March 6, 2025

Dear Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School Community:

It's been a fun week of learning at our school. As we are approaching spring, we encourage you to take a moment to appreciate the small, joyful experiences that fill our days. Whether it's the laughter shared during recess, the sense of accomplishment from mastering a new skill, or the warmth of friendships in the classroom, these moments are building blocks for our children's future. Encouraging them to pause and enjoy these simple pleasures helps them build a positive outlook and cherish the present. Let's continue to support them in savoring these precious times, fostering a love for learning and a joyful spirit that will last a lifetime.

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. Sra. Brown and Sra. Larson are two of our first grade teachers. We are so happy to have them here!

Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song



The fourth graders have completed their interviews and are now beginning to write songs!  Sra. Ruff's class will be honoring Sr. Ram Etwarroo, an immigrant from Guyana who works at PSI. Sra. Giraldo's class will be honoring Sr. Dan Jensen, a Vietnam veteran from our community. Srta. Casey's class will be honoring Sra. Gayle Knutson, a local filmmaker. Mark your calendars for Monday, April 28, when the students will share the songs at a community celebration.

La Feria de Carera/Career-A-Palooza is coming to PSI! 

This year students in grades 2, 3, 4, 5 will participate on the morning of March 19th. We are looking for volunteers from within our school community that would like to share their career with students in a fun and engaging way! If you are interested, please complete the linked survey by March 7th. Those interested will receive follow up communication the week of March 10th from PSI. If you have any questions, please contact Sra. Dominguez, PSI Social and Emotional Learning Specialist, at dominguez.libby@slpschools.org.

Career Fair Volunteer Form

Lunchroom Volunteers

Kiss and Ride Reminder

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 during arrival and dismissal times. Thank you for your cooperation!

Lost and Found

The lost and found was recently organized, and there is a whopping 158 clothing items waiting to be claimed! This does not include the many gloves, mittens, hats, and boots that are in the lost and found as well. Of the 158 clothing items, only 10 of them were labeled with student's names. Please label your student's personal items and remember to check the lost and found for belongings that may have been misplaced over the winter.

March February A-E Day Calendar

Sharing Culture

Based on community feedback, we are adding a new section to La Prensa, Compartiendo Cultura (sharing culture). This section will highlight the many ways that we help students bring to life our SLP Public Schools’ vision statement, in becoming their best selves as globally minded contributors to society. 

In this issue, we want to highlight some fun things happening in our music class! Sr. David Davis was recently featured by the district in the "Park and Learn" series. Sr. Davis talks about the Universal Language of music, and how in his classroom, he inspires students to explore new musical genres and instruments from all over the world. He even features a different genre of music every single day up at Kiss and Ride! Further, students are given the opportunity to be the "teacher" for a day during music class, and share a song of their choice. See below for David's video and for a photo of one of our kindergarten students, Luca, sharing his song with his class.

School District News

St. Louis Park High School Muslim Student Association Presents a Community Iftar Dinner



Join us for a warm and welcoming Community Iftar Dinner, hosted by the St. Louis Park High School Muslim Student Association (MSA), on Thursday, March 13 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. This event is a wonderful opportunity for everyone, regardless of background or faith, to come together in the spirit of unity, understanding, and celebration. 

This event is free and open to the public, register today at Eventbrite.

PTO News

17th Annual PTO Sponsored Silent Auction: Opens Saturday!

IT'S ALMOST TIME!!!

The 17th annual PSI Silent Auction will open on Saturday, March 8th at noon. Keep an eye out for the special edition La Prensa that will have the link to begin your bidding bliss! The silent auction team worked hard to create another auction full of incredible things. What you ask? EVERYTHING! Restaurant gift certificates, sporting event tickets, gym memberships, theater and museum tickets, a bunch of birthday party vouchers and so much more! 

This year we have a ton of great, 'buy-in' options too! These are events that you can buy tickets to, which sometimes sell out within hours. We've got adult pedal pubs, adult axe throwing, family puzzle competition, parties with amities and teachers, and much more! So mark your calendar to start your bidding right away so you can secure a ticket to the hottest events in SLP! 

Application to Host an Amity for the 2025-2026 School Year Now Open!  

Each year PSI typically welcomes Amity Interns from Spanish speaking countries who assist our teachers in the K-5 classrooms. These interns are either pursuing or have recently completed a college degree with an education focus, and are between the ages of 20-30 years old. Amity interns live with PSI host families one semester allowing both an opportunity for greater language learning and cultural exchange. Please consider hosting an Amity Intern either fall or spring of next year. A unique and wonderful experience that can benefit your entire family. Plus, it's a great way to give back to the students, staff and entire community. Want more info? Contact us at psiamity@gmail.com, we are happy to answer any questions or meet up to talk about it.

Ready to sign up? Go to psiparents.ptboard.com, click Amity Interns to find the Host Family application. Fill yours out today! 

Not able to host, but interested in supporting the Amity program in another way? We also solicit volunteers to be a Cousin Family.

The Cousin Family is an extension of the host family and supports both the intern and their host family throughout the intern’s stay. This is most successfully achieved when the cousin family takes the initiative to reach out and communicate frequently with both parties. This effort allows families to build lasting connections with one another and brings a sense of community to the intern. The more involved the cousin family is with the intern the greater the opportunity is for language learning, cultural exchange and lasting relationships for all.



Go to psiparents.ptboard.com, click Amity Interns to find more information about the Cousin Family role along with the Cousin application. Fill yours out today!

Thanks for considering these amazing opportunities!

Your Amity Coordinator Team,

Steve Kalpin

Darlene Kuykendall

Kelly Marinello

Kevin Russell

Community News

Kids Place: Summer Childcare Registration Open!

PSI Kids Place Fundraiser: Gertens Garden Center

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