Da Vinci Design

Greetings Designers and Design Families!

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.

Good morning Da Vinci Families,

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’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.

Hello Designers and Design Families!

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:

DVD Welcome Back Webinar
Today @5pm
Zoom Webinar Link: https://zoom.us/j/94897019696

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!

Mark your calendars and sign up now! Da Vinci Schools is hosting a UCLA Blood Drive on Monday, July 25th, from 9 am to 2 pm in the Blackbox Theater at the 201 N Douglas campus. Donors will receive a promotional gift for their contributions.

What: UCLA Blood Drive @ Da Vinci Schools
When: Monday, July 25th from 9 am to 2 pm
Where: 201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 – Black Box Theater

To ensure appropriate social distancing, we encourage donors to make an appointment in the following ways:

– Go on-line at www.ucedonor.com click on Blood Drives and enter DV in the Account Code box

– Scan the QR code above

– Call us at (310) 825-0888 x2

– or email UCLA at nlai@mednet.ucla.edu

Don’t forget your ID & we’ll see you there!

Come join the fun at any of these 47 locations for the free lunch program! Children and youth ages 18 and under receive a free, nutritious lunch and snack that include vegetables, fruits, seeds and healthy dairy products like milk, string cheese and yogurt.

June 13 – August 5 
Monday to Friday
Lunch is served from 12 to 1 p.m.
Snack is served from 3 to 4 p.m.

Meals are available for dine-in only at the enclosed designated areas. Lunch and snack are for youth participants only.

*Please note that there will be no lunch and snack on June 20 and July 4.

 

***

 

¡Únase a la diversión en cualquiera de estos 47 lugares para el programa de almuerzo gratis! Los niños y jóvenes de 18 años y menores reciben un almuerzo y una merienda gratis y nutritivos que incluyen vegetales, frutas, semillas y productos lácteos saludables como leche, queso en tiras y yogur.

13 de junio – 5 de agosto
Lunes a viernes
El almuerzo se sirve de 12 a 1 p.m.
La merienda se sirve de  3 a 4 p.m.

Las comidas están disponibles para cenar solo en las áreas designadas adjuntas. Solo son para participantes jóvenes.

*Tenga en cuenta que no habrá almuerzo ni merienda el 20 de junio y el 4 de julio.

 

Hi DVD Rising Juniors and Seniors,

The Fall 2022 Dual Enrollment Classes have been approved! The following courses will be offered:

• BUS 101- Intro To Business (formally known as BUS 25)
  • T/Th  3:30-4:55 (Live Online/Synchronous)
• POLI 1- Governments in US & CA
  •  M/W 3:00-4:25 (Live Online/Synchronous)

 We ask that all Dual Enrollment forms be submitted to your counselor by next Tuesday, June 7th. 

Just a reminder, if your student enrolled for the Dual Enrollment classes with El Camino College in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 they DO NOT need to reapply for El Camino College, they only need to submit a Dual Enrollment form. If it is your first time enrolling in Dual Enrollment classes, you do need to complete an El Camino College application as well as the Dual Enrollment form.

Also, please make sure the 7-digit ECC ID # listed on the Dual Enrollment form is all numbers and no letters. The CCC ID is not the same ID as the ECC ID.

Need help with the application process? click here. 

For the course descriptions of the classes offered in Fall 2022, click here.

 

Dear Design Students and Families,

As a school community today, we joined in a moment of silence for the students and staff lost in the tragic shooting yesterday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. We felt it was important to take a moment this morning to recognize the hurt and fear being felt across the nation as a result of the violence that happened. For educators, parents, and students, school violence is something we all feel deeply. We encourage all students, and families too, check in with yourself today, to recognize how you are feeling affected by this, and to reach out to those around you if you need support today. For students, this means reaching our their counselors for support.

Here are some resources that may be helpful as you navigate your classrooms in the wake of this violence:

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (National Association of School Psychologists)

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News (Child Mind Institute)

Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting (American Counseling Association)

Trauma and Disaster Mental Health (American Counseling Association)

Teaching in the Wake of Violence (Facing History and Ourselves)

As principal, I want reassure all of you that these events, while too common, are rare, and that our school is safe. I join you in feelings of sadness today, but am encouraged by the collective strength of our school community.

Russell Stoll
Principal
Da Vinci Design