December 20, 2018

Dec. 24-Jan.4: Winter Break

Jan. 16: Early Release Wednesday

Jan. 18: Teacher Grading Day - NO SCHOOL

Jan. 21: MLK Jr. Day - NO SCHOOL

Jan. 22: First Day of Second Semester

Administrative Information

Have a Wonderful Break!

This is a reminder that the school will be closed for Winter Break from December 24th until January 7th. We will respond to any emails and phone messages on January 7th upon our return. Have a wonderful and refreshing Winter Break and we will see you all in the new year!

TCGIS is Seeking a Part Time Food Service Coordinator

We are seeking a Food Service Coordinator effective January 14, 2018. If you or someone you know may be interested in this part-time employment opportunity, please send a letter of interest and current resume to Gael Braddock at gbraddock@tcgis.org .

Variances Have Passed

This week the D10 Council met to formally vote on TCGIS's three requested variances which had been supported by the D10 residents at the D10 Land Use Meeting on Dec 5.

The District 10 board will now forward its recommendations to the Saint Paul Planning Commission's Zoning Committee, which is scheduled to consider the school's site plan on Dec. 20. That committee's recommendations then are expected to go the full City Planning Commission on Dec. 28.

The votes were as follows:

Height variance: Passed 14-1
Lot coverage variance: Passed 14-1
Parking Variance: Passed 8-7 (The vote on this variance was more divided thanks to the last minute suggestion by staff to keep our east parking lot. An amendment to change variance to 29 spots was voted down. This variance supports the 37 spots TCGIS applied for.)

Screener Results Coming Home

Screener Report from our fall round of screening will be going home with your son or daughter today or tomorrow. If you would like, please sit down and go over the results with your child/ren. Students often learn about the value of growth mindset and that screening results should be viewed with this growth mindset in mind.

Growth Mindset definition: "In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work-brains and talent are just the starting point.

Please keep this definition in mind when reviewing the Screening Reports with your children. This report is a starting point in getting you the most current information we have about your children. We have already also completed a Winter Round of screening (although more limited in scope) and those results we will be sharing with you after the new year. We than have one final round of screening in the spring.

Finally, one of the reasons we are sending out those screening reports is that families requested last year information on their children earlier this year. Our intent is to give you a snapshot- and by no means a definitive one- of where your children are at this point in time.

If you have any questions, please contact Mike Mullins at mmullins@tcgis.org.

We Need Your Bus Donations!

Donations to the TCGIS bus program are down substantially this school year, even though more students than in previous years are riding on school busses. In October, we've had to add an additional 5th bus route to safely accommodate students. We would like to remind families that unfortunately, school bus services are not "free" to our school. TCGIS pays approximately $225,000 out of the General Fund to transport students to and from school this school year. This impacts our programming and other costs, and we count on families to pay for their child's bus ride to help offset this cost.

TCGIS suggest a donation of $1.50 per bus ride per student ($3.00 round trip/day) or $30/$60 per month. We've made it easy for families to conveniently submit payment via Boonli or to set up a monthly recurring payment deduction using this form.

If you have any questions on busing, please contact Maja Reyes at mreyes@tcgis.org. We would like to thank all our parents for your continued support.

Mark Your Calendars for Morgenkreis & Kaffeeklatsch

Joins us on February 8 and May 3 for Morgenkreis and Kaffeeklatsch. From 8:15-8:30 please join your children during their daily Morgenkreis or first hour.

Afterwards at 8:30 there will be a Kaffeeklatsch in the atrium outside the office. Come mingle with other parents and take advantage of this opportunity to also chat with Board members and Administrators.

Advertise Your Business with the TCGIS Yearbook

Purchase a yearbook ad for your business within the TCGIS community. Yearbook ad purchases help support funding for the school. New! Online ad creation tools available through Jostens website. You'll need to login/register an account with Jostens to access this feature. Preview/proof your ad before its published. We are currently accepting business advertisements until deadline on February 8th, 2019. Please fill out the Google form survey, if you're interested in learning more about Yearbook business ads, and we will get in contact with you.

New String Program at TCGIS

We are excited to announce a new String Program at TCGIS through Vienna Community Arts! A new teacher from the Minnesota Orchestra will conduct small g roup lessons of 3 - 4 students Mondays or Tuesdays.

Included is: Instrument (violin with case and bow,) sheet music to keep, and music stand. This p rogram starts January 14th and 15th.

There will be nine weeks sessions for Monday course and eleven weeks for Tuesday. Private Lessons are available, too.

Reserve your spot and get more details at: infoviennarts@gmail.com o r b calling 651-773-9525 for Herbert and Nancy Engelmayer.

Host an Intern - Seeking 30 Host Families for Next Year!

Now is the time to apply to become a host family for the next school year. Hosting is available for fall semester and spring semester, or for the full year. Hosting a TCGIS intern from Germany, Austria or Switzerland can be a valuable experience for your family and expand the horizons of your children forever!

Click here to learn more about our intern program. Already interested in hosting an Intern? Please complete this very brief Host Family Interest Survey by Feb. 1. Contact Katharina Schirg with questions.

Service Learning Needs You!

The TCGIS Service Learning group is planning their annual animal shelter project!

As we have done for the past three years, we will be knotting fleece blankets, and possibly braiding rope dog toys as well, to give to our local animal shelter this spring.

The only problem is that all of our costs are donation-based, and at the moment, we have no money to spend on our project. If you can donate, please drop off a recommended $5 donation in our green donation box in the school's Front Office.

The fleece will cost approximately $40, and the rope will cost between $10 and $15. Any extra money that is donated will be given to the shelter, so that they can buy items that are needed for the general upkeep of the shelter, such as cleaning materials and dog food.

Thank you,

The Service Learning Team

Congrats to our Mausmünzen Winners!

Congratulations to this week's Mausmünzen winners! This week we said gratuliere to Ethan Sanford (2a), Atticus Gould (3a), Liam Delaney (7a), Soleil Schnellinger (6a), and Rachel Mercer (Kb) and Herr Dornemann (not pictured).

GAI Announcements

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR WINTER & SPRING GERMAN CLASSES AT THE GAI

- Samstagsschule (Saturday School) for Kids & Teens begins January 12 - https://gai-mn.org/children

- Classes for Adults begin January & February - https://gai-mn.org/adults

- German & Science Workshops for kids are scheduled on School Release Days - https://gai-mn.org/German-and-Science-Workshops

SAVE THE DATE for Bier & Bingo Fundraiser on January 19 at Summit Brewery!

PTO Announcements

SAVE THE DATE!

January 10th PTO Meeting - Come learn about Maskenball!!

Please note that our January meeting will be on Thursday January 10th (not on the 3rd during break). 6:30pm at TCGIS.

3rd Grade Families: Sign up to bring our staff on Wednesday January 16 st the 1/2 day potluck!!

7th Grade Families: Sign up to provide a yummy breakfast for our interns on January 14th!