Hello Families,

For this week's Black History Month resource, we are excited to share this list of 32 Children's Activities for Black History Month (appropriate for all ages!) curated by activist, author and educator, Britt Hawthorne.

Thank you to everyone who organized and attended last week's Speaker's Jam! We are grateful to the Core 1 committee and to Jahmal for creating space for this special event! Check out the blurb below to learn more about opportunities to help the rest of our FAN Annual Rhythm Events for the year come to life!

We look forward to sharing in our Spring Student Led Conferences with you all starting on the 27th! See the blurb below for additional details.

We also want to share a big congratulations to 7th grade student Becky Yang for representing Da Vinci Connect at the chapter level MATHCOUNTS competition on February 18. Becky was one of 333 students from the South Bay/Santa Monica chapter to compete! If you would like more information about the Da Vinci Connect MATHCOUNTS team, please contact parent Julie Haubner at haubnerjulie@gmail.com

Finally, we want to be sure that all families know that the Suicide hotline has changed to the new Suicide and Crisis Lifeline three digit dialing code 988. From their website: "When people call, text, or chat 988, they will be connected to trained counselors that are part of the existing Lifeline network. These trained counselors will listen, understand how their problems are affecting them, provide support, and connect them to resources if necessary." We encourage all families to share and utilize this hotline in addition to the resources available at Connect whenever necessary.

Student Led Conferences!

Mon 2/27-Wed 3/1

We are so excited for our Spring Student Led Conferences! This signature (and mandatory) practice is one of our favorite ways to allow students to sit in the driver's seat of their learning. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful participation!

You may remember that dates for SLCs in the Fall straddled T-Th giving students one on-campus day and one homeschool day. This semester, SLCs fall on M-W in order to best balance out the total number of on-campus days for each cohort. Due to many factors, including total instructional days, Org-Wide professional development days, and other events, we have a wider imbalance of on-campus days between cohorts than normal, and this was one opportunity to improve the balance. This is absolutely on our radar as we begin to plan calendars for the 23-24 school year!

Parent Education Learning Opportunity

The Science of Well-Being for Teens

*Email Kaitlin this week if interested!*

Yale University is offering a FREE self-paced course on the science of well-being for teens! If you would like to sign up for the course and move through each week's coursework with a group of like-minded folks, please sign up for the course HERE, and then e-mail Kaitlin to express your interest in joining a study group! Interested folks will be polled on availability to meet and discuss the content together.

Running Club!

Volunteers Needed!

We need volunteers to keep Running Club going on T/TH! Please consider signing up to volunteer here. We need your help to keep this awesome opportunity available to students!

Garden Club!

Tuesday and Thursday Mornings 8:45am-9:10am

Dear Students and families, we will be meeting on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the blacktop garden area from 8:45 to 9:10 am.  Please use the appropriate sign-in sheets located in the front office, stay in the garden club area during your visit, and be sure to exit campus before 9:15am.

Thankfully, we're making a great amount of progress and we can see the GROWING excitement from our students who visit the garden space on a regular basis. The next phase of the project includes creating opportunities for our "Student Garden Ambassadors" initiative as well as developing community service activities for our neighboring community.  If parents are interested in learning more about the project objectives or joining the Garden Club committee, we will be posting updates and other invitations to support the project in the weekly newsletter. If you are continuing with us or are a new family wanting to expand your gardening experience, please click HERE to complete a short survey. For questions and comments email jdurham@davincischools.org

Da Vinci Connect Yearbook!

It's time to purchase your yearbook and start designing your 2 FREE personalized pages with TreeRing.  Go to this link to purchase!

FAN Update!

Mark your Calendars, Save the Date, and join the committee!

• March 29 - STEM Carnival (Core 2 planning)
• April 14 - Middle School Dance (Student-led)
• May 19 - Annual Talent Showcase (Core 5 planning)

~email jdurham@davcincischools.org for details.

Speaker's Jam Update!

Thank you to all our wonderful presenters and special thanks to the Brodine Family for going above and beyond with their support of the event! Quaint, subtle, sweet, and funny- was the tone of the Speaker's Voices heard this year! In recognition of their brevity, we would like to invite all of our wonderful presenters to send of a copy of their original works to add to our Speaker's Jam Poetry Book - so that next year there will be even more inspiration for those who choose to Step-up to the microphone! email -jdurham@davincischools.org

Parent Center at Da Vinci Connect!

•  Use this code (w3yytj2) to access all content all year!
• Check out the 2022-23 Supplemental Curriculum Grid by Grade Level, login details, Office Hours Sign Ups, and more! If you believe you need access to curriculum, please email Theresa with your specific request.
• Click this link – be sure to log in using your student’s DV Connect email address!

Office Hours for 1:1 Meetings with Theresa

• Sign up for a meeting to discuss your homeschool needs, hopes & dreams!
• February 2023 Office Hours have been posted to The Parent Center Google Classroom. 



CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHT

Georgia State Mathematics!

Free, Recommended Math Curriculum for Grades TK-5

Georgia State Math is a robust math curriculum that supports conceptual learning in math using hands-on learning tasks. Students of all ages are able to show problem-solving skills and discuss their thinking in engaging ways.

Check out these resources to support how you implement this math tool at home.

·     Kelly Ann’s Webinar Will Explain the Learning Tasks and More!

·     Webinar Guide

·     Link to Georgia State Math Website

·     Video: A glimpse into what the tasks look like in classrooms

STEM Opportunity--Engineer's Week Celebration!

2/25 12-5pm @ Columbia Memorial Space Center

Aerospaec STEM Events invites all STEM explorers to attend a panel discussion about the NASA Dart Mission! Find out more info HERE.

Mr. Mason's Virtual Art Classes Are Back!

Every Wednesday 2-3pm on ZOOM!

https://zoom.us/j/4722291011

Live ZOOM Art Class with Mr. Mason. Every Wednesday 2-3pm.

Supply suggestions in the Google Classroom:

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NTQ5ODk5MTQzNzZa

Remember new art project videos are uploaded twice a week.

You can find over 140 pre-recorded art videos to do anytime.

Classroom.google.com > + (join code: 3vs27ai

Daily Virtual Read Alouds are back!

M-F 3:00pm

Join Nancy each day at 3:00pm on zoom for a virtual read aloud! This invitation is for all ages, regardless of cohort or program! You can join her on zoom HERE

Mental Health Support for Families!

We recognize that Winter can bring a variety of different feelings to navigate. We want to make sure that our families are connected to the resources they need. Please visit South Bay Connected to access a variety of resources to support families of all ages.