Copied below is our recent e-mail about Connect's Phase II re-opening plan:

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our special Fireside Chat last night to review and discuss Da Vinci Connect’s Phase II Re-Opening plan. If you missed it, this e-mail contains everything you need to know, including a recording of last night’s meeting. We understand the difficulty of navigating the wide range of emotions, perspectives, and opinions that come with processing this plan. We know that it has been an extremely difficult year for all of us, and this plan certainly does not eliminate or alleviate that entirely. However, this plan does show care for ALL community members at Connect, and is a strong stepping stone to our return to “normal” (but if you were at last night’s meeting, you might have already researched the Japanese idea of “kintsugi” and like us, believe that we will come back more beautiful than before ❤). Thank you for the ongoing trust, support, and grace you have shown to us as we navigate one of the most challenging times in our educational careers. We cannot wait to see you and your students back on campus sometime soon.

In order to have a full picture of our plan, please view the recording of last night’s meeting HERE (PW is Dsk26W#!). You can also access last night’s slide deck in the document attached to the e-mail.

To access last night’s COVID Handbook (which will continue to be updated as guidelines change), please click HERE

As we prepare to bring all students back to campus for afternoon activities, we need our input to solidify a rotation schedule for which students will be on campus on any given day, and how frequently. After watching the recorded meeting, reviewing the slide deck and reviewing the COVID Handbook, please complete THIS SURVEY no later than March 19^th. Failure to complete this survey will exclude your child from the afternoon schedule for on campus activities.

With Immense Gratitude,

Tami, Michelle, and Kaitlin

Are you looking to get a fresh, new and updated professional headshot or just a nice and current picture of yourself, AND make a positive difference? DV Connect parent and professional photographer, Domonique Seeley is graciously and generously offering $25 headshots on March 20, 2021 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm! **To stay in compliance with social distancing, please sign up HERE for a 10 minute time slot! The location of the photo shoot will be sent to you once you have signed up for your time slot. **

Choose from one of these three gorgeous backgrounds (pink floral, green leaves or gray background)! Please join us on March 20th! Proceeds from this event will go to CHLA! Thank you!💝

Next meeting is Wednesday, March 17 @ 4:00pm HERE

If you missed our last FAN meeting, you can check out the recording to catch up (PW GhBu0@t+ ) on what you missed! We hope to see you at the meeting next week!

ATTENTION, ATTENTION!

Calling all artists, musicians, singers, songwriters, magicians, performers, dancers, martial artists, painters, comedians, poets, and scientists- you are all invited to Da Vinci Connect’s 2^nd Annual Virtual Talent Showcase! Our school community is filled with so many talented students and we want to see how your creativity for arts and science has grown over the past year! Share it with us on March 26 and April 30! More details and a Sign-up Genius for each series will be available on March 12, including details for submitting your 2-3 minute video.

SIGN UP HERE!

Check out our promo video by DJ Henry below!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS WITH ALL WORKSHOPS: LIVE VIRTUAL & ASYNCHRONOUS RECORDINGS

·        There is so much useful content here:

o  Supplemental Curriculum offerings + links and login credentials

o  Curriculum resources like webinar/workshop recordings, quick start guides and lesson planning tools

o  Podcasts

o  Links to articles and webinars + so much more!

·        The link to my SignUp Genius can be found near the top of the Google Classroom and is updated monthly. Here’s the LINK for March 2021!

·        Remember, I am always willing to find a spot that works for your schedule if posted dates/times are not a good fit!

·        ThinkCERCA Middle School Parent + Student Jam (Meets weekly on Thursdays from 12:45-2pm)

o  Hosted by parent educator ThinkCERCA “Champions” Laura Caputo, Lena Garcia & Jahmal Durham. This will be an on-going space for parents and students to collaborate on writing using the CERCA Framework and the ThinkCERCA platform

o  Use this link to join the meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87917820269

o  Password = thinkcerca

·        Support & Hope in Community (Meets First and Third Wednesdays at 7-7:45am)

This workshop series is a collaboration between FAN, The Kindness Committee and The Parent Center

o  This workshop series was designed to create a safe space to connect, share, listen and lift each other up. FAN members, Jahmal Durham, Grace Bader, Dominique Seeley, Beth Griffin, Da Vinci parents Johana Mytko & Melissa Liebeskind, as well as DV Connect Staff members Kene Washington and Theresa Leone will take turns offering up content that promotes conversation, exploration, reflection, hope and maybe even a call to action. No matter what, the gathering is meant to feel like home—a place where we all belong.

o  Use this link sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ba8af2ea0f85-support

o  The SignUpGenius has the link to join the Zoom meeting.

·        You Can Teach Writing, We Promise! (Meets every Wednesday in March from 2-3pm)

o  We know teaching writing is hard if you do it well. Let’s get together to talk about how it can be productive, fun and systematic!

·        Sometimes teaching writing can feel like a cross between hunting for a mythical creature and herding cats.

·        Some days you just don’t know if you can do it—or, maybe you don’t want to explain to your child (for the millionth time) why their first draft is not finished.

·        If either of these scenarios resonate with you, join Patrick and Theresa to discuss the writing process.

Participants should come prepared to:

·        Go home and try some things and come back with samples and stories to share…

·        Use this link to sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ba8af2ea0f85-establish

o  The SignUpGenius has the link to join the Zoom meeting.

Making Mistakes is GOOD! (Meets on 3/18 and 4/27 from 3-4pm)

·        Let’s explore why creating a culture that embraces mistakes is necessary in your homeschool classroom.

·        This workshop is based on Colleen Cruz’s book, “Risk. Fail. Rise. A Teacher’s Guide to Learning From Mistakes.”

·        Participants will read and discuss an expert from the book to learn about types of mistakes and the amount of learning that happens as a result of them. Too, attendees will participate in a model lesson that they can take home and repeat with their children.

·        Use this link to sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c044ba8af2ea0f85-mistakes

o  The SignUp Genius has the link to join the Zoom meeting.

** If you have recently joined the DV Connect Community—or simply still feel new-ish—join Theresa and parent educator Jahmal Durham to connect and hopefully gain some helpful insights as you embrace homeschooling. This is also a great opportunity to meet other parents and start building your network at Connect.

Monday, April 1^st from 3:30-4:15pm

Sign up with this link https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044BA8AF2EA0F85-newor

·        A book club for Parents and Students!

·        We will meet twice a month on Tuesday afternoons, from 1-2pm

1)     Please get your hands on a copy of "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" and "How to Read Literature Like a Professor... For Kids"

2)     Check out the link on The Parent Center Google Classroom to see options to purchase and check out from the public library!

2) Read accordingly--the more prepared everyone is, the better our conversations will be!

3) Come ready to discuss!

SEE YOU THERE!

3/16: Introduction + Chp. 1 and Chp. 7

** STUDENTS AND PARENTS COME TO THE MEETING PREPARED TO SUGGEST THE NEXT TWO CHAPTERS FOR THE GROUP TO READ--WE WILL VOTE TO DECIDE AS A GROUP! ***

3/30:

4/13

4/27

5/11

5/25: Resources, Appendices, Extras

·        Growth Mindset at Home

·        Project Based Learning (PBL) For Parents

To send photos to your school or organization's yearbook project: fill out the form below then Click "Choose photos" to begin uploading your photos. That's it!

[ ]I agree to the End User Agreement

      TK-5th grade (choose teacher name/cohort if adding portrait)  (choose teacher collage if adding candid photos-up to 2 candid photos per student)

      6th-8th grade (choose grade level/cohort if adding portrait or updating portrait) (choose grade level/collage if adding candid photos-2 candid per student) 

      8th grade (choose baby photos if adding baby or young child photo)

Please reach out to Darlene Wonggaew at dwonggaew@davincischools.org with any questions or concerns.  

Connect K8 Yearbook Store: https://store.shopyearbook.com/dvconnect

Connect HS Yearbook Store: https://store.shopyearbook.com/connect-hs-yearbook

Pricing is based on the number of pages per book:  

Do you want to share photos from homeschooling or update your student's portrait?  

LA County is offering free At-Home Covid Test kits to those who qualify through January 15th. A fee may be incurred after this date. Please find all pertinent information HERE

We realize that the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with winter days and the holiday season may be impacting our families and community in a variety of ways. If you, your family, or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for support. You can also visit the Da Vinci Families Connected tab on our Parent Resource Site (click HERE) or go to www.dvconnectresources.org (pw is DVConnect2021)>Resources from Da Vinci Connect >Da Vinci Schools Families Connected.

This partnership between Da VInci Schools and Beach Cities Health District provides a multitude of resources and support for students and their families. Feel free to share with anyone in your community who may benefit from this support.

We've entered parent email addresses to our K-8 and High School blog so you should now receive blog emails periodically (we've sent out 2 to each group so far). They arrive in your inbox like an email from "Da Vinci Connect" and the subject line is "Da Vinci Connect Updates" (K-8) and "Da VInci Connect High School Updates" (HS).

If you aren't receiving them, check your spam/clutter/junkmail box and if there's nothing there, try subscribing directly on our blog site (you can check back here periodically as well). Connect HS Blog found HERE and Connect K-8 Blog found HERE.