September 12, 2024

Dear Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School Community:

It has been two marvelous weeks of learning at PSI! Students' smiles fill the hallways every morning, and routines are starting to be established in the classrooms as we build community. Students start their day with morning meetings where they build community and oral language through songs, games and sharing. We look forward to inviting families to our Welcome Night on Thursday, Sept. 26 where we can share more about the learning that will be happening this year and the fantastic educators in our children’s lives. You can find more details about this event below.

Thank you for sharing your children with us.  It is a privilege to partner with you.

In partnership,

Corey Maslowski, Principal

Megan Paulis de Rangel, Assistant Principal

Meet the Assistant Principal

¡Hola familias de PSI!

My name is Megan Paulis de Rangel (pronounced rahn-hell), and I am thrilled to serve Park Spanish Immersion School as the Assistant Principal of this vibrant and diverse community that champions multiculturalism and bilingualism. I am excited to contribute to and grow alongside a school that aligns so closely with my values and experiences.

My journey in bilingual education began 13 years ago in Mérida, Venezuela, where I worked as an English teacher and Assistant Director of a bilingual preschool. Before arriving at PSI, I had the pleasure of serving Minneapolis Public Schools in various roles. For a couple of years, I worked as an Assistant Principal and also served as the Dual Language Coordinator for the district. Prior to that, I was a bilingual teacher at Richfield Dual Language School for 8 years, where I taught 3rd grade, 1st grade, and reading intervention. 

On a personal note, my twin boys, Alejandro and Luca, are Kindergarten students here at PSI! As a family, we love traveling, visiting new playgrounds and making arepas together. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of such a beautiful community, both as a PSI parent and an educational leader.

Please don’t hesitate to say “hola” when you see me, and feel free to reach out with any concerns, questions, or moments of joy you’d like to share. I’m looking forward to partnering with you this year!

Staff Update

As some of you know, our school counselor, Anne Moore, recently accepted a position in another district.  We are grateful for her ten years of service to our school helping to see, inspire, and empower our children!

With this staffing change, we posted a new position in August called “Social Emotional Learning Specialist,” and we are excited to welcome Libby Dominguez to our school!  Sra. Dominguez will work collaboratively with teachers, administrators, students, and families to promote the social, emotional, and academic growth of each learner.  She will collaborate with other teams to use data to develop, implement, and support the learning community through large group, small group, and individual lessons and conversations.  Please see below to learn more about Sra. Dominguez!

Meet Sra. Dominguez

My journey as an educator began 27 years ago in Tortuguero, Costa Rica where I taught English as a Second Language.  As a native English speaker,  this cultural and linguistic immersion experience was life changing.  Since then, I have taught across states, elementary schools and programs with a global emphasis, celebrating multilingualism and linguistic diversity.  Full circle, in 2016, we moved our family from San Diego, Ca. to my hometown of Minneapolis where I have worked as an International Baccalaureate Program Coordinator within MPS for the past eight years.

In my free time I enjoy spending time with my two daughters (12 and 15) and my family.  We love to spend time together at the cabin, on the lake and camping.  When not with family, I love to hang with my cat, read and create mosaics.

I am so grateful to join the SLP community and looking forward to learning and growing with the PSI family!

Biliteracy Strategies

We are starting our 29th year of Spanish immersion education! As a school, we continue to evaluate, reflect, and make changes based on best practices. During the past several years, we have been working with Dr. Amy Young, Multilingual Learners Educational Specialist from the Minnesota Department of Education, to look at our practices for teaching both English and Spanish to each of our learners. Based on research and aligned with many other language immersion schools, we have made some changes to our program to support each and every learner’s biliteracy journey. 

Previously, English Language Arts class was formally introduced at second grade (reading, writing, speaking, and listening). We will continue to do this, and as a school, we are implementing some additional strategies to support language acquisition and cross-linguistic transfer between English and Spanish. We anticipate starting English Language Arts later in October this year because we are assessing second grade students, and we will start some small group focus lessons to help support student success.

One new strategy that we implemented with great results last year was teaching English phonics in first grade via “mini-lessons” for 45 minutes per week to intentionally bridge what students know about sound spelling correspondence from Spanish to English. This year, we are increasing the amount of time for first graders to 60 minutes per week, and our kindergarten students will receive 100 minutes per week of English language instruction.

These lessons bridge the metalinguistic awareness around what sounds and spellings are transferable or not transferable between the languages. These lessons do not replace the foundational skills instruction in Spanish; however, they highlight, reinforce, and support the development of both languages. We anticipate starting kindergarten and first grade English next month, and we will share more details with families in the upcoming weeks.

We are excited to implement these biliteracy strategies, and like all of our programs, we will continue to evaluate and make changes to best support our learners.

PSI Welcome Night

PSI Welcome Night is Thursday, September 26 at our school! The purpose of Welcome Night is to to foster a continued conversation between teachers and families about students regarding connections/relationships, student learning, expectations, routines and community. Choose the time slot below that best suits your family. 

Click HERE to register for FREE child care for children ages 3 and older provided by St. Louis Park Public Schools staff members. Registering for child care ensures there is adequate staff for this event.

We are looking forward to getting to know you better!

Picture Day is Coming!



Mark your calendar for Lifetouch picture day (September 18) and retake day (October 24). You may PRE-ORDER online by clicking here. Use picture day ID: EVTGN6MVJ

Please note, all students are photographed so all students are in the class composite photo and yearbook. Yearbooks are ordered in the Spring, and will be distributed the last weeks of school.

Label Everything!

Every year we collect and donate mountains of unclaimed Lost & Found items.

Please take time now to LABEL EVERYTHING... your child's clothing items, water bottles, shoes, boots, etc. etc. Inexpensive labels can be purchased at minimal cost. HERE is one example.

September is Attendance Awareness Month!

Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school—and themselves. This Report to Parents offers school families strategies they can use to help their kids build a habit of good attendance.

Classroom Parties

As we continue to build community, acknowledging the needs of the whole child, we want students to celebrate relationships through meaningful and inclusive social experiences. We believe parties foster and build community. At PSI, we will have three school-wide party days again this year. Watch for more information!

• Friday, October 11: Fiesta de otoño
• Friday, December 20: Fiesta de invierno
• Thursday, March 27: Fiesta de primavera

Kiss and Ride & Dismissal Procedures

Thanks to everyone for their patience as we are implementing our routines to ensure safety for all. 

Please see here for reminders about our procedures. For student safety, please only drop off and pick up at door 3; please do NOT use the main entrance (door 1). Due to buses, walkers, and bike riders, we need everyone to drop off/pick up in the line and not in front of the office. Please remember to pull all the way forward in line, and use the proper turn lanes when exiting. Note that there is only one entrance lane and two exit lanes.

In order to support staff and keep students safe, please notify your child's classroom teacher of any schedule changes to dismissal as early as possible. If it is during the day, please also call the school office prior to 1:00 pm (952-928-6555).

Join us for the Inaugural PSI Community Garden Build Day!

Date: Saturday, September 28

Time: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Breakfast and snacks provided!

Tasks will include assembling garden beds, filling beds with soil, spreading mulch, and more. Please RSVP if you are able to attend.

Get Involved as a Garden Liaison!

We are looking for 2-3 garden liaisons to collaborate with us. Liaisons will take the lead on parent/community outreach and scheduling volunteers throughout the year. Interested? Reach out to Kylie Urriche at urriche.kylie@slpschools.org or Becky Nielsen at nielsen.rebecca@slpschools.org to learn more.

Support Our Initiative

If you'd like to support our garden, please consider donating materials through our Amazon Wishlist.

Thank you for being part of this wonderful journey with us!

PSI Garden Coordinators

Kylie Urriche and Becky Nielsen

Click here to see our flyer.

School District News

Join Superintendent Dr. Carlondrea Hines at an Upcoming Community Event!

Join St. Louis Park Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carlondrea Hines at upcoming community events!

• Popsicles in the Park: September 13, 6-8 p.m. at Aquila Park
• Paletas en el Parque: September 19, 6-8 p.m. at Aquila Park
• Listening Session for SLP Jewish Families, September 23, 7 p.m. at Beth El Synagogue

Homecoming Events Schedule

Homecoming 2024 is September 16-20 – we are so excited! 

Check out the homecoming schedule, view game and dance ticket information, and sign up to be in the parade – all community clubs and organizations are welcome!

Homecoming Game - Friday, Sept. 20 at 7pm

• Tickets will ONLY be sold online, no tickets will be sold at the game.
• Online ticket sales will end at 3pm on Thursday, Sept. 19.
• Any child in 8th grade or below must be accompanied by a paying adult who is
• responsible for them, their behavior and their whereabouts at the event. The student
• must be in the bleachers unless with the accompanying adult.
• No bags, backpacks or outside food/drink will be allowed in at home football games and
• there will be no reentry.
• Entry will stop at the end of the second quarter.

PTO News

PTO Kickoff and Family Picnic

We hope to see you at the PSI Family Picnic on September 17th from 5-7pm at Oak Hill Park. Come for some fun, food trucks, meet the new amity interns, and stop by the volunteer table to learn more about how you can get involved!

Volunteer Opportunities:

Looking for volunteer opportunities? Make sure you are signed up for our website (insert QR code here) and the sign ups are listed here!

NEW WEBSITE - sign up to stay in the know!



Community News

Non-School Day Kids Place Childcare: Available for all PSI Students

On non-school days, Kids Place is open and provides full-day fun from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. The cost is $59.95/day and the registration deadline is two weeks prior to the date of the non-school day. Even if you are not registered for regular before/after school Kids Place, you are welcome to sign up for non-school day care.

Click here for a flyer with more information and contact Terri Johnson to register (johnson.terri@slpschools.org, 952-928-6764).