DaVinci Connection-December 3, 2021
Bed
School Links
Important Dates
Subject to change-see online calendar
December 13, Board Meeting
December 20-January 2, No School
January 17, No School (Staff Workshop Day)
January 18, No School
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. Students go outside daily and must wear a coat in lower temperatures.
GREETINGS!
To the left and right, you will find helpful links to important pages on our website.
YOU CAN DISMISS YOUR CHILD FROM YOUR CAR WITH THE SILENT DISMISSAL APP!
Really, you don’t need to wait for parking lot staff to put your number in. You just need to get the app and email the office what kind of phone that you have so we can activate the app for FREE. Please do this before the weather turns cold – our parking lot staff thanks you.
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.
Pay Through the Parent Portal
We have created a handy guide to making payments on the Parent Portal. Click Payments Through Parent Portal for detailed instructions.
Support Space
Joy At Home
With winter fast approaching, and spending more time indoors, it’s important to find joy with your family when at home. There are lots of benefits to quality time with your loved ones: increased feelings of connection and support, children feel safe and secure, and increased communication to work as a team and resolve conflict.
Finding joy may look different for every family, but here are some ideas you may enjoy:
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Joy Jar: Throughout the week, have everyone jot down highlights and things that have brought them joy on small pieces of paper to put in the joy jar. At the end of the week, read aloud as a family.
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Evening Check In: Before bed, check in with your children and ask them to share a funny moment from the day or something that made them smile today. Make sure to share your funny moment too!
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Dance Party: Play some favorite music from your childhood and invite your whole family to dance with you. You can allow your children to DJ and share their favorite dance moves with you as well. If dancing isn’t your thing, make it a music lounge night and just share your favorite music with one another.
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Weekend Activity: Have everyone write down an activity that they would love to do with the family on a slip of paper. Put those into a hat or bowl (you may want to approve your children’s choices first) and have someone close their eyes and draw an activity. That’s your family activity for the day!
There are many other ways to find joy as a family and as individuals. What you focus on grows, so in challenging times, focus on the positives whenever we can. Keep watering the moments of joy in your home and watch them grow!
Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. You can also set up a meeting with any member of our team for further resources and support!
Mindfully Yours,
DaVinci Academy 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
Middle School Spark
Our Middle School students showed Spark this week by reading to the Kindergarten classrooms.
Student Council and the Salvation Army
The DaVinci Academy Student Council met to ring the bell for the Salvation Army on December 1. It was a fun opportunity to raise money for a good cause.
Student Council Event
Thank you to all of the families who have donated to Toys For Tots. We have collected 252 toys so far! Your generosity is going to be greatly appreciated. There is still time to send in your new toys! All toys will need to be collected by December 7, 2021. If families would like to donate money instead of buying a toy, please make checks payable to Marine Toys For Tots Foundation and give the check to the front office. The floor that brings in the most toys will earn a sweatshirt day!
The DaVinci Academy Student Council will be featured on Kare 11 on Wednesday, December 8 at 10:00PM. Be sure to tune in!
Winter Choir Concerts
We are currently in Phase 4 of our mitigation matrix, which states about what School Wide Events will look like (a.k.a. concerts), “Virtual Only. Audience may participate remotely or by watching a recording.” Because of this, we are not holding our winter choir concert in person, but will record it and it will be sent out to families before winter break. For more information please read the following letters from Mr. Hanson regarding the winter concerts.
Winter Band and Orchestra Concerts
Hello band and orchestra families,
Due to the increase in Covid cases in our school and area, we are currently in Phase 4 of our mitigation matrix, which states that school wide events will be “Virtual Only — Audience may participate remotely or by watching a recording.” Unfortunately, this means that we will not be holding the December band and orchestra concerts in person on the evenings of the 7th and 9th of December.
It is my plan that we will postpone the middle school concerts to a date (TBD) when we are out of Phase 4 in our Covid mitigation process, hopefully by the end of January or early February. As of now the 5th grade instrumental and Jazz Band/Show Choir concerts are still scheduled for the 25th and 27th of January, but that may change if we remain in Phase 4.
For each group, we will also record a few of the pieces we have been rehearsing to send out to you as a preview of our concert-to-be. All of these recordings will take place during the school day and students will be in their uniforms for those recording sessions.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me or Jack Shields.
Have a good day,
Sandor
Athletics
We do not have our own wrestling team at DaVinci, however, we’d like to share two options for families of students that may be interested. The Andover Huskies Youth Wrestling Program is registering students grades prek-age 14. The Blaine Wrestling Takedown Club is also currently accepting registrations. Although we are not affiliated with either program, we do have students that wrestle for those clubs and have many positive things to say. Each of those websites has contact information for you to reach out to ask any questions you may have, and registration ends soon.
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.
COVID-19 Updates
Families must fill out this form regardless of their or their students’ vaccination status if one of more of the following is true:
1. Student or household member has tested positive for COVID-19
2. Student or household member has symptoms related to COVID-19
3. Student or household member has had close contact with someone who has tested positive for or has symptoms relating to COVID-19
Anoka County Public Health voluntary vaccination clinic for children ages 5-11 set for Dec. 4
With regulatory approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11, Anoka County Public Health is coordinating a vaccination clinic for children on Saturday, Dec. 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Anoka Technical College (1355 West Highway 10, Anoka).
Advance registration is required at this link: https://acappt.co.anoka.
The vaccination clinic is a voluntary, no-cost option for students and is offered in addition to other options. The second dose clinic is set for Jan. 8, 2022 at Anoka Technical College. Although recipients of the Pfizer vaccine can get the second dose as early as three weeks after the first dose, a five-week delay is acceptable.
All youth must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and masks are required on site. If you need assistance, please call 763-324-4250. Find other options through a vaccine locator service offered by the State of Minnesota.
Coordinating distribution for at-home, private COVID-19 testing and promoting voluntary COVID-19 clinics for students are supportive of the district’s goal to maintain in-person school, five days per week.
Connect with ahschools.us/covid-19 for additional information or direct questions to health@ahschools.us.
Following an extensive clinical trial and final recommendations from CDC for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 5-11 year-olds, Governor Tim Walz announced that Minnesota will begin vaccination children this week. To aid families, the state has launched a new webpage (mn.gov/vaxforkids) to help parents and guardians find 5-11 year-old children a vaccine and answer questions they may have about the vaccine.
The state has mobilized a diverse network of providers around the state – hospitals, clinics, local public health, Tribal health agencies, pharmacies, school located clinics and state-run community clinics – to administer vaccines to our children as quickly as possible.
Minnesota providers have ordered as many doses as possible from the federal government. Doses will arrive in waves this week, with most providers receiving their vaccines by this weekend. The state’s main goal is to ensure that the vaccine is widely, equitably and efficiently available to all Minnesotans age 5-11.
How Minnesotans ages 5 and older can get their free shot:
Minnesotans looking to vaccinate their child can:
- Visit mn.gov/vaxforkids to find clinic locations near you.
- Check with their pediatrician, family medicine clinic or pharmacy about appointments.
- Go to a community vaccination clinic at Mall of America. For more details and to register click here: Mall of America Community Vaccination
Before you go, make sure the vaccine location provides the Pfizer vaccine to 5-11-year-olds. Not all Pfizer vaccine providers will have the vials specifically packaged for 5-11 year old doses in their supply.
Minnesotans with questions about the vaccine can also call the Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 Public Hotline at 1-833-431-2053. The hotline is available Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
For unique ways of talking to your kids visit The ABC’s of the Covid-19 Vaccine hosted by Sesame Street
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
Local COVID Testing: 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.
Find a COVID Vaccine: The COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. There are many options for places to get a vaccine. Here are some different
ways to find a COVID-19 vaccine:
For more on the COVID Vaccine click here:
