DaVinci Connection-April 6, 2020

Parents should call the attendance line at 763-252-6130 before 9:00 a.m. of the day your child will be absent. This phone number is available 24 hours a day to leave a message. Please leave the following information on the recording:

Date your child will be absent
First and last name of your child
Reason for the absence
Name of the parent/guardian who is calling

If you know your child(ren) will be gone more than three consecutive days, you will need to fill out an extended absence form four to six weeks in advance. Please send the Extended Absence Form to Ms. Moffatt.

Greetings!

To the left, you will find helpful links to important pages on our website.

NEED TO KNOW

Message from Our Executive Director

Dear DaVinci Academy Families:

This newsletter comes to you following our first week of distance learning! We are so proud of our faculty, staff, students, and families for this incredible week of engagement, fun, learning, and connecting. This week demonstrated just how #davincistrong we are!

As we move into week two of distance learning and your children get settled into their new routines, please continue to reach out if you need support or experience a change in need.

A reminder that we will be following our school calendar during this time of distance learning. Our first non-student days are Thursday, April 9- Monday, April 13. Thursday, April 9 is reserved for conferences. To arrange a virtual conference with your child’s teacher please reach out to teachers directly. DaVinci Academy will be closed, and there will be no childcare, on April 9, April 10, and April 13.

We are thinking of you, missing you, and looking forward to when we can all be together again!

With Care,

Ms. Silkey-Jones

No School Reminder

We do not have school or childcare Thursday, April 9-Monday, April 13, due to pre-established non-instructional days. Thursday is Parent Teacher Conferences, please email your child’s teacher if you would like a conference. Classes and childcare will resume of Tuesday, April 14.

Mr. Shields’ Corner

Managing Screen Time and Internet Safety

With the move to distance learning for every school in Minnesota, a major concern I’ve heard from parents revolves around the increased amount of screen time for their children. That is a very valid concern. At DaVinci Academy, we are trying to incorporate activities that include times away from screens. However, it is wise for parents to monitor how much time is being spent in front of screens for non-academic work. Another concern is protecting their children from seeing/hearing inappropriate content on websites. Our school has in place an internet filtering solution for any devices owned by DaVinci Academy. This filtering solution also sends our IT department an email if a student that is logged in to their DaVinci Academy gmail account on their personal device and they search for inappropriate content. If this happens I will contact families to inform them of the situation. Please remember that no filtering solution is perfect, so talking with your children about internet safety as well as monitoring their use by keeping devices in public places in your home help improve that effectiveness.

If you are interested in learning more about effective technology use or setting up family expectations you can check out this site as a great resource. This site includes help with Google Classroom, ideas for online play dates, and suggestions for using technology responsibly. You can find these resources here https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog.

Support for Parents

Hello DaVinci Academy Families,

We hope you had a great first week of Distance Learning!! As everyone is working hard to get settled into new routines, we have heard that it’s been a bit challenging for some families to keep their children busy, on task and focused during this time of Distance Learning. We are always here to help assist, share ideas and problem solve alongside you!

Here is one sample schedule you may like and a great article that we wanted to share with you that shows a variety of schedule layout ideas that other families have tried. We hope this helps:

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/sample-kids-home-schedule_ca_5e6e5904c5b6747ef11f12ce

(email us for a pdf copy) Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions, concerns or need further support.

Ms. Rowe (School Social Worker) www.calendly.com/msrowe

Ms. Derby (School Counselor) www.calendly.com/msderby

Courtney Rowe + Melissa Derby

Meal Order Form

If your family is in need of breakfast or lunch. In order for us to have an accurate meal count to avoid waste and make sure all families get fed, please fill out the provided form.

Grab and Go breakfast and lunch pickups are available on Monday and Wednesdays from 10:00 am-12:30 pm. Due to having Monday, April 13, off we will be having Wednesday, April 15, be our only pick up day next week. This will include Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday meals.

Yearbook – Deadline Extended

Yearbook order forms are due back by Wednesday, April 15. Please mail in your order form or drop it off at the school in the food pick up line on Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00 am-12:30 pm. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Falkowski.

2019-20 Updated Yearbook Order Form

NICE TO KNOW

Honors Classes

Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, we will be offering honors courses in grades 6 – 8 ELA, 6 – 7 Social Studies and 6 – 8 Science. Students may also test into advanced math courses as appropriate. All students may apply for entrance into the honors courses. Students may choose to apply for an honors course in just one area or all three. Please read through the entrance criteria carefully and be sure to complete all steps of the process. All materials must be submitted by April 8, to be considered for placement. Please contact Ms. Moffatt (tmoffatt@davincicharterschool.org) if you have any questions regarding the honors program.

Field Trips

Field trips for DaVinci Academy classrooms have been canceled for the remainder of the school year. Payments that have already been made towards cancelled trips will be credited to your student’s account and applied towards any outstanding fee in their account. If there is not an outstanding fee in your student’s account, you may request a refund or keep the credit in the account to be applied to a field trip during the next school year. Refund requests can be sent to Brenda Gerard, bgerard@davincicharterschool.org.

SEAC Meeting

The second SEAC meeting of the year is upon us! SEAC (pronounced seek) is an acronym for Special Education Advisory Council, which is a group that provides input on special education issues to its local school district. Its purpose is to advise and advocate, not to decide policy. Parents of students on IEPs or students going through the evaluation process are invited to attend.

DaVinci Academy will continue to hold this second and last SEAC meeting of the 2019-2020 school year on Tuesday, April 14, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. We will meet virtually, on the platform Zoom! The discussion topic is “Sensory Processing: Activities and Tools.” DaVinci’s Occupational Therapist, Lisa Houska, will be the guest speaker.

If you are interested in attending or have any questions, please contact your child’s case manager. Once you RSVP with your student’s case manager, the case manager will send out the Zoom meeting ID to you. Thank you for your understanding as we move this meeting to a virtual setting.

Boom Appetit

Looking for an easy and fun activity to do with the kids? Check out this video with Mr. and Mrs. Slechta! They will post another video next week.

This year our Elementary renaissance classes as well as 6th and 8th grades participated in the MN Zoo ZOOMS challenge. This challenge really exemplifies the engineering process. The 3/4 classroom developed an enrichment for the Monk Seals. The 5th grade and middle school teams were challenged to redesign the nocturnal hallway. The Goal of this project was for them to decide what animals would be most well suited for that hallway to engage the visitors and make them feel like they were going on a tour of the rainforest. The students needed to provide research on their chosen animals, design exhibits for them, provide educational and immersive pieces for the visitors, balance the needs of the keepers, visitors, and animals, and have a focus on the MN zoo mission of conservation. Once they did all of that they needed to create a 3-D model of what their vision would look like.

This year DaVinci Academy students far surpassed all our expectations yet again. Our 5th Grade team of Isabella W., Brynlee F., and Josie K. took 2nd place

The 6th grade team of; Cassidy C., Eleanore J., Sydney W., and Addy W. took 3rd place. The 8th grade team of; Emily K., Amelia S., Josie M., and Kaylin W. took 1st place.

In addition to Zooms our 7th grade classes participated in a Native Mussels challenge. They were challenged to create a social media campaign to promote the safety and preservation of MN’s native mussels. They placed 7th overall, and of the middle schools that participated they received 3rd place.

We are so unbelievably proud of all of our DaVinci Students! They all worked so hard on these projects and these awards are well deserved!!!

Elementary School

Layers of the Rainforest: Isabelle W., Brynlee F., and Josie K. – 2nd Place Exhibit Design

Middle School

Rainforest Reimagined: Emily K., Amelia S., Kaylin W., and Josie M. – 1st Place Exhibit Design

Redesign of the Nocturnal Hallway: Cassidy C., Addy W., Sydney W., and Eleanore J. – 3rd Place Exhibit Design

2020-21 Show Choir Try-outs

Show Choir is a music ensemble where students sing and dance. Tryouts are an opportunity to showcase their ability with no prior experience required.

Auditions:

Auditions will now be digital.

https://sites.google.com/davincicharterschool.org/choirs/show-choir

Couple of pieces of information:

If your child is already in show choir, they do not need to audition.
Auditions are due by Monday, April 20.
If you have any questions, please let me know.

Who Can Audition?

Students entering 6th, 7th or 8th grade in the 2020-21 school year.

For audition material, please go to:
www.tinyurl.com/yx3vpmry

If you have any questions, please contact the director, Mr. Hanson.

Mrs. Marta’s class

Help Wanted

The Bowser family could really use some love and support right now. Carmen passed away on March 17, after a six year battle with cancer. A meal train has been set up for the family. Please do what you can to help the family and share the link with family and friends. Thank you in advance. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Employment Opportunities

If you know someone who might be interested, please ask them to check out our employment page.

Licensed Positions:

Special Education Teacher

Volunteer Opportunities

Do you know how to install a tile back splash? Would you be willing to volunteer your time to a small project of this kind? Please contact Holly Fischer for details.

PTO News

PTO Meeting

The next public meeting is the April 30. The meeting will be virtual and a link will be posted on the PTO website. Key items for discussion will be:

Teacher Appreciation week – May 4-8
Elections – May
Carnival – June 5

CEAP NEEDS YOU!

Since we were not able to host our annual food drive this year, the PTO has decide to give a monetary donation to CEAP of $1,000. If you would like to give a donation as well, please click here.