January Highlights
- Thank you to the Master Gardener Association of San Diego for a grant of $500 to our TLC La Mesa site. This will help us build garden beds as part of our school garden project!
- TLC La Mesa's Tiny Home Project, currently being completed by the Applied Sustainable Construction class at TLC La Mesa, was featured in a blog by the California Charter School Association.
- Families explored the Living Coast Discovery Center on this month's field trip. Students participated in a scavenger hunt, crustacean lab, scenic hike, and animal observations.
- Congratulations to Camden Haraden, senior at TLC San Diego, for receiving admissions to the University of Arizona W.A. Franke Honors College! If you are a TLC senior, you can keep us updated about your celebrations and plans by e-mailing TLCstudentnews@learningchoice.org.
You Belong Here
“Belonging” is a buzz word you may often hear but not fully internalize. So what is belonging? According to the research,
A sense of belonging is defined as feeling accepted and liked by the rest of the group, feeling connected to others and feeling like a member of a community (Baumeister and Leary, 1995; Maslow, 1943).
Uncovering belonging through Journaling
A great way to uncover our thoughts and feelings about belonging is through Journaling. Below are a number of journaling prompts you can use to explore your relationship with belonging. You can write about all of these, or you can pick one or two that really stand out to you. There is no need to share what you write, but if you’d like, you may choose to share your thoughts with a friend, parent, or teacher. If writing is not your thing, you can also explore the following prompts through drawing or another creative medium.
- Where are the places you feel like you belong?
- What is it about these places or experiences that make you feel like you belong?
- For whom do you matter?
- What impact have you made on other people?
- Who are the people who are important to you?
- What makes you feel like you are important and you are valued?
- Who are the people in your life that make you feel this way?
- Where do you feel like you “fit in”? Where do you feel like you “belong”? Are they different places? What is different about them?
If you are a parent or teacher and would like more resources about how to cultivate a sense of belonging with your students, The Longing for Belonging Series provides great information and a number of helpful ideas.
TLC'S NEWEST CLUB
The Learning Choice Academy is proud to announce our newest club – NAMI On Campus! You may have seen a previous announcement about this in ParentSquare and wondered...
What is NAMI On Campus? NAMI stands for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI On Campus are student-led clubs that tackle mental health issues at schools by:
- Raising mental health awareness
- Educating the community
- Supporting students
- Promoting services
- Advocating for more support
Who can join NAMI On Campus? This club is open to all students, whether they live with a mental health condition, are a family member or friend, or have a general interest in mental health and want to support. There are clubs at TLC Chula Vista and TLC La Mesa. TLC San Diego/Scripps Ranch students are welcome to join the La Mesa club and participate virtually if needed.
Do you want to be involved as a NAMI club member? If you’re interested in joining the club, you can contact our School Counselor and Club Advisor, Ms. Diane (dbarrett@learningchoice.org).
Not sure you want to sign up to be a member yet? No problem! The NAMI club will share other ways that students and community members can be involved in the near future as they organize activities and engagement opportunities.
Want more information? You can refer to this website.
Parent Resource
We know that the past few years have taken a toll on the mental health of many. To help parents support their students, the San Diego County Office of Education is offering a webinar on February 17 titled Supporting Your Children During an Uncertain School Year: Tips for Managing Anxiety. You can see the details below and sign up here if you are interested.
Digital Citizenship, Literacy, and Conspiracy Theories
High School students in TLC La Mesa’s Success 101 class recently completed a unit on Digital Citizenship and Digital Literacy, where they learned how to assess online sources for validity, played games to learn about being a good digital citizen, and practiced using Google Suites to enhance their time management skills.
As a culminating assignment for the unit, students were asked to create a Google Slideshow or video and presentation that tried to convince the class that a conspiracy theory of their choosing was factual.
This assignment gave students the opportunity to use the digital literacy and citizenship skills they had gained to analyze ways in which technology can be used to skew people’s perception of reality. The final projects allowed students to show what they had learned through the course of the unit in a fun and exciting way that all could get into.
For example, one student group took on the theory that Walt Disney is Frozen and another argued that Peter Pan is the Villain.
You can also see an example of one video in the Student Work Spotlight section below.
Student Work Spotlight
This month’s student work spotlight section showcases a variety of creative avenues for expression: poetry, drawing, and video-making.
The first feature comes from Piper Connely, 6th grade student in TLC La Mesa’s Homeschool Program. Piper and her family recently moved to Jamul, where they have 10 acres of land and a number of animals, including a tortoise, a horse, a donkey, a few sheep, lots of dogs, and a cat. In Language Arts Piper was learning about poetry so she decided to write a poem about her homestead, inspired by Dr. Suess. Her Educational Partner, Natalie Mascari, reflected, “This poem to me celebrates Piper’s passion for learning.” Enjoy Piper's poetry below!
The next feature comes from Zoey Flores, 11th grade student from TLC San Diego. Zoey is always drawing and her sketch this month features the contemporary/historical mix of Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton.
The final feature comes from Trenton Hough, 9th grade student at TLC La Mesa. Trenton participated in the class assignment on Digital Literacy and Conspiracy Theories mentioned above (just for fun)! Trenton enjoyed the assignment because as he says, "Most conspiracy theories are just so out there and crazy that I think it's fun to hear about all the wild things humans can come up with. I had fun making this assignment because making videos is my hobby and I enjoy doing that. Whenever I can make a video for a school project I normally will because that is what I love doing."
If you are a student and you would like to submit work to be featured, email tlcstudentnews@learningchoice.org. Submissions can be videos, written pieces, art work, or anything that highlights what you have learned at TLC.
Nominate your pet today!
We know the past year plus has not been the easiest and we could probably all use some monthly cheer... and what brings us more cheer than our pets?! So we're excited to kick off our monthly Pet of the Month feature!
Please submit your pet for consideration here. Pets will be drawn at random each month to be featured in the newsletter. We look forward to showcasing all submissions in an end of the year pet yearbook! To give you some ins-paw-ration, below is our first featured pet, submitted by Alexandria Harris, teacher at TLC Chula Vista.
Thank you to our Board Members
January is National School Board Member Appreciation Month. We are so grateful to our TLC Board of Directors for all they do to support and guide our school community. TLC's Board includes parents, staff, and community members who volunteer their time and lend their expertise to ensure our school continues to thrive. You can learn more about the Board Of Directors here.
Spread the Word
In order to empower you to share information about TLC, we created this Parent Outreach Tool Kit. This document provides sharing strategies as well as videos and collateral materials. It also contains a link to a google doc so you can keep us informed about your efforts. You are our greatest spokespeople and we appreciate you getting the word out about TLC!
STAR Student Recognitions
December & January: Fairness
TLC recognizes STAR students each month based on a determined character trait. December and January's character trait is Fairness. Students are nominated by their Educational Partners and School Site Administrators. Congratulations to this month's STAR students! (Below are the students who were nominated in January).
Abraham Cruz
Izabella Fierro
Ava Marcellus
Kaley Parman
Natalie Pineda
Grace Regala
Siena Trimble
Credits:
Created with images by kucukgulberkan - "flowers purple lavender" • viarami - "typewriter truth conspiracy"