Dragon Tales

I'm going to keep this message rather short as there is a fair amount of information in this week's newsletter. What I will share is that there is a lot of excitement in the building right now. We had assemblies on Thursday and Friday of this week. On Thursday our AAPI affinity group put on an amazing assembly to honor Asian American and Pacific Islander month and on Friday we welcomed the Jefferson Dancers for an hour long performance (see pictures below).

On a daily basis I'm reminded by students how many days until the end of the school year, that there are fun events on the horizon, that they "have so much work" to do, and what they're looking forward to about summer. I remind them that we're not done and that the way they finish this school year will impact how they feel starting next school year. Please continue to monitor your student's Canvas and Synergy grades, encourage them to get plenty of sleep and to finish the school year strong.

During Friday morning's daily announcements, we played this video that highlights our end of the year expectations for attendance and behavior. I have outlined those below. We want families to be fully aware of these expectations as we roll into the last month of school.

When we did this for our school dance back in March, we made sure to communicate with at risk students and families around their attendance well before the actual event. We will do this again. We believe firmly in the importance of students developing the habits that lead to academic success and we believe all of our students can meet these goals.

As a reminder, the best way to check your student's attendance is through ParentVue. Lastly, we realized after the fact that some of the dates on the 2nd slide of our presentation were off. We have adjusted those in this presentation here, but the attendance and behavior expectations remain the same.

We are asking families to make a $20 donation to help us offset the publication costs of our school yearbook. As I mentioned last week, I've seen a sneak peak of the yearbook and it is amazing. Our goal is to ensure all students and staff receive a yearbook. We recognize we may have some families that cannot make a donation, so any additional donations will be greatly appreciated.

We are hoping to start a new tradition this year during 8th grade promotion. We are seeking 7th grade parent volunteers to assist with 8th grade promotion by serving ice cream to 8th grade students and families once promotion concludes. For more information, and to sign up, please click here.

Below are a few reminders we want everyone to be aware about regarding the school lunch:

1) All students at da Vinci get Free lunch.

2) We have implemented new systems this year to ensure that all students get their lunch with plenty of time to eat.

3) Students cannot go outside for 10-minutes as we want to ensure all students eat before playing.

4) The office and counselors DO NOT have snacks for students if they do not eat lunch. We have seen an uptick in students coming to the office, our counselors and our nurse looking for snacks after choosing not to eat lunch. Please remind your student that we only keep snacks on hand for students who need them for medical reasons. Please encourage your student to pack a lunch or eat the school lunch.

5) PLEASE NO DOOR DASH - This is incredibly disruptive to the main office and to the number of students who leave class looking to see if their lunch was picked up. We are considering not allowing food deliver services to deliver food due to the disruptions it creates in the school.

Our amazing PTSA is organizing an opportunity for families to purchase a da Vinci promotion yard sign. Below is a message posted on the PTSA facebook page:

Signs need to be ordered by May 19th. Signs will be shipped to school and be distributed on May 30th and 31st.

Hello future 9th graders! If you will be attending either Franklin, Roosevelt, McDaniel, Grant or Jefferson High School, and are interested in learning more about their Leap Into 9th Grade summer program, please check out the bulletin board outside the main office. There are also flyers in the main office if you would like to review this program with your adults.

As some of you know, da Vinci teachers Heidi Sprecher (Drama Tech) and Chelsea Blair (Social Studies) lead trips around the world during the summers. We are so excited to reveal our trip for Summer 2025:

The Sound of Europe!

We will be traveling to Munich, Vienna, Budapest, and beyond! We'll be seeing castles (multiple castles!), Mozart's birthplace, Munich's Olympic stadium, a classical music concert in Vienna, and so many more cool places. Please click here for a short flyer about our first info session. Heidi and Ms. Blair also have flyers available in their classrooms to give students who want to know more.

Our first info session about this trip will be next Wednesday on Zoom at 6 PM. Please email HSprecher@pps.net to learn more!"

Jefferson High PTSA is hosting a community celebration on Friday, May 24, from 4-7:30pm at the high school. It is a free event, open to the public, to honor the school's history and showcase students' work. There will be free food, activities for kids, and student performances.

This will be an especially good opportunity for 8th graders to check out Jeff and see all that the school has to offer, including its Arts programming!

• VIBE of Portland S.H.I.N.E. for Young Artists Summer Camps (Jun. 24-28, Jul. 1-3, Jul. 8-12, Aug. 12-16)

• Portland Art Intensive at Buckman (Jun. 17 - Jul. 12)

• AFS-USA Student Exchange Programs

• Rec Tennis Maplewood Tennis Afterschool Zone (Apr. 9 - May 28)

• Portland Metro Fire Camp for Women (Portland Jun. 21-23, Sherwood Jul. 12-14)

• VIBE of Portland East Winds Band Camp (July 22-26)
  (Spanish) (Russian)

• VIBE of Portland Music & Digital Art Classes for Kids

• Cognizart 360 Arts Summer Camp (Jul. 8-12, 15-19, & 22-26)

• OSU Summer Reading Program