Community Update for October 1
Dear ISA Families,
This weekend began with an early Saturday morning for ISA students, teachers, and parents who volunteered at the 9th grade Garage Sale supporting this year’s 9th grade Travel Experience to Houston. Smiling faces joined together committed to supporting school travel for every ISA 9th grader! Fundraising events like our garage sale help ISA continue to offer learning experiences that extend our culture of curiosity and exploration outside of the classroom making the ISA Experience unique. The way the ISA Community joins together reminds us how a small group of people with a shared purpose can have a great impact. A huge thank you goes out to all of our volunteers including parents, students, teachers, and ISA Amigos Board Members who worked organizing and pricing items on Friday, staffing the garage sale on Saturday morning, cleaning up when the sale concluded, and all those who donated items for the sale. Your generosity and effort raised over $4,700!! ISA would like to extend a special, HUGE thank you to 9th grade parents, Angi Aramburu and Sarah Larsen, whose leadership made this year’s event an amazing success!
Today, the ISA Lottery Application for the Class of 2028 opens! As usual, ISA will host in-person shadowing opportunities for families interested in visiting our campus to learn more. Shadowing information is available HERE. We know that our students are our best ambassadors! We are looking for current ISA students who are interested in sharing their ISA experience by participating in student panels and magnet events with prospective families! Students interested in being an ISA Ambassador can submit THIS form. ISA will host our first shadowing group on campus this Thursday, October 5!
This is the final week for ISA students to meet for PSAT/SAT preparation sessions in Reading and Math. Here is the schedule:
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Reading (Mondays 4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.) in room S-102
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Math (Wednesdays 4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.) in room S-103
Sessions will focus on skills and items students can expect to see on the PSAT and SAT, and we encourage 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students to attend. Ninth grade students will be accommodated if space is available and everyone is encouraged to join the Google Classroom for practice resources. Click HERE for the Google Classroom join code!
This week is spirit week! Here are the dress-up themes for each day this week:
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Monday, Oct 2 – Bikers vs Surfers
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Tuesday, Oct 3 – Rhyme without Reason
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Wednesday, Oct 4 – Barbie vs Ken
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Thursday, Oct 5 – LEE Spirit Day
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Friday, Oct 6 – Disney Duos
On Friday, we received an update to the NEISD Exam Exemption Policy for 2023-2024. While tardies and absences continue to determine exemption eligibility, there are some important updates:
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Extenuating Circumstances “X” attendance codes will not count toward determining eligibility for an exemption, and
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There will not be an appeal process for this year’s exemption submissions.
If you have questions about the information contained in the above link that also contains an FAQ, please contact us at smagad@neisd.net or dgauna@neisd.net.
On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, a representative from the Council for International Educational Exchange (CIEE) will be on campus during lunch with information about the Global Navigator international exchange program. This past summer, more than a dozen ISA students traveled to locations like Spain, Australia, Dominican Republic, and Japan! CIEE provides need and merit-based scholarships to support applicants for this amazing opportunity! Also, applications received by December 1, 2023, are eligible to win a FREE FLIGHT! Stop by the Peer Tutoring Center across from the ISA Main Office on Tuesday to learn more!
On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., the ISA senior class will host a fundraiser at Earth Burger (Park North Shopping Center NW Loop 410, SATX 78216). Mention your support for ISA @LEE HS to ensure that 10% of sales will go to our seniors’ travel experience to Washington, D.C.!
Thursday, October 5, is designated as World Teacher’s Day. Celebrated annually since 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Teacher’s Day recognizes the challenging and fulfilling work of teachers! For all of our students, teachers at ISA commit to creating an environment that provides access and opportunities to achieve socially and academically beyond levels students might think are possible. ISA teachers train our students to be critical thinkers and to develop solutions that address some of our world’s most pressing problems. ISA teachers refine and grow their own professional skills and model for all of us the importance of reflective practice and lifelong learning. Annually, teachers pour thousands of dollars and emotional capital into our community. ISA is so privileged to enjoy THIS community with THIS group of ISA teachers and Trinity MAT Teaching Interns. I am grateful for their continued efforts to bring their intellectual power, physical energy, imperative feedback, and love to our hallways daily for the benefit of ISA students. If there is an ISA teacher who has inspired your student in any way, I invite you to show your appreciation in any way letting them know that they are seen and that their work matters. Thank you ISA teachers!!
The final week of Homecoming ticket sales commences on Monday, October 2, 2023! On Saturday, October 7, 2023, join us for At Last We Meet from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Littleton Gymnasium! This week, tickets cost $25 through Friday, October 6th, and NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR!
Looking ahead, on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, the payment window for AP Exams opens. When available, AP Exams can be paid for by credit card through Skyward: Student Access. The deadline for payments is November 10, 2023. There are some important and unique details related to the AP Exam opportunity in NEISD. To learn more about the shift to online AP Exams and the subsidized fee offered to NEISD students click HERE for English and HERE for Spanish. We would like to highlight that exams, including the October 17th PSAT, will be online this year!
On Thursday, October 19, 2023, grade level teams will host travel information meetings, and we will host our annual MUNSA Pancake Supper in the LEE HS cafeteria! This event will also be the next opportunity to purchase ISA Spirit items. Follow this weekly update for more details about meeting locations and supper ticket sales soon!
Two weeks ago, we had amazing success receiving responses to the Community Eligibility Provision family survey! Our response rate jumped from 25% to 64%! We can get to 100% and will try again this week! Even if your family’s student does not participate in breakfast and lunch service on campus, a response to the survey is required from all ISA families. At the end of the business day tomorrow, Monday, October 2, another text notification will be sent to all Primary contacts listed in Skyward: Family Access in the ISA Community. This notification will only be sent to families who have not yet responded to the survey. Additionally, ISA families can still submit paper copy survey responses sent home in August. These paper copies can be submitted to Veronica Villarreal in the ISA Main Office. Thank you to all of our families who have already responded to this important survey, and thank you to families who will respond in the coming days!
Finally, Monday, October 9, is a school holiday. We look forward to seeing students back in the ISA hallways on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, and we look forward to sharing our amazing community during a visit from school leaders in the International Studies School Network on Wednesday, October 11, 2023.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Steve Magadance and the ISA Faculty