Noticias de ISLA y ISLA PTO

September 7, 2021

Emily Smith

Administrative Assistant

Thursday, April 18 is National Poem in your Pocket Day. As a school we decided to give our neighbors the gift of poetry by handing out poems written on little scrolls of paper to patrons of the businesses across the street from the school. The reactions of the people were priceless as ISLA students charmed them with their poems.

PTO Survey

Thank you to all those who completed the PTO Parent Survey! The information gathered will be very helpful for future PTO planning. We are happy to announce Amber Swenson was the lottery winner of the two Fiesta tickets!

World Book Day Tuesday, April 23

Send in your SHELFIES and don't forget to write down how many minutes you are reading at home!! All photos and forms should be turned in to Sra. Yepes in the library by Monday,April 22 so she can post the SHELFIES and add up how many minutes we read in total at ISLA.

Thanks for your help and participation!!

ISLA Board Elections

Election for directors for ISLA's board for the 2019-2020 year will take place on May 21, 2019.

For the slate of candidates go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Gwy24tIGi5tE7f0SAXuCSAbR6ULoiTBd/view?usp=sharing and to see their biographies go to:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HPYiBBBhHg-0NTh0mWPI_52yfA01BfFB/view?usp=sharing).

2019 Spring ISLA School Board Update

 

The ISLA School Board is committed to keeping our school community informed. Below is an update from the past few board meetings. Additionally,all past board information can be found on the ISLA Website at https://www.isla.school/board/documents.

 

The Board continues to work with the Hopkins School District to continue the evolving conversation about ways in which we can collaborate.Additionally, we continue to explore all possibilities of meeting our indoor and exterior space needs.  It is important for our community to know that the board is committed to preserving the community of ISLA, ensuring high quality immersion education, and supporting our teachers in the dynamic work that they do each day.

This year of uncertainty is challenging at a Board level, as well as for our community, but we do know that our commitment to making ISLA stronger and meeting more of our students’ needs is top priority in every conversation. We will continue to update our community when we have more details to share. Until then, we encourage you to go to Fiesta!, volunteer where and when you can, and celebrate the huge successes that our students have every day. These are the things that made ISLA a great place to educate kids, and they will continue to keep our community strong.


Commercial Developer’s Interest in Our Current Location:
The ABC Corporation and ISLA Board are continuing the conversation with a commercial developer who is interested in acquiring our current building/lot (located at 5959 Shady Oak Road).

March Update: The board met twice this month, once for the regular monthly board meeting and a second time in Special Session to address discussion for real estate purposes. The ABC (the company that owns the ISLA building) was in attendance at both meetings to give property and real estate updates. A review of the proposed legislation from Hopkins was reviewed and responded to. The 2019-2020 budget development discussion was focused in March on faculty salaries.


April Update:
The board met this week for our regular monthly meeting. The current Strategic Plan is at its end and many of the original goals were met over the past five years by both the board and the administrative team. The next strategic plan will be for a shorter time period, three years, and be in draft phase as soon as June of 2019. The board plans to ask for the community to review and give input to it. The board reviewed and approved the revised Background Check policy as presented by the Governance committee. The Board approved a draft of the Gender Inclusion policy and will review a final policy at the May board meeting.


Current ISLA School Board Members are as follows:

  • Nora Tycast (Chair), parent
  • Jaiah Kamara, parent
  • Dan Tix, parent
  • Martin Hoff, parent
  • Estella Alfaro, teacher
  • Kris Taylor (Secretary), parent
  • Liz Crouse, parent
  • Sarah Markus, parent
  • Cori Adams, teacher
  • JJ Schlangen (Treasurer), community member
  • Jody Johnson (Vice Treasurer), parent
  • Jennifer McCormack, parent
  • Mary Jo De Villers, grandparent and community member
  • Jeremy Perrin, executive director (non-voting member)
  • Jared Goodwin (Vice-Chair), community member

If you would like to be involved with a committee that serves theBoard, we would love to have you. Please see the ISLA school website for committee information: http://isla.school/board/board-committees


To view the complete agenda and notes for the board meeting please follow this link: http://isla.school/board/documents


Sincerely and with appreciation for all that you do for ISLA,
Nora Tycast,
ISLA Board Chair

2019 Language Ambassador Experiences!!! 

Have a look at our LA experiences that will take place BEFORE the Fiesta de la Primavera!

It’s easy, use the SignupGenius link, click on the experience,& sign-up with payment all on SignupGenius.

  • Zumbathon w/Cristian,Lina & Sra. Bonyin, April 27th

 

Be sure to read all descriptions thoroughly!!

Reach out to Tasha @ Fiesta@isla-academy.org for any questions!

Language Ambassador Experiences Signup!

Uniform Donation & Exchange Days

Has your child outgrown a few of their uniform pieces? Donate clothes on May 6-7. Drop off spot will be labeled with “Uniform Donation” in front entry. Any questions, contact volunteer@isla-academy.org.

Uniforms ready for a refresh? Pickup & refresh uniform items at the PTO meeting on May 14. All families are welcome and clothing donations are not required to participate.Any questions, contact volunteer@isla-academy.org.

Spring Music Programs

The spring music program dates have been set. You will receive more information about these programs as the time gets closer.

May 20 – 4th grade, 2 pm
May 24 – 1st grade, 2 pm
May 28 – 2nd grade, 2 pm
May 31 – 3rd grade, 2 pm
June 5 – 6th grade, 6:30 pm
June 6 – Kinder, 9:30 am
June 6 – 5th grade, 6:30 pm

Calendar of Events

  • April 23 – World Book Day
  • April 25 – Kindergarten Round-up, 6:30 pm
  • May 2 – Cancelled late start.  School will begin at normal time.
  • May 4 – Fiesta de la Primavera, 6:00 pm, Plymouth Creek Center

PTO Leadership Opportunities

Do you have a talent to share with ISLA? Would a leadership position on the PTO be of interest to you? There are exciting available positions on the PTO for the 2019-20 school year. The PTO offers co-chair and committee positions and experienced board members are willing to partner/mentor in each role. Requested term commitment is 1 year. For more information, please contact Ginnie Pollen at PTOchair@isla-academy.org. The current board and non-board positions are as follows:

Board Positions:

  • PTO Chair
  • PTO Treasurer
  • PTO Communications/Secretary
  • PTO Fundraising
  • PTO Social Events
  • PTO Volunteer Coordinator
  • PTO LA Coordinator

Non-Board Positions:

  • Room Parent Coordinator
  • Fiesta Coordinator
  • Spirit Store Coordinator
  • Yearbook Committee
  • Uniform Exchange Coordinator

MORE WAYS TO SUPPORT THE PTO

Looking for more 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 your entire Amazon shopping needs.

Box Tops are going digital!  

As of this June, you will start to see the new digital Box Tops and with that will be a brand new app with which you will simply be able to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to ISLA’s earnings online!  Parents will be able to see the school’s earnings through the app at any time. This should serve as a great motivator as each one of us will be able to see the earning grow firsthand. We will keep you posted once the new app is available.

In the meantime….  Please continue bringing in your clipped Box Tops. All Box Tops will continue to be accepted until their expiration date.  If you happen to spot the new digital Box Top icon on packages before the new app is available, you can download the current Box Tops Bonus app, select the bonus offer and scan your receipt. Thanks parents and let’s earn extra $$ for our great school!

THANK YOU to our FALL LA HOST FAMILIES!  

Our 8 LAs had a great time with their 1st MN families - their fall families.  From their welcoming pick-ups at the airport to the State Fair to the first days of school and into winter, our Language Ambassador program could not happen without our devoted families who provide fun, food and FAMILY while housing our exchange teachers.  

Thanks so much to:

  • The Fisher Family for hosting Rocio from Colombia
  • The Gregory Family for hosting Valeria from Colombia
  • The Halls Family for hosting JuanRo from Chile
  • The Klein Family for hosting Ruben from Spain
  • The Lauzon Family for hosting Yancy from El Salvador
  • The McCabe Family for hosting Lina from Colombia
  • The Morales Family for hosting Karla from El Salvador
  • The Salemi Family for hosting Cristian from Colombia

 

Will YOUR family be a host family next fall? Please contact Kim (kimgelp@gmail.com) or Meggin (megginoleson@yahoo.com) to talk about this opportunity.

 

SPRING CLEANING!                                                                                                                


Putting away your winter clothes and pulling out your suitcases for spring break?!   When you discover you are done with those items, please consider donating them to the ISLA LA program!

Each spring, most of our LAs want to return home with one additional suitcase - can you imagine how much stuff they accumulate in one school year?!?!  Note: they do NOT need to be working suitcases!  There could be a rip or a broken zipper… as long as it can hold “stuff” and be duct taped up, it will work just fine!!!

And, although our snow is FINALLY melting away, we at LA HeadQuarters never stop looking for warm items to keep our future LAs warm!!!  The PTO provides the LAs with their winter gear mainly from ISLA family donations.  We need men’s and women’s sizes.  Smaller sizes like our older school kids would wear (girls size 14-16) are always needed. 

Please leave any donations with Emily Smith in the front office. Please contact Meggin (megginoleson@yahoo.com) with any questions regarding donations.

 

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

IMMEDIATE/BIGGEST NEEDS INCLUDE:

Day time volunteers are needed for classroom exploration and library support. Spanish is not  required. Have you considered volunteering? Sign up for a shift on the sign ups below and give it a try! Still not sure? E-mail us your questions- Sarah and Julia at volunteer@isla-academy.org

Exploration - We need your help! April and May spots remain open for every grade level! April dates listed by grade level below. Volunteer time is 12:50-2:50 pm.

Kinder - 4/26, 5/10
First - 4/29, 5/13, 5/24
2nd - 4/30, 5/14, 5/30
3rd - 5/3, 5/16
4th - 5/6, 5/17
5th - 4/23, 5/7, 5/20
6th - 4/25, 5/9, 5/21

Description: You will be assisting the students participate in the projects and other hands on activities that Sra Maldonado has set up. Volunteer in your child’s class. The sign up identifies the grade and rotating exploration day, with 2 volunteers needed per day for grades K-2, and 1 volunteer needed per day for grades 3-6: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0D4FA4A62AA1FF2-exploration

Library - We still have a need for volunteers to assist classes duringlibrary time. Spanish is not required. Thank you for considering! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4fa4a62aa1ff2-library


ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

Go to the Volunteer Interest Form to learn about more ways to get involved: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0d4fa4a62aa1ff2-volunteer

Questions about Volunteering? Contact us at volunteer@isla-academy.org