Welcome Back!
We hope everyone had a great summer and is excited to kick off the 2022-23 school year. Whether you are enrolled in the Homeschool Program or you come to onsite classes as part of the Hybrid Program, it has been great to see and connect with so many new and returning TLC community members. We will use this monthly newsletter space to highlight student work, success stories, community updates, and more. We look forward to a great year together.
Decorations For A New Year
To help students feel welcomed back on site, TLC La Mesa staff engaged in a friendly door and window decorating competition this month. You can view some highlights below. "Welcome Back" is the first theme that La Mesa is focusing on this year, future monthly themes (and decorations) will be rolled out throughout the year. Congratulations to the door and window decoration winners! Stephanie Harmon (3rd place), Daphne White (2nd place), and Adriana Soto (1st Place) and special thanks to Andy Singer for organizing.
Suicide Prevention Month
Our School Counselors (and all staff) are always here for you if you need someone to talk to. If you or someone around you needs help, there is no shame in reaching out.
To talk to a TLC Counselor, complete one of the following forms:
- Counseling Referral Form for Parent/Guardian
- Counseling Self-Referral form for Students
- Counseling Referral Form for Teachers/Staff
Below are some additional resources you can access if needed. Encouraging others to reach out and get help can save their life.
- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7, and they are there to help you: 1-800-273-8255.
- San Diego area codes (619, 858, 760, and 442) can text or call 988 to reach the Access and Crisis Line directly.
Student Work Spotlight
This month's student work spotlight comes from Diego Sebastian Vargas Vizcaya, 9th grade Homeschool Program student from TLC La Mesa. Diego created the below Back to School video using Premiere Pro. As Diego describes,
When I heard we were going back to school I remembered an old video game, Sonic's Schoolhouse. It was a game released on the PC in the 90s from the edutainment genre of games with the image of the famous "Sonic The Hedgehog" character, now it is a fun novelty in the character's history. I believed it would be interesting to see what funny edits I could incorporate in that cartoonish environment to remember my 9th-grade school year with TLC. For the assets, I thought I'd add another layer of comedy to include well-known characters in the video due to how out-of-place they look in Sonic's Schoolhouse. I used green-screen, and keying effects in order to accomplish this and I then added several sound clips to add to the content. I think I was able to achieve the comedy I was hoping for!
Testing Overview
With the school year officially underway, students and parents alike may be thinking about the testing that lies ahead of them this year.
In addition to the assignments and assessments administered directly by your grade level teachers, TLC runs a series of district-wide tests throughout the year. Each set of tests serves a specific purpose and we will do our best to ensure that tests are spaced out as much as possible. We wanted to provide some insight about why we administer these different assessments so you can feel confident that testing, and the data it provides, helps us to serve your students.
The primary tests administered:
NWEA
- K-12 students test 2-3 times per year
- Used to measure growth in reading and math
i-Ready
- K-8 Hybrid students test 2-3 times per year
- Used to measure growth in math
- MyPath is created from student performance to support learning
CAASPP
- California’s standardized test, required by the state as part of funding as a public school
- Students in grades 3-8, plus students in grades 11, take this test at the end of the year
- Summative assessment
- Measures proficiency in grade level standards
Why these tests are important:
- Tests such as NWEA and i-Ready, which are used to measure growth, offer us data that help to guide instruction and better serve students with support that is targeted directly to their needs.
- Results from these tests are always shared with the student and parent and can be used to set goals for the year.
- Student growth results that are captured through tests such as NWEA help TLC to provide an alternative assessment for accountability during our charter renewal process.
- Results from the CAASPP tests measure how well TLC students are meeting proficiency in grade level standards and ensure that we are effectively serving our students.
Free Breakfasts and Lunches
TLC is excited to be able to serve FREE breakfast and lunches to all students once again this year. Below is an educational resource about why offering meals at schools is so important. If you have any questions about accessing our Meal Services, please contact Cathy Kniss, Food Services Manager: ckniss@learningchoice.org / (619) 463-8811 ext. 136
And to help you continue the healthy eating at home, here is a food-related reading activity you can do with your students to promote both literacy and healthy habits.
TLC's Presentation at first ever Hybrid Schools Conference
Last April, TLC's Executive Director, Debi Gooding, attended and presented at the first ever Hybrid Schools Conference, hosted by Kennesaw State University. Thank you to the Vela Education Fund for inviting Debi to participate on their panel and share more information about our school!
You can watch the full clip of the panel Debi participated in at the below link.
STAR Student Recognitions
September: Respect
TLC recognizes STAR students each month based on a determined character trait. September's character trait is Respect. Students are nominated by their Educational Partners and School Site Administrators. Congratulations to this month's STAR students!
Angelina Avina
Jax Avina
Gus Bogdon
Agustin Delgado
Gemma Douglas
Vianney Espinoza
Hannah Jarromillo
Macie Kurtz
Lance Martin
Adam Mathews
Luke Matthews
Rogelio Naverez Maravillas
Seth Nichols
Ezra Ortega
Abdiel Padilla
Aleena Stuber
Pennelope White
This month's staff recognitions for Respect are:
Kacie Desmond
Faith Galbadores
Alonzo Garcia
Cathy Kniss
Kyle McBride
2nd Annual Tiny House Warming
TLC La Mesa's Applied Sustainable Construction class celebrated the completion of TLC's second ever tiny home project in June 2022 with a ribbon cutting and housewarming event. This event was attended by the Assistant Superintendent of Grossmont Union High School District, Dr. Terry Stanfill and School District Board Trustee Dr. Gary Woods as well as families, staff, and more.
The project and event was also highlighted on ABC 10 News San Diego, in a La Mesa Courier article, and in a blog and video by the VELA Education Fund.
8th Grade Promotion
Congratulations to all the 8th grade students who celebrated their promotions at the end of last year. Below are a few snapshots of each school site's 8th grade group.
Graduation
Congratulations to the class of 2022! Below are some highlights from their graduation ceremony.
College Bound & Proud
TLC's class of 2022 included many graduates on their way to great four-year universities. Some of the colleges and universities that our students will be attending include:
- San Diego State University
- Masters's University
- Point Loma Nazarene University
- University of Arizona
- And more!
Many of our graduates will also be attending local community colleges, while others have decided to pursue trade school and apprenticeships. We are proud of all graduates for finding the path that works best for them and working hard to achieve their dreams.
Some graduate highlights include:
- Ania Analiz, who will be attending San Diego State University and majoring in Education. TLC's College Counselor, Samantha Peterson, nominated Ania for a Random Act of Kindness Award, for which she received a College Swag bundle, including a new MacBook Pro, Airpods, Door Dash gift certificates, Amazon gift certificates, a backpack, and more!
- Camden Haraden, who will be attending the University of Arizona Honors Program. Camden was an early grad and completed over 20 college units! He also received over $50,000 in scholarships, the most of any TLC grad.
If you are an alumnus or alumna who would like to share your post-TLC story and highlights, please email tlcstudentnews@learningchoice.org
Credits:
Created with images by adragan - "Lime Green ribbon for Lymphoma Cancer and mental health awareness raising support and help patient living with illness" • smolaw11 - "School Students hands taking exams, writing examination holding pencil on optical form of standardized test with answers sheet doing final exam in classroom. Education assessment Concept. Soft focus"