Dragon Tales

I want to start this week's message by saying, "Happy Lunar New Year" to all our students and families who celebrate this significant event. 2025 is the Year of the Snake. While the snake can conjure up symbols of darkness or concern, it is also believed that the Year of the Snake represents intuition, mystery and wisdom. In light of recent political events, there is a lot of mystery regarding the year ahead and it will take our wisdom and intuition to guide ourselves through it.

This week also represents the start of a new semester. This is a great time to talk with your student about any new classes they have, set academic goals for the semester, check the quality/condition of their school supplies and to connect with their teachers with any wonders or concerns you may have.

The new semester is also a time that we are shifting our focus in Advisory to a new theme. The focus for Quarter 3 is, "Self Management." Self-management skills are an essential part of emotional intelligence. These skills allow one to manage emotions and reactions, better communicate with others, solve problems, and resist stress. Some examples of self-management include communication, problem-solving, and stress resistance. Our lessons in the coming months will focus on self-management awareness and tools. I strongly encourage families to talk with their students about what they're learning in their Advisory class around self-management. As a parent of two middle school students, I know that self-management is a topic that seems to come up a lot in our household!

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with question or concerns.

Sincerely,

Mr. Roosevelt

As a reminder, we have a 15-minute late start this coming Tuesday for Staff Professional Development. Doors for breakfast will open at 9:15am and the front doors will open at 9:23am.

On Friday afternoon we held our quarterly ARTS awards assembly. These assemblies are part of our schoolwide behavior and sense of belonging goals. They are meant to spotlight students who exemplify the characteristics of being Accountable, Respectful, Thoughtful and Safe. We highlight how those are also important characteristics of actual artists...something it turns out we have a lot of here at da VInci. You can see how we speak to those characteristics through this slideshow.

During the assembly we play some fun games and draw names of students who have won ARTS awards throughout the school year. Our Leo Leaders also nominate a student from each grade level who exhibits these traits and we take a few moments to spotlight how they are being A.R.T.istS at da Vinci!

I want to send a huge shoutout to our Climate Coach, Ms. Heather, for her work. Data shows that compared to past years, more students are feeling safe and experiencing an increased senes of belonging this year. Let's keep that positive momentum going!

It is important to PPS that immigrant families feel safe and supported. A number of families have expressed to me and other members of our staff that they are concerned about possible immigration actions under the new presidential administration.

I want to reassure you that our top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of all students and staff. We continue to work closely with PPS leadership and our community partners to uphold Oregon law prohibiting state and local law enforcement from arresting or detaining people based solely on immigration status. Additionally, Oregon law protects student educational records from use for immigration actions.

In times of uncertainty, it is always beneficial to be proactive and prepared, and it’s crucial that we have up-to-date contact information for you and your student. If you have not done so already, please complete the yearly student verification form to ensure we’re reaching you via the right information and in the right language.

I also wanted to provide the following resources:

• This FAQ and this webpage answer many questions about the steps Portland Public Schools will be taking to safeguard staff and students going forward.

• This page from the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) includes a family resource hub and culturally specific information for families in the Portland area.

• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Little Red Card is meant to help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations. The cards can be printed out in your preferred language and carried on your person.

• Know Your Rights for Families/Students (Oregon ACLU)

• Immigrant Rights Resources One Pager

• PPS’s Office for Civil Rights offers support addressing discrimination, harassment, and bias-related concerns.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I am here for you and your students, and you have my word that, at da Vinci Arts Middle School, we will always stand together to champion our diversity and support the most vulnerable among us.

Students were excited to look for their names on our attendance board today. Students who have 90% attendance or better were spotlighted on this board. They are quite a few names on the list, but our hope is to have even more at the end of this month.

We are also seeing a decrease in the number of tardies we have from week to week. We are on track to meet our goal this week so students can have a one-lunch celebration next Friday. Most of our tardies are still coming from 1st period. While those have decreased, we know we can do better.

Please try to have your student at school no later than 9:10am so they have time to drop their stuff off at their locker and get to class on time.

Section: Art in Action

Students are engaging in a gallery walk to explore the amazing civilizations created by their classmates. Students base their civilizations on the 8 Cultural Universals (building blocks of civilization). Those same 8 building blocks are the components used to analyze the similarities and differences between cultures throughout history of the Western Hemisphere. Another cool fact, students at da Vinci have been completing this project for 20+ years!

Our amazing counselors, Ms. Shannon and Ms. Shelby will be sending out their Counselor Connection newsletter on Wednesdays and I will include an additional link to their newsletter here as well. Here is a link to this week's Counselor Connection.

da Vinci is proud to offer a number of different Affinity Groups to support students and ensure they feel a sense of belonging here at school. Affinity Groups at da Vinci are spaces where students with shared identities or backgrounds can come together to create a space where they can connect, advocate and discuss experiences related to their shared characteristic.

Funds donated to these groups will be used to support various projects and activities that the group feels are needed. This might be field trips, food for meetings, invitations to guest speakers, etc. This year, we have a BSU, LatinX, QSA, AAPI, Native American Club and JAC affinity groups that we are hoping to raise money for. These are groups that, at one point or another, were started by students and are supervised by staff. Here are links to make donations:

Donate to our Black Student Union

Donate to our LatinX Affinity Group

Donate to our Queer Straight Alliance

Donate to Asian American and Pacific Islander Group

Donate to our Native American Club

Donate to our Jewish American Club

Did you know you can help raise money for da Vinci by recycling your bottles and cans without any extra cost to you?

1) Blue bags are available in the school office or contact Chenoa Knight (503-863-1035).
Find out where to take your filled blue bags HERE.
Up to ten bags can be returned daily to any BottleDrop location. The label on the blue bags will open the secure drop door.

2) Donate from your balance online. Search their list for “Da Vinci Arts Middle School PTSA” and click “Donate” to transfer funds from a BottleDrop account to a nonprofit. Search for participating nonprofits here.

The new session of Speech and Debate will begin on Tuesday, February 11th, meeting again in Room 204 from 4:15-5:15pm on Tuesdays. This session will end on (TBD) and you can sign up here. Payment can be made through the PTSA’s new SchoolPay Link

The tentative calendar for the 2025-2026 school year is available through this link. The District is hoping to solicit feedback from families about the proposed calendar. You can provide your feedback through the link above.

• VIBE PDX No-School Youth Sewing Classes (Jan. 27-28, Feb. 17, Mar. 3, Mar. 24-28)

• Cognizart 31st Annual Young Artists Debut! Concert & Showcase (apply by Feb. 3 – Deadline extended)

• VIBE of Portland Music & Digital Art Classes for Kids

• Portland Parks & Rec Environmental Education Nature Field Trips (flyer for teachers)

Summer Camps:

• VIBE PDX East Winds Band Camp (Jul. 21-25, 2025, recorded audition due Jul. 10)

• Cognizart 360Arts Summer Camps (Jul. 7-11, 14-18, & 21-25, 2025)

• OSU Summer Reading Program (Jun. 14 - Aug. 16, 2025)