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Greetings Connect K8 Families,
We hope you are enjoying your final week of break and have found opportunities for both rest AND play. We will continue to share information--including some changes to our program that we think you'll love--in the coming days, including additional newsletters/emails/blog posts, so please be sure that your contact info is updated and that you are checking e-mails often and consistently.
I'd like to start by welcoming new staff/new roles to our community this year!
First, we want to remind you that Robin Brown is our New Assistant Principal! She has been with Da Vinci Connect for 10 years, and brings a wealth of expertise and care to our community!
We also want to welcome Brooke Warren, who will teach Core 1 alongside Darlene. Brenda Kao will now be teaching Core 3, which means we have a new team in Core 2! Welcome to Natasha Clarke and Ciji McBride!
We are no longer offering a remote option for those families who wished to stay virtual post-COVID, which means Julia Rivera's role will be shifting full-time to Independent Study Teacher--this is a new role that is working to meet required Tiered Re-Engagement Strategies as stated in Independent Study Law, as well as to close the equity of access gap that a hybrid model can pose to families. Julia will be supporting up to 20 students per cohort in attending campus on their homeschool days to facilitate their independent study work. You can learn more about how we piloted this work to meet student needs HERE. Our 2023-2024 program continues to focus on serving students who do not have consistent access to homeschooling support, whether it's due to language barriers, childcare/supervision, or other extenuating circumstances--including children of Da Vinci staff. This program does not replicate student's PBL cohort days on campus--students K-8 will be independently working through Da Vinci Connect provided curriculum in reading, writing, and math under Julia's supervision. If this feels like a need for your family, please reach out to Kaitlin at ktoon@davincischools.org! We are proud to continue to make advances in equitable access to our program.
Our staff has hit the ground running and will be engaging in professional development for the next two weeks! This year we are partnering with Roots ConnectEd, and spent this week thinking deeply about the power of storytelling to ensure that we are creating spaces and learning experiences where students have access to both mirrors and windows--they see themselves represented in their learning and also have the opportunity to see and learn about other lived experiences. We are also continuing our work in Universal Design For Learning to ensure that we are planning for all learners' success! Finally, we are diving back in to our Habits of Heart and Mind and Social Emotional learning at Connect--check out the beautiful new graphic gifted to us by our former AP, Sage! See if you can spot our newest Habit ;)
*The first week of homeschooling begins on August 14th and the first week of classes begins the week of August 21st. Our school day runs from 9:15-3:15pm.
*Our 2023-2024 Handbook is ready! View it here. You can also always find it in the footer of our weekly newsletter.
We look forward to welcoming you back and continuing to share additional information in the coming weeks that will help you feel best prepared for an incredible school year.
Enjoy the last few precious moments of summer memory making!
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