Da Vinci Communications

Week 15 Schedule: School resumes Monday!

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Before we left for Thanksgiving Break, we celebrated our seniors in several ways – a senior potluck “friendsgiving” complete with a Class of 2025 trivia game and t-shirt signing as well as “Press Submit Day,” which is a celebration of the submission of college applications! We are proud of the Class of 2025!

School resumes on Monday, 12/2 at 8:30am! There are only 3 weeks left this semester. Grades earned at the end of this semester appear on students’ transcripts, and a new semester begins in January 2024. The last day for students to submit schoolwork for Semester 1 is Wednesday, 12/11. The easiest way to check your student’s grades is through Canvas. If you need help creating a Canvas account and linking it to your student, please use this website: tinyurl.com/dv-parent-canvas-help and login here: davincischools.instructure.com. 

Presentations of Learning (POLs) begin on Thursday, 12/12! This is the last full week of school before we begin POLs & Finals. School dismissal for POL days is 2:00pm. POLs help students improve communication and public speaking skills and empower students to take ownership of their learning. We are excited for our students to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned this semester! The most important things you can do to help your student prepare for their POLs are (1) assure them that it is ok to make mistakes, (2) have them practice their POLs many times to as many people in your household as possible, and (3) help them prepare their professional dress. 

One of the expectations for a Presentation of Learning (POL) is that students come in professional dress. At DVC, professional dress is defined as including the following:

  • HEAD: Hair should not cover the face; no hats
  • SHOULDERS: Button-down dress shirt (shirt must be tucked in) or or non-revealing blouse (must cover shoulders); Suit jacket (optional)
  • KNEES: Khaki pants or dress pants (no jeans); Dress or skirt that touches tops of knees when standing up straight
  • TOES: Closed-toe dress shoes (no sneakers or excessively high heels)

CHYA Presentations: Dr. Emily Green and Nurse Titsyana Lucero will be presenting the health & sexual education curriculum (“CHYA”, or “California Healthy Youth Act”) to 9th grade during the week of December 12th – December 19th. Click this link to read the notification letter from Dr Emily Green. If you have any questions about the content that will be covered, please email Dr. Green at egreen@davincischools.org. Parents have the right to “opt-out” of this presentation for their child. If you wish to do so, please email Erin D’Souza, DVC Principal, at edsouza@davincischools.org.

Sign up for FLEX Block: Friendly reminder to all students that we have FLEX Block on Tuesday and Thursday this week; please sign up here: https://app.smartpass.app 

FAFSA Friday Workshops for Senior Families: Da Vinci Schools is excited to offer practical, hands-on FAFSA workshops to our senior families. See more information about the workshop on this post on our blog. This will be held on the DV Communications (DVC) floor in Room 3203 and is open to all Da Vinci Schools senior families. Participants should register here for ONE of the following dates as all workshops will cover the same material.

  • Friday, December 6th, 2024 (6-7:30 p.m.) *Ayuda en Español*
  • Friday, January 17th, 2025 (6-7:30 p.m.)
  • Friday, February 7th, 2025 (6-7:30 p.m.)

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

  • Monday, 12/2: School resumes after Thanksgiving Break
  • Friday, 12/6: End-of-Semester CD
  • Wednesday, 12/11: Last Day to Submit Work for Semester 1
  • Thursday, 12/12 – Thursday, 12/19: POLs & Finals (2pm dismissal)
  • Thursday, 12/19: Last Day of Semester 1 (grades earned appear on student transcripts)
  • Friday, 12/20 – Friday, 1/10: No School – Winter Break
  • Monday, 1/13: School Resumes & Semester 2 Begins

Please use these links for easy access to school information:

School Safety Reminders

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Dear DVC Students and Families,

During this time away from school, we wanted to share a few school safety reminders so that you have all the resources you need to keep everyone safe!

Ensuring school safety is our number one priority, and ensuring school safety takes a village. We encourage everyone in our school communities to continue to speak up if they see or hear anything that could constitute a potential threat to school safety, and we provide all community members with many ways to contact us regarding any concerns. Students, parents, and guardians are encouraged to report any concerns to school staff as soon as possible using any of the following means:

The following resources address school safety and provide more details regarding policies and procedures:

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that safety is the number one priority! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Erin D’Souza, Principal

Andrew Daramola, Assistant Principal

Presentations of Learning (POLs) are coming soon!

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Presentations of Learning (known as POLs) are a signature practice of DVC. At the end of each semester, students complete Presentations of Learning (POL) in some of their classes in which they demonstrate their growth over time and mastery of academic content in a formal presentation before their teacher and classmates. At the conclusion of the student’s presentation, their teachers ask questions and offer feedback and support for the next steps. Click here for slides containing basic information and example videos of a POL.

One of the expectations for a Presentation of Learning (POL) is that students come in professional dress. At DVC, professional dress is defined as including the following:

  • HEAD: Hair should not cover the face; no hats
  • SHOULDERS: Button-down dress shirt (shirt must be tucked in) or or non-revealing blouse (must cover shoulders); Suit jacket (optional)
  • KNEES: Khaki pants or dress pants (no jeans); Dress or skirt that touches tops of knees when standing up straight
  • TOES: Closed-toe dress shoes (no sneakers or excessively high heels)

POLs begin on Thursday, 12/12 and continue through Thursday, 12/19. School dismissal for POL days is 2:00pm. 

The two most important things you can do to help your student prepare for their POL is (1) assure them that it is ok to make mistakes and (2) have them practice their POL many times to as many people in your household as possible. POLs help students improve their communication and public speaking skills and empower students to take ownership of their learning. 

We are excited for our students to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned this semester!

Join “DVC Families” on Facebook!

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One of our parents, Cindy Gilligan, is doing an amazing job posting all school information on Facebook. If you’d like to get your information there, please join “DVC Families” – my favorite part is when she makes graphics using this wolf!

DVC Exhibition Night: Feedback Requested!

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We’d love to hear your feedback on Exhibition Night! Please complete THIS SHORT SURVEY and enjoy a few pics of the evening.

Thank you again for attending!

Da Vinci Communications

201 N. Douglas St. – Floor 3

El Segundo, CA 90245

(310) 725-5800