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PTO Community Meeting Postponed!

Due to lack of nominations at this time for open PTO positions, we will be postponing our next PTO Community Meeting to Tuesday, May 11th!  Please see the email from your Room Parent for more information. One of the biggest things that the PTO does for ISLA is coordinating and fully funding our Language Ambasador (LA) program. The LA Program brings interns from Spanish speaking countries to ISLA. These interns are instrumental in providing support to teachers in the classroom and provides native speaking Spanish to our ISLA students. These interns live with host families (ISLA families). This is such a fabulous service to ISLA. To find out more about what the ISLA PTO does to support ISLA, contact Casie Budolfson at PTOchair@isla.school.

The ISLA PTO is accepting nominations for its Executive Board for the 2021-2022 school year.  This is a great way to get involved in the school and make a difference! See attached flyer/PDF for more information and the link to nominate yourself or someone else!  Questions?  email Casie Budoflson at PTOchair@isla.school.    Link for nomination form, click here
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Want to get involved, but not ready to be a part of the board??  There are many other ways you can lend your time and talents to the PTO!  Click here to fill out a Volunteer Interest Form!

Language Ambassadors Are Coming Next Year!

The Amity Program canceled last school year due to the pandemic, but they are back up and running, and ISLA is beginning to interview some amazing individuals for next year’s Language Ambassador (LA) positions! Unsure what LAs do, or who they are? Ask your kids - they have such an amazing impact on ISLA in the classroom, and bring such joy to ISLA families. If you are interested in the program either as a possible host family or being an aunt/uncle family, or you simply want to learn how you can meet these amazing individuals, feel free to pop into our Zoom meeting Tuesday, April 27 from 6-7 pm. We only have a couple of host family positions open but there are many ways to get involved in the program. You can get involved a lot and make life-long friendships while learning different cultures and customs along the way, or just a little bit – please join us to learn more!

Link to the meeting is here:

https://zoom.us/j/99167547365?pwd=aE5YeGhRUnlkSC9JU1kvSjF6b3NHQT09

Meeting ID: 991 6754 7365

Passcode: 353249

If you can’t make the meeting, or have other questions about the program, please contact Karen Heuiser at heuiserkaren@gmail.com or Christina Toran at CToran@SafetyCall.com. Thank you!

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Hello ISLA Community,

We are sending some sad news about a former ISLA teacher, César Cruz. He worked as a music teacher at ISLA some years ago. César went to visit his family in Guatemala for the first time in years, and now is in a hospital with Covid. His family in Minnesota is trying to raise funds to help air lift him back to the U of MN for treatment. They have set up a Go Fund Me page for anyone that is able to donate. Here is the link: https://gofund.me/be4831f6

Thank you for your positive thoughts for him and his family!

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School Supplies

Great News! This year we will again be offering the Teacher Tailored supply kit program which offers pre-packaged, school supply boxes filled with the exact items requested by your child’s teacher. It’s a triple win: students and teachers get exactly what they need, you get to avoid the school supply rush at the stores this summer, and a portion of the proceeds goes to support the ISLA PTO. Supplies will get delivered directly to ISLA at the start of the school year.

Ordering opens April 19th and CLOSES JUNE 25.Order online at www.shopttkits.com.Enter our school’s account number 28056Enter your child’s grade for next year (school year 21/22).Questions? Contact Betsey at betseypalmgren@gmail.com Note: this is an optional service and not required; school supply lists will be posted on the ISLA website this summer.

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ISLA Annual Board Election

ISLA’s annual election for Board Directors will take place next month. The candidates and short biographies are posted to the ISLA website. To access the information, go to ISLA’s website and click on ‘BOARD CANDIDATES’. Please take time to review the slate of candidates that have been nominated and cast your vote May 13 to May 15. Voting will take place online. No lines! No waiting! If you prefer to vote in person, paper ballots will be available in the ISLA office.

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Are you excited about ISLA's new building? Join the ISLA Affiliated Building Company's Board of Directors!

ISLA ABC, the related entity that owns ISLA's new school building in Edina, anticipates having two openings on its Board of Directors beginning July 1 of this year. ABC board members serve one-year terms and will work in tandem with the ISLA Board to oversee the renovation of the new facility and ISLA’s relocation to that site. Expertise in real estate/property management or finance would be an asset, but is not required.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact Liz Crouse at lcrouse@isla.school or 612-716-7448. Thank you!

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News from the Nurse

Minnesota is seeing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases, especially among younger Minnesotans.

Just this week, the state exceeded the previous record high set in November 2020 for number of cases associated with schools. We have approached the numbers of students who were infected during last November’s peak, and we have a lot of work to do to ensure that community transmission goes down—a huge part of this solution is ensuring that our students who can get vaccinated, DO GET VACCINATED! And those who can’t, GET TESTED!

Getting vaccinated will help give Minnesota’s teens the best chance to learn in-person, participate in sports and activities, attend graduation and go to prom. Of course, they still need to remain vigilant in regards to masking, hand washing and social distancing. And for those still too young to be vaccinated, testing is critical.

FUN FACT: If someone is fully vaccinated and is exposed, they do not need to quarantine if ALL of the following are true:

• The COVID-19 exposure was at least 14 days after their vaccination series was fully completed.
• They do not currently have any symptoms of COVID-19.

People who have had COVID-19 (with a positive lab-confirmed test) in the past 90 days also do not need to quarantine.

To schedule a vaccine for teens in the metro area, use this link to schedule an appointment at the Mall of America Community Vaccination site now: Mall of America Community Vaccination Registration

In addition to accessing scheduling at the Mall of America, below are the direct scheduling links to community sites. Please verify that they are administering Pfizer before scheduling an appointment:

• State Fair: https://www.primarybio.com/r/mnvax-sfg?registration_type=general_public
• Roy Wilkins, Mankato, Duluth, Rochester, St. Cloud: http://vaulthealth.com/covid/start/?var_c=VACCINATION_MINNESOTA_OPEN
• Lino Lakes: https://www.solvhealth.com/book-online/pnXoX0
• Oakdale: https://www.solvhealth.com/book-online/A27Byp

Very important: The Pfizer vaccine is the ONLY vaccine authorized to vaccinate youth ages 16 and up. If you have a family member getting vaccinated that is 16 or 17, please verify before scheduling the appointment that they will be receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has continued to emphasize the importance of COVID-19 testing in slowing the spread.

Every student in Minnesota is strongly encouraged to take a COVID-19 test every two weeks. In addition, any student participating in clubs or sports groups are strongly encouraged to take a COVID-19 test every week.

For parents and families

There are many COVID-19 testing options, depending on your needs, and each option is available at no cost to you. You can even schedule appointments for the whole family at the same time. There are COVID-19 community testing sites across Minnesota, in addition to local hospitals and clinics. You can make an appointment ahead of time or walk in. You can also use the COVID-19 test at home program to have a test mailed to you.

Learn more about testing site safety and access, as well as how to register the whole family at COVID-19 community testing.

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