Dear da Vinci Families,

If you haven't yet, please fill out the Successful Schools Survey. Our goal for responses is 95% and we are only at 5%! Last week on Wednesday, students had the opportunity to fill out the form during our community lesson time. Unfortunately, we were experiencing district-wide technical issues with Chrome at the time and many students could not access the survey. That situation has since been resolved. If your student was absent or did not do the survey due to technical issues, please encourage them to do so.

This week we will roll out the first phase of forecasting for classes next year for our current 6th and 7th graders. Please review the information below and prepare to have a conversation with your student about their plans for choosing electives.

Take good care,

Sheli

PPS is once again partnering with Panorama Education to gather feedback. The results will be used to help each school understand the needs of students, staff, and families, as well as support the development of our school climate and improvement plans.

We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses.

This week we will honor our amazing Counselors! We encourage you to send in notes of appreciation for all they do for our students and school community.

This Wednesday students will complete a pre-forecasting survey via Google Form. This form will auto-generate an email to their PPS email. Please review it with them later this week, so that you can see the electives they are choosing for next year.

Feb 15th, students will officially forecast via StudentVue. The window will be open from Feb 15 -Feb 22, 2023.

HERE is our guide and course description.

If students do not forecast using StudentVue, then they will be placed in whichever classes are open.

If you have any questions, please fill out this form.

2/8- OBOB competition, pullout for participating students

2/9- McDaniel forecasting, 5th period

2/13- Dine out for da Vinci at Shalom Y'all

2/15- PTSA meeting 6 PM, see below to RSVP

2/17- No school for students, teacher PD day

2/20- No school, President's Day Holiday

3/ 9,10,11 and 16,17 & 18- Beauty and the Beast, Spring Musical

3/19 - 3/24- Outdoor School for 6th Graders

3/27 - 3/31- Spring Break

Packets were sent home last week with our 6th graders through their science class. Please review the information carefully, fill out and return them to the main office this coming week.

HERE is the packet if you did not get it and wish to print it out. We also have extra copies in the office.

da Vinci Store is open THIS week!
Are you looking to purchase some da Vinci swag? This week the PTSA will be offering PTSA Store hours on Wednesday, February 8th from 3:15-4:00 so the da Vinci community can purchase t-shirts (in gray or white), hoodies (gray), zip hoodies (gray), pencil pouches, stickers and trucker hats that all feature the da Vinci Arts Fair logo.

The da Vinci Store will also have a Valentine's special this week. Come get some candy and other Valentine's gifts to give to your friends and family. Along with a Valentine’s special, we will also be selling some snacks and drinks. Remember to bring cash, or you can also pay by debit or credit card (3% extra fee). If you cannot make it to the PTSA Swag Store this week, then you can click HERE to order, while supplies last.

SAVE THE DATE - Dine for da Vinci
The next Dine for da Vinci is on Monday, February 13th at Shalom Y’all all day. 10% of their sales will go to da Vinci and they are located at 117 SE Taylor Street. Order lunch or dinner while giving back to da Vinci!

The next PTSA Meeting

Please join us for the next da Vinci PTSA meeting on Wednesday, February 15th from 6:00 – 7:30 both in person in the da Vinci Cafeteria and on Zoom. This year, dinner is provided for the in-person meeting, so please RSVP HERE and join us so we can build our community and support our teachers and students.

To connect to the PTSA meeting via Zoom, please click HERE.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our next PTSA meeting on Wednesday, please email davinciptsa.president@gmail.com.

Auction help needed!
Let’s get ready to fundraise for the Auction and support our da Vinci students and staff! This year the da Vinci Arts Middle School Auction will be held ONLINE in April and we definitely need help from our da Vinci community!

Ways to help:

• Do you have a vacation home that you are willing to donate?
  
  

• Are you interested in hosting a party or event to auction off?
  
  

• Are you interested in reaching out to businesses for donations?

Please click HERE if you are interested in helping with the Auction this year and we will be in touch. The Auction is typically the largest fundraiser for the PTSA and these funds raised go directly to our teachers and students. We also will need volunteers to help with picking up donations, marketing/social media, organizing the items for distribution and other details to make our Auction a success. Thank you for considering being a part of this fun event!

Lunch/Recess Volunteers needed!
The school needs volunteers during both lunch/recess times to supervise students. If you can sign up to assist our Admin in this task, it would be greatly appreciated. They are seeking help for the following times for the rest of the school year, listed below.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 11:15 – 12:45

Wednesday 11:30 – 1:00

These shifts will be covering locations to keep our students safe outside on the perimeter of the school or inside on the 1st floor hallway in front of Room 103. Whether you can commit to a weekly shift for the rest of the school year or can sign up a few times here and there, please know that it is appreciated and needed for our da Vinci community. Please click HERE to sign up for a Lunch/Recess shift.

Donate Games for Quiet Corner during Recess
Our da Vinci Arts School Counselors would like to start offering a quiet space for students to connect during recess and are requesting gently used or new board games, coloring books, ring toss, corn hole or other items that will allow socialization in a quiet setting. If you are interested in donating to this new space, please email davinciptsa.president@gmail.com or talk to Sheli Bryan in the Main Office.

Spring Plant Fundraiser – help volunteer!
We are having the da Vinci Spring Plant Fundraiser in May and we need volunteers to help on Plant Delivery Day on Tuesday, May 9th and then again after school on May 9th, 10th and 11th to help with Plant pick-ups. These plants and herbs from New Leaf Greenhouse are great quality and will arrive just in time for planting season so please sign up HERE if you are interested in helping with this fundraiser.

NEW! da Vinci Family Aid
The PTSA thanks the community for your donations to purchase Gift Cards during the holidays for some da Vinci Families. We recognize that the holidays are not the only times that families need some assistance so we are creating a new Donation Link to the da Vinci Family Aid where you can donate to this fund and the da Vinci School Counselors will manage family requests throughout the school year. The PTSA will continue to support this fund and hope that you will consider donating HERE to the da Vinci Family Aid. We thank you for your support!

If your student still needs required immunizations, please note the Multnomah County clinics below. Here is a list of fliers approved for distribution by PPS. Items in bold are new:

• Vibe of Portland East Winds Summer Band Camp

• Oregon State University STEM Academy AWSEM Club (Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering, and Math (English) (Spanish)

• Multnomah County February School Immunization Clinics
  (Spanish) (Chinese) (Somali) (Russian) (Vietnamese) (Ukrainian)

• Multnomah County Free Community Vaccination Clinic
  (Spanish)

• Multnomah County Student Health Center Vaccination Outreach (English & Spanish)

• Vibe of Portland No-School Art Workshops (Jan & Feb)

• Vibe of Portland Winter Music Classes

• Vibe of Portland Studio Classes Begin Soon

• Saturday Academy Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering Program
  (Spanish)

• Tech Youth Project Winter Sports Clinics 2022-2023
  (Spanish)

• PSU Sonic Arts & Music Production Academy Winter 2023 sessions (starting Jan. 6)

• City of Portland 311 Non-Emergency Hotline
  (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali)

• Oregon State University Summer Reading Program 2023

• Multnomah Early Childhood Program Preschool Classes

• Kaiser Permanente CASCADIA COVID-19 screening study (English)
  (Spanish) (Russian) (Amharic) (Chinese) (Vietnamese)

• Vibe of Portland 2022-23 Art Camps & Classes

• Portland Parks & Recreation Preschool 2022-23 Registration

Here are a few options for ways PPS offers free COVID-19 testing options to students:

• Diagnostic (symptom-based) Testing for staff and students who develop symptoms onsite. A signed 2022-23 Parent/Guardian consent form is required before a student may be tested. Hard copies are available at your school front office. Please return a signed consent form to the office if you would consent to onsite testing if needed.

• COVID-19 Screening Testing for students to use on a weekly basis while school is in session. OHSU tests the spit samples that your student will drop off weekly at school on our designated day which is on Thursday. To learn more about this screening testing option, click here.

• iHealth Tests: Through a partnership with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), PPS has provided each student with an iHealth test kit for at-home use. We still have a few kits available if you need one. Students and families are encouraged to use these tests if they develop symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or know they have been exposed to COVID-19.

Please see the following instructions for setting up your own account to track assignments and monitor progress. If you have multiple children in PPS, you can set up one account and then add additional students with a separate code for each student.