From all of the faculty and staff at Da Vinci Design, we wish you a wonderful summer break! Monday, August 14th is the first day of school for students in the 2023-24 school year. We will see you in August!
Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2023! It was an honor and pleasure watching you walk the stage yesterday. Graduation photos from yesterday have been uploaded for families here – you may access and download them for FREE thanks to our incredible photographer Stacee: https://staceelianna.smugmug.com/DaVinciSchools/Da-Vinci-Design/2023-Graduation/
Happy LGBTQ Pride Month! Thank you to our DVD Pride Club for hosting an amazing CD on the last day of school that included lip sync performances, dancing, and fun games. Da Vinci Schools is proud to recognize and celebrate the LGBTQ community this month, and the many ways LGBTQ folx have contributed to our world. Pride was originally focused on securing basic rights and later confronting the AIDS epidemic. Pride continues to be about creating and affirming spaces where LGBTQIA+ people can exist freely, without persecution.
Report cards: have been put into the mail today and will be arriving next week. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to the Da Vinci Design Front Office and ask for Office Manager Maria Beltran, or send an email to mbeltran@davincischools.org for any questions regarding work permits, enrollment, summer dates, etc. The DVD Front Office is open Monday-Friday (except for holidays) from 8am to noon.
June 13th: Summer Session 1 begins (by referral from counselors) Summer school forms were distributed to students last week. If your student received a summer school form, you must register for summer school. Click here for the summer school registration form.
Please stay tuned over the summer! We will be making announcements for new families AND returning families here on the blog. See you in August!
We are only two weeks away from the end of the school year! And we know what that means… POLs are here!
*SEE BELOW FOR THE SCHEDULE AND FOR IMPORTANT POL RESOURCES BY GRADE LEVEL*
This week, we had our annual Senior Showcase! Hosted at the Zimmerman Auto Museum, our 12th graders participated in one last special exhibition for families, friends and the DV community. The auto museum was full of live music and displays on a wide range of projects. Projects are focused on honing their design skills and serving the local community: from engineering indoor gardens to supporting local animal shelters, from starting small business selling jewelry and crochet to coordinating the Senior Showcase itself! And the ice cream parlor and food trucks were a big hit, too! See below for photos from the Class of 2023 Senior Showcase!
POLs are next Week! POLs give students the opportunity to develop their speaking and presentation skills, and are an opportunity for students 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 do our best to accommodate. Click the links below for grade-level specific information.
Grade 12: Hello 12th grade families, the 12th grade students will be presenting their final POL connected to their senior project on their designated time. Please see the attached schedule to help remind them. Best, 12th grade team.
Week 36-38 Bell Schedule: POLs May 30th-June 6th
Please note: On Friday, June 2nd, school begins at the normal time of 8:40am, NOT at 9:45am. Students should make sure to arrive on time and prepared for POLs on this day.
Key Dates & Upcoming Events
Monday, May 29th: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day Holiday)
Friday, June 2nd: Senior Grad Nite (@ Disneyland)
Tues, May 30th – Tues, June 6th: Presentations of Learning (Minimum Days)
Wednesday, June 7th: Last Day of School! (Minimum Day)
Thursday, June 8th: DVD Graduation Commencement Ceremony
Time/Location: 9am at 201 N. Douglas St Campus
Week 36 Campus Highlight: Senior Showcase, Class of 2023
The DVD School Yearbook is Here and Available for Purchase!
The DVD yearbooks arrived at school on Wednesday and are available for pickup and purchase in Mr. White’s room (4205) before school, at lunch and after school.
If you pre-ordered the book, just come and pick it up. If you still need to purchase a book, there are some available. They cost $60, and you can pay cash, check (made out to Da Vinci Schools) or you can pay for it on My School Bucks. Here’s a QR code that you can use:
FOR SENIORS (or anyone else who would like to purchase one), there is also a Senior supplement that you can order that contains all of the spring Senior events that happened after the yearbook deadline: Senior Beach Day, Senior Prom, Senior Showcase, Grad Night, Graduation, and more! Supplements cost $10 (which includes shipping to your home) and can be ordered at the yearbookordercenter.com website (just enter our school code, which is 17693).
Here’s a QR code for that website:
If you have any questions, please email Mr. White (the yearbook adviser) at jwhite@davincischools.org ; thank you!
It’s that time of year where we celebrate our Seniors and start preparing for POLs! On Wednesday, we recognized so many amazing achievements of the Class of 2023 at our Senior Awards Night! We handed out awards and scholarships for academics, leadership, student clubs and councils, excellence in design/art portfolios, and more! See below for photos from our Senior Awards Night!
Speaking of Seniors, please join us this Wednesday, May 24th, from 5pm-7pm for our Senior Showcase! ALL ARE WELCOME to this special Exhibition night for DVD Seniors by DVD Seniors! This event celebrates all of the hard work rom our Class of 2023 on their culminating senior projects. This year, the event will be held at the Zimmerman Auto Museum! See the flier here for more information – hope to see you there!
POLs are around the corner! POLs give students the opportunity to develop their speaking and presentation skills, and are an opportunity for students 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 do our best to accommodate.
For specific details and schedules regarding POLs, please reach out to your student’s grade level teachers. More details coming to the blog soon.
10th Grade Design Pathways Selection Resources
10th grade Students and Parents/Guardians: Today, Sophomores received a presentation about the Design Pathways Selection Process in their Fundamentals of Design class. Please look at the resource posted here so that you can help discuss this important decision as a family: 2022-2023 Pathways Selection Slides
The final decision will be made in their Sophomore design class as part of their POLs. ALL Sophomores must complete the Pathways Selection Survey in order to have their preference considered for their 11th grade courses. Stoll will be available this coming Wednesday for a “Coffee w/ Admin” session to discuss Pathways options!
For questions, please reach out to your counselor.
An Update About Da Vinci + Wiseburn from the Da Vinci Schools CEO/Superintendent
“I know this has been a busy week, and that the update we shared with you on Wednesday about our lease agreement and evolving relationship with WUSD prompted many questions, concerns, and feelings. First, I want to reassure you that Da Vinci Schools are here in the community for the long-term. Second, I’m so sorry that our students, families, and prospective families are experiencing this untimely distraction at the end of the school year. We are exceptionally confident that Da Vinci Schools will be serving students here in Wiseburn for many years to come.
We launched this webpage to serve as a hub for information, and we hope it will be a useful resource for you at this time. We will add more information as we have it and we will keep you updated to that effect.” – Dr. Matt Wunder
Week 36-38 Bell Schedule: POLs May 30th-June 6th
Please note: On Friday, June 2nd, school begins at the normal time of 8:40am, NOT at 9:45am. Students should make sure to arrive on time and prepared for POLs on this day.
This week was one full of appreciation and celebration! All week long, we’ve been celebrating our amazing staff of educators for Teacher Appreciation Week! Teachers received generous affirmation in the form of treats and messages from our community of families and students all week long, a flower lei from students during our special Community Dialogue today, and even a video message from students shown in advisory today! On behalf of the teaching staff from Da Vinci Design, THANK YOU to our students and families for making this such a great Teacher Appreciation Week!
Today, we had an amazing Community Dialogue celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) month! Thank you to our AAPI club and their advisor Ms. Simon for all of the hard work that went into today’s CD. There was a hot sauce game played by teachers, traditional games played by students, student performances, and even a performance from traditional taiko drummers! See pictures below!
Lastly, There are just two weeks left of school before POLs (Presentations of Learning) begin. This is a great time to check grades and make plans for improvement (if needed) before the end of the semester. Mastery grades were updated by teachers this week. You can check grades on Canvas or PowerSchool, whichever is easiest for you. If you notice any discrepancies, please let the teacher know.
See the Week 35 +36 Bell Schedules here:
Upcoming Dates and Key Events:
Wed, May 17th and Thurs, May 18th: Final meetings of Seminar classes
Thursday, May 25th: Senior Showcase (A DVD Senior Project Exhibition)
Monday, May 29th: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day Holiday)
Friday, June 2nd: Senior Grad Nite (@ Disneyland)
Tues, May 30th – Tues, June 6th: Presentations of Learning (Minimum Days)
Wednesday, June 7th: Last Day of School! (Minimum Day)
Thursday, June 8th: DVD Graduation Commencement Ceremony
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a number of Summer Career Training Programs around the trades, entrepreneurship, aviation, and space system designs. All programs will take place at our 201 N. Douglas campus, and will be free and open to all current Da Vinci high school students, including graduating seniors. Space is limited! DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MONDAY, MAY 22.
Please see the flyer for more information about each program:
L.A. Urban League’s Biz Camp Summer Program
Summer Trades Program
Summer Aviation Program
Stellar Camp
If you have any questions please contact Ms. Crissel Rodriguez, Director of Real-World Learning, at crodriguez@davincischools.org.
Our community partner, South Bay Families Connected, offers our families a variety of youth wellness resources. For Mental Health Awareness Month, we feature their resource pages covering trending youth wellness topics on the minds of parents and caregivers:
As we approach the end of the school year, it is an important time to be able to get the best understanding of our students’ learning and achievement so that we can start planning supports and curriculum for next year. Some important tools for assessing our students are MAP growth testing and CAASPP state testing. We begin testing next week for 9th-11th grades.
National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-12th. Stay tuned for more information coming out soon for how to celebrate our teachers! If you are interested in coordinating or helping out with providing breakfast and treats for staff this week, please reach out to Nicole Tafoya know at ntafoya@davincischools.org.
There are just six weeks left of school before POLs (Presentations of Learning) begin. This is a great time to check grades and make plans for improvement (if needed) before the end of the semester. Students can expect mastery grades to be updated by teachers on Monday, 5/8. You can check grades on Canvas or PowerSchool, whichever is easiest for you. If you notice any discrepancies, please let the teacher know.
A message from the Wiseburn Education Foundation (WEF): Wiseburn Education Foundation’s Rock Around the Block is TOMORROW on April 29th at Dana Middle School. Did you know that WEF runs a Rock Around the Block silent auction, which is live right now? You can log on to WEF’s auction website at bit.ly/RABAuction2023 to view and bid on items such as restaurant gift cards, summer camps, museum tickets, and more! You also will not want to miss the “School Packages” category, which has items such as front-row seats for graduations and end-of-the-year concerts, principal for a day, and special experiences with your student’s favorite teachers. Bidding on items in this auction is an easy way to support WEF, because 100% of winning bids will go right back to our schools, teachers, and students. The auction ends on Saturday, April 29th at 9pm, so don’t miss out!
See the Week 33 Bell Schedule here:
Key Dates and Upcoming Events:
Monday, May 1st: 10th Grade College Field Trip
Mon, May 1st – Tues, May 2nd:
11th Grade CAASPP (ELA)
10th Grade MAP testing (Tuesday Only)
9th Grade MAP testing
Wednesday, May 3rd 5pm-6:30pm: School Site Council #5 / Parent Advisory Council
This week, both 11th and 12th grade students had fun and informative opportunities to be off campus! Our 11th graders go to go on college field trips to local universities like Pepperdine, LMU and OTIS. And, our 12th graders had the chance today to go on the annual Senior Beach Day field trip.
Senior families: Senior Activities are upon us! See the important dates below for Prom, Senior Grad Nite, and Graduation. For more details, look for the Senior Activities 2023 page in the “Resources” bar found on the right side of the blog.
As we approach the end of the school year, it is an important time to be able to get the best understanding of our students’ learning and achievement so that we can start planning supports and curriculum for next year. Some important tools for assessing our students are MAP growth testing and CAASPP state testing. Stay tuned for details on these important assessments, and see dates below. Thank you for helping to ensure that students are in attendance and prepared to do their best for testing on these days.
See the Week 32 Bell Schedule here:
Key Dates and Upcoming Events:
Monday, May 1st: 10th Grade College Field Trip
Mon, May 1st – Tues, May 2nd:
11th Grade CAASPP (ELA)
10th Grade MAP testing (Tuesday Only)
9th Grade MAP testing
Friday, May 5th: NO SCHOOL (Staff Development) + PROM NIGHT
Wed, May 10th – Thurs, May 11th:
11th Grade CAASPP (Math)
10th Grade MAP testing
9th Grade MAP testing
Thursday, May 25th: Senior Showcase (A DVD Senior Project Exhibition)
Monday, May 29th: NO SCHOOL (Memorial Day Holiday)
Friday, June 2nd: Senior Grad Nite (@ Disneyland)
Tues, May 30th – Tues, June 6th: Presentations of Learning (Minimum Days)
Wednesday, June 7th: Last Day of School! (Minimum Day)
Thursday, June 8th: DVD Graduation Commencement Ceremony
Welcome back from Spring Break! We are headed into the home stretch of the school year and we’ve got lots to look forward to! College field trips for 10th and 11th grade students, Senior Beach day, and Prom!
This week, our campus highlight is our Spring Exhibition! On March 28th, before Spring Break, we had an AWESOME Exhibition Night with work displayed from 9th, 10th, and 11th grade. See photos below!
Week 31 Bell Schedule:
Key Dates and Upcoming Events:
Thursday, April 20th: 11th Grade College Field Trip
Friday, April 21st: Senior Beach Day
Monday, May 1st: 10th Grade College Field Trip
Friday, May 5th: NO SCHOOL (Staff Development) + PROM NIGHT
