Dragon Tales

What a beautiful week of weather we have had. The cherry blossoms near our playground were in full bloom this week and it was fun watching our students play in their falling flowers and enjoy being outside during lunch. As a whole, we had a great week. Our 6th graders clearly had fun sharing Outdoor School stories on Monday. Academics were back in full swing as well. I know many students had tests this week, started new projects, or had essays to turn in. I encourage families to continue to monitor their student's Canvas pages for grades and assignments and to reach out to your student's teachers if you have any questions.

I also look forward to the Master's Drama Showcase this evening. Assistant Principal Ms. Wilson attended Thursday's performance and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our student performers were also super excited on Friday and looked forward to Friday night's final performance (which starts at 6pm tonight).

Starting on Wednesday, all students will begin state testing (OSAS) in their Math classes. OSAS data plays an important role in our work as a school and district in knowing how we are serving our students. As a school, we use the information from OSAS testing as one data point when we establish our school goals, review our instructional practice and determine which students might need additional academic assistance. As a student, I wasn't a fan of these types of tests either, but as an educator I've come to see the value of the data we collect from them.

Tips for Testing Success:

1) Get plenty of sleep

2) Bring a charged Chromebook

3) Believe in yourself

4) Do your best

5) Take your time...don't rush it

This information was shared with families on March 8th, but I wanted to make sure that our families were aware of next year’s calendar. You can see a list of all district calendars here.

Additionally, I want to remind everyone that our bell schedule time will change next year. During the March PTSA meeting, I shared why this was happening. It largely has to do with shared staffing and professional learning at the different school levels (elementary, middle and high school). As of now, our school day will start a half hour later and run from 9:15-4:00. We have not yet finalized what this means for when students enter the building, but we suspect it will be a similar model to what we have this year. For example, students will be allowed into the building at 9:08am or at 9am if they want breakfast.

Stay tuned for information coming from the PTSA next week as we celebrate ALL STAFF the first week of May and with meals on Tuesdays throughout the month. There will be lots of ways to contribute, so please consider stepping in for what you can: preparing or donating food items, helping with your time to setup/clean up, donating money towards items that will be purchased, or even just taking a moment to write a note or email of appreciation.

If we all take a small piece that we are able, our daVinci Community will feel seen and recognized for all they do for our kids, daily.

Our amazing dance teacher, Sara Martins, sent the message below to our staff this week. I thought I would share it with our community to highlight a great event and showcase one of the many ways da Vinci alums go on to do great things.

"Hi everyone,

I just wanted to share an article about the Jefferson Dancers company, which includes a great photo of da Vinci alumni Lila Wendroff and Henry Roth. If you're interested in catching them live this weekend at the Newmark, the show opens tonight at 7:30, and also runs Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and also 2:00pm on Saturday.

For ticket info, go to jeffersondancers.com or there will be seats available at the box office. In addition to Lila and Henry, dV alum Payton Nabors-Hilburn is also a heavily featured company member. It was so much fun to set a tap piece on them this year!"

Arts Alive is a spectacular collaboration from all four performing arts departments at Franklin High School (choir, band, theater, and dance). FHS invites you to come see a performance and take it all in: April 19, 20, 26, 27 @ 7:00. Tickets can be purchased here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=232924 and more info can be found here: https://www.danceatfranklin.org.

While our students can't compete in this year's event, as it appears to only be available to high school students, I wanted to make sure our families were aware of this opportunity for their students in the future. When Congresswoman Bonamici spoke to some of our students back in October, she mentioned this opportunity and a few students asked her questions about it. Again, my bias may be driving this promotion, but I believe our students stand a pretty good chance at being selected. Our students do amazing work!