March 17, 2022
An academic bilingual community fostering global citizenship
From the Principal
March 17, 2022

Dear Park Spanish Immersion Elementary School Community:

We hope that you are having a great week! I know that our children are enjoying the warmer weather; I also know that they have had more wet outerwear due to the melting conditions! Speaking of outerwear, we have a large collection of items in our Lost and Found. Next week Wednesday and Thursday from 2:30-3:30 p.m., we will have our Lost and Found open outside (weather permitting) or inside by Door 2 by the gymnasium.

I will be hosting the next "Coffee with Corey" for families tomorrow from 11:30-12:00 at this link. These sessions are an opportunity to connect and learn more from each other.

Also, note that during the next week, your child will come home with a COVID test kit containing two tests. Please see below for more information

We have a lot of information about the next few weeks below. Please let us know if you have any questions. As a reminder, we will not have classes next Friday, March 25 through April 3. Take good care, keep reading, and have a great week!

Sincerely,

Corey
PSI News
Lost & Found
Please come view the Lost & Found on Wednesday (March 23) and Thursday (March 24) next week from 2:30-3:30 pm. Staff will invite parents to enter/exit the building at door #2 to peruse the Lost & Found.

Please remember to label all your child's belongings so we can return them to you when found.
March Mathness
Are you looking for an activity that will allow your child to continue learning and have fun in March and April? Then check out March Mathness! 

Your child can work on the PSI March Mathness activities and/or go to TangMath.com to complete the activities on the attached game board. These are optional activities. Students who participate in the challenge will be invited to sign the Wall of Mathematicians and earn class points. After your child completes the activity, just sign the sheet and send it back to school. Click HERE to review the March MATHness sheets sent home in backpacks by grade-level.
Please Collect Paper Towel & Toilet Paper Rolls
Please ask your family and friends to save their empty toilet paper and paper towel cardboard tubes. Kindly, collect them and have your student bring them them to the school office. We need many cardboard tubes for upcoming math project!
Empty Family-Size Cereal Boxes Wanted!
We are gearing up for our Cartonera Writing Project (in May/June). In preparation for this fun event where every student publishes a book, we are requesting family size (empty) cereal boxes. If you purchase cereal in the Family Size box, we would love to have you send them to school when they are empty.  

We will also 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 let Kara Scheid know (scheid.kara@slpschools.org)
Book Donation Project from 5th Grade Student Representatives

We are doing a book donation to raise books for preschoolers through Children First, and we are collecting books the whole month of March. The book boxes are located by the front office, by the buses and kiss and ride. So if you have books you don't read anymore please bring them to donate to pre-k kids to help them learn to read or start to learn. We are especially looking for Spanish books! Please don't give us books that you read or want to keep. 

Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
The 5th grade student representatives
School District News
COVID Test Kits Home with ALL Students and Staff
To keep our schools and buildings safe after Spring Break, we encourage all students and staff to get tested for COVID before returning to school on April 4, regardless of vaccination status.

Beginning next week, students and staff members will be sent home with two COVID tests (one kit).

Please note that while encouraged, testing is NOT a requirement to return to school after Spring Break.

Each test kit contains two tests.
  • We ask that your child take the first test on SATURDAY, APRIL 2. If the test is negative and your child feels well, they should come to school on Monday, April 4.
  • We ask that your child takes the second test on THURSDAY, APRIL 7. If the test is negative and your child feels well, no additional steps should be taken.

Click here to download a one-page flyer with full information in English.
Click here to download a one-page flyer with full information in Spanish and Somali.

Please call the PSI school health office with questions at 952-928-6554. Thanks for your continued efforts to keep COVID out of our schools and buildings!
Updated Local COVID Guidelines
Throughout the global COVID pandemic, St. Louis Park Public Schools has used guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to determine mitigation strategies to keep students, staff and families safe. 

New guidance (issued February 25) factored into the decision that was announced last week that most students and staff were no longer required to wear face coverings in our schools. As a result of that decision, the District has made several other changes to its COVID mitigation strategies:

Masking: K-12
Masks (face coverings) are not required to be worn in St. Louis Park Public Schools buildings or transportation (including school buses), see Policy 808 - COVID-19 Face Coverings.

Mask wearing is recommended for all stakeholders regardless of vaccination status. Students, staff, and visitors may choose to wear a mask based on personal preference and/or informed by personal risk; and their choice to do so will be supported in all district buildings.

PLEASE NOTE: Face coverings will be required when five percent or more of the students and/or staff who attend or work at a St. Louis Park Public School or building test positive for COVID-19, or when community levels of COVID-19 are high. On March 16, community levels of COVID-19 are low.

Contact Tracing: K-12
New CDC guidance encourages health departments to focus contact tracing on high-risk settings such as long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters. Universal case investigation and contact tracing for COVID are no longer recommended in K-12 schools. Effective Thursday, March 17, 2022, St. Louis Park Public Schools will suspend contact tracing and the identification of close contacts of positive cases. Because we are not contact tracing we will not be enforcing recess pods.  Please note that we will still send notification if there is a positive case in your child's classroom.

Masking & Contact Tracing: Early Learning at Central
Please note that masks are still required to be worn by students and staff at the Central Early Learning Center. ​​This decision was based on the fact that the overall population of early learners are ineligible at this time to receive COVID vaccinations. This decision will be revisited once vaccinations are made available to this age group. 

Quarantining
Due to the fact that St. Louis Park Public Schools will no longer be contact tracing, students will no longer be identified as close contacts or needing to quarantine due to any potential exposures at school. Additionally, the district’s COVID dashboard will no longer include quarantine data (beginning March 23). It is recommended that students and staff members who believe they may have been exposed to a positive case get tested. 
Dollars for Scholars
On May 19, 2021 a special virtual (due to the pandemic) program celebrated graduating seniors and their families. 93 SLP High School students were awarded Dollars for Scholars scholarships totaling $119,900 to help them pursue their college educations and future dreams.

Click HERE for more information!
PTO (Parent/Teacher Organization) News
PSI PTO's Annual Silent Auction Closes Friday Evening, March 18!
Friday evening all auction items sales will come to a close, so get those last bids in! Be sure to check out the new items that were added this week. Thank you for participating and for your continued support of the Amity Intern program!

2021-2022 PSI Yearbook - ORDER DEADLINE MARCH 24!
The 2021-22 edition of the PSI Yearbook is on sale now! Order online at https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/ (yearbook ID code is 3271922). Cost is $15/book. Order deadline is March 24, with yearbooks delivered towards the end of the school year. Do it now before you forget!
 
Questions? Contact your parent volunteers at psiyearbook@gmail.com
Community News
City of St. Louis Park - Outstanding Community Member Award Program
The City of St. Louis Park has established an Outstanding Community Member Award Program that is intended to provide the community with an opportunity to publicly acknowledge the contribution made by community members who have worked and dedicated their time for the betterment of our community.

The city believes it is important to recognize St. Louis Park community members for extraordinary accomplishments, heroic and courageous efforts, and perseverance despite incredible odds. To honor these outstanding efforts, the city has developed a community recognition program to recognize and honor our outstanding community members. Click HERE for more information on the City of St. Louis Park website.





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: 7:45 am - 2:15 pm
School Office Hours: 7:00 am - 3:30 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
SLP Family Tech Help: Call 952-928-6056 or by email to: familytechhelp@slpschools.org
St. Louis Park Public Schools Transportation Department (Bus) 612-437-4719
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