Wishing you all a safe, restful and fun Spring Break! Tomorrow, our campus is closed in honor of the Cesar Chavez holiday. Our campus is closed next week (4/1-4/5) for Spring Break.
We will return for classes on Monday, April 8th. See you then!
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Fri, Mar. 29th – Cesar Chavez Holiday (No School)
Mon, Apr. 1st – Fri, Apr. 5th: Spring Break (No School)
Mon, April 8th: Return from Spring Break
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
Congratulations to all of our 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students and teachers on such an awesome, smooth Exhibition Night experience last night! Students were on their A-game, the work was full of depth and connection, and the energy on campus was electric. Thank you families and DVD community for showing up and sharing all of your support! See photos below from Spring 2024 Exhibition Night!
See the bell schedule for Week 29 here:
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Mon, Mar. 25th: 9th Grade college field trip
Wed, Mar. 27th: 10th Grade college field trip
Fri, Mar. 29th – Cesar Chavez Holiday (No School)
Mon, Apr. 1st – Fri, Apr. 5th: Spring Break (No School)
Mon, April 8th: Return from Spring Break
Wed, Apr. 10th + Thurs, Apr. 11th: CAASPP State Testing: English (11th Grade) and MAP Testing (9th/10th)
This week is Exhibition Night! Exhibition Night is happening at the Da Vinci Design campus from 5:30pm-7:30pm on Thursday, March 21st. Students have been working for weeks and months in preparation to display all of their hard work. Families, friends and neighbors are all welcome. Please come and be ready to see some mind-blowing projects!
Last week on Friday, March 18th, we welcomed back DVD alumni for an special day of connection and community on our campus. It was so special to hear what our graduates as far back as 2013 (our first graduating class!) have accomplished since graduating, and how DVD helped set them up for success. Thank you to all of our alumni who were able to attend, and to our Alumni Coordinator Pam Baker for setting up this great event. See photos below! Are you a DVD alum and want to know more about upcoming alumni events? Email DVD Alumni Coordinator Pam Baker at pbaker@davincischools.org for info.
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 28:
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Wed, March 20th: Parent Advisory Committee Meeting #3:
In honor of NCAA March Madness, Da Vinci Design is hosting March TECH Madness this month! This is a friendly competition where all students and teachers will track their screen time every week during the month of March. The advisory classes which has the lowest screen time each week will move forward in a tournament bracket, until we have one advisory that is our grand champion! Today we celebrated with a Sports Jersey spirit day. See photos from our March Madness spirit day below!
Next week is SLC week! 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! See grade level resources below.
This week, Da Vinci Schools administration also focused on outreach to our DV parent/guardian community regarding some concerning trends in how our teens engage on social media. We sent out a letter regarding social media to all DV families with resources for parents. At DVD this week, we also made social media the focus of our monthly “Coffee with Admin” Q&A session. Click here for the March Coffee with Admin slides, or use the DVD Parent Info Sessions & Coffee with Admin Slides link under the “Resources” column on the blog to find more information.
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 27: DVD SLC Week:
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.
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Mon, Mar. 11th – Thurs, Mar. 14th: Student Led Conferences (SLCs)
Fri, Mar. 15th – Professional Development Day (No School)
Wed, March 20th: Parent Advisory Committee Meeting #3:
8am or 5pm, via Zoom (in person not available this month)
We wrapped up this week with a community dialogue celebrating the start of Women’s History Month! We celebrated with events like a performance from our cheer team and fun games, including a women’s history trivia game for our staff who got a face full of pie for wrong answers. All in good fun! See photos from our Women’s History Month CD below.
SLC week at Da Vinci Design is coming soon! 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. Every student is expected to participate in leading an SLC this semester. SLCs will happen in-person.SLC schedules and overviews below!
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 26-27 at Da Vinci Design:
Student Led Conferences (SLCs): Grade Level Resources
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!
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.
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Wed, March 6th : Coffee w/ Admin:
8am or 5pm, via Zoom (in person not available this month)
Agenda: 1) Campus Updates & Highlights 2) Upcoming Calendar Events 3) Teens on Social Media: Tips and Resources for Parents 4) Q&A
This short week has been another exciting week at Da Vinci Design! Our 11th graders toured local colleges to get them thinking about colleges they might apply to in the Fall. Our 9th graders had a work day focused on their game designs for their Spring Exhibition. And our 10th graders had a very special field trip to The Great Wall of Los Angeles and LACMA. In the morning 10th grade students worked with Judy Baca’s non-profit SPARC doing a historical scavenger hunt while they walked the Great Wall of Los Angeles painted by Judy Baca in 1974 along the Tujunga greenbelt. After the Great Wall, students traveled to LACMA where they met with Judy Baca, her mural team and the SPARC team. Students had the opportunity to learn history of the Great Wall not readily found online and ask Judy Questions directly. See photos of the 10th grade field trip below!
Progressreports are being mailed home today, February 23rd. 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.
SLC week at Da Vinci Design is coming soon! 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. Every student is expected to participate in leading an SLC this semester. SLCs will happen in-person.SLC schedules and overviews will be released early next week – stay tuned!
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 25 at Da Vinci Design:
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Friday, March 1st: Community Dialogue (CD) honoring Women’s History Month
Mon, Mar. 11th – Thurs, Mar. 14th: Student Led Conferences (SLCs)
Thursday, Mar. 21st: Exhibition Night! (9th/10th/11th Grades)
Week 24 Campus Highlight: 10th Grade Art Field Trip
Wishing you all a safe, fun and restful holiday weekend ahead! School will not be in session on Monday, February 19th in honor of President’s Day Holiday; school will resume on Tuesday, February 20th with an all periods schedule day.
This week was spirit week! We wore pink on Wednesday (Valentine’s Day) and handed out valentine’s grams, got comfy on Thursday, and wrapped up with Twins Day. See some of our favorite twins in the pics below!
Next week, we are looking forward to lots of fun activities! Our 11th grade students are going on college field trips on Tuesday, our 10th graders are going on a field trip to the “Great Wall of LA” mural also on Tuesday, and then we have a our Spring Dance on Friday!
Here is the Week 24 Bell Schedule for DVD:
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Mon, Feb. 19th: NO SCHOOL – PRESIDENTS DAY HOLIDAY
Tues, Feb. 20th: 11th grade College Field Trip / 10th grade field trip to SPARC
This week at DVD, we celebrated National School Counseling Week! The purpose of National School Counseling Week is to focus public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by ASCA, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career. We are so grateful to our amazing team of school counselors at DVD and recognize them for all they do! Thank you to Ms. Pam Baker, Ms. Nicole Tafoya, and Mr. Omar Sanchez!
On February 7th, we had our February edition of “Coffee with Admin”, our monthly check-in for parents/guardians with the DVD admin team. If you’d like to see the updates shared during our meeting, click here or see the “DVD Parent Info Sessions & Coffee with Admin Slides” link on the right side of our blog.
Here is the Bell Schedule for Week 23:
Upcoming Events and Other Key Dates:
Mon, Feb. 12th: Blood Drive (DVC + American Red Cross)
On Monday, February 12th, the DVC National Honor Society is proud to pay it forward and strengthen our community by helping to save lives. We are partnering with the American Red Cross to hold a blood drive, and we need your help to make it a success.
We invite you to join us. If you can help, please visit the link below:
What an exciting and fun end to our week! Today, we celebrated the start of Black History Month with our annual community dialogue celebration hosted by the DVD Black Student Union (BSU). The whole school community shared in the joy as students did a series of fantastic celebrity impersonations during the assembly today: we had dance performances from everyone from Drake to Nicki Minaj, from Rihanna to Ciara, and we even had a round of Family Feud hosted by Steve Harvey. See pictures below!
We started our morning today recognizing a stellar group of students at our first ever POL Excellence Awards Breakfast in the Black Box Theater. At this event, students who were nominated for exceptional performances on their Fall 2023 Presentations of Learning got to do a “victory lap” presentation in a TedTalk-style format for families, friends and staff. Students presented websites, architectural designs, stories, and so much more. Congrats again to our POL Excellence Awards Winners! Kinnon Palmer (9), Sarah Arambula (9), Sophia Julin (9), Ethan Dupree (10), Allison Campbell (10), Adan Barbosa (11), Isabelle Ibarra & Sandra Medina (11), Kylie Charfen-Horvath (11), Michael Garcia (12), Sophia Quintanilla (12), and Adan Victoria (12). See more pictures below!
Here is the Week 22 Bell Schedule:
Senior Activities 2024: Prom, Grad Nite, and Graduation
Seniors and Senior Families: This week in English class, DVD Dean Ms. B presented important information for the Class of 2024. See the link here for important dates and ticket regarding Senior Activities!
Thursday, Feb. 8th: Senior Project Meeting for Families
Fri, Feb. 9th: NO SCHOOL – STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Fri, Feb. 9th 6pm-9pm: Spring Dance!
Mon, Feb. 12th: Blood Drive (DVC + American Red Cross)
On Monday, February 12th, the DVC National Honor Society is proud to pay it forward and strengthen our community by helping to save lives. We are partnering with the American Red Cross to hold a blood drive, and we need your help to make it a success.
We invite you to join us. If you can help, please visit the link below:
This week, students began their new seminars classes for semester two, and there was truly something for everybody this semester: we dusted off our knitting needles for Knitting and Crochet, rolled out our mats for Yoga, got ready to pump some iron in Weightlifting, and studied our gambits in Wizard’s Chess. Seminars are a great way for students to try out new hobbies, learn a new life skill, get academic support, or unwind and move their bodies at the end of a long day of learning.
Another great way for students to mix, mingle, and learn about something new is to attend a student-led club! With the start of a new semester, its a great time to try joining a new club. Clubs meet all throughout the week during lunch and after school, and students can find a full list of clubs offered at DVD here: DVD Student Club List (2023-2024). You can also find this link in the “Resources” bar on the right side of the blog page.
See the Week 21 Bell Schedule here, as well as important upcoming events and key dates below:
Mon, Feb. 12th: Blood Drive (DVC + American Red Cross)
On Monday, February 12th, the DVC National Honor Society is proud to pay it forward and strengthen our community by helping to save lives. We are partnering with the American Red Cross to hold a blood drive, and we need your help to make it a success.
We invite you to join us. If you can help, please visit the link below:
