Arts students for leading this work and seeing the efforts through to take first place.

We couldn’t be more proud.

Design Family!

Welcome to Week 30! It is also Diversity Council Spirit Week! Please see the schedule below and the upcoming events. Have a great week, Designers!

Also make sure you follow DVD events on our Instagram: dvdig

Upcoming Events:

Monday April 13th: Diversity Council Spirit Week

Friday April 17th: Diversity Council CD

Friday April 17th: Progress Reports mailed home

Monday April 20th: PAC Meeting 5pm

Wednesday & Thursday April 22nd, 23rd: CAASPP Testing English

Friday April 24th: CLD

Wednesday & Thursday April 29th, 30th: CAASPP Testing Math

Friday May 1st: Professional Development Day (No Students)

Friday May 1st: Prom

Thank you to our DVD Identity Clubs for a successful Under One Sun event! It was a success thanks to the hard work of the students and staff!

Shoutout to the Entrepreneurship Pathway students and staff! They took a field trip to Little Tokyo. They visited and analyzed businesses there!

Good Morning, Design Family!

Our Week 29 begins next Tuesday April 7th. Please see the schedule below! We hope you are enjoying your Spring Break and can’t wait to see you Tuesday!

Upcoming Events:

Monday April 6th: Last Day of Spring Break

Tuesday April 7th: 1st Day Back from Spring Break

Wednesday April 8th: Art Car Designers leave for Houston, Texas

Thursday & Friday April 9th, 10th: CAST Testing

Friday April 10th: Culture Fair presented by LSU, BSU, Diversity Council, AAPISU, QSU

Monday April 13th: Diversity Council Spirit Week

Wednesday & Thursday April 22nd, 23rd: CAASPP Testing English

Wednesday & Thursday April 29th, 30th: CAASPP Testing Math

Thursday April 30th: DVD Pathway Presentations (Blackbox)

Friday May 1st: Professional Development Day (No Students)

Friday May 1st: Prom

Here’s to a new week, Designers!

What a night at Da Vinci Design.

Our Spring Exhibition was a powerful reminder of what makes our community so special. Classrooms transformed into showcases of creativity, hallways filled with conversation and curiosity, and students stepping into the spotlight to share their thinking, their process, and their growth.

This wasn’t just a presentation of projects, it was a celebration of learning in action! Congrats to our students and staff for such a successful night!

Happy Week 28, Design Family!

We welcome you to Exhibition Week. The schedule will look a little different this week as we prep. Please see below for the schedule. We also had a successful Alumni Mixer this past Friday. Please see below for the pictures. Upcoming events as always are listed below! Here’s to a new week!

DVD Alumni! We loved seeing you last week at our DVD Alumni Mixer. Thank you, Pam Baker, for making this happen. We know the alumni had great fun and great food!

Upcoming Events:

• Mon, March 23rd: PAC Meeting 5pm VIA Zoom
• Tues, March 24th: Critical Incident Drill
• Wed, March 25th: Athletics Grade Check
• Thurs, March 26th: Exhibition Night 5:30pm-7:30pm
• Mon, March 30th-April 6th: Spring Break

Hi Design Families! It’s that time of year for our students to show off their learning and creative skills.

Here is a sneak preview of what you will be experiencing next week when you attend Exhibition Night at DVD! We will see you next Thursday, March 26th. Please join us from 5:30pm to 7:30pm to celebrate the amazing work of our students!

Here is quick preview! Thank you to all the students and teachers who are working hard to put this together:

• 9th Grade– Rethinking Transportation in LA: Getting around Los Angeles is challenging, especially in the face of The World Cup, The Super Bowl, and The Olympics on the way.  It’s even more difficult when we think of what modes of transportation to use – ebikes, scooters, ride shares, electric, hybrid or gas cars, buses or trains.  Which way, LA?  Come see how our Freshmen have rethought getting around Our Fair City, even LAX.  
  
• Jason Kartez’s Class- Da Vinci Design Fine Arts students focus on community building through collaboration by creating a moving sculpture in the form of an art car. Da Vinci Design’s art car team the  “Renaissance Roadster’s Team 4401”, present “California Dream’n” a Southern California themed car. The drivers  side of the car represents an outsiders view of Los Angeles, the beach, the sun, sports, celebrity and fame. The passenger side represents the experience of those who call Los Angeles home; community, diversity, food, social justice, graffiti, urban beauty, fires and other natural disasters. This project has been co-created with former Key Hot Wheels/ Matchbox Principle Designer for 25 years Bryan Benedict. Other collaborators and industry partners include: Jonathan Fidler Assistant Chair of Industrial Design at Otis, Joyce Mesch Assistant Chair of Toy Design at Otis, Rickey Polidore Houston Art Educator and Art Car Artist, Dave Kempken Instruction Shop Manager at the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal Poly SLO, Bobby “Z” Rodriguez, Graffiti Artist and Gallery Owner, Sara Horvet Head of Community Relations at Galpin Motors

            Sponsors Include: 

            Galpin Motors with the generous donation of a 2009 Ford Taurus 

            Gitana Cafe 

• Sally Sun’s Class- Nootropics: Reading is fundamental to brain development, cognitive growth and critical thinking. In recent years there has been a sharp decline in literacy rates among young adults, and this project stems from a strong concern for this unfortunate trend. To help bring awareness to this issue, students were tasked with selecting a book that they read during their high school years and designing new cover art for it.
• Ricardo Placencia’s Class- Our Biology students are diving into a powerful project called Rooted in Culture, where science meets culture, sustainability, and real-world application. Students are researching medicinal plants used by cultures around the world, exploring both their biological properties and their historical significance. Each student is growing their own plant in a recycled bottle, reconnecting to the resourceful practices of past generations while learning how plants can support human health. Through this project, students are also creating infographics and preparing to present their learning at Exhibition Night. By combining hands-on investigation, cultural storytelling, and scientific explanation, Rooted in Culture challenges students to think critically about our reliance on modern pharmaceuticals and the importance of preserving traditional plant knowledge.
• Grant McMullen’s Class- Juniors started their Artist Building project by choosing an existing artist and researching them and their work. After learning about their artist’s design and style, students created a blueprint of a building and used their artist’s work as inspiration in their own design. This design was then translated into a 3D model where students used paper and styrofoam to construct a 3D representation of their artist-inspired building. For the spring exhibition, we are showing the 3D models of the students’ artist inspired buildings, as well as the hand drawn, watercolored, blueprints that they are based on.
• Hannah Shier’s & Joe Campanelli’s Classes- This semester, students read The Crucible in their English class while studying the Red Scare of the 1950s in History. They explored the connections between these two units and developed studies of characters, historical individuals, and events from both to create detailed profiles and visual representations of their learning.  Utilizing their research and demonstrating their knowledge of the events and characters studied, students developed a script in the genre of historical fiction for a scene that could fit into The Crucible and fill a gap in the story.
• Christy Won’s Class- Students combined creativity and algebra in this unique exhibition project exploring inverse functions and symmetry. Using Desmos, they traced designs that represent communities they belong to—such as cultural backgrounds, neighborhoods, teams, and shared interests—by writing functions and their inverses and examining reflections across the line (y = x). They then transferred their designs onto tiles, transforming digital work into tangible art. This project highlights students’ ability to connect mathematical concepts with personal identity, resulting in thoughtful pieces that reflect both their math skills and their communities.
• Dan Centofanti’s Class- Equilibrium: The intermediate entrepreneurship students this year have studied the game industry and have learned the basics of game theory. One of the most important concepts in game theory, Nash’s Equilibrium comes from John Forbes Nash Jr. a game theorist and Cold War policy consultant. Students utilized Nash’s equilibrium alongside their newfound understanding of the game industry to develop games that reciprocate ideas from their English class where they read The Crucible and their history class tackling The Red and Lavendar Scare. Students will be presenting and playing the games they created with our audiences during the exhibition night. So, come ready to play games and learn about the ethos of The Red Scare.

Design Families, we hope to see you here!