Dragon Tales

It definitely felt weird having 1/3 of our student body out of the building this past week. We can't wait to see them back in our halls next week. I had the opportunity to visit students at Camp Kuratli this week and Vice Principal Wilson was able to visit students at Camp Collins and Angelos. It is so much fun seeing our students outside the normal school confines. I'm sure our 6th graders will be exhausted when they get home. I hope each of them are able to catch up on sleep and return ready to hit the books upon their return to school on Monday.

Lastly, I want to make sure that families are aware that students do not have school this Friday, October 11th. This is a statewide teacher in-service day. The building will be closed this day and there will not be staff in the building.

Please remind your student that electronics and bags (backpacks and tote bags) are to be kept in lockers throughout the day. With 6th graders out of the building this past week, it feels a bit like things got a little relaxed around the bag policy, but we will be back to full enforcement next week.

da Vinci is unique in that we run many different bell schedules, especially on weeks we have assemblies or performances. Families can click this link, located on our school website, to find which bell schedule we are on.

Mr. Burnham's Advanced Ceramics students completed their first round of Raku firing. After safety training, and with the supervision of Mr. B, his students were responsible for the entire firing process. Raku firing is an ancient Japanese ceramics technique that has been used for many centuries to create a very unique finish to wares. The Raku technique dates back to the 16th century, traditionally crafted by hand and not thrown on a potter's wheel.

On October 18th, from 4:15-7:00pm, the Masters Drama Ensemble will be performing a staged reading of Larissa Fasthorse's Young Audiences play "Average Family". FastHorse is a contemporary Native American playwright and she was commissioned to create this piece in partnership with Children's Theatre Company.

It's about two "Average" American families competing on a reality TV show. The rules are that the two families must live off the land as they might have in the 1840's. Each family is given the starting provisions of what their "ancestors" would have had at the given time in the given place.

In Masters Drama, the 35 ensemble members have dramatized the play and gone through the process of collaboratively assigning roles for this performance. Although this is not a mandatory performance, students and families are encouraged to attend. All students in the class will have the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the process, so the final performance will still be a presentation of their collective effort. We look forward to exploring this work and sharing our creation with you!

10/7 is the cut off date for the first round of immunization reminders. If families haven't updated immunization records by that date they will receive a reminder letter, going out on 10/25. Tom estimates 20 students that will be getting letters this go round.

You have time to get this information in. Immunization exclusion day at school isn't until February, when students not up to date on their shots can't come to school until documentation has been provided.

The Grant Choir Program is hosting an interactive preview night and every 8th grader who is considering attending Grant next year is invited! Join us in the Grant Choir room (281) on Wednesday, October 30th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. 8th graders will get to sing with current Grant Choir students, learn about the opportunities vocal music at Grant can provide, ask questions, and enjoy free cupcakes!

Even if your student has no singing experience, or you think they would "never join something like choir," please consider attending – choir is one of the most popular, fun, inclusive, and supportive elective programs Grant has to offer and there are students from all walks of life enthusiastically enrolled in the program. For more information, please see the Full Event Flyer or email the director John Eisemann (jeisemann@pps.net).