We appreciate your continued support, patience, feedback, and care as we rollout Phase II of our Re-Opening Plan. As a reminder, some students are being invited back to campus for morning zoom classes. ALL students are being invited back to campus in the afternoons from 1:00-3:00pm on their cohort days. E-mail invitations for both morning and afternoon on-campus time have been sent. Please check your junk mail or secondary contact's e-mail if you feel you have not received an invitation and should have.

If you have not watched our recorded meeting detailing our re-opening plan, please make sure to spend some time reviewing it HERE (PW is Dsk26W#!). The slide deck from the meeting can be found HERE and the COVID handbook can be reviewed HERE. Your understanding and collaboration is critical to the success of our re-opening.

At our recent fireside chat, we discussed plans for State Testing, and that we would share any additional changes with you. We are so relieved to announce that we will not be participating in state testing this year! The state has allowed us to use local assessment measures, and we will be administering a Spring MAPs test to meet the requirements they've given. Phew!

Additionally, thank you for completing Learning Log 4 and turning it in by 11:59pm tonight! We are on our last learning log of the year! Thank you for your continued diligence and commitment to this measure of compliance. We appreciate your hard work!

Finally, as everyone gears up for a well deserved and much needed Spring Break, please be aware that LA County still requires anyone traveling out of state to quarantine for 10 days upon their return. Please keep this in mind as you plan to return to campus on April 12th.

Take Good Care,

Tami, Michelle, and Kaitlin

Check out this very timely resource on the idea and feeling of burnout, as well as this important resource on domestic violence!

Thank you all for your interest in the 2nd Annual Virtual Talent Showcase! We are excited to report that, between the two dates, we have received approximately 20 sign-ups/participants willing to share their talents with our wonderful community. In order to provide our talented students with the optimum viewing audience and experience, we have decided to combine both the March 26 and April 30 events into one event on 4/30. This will help us to secure a balanced experience for all of our participants. Submission deadline for April 30 will be Friday April 23 by 5pm, however we do encourage early submission so that we have as much time as possible to plan and organize a quality event. If the demand for the Virtual Talent Showcase increases we will plan an additional event for May or June. Please stay tuned for updates and email jdurham@davincischools.org if there are any questions or concerns. 

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)

April 21^st: “Perception & Projection” w/Grace Bader & Theresa Leone

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.

·        Establishing Writer’s Workshop Routines at Home (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!

o  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 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.

·        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!

3/30: Chapters 2 & 10 NEXT MEETING!

** 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! ***

4/13

4/27

5/11

5/25: Resources, Appendices, Extras

New (or New-ish) Family Chat w/Theresa & Jahmal (Meets on 4/1 from 3:30-4:15pm)

·        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 insights as you embrace homeschooling. This is also a great opportunity to meet other parents and start building your network at Connect.

·        Topics to be explored +++

Gizmos Math & Science Simulations (Grades 3-8) (Meets on 4/30 from 1-3pm)

·        Please join us for a Gizmos webinar to get started -- or review features -- of this amazing science and math simulation platform!

·        Friday, April 30 from 1-3pm

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

·        Here's how to attend the live webinar:

Web conference access: http://explorelearning.adobeconnect.com/explore34/

o  Click on Guest and log in by typing your name in the Guest Box.

·         If you are using a Chromebook, please have them select

PRIOR to attending the webinar, please do the following:

http://www.explorelearning.com/register/EA2BGFMS

2. Watch this short video before the webinar. This video will acclimate you to basic mechanics of the website and helps them create their accounts from the registration key that you distribute. The video link is: https://kvgo.com/explorelearning/pre-gizmos

Project Based Learning (PBL) at Home (ALL GRADES, WE PROMISE!) (Meets on 5/12 from 2-4pm)

·        In this workshop Rita & Theresa will focus on the mindset, framework, strategies and tools you need to collaborate with your child to create a fantastic project based on your child’s passions!

·        Wednesday, May 12^th from 1-3pm

·        Topics include:

o  How do I involve my child in PBL project planning at home?

o  A deep dive into what PBL IS and what is ISN’T

o  Learner agency: Why it is essential and how to cultivate it in your student and your project

o  Helping your student find their “SUPER POWER”

o  Establishing quality indicators for excellence and the tools to execute

·        Use this link to sign up https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044BA8AF2EA0F85-project

·        Growth Mindset at Home

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?  

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.