Dragon Tales

Quarter 2 is off to a great start. While most students continued to have the same schedule as they did in Quarter 1, those students whose schedules did switch, made a seamless transition have hit the ground running. The dry weather has been a welcomed shift as last week was rather wet. Students love dry days as it gets them the opportunity to get outside during lunch to get the wiggles out.

The elections this week also added to the sense of change that happens at the start of a new quarter. I ran the message below in our daily announcement to students on Wednesday morning. I am so appreciative of our teachers for creating space to answer students' questions and provide them with processing time. Unfortunately, the political culture we find ourselves in these days tends to be more divisive than unifying. I am grateful for the accepting nature of da Vinci students and the fact that we create an environment where all students feel safe and welcome. This is yet another reason why I am proud to be the principal of da Vinci Arts Middle School.

Good morning da Vinci Dragons;

For many of you, today is likely a day of mixed emotions following last night's election. da Vinci is a school of passionate artists and students, each with their own unique traits that makes our community a special place for all students. This election was filled with lots of non-inclusive language, but I want to remind each of you that EVERY student belongs here at da Vinci. Today, we ask you to be mindful of how you talk about the results of last night's election and keep true to our character traits of being Accountable, Respectful, Thoughtful and Safe. If you need anything, please reach out to a trusted adult.

- Sincerely,

Mr. Roosevelt

As a reminder, there is no school on Monday as schools are closed to honor Veteran's Day.

We are in need of Fall Festival Play Volunteers for next Thursday and Friday's performances. To volunteer, please click here.

Join us for National Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day! This is an annual day of dialogue and action to commemorate Ruby's historic steps. Students can continue the conversation and take part in their own forms of activism to bring an end to racism and all forms of bullying. Details below:

When: Thursday November 14th, walk with us to campus!

Where: Meet at Franks A Lot @ 2845 E. Burnside Street

When: 8:30am

Start walking @ 8:45am

Arrive to school by 8:55am

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 went home with students on Tuesday and were due back to their Social Studies teacher today. Please check with them to make sure they have turned it in.

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 (and lunch) 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 week I want to highlight the hieroglyphic projects completed in Ms. Fournier's class.

Calling all student artists interested in selling their art as part of the da Vinci Art Fair. The Art Fair will take place on Saturday, December 7th, this year. Submissions are due by 11/23. You may submit using the QR code shown, or by emailing davinciartsfairlove@gmail.com.

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 next week.

Below is information about Benson Tech’s upcoming information night and how to apply to Benson

8th Grade Info Night: Benson Tech's Info Night is Weds. Nov. 20th at 6:00 pm. Please encourage families to come because this is the ONLY event we will have where families/students can see the new building before the application deadline. They are not hosting any shadows this year. https://www.pps.net/Page/16546

Applying to Benson: The application timeline is from Nov. 13 - Dec. 16. Similar to last year, families need to apply through parent vue. Here is the link to the district website with more information about applying: https://www.pps.net/Page/16546

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.

da Vinci's new student and family information night is scheduled for December 4th from 6-7:30pm. We have shared this flier with PPS elementary schools and have information on our website as well. We would appreciate our current families passing along this information to family and friends as well.

The week following Fall Break, da Vinci students will take the Successful School Survey in their Social Studies classes. This survey provides da Vinci, and PPS, with useful data on the climate of our school. We use this data as the main measurement of how we are doing with our school climate goal. That goal, which focuses on increasing the sense of belonging of our students, is important to ensuring that all students at da Vinci feel welcomed, safe and accepted during their time with us. With that, we also ask families to take the survey as your feedback is also important to us. To take the survey, please click here.

Here is some additional information provided by PPS regarding the survey. Families are also encouraged to take this survey. To do so, please follow this link.

Vaccines play a crucial role in protecting our students from serious illnesses and help keep our community safe. Parents/ Guardians of students who are due to receive vaccines should receive a letter in the mail.

Please check if your child’s vaccinations are current, including their recommended flu shot, and contact your medical provider or any of the resources listed below.

Multnomah County Student Health Centers

OHSU Wellness Center

Multnomah County Vaccination Clinic (English)

Clínica Comunitaria de Vacunación Gratuita (Spanish)