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Happy Friday to all! We wanted to give our families as much time as possible before Spring Break to sign-up for our next two annual rhythm events. Please take a moment to view and sign-up to participate for the S.T.E.M Carnival and Connect’s Annual Talent Showcase!

S.T.E.M. Carnival Participation Invitation

Event Date: April 29 – from 3:30 to 5:30 at Connect K8 campus

Click HERE to participate:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQh7sycgNI7WmUvVXLntc82oZ00pXQbsWY039aKdLrJNF_zw/viewform?usp=sf_link

and

Connect’s Annual Talent Showcase

Event Date: May 20 – evening time at the Black Box Theater

Click HERE to Sign-Up:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C49ABA928A7FCCE9-davinci1

Hi Connect K8 Families,

This is a friendly reminder that Learning Log #5 is due tomorrow, Friday 3/25 no later than 11:59pm! Please make sure you submit your child’s log completely and on time! Reach out to your child’s teacher for any support you might need.

Thank You!

The Team at Da Vinci Connect

Good Afternoon Da Vinci Connect Tk-8 Families,

As previously shared (and copied below) by Da Vinci Schools, beginning tomorrow (3/14), masks indoors on campus will move from “required” to “strongly recommended”. We recognize that this change will bring a variety of feelings–from joy to apprehension, and every feeling in-between. It’s important that we continue conversations at home around what this might feel like, and how we might respond to our feelings regarding this change. Now that families are able to make the mask choice that feels safest for them, we will see some staff and students not wearing masks at all, while some will continue to wear masks throughout the day. We want to make sure that everyone feels safe to make the choice that works for them and their families, without fear or judgement. If you would like support in navigating these conversations with your child and family, we are here to help. Any questions can be directed to Kaitlin at ktoon@davincischools.org.

The update from Da Vinci Schools regarding masks on campus sent on 3/9 is pasted below for your review: 

Gov. Gavin Newsom and California state health officials issued an order on February 28 lifting the indoor mask requirement for K-12 schools, effective March 12, 2022, and moving to a strong recommendation to continue indoor masking. In addition, the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) released a Health Officer Order on March 3 saying that it will align school masking measures with the State and shift to strongly recommending indoor masking as well.

Following discussion at a Special Board Meeting earlier this week and after receiving input from multiple stakeholders including staff, Da Vinci Schools has chosen to align with the County guidelines as we’ve done throughout the pandemic.

Effective Monday, March 14, all Da Vinci schools will no longer require masks indoors or outdoors regardless of vaccination status, but masks remain strongly recommended. Da Vinci will continue other protective strategies, including eating lunch outdoors on all campuses until further notice. Our existing visitor policy will remain in effect. Please note that masks will be required at all upcoming Exhibition Nights as these are large indoor events with students, families, staff and community stakeholders present.

We encourage all Da Vincians to assess their personal and family risks related to COVID strategies and masking in particular. In deciding whether to continue masking, individuals should consider:

• Are there individuals in the household who have underlying health conditions that create elevated risk for severe illness from COVID? 
• Are there unvaccinated family members in the household including young children not yet eligible for vaccines?
• Does anyone in the household work in a setting with vulnerable individuals at elevated risk of severe illness from COVID?

It is also important to consider how much COVID transmission is in our local community to determine risk level and protective strategies. COVID transmission in L.A. County is now at the Low Community Risk Level. In the event there is a positive case in a Da Vinci classroom or on a WDV sports team, then the entire class/team regardless of vaccination status will be required to mask for 10 days since the last exposure, pursuant to the County COVID-19 Exposure Management Plan. Masks are available at all Da Vinci schools for anyone who wants or needs one.

As we move forward, we respectfully request that everyone mind their “mask manners” and make Da Vinci a safe space for all people to make their personal choices about masking. Thank you for your continued cooperation.

Enjoy Your Week,

The Team at Da Vinci Connect

Hi DV Connect Families,

A last friendly reminder that Learning Log #4 is Due TODAY by 11:59pm! Please submit with samples to your teacher’s Learning Log google classroom by the deadline! Reach out to your teacher with any questions you might have.

Thanks!

The Team at Da Vinci Connect

Greetings Connect K8 Families,

We wanted to share the below flyer for Pepperdine’s Black History Month Speaker Series featuring Melvin Johnson, happening tonight at 5:00pm <3

Details are below and you can register for the event HERE

Best,

The Team at Da Vinci Connect

FAN Annual Rhythm Event: Speaker’s Jam!

Wednesday 2/23 @ 3:00pm

Del Aire Park 

*UPDATE​* Please bring a re-purposed coffee mug or a small flowerpot for a community seeding activity.

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Attention all poets, scribes, and literary GIANTS:

Join Us… on Wednesday February 23 from 3 to 5pm at Del Aire Park, for F.A.N.’s Annual Rhythm event: the Speaker’s Jam. Bring a blanket or chair, a snack, and your favorite poem or literary piece of writing to share at this Open Mic event. Also bring a re-purposed coffee mug or small flowerpot for a community seeding activity. Come and be inspired by hearing the wonderful voices of our Connect Community!

Early Bird sign-ups to present click here or copy and paste the following link:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C49ABA928A7FCCE9-speakers

For more details, please email Jahmal Durham at jdurham@davincischools.org

Attention Connect Students, Parents and Staff!

We have multiple positions open on Connect’s School Site Council! The council meets quarterly to conduct school business and represents students, parents and staff from across Connect K8, Connect HS and DVX. We have a fabulous team already and are excited to invite additional members to fill open positions. As a formal council, these positions are filled by flying the position, accepting applications and conducting an official vote (students vote for students, parents vote for parents and staff vote for staff). The council discusses school business and gives input into budget items including state grants.

If you would like to participate as an official School Site Council member, fill out this google form by Friday, February 11th. We will compile all interested candidates so that students/parents/staff can vote for their representatives.

Hi Connect Families!

The Scholastic Book Fair opens today and runs through Friday! If you haven’t set up your e-wallet to shop yet, please do so–students will be visiting the book fair with their classes starting today! You can shop the book fair in person THIS Wednesday–see Theresa’s e-mails for more details.

Dear Da Vinci Families,

Thank you to all families who picked up and used at-home test kit results prior to our Jan. 10 return to campus. Through the at-home process we identified 114 positive cases of COVID-19 among students, none of whom returned to campus, thereby avoiding exposure for our Da Vinci staff and students.

As of end of day Jan. 14, we had 39 newly reported positive cases of COVID-19 among students or staff who had been on campus since Jan. 10. See COVID dashboard here. In keeping with Public Health guidance, positive COVID cases among students or employees who did not come onto campus while potentially infectious or resume school since winter break are not included.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) issued new COVID-19 guidelines last week that Da Vinci Schools have implemented. The changes prioritize responding to positive cases and exposure notification and update guidelines for quarantining after exposure to COVID-19 to reduce unnecessary student absences.

Da Vinci has updated our COVID-19 safety protocols in line with LACDPH’s additional new guidelines as follows:

EXPOSURE NOTIFICATION

·    Parents/caregivers of infected children will be notified of the positive result via email and asked to keep the infected child at home. Parents/caregivers who have questions about isolation requirements may now call the LACDPH COVID-19 Information Hotline directly at 1-833-540-0473. This line is available in multiple languages and operates 7 days a week from 8:00 AM to 8:30 PM.

·    LACDPH’s new guidelines recommend schools contact entire classrooms where a positive case has been identified and recommend all students consider testing for COVID-19 due to possible exposure. Da Vinci schools will continue to notify via School Messenger or email with classroom- specific notifications. Da Vinci identifies close contacts that had unmasked exposure and notifies them individually.

QUARANTINE GUIDELINES FOR EXPOSURE

Symptomatic students and unvaccinated students with unmasked exposure are required to quarantine at home.

Asymptomatic students with a mask-on-mask exposure at school who test negative in twice weekly testing (i.e., once as soon as possible after exposure and once again on or close to Day 5) are required to quarantine outside school but may remain in school under modified quarantine provided that masking and testing requirements are met.

The following close contacts are NOT required to quarantine and may remain in school:

·    Asymptomatic students that are fully vaccinated (regardless of booster status)

·    Asymptomatic students who are recently recovered from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within the last 90 days (please be prepared to show a positive test result)

·    Asymptomatic staff who are up to date* on all COVID-19 vaccines (Up to date on all COVID-19 vaccines: Boosted or fully vaccinated but not yet booster eligible)

ISOLATION/RETURN TO SCHOOL REMINDERS

Students who are in isolation due to a confirmed COVID-19 infection may return to school if:

·    At least 10 full days have passed since your symptoms first started, and

·    You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours, and

·    Your symptoms are improving.

OR “TEST OUT” option

·    At least 5 full days have passed since your symptoms first started, and

·    You have a negative viral COVID-19 test collected on Day 5 or later, and

·    You have not had a fever for at least 24 hours, and

·    Your symptoms are improving, and

·    You wear a well-fitting mask over your nose and mouth when you are around others, indoors and outdoors, for a total of 10 days.

Please check in with health office staff prior to starting school if you are “testing out” early. If using a home test to “test out”, please be prepared to show an image of a home test as well as noting the day and time the test was taken.

Da Vinci updates on COVID-19 testing opportunities:

All Da Vinci students/staff can take a rapid COVID test at the Da Vinci Schools 201 N. Douglas Street, El Segundo campus (between 8:15 AM- 3:30 PM) or 12501 Isis Ave, Hawthorne location (between 8:45 AM- 2:45 PM). No appointment is needed. Students are not allowed to test during class hours and will be sent back to class. Students, please pre-register for testing here. Staff can register here.

Da Vinci uses rapid tests for symptomatic students and close contacts to a school based case OR an exposure at home.

NEW! Da Vinci Schools is proud to offer on-site PCR testing for students and staff starting THIS WEDNESDAY! This does not replace our existing rapid testing program. 

·    First event: Wednesday 1/19/22, 2:30-4:30 PM, first-come first-served

·    Rest of semester: Weekly on Tuesdays 2:30-4:30 PM

·    Location: 201 N. Douglas Street, COVID tent in backyard by lunch area

·    Pre-​registration required: https://ihd-patient.preciseq.com/davinci-schools *Please note, insurance information is required, so we encourage students to register at home with access to their insurance card.

·    What to bring: ID and unique QR code provided after registration (This code is to be used for the lifetime of the Testing Program. Please present this code to the technician prior to every test)

·    Testing is not required to attend school

·    Tests for coronavirus are currently covered by insurance with no out-of-pocket costs. Please check with your insurance company for further information.

Please see the LACDPH flowcharts outlining the updated quarantine and isolation protocols visually.

For students quarantining, we do not offer virtual class options, but our teachers have created resource/activities for students who may be out for short periods of time. You can find these in Google classroom (Connect, DVC, DVD, DVS) and in DreamSeeDo (RISE). School site administrators can provide more information should you need, students are encouraged to reach out to their teachers. Please contact your office manager to notify us if your child is going to be absent from school as usual.