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Archives for March 2025

Week 26 Schedule

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Thank you for coming to campus for Student-Led Conferences last week! We loved meeting with you and would appreciate hearing your thoughts about the experience: SLC Feedback Form for Parents & Guardians 

WASC Accreditation Visit begins on Monday, 3/10: We are excited to welcome a visiting committee of four educators from California high schools to review and evaluate our amazing high school! Here’s a short video that students were shown during Advisory on Friday to give a basic idea of the purpose of the visit and what to expect. We welcome parents and guardians to share their experience at DVC at our Parent Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday, 3/11 at 5pm in-person or on zoom. The committee would love to hear from you!

11th Grade State Testing begins on Monday, 3/17 (11th Grade): Our 11th grade students will begin state testing in English-Language Arts soon. The testing will be done during their classes, with minimal disruption to the daily schedule. Please click the link for more information about each assessment. 

Summer Plans: If you’re looking for awesome summer opportunities that help promote college and career readiness, please check out these resources: Spring and Summer Opportunities  – Real World Learning. Students are invited to join a Canvas course called “Real World Learning Opportunities” where regular announcements are made about opportunities at Da Vinci and beyond. Ask students if they’ve accepted the invitation to join this course so that they see all the opportunities as they come up.

Restorative Detention: We are implementing a system for all students to take accountability for their class attendance, specifically working to reduce the number of tardies and potential classroom avoidance behaviors at DVC. Each week, we will review attendance records for students who have been tardy (unexcused) three or more times or have skipped class at least once between Monday and Friday. The data collected last week (3/3 – 3/7) will be used to inform who is assigned detention on Wednesday, 3/12. For any questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Daramola, Assistant Principal, at adaramola@davincischools.org. 

FLEX Block Attendance: This is a friendly reminder to ensure your student signs up for FLEX Block in SmartPass. FLEX Block will be held this week on Tuesday, 3/11, Wednesday, 3/12 and Thursday, 3/13. Teachers will be taking attendance, and FLEX Block attendance will be recorded in PowerSchool. It is important that students attend the session they signed up for. If a student does not sign up or is marked absent due to being in the wrong FLEX Block, an attendance notification email and call will be sent. Thank you for your support in helping your student stay on track!

Wednesday Snacks for DVC Staff: We are thankful to the families who have provided us with snacks or treats for our meetings on Wednesdays. If you have already contributed this academic year, please do not sign up again. If you haven’t done this yet but you’re willing and able to help out in this way, please sign up here: Wednesday Snack Sign Up

Here’s what’s coming up THIS WEEK and beyond:

  • Monday, 3/10: WASC Visit Begins & Journalism 1 Field Trip
  • Tuesday, 3/11: PAC Meeting with WASC Visiting Team @ 5pm – 201 N. Douglas or via zoom (link here)
  • Tuesday, 3/11: Journalism 1 Field Trip
  • Friday, 3/14: No School – Professional Development
  • Monday, 3/17: CAASPP English-Language Arts Testing Begins (11th Grade – during English classes)
  • Wednesday, 3/19: CS Pathway Juniors and CS Freshman AR Workshop @ Snapchat
  • Friday, 3/21: Media Production Field Trip
  • Monday, 3/24: Photography Seminar Field Trip
  • Wednesday, 3/26: SAT (11th Grade)

Please use these links for easy access to school information:

(9th-11th Grade) UCLA Summer Sessions for HS Students

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High school students have many options to get ahead and earn college credit at UCLA. Our summer offerings include:
  • Precollege Summer Institutes (35+ Institutes)
  • Provides motivated and driven high school students the opportunity to earn college credit in one to three weeks while advancing their academic career and abilities in an area of study of their interest. Eligible applicants who successfully submit their Institute Registration Form will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 2-3 weeks.
  • Summer College Immersion Program (SCIP, SCIP+, eSCIP)
  • Designed to emulate the undergraduate experience, SCIP provides students access to a broad range of UCLA’s academic expertise and resources through lectures, workshops, and seminars, as well as UCLA coursework. Eligible applicants who successfully submit their SCIP Registration Form will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 2-3 weeks.
  • Summer Courses (150+ courses)
  • High school students may enroll in 1-2 approved courses only (10 units max) from a multitude of subject areas and modalities that best serve their interest based on flexibility & variety. No documentation such as transcripts, SAT scores, or letter of recommendation is required; students must complete the Summer Course Registration Form to enroll in Summer Courses.
Application Checklist
How to Apply Guide

 

 UCLA Summer Sessions offers a variety of summer programs for high school students to earn UCLA college credit and experience an immersive introduction to college life. The Summer Scholars Support Program is a need- and merit-based scholarship opportunity for California 9th-11th grade high school students that helps pay for UCLA Summer Sessions.

Time is running out! Our scholarship application closes in 10 days. This is the perfect opportunity to elevate your summer by registering/enrolling in our summer offerings. Discover your passions or pave the way for a new interest, earn academic credit, and become apart of the Bruin community this summer! I will be hosting an additional webinar next week, Monday, March 10, 2025, at 4pm PST for students, parents, and counselors who have not been able to attend previously. Register here!
Access our scholarship application here!

 

The countdown is on! Apply by March 15!

Questions regarding eligibility and application requirements?

Contact Brian Moreno-Alvarez (bmoreno@summer.ucla.edu) or info@summer.ucla.edu to reach a member of the UCLA Summer Sessions team!

Negotiating Your College’s Price Workshop- Sign Up Now!

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Good morning DVC Families,
Da Vinci is thrilled to announce a powerful, practical, and proven workshop designed to help families decode, dispute, and decrease their college costs. If you’re looking to make college more affordable, this workshop is for you!
What You’ll Learn:
  • How to analyze, assess, and adjust financial aid award letters.
  • Strategies for writing clear, compelling, and convincing financial aid appeal letters.
  • Proven methods to negotiate, navigate, and knock down your college’s cost-effectively.
Workshop Dates & Details:
Location: Room 3203, Da Vinci Communications
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Dates:
  • Friday, March 14
  • Friday, March 21
  • Friday, April 4
  • Friday, April 11

*You only need to sign up for ONE workshop as all workshops will repeat the same information.

What to Bring:
  • Your student’s financial aid award letter(s)
  • A notepad or laptop for notes
  • Any relevant financial documents or estimates
This engaging, enlightening, and empowering workshop will give you the confidence and tools to secure the best financial outcome for college. Don’t miss this opportunity to plan, prepare, and prosper.

Week 25 Schedule

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We look forward to seeing our families on campus this week during Student-Led Conferences! As a reminder, students will be dismissed at 1:50pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday this week. On Wednesday, students will be dismissed at 2:30pm. We will have tables set up in the 1st floor atrium for conference check-in. If you haven’t signed up yet or if you need to double check or change your scheduled date/time, please use the links below:

Black History Month: We finished up our celebrations of Black History Month with presentations led by students in the Black Student Union (BSU) during Advisory on Friday! Huge thanks to all the hard work that went into this terrific and educational celebration.

DECA State Career Development Conference: Our Marketing Pathway includes an option to join DVC’s DECA Chapter and participate in competitions against other high schools involving role-plays, case studies, prepared events and online simulations. We wish our DVC DECA students much luck at their competition in Anaheim which began on Thursday, 2/27 and continues through the weekend! Follow @dvcdeca on Instagram for updates!

Grease Performance: Don’t miss the electrifying Wiseburn Da Vinci Performing Arts spring musical, GREASE! Join us for an unforgettable story of friendship, love, and adventure through the 1950s. The show runs through Sunday, March 9th. Grab your tickets today–– this is a show you don’t want to miss! We are so proud of the many DVC students in the cast and crew!

WASC Accreditation Visit begins on Monday, 3/10: We are excited to welcome a visiting committee of four educators from California high schools to review and evaluate our amazing high school! If you are interested in sharing your experience at DVC with the committee, please reply to this email and I’ll send you a special invitation to the regularly-scheduled Parent Advisory Committee Meeting on Tuesday, 3/11 at 5pm.

Summer Plans: If you’re looking for awesome summer opportunities that help promote college and career readiness, please check out these resources: Spring and Summer Opportunities  – Real World Learning. Students are invited to join a Canvas course called “Real World Learning Opportunities” where regular announcements are made about opportunities at Da Vinci and beyond. Ask students if they’ve accepted the invitation to join this course so that they see all the opportunities as they come up.

Restorative Detention: We are implementing a system for all students to take accountability for their class attendance, specifically working to reduce the number of tardies and potential classroom avoidance behaviors at DVC. Each week, we will review attendance records for students who have been tardy (unexcused) three or more times or have skipped class at least once between Monday and Friday. On Mondays, students and parents will receive a notification if detention is assigned. Detention will take place on Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 PM. If a student misses their scheduled detention, they will need to attend a make-up session on Thursday from 3:35-4:35 PM. If they miss the second make-up session, parents will be contacted, and an additional make-up detention will be scheduled. The data collected during this upcoming week (3/3 – 3/7) will be used to inform who is assigned detention on Wednesday, 3/12. For any questions or concerns, please contact Andrew Daramola, Assistant Principal, at adaramola@davincischools.org. 

FLEX Block Attendance: This is a friendly reminder to ensure your student signs up for FLEX Block in SmartPass. FLEX Block will be held this week on Tuesday, 3/4 and Thursday, 3/6. Teachers will be taking attendance, and FLEX Block attendance will be recorded in PowerSchool. It is important that students attend the session they signed up for. If a student does not sign up or is marked absent due to being in the wrong FLEX Block, an attendance notification email and call will be sent. Thank you for your support in helping your student stay on track!

Email Communication Expectations: Communication between parents and school staff is essential, and we want to ensure you know what to expect when reaching out. Based on feedback from our recent Parent Advisory Committee Meeting, we have developed these guidelines to provide clarity on response times while recognizing that teachers and staff spend most of their day directly supporting students. This document outlines our approach to email responses, helping to set clear expectations while ensuring our focus remains on student learning. We’ve also included information for students and families regarding communication specifically surrounding school absences. You can review the guidelines here: Email Communication Expectations & Absence Reminders

Wednesday Snacks for DVC Staff: We are thankful to the families who have provided us with snacks or treats for our meetings on Wednesdays. If you have already contributed this academic year, please do not sign up again. If you haven’t done this yet but you’re willing and able to help out in this way, please sign up here: Wednesday Snack Sign Up

Here’s what’s coming up THIS WEEK and beyond:

  • Monday, 3/3: Student-Led Conferences (1:50pm dismissal)
  • Tuesday, 3/4: Student-Led Conferences (1:50pm dismissal)
  • Wednesday, 3/5: NO Conferences (2:30pm dismissal)
  • Thursday, 3/6: Student-Led Conferences (1:50pm dismissal)
  • Friday, 3/7: Student-Led Conferences (1:50pm dismissal)
  • Friday, 3/7: Class of 2025 Photo in West Plaza @ 1:30pm
  • Monday, 3/10: WASC Visit Begins & Journalism 1 Field Trip
  • Tuesday, 3/11: PAC Meeting with WASC Visiting Team @ 5pm – 201 N. Douglas or via zoom (link here)
  • Tuesday, 3/11: Journalism 1 Field Trip
  • Friday, 3/14: No School – Professional Development
  • Monday, 3/17: CAASPP English-Language Arts Testing Begins (11th Grade -during English classes)
  • Wednesday, 3/19: CS Pathway Juniors and CS Freshman AR Workshop @ Snapchat
  • Friday, 3/21: Media Production Field Trip
  • Monday, 3/24: Photography Seminar Field Trip
  • Wednesday, 3/26: SAT (11th Grade)

Please use these links for easy access to school information:

Da Vinci Communications

201 N. Douglas St. – Floor 3

El Segundo, CA 90245

(310) 725-5800