Happy three day weekend! We hope all of you have a safe, restful, and enjoyable holiday weekend. Because of the Monday holiday, Tuesday will be an all periods day for our students next week. See the schedule below:
Key dates & upcoming events:
Feb. 21st: NO SCHOOL (President’s Day Holiday)
Mar. 4th: Black History Month CD Assembly
Mar. 7th-10th: Student Led Conferences (via Zoom) *Schedules and Details coming soon*
Mar. 11th: NO SCHOOL (Professional Development Day)
DVD was feeling the love yesterday as we kicked off Spirit Week! As each Da Vinci Design student came up the stairs yesterday, they were handed a fresh flower by one of our Leadership students or a faculty administrator. And after that, our Seniors had the opportunity to celebrate their recent win in a grade-level design challenge with some shaved ice as they heard some important Senior announcements. Check out some of the photos below!
We wanted to extend a special thank you to Conroy’s Flowers Redondo Beach for being such an excellent partner for our morning flower event, providing DVD with an assortment of hundreds of beautiful, fresh cut flowers. Thank you Conroy’s!
And, we wanted to extend another thank you to Ray Houser of Philly Gourmet Ice (IG: @phillygourmetice) for providing delicious Italian shaved ice for all of our Seniors. Thank you Philly Gourmet Ice!
And finally, events like this are made possible thanks to our extended Da Vinci Design community for supporting our school with donations so that we can host fun events like these! If you or someone you know would like to make a contribution to Da Vinci Design, you may do so at our giving website here and select “Da Vinci Design”.
In honor of February being Black History Month, our DVD Black Student Union has been working hard to recognize the importance of black history on our campus. DVD BSU has produced a beautiful new display in the display case in the 1st floor atrium, and around our campus. See a photo below of some of our awesome DVD BSU team! This will all culminate in our annual Black History Month Community Dialogue on Friday, March 4th.
And, next week is Spirit Week! Students are encouraged to dress up and participate in the following dress up days – click here to see the Spirit Week flyer:
Parchment is offering up to $6,000 in rewards to high school students in grades 9, 10, and 11. Parchment is helping students plan for their future while also offering a chance to win money to go towards their college tuition.
Students can apply to this scholarship in 3 easy steps using this website: Parchment Scholarship
Happy Friday – and happy three-day weekend to our students and families! Here is a preview of next week, including some announcements:
Coffee with Admin: 2/3/22
Thanks to all of our families who were able to join us this week for our “Coffee w/ Admin” meetings! For this meeting, we discussed:
Feb 7th-11th: National Counseling Week – Counselors will be making announcements and pushing out materials all week long focusing on academics, college, and the socioemotional health of our students.
Know of anyone who may be in need of braces? Hawthorne Dental and Braces is offering free braces to any person without insurance, no proof of immigration status needed. Please see the attached flyer for more information!
This week, we have a full five-day ahead of us and seminars begin! Students were able to select seminar during Week 19 and will start meeting in their seminars this week.
We look forward to another great week!
Note: Students who need additional time to complete MAP testing may be called out during seminar periods or class periods to do so. Students will be notified this week prior. Students with questions may reach out to Asst. Principal Acuna: sacuna@davincischools.org .
Please have at least three options in mind for M/W seminars AND for T/Th seminars before coming to sign up, just in case your top choice gets filled up early. There are lots of great seminars to choose from!
We hope your families are all healthy and well-rested from our break! We are excited to welcome students back to campus for school on Monday morning. Students will begin the day in their Period 1 classes where they will receive important information related to updated COVID safety protocols and practices. Our schedule for the first week of second semester is shown here. Please note that students will not start Seminar classes until week three of the new semester.
For students who are unable to come to school, class information and assignments will continue to be available via Google Classroom. Students can also contact their teachers about their availability for virtual office hours via Zoom.
Per usual, if you know that your child will be absent for any reason, please call the front office or send an email to Irma Rodriguez, irodriguez@davincischools.org to notify us of the absence.
COVID-19 Health & Safety Information
As we prepare for the return to school next week, we are cognizant of the spread of COVID-19, and in particular, the Omicron variant. We strongly encourage students to take a COVID test prior to returning to campus beginning Monday, January 10, 2022.When you complete the test, please report at-home test results here.A negative test is not required for students and staff to return to school on January 10, but in the event your child exhibits any flu-like or cold symptoms, your child should get tested and remain at home.
The following safety measures are now in place at all Da Vinci schools:
On-site rapid testing for students with exposure or symptoms will resume for Da Vinci students January 10, 2022 during regular testing hours 8:15am-3:45pm daily. Students are not allowed to leave class to test and must use time before school, during lunch, and after school. Students should pre-register here if this is their first time testing at school.
Masking is now required for all outdoor activities where physical distancing is not feasible, except while eating or drinking, due to the new health order from the LACDPH. Students are strongly recommended to wear masks that are well-fitting, non-cloth masks of multiple layers of non-woven material with a nose wire.
COVID-19 testing is required for all students and staff who are close contacts of a person who has tested positive for COVID due to a school-based exposure, regardless of vaccination or booster status. Affected employees and students may participate in testing at their school site (more info below)
Staff are required to wear upgraded masks (three-ply surgical masks or higher-level PPE)We continue to monitor the new protocols for TK-12 schools in a health order and a new exposure management plan from the Los Angeles County Public Health officials to ensure appropriate mitigation strategies are in place during this surge in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
MAP Testing Starts Week 18
MAP Growth tests helps teachers understand what students know today, so goals can be set to improve growth throughout the year. Students cannot pass or fail this test, and this test will not affect grades. This is an adaptive test that changes as students complete it. And, it is good practice for computer-based state assessments in the Fall. Given the challenges of learning from home last year, MAP Growth test results are especially helpful for us this year. These results will help us know what students are ready to learn.
Here are some other details to know about MAP testing during the school day:
Students will follow a normal schedule and will take the MAP test in their English classes.
Students will complete the test on a school issued Chromebook; personal devices may or may not be compatible with the test.
It is important that students complete the test; teachers and students will only receive data if a test is completed.
This is a challenging and uncertain time, and we appreciate your support as we work to keep school open safely for our kids to learn!
If you are interested in playing boys volleyball, there is a meeting this Thursday, December 16 at 3:30 p.m. It will be held in the Skybox in the Gym located at 201 N. Douglas from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Boys Volleyball Tryouts will take place January 11, 12 and 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. inside the gym at Del Aire Park. If you have any questions, please contact Coach John Wessels jwessels@davincischools.org
