Hi DVC Families,

Starting next week (from October 11-14, 2021), students throughout the school will be conducting Student-Led Conferences (SLCs) virtually through Zoom. The purpose of these conferences is for the students to practice developing and executing autonomy in their academic lives by encouraging them to evaluate their current mastery of course content in their respective classes, present their work, share their current grades, reflect on their current mastery, and create individualized goals concerning their plans for the remainder of the semester and beyond. Allowing them space and time to serve in a leadership capacity at this point in their academic careers will set them up for greater success in the future, particularly in higher education. This year SLCs will be facilitated by your student’s advisory teacher. Advisory teachers will have all relevant information about your student’s progress to make sure the time is spent meaningfully.

All conferences will be held virtually over Zoom.

Please select your student’s advisory teacher and sign up for the time slot that works best for you: Student-Led Conference Sign Up Links (sign up with advisory teacher)

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Erin D’Souza

Principal

Happy Sunday!

We had a great week this week at DVC! One of the special things that happened this week was a visit from a Lead Character Artist at Santa Monica Studios, Eric Valdes. He spoke to students in one of our Graphic Communications classes on Friday morning. We were thrilled to have him talk to our students about his career!

Looking ahead, we are excited to host our first school-wide assembly (known as “CD”) in which we’ll highlight Hispanic Heritage Month! This special assembly will take place at the end of the day on Wednesday, October 6th (2:35 – 3:35pm). Please see our schedule for next week for details.

Important notes about Week 9 (next week):

Student-Led Conferences (SLCs): We are looking forward to connecting with our families virtually during Student-Led Conferences. SLCs will take place from Monday, October 11 – Thursday, October 14. On these dates, students will be dismissed from school at 1:25pm. All student-led conferences will be conducted via Zoom. Students will be scheduling conferences with their advisory teacher so that each family gets a personalized experience. It is always our goal to meet with 100% of our families. We appreciate you prioritizing this important conference with your student and your student’s advisory teacher. Information about signing up for a student-led conference will be posted on Monday, October 4.

PSAT & SAT Testing for All Students: On Wednesday, October 13, DVC will be administering the PSAT and the SAT on campus for all students (grades 9, 10, 11, and 12). We are happy to be able to provide this opportunity for our students to be college-ready at no cost to our families. 

Please see this week’s schedule at this post and also at tinyurl.com/dvcwebsite.

Wishing you good health as we begin the fall season,

Erin D’Souza

Principal

Happy Saturday, DVC Families!

We had a great week at DVC! One of the highlights was the return of our Advisory class, where we were able to listen to students share the story of their name. We love learning more about our students and giving them the opportunity to learn more about each other!

A few updates:

Student-Led Conferences (SLCs): We are looking forward to connecting with our families during Student-Led Conferences. SLCs will take place from Monday, October 11 – Thursday, October 14. Students will be scheduling conferences with their advisory teacher so that each family gets a personalized experience. Stay tuned for more information about sign ups next week. We are still determining if the conferences will be in-person, via zoom, or both. It is always our goal to meet with 100% of our families. We appreciate you prioritizing this important conference with your student and your student’s advisory teacher.

PSAT & SAT Testing for All Students: On Wednesday, October 13, DVC will be administering the PSAT and the SAT on campus for all students (grades 9, 10, 11, and 12). We are happy to be able to provide this opportunity for our students to be college-ready at no cost to our families. Students will learn more information about this upcoming test in their classes. 

Makeup Picture Days: You can purchase your student’s school photo by checking in the folder of your student’s advisory teacher: DVC School Photos (need name of advisory teacher) Proceeds from the purchase of your student’s photo support DVC. For students who missed the photo day, makeup photos are scheduled for Thursday, 9/30 and Friday, 10/1.

College Visits: We continue to have college representatives visit DVC during lunchtime. Students are informed of the colleges and invited to attend through Google Classroom. Check out our Instagram page @dvchighschool for some student interviews after talking to the USC representative! If you would like to get more information about college, please contact our counselor who specializes in college readiness, Ms. Monique Aldrete at maldrete@davincischools.org.

Chromebooks for Home Use: If you are still in need of a chromebook for your student to use at home, please contact Ms. Jackie Martinez at jmartinez@davincischools.org. We have issued many chromebooks to students who have requested and filled out paperwork, and we would like to make sure that each student who needs access to a computer at home is able to have it. 

Emergency Lockdown Drill: Our DVC students did a fantastic job with the emergency lockdown drill we had on Thursday, 9/23. Though it saddens us to have to think about this kind of danger at a school, we are grateful to partner with the El Segundo Police Department to make DVC the safest environment it can be. We continue to urge students who have concerns regarding safety to report these concerns immediately to any DVC staff member (including me at 310-350-7192) or to use the Incident Reporting Form, which is linked on the blog (dvc.davincischools.org) and the website (tinyurl.com/dvcwebsite) and allows for complete anonymity if desired. 

Please see this week’s schedule at this post and also at tinyurl.com/dvcwebsite.

Wishing you an enjoyable weekend,

Erin D’Souza

Principal

As previously mentioned, Da Vinci Communications, Da Vinci Design, Da Vinci Science, and Da Vinci Connect High School will be conducting a Critical Incident Drill on Thursday, September 23, 2021. This drill is an important part of our continued efforts each year to maintain a safe and secure school environment. The drill will take place at 10:10 a.m. and will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Teachers have been working with students during classes to prepare for this drill.

As part of our safety and emergency procedures, Da Vinci Schools has adopted elements of the “Run-Hide-Fight” program designed to provide various options to our students and staff. Our drill will focus on the “HIDE” component which is also referred to as “shelter in place”. Other components will be practiced during our Fire Drills planned for next month. During tomorrow’s drill, students will have a chance to practice the proper response if a critical incident were to occur such as an intruder on campus or any other incident requiring a lockdown of the school. Please help us by reminding students to:

• Listen and Follow the instructions of their teacher or staff member in the room at the time of the drill
• Stay quiet during the duration of the drill
• Silence/turn off their cell phones and stay off their phone during the duration of the drill
• Wait for the “All Clear” announcement to indicate the drill has concluded

Our School Resource Officer, Officer Josh Gilberts will be joined by other officers from the El Segundo Police Department, members of the El Segundo Fire Department, and our site administrators in observing the drill and providing feedback on our emergency processes and procedures. Staff and students will also debrief after the drill to provide additional input and recommendations in order to continue to improve our response efforts.

Please keep in mind that in order for our schools to remain informed and responsive, parents/guardians and students are always encouraged to report any concerns or potential threats. If you have any questions regarding this drill or any of our other safety procedures, please reply to this email or contact the administration of your child’s school. Thank you for your continued cooperation and support in maintaining the safety and welfare of our students and staff.

You can now view and purchase your child’s school photo! Simply go to this link and look in the folder of your child’s advisory teacher: https://staceelianna.smugmug.com/DaVinciSchools/DVC-Picture-Day-2021

Proceeds from the purchase of your child’s photo support DVC! For students who missed the photo day, makeup photos will be scheduled soon.