DaVinci Connection-October 29, 2021
School Links
Important Dates
Subject to change-see online calendar
November 18, Last Day of Trimester 1
November 19, Grading Day, No School
November 22-26, No School
November 29, No School Day, Staff Development **Note, this information is different than what is reflected on your school magnet and we apologize for the error. Please see the 21-22 schedule for the most accurate information.
Attendance
If your student will be late or absent please call the attendance line 763-252-6130 before 9:00 a.m. Please include:
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
An Extended Absence Form is needed for more than five consecutive absences and is due four to six weeks in advance of the absence.
Recess Attire
Temperatures are getting lower and lower. Please send your student with appropriate (clearly labeled) attire including hats and mittens. We do go outside daily and don’t want them to be chilly.
GREETINGS!
To the left and right, you will find helpful links to important pages on our website.
DOWNLOAD THE SILENT DISMISSAL APP TODAY!
Student Demographic, Housing, & Digital Equity Information Needed – ACTION REQUIRED
Thank you for participating in the Student Digital Equity Survey. This survey collects information on student access to the
Internet and electronic devices used for schoolwork in the student’s home. DaVinci Academy may use this
information to identify students that could benefit from additional supports to make sure they can access learning
opportunities outside the classroom or school building. It is important that we gather accurate information from every
student so that each student and family has the equipment, help and support needed.
The information you provide in this survey will be reported to the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE). MDE may
provide state- or school-level summary data—without personal, identifying information—to the Governor, legislators,
agency staff and external partners who have established data sharing agreements and protocols.DaVinci Academy will not share your personal, identifying information provided in this survey with others without your consent. Student Demographic, Housing & Digital Access Form.
Please note that we need to report on this information regardless of whether you complete the form; so, it is critical that families help us make sure our data is accurate. Thank you so much for your help with this.
New Bus Routes Update
Merging Traffic
We have had a rash of drivers traveling south on Jefferson who scoot past parents waiting in the turn lane to enter the school and turn in to the new middle entrance. This middle entrance was designed so that parents traveling north can enter the parking lot at the same time as southbound cars. If you are waiting at the stop light on Bunker Lake, please merge in to turning traffic so that you can enter the lot in the northernmost lane entrance. Parents will need to yield to each other at that corner so that traffic flow is not impeded. Please show SPARK to your fellow DaVinci drivers and allow cars to merge.
COVID-19 Impacts on Food Service
Schools are starting to experience nationwide supply chain and product availability shortages. Disruptions are due to a lack of availability of raw ingredients and labor to produce, unload, and transfer food products. Some food and/or beverage products normally provided to students may not be available or arrive as scheduled. Due to unforeseen circumstances, last-minute menu changes and product substitutions may occur. Be assured meals will remain balanced, healthy, and plentiful. We ask for patience and understanding as we do our best to meet the needs of your children.
Menus and nutritional information are always posted on our district website.
Nutritional Service – Applications Needed!
We are still in need of families to fill out the 21-22 Application for Educational Benefits. Completing this application helps students receive reduced fees for school activities, and our school receives more state education funding.
To apply, complete the Application for Educational Benefits link following the instructions. You may also log into your Infinite Campus account to complete an electronic form.
Vision Screening
Vision screenings were conducted for grades K, 2, 4, 6, and 8 and by parent request for grades 1, 3, 5, and 7 on Monday, October 11th and Wednesday, October 13th. If your child did not pass the screening, you will receive a letter in the mail within the next week. A special THANK YOU to those who volunteered to help with the screenings and to Drs. Justin and Angela Musland from 20/20 Eyecare for conducting the screenings. If your student was absent the day of the screenings or you wish to have your student’s eyes examined, you may call 20/20 Eyecare in Blaine at (763)755-9380 and schedule an exam.
Immunization Forms Needed
If you have received an email or phone call about needed immunizations, please complete the required vaccinations or exemption form, and return the record to Nurse Julie or the front office. MN law requires written proof that vaccinations have been completed or to have a medical or conscientious exemption form on file with the school, or the student will be unenrolled. To view the required list of vaccinations click read more below.
The required vaccinations are:
Age 5-11 years (Entering grades K-6):
DTaP/DT: 5 doses
Polio (IPV/OPV): 4 doses
Hep B: 3 doses
MMR: 2 doses
Varicella (Chicken Pox): 2 doses
Age 12+ (Entering 7th and 8th grade):
All of the above vaccinations
Tdap
Meningococcal
Due to the ongoing pandemic and its challenges, the deadline to complete the vaccinations or exemptions has been extended to December 31st. Please contact Julie Swanson at jswanson@davincicharterschool.org or (763)754-6577, ext. 1110 if you have any questions.
Support Space
Hey DaVinci Community!
November is National Career Development Month! It is never too early to start talking to your children about careers. While you’re likely having lots of conversations about friends, sports or other topics, career exploration is also very important! Talking about available options after high school can help set kids up for success, so they are happy and fulfilled with whatever route they choose.
How you can help your child with career exploration:
-
Read about different careers
-
Talk to people in different occupations
-
Use your network – when your child expresses an interest in a career, reach out to those in your network that would be interested in talking with your child about it!
-
Help your child learn about himself/herself- When your student gets into his or her later high school years, he or she should do a self-assessment to discover his or her interests, values, personality, and aptitudes. Doing it earlier than that isn’t necessary. But, you can help him or her start thinking about those traits at an early age and discussing how they will influence future career-related decisions.
-
Keep your opinions to yourself- Your child may express interest in a career you think is all wrong for them. You may be right, or you may not know enough about that particular occupation to have formed an opinion. Do some research together. You may learn something and your child certainly will.
Other ways to learn about occupations could be job shadowing, “take your child to work” day, or even career days through organizations such as Girl Scouts. Here’s a fun quiz for kids to help determine their interests and provide options for careers they may enjoy. Like Confucius said, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Mindfully Yours,
Mental Health Team
Phoenix Hathaway (K-4 Counselor) www.calendly.com/mshathaway (763)-754-6577 ext. 1204
Courtney Rowe (K-8 School Social Worker) www.calendly.com/msrowe (763)-754-6577 ext. 1215
Brittany Finley (5-8 School Counselor) www.calendly.com/bfinley-4 (763)-754-6577 ext.1310
School Development – Exciting News!
We have broken ground on our shade structure for the playground! Thank you for all your support and funds raised during our 2020-21 school year. Through the efforts of students, families and community members we are able to complete this project. We are very excited for the final installation coming soon!
Update on the walking path
Making the walking path more accessible is very much still a priority for our fundraising efforts! Rather than paving the path, which would negatively impact the natural environment around the pond, we are exploring environmentally friendly alternatives. We look forward to sharing more information with you about this.
Other School Development News
The school development committee is hard at work planning and preparing for the 2021-22 school year fundraisers. We started the year off with a successful Color Run where our community raised over $2,200. As we look forward to our other fundraising opportunities we wanted to share with our DVA community the School Development’s fundraising goal of $30,000.
Throughout the year we have many fundraisers and events planned to help us reach our goal. On November 1, our schoolwide Luige’s Pizza and Cookie Dough Fundraiser will begin. Enjoy pizza and cookie dough to help us raise money for the school. We also have Butter Braids, Dollars for DaVinci and our annual Golf tournament planned.
Funds raised during the 2021-22 school year will be used to support enhancing the artistic and science experience for our school community in alignment with our mission and vision. If we meet our fundraising goal we will be able to commission the creation of a large-scale mural that students and families will help create to showcase our beautiful school community.
Luige’s Pizza and Wooden Spoon Cookie Dough Fundraiser
The School Development Committee is proud to bring back the 5th installation of our schoolwide Pizza Fundraiser. Enjoy pizza and help us raise money for the school. Order forms will be collected November 1 – November 17. More information will come home with your students next week.
After-School Activities Registration
Registration for session 2 after-school activities will open Monday, November 1 at 8:00AM. Session 2 activities will begin on November 30 and last until February 17. Register early… activities fill up FAST! Click here to check them out!
Winter Choir Concert
We are excited to announce the return of our in person concerts!
Our winter choir concert, titled
“Cold Hands, Warm Hearts” will take place on Tuesday, December 14, 2021
5th & 6th Grade – 6:00 p.m.
*students arrive at 5:40
7th & 8th Grade – 7:00 p.m.
*students arrive at 6:40
All students will wear a white dress top, black dress bottom, and black shoes. Dresses are fine as well. Students must also wear a mask (ideally black)
*Masks will be required for everyone regardless of vaccination status.
Any questions, please reach out to Mr. Hanson
Middle School Instrumental Concerts
Our Middle School instrumental concerts are fast approaching! We look forward to being able to present our performances in person.
The Middle School Orchestra Winter Concert will be December 9th at 6PM
The Middle School Band Winter Concert will be December 7th at 6PM
Students should arrive to the instrumental music room by 5:40 PM wearing a white dress top, black dress bottom, and black shoes. Each concert will last about half an hour. Please direct any questions to Mr. Miko at smiko@davincicharterschool.org
Additional Community Events
Minnesota Historical Society
Sixth graders can go to any MNHS location for FREE! It’s a great way for children to explore history during non-school hours.
Any child who is in 6th grade during the 2021-2022 school year is eligible for this pass. The pass provides free admittance for the 6th grader (not parents or siblings) to Minnesota Historical Society sites and museums through August 31, 2022. Not valid for field trips, paid programs or specially priced exhibits.
Enrichment Program
Artificial Intelligence, Humanities and Ethics Program Taught by Yale Graduates: Winter ’21
Inspirit AI is a 25-hour enrichment program that introduces middle and high school students to fundamental artificial intelligence concepts in order to work through socially impactful projects in areas including art, healthcare, education, law, and more. Developed and taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford and MIT, students receive a personalized, interdisciplinary learning experience with a student-instructor ratio of 5:1, and custom curriculum appropriate for complete beginners to more advanced students. Applications for our programs are now open and due October 15th. For our middle school programs, you can find our flyer here and our MS application here.
COVID Task Force
Kids Deserve a Shot!
Minnesotans 12-17 years old who start and complete their two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series between October 18 and November 30 are eligible to receive a $200 Visa gift card through the ‘Kids Deserve a Shot’ vaccine incentives program.
In order to be eligible, Minnesotans 12-17 must receive their first dose between October 18 and November 9 and receive their second dose by November 30.
Minnesotans must be
- at least 12 years old at the time of one or both shots
- and 17 or younger at the time of their first shot.
The reward registration form will open at 8:00 a.m. on November 9, 2021. The registration form will stop accepting requests for $200 Visa gift cards at 11:59 p.m. on November 30. Gift card requests will be fulfilled beginning on November 30, 2021 and throughout the month of December 2021. Please allow up to six weeks after November 30, 2021 to receive your Visa card in the mail.
For more information click here: Kids Deserve a Shot
There are many COVID-19 testing options available to Minnesotans. Please visit COVID-19 Testing – Minnesota Dept. of Health (state.mn.us) for more information on Minnesota’s free community testing sites, no-cost COVID-19 test at home , or locations at a local pharmacy, clinic or hospital. Local options include https://gslabstesting.
The COVID-19 Task Force is continuing to meet several times a week to review the current COVID-19 situation within the school and Anoka County and re-evaluate recommendations for the DaVinci Academy Board of Directors. The Task Force will share updates with the community in each newsletter. At this time, the COVID-19 Case Rate for Anoka County continues to rise, and we are continuing to have positive cases at DaVinci. We strongly encourage you to continue using multiple COVID-19 mitigation strategies while outside of school, especially with October break coming up. Whether traveling or staying in Minnesota, please be mindful of gatherings and take any mitigation efforts you may be able to take (masking, socializing outside when possible, staying away from others if either you or someone else is symptomatic or has tested positive for COVID-19, etc.).
Additional Updates:
· Please continue to follow the DaVinci Dashboard for information on DaVinci case rates. We are working on how to best capture a statistic around spread from within the school (at this time the data on the number of students who test positive after being a close contact is incomplete because not all students test)
· The Task Force would like to hear your questions, as well as things that you would like for us to consider. Please email these to: asktaskforce@
· If you haven’t already, please consider sharing your information on vaccination status or antibody testing results: Antibody Test Results Form Student Vaccination Status Form
Thank you for your support as we help the school navigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
-The DaVinci COVID-19 Task Force
