March 27, 2025

Dear Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School Community:

It's an exciting day in the building with our spring fiestas! It has been a great week of learning. Daily, we share our "learning targets" with students. We encourage you to ask your children what they are learning and how they are feeling about it.

As a reminder, spring break for students starts tomorrow. We look forward to seeing our students return to classes on Monday, April 7. Across the building, we will revisit classroom and school routines to help students feel comfortable and safe at school.  

Thank you for sharing your children with us, and we thank you for being members of our community.

In partnership,

Corey Maslowski, Principal

Megan Paulis de Rangel, Assistant Principal

In this section, we are featuring some of our amazing PSI Staff so the community can get to know every adult in the building as we work together to support each student at PSI!

This week we want to highlight a few PSI staff members. Sr. Watkins and Sra. Ruff are two of our wonderful teachers here. Sr. Watkins teaches physical education, and Sra. Ruff teaches fourth grade. We are so happy to have them here!

Support the PSI Community Garden – Spring Plant Sale! 

Our young gardeners have been hard at work this spring, growing a variety of seedlings indoors, and now it’s time to share them with you! Join us for our First Annual PSI PTO Community Garden Plant Sale on Friday, May 9, from 2:15-4:00 PM after school.

We’ll have a beautiful selection of plants, including annual and perennial flowers, vegetables, and herbs—perfect for your garden or patio!

This donation-based fundraiser in partnership with our PTO will help sustain the PSI Community Garden for years to come. Stop by to pick up some plants while supporting a greener future for our school! 

We appreciate your support and can’t wait to see you there!

K-5 Spring Garden Club

We are thrilled to kick off another season of Garden Club this spring and invite you to get involved!

When: Tuesdays, April 22 – May 27

Time: 2:15 – 3:30 PM

Who: Students in grades K-5

If your child is interested in joining, please complete the registration form below. Due to staffing, space is limited. Registration will be open from March 28 – April 6, and if interest exceeds capacity, participants will be selected through a lottery.

Register here!

For questions, please contact Becky Nielsen (Nielsen.Rebecca@slpschools.org) or Kylie Urriche (Urriche.Kylie@slpschools.org).



We look forward to a fantastic season in the garden! 

Spring Photo Day: April 10

**Only students that pre-ordered Spring photos will be photographed on Picture Day. All orders must be placed by Thursday, April 10.**

CARTONERAS - if you have a sewing machine, we need your help!

We are gearing up for our Cartonera Project (in May/June).  In this culminating celebration, every student publishes a book!  We then host families to read and rave about the books.

We will need people to help sew the books.  It really only requires a sewing machine and the capacity to sew a straight(ish) line.  If you are willing and able to assist in this way, please us know (scheid.kara@slpschools.org or schuster.ashleigh@slpschools.org).

A Note from the School Nurse on Lice:

Because lice is common in childhood, it is important to check your children’s hair for head lice on a regular basis.  

Head lice are tiny insects that make their home in human hair. Anyone can get lice and it is fairly common in school-age children. They are not a sign of poor hygiene and lice are not known to spread infectious disease. 

Most commonly, head lice are spread by direct head-to-head contact with someone who has head lice. Lice crawl; they do not jump or fly. They may also be spread by sharing personal items such as combs, brushes, other hair-care items, towels, pillows, hats, and other head coverings. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not spread head lice. 

In general, our school practice includes the following:

• When a child is identified with an active head lice infestation at school parents will be notified. Your child can remain at school and should be treated before returning to school. 
• Your child’s health information will be kept private.
• Treatment should begin at home, as soon as possible once you are aware that your child has lice. 
• Check everyone at home if one person in the home has head lice. Health Office staff can help by checking siblings at school upon request.
• Mass lice screenings at school are not performed. 
• Please let the health office know if your child has lice.

Resources

Minnesota Department of Health Lice Information:

• Head Lice Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Somali (PDF)
• Spanish (PDF)
• No-Panic Guide to Head Lice Treatment | Johns Hopkins Medicine
• How to Comb for Nits
• Head Lice Removal Pamphlet (English)
• Head Lice Removal Pamphlet (Spanish)



Contact your child’s healthcare provider if home treatments are not effective. If you do not have a healthcare provider, contact the school health office for resources. Local pharmacies carry over-the-counter lice removal kits. Approximate prices range from $10-$35. To find professional organizations, search google for “Lice Removal Near Me.” These services can be quite expensive. Ask if they have a sliding scale fee based on income.

March February A-E Day Calendar

Sharing Culture

In this issue, we want to highlight one of our Amity Interns, Silvestre Gonzalez Funez. Silvestre had the opportunity to talk about his country, El Salvador, with some of the second grade students at PSI. Thank you for sharing about the culture of El Salvador!

School District News

Kids Place Registration for School Year 2025-2026 Opens on April 7

You're Invited: Strategic Plan Family Share Out on April 9

During this session, Pink Consulting will share key findings from our district’s strategic planning process. This event will highlight themes and insights gathered through feedback sessions, focus groups, and conversations with students, staff, and families.

•  Wednesday, April 9 | 6:00–7:30 p.m.
•  District Office – Room 21
•  6300 Walker Street, St. Louis Park, MN 55426

We look forward to sharing how your input is shaping the future of St. Louis Park Public Schools.

PTO News

Spring Picture Day Volunteers

Spring Picture Day is on April 10th!   We need a few volunteers to help the photographer and escort kids to and from classrooms.  Please sign up if you are available from 9:00-11:30 am.

Movie Night (2025)

On Thursday, April 10, bring the whole family and come join us for a free pizza dinner and showing of Inside Out 2. We’ll be watching Inside Out 2 in Spanish with English subtitles. The pizza dinner will be in the middle school cafeteria from 5:30-6:00 pm, and the movie will start in the middle school auditorium at 6:15 pm.

CARNAVAL

Do you like planning events? Our Carnaval planning team is looking for new members! We will be having a planning meeting on Monday, April 14 7:00-8:00 pm. If you're interested in learning more, email us at psivolunteers@gmail.com.

Community News

PSI Kids Place Fundraiser: Gertens Garden Center: Last week!

Park Spanish Immersion Elementary Kids Place is doing an online Gertens Fundraiser! This group will receive 30% of all plant sales and 15% of all plant card sales. Proceeds will go toward field trips. 

Orders must be completed by 10:00 PM on Thursday, April 3.

NO LATE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED. 

Your order will be ready for pick up on May 13 in the evening at PSI (9400 Cedar Lake Road, St. Louis Park, MN).

If you have any questions, please contact your fundraiser chairs: Demario Mckinney, mckinney.demario@slpschools.org or Lisa Ralston, ralston.lisa@slpschools.org.

Thank you for your support! 

To access the site and place an order for your fundraiser group:

1. Go to www.gertensfundraising.com
2. Enter the Store ID code provided into the text field and click ‘Enter ID to Continue’.

Store ID code for Kids Place Park Spanish Immersion Elementary: 1082