Archive for April 30, 2020

Helpful Handouts For Families

Dear Design Families,

If you are finding that learning from home has been a challenge for your students, you are not alone, and we are here to support you. Please see the attached resources from our school psychologist, Lynn Rodriguez, if you are looking for helpful strategies for students who are:

Lynn offers her support, saying, “It is clear that for some homes, students doing work and logging on is not an independent task, but one that requires the family to support, encourage, and rally.”

We are in it together, Design families! If you would like other resources similar to these, feel free to reach out to Lynn at:
lrodriguez@davincischools.org

Headspace App Free for LA Country Residents

Hello DVD Parents and Students,

Headspace is a great resource for you and students during this time and they are offering its services for free to all LA County Residents. At Headspace, they like to think of meditation as exercise for the brain. Through meditation, we can build up areas of our brain and actually rewire it to enhance positive traits like focus and decision making and diminish the less positive ones like fear and stress. Most importantly, this means there is a possibility to change your brain for the better in a way that is long-lasting.

There are thousands of studies that have shown mindfulness meditation can positively impact mental and physical health. Whether it’s by reducing stress, improving sleep, increasing focus, or improving relationships, research shows mindfulness works. While the research on mindfulness, especially digital mindfulness programs, is still growing, there is evidence to support the use of mindfulness training for many outcomes.

Here is the link to get started: https://www.headspace.com/lacounty

Teacher Appreciation Week May 4th-8th

Greetings Design Students & Families,

Next week (May 4th-8th) is Teacher Appreciation Week! Please take a moment to celebrate as many of our fantastic teachers as possible with a short written message of appreciation. Your words of gratitude and encouragement for the Design staff will mean the world to them. Teachers help uplift us every day, and we are grateful to you for taking the time to help lift them up during this special week!

You can also share your gratitude with our teachers next week when they call to check up on their students next week during Student Outreach Days (5/4-5/5).

Want to do something EXTRA special to show our staff that you care? Make a video! Make a TikTok, recite a poem, or just share your smiling faces addressed to all of your teachers and send it to us!

Messages and videos will be collected on Monday, 5/4. Don’t delay – send them in now!

If you would like to send a short video message to all of your teachers, please record it and send it to cnoyola@davincischools.org – thanks!

Stay safe and be well, Designers.

Russell Stoll

Updated Calendar and Student Outreach Days

Hello DVD families,

We have updated our calendar for the final weeks of the school year. Next week, we will be starting off with Student Outreach Days! On Monday, May 4th, and Tuesday, May 5th, teachers will be contacting students individually. We miss seeing our students on campus and are looking forward to checking in to see how things are going. During these two days, there will not be any class meetings. Students can use this time to catch up on assignments. We will also be mailing out grade updates early next week. The last day of instruction will take place on Wednesday, May 27th.

Week 32-38

Sincerely,

Veronica Rodriguez

 

 

Summer Programs at Seattle University

Hello DVD Students and Parents,

This year Seattle University Summer Programs is offering two pre-collegial summer programs for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. The Albers Summer Business Institute (business entrepreneurship) provides 2 college credits for students who complete the required coursework. Seattle University AI4All (criminal justice and artificial intelligence) is a longer program that provides 3 college credits for students who complete the required coursework. Holistic Merit Scholarships are available to help cover the cost of tuition based on certain criteria. 

In response to safety and wellness concerns due to COVID-19, Seattle University Summer Programs has moved all courses to virtual learning. This includes their pre-collegial programs. Fortunately, Seattle University has over 10 years of experience in delivering high quality digital learning for students. Both pre-collegial programs will provide opportunities for self-paced learning, experiential projects and real-time engagement with our faculty and undergraduate program mentors.

With the change in learning platform to virtual learning, they are providing a general application deadline of May 30, 2020. The scholarship application is included with the general application materials online at:https://www.seattleu.edu/summer/pre-collegiate-summer-camps/

For specific information check out this flyer: Seattle University Summer Programs

Da Vinci Design announces FREE SAT/ACT practice tests online with The Princeton Review

We have an exciting opportunity for Da Vinci Design students! The Princeton Review is offering FREE online practice tests for both the SAT and for the ACT. This opportunity is available for ALL grade levels.

 

ACT Online Practice Test

SAT Online practice test

For more information and registration on a free ACT practice test administered on May 16th, please click here
For more information and registration for a free SAT practice test administered on May 30th, please click here

Please contact your counselors if you have any questions.

The DVD Counseling Team

 

 

DVX Informational Meeting for Seniors

Hello Da Vinci Seniors, Parents, and Guardians,

Applications are open for Da Vinci Extension (DVX)– the program that exclusively allows Da Vinci students to receive FREE COLLEGE! All tuition, fees, books, and class materials are PAID FOR– there are no requirements, no test scores, and no GPA minimum!
How to Apply:

To submit an online application, please click on this hyperlink— we’ll get in touch with you soon thereafter to schedule an introductory appointment!

  • COVID-19 application update– *We have extended the deadline to May 8, 2020, and we will be flexible in our application and admission process on a case-by-case basis.*

Virtual Information Meetings:

Wednesday, April 29, 2020, and Friday, May 1, 2020, from 6:30 to 7:30pm via Zoom. Use this hyperlink to get there! (The password is: DVX)

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Sylvia Soria at ssoria@davincischools.org.

See you soon!

DVX Staff

Virtual Instruction Grading Options

Dear DVD Families,

In order to help all of our students and families understand the changes we’ve made to our grading policies for this semester, we have created these videos explaining the changes and the options we are providing to students:

English version: https://youtu.be/GZ4U0TzaiaM

Spanish version: https://youtu.be/3PmlM2XgMHA

The detailed letters previously posted are also linked here:

Virtual Instruction Grading Options (English)

Virtual Instruction Grading Options (Spanish)

If a student would like to switch to the Credit / No Credit grade scale for this semester, please have the student complete this form: Request to Switch to Credit / No Credit Grade Scale

Please feel free to contact our counselors or school administrators if you have any questions or concerns.

Ms. Pam Baker, Counselor, pbaker@davincischools.org

Ms. Rachel Fusco, Counselor, rfusco@davincischools.org

Ms. Veronica Rodriguez, Principal, vrodriguez@davinicschools.org

Mr. Russell Stoll, Assistant Principal, rstoll@davincischools.org

Sincerely,

Veronica

 

« Older Entries