Atlas@Design is our school’s travel program that has been traveling for over 12 years all around the world. We are excited to open up enrollment for our next adventure, GREECE, which will take place during Spring Break of 2026. If your student is interested, please join us on Thursday, September 12 at 6:30pm for a Zoom info meeting. You can register for the meeting using the QR code on the flyer or by going to this page: https://bit.ly/3LZPG8O.
Reach out to Frank Solis at fsolis@davincischools.org if you have any questions.
Once again, welcome to Da Vinci Design! It was a pleasure sharing a bit of what DVD is all about during our New Families Welcome webinar. If you would like to review any of the information shared from Mr. Takeyama, Ms. B or myself, or if you were not able to watch the webinar live, see the links below for a recording of the webinar and to see the slides that we shared:
On Thursday, May 2nd we welcome DVD 9th and 10th grade families and on Wednesday May 8th we invite DVD 11th grade families to join us from 5:30pm-6:30pm in the Blackbox on the first floor of the 201 campus, for their College Planning Information Sessions.
Today at 8am and 5pm, join the DVD admin team for our monthly “Coffee with Admin” chat. Simply join via Zoom and bring any school-related questions, or sit back and hear about school updates. Hope to see you there!
Wed, April 10th: Coffee w/ Admin
All parents and guardians welcome! Join for brief school updates and open Q&A with the DVD admin team
8am or 5pm, via Zoom
Agenda: 1) Campus Updates & Highlights, 2) Upcoming Calendar Events, 3) Testing Info and Updates, 4) Teens on Social Media, 5) Q&A
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
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.
Da Vinci Design’s Feminism Club is hosting a clothing and supply drive in partnership with the Downtown’s Women’s Center. The drive will run until Feb. 23rd. See more details on the flyer here:
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.
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.
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.
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
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
