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Letter from the Director

 “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”  William James

August 10th, 2021

Queridas familias, 

•  Meet the Teacher: I hope this message finds you well and enjoying your summer vacation and all of the flora and fauna that Minnesota has to offer. This year will be a very special Meet the Teacher Open House, as we welcome you all into the wonderful learning environment that will be our new home in Edina. Because of some minor delays in our building schedule, Meet theTeacher will be on September 8th, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. As a reminder to new and existing families, this is a casual, open house format where you can get a chance to see your child’s new classroom, to check out the renovations of the new building, and drop off your school supplies, pick up Spirit Wear and other information, and most importantly---meet your teacher!

• ‍Calendar reminder:  At our July 20th board meeting the Board of Directors approved an updated calendar for the 2021-2022 school year, with a new start date of September 8th for Pre-K, September 9th for grades 1-6, and September 10th for Kindergarten. It is worth noting that 8 out of 9 of our neighboring districts are starting after Labor day, and we are still well within our statutorily required instructional time for the school year.  In addition, we have an ample number of extra instructional days in case we need to cancel for inclement weather. 

• ‍Busing:   We know that you are anxiously waiting for information about busing, and we have finally received the routing information. There are a few final adjustments to make to some of the schedules, and then that information will be going out to each family directly through the transport company. We expect it to go out next week. 

• ‍Drop off/Pickup procedures:  Before the start of the school year, we will send out detailed information with a map in regard to car/bus drop off. Expect some changes in drop off and pick up procedures for the start of the year, changes that will continue until mid- school year when the gym will be completed. Until then, both cars and busses will complete their drop off and pick up at the front of the building.  

• ‍Lunches: Great news--lunches will be free again this year as the federal funding has been continued.  Please still fill out the free and reduced application as that is important for other school benefits as well. 

• ‍Teacher postcards:  Per tradition, teacher postcards will go out at the end of next week. 

• ‍Fundraising: Have you checked out our new fundraising web page?  https://www.isla.school/families/donate   As a reminder, ISLA is a 501c3 non-profit organization.  Receipts for tax filing will be sent out in early 2022

Thank you for all you do for ISLA!

Atentamente, 

Jeremy

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Adult Social Thursday, August 12th From 6-9 PM

Hello ISLA,

The Adult Summer Social is THIS THURSDAY!

If you still need tickets, use this link to grab yours. https://isla-pto.square.site/

We have more GREAT news to share-another DT Hopkins business has come on board to be a part of our event-The Vine Room! They are partnering with Rootstock Wine Co (@rootstockwineco) and Delta Wines for change (https://www.winesforchange.com/wines)(@winesforchange) to donate wine for our event. We LOVE that they donate a portion of their sales to environmental causes.

Now, on to the exciting raffle news!-MORE great prizes have been secured for a total of 10 prizes! Just think, a $5 ticket could score you a prize worth over $200! All money raised gets poured back into future PTO events for our community and to support the LA program as well as other classroom support.

-For those ATTENDING the Summer Social, bring some cash as $5 tickets will be sold on site. No limit on quantity purchased.

-For those UNABLE TO ATTEND, but still want to support the school and have a chance to win, you can Venmo @Katie-Almquist starting now, to select & purchase however many tickets you would like. In the comment section, please confirm your first and last name, # of tickets, and email address to be notified if you are a lucky winner. Venmo purchases must be made by Wednesday 8/11 to be valid in the LIVE drawing. Don’t have Venmo, but still want to enter the raffle-email Betsey Palmgren -Betseypalmgren@gmail.com to coordinate.

Below are the prize themes...Click on the attachment to see all the fun details that your $5 could win:

1st Grand prize-United We Stand...

2nd prize-Summer Hair, Don’t Care...

3rd-8th prize-We’ve Got Your Back...

9th prize-Life Is Short, So Make It Sweet...

10th Prize-It’s No Longer Dukes Of Hazzard

We encourage masks while indoors but the pavilion doors will be open to the outside and there is plenty of outdoor space that we plan to have the majority of the event take place in.

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Spirit Store Open Until August 11!

The Spirit Store is closing Wednesday, August 11! Get your uniform-approved shirts and sweatshirts to be in style for the start of this school year. Order now for delivery at Meet the Teacher. Please note in the order comments your child’s name and grade.

Click here to order! https://isla-pto.square.site/

Did you know that the Spirit Store is a fundraiser for the PTO? Your purchase of uniform-approved shirts and sweatshirts will help support PTO sponsored events such as the back to school picnic, provide funds for classroom supplies and extra-curricular scholarships, and also supports the LA program.

The store will open again when school starts, this opening is to have your kids decked out in their ISLA shirts for the first day of school if they would like.

NOTE: If you do not see any items available, clear your cache in your browser.

Questions? Contact Sarah or Heidi at ISLAPTOSpiritStore@gmail.com

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2021-2022 ISLA School Lunches

The United States Department of Agriculture is allowing schools to provide meals for the 2021-22 school year through a provision of the National School Lunch Program called the Seamless Summer Option (SSO). A waiver has been issued in order to support access to nutritious meals while minimizing potential exposure to COVD-19.

Our school has chosen to use this waiver and operate the SSO which enables us to provide meals free of charge for all students.

Families will still need to pre order meals through Boonli.com to ensure our vendor provides enough meals for our students, but they will be free of cost to all families. Instructions can be found under the Current Families tab and then the Lunch tab

Those families that wish to purchase milk for their student can now do so for $0.65 per carton. Milk will be ordered through the Boonli.com site as well.

No application is required to receive this free meal benefit, however, your child(ren) may qualify additional benefits such as reduced fees or the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) which is a federal temporary emergency nutrition benefit that is loaded onto electronic cards for families to purchase food. Your application also helps the school qualify for education funds and fee discounts for field trips and Wolf Ridge, if you qualify. Applications for educational benefits can be found on the website under the Current Families tab and then the Lunch tab

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Bus Information

Northstar Bus Lines will be providing transportation for ISLA Students this fall. They are doing final adjustments to the bus routes and then will be sending out bus information to your family late next week.

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School Age Care - Aventuras

We do have a few openings for families that are needing before/after school care and early release care. Please complete an application for enrollment if you are interested in care and send it to aventuras@isla.school. Applications can be found under the Current Families tab and then the School Age Care tab.

In the event that we reach our maximum enrollment, families will be put on a waitlist until a spot becomes available.

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Summer Playdates

• First Grade - Wednesday, August 25 at 5:30 PM at Oak Hill Park in St. Louis Park. This park has a playground and a small splash pad. Questions? Please contact Katie Carr at katie.e.carr@gmail.com.
• Kindergarten - Sunday August 22nd, 3-5pm - Burnes Park. Questions?  Please contact Amanda Smalling (smallingamanda@gmail.com) or Megan Wilder (mgn.wilder@gmail.com)
• Second Grade - Sunday, August 22nd, 5:30 - 7:30 at Burnes Park. Questions? Contact Rebecca Wright (beccalynn2@gmail.com) or Betsey Palmgren (betseypalmgren@gmail.com)
• Everyone is welcome for Beach Fridays at Bryant Lake Beach! The park is free, the swimming area is shallow and sandy, and there is a shady playground close to the beach. Come whenever you can and stay as long as you can! Most families arrive after lunch between noon and 1:00 pm and leave around 4:00 or 5:00 pm. Questions? Contact Clea Dezio (cleadezio@gmail.com) or Bethany Bradley (bethany.j.bradley@gmail.com).

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The PTO is set up with Mabel’s Labels for fundraising too. If you need labels, they’re a great brand. They have a huge variety of choices but I always liked this fundraising combo - fairly cheap and a decent amount of labels. Make sure to select International Spanish Language Academy under ‘Support A Fundraiser’. Click here to order.