This week, starting tomorrow, DVD students will be taking their school photos. Please remind students to come ready to have their pictures taken on the following days:
9th and 10th grade: Thursday, August 18th (Tomorrow!)
11th and 12th grade: Friday, August 19th
Note: A make-up picture day for students who are absent will be announced soon. Pictures will be available for purchase, and a link will be announced and shared here on the school blog when it is available.
Welcome to the first day of the 2022-23 school year! Please review the flyers for student pick-up and drop-off procedures. Remember to give yourself enough time to maneuver through the parking lot. We look forward to seeing you today and the start of the new year!
We are excited to start the 2022-2023 school year with you next Monday, August 15th. We will start at our new time of 8:40am on the first day of school. Please note that the schedule posted in an earlier blog post has been corrected.
Per Da Vinci Design tradition on the first day of school, students will gather outside to meet their teachers, join in a school assembly, and walk up to the fourth floor together.
We hope to see you for our webinar for returning families – starting in a few moments!
WDV athletics is excited to welcome cheer as part of the program. If you’re interested in learning about the cheer program, there is a meeting on Friday Aug. 12 at 6pm in the skybox of the gym. This is a meeting for both parents and athletes.
Are you interested in trying out for the WDV cheer program? If you are, below are the dates, times and location.
All tryouts will take place in the WDV gym.
Tuesday Aug. 16th – 6pm to 8pm
Wednesday Aug. 17th – 6pm to 8pm
Thursday Aug. 18th – 6pm to 8pm
Friday Aug. 19th – 6pm to 8pm
Saturday Aug. 20th – 8am to 1pm (1 hour for lunch)
We’re excited to welcome 50 new teachers, counselors and support staff to the Da Vinci family. We are honored that so many talented individuals have chosen to make Da Vinci their new home. For some, they are Da Vinci alumni or recent graduates of Da Vinci’s in-house teacher residency program in partnership with the Alder University Graduate School of Education. All total, Da Vinci has 25 alumni employed across our organization.
Da Vinci Schools invests significant resources into supporting new and returning educators who receive approximately 23 days of professional development (PD) each year, including two weeks of training in August at the start of the new school year.
Last week, new teachers from across Da Vinci came together for a full day of new teacher orientation and professional development support with mentor educators from Da Vinci Institute, Da Vinci’s professional learning center. New teachers played team building games, toured all schools, and were introduced to Da Vinci’s signature programs and practices.
With all new and returning educators back at their individual school sites, the focus has been on reflection and goal setting, logistics, project-based and real world learning planning, curriculum building, special education, assessment, school culture, social-emotional learning, restorative justice, addressing equity and opportunity gaps, advisory planning, dual enrollment, all grade level and job-alike planning, and much more. There’s also been plenty of time for fun community building activities and getting spaces ready for students.
This year, teachers and students are transitioning to a new learning management system known as Canvas. Canvas syncs with PowerSchool, our student information system, and is what most colleges use giving students a head-start on knowing how to access course materials and other resources.
Da Vinci is continuing to expand our pool of dedicated educators and support staff. Check out our current openings here. We are so excited to start the new school year! Together, we are preparing students to lead, innovate, and thrive in the modern world.
For students interested in jobs:
The LA County America’s Job Center will be hosting a Job Fair in South LA, on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 from 1 to 4 pm. To register, please visit this flyer. It is highly suggested to bring several copies of your resume to share with prospective employers!
For students interested in mental health opportunities: The Fall 2022 Teen Line Training application is available now. As a volunteer for Teenline, you would be helping to take calls and text messages from teens that are going through life challenges. For the Fall training period, Teenline will only accept applications from teens going into the 9th and 10th grade, with the minimum age of 14, living in or near the Los Angeles area. Please visit this link and click on “Apply Now” to be directed to the online volunteer application portal. Applications and references are due before 1pm on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
For students interested in science and engineering: The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program places high school students in Department of Navy (DoN) laboratories where they take part in real Naval research for 8 weeks during the summer. SEAP is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors interested in STEM. Students have the opportunity to learn about Naval research and technology while receiving first-class mentoring by top scientists and engineers. SEAP is a competitive program with around 300 placements in more than 30 labs around the country. Interns are selected based upon academic achievement, personal statements, recommendations, and career and research interests. Learn more here. Click here to apply. Applications close November 2.
For students interested in financial literacy and managing money: Co-founders of Latinas Talking Dinero, are hosting financial literacy virtual workshops that incorporate their lived experiences as Latinas and first-generation college students. They teach financial literacy through an anti-racist lens and cover tops such as the wage gap, credit and interest, and financial trauma. Youth (up to 24 years old) are invited to attend for FREE. Virtual workshops start on Wednesday, August 24. Register here.
I hope you all are having a fun, safe, and restful summer. We are officially one week away from the new school year, and we are so excited to be back! Our staff is back on campus and hard at work preparing to welcome students back for an excellent year.
For important updates and reminders for the 2022-2023 school year, click here to check out the “DVD New School Year FAQs for Families” page. You can find highlights of important upcoming dates below.
Also, Assistant Principal Takeyama and I would like to welcome all returning families to a “Welcome Back” webinar on Thursday, August 11th at 5pm. We will share updates on “what’s new” this year at DVD, from our new schedule to some refreshers on important school policies. Use this link:
Welcome back families! We look forward to making this year the best one yet!
Russell Stoll
DVD Principal
(Note: updated info including the 2022-2023 calendar, our new weekly schedule, and New Family Info can also be found in the “Resources” section to the right.)
The first day of school is Monday, August 15th, 2022. Students will meet their teachers outdoors, begin the day in Advisory, and will receive their class schedules in Advisory. PowerSchool access is temporarily locked while we upload student schedules. This is the DVD Week One Bell Schedule:
For the 2022-2023 school year, the high schools at 201 N. Douglas are adopting new start times. The start time for Da Vinci Design is 8:40am Monday-Thursday and the traditional “late start” for Friday is 9:45am. The new end time for the school day in 3:45pm each day.
DVD’s new family orientation meetings are happening this week! To RSVP for one of the new family orientations happening this week, please use this link or access the DVD New School Year FAQs for Families page (see above).
DVD Picture Day is happening during the first week of school on August 18th and 19th.
DVD plans to host Back-to-School Night on the fourth week of school on Thursday September 8th. More details to follow.
For updates every week, keep checking back here at the DVD blog!
I hope you are enjoying the last weeks of summer break. Please see the announcements below:
For students interested in receiving academic credit for their internships:
Students who are interested in receiving 5 academic credits for summer internships/volunteer opportunities, must fill out the Unpaid Internship Agreement and submit a timesheet that demonstrates the completion of 60 hours of service. The Agreement must be turned in before the start of the internship/volunteer opportunity. The timesheet is due August 6, 2022. Please email all documents to Ms. Rodriguez at crodriguez@davincischools.org.
For students interested in art, film, and animation:
The El Segundo Public Library encourages all individuals who live, work and/or play in El Segundo to submit artwork for Summertime, Summertime: A Community Juried Art Exhibition! This art show will feature 2-dimensional artwork, including painting, photography, photo collage, photomontage, collage, drawing, printmaking, etc. that celebrates summer. For information on how to submit your artwork, please click here.
Dreamworks Animation is hosting a Summer Speaker Series from August 8 – August 12 where students will learn about roles in animation, succeeding in the industry, and more. Register here.
For students interested in social change:
The Alliance for Girls is hosting a community-building and healing-oriented event for youth leaders seeking to bring safety to school to address sexual harassment. Alliance for Girls is co-hosting this event with Unity Council to prepare both youth and adult advocates for a new school year prioritizing policies and programs that help sexual assault/harassment survivors. Attendees will also hear from representatives from the Equal Rights Advocate and the Unity Council. The event will be an entirely virtual event and will take place on Saturday, August 6. It is open to all youth and youth champions. $15 Visa Gift cards will be provided to youth 24 and under who RSVP and attend the event. RSVP Here.
For students interested in jobs: The LA County America’s Job Center will be hosting a Job Fair in South LA, on Wednesday, August 31, 2022 from 1 to 4 pm. To register, please visit this flyer. It is highly suggested to bring several copies of your resume to share with prospective employers!
For students interested in science and engineering:
The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program places high school students in Department of Navy (DoN) laboratories where they take part in real Naval research for 8 weeks during the summer. SEAP is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors interested in STEM the opportunity to learn about Naval research and technology while receiving first-class mentoring by top scientists and engineers. SEAP is a competitive program with around 300 placements in more than 30 labs around the country. Inters are selected based upon academic achievement, personal statements, recommendations, and career and research interests. Click here to learn more. Click here to apply.
