Archives for April 2022

Welcome back! We are looking forward to seeing our students tomorrow morning (Monday, 4/18). We hope that this week was one of rest and rejuvenation for students and their families. 

Exhibition Night Photos: We continue to be impressed by the work our students showcased at Exhibition Nights on April 4th and 5th. Our professional photographer, Stacee Lianna, captured some highlights of the night. You can see her pictures here: Photos from 9th & 11th Grade Exhibition Night and Photos from 10th & 12th Grade Exhibition Night

This week and next week are both busy and exciting! As a result, the weekly schedules are a little different than usual. Here’s a link to all the weekly schedules for the rest of the academic year: DVC Weekly Schedules  Here’s a link to the DVC Semester 2 Calendar. Please note that we update this calendar regularly and make changes as needed. 

Please read below for an overview of some of the special events coming up this week and next week:

10th Grade Retreat to Running Springs (Wednesday, 4/20): Our 10th grade students are scheduled to spend all day Wednesday, April 20th in Running Springs, California (near Big Bear Lake)! We are asking all 10th grade students to arrive at DVC by 8:00am on Wednesday. We will be returning to DVC around 9:00pm that evening. Please see information about what to bring (and what not to bring) at this link: DVC Retreat Information for Students and Families All students are required to have completed these permission forms and submit them to their Grade-Level Homeroom Teacher by Tuesday, April 19th. For more details, please see this blog post.

11th Grade SAT (Tuesday, 4/26) & Prep Course (Tuesday, 4/18): We are offering a free SAT prep class (Tuesday, 4/18 – Friday, 4/22) during seminar time. There are a few spots available (sign up here), and students must be able to commit to the entire course (all 4 days). All 11th grade students are scheduled to take the SAT on Tuesday, 4/26. Both of these opportunities are offered at no cost to students and their families. For more details, please check your email.

9th Grade TED Talks: Congratulations to the following students who have amazing TedTalk topics and were chosen by their peers to present at our 7th Annual DVCed Talks happening on Thursday, April 21st.

Sophia Alexander

Naomi Arias

Jaiden Corea

Brandon Friedman

Arianna Goldfarb

Mira Grim

Andrea Harris

Nathaniel Hill

Isabella Larios

Ryan Lewis

Daniela Light

Kai Luzniak

Isabela Marquez

Aminah Pope

Mia Rios

Ty Short

Braden Tait

Multicultural Week Preparations (Week 32): Please see this blog post for full details! Here’s a quick overview of some next steps and opportunities:

• Students can still try out to perform at the DVC Multicultural Event scheduled for Wednesday, 4/27. Interested students should sign up here: DVC Multicultural Event Application for Student Performances
• We have an awesome kick-off event for students scheduled for Monday, 4/25!  Sign up here to join DAANSEKOU in a Traditional West African Music & Dance Workshop! 
• We are seeking donations to provide students with a culinary experience during the event. Please consider donating to Da Vinci Communications and writing in the donor scroll that this donation is in support of the Multicultural Event. Here is the link for donations: https://davincischools.networkforgood.com/

Thank you for your continued support of DVC in this final quarter of the school year!

Warmly,

Erin D’Souza

Principal

DVC’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (also known as the DEI Council) has been organizing a special event that they hope to make an annual tradition: The DVC Multicultural Event! This celebration is currently scheduled for Wednesday, April 27th from 1:35pm – 3:35pm. Students in the DEI Council are hoping to allow students to taste food from several different cultures, and they hope to have the food catered from local restaurants. In order to provide this kind of special experience, we rely on donations to our Annual Giving Campaign as the money provided by state and federal governments does not allow for us to pay for these types of events. If you have yet to contribute to Da Vinci’s Annual Giving Campaign, please consider donating to Da Vinci Communications and writing in the donor scroll that this donation is in support of the Multicultural Event. Here is the link for donations: https://davincischools.networkforgood.com/

Another highlight of this event will be the student performances. There will be another round of tryouts for students after spring break, so please consider signing up to tryout here: DVC Multicultural Event Application for Student Performances The DEI Council is looking for authentic native dances, songs, poems, art work, or any other kind of cultural demonstration. 

As a kick-off for DVC’s Multicultural Week, we have organized a special workshop hosted by DAANSEKOU Cultural Collective on Monday, April 25th. Sign up here to join DAANSEKOU in a Traditional West African Workshop involving music and dance! This workshop will take place on Monday, April 25th during seminar time. If you sign up to join DAANSEKOU, full participation is expected. Advance sign-up is required for participation. Participation is limited to the first 100 students who sign up.

Thank you for your help in making DVC’s Multicultural Week a tradition to continue!

Sincerely,

Erin D’Souza

Principal

All DVC 10th grade students are scheduled to spend all day Wednesday, April 20th in Running Springs, California (near Big Bear Lake)! This special trip will include a variety of recreational and team-building games and activities including a zipline and skate park. In order to make the most of our day-trip, we are asking all students to arrive at DVC by 8:00am on Wednesday. We will be returning to DVC around 9:00pm that evening. Please see information about what to bring (and what not to bring) at this link: DVC Retreat Information for Students and Families

All students are required to have completed these permission forms and submit them to their Grade-Level Homeroom Teacher by Tuesday, April 19th. The forms include a Da Vinci Permission Slip (page 1) and a Camp Pondo Permission Slip (page 2). Both DV and Camp Pondo require separate forms. We will be printing copies and giving them out to students on Monday, April 18th, and students who do not have a completed form submitted by 8am on Wednesday, April 20th will not be able to board the buses. You are welcome to print the forms at home this week and send them with your student on Monday, April 18th. We know this is a short time to complete and submit the required forms, and we appreciate your help in ensuring that all 10th grade students can attend this special trip.

For an overview of the timeline, please see below:

Monday, April 18th: Permission Slips Distributed

• Students are given paper copies of these permission forms: DVC 10th Grade Retreat Day Permission Forms (April 20, 2022)

Tuesday, April 19th: Permission Slips Due

• Students turn in their permission forms to grade-level homeroom teachers

Wednesday, April 20th: All-Day Field Trip to Running Springs

• Students arrive no later than 8:00am for departure to Running Springs
• Students arrive back to school around 9:00pm for pick-up by families

Thursday, April 21st: Late Start & Special Schedule

• Students arrive to school no later than 9:30am (late start for 10th grade only)
• Students follow a special schedule designed to continue the team-building established on the field trip

Important Medical Information: We are happy to let you know that our Da Vinci School Nurse will be attending the trip with DVC on Wednesday, April 20th. All students requiring any medication (prescription or over the counter) for Camp Pondo will need to have a School Medication Authorization completed or the student will not be allowed to bring the medication. We encourage students who are prescribed inhalers and/or allergy medication to consider bringing since an outdoor camp field trip often leads to the need for medications/inhalers even if you haven’t needed it at school. School Medication Authorization Forms can be submitted in person or you can have your physician submit directly to the school nurse Emily Green (egreen@davincischools.org). Fax: 1-310-356-3224

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at edsouza@davincischools.org. 

Sincerely,

Erin D’Souza

Principal

Dear Da Vinci Students & Families,

Da Vinci has received additional at-home COVID-19 ihealth test kits. A two-pack of test kits will be available to each student and staff member. We strongly encourage students to pick up a COVID test kit and self-administer prior to returning to campus after Spring Break. Please report at-home test results here (both positive and negative results should be reported).

School sites have test kits for students to pick up at each site location. An additional pick up TODAY Thursday, April 7, 2022, from 4-6 pm at 201 N Douglas Street Parking lot for any family that missed other pick-ups.

Each kit contains 2 tests. The recommendation is that parents/guardians administer one test at home to their student Sunday, April 17th and the other can be kept for future use in the event they are identified as a close contact or become symptomatic.

A negative test is not required for students and staff to return to school after spring break, but in the event your child exhibits any flu-like or cold symptoms, your child should get tested and remain at home.

Students that test positive must follow the LA County Isolation guidelines and may not attend school during the required isolation period. Da Vinci School Nurse will follow up with a return to school guidance for any positive results reported.

For current quarantine, isolation, and other COVID FAQs please see here.

Emily Green, School Nurse, RN, PhD
Fax: 310-356-3224

Crissel Rodriguez – crodriguez@davincischools.org

Hello Da Vinci Scholars and Families,

Many scholars have started applying to the summer opportunities which is exciting! Please note that scholars can receive 5 academic credits for completing 60 hours of service throughout the summer. Once you receive confirmation that the business/organization is willing to host you as an intern or a volunteer, please email me so I can send you the required forms.

• The Knowledge House Coding Fellowship information session is today, Tuesday, April 5th at 6 pm. Please email me to register or to request the link to tonight’s recording.
• The Boeing application is still open for students who attended the mandatory information session in March. Please email me to get your application started!
• The Hawthorne Police Department is offering the opportunity to intern with their Community Affairs and Forensics Department. The opportunities are listed under the ‘Law’ and ‘Health Sciences’ sections.
• The Rooted Friends Project is a non-profit organization in Hawthorne and they are seeking volunteers for Saturday, April 9 to shoot a Public Service Announcement. Volunteers will be featured in videos, and photos, and may be asked to model and act. Parent permission is required for scholars under the age of 18. Please contact Celeste (323) 427-9575.

My email is crodriguez@davincischools.org