April Highlights
- A group of TLC students and staff participated in the Race for Autism this month. This 5K run/walk raises funds for autism programs and services in San Diego. The family friendly event is a great opportunity for fun, movement, and raising awareness, acceptance, and funding for inclusive and equitable environments for people with autism. Great job to our TLC team for participating!
- TLC sixth-grade students who chose to attend camp enjoyed four unforgettable days of outdoor adventure at YMCA’s Camp Marston. From hiking and canoeing to archery, rock climbing, and campfire fun, students explored nature while building friendships and confidence. They conducted hands-on science experiments, crafted creative projects, and learned valuable lessons in teamwork, independence, and environmental stewardship. The experience not only brought classroom learning to life—it also created memories to last a lifetime.
- High school students celebrated prom on April 25 at RiverWalk Golf Course with A Night in Paris. The evening included elegant cuisine, sweet treats like macarons and madeleines, 360 photo and video booths, a caricature artist, dancing under the stars, outdoor games, a royal court, and special senior swag bags. This annual event is an unforgettable night of fun and celebration!
- TLC is growing—and we’re proud to showcase what makes our school special! On Saturday, April 26, we joined districts and schools from across the region at the San Diego County Office of Education and PLNU Job Fair, where over 750 classified and credentialed professionals registered to explore career opportunities in education. Our team shared job openings, distributed promotional materials, and conducted on-site interviews with prospective candidates. TLC is more than a workplace—it’s a community. Visit our website to explore careers at TLC!
Social-Emotional Learning
TLC's Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) team put together a spring recap of SEL activities and resources for students, families, and staff. Thank you to this team for all they do to promote meaningful SEL work at our school! Check out their newsletter below, and here is the link referenced in the newsletter.
Volunteer Spotlight
TLC is lucky to have a number of parent and community volunteers at each of our school sites. William Doyle, aka Mr. Bill, is one of these amazing volunteers.
He is the grandparent of three TLC students and initially started volunteering with TLC because his grandkids took it upon themselves to sign him up to tutor. He is grateful they did as he has loved the experience so far.
Mr. Bill has been volunteering since October and now comes to TLC San Diego every Wednesday to help with math tutoring.
He helps students of all ages practice their math skills, and enjoys the diversity of working with kids from different grade levels. He goes above and beyond with his volunteering, coming in 20 minutes early to meet with the high school math teacher so he can get updated information about how to best support the high schoolers with their math.
Mr. Bill says he loves the environment of TLC, as students and staff are all welcoming and make him feel appreciated. After a career developing shopping malls across the United States, including Horton Plaza, this is Mr. Bill’s first time working directly with kids and he can’t believe how much fun it is. He says that every single student is a great kid and he enjoys seeing the older kids help out the younger kids.
Mr. Bill says volunteering is not only fun, it has also helped him with his memory. He would encourage everyone his age to volunteer, whatever their interests are.
If you are interested in volunteering, you can contact your School Site Administrator.
We’re grateful for Mr. Bill and all the volunteers who help make our school a better place.
Student Spotlight
This month’s student spotlight is Bella-Lucia Baker, an 11th grader at TLC San Diego. In addition to being busy with high school and starting to make plans for her future, Bella-Lucia is dedicating much of her time to artwork and creating a budding art business.
Bella-Luca has been doodling since she was little and was always intrigued by the composition of items, animals, and humans. She enjoys the process of creating artwork itself, in particular seeing how the shapes and lines come together to create whole images.
Over-time her skills have greatly improved. She continues to stay inspired by connecting to the stories portrayed in artwork, as she says:
“I have a passion for stories. An endlessly multifaceted world concentrated into a single scene. That's how I view good artwork and that's what inspires me. Although I can do a variety of subjects, I often find myself drawing people. All it takes is a slight adjustment of the pose, eyes, or mouth and suddenly, the story told through the image is drastically different.”
In addition to her love of art in its own right, Bella-Lucia sees it as an opportunity to help support her going forward. She recently started taking art commissions and all the money she makes goes directly to helping her save for college. And while art has become a way to help her afford college, she doesn’t plan to leave it behind when she gets there. She says,
“As I head into college, I will be taking numerous art classes to keep me active in this. I will be majoring in Nursing but minoring in Art, making sure that I carry the joy it brings me through my studies. And freelancing will be something that I will continue for as long as possible, helping me through college--both with a little income and a guarantee to improve my mental health!”
To view Bella-Lucia’s available artwork, or contact her about a commission, you can visit her website here. Her available pieces include traditional artwork in a variety of mediums, including ink, graphite, watercolor, acrylic paint, and colored pencils. She also offers digital art commissions, which can be created in either black and white or fully rendered formats. Commissions can be done in a wide range of styles, from realism to comic, and can be personalized according to preferences.
Chula Vista Staff Spotlight
We interviewed one of our newer Chula Vista teachers, Nicole Kingkade, to help our community get to to know her better. We're grateful to have teachers like Nicole as part of our team!
Tell us a bit about your background and what led you to teaching
I am born and raised in Chula Vista. I graduated with a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Psychology from SDSU in 2016 and a Masters in Education from National University in 2023. Teaching is my second career, after almost 10 years working in law enforcement. A majority of that time was working at the Chula Vista Police Department and completing my law enforcement career as an intelligence analyst with the US Marshals. I come from a family of cops, so I naturally joined the field after college. Although I loved it, I found myself wanting a career with less stress, more flexibility, and more positivity. Somehow, I picked teaching!
How long have you been teaching?
I started student teaching in the Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD) in July of 2023. I was blessed with two amazing mentor teachers that showed me what compassionate teaching is. I got my first solo job in January 2024 teaching second grade at a different school in CVESD under the mentorship of an amazing principal who pushed for rigorous learning and a universal design for learning. It was here where I got my sea legs in teaching. The 2024-2025 school year is my first full year teaching on my own. I have to say, third grade is by far my favorite grade to teach thus far!
What do you like most about teaching?
The thing I love most about teaching is building a unique relationship with each child and getting a better understanding of what makes them them. I love helping students reach their full potential. I also love having breaks throughout the year to re-energize, refocus, and make sure I'm the best version of myself.
What have you liked so far about being part of TLC? What do you think is unique or special about TLC?
So far, TLC has been the best decision I have made in my short teaching career. The mentorship program at TLC is unmatched. As a new teacher, I have felt supported and cared for from day one. I am lucky that I quickly made great friends and I am so glad to be at TLC Chula Vista.
What's a fun fact or interesting thing about you others may not know?
A fun fact about me that most people do not know is that I have a twin sister. She is a doctor and lives in the same neighborhood as I do. We couldn't be more different but we are best friends. We both share a love for kids, however she joked about how much work it was being in my class for an hour. She would rather perform surgery.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time I like to cook, garden, walk my dog Penny, and go to new restaurants with my husband Michael.
Earth Day Continued
Each year on April 22 millions of people across the world celebrate Earth Day to raise awareness about how to take care of our planet, and to take action through volunteering. To be responsible citizens it is important to be mindful all year long about how our actions are impacting our environment. National Geographic Kids lays out some key ways that you can help to support our earth beyond Earth Day:
1. BECOME A WASTE WARRIOR - The number of garbage trucks Americans fill each year would stretch halfway to the moon. Toilet paper tubes, made from cardboard, take two months to decompose in a landfill. A plastic bottle sticks around for way longer—it can take over 450 years to break down! But instead of turning to the trash bin, you could turn these items into an awesome telescope or a flower planter. Before you throw something away, think about whether it can be recycled or repurposed. You can also limit waste by reducing the amount of things you buy. For example, check the library for that book you have to read before visiting the store.
2. PLANT A TREE - Researchers estimate roughly 15 billion trees in the world are cut down each year, so help offset that loss by planting a tree of your own. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen for people to breathe. They also provide shelter and food for animals such as squirrels and owls. Depending on where trees are planted, their shade can even reduce the need for air-conditioning in hotter months. How many more reasons do you need to go green?
3. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS - Does that lamp really need to be on while the sun is out? Electricity doesn’t just happen—it has to be produced from things around us. A lot of times it comes from fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) that contribute to climate change. But electricity can also be made from renewable sources like wind, water, the sun, and even elephant dung! No matter where it’s coming from, try conserving electrical energy by using only what you need.
4. LIMIT YOUR WATER USAGE - It might seem like it’s everywhere, but clean, drinkable water is a limited resource. In fact less than one percent of the water on Earth can be used by humans. (The rest is either too salty or too difficult to access.) Turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth can conserve up to eight gallons of water a day. To help save even more water, challenge yourself to take a shorter shower (but still get clean!).
5. OFFER YOUR TIME - With a parent’s permission, volunteer to pick up trash at a nearby park, start a collection drive for recyclable items, or organize a screening of an environmentally themed movie. By getting involved and working with others, you’re not just helping the Earth—you’re making new friends too!
6. SPREAD THE MESSAGE - Talk to your friends and family members about what you’re doing and ask them to help. Need to get the conversation started? Get everyone together and reconnect with nature by taking one of our Get Outside challenges, or check out some other green tips you can share. The more people do, the better off our planet will be!
Tip of the Month: Safe Spring Cleaning
We're all familiar with spring cleaning, so now is a good time to remind ourselves of safe cleaning practices. The East Central Health Department sums up cleaning best practices as follows:
- Standard cleaning products can become dangerous poisons if not handled properly. Keep the National Poison Control Center number, (800) 222-1222, in your cell phone contacts. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Keep cleaning products in the containers they came in. Do not use food containers (such as cups or bottles) to store household cleaners and other strong chemicals.
- Store strong chemicals away from food. Many poisonings occur when one product is mistaken for another.
- Read and follow the directions for use of products. Do this BEFORE using the products. Follow the advice carefully.
- Never mix chemicals. Doing so can create a poisonous gas.
- Turn on fans and open windows when using strong chemicals.
- When spraying chemicals, direct spray nozzle away from people and pets.
- Never sniff containers to see what’s inside.
- Discard old or outdated products. First aid advice on containers may be incorrect and outdated.
- Even in small amounts, windshield wiper fluid is poisonous.
Safety Drills Recap
This month our La Mesa site conducted a gas leak drill for staff. There were 36 participants and the drill was done in 2 minutes.
The San Diego site held an earthquake drill, in which they evacuated 131 people in 4 minutes.
STAR Student Recognitions
April: Trustworthiness
TLC recognizes STAR students each month based on a determined character trait. April's character trait is Trustworthiness. Students are nominated by their Educational Partners and School Site Administrators. Congratulations to this month's STAR students!
Ngowari Agiobenebo
Odumye Agiobenebo
Ayeli Andrade
Elijah Arellano
Juliette Bain
Bella Baker
Malaysia Brown
Fernando Carrillo
Ethan Carvalho
Ziyah Castaneda
Toren DeLong
Hezekiah Descans
Myley Frazier
Malaysia Brown
Walli Hakimi
Colin Hall
Ezra Hamilton
Clare Johnson
Aaliyah Laluangphet
Benji Li
Carter Mahoney
Mia Mahoney
Marisa Martinez
David Miranda Avendano
Ava Ortega
Luz Pasol
Ximena Pedraza
Isaac Pinera
Madelyn Pratt
Banyan Profitt
Mini Ray
Cali Rose
Nathan Vazquez
Ashley Virgil
Eduard Widjaja
This month's staff recognitions for Trustworthiness are:
Elena Bell
Jeff Fechner
Berenice Oceguera
Isabel Rodriguez
Dawn Zeiger
Ways To Support
In addition to being a valued member of TLC, there are various ways you can support our school. We'll try to highlight different avenues each month so that you can find a way that feels best for you. And if your support is simply being a member of our community, we're glad you're here!
Nominate a Classroom Teacher
Not all heroes wear capes! SDCCU has proudly honored teachers in San Diego County for over 10 years through its Classroom Heroes program, which has recently been enhanced to honor San Diego county teachers' hard work even more during the school year.
During the school year, SDCCU will honor one local San Diego County teacher each month as a SDCCU Classroom Hero. Classroom Heroes will be given a $500 Visa® gift card, a Classroom Hero award and their accomplishments will be featured on a segment on CBS 8 and The CW in San Diego.
One lucky Classroom Hero will win the grand prize: A five day, four night luxury staycation at Kona Kai Resort that includes a spa treatment for two, a day bed at the pool, over $600 in restaurant credits and more!
Nominate a deserving teacher here. Or visit the Classroom Heroes website for more information.
Thank you for your support!
Credits:
Created with an image by Valentina Shilkina - "Planet earth on a green background. Green continents made from the crown of a tree. Clear azure water. The ecological concept of the survival of the planet."