May Days: The Busiest Month of the Year
December has nothing on May. We are wrapping up one of the busiest times of the school year. This May has brought weeks packed with exciting activities, year-end Presentations of Learning, Exhibitions, college decision celebrations, Prom, concerts, field trips, finals, community events, playoff games, Grad Night, Senior Awards Nights, and so much more.
Here are several highlights from the many exciting activities this month:
- Senior Prom: Close to 500 seniors from Da Vinci Communications, Connect, Design, RISE and Science enjoyed a magical “Evening in Athens” Prom night with dinner, dancing and camaraderie as they celebrated the culmination of their high school journey at the elegant Terrace in El Segundo. Many thanks to our entire community for coming together to ensure the prom was a fun, beautiful and memorable event.
- College Decision Celebrations: Da Vinci’s 496 seniors were accepted to a total of 248 right-fit colleges across the globe. Several schools held College Decision Days to celebrate their accomplishments and highlight our amazing Class of 2024. Whether you are planning to attend a community college, Da Vinci's own free college and career program Rivet with Da Vinci, a 4-year university, a certificate program, the military, or you're going straight to the workforce, we are deeply proud of you!!
- Camp Kitsch: Da Vinci Design 10th grade honors art students held their first real gallery show ‘Camp Kitsch’ with arts non-profit partner Indivisible Arts. The show on May 11 offered students a real-world platform to sell their art, network with the community, and gain hands-on gallery experience.
- Inspiring Visits: Da Vinci RISE was honored to welcome Dr. Debra Duardo, Superintendent of the L.A. County Office of Education, and 20 superintendents and school leaders from New Mexico and Texas in two separate visits to learn about servicing and empowering at-promise youth. RISE is recognized nationally for its responsive support services for youth navigating foster care, housing instability, and other circumstances that have caused disruptions in their academic journeys.
- Odyssey of the Mind: Two teams from Da Vinci Connect TK-8 traveled to Iowa on May 21-24 to compete in the creative problem-solving Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. The first adventure for many of the students came while trying to get to the Iowa State University campus - thunderstorms and tornadoes had many students finding shelter at truck stops, casinos, airports and more! Both teams did a fantastic job! Platypus United finished in 14th place and Da Vincheese came in 30th place. > Read more
- Mentoring & Playing to Learn: Da Vinci Design 9th grade students participated in a very special design project this semester, interviewing 3rd grade students at Da Vinci Connect, playing games with them, and getting to know their interests so they could design and build board games for them that were tailored to their interests.
- Band Bash: WDV Performing Arts hosted its very first Band Bash on May 9 with live performances featuring four student bands. This event was student-led and student-organized by DVD junior Dylan Martinez. The joy of music making was heard loudly! It was awesome seeing our Blackbox Theater turned into a rousing rock concert venue!
- Grand Rounds: Da Vinci Science students in the Biomedical Pathway donned white lab coats and presented their Grand Rounds on May 9 to a panel of medical professionals. Students showcased their mastery over the diagnostic process used by medical professionals. DVS seniors in the pathway also recently had the opportunity to visit Loma Linda University School of Allied Health Professions to visit a human cadaver lab and learn more about various careers in the field of medicine.
- Lights, Camera: The photography seminar at Da Vinci Communications hosted a photography exhibition featuring editorial shoots on May 23.
- Let’s Go Wolves! Our WDV Athletics program is better than ever with 600 student-athletes participating in 16 sports and 29 teams! Our WDV Boys Varsity Basketball and WDV Boys Junior Varsity Basketball team were for the first time both crowned in the same year as Pioneer League Champions. Our Boys Basketball Varsity team will be moving up into the Bay League next year due to the success they earned this year. Our Boys Volleyball varsity team won the CIF-SS Division 5 Championship and earned a third place at the CIF State Division 3 level. WDV’s Malakai Tu’akoi, one of our Boys Varsity Volleyball players, was selected as one of 20 boys volleyball standouts to join the 2024 U.S. Boys U19 National Team, and helped the US team win GOLD at the World Championships earlier this month in Puerto Rico. In Track, Olivia Griffin won the 300m hurdles Pioneer League Championship and posted the 6th fastest time at the 2024 California finals. In swim, the Boys Swim Team Placed 3rd overall at CIF-SS Championships with Rayan Engineer, Zirak Engineer, Apollo Ivins and Alez Zakrzewski placing 2nd in the Medley Relay. In Archery, Jack Trolia won #1 Varsity Boy in the Nation, Dominic Davis took 8th for JV boys, and Summer Tsai and Chelsea Riddle took 3rd place and 5th place, respectively, for JV girls in the nation. So much amazingness!!
