To apply for admission to da Vinci for the 2021-22 school year, you must enter the lottery before December 11th at 5 PM. Visit our Admissions page for details and visit the rest of our website to learn more about our program. We will not be able to host in-person information sessions or tours at this time. 

I hope this finds you well. As Thanksgiving nears, please safely cherish the time you have with family and loved ones. We are thankful for the resilience, love of art, and learning of your wonderful children. 

As November is Native American Heritage month, I want to share an appreciation of our Native students, and the following Land Acknowledgement:

“When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It’s a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future. We carry our ancestors in us, and they’re around us. As you all do.” Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)

“We Must Protect the Land for the Next Seven Generations” Artist: Chief Lady Bird, Nancy King (Nancy King is a First Nations (Potawatomi and Chippewa) artist from Rama First Nation) 

Last call  for Conference Signups, 4 PM today

So that teachers can print lists and prepare for back to back conferences, the signups will close at 4 PM on Friday. For all the conference information, see our website. If you have a conference set for Monday or Tuesday, be sure to download Zoom in advance and note there are passcodes to get into some meetings after clicking the link. 

Calendar Reminder

There are no classes next week. Monday and Tuesday, the teachers will be holding conferences. Wednesday - Friday is off for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Attendance Reporting and School Support Communications 

PLEASE- Please report excused absences if your student is missing class due to illness, appointments, or family emergencies. We are concerned when students are not coming to class and accurate attendance reporting is required by the district and state. 

As we are working remotely, the best way to report attendance is to email Sheli Bryan with the reason for the absence. 

Reaching our Counselors- If you need to connect with our Counselors for support for your student, please email them directly. 

Shannon Foxley for students with last names A - La

Heather Mathewson for students with last names Le - Z

COVID or Serious Illness- If your student is ill such that they will not be able to participate in distance learning for more than a few days, our Administrators will communicate with teachers about adjustments to assignments and grades as needed. 

New Digital Online Gallery Enjoy the collection of student art, shared by Kelda Van Patten’s students here. 

High School Transition Information The information sessions from Wednesday this week were recorded and there is information on all of the PPS High Schools at this website. Remember the deadline for dual-assignment decisions and to apply to choice option High schools is December 11th. 

TAG (Talented and Gifted) Nominations If your student received a winter 2019-20 MAP score that was in the TAG range, you should have received a postcard in the mail recommending you nominate them for TAG.  If you would like to pursue this nomination and for other TAG related questions, please email Mz. Kitchens at skitchens1@pps.net or visit the DL site.  There is a TAG tab at the top of the page.

ESL Virtual Presentation For ESL/ELL families, there is a virtual presentation of supports offered at da Vinci on our DL website.  You can also view it here.  For more questions about this program, please contact Mz. Kitchens at skitchens1@pps.net. 

Fall Foundation Ask Each year, the da Vinci Foundation asks for your generosity. It is your tremendous support, one donation at a time, that supports our outstanding arts program and keeps our arts focus community vibrant. Every donation, large and small, helps us reach our goal. 

Three ways to make a donation: 

1) Donate directly through The Fund for Portland Public Schools

Be sure to select da Vinci Arts Middle School as the purpose; 

2) Become a MONTHLY donor ($10, $20, $50 a month)

You can opt for a recurring donation through the above link; 

3) Make a One Time donation with a check by mail:

Check payable to The da Vinci Foundation 

Mail to:

Da Vinci Arts Middle School (Attention: Liz Robbins)

2508 NE Everett St.

Portland,  OR 97232

PTSA Membership You can now join the da Vinci PTSA on our new Memberhub site. Membership is just $15 per person and anyone is welcome to join. PTSA fundraising goes toward teacher budgets for supplies for all students, Library books, and more. For more information or to get involved beyond membership, contact the officers at davinciptsa@gmail.com. The next meeting will be December 3rd at 7 PM on Zoom. 

Be well, be safe.

Dear da Vinci Families, 

Welcome to the 2020-21 School year! 

I hope you all had a wonderful, safe, summer and that you are enjoying our lovely NW sunshine. Teachers and staff will be meeting next week, and we are all very excited to start our virtual school year on September 2nd. I am very pleased to announce some wonderful additions to our staff.

• Maia Kinigopoulos, Math/Health

• Alexander (Al) Williams,  ELA 6-8

• Emily Conner,  AVID/Creative Writing/ELA Support

• Ellen Ingamells, Science 7-8 (da Vinci alumna)

• Chelsea Blair, Social Studies 7-8

• Shannon Foxley and Heather Mathewson, Counselors

• Francisco Garcia, Drama

• Hakim Muhammad, African Drumming (Explore and Year Long)

• Anna Cushman, Dance (da Vinci alumna)

• Susan Verheyleweghen .5 Learning Center Teacher

• Heidi Sprecher, Drama Tech/ Health

• Jenna Morano, School Psychologist

• Thank you all for bringing your skills and passion to our da Vinci community. Congratulations and Welcome! 

Our virtual school year will begin as a “Soft Start” (Monday, September 2nd through Friday, September 11th). Our focus will be connecting with students and families to build positive relationships, learn more about distance learning platforms/tools, and build virtual classroom culture. Our virtual Quarter 1 schedule will commence on Monday, September 14th.

Virtual Learning Platforms

As we start the year with virtual instruction, thank you in advance for helping your student get the most out of each of their classes. To support your navigation and monitoring of online learning, our teachers will primarily be using Canvas in addition to Google Classroom and Google Meets. Teachers will use other platforms, some that your child may be familiar with, and some that will be new. 

Please understand that as staff our exclusive focus will be on providing the best virtual learning experience in our arts focus setting. We are super excited to “see” your children. 

In the near future, we will share additional information on the beginning of school. Student schedules will be available and our Home Based Distance Learning website will be updated. For school start-up needs (Chromebooks, internet access, ParentVue/Synergy access) and other questions, our school secretary Sheli Bryan will be sending an informational email.

Thank you for your wonderful children, and we can’t wait to “see” you all soon. On behalf of the staff, I wish you a great year of learning! 

Best,

Fred Locke, Principal

Dear Families of PPS Secondary Students,

During Comprehensive Distance Learning, opportunities are built into the schedule for all families to be able to connect with teachers during office hours. As in a traditionally formatted year, we will also be offering Parent-Teacher Conferences (morning to evening) on November 23-24. 

Dear PPS Families and Staff,

Earlier today Governor Brown announced that the State of Oregon is relaxing the criteria and thresholds for schools to re-open to in-person instruction, starting with hybrid models that combine distance learning and on-campus learning.

Dear PPS Families,

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant decline in children accessing preventative medical services such as vaccines and well child checks. We’re happy to announce that we have re-opened two of PPS’ school-based health centers to provide access to medical services for students while the district continues to hold classes remotely. School-based health centers offer quality, affordable health care by doctors and Family Nurse Practitioners for children and youth with no out of pocket cost.

Dear PPS Families,

We want to update you on the Enrollment and Program Balancing (EPB) progress. As we’ve shared, the initial work focuses on schools in Southeast Portland in anticipation of the reopening of Kellogg Middle School. The Southeast Guiding Coalition has held six meetings aimed at creating a common understanding of the Coalition’s charge and the process for developing proposals and a final recommendation. The process is starting with a focus on grades 6-8 now, and will expand to grades PK-12 next spring.