2019-09-27 Noticias de ISLA y ISLA PTO

September 7, 2021

Emily Smith

Administrative Assistant

PTO Community Meeting

Join us on October 2nd* (date change) for this FREE event sponsored by the ISLA PTO.  There will be a parent discussion on temperament traits led by fellow ISLA parent and parent educator at Harley Hopkins, Angela Sandok.  This event is open to all ISLA families,caregivers and teachers.  Childcare for children 2+ is provided.  Please register using the link below and search ISLA Parent Discussion

https://hopkins.ce.eleyo.com

FIESTA GREAT GATHERING!

Ladies! Join ISLA parent Merrie Sjogren for an evening at UP Yoga at 5:30 on October 5th. Start out with an Up Beat yoga session followed by a glass of wine. No prior yoga experience needed, come ready to move and have fun!

 Sign up here!

https://squareup.com/store/isla-pto/item/up-yoga-for-ladies-only-saturday-october-th

Late Start

Thursday,October 3rd is ISLA’s next late start of the school year.  This means that school and buses will start 2 hours late.   Students may start arriving at 10:45 am.  If you have your child signed up for the late start Young Rembrandts drawing class, they will be meeting in the Art room.  To sign up, go to http://bit.ly/yrwest to register.

PARENT DISCUSSION ROUND UP

The ISLA PTO would like to help link our school families to parent education opportunities in the community. We will share those opportunities through this newsletter. If you have any recommendations or are aware of other opportunities in the community please forward to PTOchair@isla-academy.org to be added to the parent discussion roundup in the newsletter.

Fiesta de la Primavera Auction Survey

We need your input! Please take this survey to let the Fiesta planning committee know what you’d like to see in this year’s auction:

https://forms.gle/Jy5gzqhAJicZbtPs6

We are looking forward to seeing some major bidding wars this year—help us make sure we have must-have stuff! In fact, you can let us know right on this form if you have items to donate or know a business who does.

Join the ISLA Board of Directors!

Looking for a way to support the mission and shape the future of our amazing school? Join the ISLA Board of Directors!  The ISLA Board of Directors has an unexpected mid-year vacancy and is seeking a candidate to serve on the Board for the remainder of the open seat’s term (starting immediately and running through June 30, 2020) and beyond.  We are particularly interested in candidates who have experience in finance or education, but such expertise is not required. The Board is responsible for overseeing the general operations of the school,implementing policies and procedures, and long-term strategic and financial planning. The Board meets in the evening on the third Tuesday of each month.

Serve as ISLA's Assistant Treasurer!

In addition, the Board is seeking an individual with finance expertise to serve in the volunteer officer role of Assistant Treasurer. The Assistant Treasurer assists ISLA’s Treasurer with financial oversight and reporting for the school and serves as a member of the Finance Committee of the ISLA Board. The Assistant Treasurer need not be a member of the ISLA Board.

If you are interested in learning more about the current opening on the ISLA Board and/or the Assistant Treasurer role, please contact Liz Crouse, the Chair of ISLA’s Governance Committee, at lcrouse@isla-academy.org, by September 30.  

Marketing/Communications Committee

The ISLA Marketing/Communications Committee is looking for members interested in helping promote ISLA within the community, developing and maintaining the ISLA brand,and coordinating with the Executive Director the communication process to theISLA community.

If you are interested in finding out more information regarding this committee, please contact Sarah Markus at smarkus@isla-academy.org.

LA Ride Request

Want to get to know the LA in your child’s classroom a bit more? Or are you interested in taking your car ride home to the next level?! Sign up to take an LA with you on your way home, or wherever you may be heading. They are often heading your way and just need to catch a ride with someone. Sign up by clicking the link below. Your kids will get an extra bit of time speaking Spanish with a native speaker, and you’ll get to know these fabulous LAs a bit more!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4FA4A62AA1FF2-isla6

Rides will be updated over the weekend, with new requests popping up regularly. 

UPCOMING PTO DATES:

 **10/2 (CHANGE OF DATE)  Parent Discussion sponsored by PTO at 6:30 pm; open to all parents, caregivers,teachers and staff
11/1 - Dia de los Muertos family night 6:30-8:30 pm
11/12 -Hopkins North Jr. High & High School Juntos Presentation sponsored by PTO at 6:30; open to all
11/14 Give to the Max Day - encourage friends, family and colleagues to donate to ISLA

Picture Retakes will be on Monday, October 7.

Your children’s portraits will be uploaded to the web at prohofsky.com/islaportraits. The password for the gallery is Jeremy. Please look over your photos promptly to determine if you are satisfied. If you would like a retake, please let me know by 3:00 pm on Friday, October 4, by emailing me at orders@prohofsky.com. Please include your child’s name, class, and the problem to be fixed on the retake. If you choose to do a retake, the original photos will not be available for printing. In addition, you will be able to order this year’s All-School Photo as a 20x30 poster, an 11x14 print, or as a mug. It’s an ISLA tradition! If you have any concerns, feel free to contact me by email at lee@prohofsky.com.

Important Notice Regarding Student Illness & Reporting Absences

It's that time of year when it seems germs are more prevalent, and "stuff" is getting passed between students in school. I have recently reviewed hand-washing and disease prevention practices with each classroom. Important concepts include helping kids remember when & how to wash their hands, covering their cough/sneeze,& how to prevent the spread of germs to others. Parents can reinforce these practices at home in the effort to keep everyone healthy this school year. Good hand-washing practices are so important; hand-washing is the single,most-effective way to keep ourselves healthy and prevent the spread of disease to others. And, it's so simple and quick!

To assist the school staff in preventing disease outbreaks, please be specific when reporting a child's absence for an illness. When calling in, please include a description of the symptoms (fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, eye drainage, etc.). If your child has been diagnosed by a health care provider with an illness, please indicate that also (pink eye, strep throat, ringworm,head lice, influenza, etc.). Our office needs to track communicable diseases to observe trends and to hopefully prevent any outbreaks. We also need to alert other families with children in the same classroom if any child is diagnosed with a communicable disease.

With all the stomachaches and sniffles that come along with childhood, it can be hard to determine when to keep your child home from school. Here are some guidelines to help you make that call:

  • Fever over 100° F. Child's temperature should be less than 100°F for a full 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) before they return to school.
  • Vomiting or diarrhea. Child should remain at home fora full 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea before they return to school.
  • Undiagnosed rash. A rash of unknown origin should be looked at by a health care provider to determine if treatment is needed or if school exclusion is indicated.
  • Red eyes, drainage, or crustiness. If pink eye is suspected, see a health care provider to determine if antibiotic drops are needed. If provider makes a pink eye diagnosis and prescribes drops, student should stay home for 24 hours after drops are started. Instruct child to not touch eyes/face and to wash hands frequently.
  • Strep throat. If a diagnosis of strep throat is made, child should take the prescribed antibiotics for a full 24 hours before returning to school.
  • Head lice. Child will need to be treated with OTC shampoo and hair combed through with a nit comb (or be seen by lice treatment specialist) before returning to school. Please continue lice prevention practices (daily combing for nit removal, wearing long hair up, no sharing personal items,reduce close personal contact, etc.) at home and at school until no further nits are found.
  • Remember to call the school office with any of the above conditions/diagnoses ASAP!

Stay Healthy and have a Great School Year!

VOLUNTEER NEEDS

Library Volunteer Request

The ISLA library is seeking volunteers to work with ISLA's media specialist on a weekly or monthly basis to assist in the school library in a variety of ways. Spanish is not required for these volunteer roles. Opportunities available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

These are some of the tasks that may be done by library volunteers:

  • Maintain the order of the book shelf, shelving books when they are returned
  • Help students locate and select books
  • Prepare new books to go out—tagging and stamping new books
  • Help with book repair—repairing damaged returned books

Thank you for your interest in helping our students in the library!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4fa4a62aa1ff2-isla8

Spring Host Families Needed for LAs!

We are beginning to gather spring host families for our eight awesome Language Ambassadors (LAs). Spring host families would host from mid-January to the end of the school year. This is a wonderful and enriching opportunity for your family - your children will love having an LA in the house!. All that is required is a separate bedroom and meals each day. Talk to families who have hosted in the past - you’ll realize this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you are interested, or simply want more information, please contact KarenHeuiser - karenheuiser@yahoo.com

SUPPORT THE PTO

Looking for easy ways to help support the great work that the PTO does for our kids and their school?  Here are two great options!

:  You can find your child’s things easily in the lost and found by marking them with bright, durable,Mabel’s Labels. Go to https://campaigns.mabelslabels.com/ and click on ‘Select your School/Organization and choose International Spanish Language Academy.  A portion of your purchase will support the PTO.

: Shop at Amazon?  You can have a portion of your purchase donated to the PTO!  Go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and search for International Spanish Language Academy.  Then just make sure to bookmark AmazonSmile and use it for all your Amazon shopping needs. 

ISLA Uniform Exchange Information

The ISLA Uniform Exchange is available to all ISLA families. There is no cost to the clothing and there is no obligation to make donations in order to make use of the clothing we have to offer our students. We collect new and gently used school clothes that your student has outgrown or no longer uses. Clothing must adhere to the ISLA dress code and should be:

  • laundered and clean 
  • (mostly)  stain free
  • free of pet hair
  • please no holes in pant knees

The clothing bins, ranging in sizes from x-small (4/5) to large (10) and even some size 12+, will be available a few times throughout the school year during PTO Community meetings.We will communicate those dates in the PTO news. 

Thank you for making this service to our school such a success! Questions? Contact: pto@isla-academy.org

HEY 6th GRADE ROOM PARENTS

YOU! YES YOU! We are in need of Room Parents! Be part of a successful final year at ISLA for our 6th graders. Unsure of the role? Let us know and we can provide additional details. You can have a co-room parent if you choose. Email volunteer@isla-academy.org to secure your spot or to get additional information.

Sixth grade - Sra. Seehafer
Sixth grade - Sra. Ashby 

 

Extra-curricular Activities

Space is still available inthe following activities – Don’t miss out!  

Register here for fall session
Fall: week of October 7 to December 13

Explore, create, collaborate! Drama classes (10 sessions - $80)

Monday
Grades 5-6
Max. 20 students

Have you ever wished to step out of the box and onto the stage? In this class students will learn the basics of acting and creating their own scenography. Creating together is a great way to develop friendships, work as a team, build communication skills and confidence. At the end of the course students will be able to perform a play as a final work. The course will be able for 5th and 6th grades.

¡QUÉ EL RITMO NO PARE!/Dance (10 sessions - $80)

Monday                                                                                                                                
Grades 1-6
Max. 20 students

We are looking forward to meet you!! You cannot miss this opportunity.  You are welcome to join our fun lessons lead by two cheerful Spaniards who are so excited to dance with all of you. This workshop is based on Latin rhythms such as Zumba, merengue, bachata, salsa, etc. Dancing is an aerobic form of exercise which has a lot of physical benefits. It helps in the child's development and to improve some of these relevant aspects: coordination, mood, the range of motion because it actually uses the body as an instrument of expression and communication. Students will be able to feel confident in a comfortable atmosphere and to perform at the end of the term a small choreography where parents are invited! Our classes run from 1st grade to 6th grade (we will split groups depending on the age). VAMOS A BAILAR!!!!

   

Photography 101 (8 sessions - $64)    

Wednesday
Grades 5-6
Max. 15 students    

In this workshop, students will have the opportunity to get to know more about photography. They will learn how to capture the best angles,light, and environment. As we explore the world of expressing ourselves through the lens of digital imagery students will be able to distinguish two essential parts about the art of taking photos; first, artistry and second, technique.Together, we will plan an exhibition of our best photographs and a final project.

Cross-stitch (8 sessions - $64)

Wednesday
Grades 2-6
Max. 15 students

Who loves to do crafts! In this class students will be able to design beautiful paintings using threads of different colors on a plastic mesh.Together we will develop our aesthetic sense as well as creativity,concentration and hand-eye coordination. Learning how to cross-stitch is a great way to release stress and relax. "A stitch in time saves nine"so don't hesitate to sign up!

Young Rembrandts Drawing Class

Wednesday
Grades K-6
Max. 20 students

Enjoy learning the technics of drawing with Mr Bob. Class begins on September 25 and goes through December 11. This is a 10 week session for only $109. Classes start at3:35 and end at 4:35 pm. Please pick up your child promptly. Register at Young Rembrandts: https://bit.ly/yrwest