2023-11-10 Noticias de ISLA y ISLA PTO
Emily Smith
• • • Top Notes for this week • • •
The Fiesta site is live!! Head on over to Givesmart to view the Fiesta 2024 Website and check out what Great Gatherings are available so far. Snag a ticket and provide some fun for you/your child while supporting the Language Ambassador Program!!
Donations are open!!! We have lots of ways you can contribute to this amazing event!! Gift baskets with pre-made themes are available, or you can come up with your own idea!! Great Gatherings are our most popular donation for Fiesta. They are ISLA family-hosted events where you/your family or you & a friend host a fun event for ISLA kids, ISLA parents or a combination of both. You submit your ideas to the ISLA PTO and we sell tickets to your event on the Givesmart website and 100% of the proceeds will go towards the LA program!! (Scroll down to the Fiesta Corner below for more details on both of these topics).
Let’s get together… This Fall & Winter!!!
Gift Basket Donations
Community/Parent Donations
Staff/LA Donations
Give to the Max 2023 is coming next Thursday November 16, 2023!!! This year's goal is $30K with a participation rate goal of 75%. (Please note that participation rate is NOT dollar-based. It is based on the percentage of families that donate.)
Donations are open now at https://www.givemn.org/organization/Islapto (the QR code below links to this website). Please share the link with your community, family and friends!! Ask them to support your community with their donation to the ISLA PTO this year! You can also consider asking if your workplace matches your donation!
ISLA’s Give to the Max fundraising is focused on enabling funding for:
- Our Language Ambassador program to bring native Spanish speakers from around the world to work directly with teachers and students in the classroom every day
- Teachers and staff with classroom materials and staff support
- Families for field trip support, classroom parties and extracurricular activities
- ISLA community building events (Yahoo/Boohoo, Back to School Picnic, Dia de Los Muertos, Winter Family Night, Spring Family Night, and others)
The classrooms with the highest participation will win the following prizes:
- 1st place – Classroom pizza party, teacher appreciation prize and non-uniform day!!!
- 2nd place – Special treat for the class and non-uniform day!
- 3rd place – Non-uniform day!
Any classrooms that achieve 100% participation will win the 1st place prize!
Many ways to donate:
Donation to Venmo @ISLA-PTO
Bring Cash or Check to teacher
Online through GiveMN.org
Stock Donation through StockDonator.com
IMPORTANT NOTE: Please reference GTMD and list your child’s name, teacher and grade for classroom participation credit. THANK YOU so much for your continued efforts in making ISLA a great place for our kids and families.
• • • 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.
THANK YOU SO MUCH to those that came out to carve pumpkins with the LAs. What a fun evening!!! We are looking forward to planning our next LA event– If you have ideas for fun activities, please reach out to islalaprogram@gmail.com
• • • Dia De Los Muertos • • •
THANK YOU SO MUCH to all that could come out to celebrate DDLM with our school community. It was so fun to spend time together!! THANK YOU to Jessie More, the ISLA PTO, our LAs and all volunteers who came together to make this such a spectacular event!!
• • • Community PTO Meetings • • •
Next meeting: 12/13 6:00-7:30pm (food at 6, meeting begins at 6:30!)
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.
We will also have a speaker coming to us from The Pacer Center!
It is a parent training and information center for families of children and youth with all disabilities from birth to young adults. They also have a National Bullying Prevention Center to provide resources designed to benefit ALL students, including those with disabilities. Pacer is beneficial for families, educators and other professionals who work with students with or without disabilities. You can learn more at: https://www.pacer.org/
(Zoom meeting link to come)
6:30– 7:15 PACER speaker
7:15– 7:30 ISLA PTO updates
View prior meeting slides: Link to PTO Community Meeting Slides & Recordings
– Please RSVP –
It will help us plan dinner portions as well as childcare (provided by our LAs)
PTO Community Meeting Attendance
• • • Upcoming • • •
Monday 11/13 5–9pm
Chevy’s (ISLA family-owned!!)
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 • • •
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 both times I’ve been in. 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
Kinder
Doris Bonifacio Salas
Silvia Herrero-Fernandez
Maryann Najera
Luis Vivas
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