Archive for 10 Grade

Student Led Conference Dates (March 11-March 14)

Good Morning Designers and Design Families,

We are getting ready for Student Led Conferences (aka: SLCs) in a few weeks! SLCs are an important time when parents and teachers come together for a meeting led by the student. It is a time to highlight a student’s strengths and hard work, to encourage students to set new goals, and to ask guiding questions so students can take ownership of their learning. We look forward to having you on campus!

Every student is expected to participate in leading an SLC this semester with a parent / guardian present. SLCs happen in-person and on campus. Having a family member present is an important part of the process. Thank you for doing your part and showing up for your child for their SLC!

Student Led Conferences (SLCs): Grade Level Resources

Please see the letter to families here for more details about SLCs. This letter was sent home with progress reports, and has helpful reminders about SLCs for parents/guardians.

Schedule reminder: We have minimum days Mon-Thurs (3/11-3/14) during SLC week. Students will be released at 1:45pm. Friday (3/15) will be a Professional Development day for teachers and school will not be in session.

Seminar Offerings for Spring 2024 Semester

Seminar Offerings for Spring 2024: Please click the link below to see the Seminar classes being offered for the Spring 2024 semester!

Students will sign up for second semester seminars Wednesday, 1/17 – Friday, 1/19:

  • Wed, 1/17 during Advisory (8:40am-9:25am): 12th grade Seminar Sign-Ups
  • Thurs, 1/18 during Flex Block (8:40am-9:25am): 11th then 10th grade Seminar Sign-Ups
  • Fri, 1/19 during English 9 (P1 + P3): 9th grade Seminar Sign-Ups

IMPORTANT: Listings will be updated at the end of each day as classes fill up. Students should come prepared with three choices in mind in the event that their first choice class is full. Students should also be aware that some seminars require an application to be enrolled, and students may be pre-enrolled in some seminars that may not be listed here.

Week 17 Preview: POLs Next Week

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

This week at DVD, we wrapped up with lots of holiday cheer and fun at our annual Holiday Community Dialogue event in the gym! We played a ton of great games like antler ring toss, a holiday themed edition of “junkyard”, and we even had a gingerbread house building competition… until the Grinch stopped, by but even he couldn’t ruin the holiday spirit. We also called up our December All-Stars. We will continue our holiday fun during Week 18 when we invite students and staff to participate in a holiday spirit week. See below for photos of our Holiday CD games and our holiday spirit week!

Presentations of Learning (POLs) are next week! POLs are performance based assessments which give students the opportunity to develop their speaking and presentation skills, and they give students space to reflect publicly on their learning. Because these are formal presentations, students are expected to wear formal attire. Any student in need of formal attire, please contact the front office and we will be happy to accommodate.

POL Treats for Teachers: Sign Up Here

While our students are preparing and presenting the learning they’ve achieved over the semester, our teachers are hard at work viewing and scoring those presentations. For teachers, this also means long, 8 hour days being a part of panels.

One way that we show appreciation for our teachers during these long days is keeping them fed and caffeinated. And we would love your help!

If you would like to donate snacks, treats, and coffee to our teachers, please use the sign-up to tell us what you will be dropping off.

Click here to sign up to bring a treat for teachers during POL week! Thanks!

Here is the Bell Schedule for upcoming POL Weeks 17 & 18:

  • Early release of students at 1:45pm each day
  • *Special start on Friday, Friday Dec. 15th at 8:40am*

Special 9th Grade Exhibition: Wednesday, December 20th 5:30pm-6:30pm

On Wednesday, December 20, 2023 from 5:30 – 6:30 our 9th grade students and teachers will be hosting a special Exhibition on-campus at 201 N. Douglas! Students will display and present their lamp projects, narratives, and artwork that they have been working hard on for their first semester POLs. The theme of this project is to develop and share a deeper understanding of the experience of people who are migrants and refugees. See the flyer below – and hope to see you there!

Winter Music Student Showcase: Tuesday, Dec. 12th at 6:30pm *NOW AT THE WDV GYM*

Due to the excitement and enthusiasm from our theater show this past Tuesday (and the incredibly high turnout they generated!), we have a major last-minute change to the venue for our Music Winter Showcase. It will still be on Tue, 12/12 but will now take place in the WDV GYM at 201 N. Douglas St. Doors are at 6pm, and the show will start at 6:30pm. See you there!

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

  • Thursday, Dec. 14th – Thursday, Dec. 21st: Presentations of Learning (POLs) – MINIMUM DAYS
  • Tues, Dec. 19th + Wed, Dec. 20th: POL Therapy Dogs On-Campus
  • Wed, Dec. 20th: 9th Grade POL Exhibition: Lamps
  • Thursday, Dec. 21st: Last Day of Semester One
  • Friday, Dec. 22nd: Report Cards Mailed Home
  • Friday, Dec. 22nd – Monday, Jan. 15th: Winter Break (No School)
  • Tues, Jan. 16th: First Day of Semester Two

Week 16 Campus Highlight: Holiday Community Dialogue

 

Community Paint Day, Thanksgiving Holiday and Week 15 Preview

Hello Designers and Design Families!

What an exciting week! Exhibition, boat races, field trips, Alumni Day, CD, paint day – so much great stuff happening at Design this week. Truly feeling so grateful to be part of a learning community that does so much to bring the learning outside of the classroom.

Today, we held an all-day event at DVD: Community Paint Day! Community Paint Day at DVD is the culmination of a partnership with Arts Bridging the Gap and the DVD Diversity Council. The day was be centered around painting a 10’x10′  mural designed in collaboration with DVD’s Diversity Council students, and resident artists/muralists Noah and Georgia, who met over eight sessions do discuss themes of diversity and inclusion which would be the basis of the mural. The day started with a schoolwide community dialogue assembly in the gym hosted by the DVD Diversity Council. Then, students from all grade levels spent the rest of the day in the BlackBox theater space painting the mural under the guidance of our resident muralists. And, a representative from Hart House stopped by to provide gift cards to recognize students working on the mural. It was a great day full of celebration and community, and a great way to send our students off to the holiday break! See pictures below!

The first day of school after the break will be Monday, November 27th – here is the Week 15 bell schedule:

THANK YOU PARENTS AND FAMILIES!

We want extend a BIG THANK YOU to all of the DVD families who made contributions to our DVD staff gratitude baskets; thanks to all of you for donating time, treats, and messages of gratitude to our staff to help send them off on a much deserved break with a little something to let them know how appreciated they are. We love our DVD families! And, we wish all of you a restful, safe, and fun holiday break!

DV Schools Blood Drive on November 29th:
The UCLA Blood and Platelet Center will be coming onto our 201 N. Douglas campus on Wednesday, November 29th from 9am-2pm in the Black Box. Students will be called out of class to donate blood if they are registered and have proper consent forms. See the flyer below for more details, including a QR code where students can register.

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

  • Nov. 20th – Nov. 24th: NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Holiday Break
  • Wednesday, November 29th: DV Schools + UCLA Health Blood Drive
  • Friday, December 1st: Progress Reports Mailed Home
  • Thursday, Dec. 14th – Thursday, Dec. 21st: Presentations of Learning (POLs) – MINIMUM DAYS
    • Early release of students at 1:45pm each day
    • *Special start on Friday, Friday Dec. 15th at 8:40am*
  • Thursday, Dec. 21st: Last Day of Semester One

Week 14 Highlight: Community Dialogue and Paint Day Hosted By Diversity Council

Congrats Designers on Fall Exhibition!

Congratulations 10th and 12th Grade Designers!

Fall 2023 Exhibition was a huge success! Your boats floated, your galleries were glowing, and your murals highlighted so much joy. You went above and beyond this year, and you have made your school community so proud!

See a photo gallery here from your Fall 2023 Exhibition:

Week 13 Preview

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

This week was full of seasonal fun – from spooky lab experiments in Chemistry class to ofrenda building in Spanish class. Our students really had something each day to look forward to this past week at DVD. And, it was so much fun having our annual Halloween costume contest during lunch on Tuesday! Shout out to our winners – see a few photos below!

This week, also had our November edition of “Coffee with Admin”, where parents/guardians can meet with the admin team at DVD to hear updates and ask questions about all things DVD. Our agenda for this month’s edition was 1) Campus Updates & Highlights, 2) Upcoming Calendar Events, 3) Tardy and Absence Updates, 4) Red Ribbon Week: Key Resources, 5) Q&A. If you were not able to attend but would like to see a few campus, you can click here to find the slides from our November Coffee with Admin. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, December 6th.

See the Bell Schedule for Week 12 here, as well key dates and events below:

Upcoming Dates and Events:

  • Thursday, 11/9: NO SCHOOL – STAFF DEVELOPMENT
  • Friday, 11/10: NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day Holiday
  • Tuesday, 11/14: 12th and 10th Grade Exhibition Night
    • 10th Grade: 3pm-5pm
    • 12th Grade: 5:30pm-7:30pm
  • Friday, 11/17: Diversity Council Community Dialogue & Community Paint Day
  • 11/20-11/24: NO SCHOOL – Thanksgiving Holiday Break

Week 12 Campus Highlight – Halloween Costume Contest!

Week 12 Preview

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

This week at Da Vinci Schools, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week. There were several events on campus to bring awareness to and share resources about drug prevention awareness and health. The theme was “Be Kind To Your Mind”. Especially with Halloween around the corner, we ask all of our students to be safe and make good choices as they engage in holiday festivities and social gatherings. If you would like to review any of the resources shared, please click here.

We are excited to celebrate Halloween on our campus next week with a special dress up spirit day on Tuesday! Please help remind all students that while costumes are encouraged, students are not allowed to bring prop weapons, full face masks, or excessive gore/blood. All costumes must be school appropriate, and students not in costume must adhere to dress code. We will be having a costume contest at lunch in the outdoor quad for the most creative costumes!

Here is the bell schedule for Week 12 at Da Vinci Design:

Upcoming Dates and Events:

  • Wednesday, 11/1: Coffee With Admin!
  • Thursday, 11/9: NO SCHOOL – STAFF DEVELOPMENT
  • Friday, 11/10: NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day Holiday
  • Tuesday, 11/14: 12th Grade Exhibition Night

Please Help DVD Welcome New Admin Services Manager

Hello Designers and Design Families,

Please join us in giving a big DVD welcome to Vannessa Ramos, our new Administrative Services Manager! Ms. Ramos started with us this week as part of our front office team. Parents/Guardians: there is a good chance that when you call DVD, it will be Ms. Ramos you are speaking to – so please say “hello” and make her feel welcome at our school.

From now on, please email Vannessa Ramos at vramos@davincischools.org for anything related to: excusing absences, excusing tardies, records requests, withdrawing students, or verification of education forms. She will be happy help!

Ms. Brianna Castaneda, formerly in this front office role, is staying with the DVD family and transitioning to her new role as Intervention Specialist in student support services.

One additional note: thank you to all of you who have completed the biannual family survey via Kelvin! We moved to a new platform this year, so please double-check your spam/junk folders, to make sure that you do not miss out on this important feedback opportunity. Your positive feedback helps us stay competitive amongst the best schools in Los Angeles and California! And, your honest constructive feedback helps us grow.

Thank you families and have a great rest of your week!

—DVD Admin Team

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