01 JANUARY, 2025
THE HUSKY HERALD THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MINNESOTA
SEVEN SUCCESSFUL DONATIONS
FROM THE DIRECTOR
STUDENTS DONATE TIME AND RESOURCES TO HELP OTHERS
As 2024 draws to a close, there is so much to reflect upon and celebrate for the ISM community. Academically,
ISM’s SLO® Social Responsibility Department, in collaboration with many local organizations,
ISM students performed extremely well in term 1. With
presented its annual day of service through seven different acts of service to impact our great community.
the support of amazing staff, our Huskies tackled challenging
AP
courses
successfully.
We
are
1. ISM Fulfilled holiday wish lists for families in extreme need this holiday season through Good in the ‘Hood
tremendously pleased to report zero students failing. Our
– Adopt a Family. ISM students, families, and staff provided gifts and necessities to families experiencing
youngest pups have shown great growth in early literacy
financial and emotional instability.
skills and have adjusted well to school routines!
2. Students and staff spent a portion of their day offsite helping sort, organize, unpack donations, tag clothes,
In Performing Arts, the Fall Play and PAC Rats entertained us all and set the stage for the upcoming Spring Musical. The ECE Sing-a-Long provided a breath of fresh air and reflection as we welcomed winter break.
We
are
excited
for
additional
musical
performances at the end of January! Winter ISM athletics and activities are well underway! From Arabic classes, Science explorers, swimming, and young engineers the hallways are filled with excitement until 6 p.m. each day! Both girls and boys basketball games provide an excellent way to beat the winter blues!
price goods, and test small appliances to make sure they work at Arc’s Value Village. The Arc Minnesota promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 3. Students and staff assembled 20-25 bed frames to be donated through My Very Own Bed to families who have recently secured stable housing. 4. To ease the hospital experience for children (patients), students and staff made cozy tie-fleece blankets to be donated to Gillette Children’s hospital, to make their hospital stay much more pleasant and comfortable. 5. Students and staff assembled snack packs to be donated to Family Wise First Step Childcare Center to help facilitate inclusive supervised parenting spaces. 6. Through Letters of Love, students and staff created cards to be donated and distributed to children’s hospitals across the nation to provide emotional support for patients. 7. Students, with the help of ISM staff, built wood duck houses to place on the water’s edge of Nine Mile
Check the schedule and come cheer on our Huskies!
Creek and Bryant Lake through the Nine Mile Watershed district to help sustain wildlife habitats for
A special thank you to the food service and custodial
animals natural to our property (right here at ISM!)
team this holiday season. As the heart of ISM operations
We want to send a big thank you out to all of the families who helped donate wish list items to the two
it was heartwarming to the see the ISM family to express
families we supported through Good in the ‘Hood, and to those who made monetary donations to the
their gratitude and appreciation during our school assembly December 20th. As we welcomed winter break 2025, I am encouraged by the energy as we finish the school year. As always, do not hesitate to reach out with comments and feedback. Best wishes for 2025!
Jeana Carrasco Jeana Carrasco ISM School Director
SLO Day of Service fund to purchase the fleece blankets for Gilette Children’s Hospital and the snack items for Family Wise First Step Childcare Center. We could not have made this all possible without your help, you have truly helped to make a difference.
TERM 1 ACADEMIC TRIUMPH
TERM 1 HONOR ROLL
HONORING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AT ISM
GRADES 1-12
As term 1 drew to a close, the academic results were nothing short of
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dagmawi bekele
remarkable. ISM celebrates a perfect passing record with 60% of students
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julian boehle
achieving the honor roll status, demonstrating excellent academic
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performance across the board. What is even more impressive was the students’ achievement on their grid items. Students are assessed on their performance on the Grid (Essential
skye tannous
sama nachar
Elianna agunwamba elizabeth mark
exzelia karulf
aafia deane
elliott hadbawnik
maddox lawrence
quinn mark
ayan jassim
alliyah usher
julie perrin-smith ryan deng
autumn pritchard rasheed sonbol
bo zaske
yulin wu
students have achieved 90% mastery of all grids. For that reason, they
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rocoo bianucci
marc abdel samad
were rewarded on this achievement and those who successfully solved the
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Grid items received bonus points on their course averages at the end of
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term. Those bonus points were added to the respective sub-course
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jinxuan luan
madeleine hanley
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Concepts) throughout the academic year and by the end of term 1, 85% of
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average. Students’ earnings varied depending on the number of Grid items solved correctly and cumulatively up to the corresponding date and on the
amara agunwamba abyssinia fair
xiyao bu zhenyang zhao
mila nachar
jack storms
yewon jang
leo seals
natallia short
kenan petri saher iqbal
Grid type (Core and Extended Grids). 94% of students in Grades 3 to 12
luka afonkin
jonas boehle
received bonus points and this was reflected as a remark on the End-of-
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hana hawkinson
zyva iqbal
anniston johansen
arsal chaudhry
moyang wang
Term report. Below is how bonus points were added. Congratulations ISM Students!
minjun jang
zayn elbehery
yunfei zhang
maliha raza
julia buttry
dmytro nyzhnyk cecilia lundquist
oliver le
rebecca rodriguez
claire higgerson
le dao chen
jinsheng li
mioki li
greta reich
malaika bajwa
asher sirkin
alexander batham
kaia frazier
baylor beltran
nico lajoie
laura odeh
BREAKING NEW GROUND: ISM SCIENCE BOWL TEAM ISM STUDENTS MAKE THEIR MARK IN FIRST TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE During the weekend of December 14th, 2024, our ISM science team participated in a friendly tournament designed to prepare students for the highly anticipated Regional Tournament at the end of January 2025. It proved to be an incredibly valuable experience, exposing our students to the competitive atmosphere and level of skill they will face in the regionals. Despite being the only firsttimers at the event, our team represented ISM with professionalism and determination. Initially, our team faced a steep learning curve, securing victories in only 2 of the 5 rounds in the first stage of the tournament. However, they showed remarkable growth and resilience, picking up momentum in the second stage by defeating 3 out of the 4 teams they faced. It’s worth noting that the questions became progressively harder with each round, adding to the challenge.
This tournament offered our students much-needed exposure, especially since they entered with little preparation due to finals week and seniors focusing on university applications. Even so, their performance exceeded all expectations. Key highlights from the tournament include: Professionalism: The students conducted themselves with maturity and represented ISM with pride throughout the event. Resilience: Despite minimal preparation, the team displayed exceptional adaptability and determination. Team Spirit: Their enthusiasm was infectious—they were so engaged in the experience that they expressed a willingness to play even more rounds! Overall, this experience was a fantastic stepping stone for the team as they gear up for the Regional Tournament. We are incredibly proud of their effort, growth, and sportsmanship. Let’s continue to cheer them on as they refine their skills and aim for success in January!
STANDARD DEVIATION
INSIDE STANDARD DEVIATION
ISM ROBOTICS TEAM SPOTLIGHT: ROBOTS, CREATIVITY, AND TEAMWORK Hello ISM families, my name is Erik Karulf and I’m the head coach for the robotics program. The robotics club that goes to competitions is open to students in middle and upper school. I also worked closely with Mr. Hanuman on selecting a vendor to run the after-school program for lower-school students that will help students build the foundational skills. ISM participates in a FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) program and our team, Standard Deviation, competes against 53 other teams in Minnesota. We are currently ranked #23 going into our tournament on January 18th. We’ve received a lot of compliments on the design and engineering of our robot (pictured right) and I think we have a really good shot at getting to the state tournament. If you haven’t been to a robotics competition, you’re really missing out! FTC matches pair up two teams as an alliance against an opposing set of two teams. This year’s competition has a few opportunities to score: robots can pick up blocks and put them into baskets, robots can hang blocks on a rail, and the robot can even get points for doing a pull-up. We score most of our points with our human drivers, but teams score double points during the autonomous phase when the robot is driving itself. It’s quite a spectacle as each team has their own booth in the pit and that gives teams an opportunity to see the other robots and set up alliance strategies. This is my first season coaching and I was impressed to see that “gracious professionalism” is more than just a motto on the website. When our robot broke down and was missing a part at competition a team from Burnsville was quick to come over and give us one of their spare parts. I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to invite everyone in middle and upper school to join the club, even if you don’t consider yourself a “techie.” Robotics is fundamentally a problem-solving club and that includes things like managing our budget, project management, creating a design portfolio, and setting up outreach events. We’re an inclusive team and no experience is necessary. It's a great day to build. Come join us!
WELCOME NEW ISM STAFF MRS. DANIELLE WISHARD KINDERGARTEN TEACHER Hello, I’m Mrs. Wishard, a returning staff member at ISM in the ECE department. I worked last summer in the ECE summer camp. I am thrilled to join the Husky families in 2025 full time! I have been teaching in the early childhood education sector for over 20 years. I am a graduate of Concordia University with a bachelor’s degree in education, majoring in Child Development. I will graduate with my Master’s in Teaching with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education, birth through third grade, next year. As a parent of a bi-lingual child myself, I appreciate cultural diversity in education. I have two daughters, one recently graduated from college, and my youngest daughter is in elementary school. I’m so excited to continue ISM’s mission of providing an enriching environment that allows young learners to achieve their full potential in academic excellence, life skills, and personal well-being. I can’t wait to utilize my life-long passion for teaching to help foster ISM’s goals in the kindergarten classroom. Go Huskies!
MISS ALEX WEST
ALL SCHOOL PLAY DIRECTOR
Miss West has been teaching and directing since 2011, and has an associate’s in child development from Ashworth College. A performance artist who has worked in Minneapolis, Denver, and Chicago, Alex loves helping students discover the magic of theater through staging, choreography, and song. Some favorite past production Miss West has directed includes Mary Poppins Jr., Willy Wonka Jr., Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Snow Queen.
INTERNATIONAL DAY
2025 MARCH 29 *DATE CHANGE*
ISM Referral Program Learn how you can receive a $1,500 tuition credit!
April 4-6th SAVE THE DATE
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SATURDAY
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FRIDAY
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YRAUNAJ
03
THURSDAY
02
NO SCHOOL: WINTER BREAK
WEDNESDAY
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NO SCHOOL: WINTER BREAK
TUESDAY 03
SCHOOL CLOSED: NEW YEARS DAY
MONDAY 02
NO SCHOOL: WINTER BREAK
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SUNDAY
NO SCHOOL: WINTER BREAK
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HOME 5:30 PM
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Boys
SHADOW VISIT DAY
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25
Robotics Competition
24
OPEN HOUSE GR. 6-12
HOME 5:30 PM
25-26 AY Re-Enrollment OPENS!
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HOME 5:00 PM
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Girls
Boys
LS/US Winter Concert
22
15
07
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HOME 5:00 PM
Friends of ISM Meeting 5PM
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TERM 2 RESUMES 13
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HOME 4:30 PM
SCHOOL CLOSED: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY Girls 27
Boys
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Notes:
VISIT THE ACTIVITIES CALENDAR FOR ALL DATES, TIMES, AND SCHEDULES
6385 Beach Rd Eden Prairie, MN 55344