Hello Da Vinci Connect Families,

"Chag Sameach" and Happy Hannukah to everyone in our community who celebrates! We wish light, peace, and comfort to all during this season. You can learn more about this special Jewish Winter Holiday here and by exploring this list of children's books at home with your family!

Happy Exhibition Week! Please read the below blurb and e-mails from your teachers containing important information about this special and mandatory event!

Our next Coffee with Kaitlin and Robin will be held on Tuesday 12/12 and Friday 12/15 right after drop off! Come chat with us about any and all things on your mind! Some things on our mind include Parent Advisory Committee (next meeting is coming soon!), WASC, Critical Incident Drills, play and sports...the list goes on! Most importantly, we value this time to connect with all of you! We hope to see you there!

We will be having our first Critical Incident Drill with students on Tuesday 12/19 and Thursday 12/21. The goal of these drills is to practice safety procedures in the unlikely event that something or someone poses a safety threat to our campus. Critical Incident Drills can feel scary--our priority is to practice these drills in a way that is minimally impactful to our students, which includes conversations prior to drills, and opportunities to re-anchor after drills with the School Safety Series from Inner Explorer, our mindfulness program. Our school is a safe place, and while these drills are more important than ever, it is the preventative practices (like prioritizing knowing our students and families well!) that will always be our focus. For a resource to help with talking about this at home, we recommend this article that can also be found with other amazing resources on Nydia's Counseling Website

Finally, we are so proud of the over 100 students, parents AND staff who have dedicated time and care into building our Performing Arts program. Congratulations to our theater program for a performance last week that was a HUGE success! With an audience of over 700, our students, staff, and families put on an incredible show. Thank you to Diane, our parent volunteers, and our student performers for everything put in to this beautiful experience! Please consider joining us in another audience for our first ever Winter Concert co-hosted by Wiseburn and Da Vinci on Tuesday 12/12! Da Vinci Connect K8 choir students will be joined by other middle school and high school band and choir students to perform an incredible show--more info below!

Happy Exhibition Week!

Kaitlin (she/her) and Robin (she/her)

Support Meetings with Theresa and Nancy!

9:30 am on Friday 12/15!

Nancy and Theresa are providing parent educators the opportunity to ask specific questions regarding Learning Logs and DV Connect supplemental curriculum tools. Please be sure to check your child’s teacher’s Canvas site to review the Supplemental Curriculum available to you this year. Too, please bring a device to make our time together as productive as possible. We will meet on the back patio. We hope to see you there!

Exhibition!

THIS Tues 12/12 and Thurs 12/14

4:30-5:15pm and 5:30-6:15pm

One of our most important signature practices, Exhibition, is quickly approaching! Exhibition is a mandatory event for all students and families to attend. This signature practice is a culminating event for the semester, where all students across grade levels have the opportunity to present to the wider community about their products/deliverables, and learning process throughout this semester's project! Students will have specific presentation times, and should expect to many community members, including their family. During the evening, families should expect to participate as active audiences for all classrooms, not just their own children.

Because this is such an important event, we ask that all students and staff dress professionally--slacks, button down/collared shirts, ties, professional dresses/skirts, dress shoes, etc. are all examples of what professional attire might look like.

Be sure to check the e-mails and Canvas notices your teachers have sent over the last several weeks--we can't wait to celebrate this important event and spend a magical evening with you!

Parent Advisory Committee Meeting!

Monday 12/18 @ 5pm via zoom: https://zoom.us/j/3825363479

In this meeting we will discuss our Comprehensive School Safety Plan, updates on WASC, and additional LCAP goals! Anyone from our community is welcome to attend, even if you aren't a committee member.

Professional Development Day

Friday 12/22

No school or homeschool

Winter Break

12/25/23-1/12/24

Families have three weeks off for Winter Break! Staff returns on 1/8 for Professional Development. Please note we will also observe President's Day on Monday 1/15. Enjoy a long winter's nap!

Winter Music Concert!

12/12 at 6:30pm at the Da Vinci Schools Gymnasium (201 N. Douglas St)

Due to incredible support, we're now anticipating a higher turnout for our upcoming Winter Music Concert. To accommodate everyone, we've updated the location of the event to the Wiseburn Da Vinci Gymnasium on the 201 N. Douglas St campus. Doors open at 6:00pm. Parking on campus will be limited and we encourage carpooling/ride-sharing. Overflow parking will also be available down the street just south of Beach Babies Preschool and 181 South Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245. We look forward to seeing you to celebrate our students' musical talents!

Donations and Volunteers for new outdoor projects on campus!

Volunteers and items still needed!

In relation to the playground/body break/ athletics conversations we have been having with students, staff, and families, we working on adding new additions and transforming spaces on campus to continue to meet student needs!

We are hoping for donations of the following items:

• Bags of sandbox sand for a new sandbox coming to the blacktop/garden space
• Outdoor rug, outdoor plants/decor for a new relaxation space we are building for older students

We are hoping for volunteers to assemble the following items:

• A sandbox
• an outdoor play kitchen



If you are able to donate any of these items or can volunteer, please contact Kaitlin directly! Thank You!