DaVinci Connection-July 24, 2020

Time Sensitive Required Family Survey

Thank you so much for your support as we navigate the logistics of our start to the 2020-2021 school year. We are reaching out with a time sensitive survey in which we ask you to indicate your plans for the school year in the event we are allowed to resume in-person learning.  The Governor will be announcing the format in which schools are allowed to start on Thursday, July 30.  Due to the delay in this announcement we may implement modifications to our first week(s) of school.

Please complete THIS SURVEY no later than the end of the day Monday, July 27.

K-5 Director

My name is Andrea Halverson, and I am proud to serve as your Elementary Director at DaVinci Academy! I am honored to work with such a committed and energetic community of educators and learners.

This will be my 15th year working in education. I started my career as a music teacher at the elementary and middle school levels. I then spent the next few years working as a technology specialist and curriculum director before stepping into the principal role. One of the best parts of this job is getting to know our students and seeing them in action as they learn and grow.

While there are likely still several questions about what the 2020-2021 school year will look like, please know that we are here to support your students and their learning. As we continue to learn more about the upcoming school year and share information with our families, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions I can answer.

I look forward to meeting you soon!

Andrea Halverson

Elementary Director

ahalverson@davincicharterschool.org

Special Education Director

Hi! My name is Kari Peterson. I’ve been in education for the past 16 years. During my tenure, I was a practicing School Psychologist in the Stillwater School District and thereafter the Anoka Hennepin School District. I counseled one day a week in an elementary and the remainder of my time was devoted to doing special education assessments. I am trained on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-II) and am well versed in differentiating disability areas between Autism, Bipolar, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, etc. I’ve worked closely with the Department of Education helping the state move towards a no discrepancy model related to Specific Learning Disability. Additionally, I’ve created several informal assessment tools to better assess our English as a Second Language community.

I worked with DaVinci Academy as a contracted School Psychologist for one year while returning for my administrative license. After that year, I stepped away from the evaluation team in Anoka and walked into a lead teacher role assisting in the supervision of staff, due process, and maintenance of behavior within the special education department. Taking a leap of faith, I left my district of over 10 years and began work as a Special Education Coordinator in the Dassel Cokato School District. I continued work with the Department of Education understanding the training needs as they relate to Dyslexia and began serving on different committees within my cooperative to expand my knowledge. In my past three years, I’m proud to share that the Birth to 18 special education team became highly respected with robust systems in place to ensure processes and procedures were followed. It has been a journey to say the least. I live in St. Michael and am approaching 20 years of marriage to my wonderful husband, Jason. We have two boys with one who will be a senior this year and the other going into 8th grade. And I can’t forget our two pets, Penny our dog and Mr. Jiggles our cat. I’m excited to embark on this journey with DaVinci Academy and be a part of a recognized special education department.

Donations

If you work for a company that is willing to direct donations on your behalf, please consider DaVinci Academy as a recipient.  We are very grateful for your contributions.

Infinite Campus-Is Your Address Current?

Please make sure your information in Infinite Campus is up to date.  Please also consider adding your child’s cell phone number to your account as this is helpful for the school in a myriad of ways.

Can’t remember your username or password? Click the links on the screen or call the office at 763-754-6577.

Here are two documents that can help you navigate Infinite Campus.

School Supply Lists

We have posted our school supply lists for the 20-21 school year.   All grade levels have adjusted their plans so that there are no shared school supplies and students will all use their own materials. So, please label all supplies that you send to school with your child.  Note: a pencil box of some kind is requested in order to contain art supply materials.

20-21 Bus Routes

Busing for the 20-21 school year may look a bit different depending upon the format in which the school resumes.   We will not be adding any new bus stops this year, and may reduce the number of bus stops that are available and/or the number of buses that we use to transport children.  Prioritization of stops will be dependent upon how families answer the back to school survey, and how many bus drivers are available.   This is how we envision the buses working if the school resumes in a hybrid learning format.

1. There will be a limited number of seats available on the school buses in order to facilitate the spacing of students.  A maximum of 34 kids will be allowed to ride.  For that reason, the buses are being reserved for families who absolutely have no other form of transportation to school.
2. Students will be required to wear masks while on the bus.
3. Students will load the buses from back to front and sit in assigned seats.
4. Children from the same family must share seats.
5. We may load buses 1 or 2 at a time in the afternoon to alleviate student congestion on the sidewalk.  This would change bus stop times in the afternoon.

Please use the interactive map in Silent Dismissal for your reference as you consider your transportation options.

Click on image to enlarge.

People with Basic Sewing Skills Needed

We have ordered 1,000 gator style masks for the students and anticipate a lost and found nightmare if they are all the same style and unlabeled.  So, we are looking for a few individuals to sew name labels on the inside of each gator so that we can try to limit the number of lost masks.   If you can sew a straight stitch and have a couple of hours to donate, please contact Holly Fischer at hfischer@davincichartershool.org.

Media Release – Opt Out Option

We no longer require families to do the Back to School Registration each year. However, if you do NOT give your permission for your child’s image to be used in the different media, both internally and externally, you will need to complete the Media Release form to opt out. This includes, but is not limited to, articles and photographs in a school newsletter, video of a student program shown in school or published to families via an online program, a news story by local media, or something on our web site. Click here for the Media Release Form.

Food Service Program 

Meal prices have not increased from last year.  See the Food Service web-page for details.

For families who would like to apply for Educational Benefits, the form is now available online through Infinite Campus.  Log in to your Parent Portal > More (bottom of the menu on the left side) > Meal Benefits. Families will need to complete an application for each school year.  Applications do not carry over from year to year.

Student Spotlight: 

Pandemic EBT Card

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is now offering additional funds for the families of children ages 5-18 who qualify for free and reduced-price meals.  This new program, called P-EBT, will provide $325 per child that families can use to purchase nutritious food for their household. The deadline for this program has been extended to July 31, 2020 and more information can be found here.

Free Meals for Students – Where are They?

The Anoka-Hennepin School District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Meals will be provided to all children under age 19 without charge regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. Meals will be provided on a first come, first served basis. (Español.)

Meals will be available at 15 district locations, as well as four other community locations. It is not necessary for the child to attend school at the host location, and sites will be offering different types of meal services.

Adults may purchase meals with correct cash/change. (No checks, credit, or debit cards.) Adult breakfast is $2.25 and adult lunch is $4.00.

All meals must be eaten at the site. For more information, visit ahschools.us/summermeals.

Students and families can find additional summer meal sites by using these resources:

• Download the free Free Meals for Kids app in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store or visit the Hunger Impact Partners website. This mobile app shows Minnesota kids where they can find free meals this summer. Information about the app is also available in Hmong, Oromo, Russian, Somali and Spanish.
• Call the Minnesota Food HelpLine at 1-888-711-1151 Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Call the 2-1-1 Hotline, or, from your mobile phone in the Twin Cities metro area, call 651-291-0211. In greater Minnesota, call 1-800-543-7709, or TTY at 651-291-8440.
• After July 6, 2020, families can text “food” to 877-877 to find the location providing meals near them in English or text “comida” to 877-877 to receive the information in Spanish.
• After July 6, 2020 families can use the Summer Meal Site Locator tool released by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. The Summer Meal Site Locator is also available in Spanish.
• View the SFSP Participation Report to find a list of all Summer Food sites.

To learn more, see the full press release and visit the Summer Food Service Program website or contact MDE Food and Nutrition Services (mde.fns@state.mn.us), or call at 651-582-8526 or 1-800-366-8922 (toll-free).