Dragon Tales
December 6th, 2024
Principal's Message
Tomorrow is our annual PTSA Arts Fair from 10am-4pm at da Vinci. I encourage as many families to stop by as possible. We have professional artists on site selling their wares in our gymnasium and our student artists will line our hallways selling items as well. It is the students' work that really impresses me each year.
This event is so great for our student artists in so many different ways. First, they get to show off their amazing work. Many have spent hours preparing for Saturday's event. Secondly, it helps our students get a taste for the business side of being an artist. Learning how to price their items, engage with customers, and set up their displays are life skills that few other middle school students get the opportunity to experience.
This week we held our information night for students and families interested in da Vinci. We had a packed house and it was exciting to see the faces in the audience when our dance and drama students were performing pieces from previous or upcoming performances. Our teachers were on hand to answer questions about their departments and programs as well. The feedback we received from families reminded me of how special da Vinci is and how we find such great ways to engage students in both the arts and academics. If you know of families who are interested in applying, they must do so by December 16th at 5pm. They can find instructions on how to apply through this website.
Lastly, with two weeks to go before Winter Break, I want to encourage families to connect with their students about upcoming work. Many of our teachers will have final projects or assessments due before break. Help your student by checking with them on the work they have coming up.
Weekly Updates
A Packed House For Family Info Night
Dance 3-4 Students Performing
da Vinci Art Fair Is Tomorrow
As a reminder, tomorrow is our da Vinci Art Fair run by our amazing PTSA. PTSA volunteers were on hand Friday night preparing for Saturday's event. I am so thankful for their amazing support.
We have over two dozen professional artists selling their wares in the gym. More importantly, we have ~90 student artists selling their goods. We hope you can stop by between 10-4pm. PTSA is also on hand selling da Vinci sway. Food trucks will be here mid-day as well. We hope to see you there!
High School Information Nights
We encourage our 8th grade families to visit this website to learn about the different information nights high schools across PPS are holding to inform families about their schools. This upcoming week the following schools have their information nights:
- Lincoln HS: December 9th @ 6pm
- Grant HS: December 11th @ 6pm
- Roosevelt HS: December 12th @ 5:30pm
Canned Food Drive Update
Our students and families deserve a huge thank you for all the canned food donations that were delivered this past week. We hit our goal of raising 2,000 donated items.
Now we will find a time in the coming weeks (when we have some nice weather) to hold an extended, one-lunch, so all students can be together for one lunch. Nice work Dragons!
Holiday Gift Card Drive
Our Counseling department would like to support some of our da Vinci families this holiday season by providing them with gift cards from Fred Meyers and Target.
Our counselors work with families and their colleagues to identify families that might be in need of such. You can learn more about this drive through this flyer.
Art in Action @ da Vinci
This week I'm highlighting Ms. Fesler's science students who created these posters representing the different elements of the Periodic Table. They are now on display outside room 106 for all students to see. Nice work Ms. Fesler and Ms. Fesler's science students!
Spring Musical Workshops Being Next Week
This year’s Spring Musical will be Hadestown, Teen Edition, and workshops being next week after school to learn the music. Anyone interested in auditioning is welcome to attend the workshops. Attendance during the workshops isn't required, but highly recommended for auditions, which occur the following week.
Workshops ~ Monday-Friday, Dec 9th-13th, from 4:15-6:15 pm
Auditions ~ Monday-Friday, December 16th-20th, from 4:15-6:15 pm
Tech Interviews ~ Tuesday & Thursday, December 10th and 12th, from 4:15 - 6:15
Tech Interview packets and Interview Sign-Ups are available outside Room 200.
Reminder of International Login Restrictions for Student Accounts
With the holiday season upon us, OTIS would like to remind you that PPS student accounts can only be used from within the United States as a security protection. This includes access to my.pps.net and all Google services, including Gmail and Drive.
If your students must access PPS systems while traveling outside the US, please have their parent or guardian send a request for international access to support@pps.net.
To allow OTIS to properly provision the access, requests must include the departure and return dates. Unenrolled student accounts, including un-enrollment as a result of Oregon’s 10-day drop policy, are automatically suspended and cannot be manually re-enabled.