Graduation 2021
Posted on 06/04/2021
Graduation 2021Good morning Da Vinci soon-to-be graduates and families,

Our team has been extra busy making final preparations for the big date - the Da Vinci Charter Academy Graduation for the Class of 2021! This communication is intended to provide a comprehensive list of the final details so that each student and family is prepared to fully participate and enjoy the evening.

Rehearsals:
  • Wednesday, June 9th from 11:40 a.m. - 12:40 p.m. - DVCA Administration and senior teachers will hold a mandatory graduation briefing with all senior students via Zoom. Students should join that meeting using the following link. Students may attend from school or home and any senior with a seventh period is excused from that class in order to attend the meeting.
  • Thursday, June 10th from 11:40 a.m. - 1:20 p.m. - The DVCA Graduation Team will hold a mandatory, in-person meeting (except for those students who have already notified the school that they will be participating virtually in graduation) to do a full ‘run through’ of the graduation ceremony. Students need to gather at the benches outside of room #26. Caps and gowns are not required for rehearsal.
Graduates - Graduation Day:
  • Graduates must arrive at their assigned location on campus by 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 10th in their graduation attire.
  • Graduates are permitted to decorate their mortarboard with school appropriate celebratory content. Graduates may also wear tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance as an adornment to the customary ceremonial attire, as long as the adornment does not cause a substantial disruption of, or material interference with, the graduation ceremony. Finally, students are encouraged to wear district or school issued cords for recognized achievements.
  • The ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. with graduates entering onto the field and they will remain in the graduate section of the field until the conclusion of the ceremony.
  • After individual recognition onstage, each student will pick up their diploma cover on the stage and be photographed by a hired photographer. All graduation pictures as well as other pictures from the year will be made available to families via a digital link.
  • At the conclusion of the ceremony, graduates will be released to meet their family on the blacktop or in the staff parking lot, which has been determined by alphabetical order of the student’s last name.
Attendees - Graduation Day:
  • The Da Vinci Graduation will be held on the Da Vinci Campus field at 1400 E. 8th Street, Davis, CA.
  • Entrance is strictly limited to those who have already signed up for a seat; we have already reached full capacity.
  • Per County Guidance, all attendees are required to wear face coverings for the duration of the ceremony.
  • The ceremony will be streamed online for family and friends that are not able to attend in person. The link for the live stream is: http://dvca.virtualvideograduation.com/. A chat feature, which will be monitored by DV staff, will be turned on within the live stream when we reach the awards and individual recognition section of the ceremony. You are welcome to share the streaming link and to participate positively in the chat.
  • Students and families will need to park on the surface streets and/or in the nearby Dollar Tree Parking Lot. Any attendees that require special parking accommodations need to contact Adela Johnson at [email protected]
    graduation entrance and check in map
  • Graduation Attendees may begin arriving as early as 4 p.m. and no later than 4:50 p.m. Attendees will enter through the gate at the front parking lot which will be marked with balloons. Attendee groups will line up at socially distanced markers across the blacktop and wait their turn at the check-in table which will be located near Classroom #26, at the entrance to the field. See image below for more detail.
  • A folding chair is being provided for each attendee that has requested a seat at graduation. If you require or prefer a different chair, you may bring your own. Umbrellas and pop up tents are not permitted to avoid blocking the view of other attendees.
  • You are encouraged to bring water, sunscreen and a sunhat. Staff will be stationed on the field with additional water bottles, sunscreen and masks if needed. Per County guidance, food is not permitted at the ceremony.
  • Attendees must remain in their designated area during the ceremony, except to use the restrooms. Guidance on restroom access will be provided at the opening of the ceremony. We appreciate that you may desire to take photographs of your student during the ceremony but attendees are not permitted to leave their seating area to take photographs. Professional photographs will be made available to all students and families after graduation.
  • When you reach the check-in table, you will need to provide your name(s) and your graduate’s name to verify your seats. A staff member will usher you to your assigned seating location.
  • We are not providing a Graduation Program this year. In place, here is a brief overview of the schedule:
    • Welcome from student emcees & a performance of the National Anthem
    • Recognition of DJUSD Governance and Leadership
    • A message from DJUSD Board of Education President Joe DiNunzio
    • Presentation and Acceptance of the Class of 2021
    • Viewing of the Senior Capstone Video
    • An address from your ‘captains’ (The DVHS administration)
    • Presentation of Student Awards
    • Personalized Recognition of each of our 95 graduates
    • And, finally, we’ll close with the Moving of the Tassels
  • While we wish that we could spend additional time on campus celebrating, we humbly ask that you exit in a timely manner in accordance with the instructions that will be given at the close of the ceremony. County guidance does not permit ongoing, unstructured gatherings and the Production Crew will immediately begin breaking down the stage and other equipment, and trucks will be entering and exiting the campus.
After Graduation:
  • Graduates will be issued a diploma cover at graduation but will need to pick up their actual diploma from the DVHS Office. The DVHS office will be open on Friday, June 11th from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. and remain open for diploma pick and textbook and laptop return during those business hours through Friday, July 2nd. Unpaid fines for missing or damaged textbooks or computers will need to be paid before the diploma is issued.
  • DVCA will send out a link to all seniors and families to access a large bank of photographs free of charge which will remain available through June 30th.
  • A recording of the live stream version of the ceremony will be made available for viewing and for download on the DVCA website. An email communication will notify you when this is available, likely in mid-June.
  • Student email and Canvas accounts will be removed on June 30th. We strongly encourage students to begin saving content that they want to keep to an alternate account as soon as possible. Additionally, the school communications system will roll over to the 2021-22 school year at this time and you will no longer receive school communications for your graduated student.
This is an exciting time of year and, on behalf of the Da Vinci staff, we are incredibly proud of your student’s accomplishments and look forward to celebrating them in a few days. If you have any additional questions, please direct them to our graduation team at the email addresses below: Best regards,

Tyler Millsap
DVCA Principal