May Highlights
- Have you ever wondered how tall a camel is? Or what's in a camel hump? Or if camels spit? TLC students had all their questions answered during a field trip to the Oasis Camel Dairy at the end of last month. Everyone got to give the camels treats and had the optional opportunity to take a county-fair-style ride on a camel.
- TLC was honored to receive the 2024 Innovate Award from the Classroom of the Future Foundation for our Tiny Home Project. This award recognizes the unique ways that TLC is preparing students with the life and job skills they need to succeed in today's world.
- Speaking of the Tiny Home Project, TLC celebrated our students' accomplishment of building a sustainable tiny home with a celebration at TLC Chula Vista. Parents, staff, and community representatives gathered to see the tiny home and applaud the students' hard work. Students were also honored with certificates from Assemblymember David Alvarez's office.
- Senior shout out: congratulations to Jacob Goldman, who will be attending the Engineering Program in the Honors College at Northern Arizona University (NAU) in August, where he received a full-tuition scholarship. Jacob received acceptances from other universities but he thought that the engineering and honors program at NAU was most inline with his goals. We're so proud of Jacob and his fellow seniors for all their successes!
Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental Health Awareness Month
Each May, we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month to raise awareness of, and reduce the stigma surrounding, behavioral health issues. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.
TLC's School Counselor, Diane Barrett, shared a number of resources with our school community via ParentSquare earlier this month. Below is an additional reminder of some helpful information.
Mental health is part of good overall health. Everyone needs support at times and reaching out for help is an act of strength and hope. There are plenty of places to reach out to for help if you need some extra support, including at the school, in the local community, or nationally.
Available at TLC
School-based counseling services – Your child is encouraged to directly contact the school counseling office by coming into the counseling office during school hours or making an appointment to speak with a counselor. Our school counselors support students by providing individual sessions, group or parent consultations whenever a student is having a difficult time due to academic or emotional stress, transition to changes in their environment, or social concerns, including isolation.
Site Counselors contact information:
- Chula Vista: Diane Barrett (619) 656-4220 ext. 121
- La Mesa: Samantha Peterson (619) 463-8811 ext. 183
- San Diego: Angelique Bailey (858) 536-8388 ext. 292
- You may also complete a counseling referral form
Available in the Community
SD Youth Services - Provides help for San Diego’s most vulnerable youth, including foster children, youth experiencing homelessness, family conflict and violence, abuse and neglect, mental health struggles and substance abuse. To get help or a referral for services, Call or Text: (619) 221-8600 (10am-6pm, Mon-Fri).
San Diego Access and Crisis Line - Confidential and free of charge, the San Diego ACL (1-888-724-7240) offers support and resources countywide in over 200 languages from experienced counselors on all behavioral health, mental health and substance use topics, including but not limited to: Crisis intervention, Community resources, Mobile crisis response services, Mental health referrals, Suicide prevention, and Alcohol/Substance use support.
Teen Line - This community-based organization provides emotional support to youth by trained teen volunteers. Text: TEEN to 839863 6-9pm. Call: 800-852-8336 6-10pm. Email: https://www.teenline.org/email-us (emails answered nightly).
Rady’s Children Hospital Mental Health Services - Provides programs for children, youth and families to address challenges related to depression and suicidality, mood problems, anxiety, traumatic stress, attention deficits, hyperactivity, disruptive behavior, eating disorders, substance-related mental health problems and other mental health concerns. Expert and compassionate care is provided by highly skilled professionals, who are dedicated to improving the lives of patients and their families.
San Diego County Office of Education Virtual Wellness Center - Find mental health and wellness resources to build your resiliency and strengthen your foundation during challenging times.
Chula Vista Family Counseling Center (619) 515-2338
Positive Change Counseling Center (619) 733-6414
Santee Family Counseling Center (619) 449-9937
Counseling services, whether provided by TLC or by an outside provider listed in this letter, are voluntary.
TLC Staff and Student Support
A handful of TLC staff and students participated in the Mental Health Awareness 5K Walk/Run at Liberty Station to bring awareness to mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding behavioral health issues. We're proud of our students and staff for being community advocates!
Student Work Spotlight
This month's first student work spotlight comes from 10th grade TLC La Mesa student, Diego Sebastian Vargas Vizcaya, who interviewed Argentinian author Sebatián Hugo Vargas for his Spanish final. Diego found Sebatián Vargas's books while he was looking for native Spanish literature. He was inspired to interview the author because of the sincerity of his writing. As Diego reflected,
Over the course of the interview, I got a really wonderful opportunity to see how much trial and error it takes in order to make a book just right.
The interview video is in Spanish but Diego edited it and added subtitles. Diego did an exceptional job interviewing the author (and creating the video). They talked about the author’s childhood, his writing career and his work with youth. You can check out the video below!
This month's next student work spotlight comes from TLC Chula Vista's AP Spanish class. This class worked diligently to increase their communication skills in Spanish across all four domains of the language. They made us proud with their dedication and perseverance, which culminated in taking the AP Spanish exam in May. The class had a Mexican themed party to celebrate this accomplishment, which included singing Mexican ballads to a Karaoke track!
This month's final student work spotlight comes from Mrs. Morris' 2nd grade class at TLC Chula Vista. The second graders made cornmeal canyons by creating a model landform using cornmeal. They dripped water over this “land” and observed how water changed its shape. Students learned that over long periods of time, canyons can be formed through a similar process.
Reading Resources for Summer
Reading is a great way to prevent learning loss over the summer months. It keep students working on their ELA skills and provides a fun activity that can truly open the world to them.
Our partners at Reading is Fundamental compiled a summer reading activity guide full of practices and book ideas to seek out this summer. This "action-packed" guide includes: a summer reading pledge, activity sheets, a link to join weekly read-alouds, and more.
Your local library is also a great resource for book borrowing and activities over the summer. You can find your nearest local library at this link.
TLC Unveils Our New Chula Vista Building
Thank you to the students, families, and guests who joined us to celebrate the unveiling of our new Chula Vista space with a ribbon cutting event!
We were so excited to show our community this beautiful space. This new building will help us meet the needs of our growing community by providing space for a new main office, high school classrooms, a music classroom, a counseling center, and a study/library area.
Special thanks to our community partners and distinguished guests, including:
- Lisa Schmidt, District Director for Assemblymember David Alvarez, 80th District
- Jarred Cole, Senior Council Aide for Chula Vista City Councilmember Carolina Chavez, District 1
- Arthur Congo, Associate Director, Southern California Local Advocacy for the California Charter School Association
- Ron Busch, Superintendent, Southwest Construction Services
- John Meyers, Southwest Construction Services
We can't wait for our entire Chula Vista school community to utilize this new space soon!
Congratulations to all of our students on completing another school year. Your school community is incredibly proud of your hard work and perseverance. And a special congratulations to our 8th graders on their promotions and to our 12th graders on their graduations! We are delighted to be able to celebrate students from our three different sites on these important milestones. We will share photos and snapshots from these days in the first newsletter of next school year.
We're proud of all our seniors and the various paths they have chosen. Some colleges that our graduates will be attending include:
- Grossmont Community College
- Southwestern Community College
- UC Riverside
- Cal State University, San Bernardino
- San Diego State University
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
- Chico State
- UC San Diego
- Northern Arizona University
- San Diego Mesa College
- UC Merced
Other graduates will be pursuing careers in construction, the electric trades, the airline and hospitality industry, the military, and more. Congratulations to all of our graduates!
Teacher & Staff Retirements
TLC is wishing four staff members a happy retirement at the end of this school year. We will certainly miss their presence, but are grateful for their many years of dedicated service and are so happy for the retirement years they have ahead of them. Please join us in celebrating our retiring staff members, and saying thank you for all they have done.
Carol Anderson
Vicki Cline
Ana Delmore
Gloria Glaeser
What we will most about you...
What I will miss most about Carol Anderson is her caring for students' well being, academic success, and also for her leadership with her middle school team. Carol was always the first person to step in when something needed to be done, or organize a pot luck when spirits needed to be lifted. I will always be grateful to her for bringing a positive energy to the team and willing to support all staff and students. Now that she is retired I hope she gets to go to all the Buffalo Bills games!!! Thank you Carol for always supporting me and all those around you. -- Joe Medina
What I will miss most about Vicki is her presence. She is dedicated, loyal, creative, and passionate, and I can't imagine TLC or events without her. She gives everything she does 120%, and we have had a wonderful partnership and friendship over the last nineteen years. She has contributed to many areas of TLC over the years, from office management to events. She is one of those people who makes everything she is involved with better. She leads with integrity and has a heart of gold that always puts people first. TLC has been so lucky to have such a phenomenal person in our organization, and she will be missed dearly. -- Renee Olmeda
What I will miss most about Ana Delmore is her caring for the wellbeing of staff and students. She always makes sure to check with everyone to make sure you are ok and she also never backed down from supporting staff with Educational Partner work or curriculum questions. All her students like her and respect her because she shows she puts students first. Now that she is retired I hope she can take that long restful vacation she wants and enjoy time with her family. I want to thank her for caring about me when I was new to TLC and when I stepped in as SSA for La Mesa. She was a true blessing for the La Mesa site and she will be missed. -- Joe Medina
What I will miss most about Gloria Glaeser is the energy she brings to the team. I worked with her for four years in Chula Vista and two in San Diego. Gloria always brought positive energy when collaborating with staff and also in her classroom. She showed how much she cared about her students' academic success by constantly preparing for her lessons and always being excited to teach those lessons. She also cared about the well being of everyone. On bad days, she always knew how to put a smile on your face. I also want to thank her for helping me grow in this profession. I hope that now that she is retired she can go to Disneyland everyday. -- Joe Medina
Tip of the Month: Water Safety
With summer upon us, this is a friendly reminder to stay safe as you stay cool in the water this summer. We're not alone in trying to prepare people for summer as May is National Water Safety Month.
The following water safety tips are taken from the YMCA of San Diego County:
1. TEACH KIDS TO ASK PERMISSION
Whether it's your home's pool, the beach or a water park, instill in your children the "ask permission" rule before they go near the water. Let them know that you'll likely say yes, but you need time to get prepared to watch them and be proactive. Teaching kids early on to ask permssion will help them have a better understanding that safety comes first.
2. SUPERVISE CHILDREN WHEN THEY'RE IN THE WATER
When your children are in the water, it's time to be alert. As a general rule, an adult should be within arm's reach of a young child at all times. If other adults are present, you can take turns watching the pool, so everyone gets an equal chance to relax. Working together to protect your children is the best way to prevent an accident.
3. TEACH SAFE WAYS TO ENTER THE WATER
Jumping or diving into shallow water is dangerous. Insist that children enter and exit the pool using steps or a ladder (unless they are in a designated diving area). If your pool doesn't have a specified area for diving, don't allow it.
4. DON'T JUMP IN THE WATER TO SAVE A FRIEND
If a child sees a friend struggling in the water, their first instinct may be to jump in to help — a move that could lead to both people drowning. The Y recommends the "reach, throw, don't go" technique, which involves using a long object to pull a struggling swimmer to safety. By using this technique, children can help without putting themselves at risk.
5. ENROLL YOUR CHILDREN IN SWIM LESSONS
The best way to teach children water safety is to enroll them in swim lessons. Just like teaching your children to look both ways before crossing the street, formal water safety lessons teach important life skills. Swim lessons have been shown to reduce the risk of drowning by 88%.
Safety Drills Recap
Last month, our La Mesa school had an earthquake drill in which 21 staff took part. This month La Mesa completed a gas leak drill with 303 participants. It took a total of 5 minutes to complete. San Diego also completed a gas leak drill that 121 staff and students participated in. It was completed in 4 minutes and 13 seconds.
STAR Student Recognitions
May: Perseverance
TLC recognizes STAR students each month based on a determined character trait. May's character trait is Perseverance. Students are nominated by their Educational Partners and School Site Administrators. Congratulations to this month's STAR students!
Luke Baker
Johnathan Charles
Margaret Doyle
Estela Gonzalez
Karina Hunnicutt
Zach Kubik
Tre Malabad
Marisa Martinez
Ava Ortega
Lucas Pacetti
Ari Parson
Renata Velazquez
Laelani Waytes
Marley Webb
Cayden Wilson