Dragon Tales
March 1st, 2024
Principal's Message
Is anyone else floored by the fact that its March 1st? Wow. While I typically am pretty drained by the time we reach Fridays, I feel the opposite as I write this today. I was so uplifted by our Black Student Union-led Black History Month Assembly that we held yesterday and to see the amazing art work our students did during advisory to honor Black History Month.
Today, marks the start of Women's History Month and I look forward to the ways in which we celebrate this month. I recently started a staff committee that is tasked with creating ways to celebrate the various heritage months ahead of us. Unfortunately, the work stoppage in November, bizarre December and disrupted January meant we missed out on opportunities to honor those communities, but our goal is to not miss another month the rest of the year.
Weekly Updates
Celebrating Black History Month
This past week was the culmination of our students' work to celebrate and honor Black History Month. Every Advisory class competed in a door decorating competition where they choose the focus of what aspect of Black History to celebrate. Students were hard at work for the past few advisory classes and I'm proud of the collaborative work they did.
Our BSU also led our Black History Month assembly yesterday. We had student performers, highlights from our arts classes, student-created poetry reads, presentations of significant figures from Black History in the United States, and announced the winners of our door decorating competition.
I'm so proud of the work our BSU students did to put on this assembly and want to make sure to thank our adult leaders, LaShea Chatman (our Restorative Justice Coordinator), Hakim Muhammad (African Drumming Teacher) and Izear Smith (Community partner from The Urban League).
Below are some photos from this past week.
Auction Thank You...and amazing video with voice over poem by Gio Calandrella
I want to send a huge thank you to our PTSA Auction Committee for all their hard work these past few months in preparations for last weekend's 80's Auction. It was a tremendously fun event that raised funds to help Keep the Arts Alive at da Vinci!
For those that haven't seen it, we shared this video at the auction. It captures everything I love about da Vinci, being in middle school, and the journey that three years at da Vinci encapsulates for our students.
Newsies Tickets On Sale Now
We are excited to present the 2024 da Vinci Spring Musical, Newsies Jr! Please join us for this wonderful musical extravaganza on March 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th or 15th, with performances beginning at 7:00pm. The final performance is a matinee on March 16th, beginning at 2:00pm. A $10.00 donation per ticket is suggested.
Here's a link to SchoolPay to purchase tickets online.
6th Grade Outdoor School Forms
The forms are site/teacher specific and will come from your student's science teacher. Please ask your student on Monday afternoon to see these forms.
Nominate an All-Star Student!
The District has asked us to share this information:
As part of our commitment to Racial Equity and Social Justice and our vision of the Graduate Portrait, we want you to nominate your student for the All-Star Awards! The All-Star Awards Ceremony is Portland Public Schools’ premier recognition event for students and communities of color to relish in a night full of excellence, community, and celebration. For more information and to nominate a student, please click here.
CampOUT: Building resilience in today’s world
Check out this awesome summer camp for LGBTQIA+ middle schoolers that uses the arts, activism and mindfulness to find joy in our daily lives.
SEED Survey Family Message and Declination Forms
Please take a moment to read through this district communication about the upcoming SEED survey, which we will administer through our social studies classes in March.
The survey is designed to capture students’ sense of belonging and experience at school. It also asks students about their experiences in class, their access to resources, and what they have learned. Survey results are used to create more equitable learning experiences for students and to inform state and local education investment decisions.
Securly
All families have access to Securly filtering and the app called Securly Home. This tool is what we recommend to help families set internet filtering rules for their children when using school devices and accounts at home. As a parent or guardian, you can use Securly to stay on top of your child’s online activity in real-time from anywhere, with the SecurlyHome App. Securly will also send parents/guardians weekly email reports with a snapshot of their student’s internet activity. This report is a wonderful opportunity for parents and guardians to open a dialogue with their students about their digital lives. You can find links and more information on this webpage to download the app.