‍

‍

‍

Letter from the Director

"In summer, the song sings itself." ― William Carlos Williams

Queridas Familias:

I hope this finds you well and that you are enjoying your (fleeting) summer vacation.  Things have been busy around here at ISLA, with sounds of laughter and play based learning in our summer camps and summer school, our maintenance projects well underway. 

We finalized two big contracts this summer--transportation and nutrition.   

For transportation, after we finished our RFP process, we decided to go with Pride again. We have included contingencies in the contract for some of the performance indicators that we see as areas of growth for them, and we are also excited to welcome Jessica Gielen to the role of Transportation Director. With the addition of Jessica taking on the transportation communication and other needs, we are looking forward to taking some of this off the plate of Emily Smith.  (We know that she is looking forward to this as well!).

Nutrition: After listening to your feedback about lunch service and overall quality, we also put our lunch contract out to bid. After inquiring with almost 20 companies, we interviewed a handful of finalists and decided to go with a smaller company with a wide variety of homemade and nutritious options--Cafe Racer.   The owner of Cafe Racer is from Colombia, and is very committed to and passionate about providing quality, nutritious food.  Another bonus for lunch this year is that thanks to your MN Senate,  it will be provided free of charge, and breakfast will be offered as well!  Everyone will still order lunch and breakfast through Boonli--with many more details and menu options coming soon. 

Teacher update.  Here is the list of teachers by grade for the 2023-2024 School Year: 

• Kindergarten:  Silvia Herrero Fernandez, Maryann Najera, Doris Bonifacio, Luis Vivas. 
• First Grade: Bonyin King, Edily Sanchez, Erika Leal
• Second Grade: Lina Pinto, Irene Martinez, and Miriam Oropeza. (Previously worked in ISLA SPED). 
• Third Grade: Rosa Fernandez, Patty Floe, and Cori Adams. 
• Fourth Grade: Riana Dilley, Roberto Izquierdo, and Pilar Robles (New teacher from Spain)
• Fifth Grade: Jordi Costa, Stewin Bernal (New teacher originally from Colombia).
• Sixth Grade:  Rachel Karlov.

All of these talented teachers have teaching degrees and come from years of experience and a variety of grade levels, and we are looking forward to working together next year. 

Take care and enjoy the flora and fauna of this lovely MN summer. 

Atentamente, 

Jeremy

‍

Label your Items

We are encouraged to label everything the kiddos bring to school so check out our Mabel's Labels fundraiser (summer camps, sports, additional activities too!) - this is ongoing throughout the year!

20% of proceeds go back to the PTO!

So many designs to choose from to personalize for each child.

Stop by www.campaigns.mabelslabels.com and search International Spanish Language Academy for your labels today!

‍

Box Tops for Education

Box Tops for Education is an easy way for families to contribute to ISLA. You can download the app from the App Store if you are an Apple customer or get it via Google Play by clicking on this link: https://www.boxtops4education.com/s/get-the-app.  Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to search for International Spanish Language Academy as the school you would like to support.

Once you have the app, start purchasing items with the Box Tops for Education logo and can your receipt within 14 days of purchase.