September 26, 2019
An academic bilingual community fostering global citizenship
UPCOMING
  • 9-26-19 (TODAY) PTO Baile Folklórico participants' parent meeting, 7:00, PSI Cafeteria
  • 10-3-19 (4-8) and 10-4 (8-4) Parent Teacher Conferences
  • 10-4-19 NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
  • 10-9-19 Monthly tour for community and prospective families, 9-10 am
Dear Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School Community,

I hope that you've had a great week! One of my favorite parts of the day is spending time in the cafeteria with our students. They are kind and inquisitive, and it is a joy to work with them. Thank you for sharing them with us! They are working very hard!

I enjoyed seeing so many parents at Tuesday night's PTO meeting. We are grateful for the many, many ways that our parents support the learning happening at school. Click here for a "Back-to-school Checklist" from our PTO. It truly takes a village to raise our children, and we thank you for your partnership. We look forward to seeing you at our parent/teacher conferences next Thursday and Friday.

Have a great week, and keep reading!

Sincerely,

Corey
Proud Principal

PS--If you have not already, we would like your feedback about "Welcome Night" to help us determine what was helpful and how to make it even better next year. Please take a few minutes to fill out  this survey.
School News
2019-2020: Hope Speaks Project
Parents and families of all races, and their children in grades 3-5, are invited to explore HONEST, OPEN, PERSONAL AND ENGAGED (HOPE) conversations about race and racism. Click HERE to learn more.
Grades 3-5 Student Leadership Team
Applications and Commitment Contract Deadline October 1st
Information about Student Leadership Team opportunities have been shared with students in grades 3-5. Interested students may obtain an application, and sign the commitment contract at school if they wish to participate. Your child can share more information with you.
The Sheridan Story: Options for Weekend Meals for Students
Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School has partnered again this year with The Sheridan Story  program to provide options for weekend meals for students.

Upon parent or guardian request, students will discreetly be given a bag of non-perishable food every Friday (or day before a break) to take home for the weekend. 

Please let your teacher or our School Social Worker, Jennifer Gregor ( [email protected] ) know if you are interested. 

Written information will be coming home with students as well. If you were signed up last year, the program will continue for your family. You can opt out at any time by letting your child's teacher or Jennifer Gregor know. 
School Connections Corner
At PSI, we are working on positive school culture and teaching our students to be upstanders and to be inclusive of others. This week, students in grades 1-5 are participating in  Mix It Up Lunches , where they are encouraged to sit by someone in their class that they don't usually sit with and get to know them better. We have table tents with questions to help students with conversation. We hope some new friendships and connections will develop! Please reinforce being inclusive with your child at home!  

Upcoming activities include  Kindness in Chalk , catching an upstander, and morning greetings in other languages, representing our diverse cultures and backgrounds. These activities will culminate with  Upstander Day   on Wednesday, October 23rd, when students are encouraged to wear Orange.  

Please contact Jennifer Gregor, School Social Worker, ( [email protected] ) or Anne Moore, School Counselor, ( [email protected] ) with any questions!  
Kiss & Ride (Parent drop-off and pick-up)
Click HERE to visit our homepage to view/download a map of the Kiss & Ride (student drop-off and pick-up), as well as a procedural video.
2019-2020: PSI Student Handbook
Please click HERE to review the online PSI 2019-20 Student Handbook.
PTO News
From PTO... Show your gratitude: Feed our teachers/staff 
It’s almost time for fall conferences, which means some long hours for our teachers and staff. Please consider donating a meal, snacks, beverages to help feed our teachers/staff and show them our gratitude for all they do for our kids!
 
Please click HERE to sign up. 
From PTO... Box Tops for Education - changes!
Box Tops is changing to fit today's families. The new and improved Box Tops Mobile App scans your store receipt, finds participating products and instantly adds Box Tops to PSIs earnings online.
Traditional Box Tops clips are being phased out of production, but may continue to be found on many products throughout the store. Please continue to clip and send them to school.
Eventually the Box Tops program will become digital-only. Participating brands are starting to change their packaging from a traditional Box Tops clip to the new Box Top label. If you see this label, use the new Box Tops app to scan your receipt .
Every valid Box Tops clip or digital scan is worth 10¢ for PSI.
To do:
1. Download the Mobile App now to your phone.
2. Be sure to tell friends and family collecting Box Tops about the change.
3. Continue to collect traditional Box Tops and drop off at school
Fall deadline is November 1st, which will come before we know it! Start clipping and scanning now!
From PTO... Get to Know our Amity Interns!
The eight PSI Amity Interns are settling into their class assignments this week. The PSI Amity Interns join us from Spanish speaking countries and assist our teachers in the K-5 classrooms. These interns are either pursuing or have recently completed a college degree with an education focus. They are invaluable additions to our PSI classrooms and are funded by the PSI Parent Teacher Organization through the Fall Leer-a-ton and the Spring Carnival fundraising events.

Today you will meet Álvaro Andrés Velásquez Sotelo and Pablo Gasulla. Read about Álvaro and Pablo HERE . 
School District #283 News
Bus Transportation Update... from SLP Transportation
We have had a challenging start to the year for some of our school bus routes, and we want to provide you with some information about the causes and what has been done to correct the issues.

This year the district has taken a new approach to transportation.  Our goal is that these changes will create greater efficiency and flexibility in the future, but they have impacted our families in ways that we are working to correct. Our new approach involves our same district partners, Park Adam Transportation as our regular transportation vendor, MTI as our special education transportation vendor, and K12 Transportation as our transportation management company. We are transitioning to new communication methods and new ways to use our routing software. Later this year, we will roll out new technology to give parents access to real-time transportation information that we hope you will find to be useful. As always, student safety is our primary concern and all of our partners prioritize the safety of your children above all other things.

In addition to these changes this fall, the routing for PSI was complicated by several factors, some of which could become clear only once buses were running in real time. 
  1. New school location - PSI's new location is not as central as its previous location, so the timing of routes had to be re-established. In some cases, the routing software did not accurately forecast route timing. 
  2. Dedicated PSI bus routes - PSI students are no longer routed along with high school students, so our school's student body is now routed on 13 dedicated buses rather than 24 high school/PSI buses. For this reason, the combinations of bus stops and student ridership patterns had to be re-created and then efficiently integrated within the entire district transportation system. In some cases, our routing software created routes that had higher ridership than expected which created timing issues.
As drivers become familiar with new routes, timing issues often correct themselves. As we identify those routes that will not self-correct, we are making adjustments and sending new bus route information via email from  [email protected] . This modifications will continue as we work to balance our new PSI routes. If you have questions, you can connect with the transportation department at 612-437-4719 or at  [email protected] . 
District Forms Out-of-School Time Taskforce
The District has formed an Out-of-School Time Taskforce and held its first meeting on Monday, Sept. 16.
 
Taskforce Charge Statement
 
The purpose of the taskforce is to create a more robust menu of out-of-school time options to meet the overall health, academic and social/developmental needs of all K-5 students and families.
 
This work will include recommendations for: academic programs, enrichment and recreation opportunities, and childcare options.
 
Extensive research, best practices, and input from stakeholders will inform the work. The taskforce will be mindful of the school district and community education budgets and the economic impact to families. The group will seek consensus to make one or more recommendation(s) to the administration by December 2019. Team members are expected to talk about the work during their daily routines, and encourage the engagement, input and feedback of all stakeholders.
 
Taskforce Team Members
 
Students: Marco Munoz
 
Parents: Aimee Munson, Alex Schmid, Alicia Kropelnicki, Allison DeCamillis, Amanda Munoz, Amelia Zumwalde, Anne Halverson, Anthonia Oghagbon, Christine Johnson, Claire Warren, John Hayes, Julie Van Guilder, Kelly Ley, Murad Mohammad, Nate Hanson, and Tom Westlund
 
Teachers & Staff: Cate McDonald
 
Kids Place Staff: Lisa Proulx and Vicky Dotterer
 
Youth Enrichment Staff: Darrell Young and Kelleen O'Brion
 
Principals: Shelley Nielson, Corey Maslowski, Kari Schwietering, and Clarence Pollock
 
District Staff: Lisa Greene, Patrick Duffy and Anne Madigan
 
Community Stakeholders: Jason West, Kori Shingles, Erin Nordrum, CeCe Doyle, and Debbie Wells
 
Facilitators: Astein Osei and Irina Fursman
 
Administrative Support: Flower Krutina and Megan Jacobson
 
Taskforce Timeline
 
August 2019 | Recruit & Seek Applications
Early September | Select Taskforce Members
September 16 | Meeting #1
September | General Input
October 7 | Meeting #2
November 4 | Meeting #3
November | Feedback on Proposed Recommendation to Administration
December 2 | Meeting #4 and Recommendation to the Administration
Peachjar (Backpack Flyers)
Peachjar is the electronic vehicle the SLP School District uses to communicate approved informational flyers for distribution to families.

You will find a link to PSI specific Peachjar flyers on the PSI homepage (scroll down, right side of homepage), at www.slpschools.org/psi.
District-wide Peachjar flyers are on their homepage at www.slpschools.org.





Dr. Corey Maslowski, Principal
Follow me on Twitter @PSIPrincipal

Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School
9400 Cedar Lake Road
St. Louis Park, MN 55426 
 
School Hours: 8:25 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
School Office Hours: 7:45 am - 4:00 pm

PSI Main Office: 952-928-6555
24Hr-Attendance: 952-928-6570
Health Office: 952-928-6554
PSI Fax: 952-928-6556
School Nutrition: 952-928-6567
St. Louis Park Public Schools Transportation Department (Bus) 612-437-4719
St. Louis
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