Dear da Vinci Families,

I hope that you are well and that your conferences with teachers were informative. Although ten minutes is brief, teachers and staff thoroughly enjoyed the chance to connect with you and your children. 

With two weeks until Winter Break, I strongly encourage students to ensure they are submitting all their assignments. This means, after taking a lunch break, 1) Visit teacher Office Hours if they have questions; 2) Use each afternoon to do their best work. We hope during Winter Break you can relax, read your favorite book, and spend time with your family and loved ones. 

Meetings Monday, December 7th

4-5 PM, Admission Info on Zoom for prospective families, RSVP

5-6 PM, Site Council, all welcome, RSVP to Mr. Locke for the meeting code

6-7:30 PM, Equity Team Meeting, all welcome, RSVP to Mr. Locke for the meeting code

Winter Talent Show Audition Extended to December 9th! Submissions are being accepted for our Virtual Winter Talent Show!  Here is the link to submit your show-ready audition. Those chosen to "perform" will be announced on DVTV's Dragon News on Monday, December 14th.  The Winter Talent Show will be live-streamed Friday, December 18th at 1:00 pm. For questions, please contact Mz. Daley at sdaley@pps.net.

PPS Middle and High School Lottery Window Closes December 18!  For our 8th graders, this is when you can apply to Choice Option High schools such as Benson, Jefferson HS, and MLC. If you are in a dual-assignment area, you need to make a decision between schools by this date. If you do not register your choice, you might be randomly assigned. 

For incoming students, this is the deadline for applications to da Vinci. If you have a sibling, they must apply to the lottery. 

See the DL website for HS Transition information and our Admissions page for da Vinci information or the main Enrollment and Transfer page. 

TAG (Talented and Gifted) Nominations Extended to December 18th! 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 visit the DL website and check out the TAG page.  (There is a TAG tab at the top of the page.)  Nomination forms are on this page and must be completed by DECEMBER 18th.  For other questions, please email Mz. Kitchens at skitchens1@pps.net. 

Foundation Fall 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. Our current balance is $12,210. A huge Thank You to all our donors.  Every donation, large and small, helps us reach our goal of $20,000 by the end of December. Please remember that your donations are tax-deductible. 

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.

PTSA Apparel Sales There are a number of items for sale through a store on our Square site. Order ahead and you can now pick up items on Wednesdays from 12:30 to 4 or by arrangement with the office. 

Wednesday Library/Material Pickups Wednesday afternoon distribution days will happen the next two weeks before the break from 12:30 - 4:00 p.m. If you need books to read over the break, consider our Library! Ms. Robertson is more than happy to get books into your hands. Reserve them in advance from her page on the Library website. If you are coming, be sure to bring back any books that you no longer need. We would love to get back the books from last spring. If you have books to donate, that could be shared with another student, we would be happy to take them. If you cannot come on a Wednesday, the office is open during school hours and we can meet by arrangement. 

Health Center Resources from Nurse Cam The Benson Wellness Center sponsored by Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) at Benson Polytech High School has reopened! The BWC provides preventative health services for any PPS students ages 7-21 years old. For questions about the Benson Wellness Center please contact Caroline Bleckmann, School Social Worker, by email or phone at cbleckmann@pps.net or 503-729-3486.

Hours for an in-person appointment: 

Tuesday & Thursday: 1:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m

Wednesday: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 

Phone or virtual appointment: 

Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m. 

Stay connected via Instagram @Benson_wellness_center. 

Multnomah County Health Centers While schools are engaged in distance learning, Student Health Centers at David Douglas, Parkrose and Roosevelt are open for in-person health services and mental health counseling. Phone and video appointments are also available. Here is further information: 

https://multco.us/school/student-health-centers-locations-and-hours

Science and ART! Last but not least, a highlight of our day was seeing the projects come in for the 7th and 8th grade Science Invasive Species project. Thanks to Mr. Conroy and Ms. Ingamells and all the students doing great work! Here’s a sample of work turned in today. 

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