One-Minute Health Routines

Between work, family, and maintaining some semblance of a social life, it's common for health and exercise to take a back seat. But, a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to take a lifetime to cultivate. Health is really an aggregate of the choices you make on a daily basis. Doing something good for your health is better

than doing nothing at all, every little bit counts. Here are some suggestions of things you can do in just 60 seconds or less, to get you started. The challenge: Sit down with your family and come up with your own unique one-minute health routines!

• Jump rope for one minute to boost your heart rate, burn calories, and improve bone strength.
• When working, sit or stand up straight to prevent lower back pain and improve posture.
• Smile or laugh (even if it's fake) to improve your mood and decrease stress in a pinch.
• Write down five things you're grateful for to express gratitude, build optimism, and cultivate resilience.
• When angry, count to 10 and take a slow, deep breath between each number to relax.
• Give your eyes a break from the computer with the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• Add fruits or vegetables to your water for added flavor instead of filling up on sugary soft drinks.

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Spring Conferences Coming up

Spring student-led conferences will be held on Thursday, March 23 from 1 – 8 pm and Friday, March 24 from 8 am – 2 pm.  Conference sign-ups will be coming out shortly.  There will be no school for students on these days other than their conference times.

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ISLA Technology Committee needs you!

We are currently planning for improvements to ISLA’s technology infrastructure, vendor support and various projects (such as the computer lab repurpose/replacement).  We need a few more with computer/technical knowledge to help determine needs and assess options.

If you could help via e-mail or in person (at our monthly meeting generally held the 1st Thursday of the month at 3:40 pm). Please contact us at technology@isla-academy.org.

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Wanted: Your Passion for ISLA!

Looking for a way to help support the mission and oversight of our amazing school? ISLA needs you! We are looking for interested community members, teachers, and parents to fill several upcoming vacancies for three-year terms, beginning June 30, 2017. No previous experience necessary, but some areas of expertise we currently need include law, finance, human resources, marketing, fundraising, or education.

Because ISLA is a charter school, ISLA’s Board of Directors operates as its own school district. The Board is responsible for overseeing the general operations of the school, implementing policies and procedures, and long term financial planning. There are a number of different committees on which Board members can serve.

Questions can be directed to Gina Rumore, Election and Nominating Committee Chair, at grumore@isla-academy.org.

If you are interested in applying, please submit a Statement of Interest to the Election and Nominating Committee by March 1, 2017. This deadline has been extended.   Click here for Statement of Interest 2017. A sample ballot, including nominated candidates, will be posted on the school’s website in April 2017 and the election for office will occur in connection with the annual meeting in May 2017.

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Event: Mary Poppins

Where: Maranatha Hall, University of Northwestern - St. Paul
3003 Snelling Avenue N. St. Paul 55113
When: March 23rd, 2017 at 10:00 am

Ticket price: $5.00 per person

ISLA has received an invitation for the University of Northwestern Theatre production of Mary Poppins, The Broadway Musical on March 23 at 10:00am. As this is a Student-Led Conference day we are passing on to families this invitation. There is a limited number of tickets left and if you would like to attend with your child/ren, feel free to follow the link and register by Wednesday March 1st.

Sr. Martin will be attending the performance and would meet ISLA students and parents/guardians who attend.

Follow the link to register: https://goo.gl/forms/cJPNg7f9fFd5ZkFH2

We will be accepting registrations until Monday, February 27 at noon. It will be on a first come first serve basis or until demand is met.

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Board News…

The ISLA School Board met on Tuesday, February 21st at 6:30pm.  Here are some key items that were discussed by members of the ISLA School Board:

• The Board welcomes Kris Taylor, parent in the ISLA community to the ISLA School Board. We are thrilled with the expertise and energy that she is bringing and look forward to her contributions to the greater ISLA community.
• A discussion about the proposed change within the Hopkins School District to re-grade 6th and 9th graders, to a junior high model is being monitored. Many parents and ISLA Board members were at one of the Hopkins community input sessions. The Board will continue to monitor these decisions within the Hopkins School District.
• ISLA and Jeremy Perrin will be looking for bids for the green space initiative in the next few weeks.
• Emily Wallace-Jackson presented to the board on Project Minnesota Leon, a service and education organization that works in Nicaragua. This organization might offer a unique travel and service opportunity for teachers, parents and families.
• The 2014-2019 Strategic Plan was reviewed.  The Board and the committees of the Board should be highly commended for their excellent work in completing over two thirds of the tasks listed on time or ahead of schedule.
• The 2017-2018 school calendar was reviewed and approved by the Board.
• The Governance Committee submitted an Attendance and Tardy policy.  The Board reviewed the policy and approved it.

If you would like to be involved with a committee that serves the Board, 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