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 TCGIS Online Calendar
Upcoming Events:
August 11: (Virtual) Family Info Night
August 13: Special Board Meeting August 27: Board Meeting | |
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| Summer Greetings from TCGIS |
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Welcome to the first Elternbrief of the new school year!
The Elternbrief is our main mode of communicating important information to our families on a weekly basis. Starting today we will email an Elternbrief every Thursday.
Today we are using a fresh contact list for the new school year. If you know someone did not receive the Elternbrief, please ask them to email [email protected] and we will add them to the current list before next week's Elternbrief. This week's Elternbrief will also be available to read here: www.tcgis.org/elternbrief. |
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The 2020 Fall Plan
Since Governor Walz declared on July 30 that school districts will be allowed to decide with which learning model they will start the school year, TCGIS administrators and staff have been working hard refining the models that were developed over the summer, and weighing which model will be selected for the start of the 2020-21 school year.
Teacher Work Sessions
Teaching and learning staff are participating in work sessions this week, providing valuable feedback on the current plans.
(Virtual) Family Info Evening: Tuesday, August 11, 6:30-7:30pm
Next Tuesday evening TCGIS administrators will share the current plan for the new school year and answer parent questions received in advance via email. This Family Information and Input Gathering Evening will take place via Zoom.
We will be hosting a separate Special Education Info Night shortly thereafter, so most questions specific to Special Education will be answered at that session.
Please email your immediate questions, concerns, and feedback about the new school year to [email protected]. All feedback sent to this email is being collected and synthesized so that administrators can answer as many of these questions as possible next Tuesday evening. Further questions will be answered in a new FAQ in the weekly Elternbrief.
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Upcoming Office Hours
The Front Office will be open from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM on the following days marked in green. To protect the health of staff and other visitors, please wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines, including maintaining a distance of 6 feet, when visiting the school. Office hours for later weeks will be announced as the plans for the coming school year are developed. |
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Kinderclub
Regardless of whether we are in hybrid- or full distance-learning model, Kinderclub will provide care for the children of Tier 1 essential workers for the hours 8:15-3:15 (school days) at no cost, starting August 31. The school-age care for children of these workers is intended for extreme circumstances in which no parent or guardian is available to care for a child due to employment as a critical worker.
Additionally we'll be offering limited availability for Tier 2 and 3 essential workers at regular Kinderclub rate. If there are additional spaces after Tiers 1, 2 and 3 are registered, we will open space to more families.
In order to help us plan, we are asking all parents who need to or would like to use Kinderclub this year to fill out this survey no later than Tuesday, August 11. |
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Application for Free and Reduced Lunch Program
Please find the information and instruction letter and the application form for the Free and Reduced Lunch program for the 2020-2021 school year. Applications can be submitted at any time during the school year, however in order to receive free/reduced school lunches for the first day of school, please submit your application form no later than August 14, 2020. Forms may be emailed to Alex Weeding [email protected] or dropped off at the front office. If you have any questions or need help, please don't hesitate to email Alex Weeding at [email protected] or call the front office: 651- 492-7106.
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Take-home Meal Kits: Parent Interest Survey
In preparation of the new school year we would like to gauge the interest of our families to order and purchase Take-Home Meal kits (which include frozen lunches, breakfasts and milk) during distance learning days (under any hybrid- or full distance-learning models).
By filling out this survey, you are NOT commiting to take-home meal kit service, but your input helps guide our planning with the caterer, for storage, and for staffing. Families who qualify for Free/Reduced lunches will be able to order these take-home meal kits free of charge. All ordering will take place through our Boonli online ordering system. All meal kits are provided by our caterer Lancer Dining Services.
Please fill out this survey by August 11, 2020. Vielen Dank!
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Class Lists in Power School
Class lists were inadvertently revealed in Power School when an update "unhid" the pages we had set to "hidden" in our settings.
We anticipate making changes to the cohorts due to COVID fall schedule planning.
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Annual Registration for Returning Students
If you haven't already done so, please log in to your children's PowerSchool accounts and fill out annual student registration forms by August 20th. We have revised several of the forms so even if there is no new information, we need you to review the form and, most importantly, even if you change nothing, you must hit the submit button on each form for the information to update in their account. Please review and update the following forms:
B - Student Demographics - review & submit C - Student Health Information - review & submit D - Media/Directory Release - update & submit E - Neighborhood Walk Permission - update & submit F - Emergency Treatment Authorization - fill out & submit T - Student Contacts - update & submit
Please also use this opportunity to fill out any forms your child is missing except the S - Change of Address form. Only fill out this form if you have moved.
Thank you so much! |
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Health Office Update for 11-Year-Old Students
Current Vaccination Records Needed by August 15!
If your child is 11 years old and/or entering 7th grade next school year, Minnesota State Statute 121A.15 requires your student to have a dose of the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccine to return to school. If you choose to opt out you may file a medical exemption signed by a health care provider or a non-medical exemption signed by a parent/guardian, and notarized (vaccine needs to be specified). Please return completed immunization documentation to TCGIS once available, but not later than August 15th, 2020 via:
- email to [email protected]
- mail to the school:
- 1031 Como Ave., St. Paul, MN 55103; ATTN: Monika Avery
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TCGIS Band Program Information
To all 4th grade families: are you interested in participating in the TCGIS Middle School band program? Click here to find more information about signing up for band and participating in summer lessons online!
Krista Johnson
Band teacher
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Construction Updates
This week the construction fences have come down and our school fences are going up. Landscaping is being planted and a sandbox was built and filled on the south end of the playground. RJM has moved a lot of their equipment off site in preparation of restriping our parking lot. On the inside handrails are being welded in place in the upper hallway, and the new elevator is still being installed. We are also still waiting for the kitchen installation.
Andy Nesset
TCGIS Facilities & Grounds
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| | New Sandbox on Larger Playround |
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| | Cafeteria Kitchen in Progress |
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| | Larger Foyer with Bridge to 3rd Floor |
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| | Neue Sporthalle - New Gymnasium |
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Useful links and a few website updates
Here are links to useful pages you may wish to bookmark for easy reference:
New Pages and Updates
We have archived the 2019-20 Elternbriefe and they can be found by clicking the button for 2019-20 on this page: www.tcgis.org/elternbrief
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Resources for Conversations with Kids on Race, Racism, & Discrimination
 AMAZEWorks, which provided guidance and anti-bias training for TCGIS staff earlier this year, is currently offering free resources on their website for parents to have conversations with their kids on race, racism, and discrimination.
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School Board Announcements
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Board Summer Recap
The TCGIS school board continued to work over the summer. Major work included:
- Continuing to oversee the now nearly-completed construction of the new school building
- Accelerated work on making TCGIS an inclusive, equitable, diverse and anti-racist institution
- Raised over $100,000 in the fall and spring annual fundraising campaigns. Thank you, donors!
- Raised over $80,000 in capital campaign donations to outfit the new building and make continued improvements to the TCGIS campus. Thank you, donors!
- Conducted annual performance review for the Executive Director
- Provided feedback to administration on 2020-21 school year planning
The board will continue to work on building a school together with parents, administration, and staff by focusing on the strategic goals set last summer.
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Special Board Meeting: Thu., August 13, 6:30 pm
Meeting ID: 898 7127 8802
Passcode: 1vp8Z8
Upcoming Committee Meetings Here are the scheduled upcoming committee meetings. Please contact the committee chair for meeting login details.
August School Board Meeting: Thurs August 27, 6:30pm, details in upcoming Elternbrief |
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German-American Chambers of Commerce (GACC)
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