Good morning. This is your DVC counseling team, and this week, we are celebrating National School Counseling Week. Yesterday, we talked about how
our job is to help you be successful and work toward your dreams. But did you know that we’ve achieved one of my dreams just by being your school counselor? It’s true. Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn said, “Follow your dreams. If you have a goal, and you want to achieve it, then work hard and do everything you can to get
there.”  Our goal was to become a school counselor so we could support students like you. And we couldn’t be happier to be here. Every day is different, but we can tell you that we get tremendous joy in seeing you succeed. Your dreams are our dreams. Thanks for helping make our dreams
come true! Have a great Tuesday!

Your DVC counselors!

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

Good morning. This is the DVC counseling team and today is the first day of National School Counseling Week. The theme of this year’s week is “School
Counselors: Helping Students Dream Big.” Did you know that my number one goal, as a school counselor, is to help you succeed?
Whatever you need to be successful at school – whether that’s learning how to stay motivated to complete your work, having positive relationships with your fellow students, advocating for yourself, or overcoming barriers – we are here for it. You’ve probably heard of actor and producer Tyler Perry. He said, “I don’t think the dreams die. I think people give up. I think it gets too hard.” Sometimes achieving your dreams is hard, but we are here to help you not give up.
As your school counselor, we want to help you achieve your dreams. What are your dreams? How can we help you make a plan to achieve them? Let’s talk about it. Have a great Monday!

Your DVC counseling team!

We had a great week at DVC! We had a great kickoff to a rocket launch project in 9th Grade Computer Science and Physics in collaboration with the Aerospace Corporation. A big shoutout to our DVC student athletes, as well, especially our seniors who have been celebrating their senior nights! We see you out there representing our school well and making us proud. 

Week 22 Schedule: We are celebrating National School Counseling Week with some fun themed days!

• Monday, 2/6: Wear Your Feelings
• Tuesday, 2/7: Wear College Gear
• Wednesday, 2/8: Wear Pink
• Thursday, 2/9: Wear Sports Gear
• Friday, 2/10: Wear Disney

Please consider writing a message of gratitude to our school counselors this week: 

• Ms. Aldrete, College & Career Counselor, maldrete@davincischools.org
• Ms. Thomas, 9th & 11th Grade Counselor, athomas@davincischools.org
• Ms. Barba, 10th & 12th Grade Counselor, jbarba@davincischools.org

After-School Tutoring: We are thrilled to be able to offer after school tutoring after school on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:35 – 4:35! Our tutor’s name is Alex and he is willing to help with anything but specializes in math and science. This is open to all grade-levels; we will let students know the location of the tutoring during  grade-level homeroom on Monday.

Black History Month: Huge thanks to our Black Student Union for creating and implementing lessons and activities in Advisory for the month of February! The decorations around the campus are terrific, too.

Input Requested for Community Schools Grant Application: DVC is applying for a grant and would like to get your feedback! All students and parents are invited to share thoughts on how DVC can improve in the following areas: (1) Integrated Student Supports, (2) Family & Community Engagement, (3) Collaborative Leadership, and (4) Expanded Learning Time & Opportunities. Please join via zoom (Meeting Link)  on Tuesday, 2/7 at 4pm for a brief overview of the grant and an opportunity to give input. 

College & Career Parent Information Nights: Our DVC counselors are hosting a series of webinars about college & career preparation. Please mark your calendars for these virtual events. The webinars will be recorded and made available to families after the event.

• Wednesday, 2/15: 11th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Wednesday, 2/22: 10th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Wednesday, 3/1: 12th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Tuesday, 3/7: 9th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)

Here’s what’s coming up:

• Monday, 2/6: National School Counseling Week Begins
• Tuesday, 2/7: Community Schools Grant Application Feedback @ 4pm via Zoom  (Meeting Link) 
• Monday, 2/13: Red Cross Blood Drive Hosted by DVC National Honor Society (sign up here)
• Monday, 2/13: Senior Class Photo
• Wednesday, 2/15: 11th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Monday, 2/20: No School – Presidents’ Day
• Wednesday, 2/22: 10th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Friday, 2/24: Black History Month CD
• Wednesday, 3/1: 12th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Tuesday, 3/7: 9th Grade College & Career Parent Info Night @ 5pm via Zoom (Meeting Link)
• Monday, 3/13 – Thursday, 3/16: Student-Led Conferences (minimum days)
• Friday, 3/17: No School – Staff Development
• Thursday, 6/8: DVC Class of 2023 Graduation (1pm start time)

DVC Weekly Schedules Year 10 (2022-2023) & DVC Year 10 Planning Calendar (2022-2023)

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!