Dear ISA Families,

Over the last three days, members of the Allied Campus Theater (ACT) transported their audiences to the shores of a small Greek island during their offering of Mamma Mia! To the cast & crew, to set and costume assembly, to the musical ensemble represented by students from across the LEE/ISA/NESA/STEM community, thank you for the music!

This Friday, January 26, 2024, ISA will host our final Shadowing experience for families interested in applying to join the ISA Community. On the same evening, families who could not attend Shadowing are invited to learn more about ISA during ISA Information Night! We will host families in the ISA Flex Space (S-103) beginning at 5:30 p.m. and all are welcome. The online ISA Lottery Application is open until Monday, February 5, 2024, for all interested 8th graders and can be found HERE and on the ISA webpage!

Two weeks from tomorrow, ISA seniors will depart for Washington, D.C.! Our seniors and their teachers are working hard to finalize their travel group trip books with professional appointments and prepare for these appointments with questions they have designed to learn more about their group’s identified public policy area. Information shared by the ISA Senior Team on January 10th can be found HERE! Senior families can also finalize payments for your seniors’ online through School Cash Online or submit cash/check payments to Mr. Tran. Please contact Mr. Tran at ktran@neisd.net with questions.

As our Senior Team makes final preparations for our seniors’ departure on February 5th, our campus nurse, Crystal Schweers, is also preparing! Nurse Schweers is accepting any overnight medication that students may need during the D.C. travel experience:

• All medications, along with the proper forms, should be turned in to the campus clinic on or before January 30, 2024.

• Special requests requiring doctor’s orders--including self-carry orders--should be on file with the nurse! 

• NEISD employee chaperones will administer medications, and families should submit all medication in the original package containing only the amount necessary for the duration of the travel experience.

• Students may NOT carry ANY medication on their person unless they have a current doctor's order to self-carry from the school nurse for this school year.

• If you are not sure about the above details or have any questions, please, contact Nurse Schweers at (210) 356-0821 or by email at cschwe@neisd.net.

The ISA Amigos would like to share that it is not too late to give to the Globie Fund! ISA Families can support the mission of the Amigos Parent Booster organization with a contribution to the ISA 2023 Globie Fund. Donations are available in multiple increments and a donation of any amount is amazing and appreciated!

So far this year, the Globie Fund contributions have supported student travel experiences, field trips, teacher appreciation events, MUNSA XXVIII’s hospitality room for sponsors, and student testing snacks. This semester’s projects include the Senior Travel Experience to D.C., our annual Silent Auction, Senior Portfolio Presentations, and Project Graduation! The support of our community helps make these experiences possible for our students! If families are interested in learning more, the next monthly Amigos board meeting is on February 8, 2024 and all families are welcome.

The Amigos have also begun to plan for ISA’s annual silent auction! This event is a fundraising opportunity that benefits all of our students. The silent auction committee is calling for donations to assemble gift baskets, any large ticket items, and gift cards. Proceeds from the silent auction will serve to advance the ISA Amigos’ mission to support the continued funding of experiences that enrich ISA students’ learning! The silent auction will take place on March 21, 2024, when ISA 9th graders host the MAD Fair and ISA 10th graders host the Advocacy Fair. If you are interested in making a donation for auction gift baskets, please use THIS Amazon Wishlist.

Looking ahead, the next high school early release day is scheduled for Tuesday, January 30th! Students will be dismissed at 2:00 p.m.

Finally, this past Friday, January 19, 2024, marked the end of the first three weeks of the third grading period. Student progress reports will be available in Skyward: Family Access next week.

Have a great week!

Sincerely,

Steve Magadance and the ISA Faculty