Da Vinci Design

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!
  • Zoom Link: https://davincischools-org.zoom.us/j/95960361073
  • All parents/guardians are welcome! Please attend either the 8am or 5pm session via Zoom.
• Thursday, 11/9: NO SCHOOL – STAFF DEVELOPMENT
• Friday, 11/10: NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day Holiday
• Tuesday, 11/14: 12th Grade Exhibition Night

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

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

Next week, it is SLC week at Da Vinci Design – and we are excited to have you on campus with us! 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. Every student and parent is expected to participate in leading an SLC this semester. SLCs will happen in-person. See below for SLC schedules and details.

Next week we are also celebrating Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month at Da Vinci Design with events hosted by our Latinx Student Union. We will have a spirit week where students can express and embrace pride in Latinx culture all week long. And, we will end the week with a Community Dialogue assembly (aka: “CD”) CD celebrating Latinx culture.

It is time for our biannual family and student surveys! Today, you should have received an email from a survey app called Kelvin. This is not spam! Please follow the prompt to complete an online survey from Kelvin to share your feedback on Da Vinci Design. We appreciate your time and your feedback!

Student Led Conferences (SLCs): Grade Level Resources

• 9th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Sign-Up Link (via Sign Up Genuis)
• 10th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Sign-Up Link (via Sign Up Genius)
• 11th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Schedule Link
• 12th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Schedule Link

Upcoming Dates and Events:

• Mon, 10/16 – Thurs, 10/19: Student Led Conferences (SLCs) – Minimum Days
• Mon 10/16-10/20: LATINX HISTORY MONTH SPIRIT WEEK!
  • Monday 10/16: Represent Your Flag
  • Tuesday 10/17: Jersey Day
  • Wednesday 10/18: Represent Your Favorite Latinx Artist
  • Thursday 10/19: Dress Like A Loteria Card
  • Friday 10/20: Latinx CD Cultural Wear
• Thursday, 10/19: Great CA Shake Out
• Thursday, 11/9: NO SCHOOL – STAFF DEVELOPMENT
• Friday, 11/10: NO SCHOOL – Veteran’s Day Holiday
• Tuesday, 11/14: 12th Grade Exhibition Night

October 2023 College Visits:

• Monday 10/16: LA Trade Tech College
• Tuesday 10/17: Hult International Business School
• Wednesday 10/18: College for Creative Studies
• Thursday 10/19: New York University / Arizona State University – Tempe
• Friday 10/20: UCLA
• Monday 10/23: University of Southern California
• Wednesday 10/25: Smith College
• Thursday 10/26: Syracuse University
• Friday 10/27: CSU Channel Islands

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

Next week, it’s Spirit Week! In honor of our first dance of the school year, the Phantom Formal, we are having special dress days all next week to build the hype. Tickets for the dance are $25, and are available on MySchoolBucks. Click here for the link to purchase tickets to the DV Fall dance: Phantom Formal! Sign in using your PowerSchool login information.

We are looking forward to a short but packed week!  We are preparing for the PSAT Test Day on Thursday, 10/12. Friday there is no school due to staff professional development.

We are also getting ready for Student Led Conferences (aka: SLCs) the following week (10/16-10/19)! Every student is expected to participate in an SLC presentation with a family member and a teacher. SLCs will happen on campus unless a Zoom meeting is requested. See below for SLC schedules and details.

Important Reminder from the DV Health Team: Key Facts about Influenza

Flu season is here! Our school health team, Dr. Green and Nurse T, want to remind you how to keep your child and others healthy. See the letter to families linked here and above. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and lungs. If your child is diagnosed with Influenza, please let your school health team know as we track clusters and outbreaks. All COVID cases must be reported to the school health team. To reach our Director of Health Services, email Dr. Emily Green at egreen@davincischools.org with questions or health updates regarding your child.

Lastly, thank you to all of our parents who joined us for our Coffee with Admin session on Wednesday, October 4th!  You can find the slides of what we covered here:

• October 4th 2023 Coffee with DVD Admin

Our next Coffee with Admin session will be on November 1st, Wednesday.

Here is the special schedule for Week 9 (10/9-10/13):

Student Led Conferences (SLCs): Grade Level Resources

Click links below to access SLC materials!

• 9th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Sign-Up Link (via Sign Up Genuis)
• 10th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Sign-Up Link (via Sign Up Genius)
• 11th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Schedule Link
• 12th Grade SLC Resources: Overview Letter | Schedule Link

Upcoming Dates and Events:

• Mon 10/9-10/12: SPIRIT WEEK!
  • Monday 10/9: Pajama Day
  • Tuesday 10/10: Decades Day
  • Wednesday 10/11: Soccer Mom vs. BBQ Dad
  • Thursday 10/12: Dress as You Favorite Artist (Musical Artist)
  • Friday 10/13: Phantom Formal School Dance!
• Tuesday, 10/10: Salve Regina University Rep Visit
• Wednesday, 10/11: University of the Pacific Rep Visit
• Thursday, 10/12: PSAT Day (9th/10th/11th Grade)
• Friday, 10/13: Staff Development – NO SCHOOL
• Mon, 10/16 – Thurs, 10/19: Student Led Conferences (SLCs) – Minimum Days

All DVD parents/guardians are welcome! Please join to hear about important school updates and to have the opportunity for Q&A with our DVD admin team.

Wednesday, 10/4: Coffee w/ Admin (Two Sessions: 8am & 5pm)

• Join via Zoom: https://davincischools-org.zoom.us/j/92582666969
• Agenda: 1) Campus Updates & Highlights, 2) Upcoming Calendar Events, 3) Progress Reports, 4) PowerSchool and Canvas Access, 5) Q&A

For this session, we will focus on positive school culture initiatives, and also on academic supports. We will help parents/guardians understand the different between PowerSchool and Canvas, and how to access these tools.

Hope to see you there!

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

Happy Friday! This week was another exciting week at DVD – and for our Seniors, it ended with fun and food: our 2nd Annual Multicultural Food Fair. This event is the culmination of a project done in the Ethnic Studies class at the end of their unit on identity. Students analyzed the importance of food as an expression of identity, and celebrated with a potluck where students shared appetizers, entrees and desserts important to their cultural background or ethnicity. See picture below!

Progress reports are being mailed home today, September 29th. The purpose of this is to give families the opportunity to have a snapshot of student progress, and to be able to have a conversation at home with students about how to stay successful in school. This information will also be used by teachers and counselors in their plans to support all students. Please follow up with your child’s teachers directly with any questions about assignments or grades.

If you do not receive a progress report in the mail by Friday, 10/6, please reach out by calling Da Vinci Design at 310-725-5800, or send an email Office Manager Maria Beltran at mbeltran@davincischools.org to request a digital progress report for your child.

• https://staceelianna.smugmug.com/DaVinciSchools/DVD-Picture-Day-2023

See the Bell Schedule of Week 8 here:

Student Led Conferences Coming Soon!

This is a reminder that Student Led Conferences (SLCs) for Da Vinci Design students are happening on-campus and in-person Monday, Oct. 16th through Thursday, Oct. 19th. This is a time when all parents/guardians should expect to visit campus for a meeting with their child and one grade level teacher. We are excited to share that we are updating practices to keep meetings timely, to increase teacher involvement, and to launch a new biannual survey that is faster and easier to complete. Please check the blog next week for more SLC information and schedules.

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

• Friday, 9/29: Progress Reports Mailed Home
• Tuesday, 10/3: Loyola Marymount University Rep Visit
• Wednesday, 10/4: Coffee w/ Admin (Two Sessions: 8am & 5pm)
  • All parents/guardians for DVD are welcome to join a session!
  • Join via Zoom: https://davincischools-org.zoom.us/j/92582666969
  • Please join to hear about important school updates and for Q&A with our DVD admin team! Hope to see you there!
• Wednesday, 10/4: Whittier College Rep Visit
• Tuesday, 10/10: Salve Regina University Rep Visit
• Wednesday, 10/11: University of the Pacific Rep Visit
• Thursday, 10/12: PSAT Day (9th/10th/11th Grade)
• Friday, 10/13: Staff Development – NO SCHOOL
• Mon, 10/16 – Thurs, 10/19: Student Led Conferences (SLCs) – Minimum Days

Campus Highlight: 12th Grade Multicultural Food Fair 2023 – Friday, September 29th

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

This week, we had our annual DVD Club Fair! On Thursday afternoon, we had over 20 DVD student-run clubs host booths at our club fair to get Design students excited about joining. This year our list of clubs included new clubs like Entrepreneur Club, Community and Crafts Club, Astronomy Club, and more!

Congratulations to our Design Ticket winners this week: Julian Saez, Elias Suazo, Hailey Perez and Anthony Orejel. This year, we started a new way of recognizing students by handing out Design Tickets! Anyone can get a design ticket by “getting caught” for being a great student: actions like leading by example, showing kindness, using appropriate language, or being helpful. At the end of each week, a few Design Ticket winners will be randomly selected to have their names read over the intercom and win a prize! We appreciate all of our students who show up every day as mindful, respectful, and responsible.

We also wanted to recognize a student for superior academic achievement: 12th grader Rufus Lapp. Rufus was named a Commended Student by the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students like Rufus placed among the top 50,000 students who took the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

See the Bell Schedule of Week 7 here:

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

• Friday, 9/29: Progress Reports Mailed Home
• Thursday, 10/12: PSAT Day (9th/10th/11th Grade)
• Friday, 10/13: Staff Development – NO SCHOOL
• Mon, 10/16 – Thurs, 10/19: Student Led Conferences (SLCs) – Minimum Days

Campus Highlight: DVD Club Fair 2023: September 21st

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

It was so exciting to have a full house for our Back to School Night on Thursday! The Design campus was abuzz with great conversation and connection as we welcomed in familiar and new faces. We are so lucky to have such an active and engaged community in support of our students.

For those of you who were not able to join us for Back to School Night this year, please click the links below for some valuable information shared from admin and our grade level teams:

• 9th Grade Back to School Night Presentation to Families
• 10th Grade Back to School Night Presentation to Families
• 11th + 12th Grade Back to School Night Presentation to Families

See the Week 6 bell schedule here, and upcoming dates below:

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

• Thursday, 9/21: DV Club Fair
• Friday, 9/29: Progress Reports Mailed Home
• Thursday, 10/12: PSAT Day (9th/10th/11th Grade)
• Friday, 10/13: Staff Development – NO SCHOOL
• Mon, 10/16 – Thurs, 10/19: Student Led Conferences (SLCs) – Minimum Days

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

Week 4 at DVD was short but sweet! We wrapped up MAP testing in 9th grade, ended the week with a field trip to the Museum of Flight in our Architecture Pathway, and also had our first Community Dialogue (aka: “CD”) Friday morning. At CD, we introduced our Advisory names and mascots, celebrated our All-Star students, and had our new staff play Steal the Bacon. It was a great day for building spirit and community at DVD! See pictures from our first CD below!

Next week, we have another short week, since Friday September 15th is our first Staff Development – No School day. We hope our students are able to enjoy the day off while staff prepare for upcoming school events, plan projects, and update grades. AND – Back to School Night is next week on the night of Thursday, September 14th! Back to School Night is a great opportunity to hear about classes, make connections with your students teachers, and tour classrooms at DVD. Each grade level will begin with an assembly in the Blackbox theater from their grade-level teams, and then will head up to the fourth floor to meet and greet teachers in classrooms. See the schedule for Back to School Night here:

Lastly, we wanted to share a message on behalf of our Central Office regarding the Grand Ave drop-off area:
“The Pilot Drop-Off Program on Grand Street is still going really well! These past four weeks drop off at this new location in the morning has been very smooth and efficient. For now, DVD families should only use the regular, main drop-off area in the front of the school. It is important that we test the volume of one school at a time for this pilot program to work effectively, and so that we don’t risk the possibility of losing this new drop off area. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated!”

Here is the Week 5 Bell Schedule for DVD:

Upcoming Events and Key Dates:

• Wednesday 9/13 & Thursday 9/14: MAP Testing for 9th Grade
• Thursday, 9/14: Back to School Night @ 5:30pm
• Friday, 9/15: No School – Professional Development Day
• Thursday, 9/21: DV Club Fair

Campus Highlight Week 4: September Community Dialogue!

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

This week, our 9th graders participated in our annual Freshmen Overnighter Camp! 9th grade students, student leaders and staff got to connect with each other in the great outdoors. Everyone participated in fun activities, team building games, and important discussions that help prepare our 9th graders to make new friends and to transition into high school. See some pictures from the 2023 Overnighter Camp below! More photos will also be made available to 9th grade families next week!

Next week, we have a modified bell schedule due to the holiday weekend. And, 9th graders will be participating in MAP testing on Wed 9/6 and Thurs 9/7. See the Week 4 bell schedule below for more details.