Dragon Tales

It was great to return to school this past Tuesday and to see students and teachers return after an extended break due to the snow and President's Day. On Tuesday, it was cute to watch many students bring Valentine's candy and gifts to their friends that they had planned to pass out the previous Friday.

Next week marks the middle of Quarter 3. Teachers submit mid-term progress reports by the end of next week and these should be available in ParentVue the following week. Please check in with your student this weekend and ask them if they are all caught up on their work and assignments.

Lastly, next week's calendar is a bit wonky. There is a late start on Tuesday (School starts at 9:30am) and an early release on Wednesday (students get out at 1:45pm). Please make the appropriate arrangements for drop off and pick up as we do not have before or after school care for these days.

Tuesday is a Late Start:

School starts 15-minutes later this coming Tuesday. Students will be allowed in for breakfast at 9:15am and the front doors will open at 9:23am.

Wednesday is an Early Release:

Students will be dismissed at 1:45pm and must be out of the building by 1:55pm so we can begin our staff meeting at 2pm.

Like last year, we have set attendance and tardy goals for students to be eligible to attend our school dance, which is on March 20th. Attending events like this are a privilege and we use incentive goals like these to encourage the behaviors that we know help students academically succeed.

In order to be able to attend the dance, students must meet the following between February 20th (last Tuesday) and March 20th (the day of the dance).

• No Stage 2-3 behavior referrals between Feb 20-March 20.
• No more than 10 combined tardies from all classes between Feb 24-March 20. This includes 1st period.
• No unexcused absences. Families, please make sure to update attendance if your students will miss any school.

Any student at-risk of not meeting these expectations will be notified in advance and our attendance team will work with them to develop a plan to help them stay eligible. Families will also be notified. As a reminder, you can check your student's attendance on your ParentVue app.

More details about the dance will come out as we get closer to the 20th.

Current 6th & 7th grade students participated in a forecasting presentation and received their forecasting sheets today in their Social Studies class.

Please work with your student over the weekend to have them complete their form and return it to their Social Studies teacher by Wednesday, February 26th.

Counselors and administrators will be visiting classrooms in the coming days to enter those requests into our student information system. Students must have their forecasting sheets turned in to complete this process.

Below are links to the slideshow presentations we shared with both 7th & 8th grade students, along with our course guide.

• Forecasting Slides 7th (used during presentations to current 6th grade students today)
  
• Forecasting Slides 8th (used during presentations to current 7th grade students today)
• Forecasting Guide (contains lots of info about the process)

Are you looking for therapy support for your child? Have you run into the weeks and months long waitlists? daVinci has onsite therapy support provided by an outside provider. There are a few open slots that we'd like to fill.

If you are interested in exploring this option for your child, please reach out to their school counselor. The school counselors will help with the referral process.

Ms Shannon sfoxley@pps.net - last names A - L

Ms Shelby skugler@pps.net - last names M - Z

Our Dance 3-4 class and Dance Capstone students spent an extraordinary day at the Reed College Dance Department, where they toured theatre, stagecraft and dance spaces, met with faculty and students, participated in technique class and choreography/composition projects with Reed students. An inspiring way to start preparing for da Vinci Capstone!

If you have not done so already, please download the ParentVue App as it gives you access to just about any school related information you might want as a parent or caregiver. The ParentVue app gives you access to the following:

• Attendance
• Final Grades posted at mid-terms and quarters/semesters
• Test Scores
• General Student Info
• Course History
• Test History
• Special Education Documents (click here for even more info on this)

We need help supporting literary arts at da Vinci.

Due to budget cuts, the PPS print shop closed and we are in need of funding to print materials required to share student writing with the community this year and moving forward.

Annual materials that need printing are the Dragons' Fire Literary Review magazine (which costs $10/copy to print), our Capstone Chapbooks, and other items.

Donation amounts suggested: $5-$50

Say Cheese and order your copy of the 2024-2025 da Vinci Yearbook for your student. Not only does it contain the Photo Day pictures of all the students, it also has candid shots of the varying different events and productions that have shaped this fantastic school year! It's a favorite activity for students to sign one another's yearbooks on the last day of school.

Your contribution helps cover the costs to produce the yearbooks and to ensure every student receives one of these to treasure! Funds raised beyond the production cost will be used for Yearbook Class materials and equipment to build the program.

The suggested contribution amount is $20.00. Donate more or less, however you are able.

To celebrate their time at da Vinci Arts, before moving onto their respective high schools, we hope to be able to take our 8th graders on a fun-filled day to Oaks Park on Monday, June 9th this year!!

With less funds to help cover the cost of the admission ride bracelets and buses, we are requesting a $30 fee for each student. We want all students to attend. If you are able and feel compelled to sponsor other students to attend the event, your generosity is greatly appreciated!

If this fee request poses a hardship please reach out to Jennifer to request accommodations (jehoward@pps.net).