Da Vinci Design

Hello Designers and Design Families,

Happy Friday! We wrapped up Week 8 with an amazing Community Dialogue in honor of Latinx Heritage Month! Things for spicy during a hot sauce challenge, and we had a special performance from a troupe that displayed traditional Aztec dance (see photo below). Many thanks goes out to our Latinx Student Union and their advisor Sr. Villanueva for putting together this special event.

The coming week is Week 9 and SLCs are from 10/11-10/14. SLCs are happening via Zoom this semester. Check the DVD Grade Level Google Sites and refer to the post from earlier in the week for SLC schedules and documents for your grade level.

Please remember that during SLCs, we have a minimum day schedule. This means that drop-off times stay the same, however school pick-up from school will happen at 1:55pm for Da Vinci Design Mon-Thurs this week, unless your student is staying for their SLC. See the schedule below:

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

Happy Friday! This week, our classrooms were buzzing with great learning as we are fully getting into the swing of the school year. From drafting and peer reviewing personal memoirs, to travelling the world via music in Spanish 2’s “Musica en Español” (see picture below), so much good stuff was happening this week!

Also: Thank you to our students and staff for participating in our critical incident drill this week. We are grateful to our school community and ESPD for these efforts to ensure the safety of our schools.

This week, DVD started hosting virtual College Visits! Seniors: please check the list of upcoming college visits happening in the center quad. Upcoming college visits are also listed below.

Next week is a regular bell schedule week. See the Week 7 DVD Bell Schedule here, and other important upcoming dates.

• Listen and Follow the instructions of their teacher or staff member in the room at the time of the drill
• Stay quiet during the duration of the drill
• Silence/turn off their cell phones and stay off their phone during the duration of the drill
• Wait for the “All Clear” announcement to indicate the drill has concluded

Greetings DVD Families,

This week came to an exciting and fun conclusion with our annual Club Fair! Students presented colorful booth displays and got lots of new members to join during this special event in Advisory. Thank you to all of our hard working club leaders for adding space on campus for students connect over their passions, their academic growth, and pride in their cultures and identities.

Next week, parents/guardians can expect to begin receiving automated calls home regarding attendance and absences. If a student is marked absent in any class, automated calls will be going home at two different times of the day in order to update parents/guardians. If you feel that you receive a call in error, please follow up with DVD’s Attendance Manager Irma Rodriguez by calling the DVD front office or sending her an email at irodriguez@davincischools.org .

Next week, we are having a regular bell schedule week. See below.

Have a lovely and restful weekend!

Greetings Designers and Design Families,

What an exciting week! Seminars are back up and running, and we had a lovely Back to School Night event. It was so great to have parents, families, and lots of alumni siblings back on campus. If you were not able to participate in Back to School Night this year, not to worry – you can find the presentations given from each grade level by clicking on the links here:

• Team 9 Slides Back to School Night Fall 2021
• Team 10 Slides Back to School Night Fall 2021
• Teams 11 & 12 Slides Back to School Night Fall 2021

Next week, we have a short week due to the Labor Day Holiday – there is no school on Monday, 9/6. See the bell schedule for the coming week below. Tuesday will be an all periods day so that students meet with all of their teachers after the long weekend.

Please take a minute to review our updated semester 1 calendar, as we have made a few changes and additions including our first School Site Council meeting on Wednesday 9/15.

The School Site Council is an opportunity for parents, students, & staff to work collaboratively to review the school program, review data and identify needs, make recommendations for the Local Control and Accountability Plan, and approve the Single/School Plan for Student Achievement.

• If you are a parent who is interested in joining the DVD School Site Council, please fill out this School Site Council Parent interest form before Wednesday 9/8.
• If you are a student who is interested in joining the DVD School Site Council, please fill out this School Site Council Student interest form before Wednesday 9/8.

All submissions will be added to a voting form that will go out to the DVD parent community on September 9. School Site Council members will be notified on Friday September 10, and the first School Site Council meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, September 15. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to me at rstoll@davincischools.org.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Greetings Designers,

We are so excited to welcome families to campus for Back to School Night on Thursday, 9/2 from 5:30pm-7:30pm. This year, our BTSN agenda will give families an opportunity to meet Grade Level teams and administrators for a presentation outdoors. Then, families will head upstairs for a self-guided tour and a chance to visit with teachers one-on-one. See the agenda below:

Next week, we’ll have our first Regular Bell Schedule week (see below), including our first week of seminars! Students had the opportunity to select from a wide variety of seminars. We look forward to meeting with our new seminar classes next week!

Hello Designers and Design Families,

That’s a wrap for Week One! We had such a fantastic first week on campus with our students and staff – we are so excited for the school year to come.

Here is a preview of the schedule for next week:

Here is what is on the horizon for Week 2 & 3:

• Students will sign up for their seminars this week during advisory class. Seminar descriptions will be available first thing Monday.
• Back to School Night is on Thurs, Sept. 2nd from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Stay tuned for details.

Have a safe and restful weekend, Designers!

Dear Da Vinci Families,

We are excited to welcome students back next week. The health and safety of our students and staff are our top priority, and Da Vinci Schools has implemented an extensive set of measures to promote a safe environment on our school campuses.

I am writing to share with you an update regarding the Da Vinci “Overnighter” events planned for 9th and 10th grade students attending Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Communications, and Da Vinci Science. In order to ensure the health and safety of our Da Vinci students, I have made the difficult decision in consultation with our Da Vinci Schools trustees to delay the Overnighter events until COVID case rates improve to a level that lowers the risk of the highly transmissible COVID Delta variant.

We have been tracking case rates in Los Angeles County, with current case rates increasing to the high levels that Los Angeles County experienced earlier this year. Very recent information has become available regarding COVID outbreaks, including risks associated with activities that place students in close contact with each other and staff. Da Vinci Schools continues to follow state and local requirements to keep our students safe at school; however, the Overnighters require groups of students to sleep in close proximity in the same cabins, increasing the risk of transmission. For this reason, we have opted to delay the Overnighters at this time.

The Overnighter is a very special signature practice at Da Vinci Schools that alumni look back on as one of the most important events of their high school experience. Like our approach to the 2020 graduation when we postponed and then later held an in-person ceremony, we will make good on this promise to hold the Overnighters again as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and support. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please contact me at mwunder@davincischools.org.

Stay well,

Matt

—

Matthew Wunder, Ed.D.

CEO/Superintendent

Important Updates Regarding Grade Change and Retention Requests

Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 104 into law, and we’d like to provide you with important information on how this legislation may relate to your student. AB 104 provides new options to address student learning loss due to COVID-19 school closures and distance learning.  

Grade Change Requests – Grades 9-12

Assembly Bill 104 was passed and amended Education Code 49066.5 to provide a parent, guardian (or Educational Rights Holder), or student (if 18 years old) the ability to petition their high school student’s school to change D and F grades received during the 2020-21 school year to Pass or No Pass. The changes apply only to high school students for the 2020-2021 school year. 

The following link provides more information, an application to request a grade change, and a list of postsecondary institutions that will accept Pass/No Pass without prejudice. Please be aware that some colleges and universities may not accept Pass/No Pass grades as valid credit. 

Grade Change Application Form & Additional Information  

The deadline for submitting a grade change request is August 14, 2021. 

Retention Consultation Request – Grades K-11

Per Assembly Bill 104, parents of eligible students can request retention in their child’s 2020-21 grade for the 2021-22 school year. Students in grades K-11, who received a D, F, or No Credit grade in at least half of their courses during the 2020-21 school year are eligible. Per AB 104, 12th grade students during the 2020-21 school year are not eligible for retention. If you would like to request a retention consultation meeting, please email your child’s principal and a meeting will be held within 30 calendar days. You can find a list of all Da Vinci principals on the Da Vinci Schools website here . 

More info on Retention Requests  

The AB 104 notifications and forms above can also be found on our Public Notices webpage. 

Greetings DVD Families!

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. Please break out your calendars and take note of the following dates below. I am grateful and humbled to be starting my 12th season with Da Vinci Design this year, and I look forward to making this the best one yet with all of you!

Russell Stoll
DVD Principal

(Note: updated info about the 2021-2022 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 16th, 2021. 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 Fall 2021 semester, the high schools at 201 N. Douglas are adopting new start times in order to stagger entrance to and from campus. This is one of the many measures we are taking to ensure the health and safety of all of our students as we return to campus from distance learning. The start time for Da Vinci Design is 8:55am Monday-Thursday and the traditional “late start” for Friday is 9:25am. The end time for the school day will remain 3:55pm 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 to access the New DVD Families FAQs page.

Class of 2022 Cap & Gown photos are 8/12 & 10/15. To reserve a time to take your cap and gown photos, click here. 

DVD plans to host Back-to-School Night on the third week of school on Thursday September 2nd. More details to follow.

As with most things, these events are subject to change based upon evolving COVID health guidelines and policies. We will keep you updated each week!

Update: Per the announcement from CEO/Superintendent on August 14th, 2021, the Overnighter event for 9th and 10th graders has been postponed. See blog post on August 15th for full message and further details.