Dragon Tales

Well, that sure was an exciting week! There's a certain love/hate relationship that educators have with the week of Halloween, especially when it aligns to the end of a quarter. The school spirit was definitely present throughout the week. We ended the week with an awesome Talent Show. Between the costumes each day and the talent on stage Thursday afternoon, my da Vinci bucket was thoroughly filled this week!

Next week is the start of Quarter 2. Students will feel the shift of not having chromebooks at home and families should be hearing from their student's teachers if they anticipate a major shift, or significant impacts to their instruction. Students will likely see an increase in paper assignments, but students will also need to make sure they are using class time productively to get assignments done when a computer is needed. Currently, many teachers assign work that can be finished at home, resulting in various levels of student-focus on the importance of using class time productively.

As stated in previous newsletters, this shift will come with some bumps and challenges. Most other middle schools have already shifted to this approach. While at first it may not be easy, I am confident that our students and staff can make the adjustment.

As a reminder, school will start 15-minutes later than a normal day for teacher professional development.

Our student actors and techies have been hard at work over the last few months to put together a fabulous evening of entertainment for you! We proudly present to you:

- Henry IV (part 1), an epic tale of rebellion, war, and family bonds!

- Comedy of Errors, with twice as many identical twins in the play, there's twice the normal mistaken identity shenanigans!

- A prologue and an epilogue that bring us into this magical world of theatre at the beginning and guide us back to reality at the end!

We will have four nights of performance at da Vinci, and everyone is welcome to come watch. Shows begin at 6.30 PM on November 7th, 8th, 14th and 15th.

All shows will perform all nights, but the order they are presented in will shift. Tickets are $10 or pay what you will - we never want money to be an obstacle in coming to see art.

Tickets are available in person at the Box Office (which will be set up in front of the Auditorium on show nights), and ahead of time on SchoolPay (click here to get tickets on SchoolPay).

Thank you so much for all the family support throughout this process, and we are so excited for you to come see the results of these students' creativity!

da Vinci 8th graders, along with 8th graders from numerous other middle schools, have been invited to view the Grant High School performance of Big Love. Permission slips will be going out through their Social Studies class.

The play does contain some mature content and we encourage families to read about the play through their website. Students will be leaving da Vinci at 9:20am and arriving at Grant by 9:30am. They will be back around 11:45am and attend their regular classes after that.

To make this happen, we are also in need of 5-6 volunteers. We have created this Sign Up Genius for Volunteers: 8th grade Grant Field Trip Chaperone sign up

This year's model for Family-Teacher conferences at da Vinci will be a mixture of in-person options and a virtual option. Below is a breakdown of what the models will look like:

In-Person Options:

• There will be two in-person options for families this year. These conferences will be 5-minutes in length, which is a bit shorter than the virtual option, but will allow families to meet face-to-face with their student's teachers and will be held in their student's classrooms.
• The first session will be Thursday, November 21st from 5-8pm. The second time will be Monday, November 25th from 8:15am-4:15pm (with a 40-minute pause for lunch in the middle of the day).

Virtual Option:

• On Tuesday, November 26th, we will have virtual conferences. These conferences will be 10-minutes in length. Sign up opportunities will come out in the coming weeks after teachers have had the chance to set these times up.

7th and 8th grade students recently made a poster on the Life Cycle of Common Objects in their science classes. This was a research project on how everyday objects are made, used and discarded and/or recycled.

Like most districts in Oregon, Portland Public Schools continues to face challenging financial conditions due to an outdated state funding formula, falling enrollment, and rising costs.

District leaders – in partnership with our finance and budget teams – are tasked with filling a projected $40 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. This is on top of the $30 million we already cut from the 2024-25 budget.

If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to fill out the survey and provide your feedback.

We encourage our 8th grade families to visit this website to learn about the different information nights high schools across PPS are holding in the coming month.

Join us on November 5th, for our da Vinci PTSA Fundraiser at Jersey Mike's on Burnside! They'll be donating 20% of sales from 2pm to 8pm, but only if you show them the flier!

Stop by for one of their great sandwiches, and be sure to tell them you're supporting the da Vinci PTSA.

The da Vinci Arts Fair Committee is meeting weekly to plan this fabulous event. The Arts Fair is scheduled for December 7th and there is a LOT of volunteer support needed to make this event happen.

A Sign Up Genius will be shared soon for adults who can work a two hour shift at the Fair. If you are interested in being part of the planning committee, please send a message to davinciartsfairlove@gmail.com.

The Annual Arts Fair is back, and students can sign up to vend now!

What do students need to know?

Students are expected to be at the event the entire day, including set up and check out. Students will track their sales and staff their tables. Students donate 30% of their sales. Money from this fundraiser covers the costs of the event, and supports the arts programming at da Vinci.

Sign up by sending an email to: davinciartsfairlove@gmail.com

(signups close November 23).

What do parents need to know?

This event is run entirely by volunteers and the PTSA needs a lot of hands to make the Arts Fair successful! Please consider signing up for a 2 hr shift during the event. Be on the lookout for a signup genius later.

We have partnered with Willamette Valley Pie Co. to provide delicious locally-made pies for the holiday season! Choose from Pumpkin, Dutch Caramel Apple, and Marionberry 9" pies.

For each pie sold, da Vinci PTSA will receive a portion of the sales which will be used to directly support our students, teachers, staff, and school community.

Orders are due by Wednesday, November 6th and order pick up will be held on the da Vinci campus at the end of the school day on Thursday, November 21st.

Order HERE