DaVinci Connection – December 2, 2022

Thank you for supporting the Student Council Committee Toys for Tots drive! With your support, they donated just over 400 toys!

First floor collected 108 toys, second floor collected 140 toys, and (for the win) third floor collected 143 toys.

For collecting the most toys, Grades 6-8 will celebrate next Wednesday (December 7th) with a non-uniform comfy clothes day, hot chocolate at lunch, and a movie. (Comfy clothes must be school appropriate)

Thanks!

DaVinci Academy Student Council Committee

This has been a great week in elementary school. We had our first character trait assembly where parents were invited to see their students receive the award for Confident/Humble. Each month every homeroom teacher picks a student or two who exemplifies that month’s character trait. Then, the teacher writes a paragraph explaining how the student is a shining example of the character trait and read it aloud at the assembly. When students came to the stage to receive their awards and saw their families in the back of the Performing Arts Center, the looks on their faces were priceless! The smiles were so big and they were so happy to have someone there to celebrate their accomplishment. To wrap up the assembly, students join in a game and sing the SPARK cheer. It is such a fun celebration.

This month’s character trait is Generosity/Service

As the November 18 Newsletter highlighted, DaVinci Academy is evaluating potential options for implementing a schedule change that would alter one school day per week. This change would include either a later morning start or an earlier afternoon release.

We want to ensure we provide our families with detailed information as to why we are looking at making this change, as well as allow families to provide feedback on how a potential schedule change would impact their household.

A detailed communication will be sent the week of December 5 from Interim Executive Director, Holly Fischer, which will provide information and insight into this initiative. We will also be including a parent survey, which we are encouraging all families to complete. Information and feedback collected from the survey will be pivotal throughout this process.

Here’s what we need from you. Please take some time to review and digest the information included in next week’s communication. After you have had a chance to go through the information from Holly, please complete the accompanying survey, and share back your questions.

In the meantime, we encourage you to review the conversation surrounding this initiative from the November 28 School Board meeting. The recording of the board meeting can be found here: November 28, 2022 School Board Recording. The dialogue around a proposed schedule change begins at the 2:04:55 mark of the recording.

Oh the weather outside is frightful. The wind, snow, and cold are not delightful. Please take a moment to help our outside staff stay safe and warm by installing the Silent Dismissal app to your phone. Once you have the app, simply email the office what kind of phone that you have so we can activate the app for FREE.

If you still need to download the Silent Dismissal app below are directions to get you started.

Please remember: the Silent Dismissal app will not work until you email or call the school and provide your phone information.
SD Settings and App Instructions

Healthy eating is so important for children. At our school, we work hard to ensure students receive a healthy breakfast and lunch each day to support their developing brains and bodies. Research shows that children who eat regular, nutritious meals are more likely to attend school and be engaged in learning. 

We are happy to partner with Every Meal to offer a free weekend meal program to all our students!

Every Meal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to fight child hunger through community and school partnerships. They strive to make a difference in children’s lives by focusing on food gaps like weekends, school breaks, and summer when they cannot receive food in school. 

• Free for all families
• No qualifications required
• Students enrolled in the program receive a 5-pound bag of nutritious nonperishable food each week
• Every Meal does not collect information from families; privacy is protected 
• Families may choose to participate in the program anytime throughout the school year
• Families may choose from a variety of different weekend food bag options

If you are interested in enrolling, please click here. The form is available to view in English, Espanol, عربى, Somaliyeed, Hmoob, and ကညီလံာ်ခီၣ်ထံ. 

If you have specific questions about participation or prefer a paper enrollment form, please contact Ms. Phoenix Hathaway, licensed school counselor, at 763-754-6577 extension 1203; or via email at phathaway@davincicharterschool.org.

Mindfully Yours,
DaVinci Academy’s Mental Health Team

 – Phoenix Hathaway (K-4 Counselor) www.calendly.com/mshathaway (763)-754-6577 ext. 1203
 – Diana Muske (5-8 School Counselor) (763) 754-6577 ext. 1310

We are seeking a community member to join our school board.  Do you know of someone who has a passion for education and would like to benefit the DaVinci Academy community by serving on the school board?  Have them reach out to Melanie Persellin, School Board Chair at mpersellin@davincicharterschool.org.