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WANTED: Expertise and Resources Related to Employee Health & Wellness

Do you have a background in the Health & Wellness field or a passion for fostering wellness for employees? ISLA's Health & Wellness Committee is looking for ideas and resources to encourage and support our fabulous employees in their journey to optimum health.

Wellness is not a one-time event, it is an ongoing process and a life-long journey. Wellness encompasses 8 interconnected dimensions: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, financial, intellectual, environmental, and vocational. We are looking for an individual or group that would be willing to volunteer their wisdom and/or time in any of these areas.

We are particularly interested in activities or resources that will help support ISLA staff to build resilience and have positive mental health. Some examples of activities that might be helpful include: offering chair massages to staff during their break time, a short presentation giving staff information about skills for coping with life's stressors, donating a prize for our next wellness challenge (such as a yoga session), etc.

Please reach out to Tanya Nelson (tnelson@isla.school) or Ruth Garcia (rgarcia@isla.school) if you have ideas, you are able to share your time, or would be willing to support ISLA's Health & Wellness Committee. Thank you so much!

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Fundraising Committee Corner

Thanks to those who joined us last night for our Happy Hour at Cahill Bistro. We had a great time brainstorming fun ideas and ways to support our school!

We are one week into our Obstajog campaign! Has your kid started making the asks yet to friends and family? Please share photos, videos, or your creative ideas on our ISLA Families Facebook Group page. We are sending home a calendar today with some fun ideas to get started - Check it out!

Did you hear about our FUN Obstajog student incentives? Classes can win a uniform-free day if they hit 80% participation! We also will have 30 awesome gift bags! All participating students will be entered into a drawing to win a gift bag. Thank you to Pinwheels and Playtoys, Kiddywampus, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Dairy Queen for their generosity in donating to our prize bags!

Don’t forget to sign up to help on the day of Obstajog! We will need volunteers to make sure students are staying safe on the course. Can’t make it on Friday, October 27th? You can volunteer to help during Dia de los Muertos on Saturday, October 28th - the course will be up through Saturday so our whole community can partake in the course during the event! Thank you!

Executive Director Search Update

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Executive Director qualifications and feedback survey sent last month. We’re pleased to share that a triple-digit number of community members and staff participated, and we appreciate the thoughtful feedback provided. All feedback has been synthesized and will be used to inform both the forthcoming job description and upcoming candidate interviews.

Next steps: The job posting will go live next month following board approval, after which we need YOU to spread the word. Whether it’s through your network, social media or other means, we appreciate your help in casting a wide net to find ISLA’s next Executive Director.

Want to be part of the process? The committee is in need of interested individuals for 1) transition support efforts and to 2) participate in upcoming interview panels. Interested? Please submit this form by Oct. 13 to be considered for this opportunity.

• • •  Highlights for this week  • • •  

Pancake Breakfast is this Saturday!! Come get your breakfast at the Eden Prairie Applebee’s to help raise funds for the ISLA PTO to support the LA Program and enrichment both in the classroom and community activities! You or your kids (age 14+) can sign-up for 1hr time slots to serve up some pancakes– That way you’ll still have time to sit & enjoy your breakfast with family & friends!
Click here to get your tickets!  
Serve up some pancakes with us!

Get your Great Gathering ideas submitted!!! We will be getting the Givesmart site launched in the coming weeks to begin bidding on Great Gatherings from both ISLA Staff, LAs and parents!! (You can also scroll down to the Fiesta Corner below for more details)
Gift Basket Donations |
‍Community/Parent Donations
Staff/LA Donations

• • •  Language Ambassador Updates • • •  

Looking for Host Families

The LA team is looking for SPRING host families. The main requirement for hosting an LA in your home is to have their own bedroom! This is such a great opportunity for your kids (and you) to be further immersed in the Spanish language and learn about another culture from these wonderful humans!! You can gain a lifetime friend for you & your kids by hosting an LA and making loads of memories. Stipends & grocery gift cards are available to host families along with support from our amazing LA Coordinator, MK! If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to islalaprogram@gmail.com or fill out this google form! Have questions? You can also go over the new LA Family FAQ sheet.

• • •  Upcoming Events • • •  

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Dia De Los Muertos:  Mark your calendars to come celebrate with the ISLA community on 10/28 from 11am–2pm. Get some facepaint done by our lovely LAs, dancing, crafting, food and other fun activities (plus the Obstajob will be available for use too)!!

‍RSVP to attend – Click here!
‍Help with all the fun!!

• • • Community PTO Meetings • • •  

Next meeting: 10/11 6:00-7:30pm
‍Where? ISLA conference room & playground or gym (Enter through main doors, we will have someone waiting to let you in)!
‍What? Dinner, time to meet & chat with other ISLA parents while we share-out all the things the PTO has coming.
‍Zoom Meeting Link: Can’t attend in person? No problem, we’d love to have you via Zoom (and I am working on improving things to properly record each meeting to have them available to share out afterward)!  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81922697214?pwd=ATVakzyJfIziTJbCU408vGzL7LyDwU.1

Agenda for 10.11.23 Meeting

6-6:30: Eat & mingle in the Conference (Food available for kids & parents)

6:30-7: Community Meeting begins with PTO updates

7-7:45: The amazing Michelle Ndely (ISLA parent) will continue her share-out of info about how we can best support our children within the IB Learning Model at ISLA. This will be PART TWO of Michelle speaking at our PTO Meetings, and I will link her presentation & the recording from 9/13 below. Please note, I was having some tech issues and only started recording Michelle's portion of the presentation about 5 minutes in). You can learn more about Michelle here: http://www.ndelyconsulting.com

• • •  Volunteers • • •

If you have upper grade level kids, partner, grandparent, etc  that can help with childcare during meetings, that would be a huge help!! Kids will play at the ISLA Playground or in the Gym during the meeting. Please follow the links or scan the QR codes for further details:
PTO Community Meeting Attendance
PTO Community Meeting Childcare Volunteers
‍Link to PTO Community Meeting Slides & Recordings

• • • Upcoming • • •  

Saturday 10/7 8–10am
‍Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast!!
8421 Joiner Way, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Come for breakfast and you'll be helping raise funds for the ISLA PTO!!

We are also looking for volunteers (kids age 14+ welcome) to help serve during the breakfast. Slots are 1hr long to still allow you to sit & enjoy time with your family & friends!
Tickets now available – Click here!!  
Serve up some pancakes with us!
Waiver for servers

Monday 11/13 5–9pm
‍Chevy’s
2251 Killebrew Dr, Bloomington, MN 55425

Wednesday 12/6 4–8pm
‍Noodles & Co.
8120 MN-7, St Louis Park, MN 55426

Wednesday 1/18 4–9pm
‍Cafe Zupas
13000 Technology Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344

• • • More ways to get involved • • •  

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Serve lunch to your kids!

While this isn’t technically a “PTO-sponsored” volunteer opportunity, it is a really fun thing to do at school. So I just wanted to give a quick shoutout to Jorge in the kitchen!! This year was the first time I’ve been able to volunteer for lunch, and it’s been a blast. Jorge is fun to work with and it’s so cool to see your kids get excited to see you during their day (you can also go sit with them for a bit between serving)!! Plus, you can get a peek at how DELICIOUS the food has been this year with our new vendor– YUM!! Sign-ups are posted about a month in advance to help plan your schedule. Come try it out!!

Click here to see available slots!

Box Tops for Education!

Download the app on your phone and search for International Spanish Language Academy to begin benefiting your kids’ school! After setting up your account, you can send digital receipts via email or scan a hard copy in the app. No more ripping boxes up!!

Use any of the below referral links to give ISLA an extra bonus when you sign-up:

https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=CWLL52QA
‍https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=L0Y82RM7
‍https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=FCGQ9A6Y

Teacher Wishlists!

Our wonderful teachers work so hard to make their classrooms welcoming and comfortable for our kids. This year, the PTO has asked that our teacher’s share a list of items they need to complete this huge task. Here are their lists, broken down by grade. Any item is a huge help for our teachers & is SO very appreciated by them AND your kids in their rooms. We are still awaiting a few lists, and will send out updated links when they are ready! If you have access to donations of comparable items outside of Amazon, just reach out to me at ptosecretary@Isla.school and I’ll get their list updated!

El Nido
Group wishlist for all of El Nido

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Kinder
Doris Bonifacio Salas
‍Silvia Herrero-Fernandez
‍Maryann Najera
‍Luis Vivas
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1st Grade
‍Bonyin King
‍Erika Leal Gil
‍Edily Sanchez

2nd Grade
‍Irene Martinez
‍Miriam Oropeza
‍Lina Pinto Perez

3rd Grade
Corene Adaxms
‍Rosa Fernandez
‍Patricia Floe

4th Grade
Riana Dilley
Roberto Izquierdo
‍Pilar Robles

5th Grade
‍Stewin Bernal
‍Jordi Costa

6th Grade
‍Rachel Karlov

Specialists
‍Exploración & Art: Adriana Maldonado
Exploración & Art: Ana Luisa Galleres (link to come)
Physical Education: Igor Diaz
Tech: Edgar Avendano (link to come)
Music: Danyelo Rivera
Lunch: Jorge Gomez

Special Education
‍Ruth Garcia
‍Tatiana Gordillo
‍Thairys Rodriguez

Office
‍Emily Smith
Jessica Gielen
‍Nurse: Tanya Nelson

• • • Save the Date • • •  

‍When: Saturday, March 9th, 2024 6-11pm
‍Where: Bloomington Event Center

New to ISLA or need a refresher on what Fiesta de la Primavera is? No problem!! Each year, the ISLA PTO hosts the biggest fundraiser AND party of the year for parents, teachers, LAs, staff and more from our ISLA community. This is an adult-only event where we will have food, games, prizes, music, dancing and our live & silent auctions! It is a time where we can come together as a community, connect or reconnect and celebrate!! All proceeds raised at Fiesta de la Primavera go back to the ISLA PTO to support the Language Ambassador Program where we bring student teachers to our school from native-Spanish speaking countries. They provide support for our classrooms and enrich the experience our kids have everyday at school by sharing their unique cultures & stories both in-school and with after-school activities, social gatherings and more! It's such an amazing program & I'm grateful to take part in that coming together.

• • • Ways to help with Fiesta  • • •

Volunteer your time!!!
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We will respect the time you have available whether it be 1hr or 10hrs per week/month/etc. Click here to view the different areas of interest for small & big ways to help plan this party & fundraiser!

Donate a Great Gathering!!!

This year, we are encouraging Great Gatherings to be held beginning in October! This will allow for more Fall & Winter fun before our actual Fiesta event in the Spring, but all the funds raised will still go back to the ISLA PTO to support the Language Ambassador Program and enrichment for our kids in the classrooms! Our donation forms are now OPEN!! We will get our Givesmart website launched in the coming weeks to allow purchasing tickets to upcoming Gatherings that are submitted!

• • • Great Gathering Ideas  • • •

Moms & Margaritas: Host 7 other ISLA Moms at your house/yard with chips, salsa, guac/snacks & margaritas while you chat & hang out!

Family Bonfire: Have 5 families in your backyard around the campfire while you roast marshmallows, make s’mores, have adult or N/A beverages, tell spooky stories or just chat.

Paint Party: Host 7 other ISLA parents at your home (or even in the party room at a restaurant…?) and provide snacks, drinks, a 10x10 canvas with paints and have a great evening getting to know one another!

Golf Day for Dads: Host 5 other ISLA Dads at your favorite golf course with beverages & lunch or snacks.

Fall Fun Day: Host with another parent(or more) and bring 8 kids to an apple orchard or pumpkin patch– Grade specific, maybe?

ANY of these ideas could be hosted on your own or with another ISLA friend or family!! These gatherings don’t need to be EXTRAVAGANT or overly spendy, they are meant to bring kids, parents, LAs & staff together outside of the classroom and enjoy the wonderful community we have here!!

• • • Donation Form Links  • • •

Gift Basket Donations
‍Community/Parent Donations
Staff/LA Donations
*Info on Fiesta business sponsorships will be coming soon!!

Recommend potential donors/sponsors

Do you have a favorite restaurant, salon, birthday party spot or other locale? Send us the business name and we will reach out to see if they’d like to participate by donating to Fiesta!

Any friends own a local business?

Or maybe you want to get your own small business involved with this fundraiser? We’re sorting out details for sponsorships to help advertise your business(es) while contributing to the growth of the LA Program!! Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks, but you can always reach out to us (Jenner Moretto or Caitlin Edstrom) at Fiesta@isla.school with any questions!

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