DaVinci Connection-April 8, 2022
School Links
Important Dates
Subject to change-see online calendar
April 14, Conferences
April 14-19, No School
April 19, Staff Workshop Day
May 9-12, Spring Intersession
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 warmer, but please remember to send your children with their winter attire. Snow bibs are needed when there is snow on the ground and boots are needed for the mud. Please send your student with appropriate (clearly labeled) attire including hats and mittens. Students go outside daily unless either the real temperature or the wind chill temperature is below 0 degrees.
GREETINGS!
To the left and right, you will find helpful links to important pages on our website.
Golf Tournament Sponsorship
Join us for our 10th Annual Golf Tournament
All sponsorship opportunities, along with golf and dinner registration, for the 10th Annual Golf Tournament will be available on our website April 18.
Tournament Sponsor $1,000
Round of golf & dinner for (1) 4-some / Event Signage & Representative at a green
Honor Roll Sponsor $500
Event Signage & Representative at a green
Davinci Dynamite $250
Event Signage
Golf Ball Cannon Sponsorship $750
Event Signage & Representative at a green
The Golf Ball Cannon gives golfers the opportunity to launch their golf ball up to 325 yards using a pressurized air cannon in place of their drive.
Your company representative can be on the most exciting hole of the day, sure to make a lasting impact on our golfers for only $750!
ParTee Cart Raffle $250
Event Signage on the ParTee Cart
Your sponsorship will help stock the ParTee Cart with merchandise, beverages, snacks and decorations.
Sponsor the most sought after cart on the day of the event for only $250!
Mega Putt Sponsorship $100
Event Recognition
Sponsorship provides golfers an opportunity to putt a hole-in-one to win a prize!
In addition to donations and sponsorships, you can help our school while promoting your company to hundreds of families in the area by donating items to be given out to our attendees in the form of raffle prizes and swag bags for the golfers.
We are looking for Gift cards, Merchandise, Event Tickets, Services, Products.
All donations are tax deductible as DaVinci Academy is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.
Thank you for your consideration!
Dollars for DaVinci
Dollars for DaVinci runs now until May 6, 2022. The DaVinci community raised over $20,000 in 2021! Our goal this year is to surpass last year’s donations and raise $30,000. All grade levels K-8 have the opportunity to help raise money to improve our indoor/outdoor spaces and enhance learning experiences for our students. We encourage families to get kids involved and have kids help earn money to donate by doing extra chores, helping neighbors, and asking family and friends for donations. We’d love your help creating new learning opportunities for our students! For more information, please watch for a flier that will be sent home with students on Monday.
Donations can be made electronically here: Dollars for DaVinci
Support Space
Hello DaVinci Community!
April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month! According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism affects an estimated 1 in 54 children in the United States today. Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that each person with Autism has distinct strengths and challenges unique to them.
Our team waited to share some video clips provided by Joy Fehring, our Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) specialist. The videos may help broaden our understanding and acceptance of ASD.
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For adults or older grades 6th through 12th:
Ask an Autistic #23 – What is Autism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Autism: See the Potential https://www.youtube.com/watch?
A Teen’s Guide to Autism https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Just Like You: Autism https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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For middle grades 2nd-5th:
A is for Autism, F is for Friend book preview https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Understanding Autism-Jumo Health comic https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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For younger grades 1st through 4th:
What’s up with Nick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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For younger grades preK-2nd:
Nasaiah’s Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Happy Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month!
-Joy Fehring, Licensed Autism Spectrum Disorders Teacher/Specialist
We hope you take some time this month to learn more about Autism and celebrate all of the unique and wonderful attributes of individuals in this community!
Please reach out if you have questions or concerns. If your family is faced with new or ongoing needs and challenges of any kind, please let us know by filling out this survey and someone from our team will reach out to further assist your family!
Mindfully Yours,
DaVinci Academy Mental Health Team
Phoenix Hathaway (K-4 Counselor) www.calendly.com/mshathaway (763)-754-6577 ext. 1204
Jaclyn MacDonald (5-8 School Counselor, Long-Term Sub) (763)-754-6577 ext.1310
Courtney Rowe (K-8 School Social Worker) www.calendly.com/msrowe (763)-754-6577 ext. 1215
Every Meal
We are excited to share that we have partnered with Every Meal (formerly Sheridan Project) to provide meals for families in need at DaVinci. This program is free for all families at DaVinci in grades K-8, there is no income qualification, and there is no private information collected.
Families who sign up will receive a 3-5 pound bag of food each week for each school age child they sign up. Families will need to complete a separate form for each child they are enrolling. There are 5 different types of meal bags available for families to choose from which can be viewed here. Families can sign all of their children up for the same type of bag or they can sign up for different bags, depending on preference. Meal bags will be placed in your student’s backpack on the last day of each week. Families can sign up or cancel at any time as their needs change.
Use the link here to sign up: https://bit.ly/
Please direct questions to ahalverson@
Book Fair
DaVinci Academy has an exciting new opportunity for our spring book fair! This year, we are partnering with the Red Balloon Bookshop. Red Balloon has been providing books for children in the St. Paul community since 1984. Red Balloon will give a portion of the proceeds from the book fair back to DaVinci to purchase books for our school library. We can earn up to 25% of our sales back for our library!
We will be hosting an in-person fair May 2-May 6 as well as an online fair. This book fair is unique in that our students will get to pick books that they’d like to see sold at the book fair! Teachers will also have the opportunity to make an online wish list for their classroom.
May 2-May 6 is also teacher appreciation week and books make great teacher gifts!
Stay tuned for more details close to the fair.
Intersession 2022 is here!
DaVinci Academy’s intersession program offers students in all grades additional opportunities to grow and learn. One annual, optional, fee-based intersession is offered per year and, while not required, the school strongly encourages students to take advantage of it.
Students who choose not to participate in intersession will have the week of May 9-13 off of school.
View the intersession options on our website HERE.
Registration for intersession is open April 6-20.
Don’t hesitate… Classes fill up fast!
Yearbook Pre-Orders
Yearbooks will arrive the last few weeks of school. Orders can be placed in your Infinite Campus account starting today! Ordering will close on Sunday, April 24. Don’t miss the opportunity to treasure the names, faces, and events that made this year so special for your child.
In Search of…
We are currently in need of a conference table. If you or someone you know has one they could donate we would be very grateful. Please reach out to hfischer@davincicharterschool.org.
Notes from Nurse Julie
Borrowed Clothing:
If your student has had to borrow uniform shirts or pants from the nurse’s office, please wash and return them as soon as possible so that they are available for other students to borrow.
Student Illnesses:
We are thankful to see a decline in COVID cases, but we are unfortunately seeing an increase in colds, stomach flu, and other illnesses. Please continue to assess your child each day for symptoms and if they are feeling well enough to make it through the school day. In addition, if your child has a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea, they will need to be free of these symptoms for at least 24 hours without the use of medications before returning to school.
STEM Builders
Summer camp: June 15- August 29. Options for grades K-8. Click here: Summer Camp Information
Community Events
This is an opportunity for any interested scholars who will be at least 14 years old this summer and are looking to continue or get involved with fastpitch softball. The Minnesota Frights, are a traveling club softball team based out of the Columbia Heights/Fridley area, open to all girls ages 14-18 with any level of experience and skill level. We are also one of the lowest registration costs programs in the state. Our club is only $60 to join (this does not include jerseys fee) Our mission is to help develop players for their high school teams and also give them an experience that many athletes think they cannot afford. Please pass around our flyer to interested students and if you or any of your students have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Tarek Morey, Head Coach.
Frights Softball Flyer
Lee Carlson Center
Lee Carlson is excited to offer weekly virtual parenting groups at no charge to anyone who is interested! Each week we’ll explore a new topic around parenting and you’ll learn new skills that you can apply right away to make things a little less chaotic at home. Each Thursday, we will offer three different sessions and everyone is welcome — you don’t need to have attended a previous session to join us.
No need to sign up, just click the link and join in: https://leecarlsoncenter.org/virtual-parenting-groups/
COVID-19 Updates
Any Minnesota parent or guardian whose 5- to 11-year-olds have ever received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine by April 11 can enter to win one of five $100,000 Minnesota college scholarships.
On April 15, the State of Minnesota will hold a drawing for five $100,000 scholarships valid at any public or private non-profit higher educational institution in Minnesota.
Minnesotans can learn more about the Kids Deserve a Shot program, register for the scholarship drawing, and view official rules at Kids Deserve a Shot.
For updated vaccination stats for students and staff at DaVinci Academy click HERE
‘Kids Deserve a Shot’ Vaccine Incentive Program for Minnesotans 5-11 Years Old
Vaccines are the strongest tool we have to prevent serious disease and death from COVID-19. Vaccines are now available for Minnesotans ages 5 and older at no cost. On January 11, Governor Tim Walz announced the launch of the next phase of the ‘Kids Deserve a Shot’ vaccine incentive program to encourage Minnesota families to get their kids 5- to 11-years-old fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
$100,000 Minnesota College Scholarship Drawings
Later this spring, there will be drawings for five $100,000 Minnesota college scholarship drawings for all Minnesotans 5-11 years old who are fully vaccinated. All Minnesotans 5-11 years old who completed their first and second doses at any point up to the registration deadline will be eligible to be entered for a chance to win a $100,000 college scholarship. Details on the drawings will be announced in the coming months.
How families can find a shot for their child:
- Visit gov/vaxforkids to find clinic locations near you.
- Check with their pediatrician, family medicine clinic, or local pharmacy about appointments.
- Watch for vaccination clinics being offered at schools or other community locations around Minnesota.
Boosters Recommended for People Aged 12 and Older
As a reminder, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced now recommend booster shots for those aged 12 and older five months after the completion of the primary series of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, for some immunocompromised children aged 5-11 years old, CDC also recommends an additional dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to complete the primary series – a total of three doses.
Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.
Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.
- Walk in or schedule an appointment for a test at one of the state’s free community testing sites across Minnesota: COVID-19 Community Testing Sites.
- Order a test through the state’s free at-home COVID-19 testing program: COVID-19 Test at Home.
- Find a testing option near you through the state’s Find Testing Locations map: Find Testing Locations.
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:
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
Find out more about vaccine availability in Anoka County by visiting the county website: https://www.anokacounty.us/4047/COVID-19-Vaccination
Minnesotans with questions about the COVID vaccine can 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
All Minnesotans age 12 -17 are recommended to get a booster shot at least 5 months after their primary series of vaccine. To find where to get your booster shot, refer to Find Vaccine Locations.
Minnesotans looking to start the vaccination series 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
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.
Employment
Licensed positions for 2022-2023 School Year
Non-Licensed positions for 2022-2023 School Year
DaVinci Den After School Program Assistant
Licensed positions for 2021-2022 School Year
Non-Licensed Positions for the 2021-2022 School Year
Visit DaVinci Academy’s Employment Portal to learn more about open positions and apply online.
Parent Engagement Coordinator & Administrative Assistant – New Position
Did you know that when DaVinci opened its doors for the first school year in 2008 parents were required to volunteer 40 hours a year? We quickly realized that there was no way to find 40 hours of volunteer opportunities for every family, but there are many ways to serve the school regardless. With the easing of COVID restrictions there is an increased need to get families back involved in the school in a meaningful way. To help us find the volunteers we need, and create the opportunities for engagement, we have posted a part time, year round position. Are you the person for this job? The hours are 11:30 AM – 5:00 PM with flexible working hours through the summer. We would love to get someone in place this spring, so apply if you are interested.
Visit DaVinci Academy’s Employment Portal to learn more about open positions and apply online.