Next week we are kicking off our very first Community Learning Day (CLD) on Friday, October 11th. This is an opportunity for students to come together for an on-campus learning experience with friends from other campuses; or to take advantage of a “leave to learn” activity off campus. All parents will be receiving a permission slip and a agreement form to sign in order to give students the option to learn off-campus that day. If a student signed up for an on-campus learning session, they will receive confirmation of their choice early next week. For more information on CLDs, click the “Coffee with DVD Admin” slides link below.
Also, next week will be having students in all grade levels participate in free PSAT / SAT testing on Thursday, 10/10. Students in Grades 9/10/11 will all take the PSAT, and students in Grade 12 will have the option to take the SAT. Please make sure your student(s) get a good night of sleep and eat a good breakfast before test day to make sure they are ready to test. For questions about PSAT/SAT testing day, please reach out to Asst. Principal Kirk Takeyama: ktakeyama@davincischools.org.
Thank you to the families who joined us for our Coffee with Admin meeting on Wednesday! It is great getting the chance to meet with families, hear what is on your mind, and share the great things happening at DVD. If you did not get a chance to meet with us this week, click here for the Coffee with DVD Admin slides from October 2024. Coffee with DVD Admin happens at 8am and 5pm via Zoom on the first Wednesday of every month.
Here is the Week 8 Bell Schedule for DVD:
Upcoming Events and Key Dates:
Thursday, Oct. 10th: PSAT / SAT Testing Day
Friday, Oct. 11th: Community Learning Day
Mon, Oct. 14th – Thurs, Oct. 17th: Student Led Conference (SLCs) *MINIMUM DAY SCHEDULE*
College Rep Visits (Week 8, 9 & 10): Seniors can sign up via Naviance
Tomorrow, Wednesday Oct. 2nd, at 8am and 5pm join the DVD admin team for our monthly “Coffee with Admin” chat. Simply log on via Zoom and bring any school-related questions, or just sit back, relax, and hear about school updates. This will be our second Coffee with Admin of the 2024-25 school year. Hope to see you there!
Wed, Oct. 2nd: Coffee w/ Admin
All DVD 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 & Calendar Events 2) Short Term Ind. Study, 3) Community Learning Days (CLDs), 4) Q&A
This week, we had our annual DVD Club Fair! On Thursday afternoon, we had over 20 DVD student-run clubs host booths at our club fair to get Design students excited about joining. This year we had a wide variety of clubs to join on a range of topics and which celebrate academics, culture, and fun hobbies. See pictures from our DVD Club Fair below.
We ended our week with our first Community Dialogue assembly (aka: “CD”) of the new school year! At CD, we introduced our Advisory names and mascots, had an “Advisory Olympics” competition, and had our new staff play Blind Musical Chairs. This year, as we focus on increasing school attendance, we are rewarding Advisories with the best attendance each month with exclusive access to watch CD from the SkyBox in the WDV Gym. Congrats to Sr. V and Mr. Schilp’s advisories this month for having the best attendance! It was a great day for building spirit and community at DVD. See pictures from our first CD below.
DVD Picture Day photos are now ready for review! We are using a new platform to host photos this year that allows for each student to have their own individual gallery and gives them the option to choose the photo they’d like for the yearbook. Families were emailed directly with information to access the gallery, but you can also access your individual gallery here: https://my.photoday.com/s/staceelianna/davincischools
Next week, DVD is hosting our annual DVD Club Fair! At the end of the day on Thursday, 9/26, student club leaders will set up booths and introduce their clubs. This is a great opportunity for students to find a club to join as well as meet other students that share their interests. This year we have a wide variety of clubs to join on a range of topics and which celebrate academics, culture, and fun hobbies. Clubs can also be great way for students to collaborate on ways to complete service learning with other students in a club setting. See the full list of clubs this year (so far) below!
DVD Picture Day photos are now ready for review! We are using a new platform to host photos this year that allows for each student to have their own individual gallery and gives them the option to choose the photo they’d like for the yearbook. Families were emailed directly with information to access the gallery, but you can also access your individual gallery here: https://my.photoday.com/s/staceelianna/davincischools
Enter your student name and their 5-digit ID number
Access your photos and make your selection
The deadline to choose photos for the yearbook is next Friday, September 27th. This will give students who take make-up portraits next week on Tuesday, Sept. 24th the option to select their photo as well. If you have any questions regarding photos, please email photographer Stacee Lianna directly at stacee@staceelianna.com for support.
Progressreports are being mailed home today, September 20th. The purpose of this is to give families the opportunity to have a snapshot of student progress, and to be able to have a conversation at home with students about how to stay successful in school. This information will also be used by teachers and counselors in their plans to support all students. Please follow up with your child’s teachers directly with any questions about assignments or grades.
If you do not receive a progress report in the mail by Friday, 9/27, please reach out by calling Da Vinci Design at 310-725-5800, or send an email Office Manager Maria Beltran at mbeltran@davincischools.org to request a digital progress report for your child.
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 6 at DVD:
Upcoming Events and Key Dates:
Friday, Sept. 20th: Progress Reports Mailed Home
Tuesday, Sept. 24th: Make Up Picture Day at DVD
Thursday, Sept. 26th: DV Club & Service Learning Fair
Wednesday, Oct. 2nd: Coffee w/ Admin @8am and @5pm via Zoom
It was great to have so many of you on campus for Back To School Night on Tuesday! We began with a brief presentation in the BlackBox theater from grade-level teams, and then we headed up to the fourth floor to meet and greet teachers in classrooms. If you did not get a chance to meet with us this week, click here for the Back To School Night slides from Sept 4th 2024.
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 5 at DVD:
Exciting News About School Attendance!
Thanks to recent updates in California’s education laws, students can now receive credit for attendance even if they miss a day of school, as long as they’re still engaged in learning. In other words: If your child participates in an educational activity or completes makeup work assigned by their teacher during an absence, they can still be marked “present” for that day. To avoid your child being marked “absent”, have your child fill out this simple form:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about attendance for parents/guardians:
Q: Do I still need to report my child’s absence to the school? A: Yes please! Keep doing what you are doing by calling or emailing the front office any time your child is going to be absent.
Q: If my child is out sick and they absolutely cannot do work, do they have to complete this form? A: No. They will be marked “excused absent” for that day.
Q: Is this different from the Community Learning Days (aka: CLDs) that I am hearing about? A: Yes – this is is new, and different from CLDs. There will be a different but similar form that students will complete on Community Learning Days.
Q: Why is this form called “independent study”? A: Thanks to new law signed into place in summer 2024, students at Da Vinci Schools are now able to participate in 15 days of short-term independent study that assists their school in recovering critical attendance funding for days missed. Being present on campus is still incredibly important to student learning, connectedness, and equity. School sites will continue to follow up with students who miss more than 10% of school days, but the new law helps to acknowledges that students sometimes need to miss school but can still engage in educational activities while they are not physically present on campus as well.
Q: Is there anything I will have to do as a parent/guardian to approve this? A: Yes. A signature form will be sent home soon to each Da Vinci Schools family which will have even more information on Short Term Independent Study.
Q: Who can I reach out to for more information about Short Term Independent Study or absences? A: Reach out to your DVD Admin team:
Principal Russell Stoll (rstoll@davincischools.org) or Asst. Principal Kirk Takeyama (ktakeyama@davincischools.org)
Your involvement helps our school count these days as attendance. Thank you for supporting your child’s education!
Upcoming Events and Key Dates:
Friday, Sept. 20th: Progress Reports Mailed Home
Thursday, Sept. 26th: *NEW DATE* DV Club & Service Learning Fair
Wednesday, Oct. 2nd: Coffee w/ Admin @8am and @5pm via Zoom
Next week is Back to School Night! Back to School Night is a great opportunity to hear about classes, make connections with your students teachers, and tour classrooms at DVD. Each grade level will begin with an assembly in the Blackbox theater from their grade-level teams, and then will head up to the fourth floor to meet and greet teachers in classrooms. Please note that the presentation for 9th and 10th grade families is at 5:30pm and the presentation for 11th and 12th grade families is at 6pm. See the schedule for Back to School Night here:
Thank you to the families who joined us for our first Coffee with Admin meeting of the school year! It is great getting the chance to meet with families, hear what is on your mind, and share the great things happening at DVD. If you did not get a chance to meet with us this week, click here for the Coffee with DVD Admin slides from Sept 2024..
Coffee with DVD Admin happens at 8am and 5pm via Zoom on the first Wednesday of every month.
Tomorrow, Wednesday Sept. 4th, at 8am and 5pm join the DVD admin team for our monthly “Coffee with Admin” chat. Simply log on via Zoom and bring any school-related questions, or just sit back, relax, and hear about school updates. This will be our first Coffee with Admin of the 2024-25 school year. Hope to see you there!
Wed, Sept. 4th: Coffee w/ Admin
All DVD parents and guardians welcome! Join for brief school updates and open Q&A with the DVD admin team.
This week, our 9th graders participated in our annual Freshmen Overnighter Camp! 9th grade students, student leaders and staff got to connect with each other in the great outdoors. Everyone participated in fun activities, team building games, and important discussions that help prepare our 9th graders to make new friends and to transition into high school. See some pictures from the 2024 Overnighter Camp below! More photos will also be made available to 9th grade families next week!
Next week, we have a modified bell schedule due to the holiday weekend. And, all students will be participating in Picture Day to take their photos for school IDs and the Yearbook on 9/4 and 9/5. See the Week 3 bell schedule below for more details.
El Camino Dual Enrollment Application Resource
This week, a record number of students at Da Vinci Design expressed interest in taking a dual enrollment college class at El Camino College (ECC). Way to go Designers!
In order to be eligible for any dual enrollment course, students MUST first apply to be a student at El Camino College. The process some key steps and requirements, and we recommend students and families reviewing the resource here for more information:
Each semester, a limited number of spots to take a dual enrollment class during seminar is made available. Contact your counselor for more information.
Upcoming Events and Key Dates:
Mon, Sept. 2nd: NO SCHOOL – LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
Week of Mon, Sept. 2nd: Seminars (P7 & P8) Begin
Wed, Sept. 4th & Thurs, Sept. 5th: Picture Day (during English classes)
Wed, Sept. 4th: Coffee w/ Admin @8am and @5pm via Zoom
ALL parents/guardians welcome!
Agenda: 1) School Updates, 2) CCSA Recognition, 3) Q&A
It feels great to be back to kick-off the new school year. Day One started as it traditionally does with staff cheering in students and gathering together for an assembly, and then heading off to Advisory for games and introductions. This week students got right into the kind of fun and engaging work we do at DVD: team building challenges in Entrepreneurship, relay games in Advisory, a “frozen t-shirt lab” in Physics, illustrated stories in English 9, and so much more! See pictures below from our First Day of School celebration!
This week, students also had a chance to select their Seminar classes. Seminars are classes at the end of the day where students may choose a class based on their interest like a sports/fitness seminar or a fun skill-building seminar like crochet or music appreciation. Student may also be enrolled in an academic support seminar to get extra help or tutoring. Seminars begin on Tuesday, Sept 3rd.
Each week, you can expect to see a blog post here wrapping up the previous week (often with shout-outs, highlights and photos) and announcing the upcoming week’s bell schedule along with other important dates. Here is the Week 2 Bell Schedule for DVD:
Dual Enrollment College Course Announcement:
This fall semester, Da Vinci Schools is offering 4 dual enrollment partnership courses with El Camino College. All courses are asynchronous online and start next week! Click here for more details and course descriptions.
IMPORTANT: In order to enroll in these classes, Da Vinci Schools will be hosting an application workshop in the RWL Center computer lab (1st floor) on Monday 8/26 from 3:00pm-4:30pm. Students should know their SSN# (if they have one) and whether or not their family is considered a military family when they come.
Key Dates and Upcoming Events:
Wed, Aug. 28th: 9th graders leave for Overnighter @ 8:40am
Thurs, Aug. 29th: 9th graders return from Overnighter @ approx. 2:30pm
Mon, Sept. 2nd: NO SCHOOL – LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
Week of Mon, Sept. 2nd: Seminars (P7 & P8) Begin
Wed, Sept. 4th & Thurs, Sept. 5th: Picture Day (during English classes)
Wed, Sept. 4th: Coffee w/ Admin @8am and @5pm via Zoom
Tues, Sept. 10th: Back to School Night @ 5:30pm
Fri, Sept. 13th: No School – Professional Development Day
Thurs, Sept. 19th: DV Club & Service Learning Fair
Week 1 DVD Campus Highlight: First Day of School Welcome Assembly
Hope you all are enjoying the tail end of a fun, safe, and restful summer. We are officially just a few days away from the new school year, and we are so excited to be back! The first day of school is Monday, August 19th, 2024. Our staff has been back on campus and hard at work preparing to welcome students back for an excellent year.
Additional important info including the 2024-2025 school calendar, the updated Student and Family Handbook, and New Family Info can also be found in the “Resources” section (to the right via computer, or at the very of this webpage via mobile phone). You can also find highlights of important upcoming dates below.
Welcome back Designers! We look forward to making this year the best one yet!
Sincerely,
Team DVD
***
First Day of School Info: Monday, August 19th
On Monday, August 19th, students will first meet outside near the bike racks, then be welcomed into the Black Box theater. Students walk through a tunnel of cheering teachers to the black box, where the whole school gathers before meeting in small groups within the classrooms. All students will begin the day in Advisory, and will receive their class schedules in Advisory. PowerSchool access is temporarily locked while we upload student schedules – but will be accessible on the first day of school. If a student believes there is an error in their school schedule, students should go to the front office during passing period after Advisory.
Remember: traffic during the first two weeks of school is busier than usual; we recommend you arrive in the parking lot at least 15 minutes before your school start time to ensure your child makes it on time. See parking lot reminders below.
Note: DVD is focused on creating comfortable, enjoyable experiences for our neurodiverse population by priming, posting, and providing. Students can expect loud volume and large crowds. Earplugs will be available near the student check-in at the bike racks. For an alternate entry or other support, please contact Asst. Principal Kirk Takeyama (ktakeyama@davincischools.org) by Sunday, 8/18.
This is the DVD Week One Bell Schedule:
For the 2023-2024 school year, the start time for Da Vinci Design will remain the same at 8:40am Monday-Thursday and the traditional “late start” for Friday is 9:45am. The end time for the school day in 3:45pm each day.
Key Dates and Upcoming Events:
Mon, Aug. 19th: First Day of School!
Wed, Aug. 21st: 12th & 11th graders sign-up for seminars
Thurs, Aug. 22nd: 10th & 9th graders sign-up for seminars
Wed, Aug. 28th: 9th graders leave for Overnighter @ 8:40am
Thurs, Aug. 29th: 9th graders return from Overnighter @ approx. 2:30pm
Mon, Sept. 2nd: NO SCHOOL – LABOR DAY HOLIDAY
Week of Mon, Sept. 2nd: Seminars (P7 & P8) Begin
Wed, Sept. 4th & Thurs, Sept. 5th: Picture Day (during English classes)
Wed, Sept. 4th: Coffee w/ Admin @8am and @5pm via Zoom
Tues, Sept. 10th: Back to School Night @ 5:30pm
Fri, Sept. 13th: No School – Professional Development Day
Thurs, Sept. 19th: DV Club & Service Learning Fair
Parking Lot Details and Reminders
Please drive safely and patiently in the parking lot; this means entering and exiting through the properly marked areas, dropping students off only in marked areas, and following the directions of our grounds supervision crew
Drop off areas are located 1) at 201 N. Douglas AND at 2) [East] Grand Avenue. Do NOT stop in traffic to drop off students across the street or anywhere along Duley Road.
Remind your students to please stay on the designated pedestrian pathways in order to help maintain their safety as they enter the school campus.
Remember: you don’t have to wait to get to the front of line of the drop off area to have your students exit the vehicle. They should exit as soon as the vehicle has come to a safe, complete stop. This will help to make sure the drop off area is used as efficiently as possible.
Students will not be allowed to enter or leave school through the gym or the pool deck at any time.
For updates every week, keep checking back here at the DVD blog!
