Summer in Wiseburn 2025: A Season of Discovery, Creativity & Community

🎨 Summer Enrichment Camps (Grades TK–9)

Eight different Enrichment Camps brought 313 students together to explore new interests, stretch their creativity, and make new friends.

• Art Camp mixed ceramics, painting, cartooning, printmaking and more! One camper proudly declared, “My favorite is clay and painting…Camp is really fun, I get to make anything.”
• Crochet Camp taught students to transform yarn into pillows, purses, cell phone holders, and more — all using simple crochet squares. For many, it was their first time learning the craft. “It’s a little hard to learn, but not really,” shared Jeneice, a rising 7th grader at Wiseburn Middle School. “The only tricky part is switching colors and counting the number of double crochet stitches. It’s very fun!”
• FRC Team 4201:  The Vitruvian Bots hosted their annual LEGO Robotics Camp. Inspired by the FRC game Reefscape, campers in grades 2-9 designed and built LEGO robots in their own teams in preparation for the competition at the end of each week. Campers had an amazing time and gained valuable STEAM experience!
• Science Camp was all about experimenting, building, and hands-on discovery measuring each others' heart rate and so much more!
• Ceramics Camp introduced campers to hand-building, coil work, and even some time on the pottery wheel!
• Performing Arts campers shined in Disney-on-Broadway (grades TK-2) and New York: The Heart and Soul of Broadway (grades 3-8) performance parlours! They were brave, creative, and loving collaborators throughout both sessions!
• Board Game Camp brought student-designed games to life alongside classics such as Yahtzee!
• Debate Camps helped students build critical thinking and confidence skills through fun debates like cats vs. dogs — and even featured a Big Bad Wolf trial and election!

Huge thanks to our phenomenal teachers, student volunteers, campers and their families for making these camps so special. 💫

🏀 Youth & High School Athletics Camps

Now in its second year, this summer’s Wiseburn + Da Vinci Athletics Camps engaged nearly 360 students, with 146 in Youth Athletics & Fun Camp (grades 3–8) and 213 in High School Athletics Training.

At the Youth Camp, students rotated through soccer, basketball, and volleyball, with plenty of time for fun activities like arts and crafts, board games, friendship bracelets, moldable clay, and more. Fun Fridays brought extra excitement with relay races, dodgeball, kickball, and other high-energy games.

“This camp has been really fun. I like getting outside, meeting new people, and trying out new sports, “shared Caroline, a rising 5th grader, whose favorite sport is volleyball.

Vincent, a rising 7th grader from Wiseburn Middle School, shared: “The sports have been really fun. I like how the camp has added arts and crafts this year. It’s a nice break, especially when you’re tired from running around.”

Kedem, a rising 5th grader who attended Athletics Camp both this year and last, shared: “This camp has been fun in so many ways. I love sports and getting to meet new people from different schools and backgrounds. I’ve made four or five new friends here this year!”

For older students, the High School Athletic Training Camp focused on strength, skill development, and team culture, all led by WDV Athletics coaches. Student-athletes of all levels—whether building fundamentals or preparing for competitive play in soccer, volleyball, basketball, archery, or running club—trained together, developed as players, and built lasting connections with teammates and coaches.

“This is my second year as Program Manager for Summer in Wiseburn,” shared Debbie Evans. “It’s been a joy to see so many familiar faces in both our Youth and High School Athletics Camps. Moving to the Wiseburn Da Vinci campus has been a great change — we’ve added arts and crafts and board games, which have been a huge hit. Campers have been busy playing sports, making friendship bracelets, painting, playing games, and more. Everyone’s favorite? Fun Fridays, where we mix up the groups for epic games like relays, kickball, and dodgeball with campers, coaches, and student-athletes all together. It’s been a blast!”

Flexible, affordable, and packed with energy, the Wiseburn + Da Vinci Athletics Camps—open to the general public—continue to be one of the best values in the South Bay!

Career Training Clinics

This summer marked an expansion of Da Vinci’s Career Training Clinics, where incoming and current students came together from all Da Vinci high schools to explore real-world careers through immersive, hands-on experiences. It was another exciting step forward in Da Vinci’s mission to expand our career-connected learning opportunities that lead directly to good paying, in-demand jobs.

✈️ Aviation

This summer, Da Vinci hosted two dynamic aviation career training clinics: Aviation Pre-Apprenticeship Training and Aviation Career Exploration.

In partnership with the South Bay Workforce Investment Board, students in the Aviation Career Exploration Clinic gained insight into aviation careers such as pilot, drone operator, and air traffic controller. Guest speakers included a professional pilot and an FAA air traffic controller from Torrance Airport.

Students participated in hands-on aerospace STEM activities—building a functional flap mechanism, practicing life-size air traffic landing patterns, and developing drone business plans. Their experience culminated in a visit to Torrance Airport, where they toured manufacturing facilities, shadowed aviation mechanics, explored a flight school, and took introductory flights in Sling planes.

Meanwhile, students in the Aviation Pre-Apprenticeship Bootcamp dove deeper into engineering and flight science. They used CAD software to design wings based on airfoil physics, tested their models in a wind tunnel, and learned key flight maneuvers and controls using flight simulators. They capped off their experience with a visit to Santa Monica Airport, a tour of the Museum of Flying, and flights with experienced pilots through Advance the World/STEM Flys.

🚀 Special thanks to our incredible partners:

South Bay Workforce Investment Board, Torrance Airport, Sling Academy, Universal Technical Institute, Santa Monica Airport, and Advance the World/STEM Flys, whose generous support made these opportunities possible.

Advanced Manufacturing

Thirty students learned high-level technical skills including TIG welding, CNC routing, 3D printing, and vacuum forming. Thanks to Harbor Freight Tools for Schools and curriculum partners at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, students gained OSHA 10 safety certification, experience with industry-standard equipment, and confidence for their future careers.

Da Vinci Design CTE (career technical education) pathway instructor Jason Kartez shared, “It’s a special opportunity to teach high schoolers TIG welding — something I didn’t learn until grad school. These students are more than capable.”

Art Workshop

In partnership with Sovern LA, students participated in a weeklong oil painting intensive led by artist Shaylen Nelson. From still life compositions to portrait painting, students tapped into their personal stories through visual expression.

“It’s important to me to expose students to the power of still life and how drawing personal objects can be a reflection of their story and identity, the way Frida Kahlo and Van Gogh did many years ago,”  Shaylen shared.

For many students, it was their first time working with oil paint and with a professional artist.

“This was a very fun learning environment. I didn’t feel pressured to be the perfect artist. I really enjoyed when Shaylen was able to share short lessons about art history with us,” Lillian Winsinger, a Da Vinci Connect High senior, shared.

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Credential Program

This month, 15 students from the Biomedical Pathway at Da Vinci Science successfully completed a rigorous 6-week Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training program in partnership with McKallen Medical Training Center. The program included 160 hours of combined classroom instruction and hands-on clinical training.

With compassion, dedication, and care, these students rose to the challenge of this summer-intensive course. Upon passing the certification exam, they will be eligible to begin working as CNAs in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and home health settings—bringing their new skills to the frontlines of patient care.

A heartfelt pinning ceremony on July 24 celebrated their achievements and marked this important milestone. Through grant funding, Da Vinci Schools covered the full cost of tuition, testing, and materials, ensuring access to this high-impact credential program at no cost to students.

This marks the graduation of Da Vinci’s second CNA cohort, and we are excited to continue expanding this life-changing opportunity for all students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare.

"I'm honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of the program. It not only gave me insight into the medical field and patient care, but also emphasized the importance of patience, empathy, communication, and determination. The CNA program helped me truly understand the value of day-to-day activities and brought me closer to my peers. It was a life-changing experience," shared senior Isolde Vera.