From Your Administrative Team |
Greetings Connect TK-8 Families,
This newsletter is jam-packed with info, so we thank you in advance for reading carefully!
In honor of Black History month, we will share an opportunity to celebrate in each newsletter for the month of February--it will be a mix of learning opportunities for both adults and students that we hope you will enjoy. For this first newsletter, we want to share about famous black poets! This resource was shared with us by Connect parent, Domonique, and we are oh so grateful! She also shared a link to one of Maya Angelou's poems, Still I Rise (pre-read for content before sharing with students)--what a timely way to honor and celebrate the poets who came before people like Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who will also be reciting at the SuperBowl Halftime show as the first poet to ever perform at this event!
Also, As you know, we shared the news of our search for the “just right fit” for our next Assistant Principal at Connect in November. We received over 70 applicants, and had the honor of hosting a symposium for 8 highly qualified candidates. To know that such incredible educators would want to share themselves with us in this way and take part in group activities, individual assessments, interviews with staff, students, parents and administrators, speaks volumes of our program and the work we all do in the education community. I am SO excited to announce that we have found our “just right fit”, and I want to officially welcome Tami Christopher to our Connect family! Not only does Tami come to us with over 15 years in education, she comes to us with a progressive mindset and a passion to do what’s right for kids. I am honored to welcome her to our team, and look forward to sharing her with all of you! Please read below for a special message from Tami:
Dear Da Vinci Connect Families,
I am Tami Christopher, the new AP at Da Vinci Connect. I will be working with Kaitlin, the entire Da Vinci Connect team and of course you all to continue to provide the best learning experience for our students. I am thrilled to be a member of Da Vinci Schools, an innovative and progressive group of schools created to meet students where they are.
As a parent, I wondered what I would want to know about a new AP at my son’s school. With that in mind here are a few bullet points:
I have been in education for over 17 years.
I earned my B.A. in Liberal Arts, M.S. in Secondary Education and California Teaching Credential from Mt. St. Mary’s University. I earned my Administrative Credential from Azusa Pacific University. I earned my Education Specialist in K-12 Leadership degree from Grand Canyon University.
Prior to school leadership as an administrator I was a History teacher (I have also worked in various coordinatorship roles).
Regardless of the role I played, I have always been student centered. The question I always ask, how does this benefit students?
Being student centered and willing to approach education in a non-traditional manner lead me to have what some may call a chaotic classroom or to be an administrator that always makes time to talk to students, whether it is a simple greeting or a longer chat in my office. It is these personal views that I have on education that made Da Vinci Schools a dream school for me to be a part of. I have researched the school, placed my son on the waitlist year after year, (however, he grew up playing football and he wants to complete his senior year with his team) So, I did not hesitate to apply when a position popped up in my alerts.
I am excited to meet you all, but more importantly I am thrilled to begin working with the wonderful team here to support students and families.
There is much more to be said, and in time it will be. Kaitlin and I decided our newsletter would be a great “first” introduction, followed up with our Fireside Chat next week, February 10 at 4pm. Although we are in a new (but temporary) all virtual world it does us all good to at least see faces and interact with one another -- even via a computer screen.
I look forward to meeting you all!
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Take Good Care,
Kaitlin and Tami
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PD Day Friday, February 5th
No School or Home school
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Fireside Chat
Next Wednesday, 2/10 @ 4:00pm HERE (password = connect)
Join us on Wednesday for Fireside Chat to welcome and get to know our new Assistant Principal, Tami!
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School Photo ID Make-Up/FAN Event Supplies Pick-Up/Drop off Valentines Event!
Wednesday 2/10/21 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at DV Connect
Did you miss getting your school photo IDs the first time around? We have another opportunity for you to pick up your school photo IDs on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the DV Connect campus- 12501 Isis Avenue, and a chance to show and feel the love and...let your school spirit shine! Decorate your cars for Valentine’s Day, and have your picture taken in front of our Valentine-inspired LOVE wall from your car! You may even see some familiar, friendly faces there! **To ensure everyone’s safety, please be sure to remain in your car, wear face masks, and practice all safety protocols. **
FAN will also be handing out a fun surprise to help celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year/Valentine's Dance Party and Movie Night(more info in separate blurb below)! Please register to attend the pick up event HERE and register HERE if you plan to also pick up a FAN goodie bag for our event on Friday Night!
Finally, you can also drop off Valentines for Seniors at the Gardena Senior Center (more info in separate blurb below) or for your teachers at this event! We hope to see you there!
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Feel the Love! FAN Chinese Lunar New Year/Valentine's Dance Party with Sounds by DJ Henry & Movie Night- Over The Moon! 🌙
Friday February 12th at 6pm
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting: 884 3845 7914
Passcode: 931674
**To receive a surprise for this fun event at the above mentioned Pick Up Event on the 10th, and to let us know that you will attend, please sign up HERE
Please join us for a fun, family dance party to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year (Happy Year of the OX!) and the Valentine's Day weekend! We will start the night with a fun, family dance party, hosted by DJ Henry, whose family is a part of our DV Connect community! He will be spinning some awesome, family-friendly and Valentine-inspired music by stellar artists such as Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé and many more! 🎶
We will also be sharing how we celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, and we will be finishing the night off with a Netflix tele-party viewing of the movie, Over the Moon. This poignant story follows a 12-year-old, Chinese girl named, Fei-Fei. She is an adventurous girl who builds a rocket ship to meet a mythical goddess on the moon. **This beautiful, fun and enchanting movie has music, love, adventure and also discusses the loss of a family member, and keeping their memory of love and the traditions that they taught us alive in our hearts. While we are excited about the presenting such an inspirational story, we do want to also be considerate of those in our community who may be dealing with similar circumstances.**
So, grab your dancin' shoes and your popcorn, and get ready for this celebratory night for the whole family! We hope that you all can make it, and help us dance the night away! Happy early Chinese Lunar New Year and Happy early Valentine's Day! Thank you!!!💝
*You will need to sign up for Netflix teleparty on your laptop/desktop computer before our Zoom call to access the Netflix Teleparties (the Netflix website is NOT accessible on our DV Connect chrome books).**
1. Install Teleparty by clicking the "Install Teleparty" button HERE here and follow installation instructions.
2. Pin Teleparty to Chrome Toolbar
After installing Teleparty, you should see the "Tp" button next to your address bar. If you do not see the "Tp" button click on the puzzle icon located next to the address bar and pin the "Tp" button to your Chrome toolbar. Be sure to click on that "Tp" puzzle piece in the top, right corner in order to access the chat room for the Netflix teleparty!
3. Join our DV Connect Teleparty and chat with friends on the right side of the screen! (A DV Connect parent will be monitoring each chat room).❤️
*If you have any problems accessing the Netflix teleparties the Zoom call will be open, and you can go there for any support needed.**
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Valentine's Day Cards for Seniors!
Drop off at Pick Up Event on 2/10 or send virtually by 2/13!
For those families with students who love being creative and would love to brighten a sweet senior’s Valentine’s Day, we would also like to invite your family to create a Valentines card for our elders at the Gardena Senior Day Care Center. Whether it be a virtual creation or a handcrafted design, we will accept these sweet offerings of love! Your wonderful and heartfelt letters, notes, and cards will be hand delivered on Saturday, February 13th to:
Gardena Senior Day Care Center
14517 S. Crenshaw Blvd. in Gardena
Please send your ‘Virtual Cards’ or Scanned Submissions to:
❤️
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The Parent Center at Da Vinci Connect!
“Community and Connection With a Purpose—Let’s Lift Each Other Up to Cultivate Hope & Joy”
FAN and The Parent Center @ DV Connect are partnering to create regular opportunities to come together as a community for connection and support. Join us each first and third Wednesday of the month to gather, discuss, or just “be” as we explore topics all of us are navigating in these challenging times.
In some capacity, all of us have likely experienced loss, grief, struggle (and love and joy) since stay-at-home orders were mandated last March. And, although it looks like there’s hope in sight, it is fair to say that by now many of us are really feeling the domino effect of social distancing that has created isolation from friends, family, school and work--not to mention economic hardships related to job loss/cutbacks, school closures and health concerns--the list could go on!
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.
Dates (all meetings are from 7-7:45am)
February 17th 7:45am Johanna Mytko & Theresa Leone
Moving Forward: How Will We Move Forward?
- First we will begin with a grounding opening activity
- As a group, we will set meeting norms and agreements
- Together we will watch the TED Talk by Cleo Wade, “Want to Change the World? Start by Being Brave Enough to Care”
- As a way to go deeper into the topic, participants will be guided through a journaling protocol, “3/2/1”
March 3rd 7:45am TBD
March 17th 7:45am Jahmal Durham: Affirmations of Thought & Speech
April 21st 7:45am TBD
May 5th 7:45am TBD
May 19th 7:45am TBD
June 2nd 7:45am TBD
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Social Emotional Support at DV Connect
In addition to our counselor, Kene, and our two Antioch Counselors, Chiara and Kimberly, we have also added an additional Antioch Counselor, Desire, and a MSW intern, Jocelyn Nunez, to our support team! If you or your child need counseling support, please reach out to us--we are here to help!
Also, Jocelyn will be periodically providing our community with education around social emotional learning, and her first resources are available today! Click HERE to learn more about what Social Emotional Learning is, and click HERE to read more about why it's so important! |
Art with Mr. Mason!
Mr. Mason will be posting NEW Art Videos each Wednesday in my Google Classroom for everyone to enjoy at their leisure, as well as LIVE Zoom Art on Wednesdays at 2-3pm! Hope to see you soon!
(links)
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RESERVE YOUR 20-21 YEARBOOK TODAY!
It's not just a yearbook, it's YOUR book!
Our yearbook printer, Picaboo Yearbooks, offers 4 FREE personalized pages with each yearbook. To utilize this feature, you must order online (find link in the flyer and below) and follow the instructions. Additional personalized pages are available for additional cost.
Make sure to click on the correct store:
Pricing is based on the number of pages per book:
- Connect K-8 has 100 pages ($25-$33)
- Connect HS has 40 pages ($16-$26)
Do you want to share photos from homeschooling or update your student's portrait?
- You can do that easily through our yearbook stores: Find this button "Share photos with this yearbook"
- All portraits have a soft greenery background, so please use a similar background for your new portrait photo.
- Families may load 2 collage photos of each student
When uploading photos, there is a dropdown button:
- If you want to replace/upload a portrait, then click your child's teacher/grade AND cohort.
- If you want to share a candid photo, then click "Collage" for your child's teacher/grade.
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Once you upload, add a note: Student name, activity
- All uploaded photos will need to be approved by Darlene or Lauren
- 8th Grade Families: Please upload a baby photo and a young (age 5-7) photo with note: Student Name
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FAN Meeting Recap!
**RE-SCHEDULED** for Wednesday, February 17 @ 4:00pm HERE
If you missed our FAN meeting this week, you can check out the recording to catch up (PW staffonly1!) on what you missed! We hope you will join us on Feb. 10 to continue bringing to life the dreams you have for our community! |
Free COVID Testing
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
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Da Vinci Schools Families Connected!
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.
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Receiving our Blog?
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. |
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