Da Vinci Connect News and Updates 6/20/24

June 20th, 2024

From Your Administrative Team

Hello Da Vinci Connect Families,

Happy Pride Month! To find ways to support, celebrate, and deepen our allyship for LGBTQIA+ members of our community, we recommend checking out these resources from PFLAG and the Boys and Girls Club of America.

We also want to honor Juneteenth--a federal holiday that falls on June 19th of every year to honor the day in history when the last group of people enslaved in the southern U.S. were informed of their freedom under the Emancipation Proclamation. To learn more about honoring Juneteenth, check out this resource from Little Justice Leaders!

As we close out a wonderful 23-24 and slip deeper into summer relaxation, there are few exciting updates we'd like to share before we say "See you in August!"

Our School Office hours are shifting! Our front office will be open from 9:00am-2:00pm throughout June and July. If you have not received your yearbook yet, you may pick it up when the office is open M-F!

We recognize that there was an error on the second page of many report cards' MAP scores--we apologize for the error! We are working to re-issue digital versions of the second page in the coming days

We are in the process of mailing home SBAC scores for our 3rd-8th grade students!--Thank you again for helping us reach out 95% participation rate!

Our Calendar for the year is board approved and published on the DV Website! You can find it here, and can ALWAYS find it at the bottom of every newsletter ;)

You should receive a welcome e-mail from Kaitlin on behalf of your child's teacher next year in the coming days! If you are no longer planning to return to DV Connect in the Fall OR if you don't receive a welcome e-mail by Monday June 24th, please e-mail Kaitlin

We are very excited to share the news that we are able to add a second counselor to our team in the Fall! An Elementary School with two full-time counselors is an unheard of miracle, and we are grateful to our Central Office and Board of Directors for understanding our model and priority of growing whole children so deeply, and for their support of this pursuit--we are thrilled to announce that Marcel Emerson will be joining Nydia to complete our "Counseling Team" in August. We can't wait for you all to meet him, and he is very excited to meet each of you!

As we have asked for your feedback throughout the year in various ways, we have heard that our families and parent educators would like campus to feel more welcoming, and that there's a dedicated place for parent educators to gather--we've heard your feedback and are thrilled to share that we will be bringing back The Parent Center on campus! Our staff have generously made space to transform Room 101 into the Parent Center, which will be staffed by Theresa, Nancy, and Jahmal--and a place for parents to gather, plan, learn and connect on a consistent basis. We can't wait to transform the space into the Parent Center of your dreams--if you are interested in helping, let Kaitlin know!

It has been a true honor to share this school year with each of you. Feel empowered to continue to utilize our Family Facebook Group to foster connection over the summer months. We wish you sunshine, rest, and joy this summer!

See you in August!

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

Summer Reading Invitation!

Each summer, our staff engage in professional reading that helps us reflect on and improve our practices. We are "going back to basics" this summer and re-aligning with our foundational belief in Non-Violent Communication. We will be reading Marshall Rosenburg's book of the same name, and invite you to read along with us!

Communities thrive when they are rooted and aligned in their values--this book will certainly bring us together in belief AND in practice! If you are interested in reading along, we will be hosting Book chats and ways to engage in the reading throughout the school year. You can find the book HERE! We would love to know if you choose to read along!

Curriculum Changes and Summer Access

We want to thank you for your feedback on our curriculum survey--we had so many families share helpful feedback! Your thoughts paired with usage data from our curriculum vendors has helped us make some thoughtful changes to the curriculum we offer next year, including:

Comprehensive and easy to access Language Arts Curriculum for both phonics, fluency, and comprehension (also includes writing prompts!)
An easier to access Science Curriculum that allows for hands-on science experiments and activities!
An easier to access Math curriculum for TK-5 that includes digital OR hard copy lessons

While most of our curriculum that you've experienced in the past will remain, we want to let you know that we will no longer be offering ST Math, Reading A-Z, or Lexia. These will be replaced by Zearn, UFLI phonics, and Fishtank Learning for reading. Based on your feedback, data usage, and budget impact, we are prioritizing offering curriculum that is easy to access, user-friendly, and high in quality. We will continue to work over summer to have curriculum ready for you in a way that is approachable, accessible, and effective! As we roll out new curriculum, continue to support curriculum already in place, and package it in a way that works for all families, we appreciate your patience, flexibility, and feedback that is kind, helpful, and specific! We also want to ensure that families who prefer autonomy in their curricular choices will continue to be able to do so!

While our systems shut down over summer and therefore cannot offer ongoing access to curriculum, we do want to share one summer resource that may feel helpful!

Zearn, our new TK-5 math curriculum, is offering families free summer intensive series to help students prepare for the next grade level!

You can access these lessons for free by visiting the Zearn Summer Series page > Log in or Create an account (USE YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNT TO CREATE A PARENT ACCOUNT NOT YOUR STUDENT DV ACCOUNT) > scroll down and choose your child's incoming grade > print the teacher and student lesson materials for the entire mission!

*This is not giving access to digital lessons--this is providing access to the recommended lessons via hard copy

Access Mr. Mason's Archived Art Lessons Over Summer!

Supply suggestions and videos in Mr. Mason's Google Classroom:

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NTQ5ODk5MTQzNzZa >join code: 3vs27ai

You can find over 200 fun pre-recorded art videos to do anytime! Enjoy!

Email Connect K-8 Front Office |

Email Kaitlin | Email Robin | Office Phone (310) 725-5800

K-8 Parent Educator Resource Website | Family Handbook | School Calendar

Have a Great Summer!

~ Your DV Connect Team