Goodmorning DVC,

Beginning next week, the DVC counseling team will begin to host the annual parent presentations to discuss graduation requirements, college admissions, and parent tips on next steps. The following are the dates and times for each grade level:

Here is the ZOOM LINK for all virtual presentations

ALL presentations will be recorded and send out through this blog on the following day

The DVC Counseling Team,

Ms, Aldrete (maldrete@davincischools.org)

Ms. Barba (jbarba@davincischools.org)

Ms. Thomas (athomas@davincischools.org)

The LATTC’s  Spring 2023 STEAM Academy is scheduled to start on Saturday February 25^th with plenty of exciting courses to offer. For the first time ever, we will offer Chicano 007 and Philosophy 1. As a reminder, the STEAM Academy is open and completely FREE to students in grades 9-12^th and for highly recommended 6-8^th graders*.  Students will be able to select from online or in-person courses to suit their availability.

A STEAM flyer is attached for your convenience.

Interested students MUST attend an upcoming Zoom online orientations. Parents are highly encouraged to attend.

Information covered during the orientation: enrollment process, course descriptions & prerequisites, a brief intro to Canvas, and benefits of doing well in college courses  and potential drawbacks of not successfully completing a course.  

To RSVP use this link: http://www.lattc.edu/steam

The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute introduces high school students to game-making as an artistic practice, teaching them techniques and tools to develop analog and digital games that reflect their own creative vision. No previous game-making skills are required. Students with an interest in games and visual arts will find the curriculum especially rewarding–and those who complete the two-week program receive 4 units of college credit!

This summer we’re featuring two sessions of the program: an online, virtual classroom version, as well as an in-person, residential program on campus at UCLA. The two sessions offer nearly identical instruction and game design projects—but now you can choose between an online or an on-campus experience! The dates for Summer 2023:

• Session A (online, virtual classroom): July 10, 2023 – July 21, 2023
• Session B (in-person, residential): July 23, 2023 – August 5, 2023

The Summer Institute program is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we welcome students of all cultural, racial, gender, linguistic, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and physical abilities.

Registration starts February 15 at the UCLA Summer Sessions website. Spaces in both programs are limited—and they tend to fill up pretty fast. So if you’re interested in learning all about game design this summer, please visit that site soon–and please read on to learn more about what makes the UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute so special!

Develop technical and creative skills by making game art!

Students in the program develop an aesthetic and technical foundation in various aspects of game design, and begin learning how to express their own personal ideas through game-making.

Taught by alumni of the internationally renowned UCLA Game Lab, the two-week program leads students through four, hands-on courses in game development. These classes focus on:

• Learning the fundamentals of game design
• Creating compelling game characters
• Building game worlds
• Programming/coding games

Prepare for college… and beyond!

By the end of the two weeks, students will have created complete games or game assets in each of the four classes. Completed student work is exhibited after the program is over—either in a gallery space at UCLA for our residential program, or via a gallery-like website installation for our online, virtual-classroom program. Either way, students and parents get to experience all of the wonderful game art completed during the program, and students graduate from the Summer Institute with their artwork—and 4 units of college credit—which they can include in their college applications and portfolios.

About the UCLA Game Lab

The Summer Institute program is sponsored by the UCLA Game Lab, a creative and research-based center that approaches game development as a discipline combining technology and the arts. The lab specializes in using game technology for experimental and expressive applications and enables designers of all backgrounds to start making games. Founded in 2009 by artist and game designer Eddo Stern, a professor in the Department of Design Media Arts, the lab is sponsored by UCLA’s School of the Arts and Architecture and the School of Theater, Film, and Television.

If you would like to learn more about the lab’s mission or to see the work of our student artists, please visit us on web at games.ucla.edu. For more information—or to schedule a campus visit—please email Tyler Stefanich (tyler@games.ucla.edu), Game Lab Manager. If you work with high school students, we would encourage you to book a group visit with us to introduce your students to the lab and our Summer Institute program!

Register for the Summer Institute!

For complete information about the program—and to register and enroll—please visit our program at the UCLA Summer Sessions website. As noted above, registration begins on February 15–and spaces are limited–so please be sure to complete your registration as soon as possible!

Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. It positively impacts the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes reaching your full potential, includes Life Skills Workshops (co-sponsored locally by Deloitte) and makes available over $1 Billion in scholarships every year. Distinguished Young Women strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future. ONE MONTH LEFT TO APPLY- Deadline: Friday, February 17 Who is eligible? Young women from Class of 2024 who: are involved in school and/or community activities show outstanding efforts in academics, leadership, athletics or the arts are interested in earning scholarships for college There is NO COST to participate. The Distinguished Young Women of Los Angeles County Scholarship Program for the Class of 2024 will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Please note the deadline to apply is Friday, February 17, 2023 and there is absolutely NO COST to participate in Distinguished Young Women. The young women selected to represent Los Angeles County will receive a cash scholarship and the opportunity to compete for up to $30,000 in cash scholarships at the Distinguished Young Women of California program in the summer of 2023. All local participants are eligible for scholarships from participating universities, just by participating in the program!  We appreciate you sharing this once in a lifetime opportunity with your talented and high achieving young women in the Class of 2024! Attached please find a flyer, web ready summary and PowerPoint to assist you in publicizing to both prospective participants as well as your fellow educators*. Interested young women can fill out the application on our website: www.distinguishedyw.org. DYW 2024 FLYER DYW 2024 OVERVIEW  DYW 2024 SUMMARY If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at losangeles@distinguishedyw.org

Sandpipers has provided financial assistance to college-bound students since 1941 and is the oldest continuing aid program in the South Bay. Supporting more than 50 students per year, the program is unique in funding our qualified recipients throughout the four continuous years of their undergraduate studies.  View our video about our Scholarship Program here:  https://www.sandpipers.org/scholarships

For the 2022-2023 school year, Sandpipers awarded more than $300,000 to 55 college students (Freshmen – Senior years). Each student received a minimum of $500 with some receiving as much as $10,000 for the school year. This amount is based on their outstanding financial need from their FAFSA report.

High school seniors living in the South Bay (both citizens and eligible non-citizens as defined by the U.S. Department of Education) are eligible to apply for a Sandpipers Scholarship for the 2023-24 school year.  Detailed eligibility requirements are stated below.

The entire Sandpipers Scholarship Application is online.  The application is now available and can be accessed at this link: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/86862

Similar to last year, the application should be easier for students in terms of the financial information that we are asking them to provide.  This year, applicants need to provide their FAFSA that lists their Estimated Family Contribution (EFC.)  If they did not do the FAFSA, then they will need to upload their parent/guardian(s) tax return, with all social security numbers crossed off.

All applications are due on Thursday, February 2, 2023 at 5 PM, no exceptions.  

The Sandpipers Scholarship Committee conducts a rigorous review of ALL applications.  Sandpipers will select up to 20 candidates to meet with the Sandpipers Scholarship Committee for virtual interviews. From those 20 students interviewed, the Committee will select between 12-14 students as Sandpipers Scholarship recipients for 2023-24.

We base our selection of our scholarship recipients on the following:

· Students’ community and school involvement

· Academic achievement

· Leadership

· Financial need

· Personal commitment to financially contribute to their own education via work-study, part-time employment, etc.

· Note: children and grandchildren of Sandpipers’ members are not eligible.

Application Requirements and Process

High school seniors meeting all eligibility requirements below may apply for a Sandpipers Scholarship:

• U.S. Citizen or eligible non-citizen (as defined by the U.S. Department of Education in The Student Guide)
• Cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher
• Permanent resident of the South Bay area of Southern California (roughly bounded by the 105 and 110 freeways)
• Students residing outside the South Bay area are eligible if they attend a high school in the defined South Bay area
• Demonstrate a financial need

Again, online applications with all supporting materials uploaded (essay, transcript, letters of recommendation) need to be completed by 5 p.m. on Thursday, February 2, 2023.