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#GiveAtHomeMN Virtual Campaign to Benefit TCGIS Ends Tomorrow, May 8
The #GiveAtHomeMN virtual campaign for organized by GiveMN runs through tomorrow,
Friday, May 8. To date, families have donated $3,316. We are so grateful to everyone who's been able to make a donation to our school during this time. Your donations help keep our school strong during an unsettling time for our communities, state and country.
All donations received through Friday, May 8
on the GiveMN site
enter TCGIS into a pool to win daily and hourly Bonus Grants provided by the Bush Foundation and US Bank. But as always, you can donate by mailing a check to the school or
online to TCGIS directly
. Herzlichen Dank!
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| Message from the Director |
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Schöne Grüße von Herrn Anderson
Herr Anderson explains the links below and thanks all involved - but especially our TEACHERS - for their work in delivering on
our school's mission during distance learning:
innovative education of the whole child through German immersion.
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| Making science cool | Mai-Thi Nguyen-Kim | TEDxBerlin |
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School Board Announcements
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TCGIS All-School Virtual Dress-Up Days Video!
Danke für Eure Beiträge!!
The TCGIS All-School Virtual Dress Up Days Video is here!
Thanks to our community's generosity, we recently reached the $75,000 in donations milestone and were able to unlock our all-school virtual dress up day! Thanks to all the families and staff who submitted fun photos for us to use in this video! We hope you enjoy it and that it brings a smile to your faces seeing your friends and teachers and staff all dressed up! Our next milestone is $100,000. Stay tuned to learn what exciting event that will unlock!
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| TCGIS All-School Virtual Dress-Up Days |
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April Meeting Summary
The TCGIS school board held a virtual meeting on April 30. The recording is unavailable due to technical issues, and so we are sharing the preliminary meeting minutes
here
.
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The board thanked
Ashley Clayton, Heather Cooper, Brenna Gray, Clare Roney, Deb Verber, Annegret Theis, Kersten Reich, Candace Davis, and Christine McKigney in organizing the postponed 2020 Maskenball; Jenia Strom, Kate Mercer, Cindy Miller, Maureen Carlyle, Carrie Nelson, Kirsten Holmlund, and Nancy Strege for their leadership of TCGIS Girl Scout Troop 57317; Becky Deimel for her effort to organize and return lost & found items, and for her work volunteering in Kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grades; and Elizabeth Spafford, Nicolas Dornemann, Katharina Schirg, Alicia Hayes, Sarah Thies, and Missy Morrissey for their representation of TCGIS staff on the Staff Council.
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The board heard an update by Director Anderson on the equitable distance learning plans. Administration, staff, and teachers are all working hard. Teachers are working collaboratively on distance learning. Office staff has developed new ways of working and connecting to parents. Administration is supporting staff and preparing for whatever the fall may bring.
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The board discussed the current state of fundraising for TCGIS. The annual campaign has raised over $78,000, and TCGIS will participate in
#GiveAtHomeMN
taking place May 1-8, organized by GiveMN.
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The board reviewed several policy changes to allow for the online election of board members, to take place in early June.
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The board offered many opinions to the chairs of the Facilities committee on upgrading the playground surface as part of the building project.
Upcoming Committee Meetings
Here are the scheduled upcoming committee meetings. Please contact the committee chair for meeting login details. Meetings will be virtual until further notice.
School Board Election 2020
This year, the community will elect
FIVE board members
to each serve a
three year term.
Two open positions are designated for TCGIS teachers, one open position is designated for a community member, and one for a TCGIS parent. The 5th seat may be filled by any candidate category.
The following nominees have been certified to appear on this year's Board ballot: Emily Albers, Dianne Bell, Megan Dayton, Kim Kulhanek, Silke Moeller, Missy Morrissey, and Debra Verber. Biographies of each nominee are available here.
With an eye to the future and in light of the COVID-19 closure of in-person school, the election for the Board of Directors will be done online. The dates for voting will be June 1 - 5, 2020. Details will follow in later communications.
The PTO and Parent Council are planning to host an online Meet the Candidates Forum on May 13th at 6:45 pm, with questions to begin no later than 7 pm. Here are the details to join the virtual forum:
Meeting ID: 768 7583 7495
Password: 7HcLvD
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All-School Updates: Important Links
Here are links to useful pages you may wish to bookmark for easy reference:
In case you missed any of the email updates in the last month, find them here:
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Staffing Updates
Dear TCGIS Community,
We are pleased to announce the following staffing updates for next year.
Elementary School Dean: Michael White
Michael has worked at TCGIS for 3 years as a teacher, mentor, and administrator. He has over 28 years of teaching experience including educating children and adults. In addition, Michael has over 10 years of experience teaching and coaching educators as a PBIS coach and Adjunct Instructor at Hamline University. Michael looks forward to working closely with elementary school teachers next year and continuing his work improving school culture and student success.
Middle School Dean: Elizabeth Zehnpfennig
With 20 years of experience in education, most recently as a teacher and exchange coordinator in the Richfield School District, Elizabeth brings extensive German-American experience. She has worked as department head for 12+ years, served as Building Instructional Leader for over two years, and has mentored numerous new international teachers. We look forward to welcoming Elizabeth to TCGIS starting in July.
Special Education Director: Ariella Degner
Ariella will continue her leadership of our Special Education Program, starting full time starting in the fall of 2020. She has enjoyed her time at TCGIS this year and looks forward to continuing to build on the strong work already in place. TCGIS looks forward to continuing our partnership with Creatively Focused next year.
Dean of German Immersion (ZfA Teacher): Beate Simon
Based on TCGIS's needs and ZfA (Federal Bureau of Schools Abroad) goals, the ZfA teacher position will become an administrator-level position starting next year. In this role, Beate will manage the Fachschaften, oversee our German Immersion Program, and strengthen student success in the DSD program. She will also continue teaching MS German. We are thankful for Beate's continued leadership at our school.
Please join us in congratulating and welcoming these individuals!
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ADSIS Update
The current ADSIS interventionist cycle will end on the 15th of May. Progress Reports will follow thereafter and be sent home before the end of this academic year.
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Parent Access to Grades and Comments Closed 5/20-6/8
Parent Portal access to student grades and comments is temporarily closed from May 20th until June 8th. This provides teachers time to finalize marking student work and posting comments for spring semester.
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4th Grade Spreads Love, Happiness, & Hope!
Our 4th graders made
happy rocks to bring some color and joy in these dark times!
As part of their current Nawi topic "rocks and minerals" they made these rocks and distributed them all over the place.
Look out for them, maybe you'll find one :-)
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Yearbook Orders due May 29th
It's your lucky day! The deadline to buy a yearbook has been extended to May 29th! There's a limited supply left and we sold out last year, so make sure to buy one today! Go here to order:
jostens.com
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Health Office Update
Return of Medication (emergency and over-the-counter)
If your student had medication in their health file during this school year, Nicole Sveen and Monika Avery will have the medication available for pick up in the school office from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM on Monday, May 11th and Monday, May 18th.
- In case of a line please keep a safe distance of 6 feet.
- If the student's medication is not picked up it will be disposed of appropriately.
- The path to the main entrance from Como Avenue is currently closed. Please enter the playground using the Van Slyke gate and walk around the corner to the front entrance.
- If you have any questions, please contact Monika Avery at [email protected].
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Weekly Attendance Reminder
The next weekly attendance submission is due tomorrow, Friday May 8th. The weekly attendance form
will be available
Friday-Sunday
(it opens Friday morning at 8:00 AM and closes 11:59 PM on Sunday). If your child has attended school everyday, you will have a simple yes/no option. If your child missed any days that week, you'll have the option to check off which days they were absent and a space to tell us the reason (required for accurate attendance reporting). If you forget to enter attendance, let the front office know by emailing
[email protected]
. The TCGIS website has been updated to reflect these changes.
If you would like to receive a weekly email reminder to enter attendance on Fridays, you can opt in to reminder emails by filling out a brief form
here.
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State History Day
Congratulations to Bruno (7th grade) for earning an honorable mention at the State History Day competition with his individual performance on the Scopes Monkey Trial!
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TCGIS Cross-Country Team
May 15 at 8:00 AM until May 31 at 11:59 PM, and the season is currently planned to begin on
Monday, August 3
. Please, register early! We quickly reached our maximum number of athletes for indoor track and outdoor track this school year.
Regarding the
calendar: Practices are set for Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Most of the meets and races are still based on last year's calendar. We have not yet been able to confirm all of the meets, especially given COVID-19. We will let you know once we have confirmed those meets.
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Checking in with the Parent Council
We are looking forward to the Board Candidates Forum next week on
May 13th at 6:45 PM (
Zoom link,
Meeting ID: 768 7583 7495,
Password: 7HcLvD).
We encourage all families to submit questions to the candidates in advance of the forum using our Google Survey
linked here. Please respond by noon on
Saturday, May 9th. Thanks and we look forward to your input!
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Construction Updates
The construction project has been moving forward at a steady pace. All the trades are working inside and outside on various aspects of the build. Ducting is being installed and we will soon have the HVAC u
nits set in place. The main roof deck has been completed and the area where the new and existing buildings meet is being closed and sealed this week. The foundation has been waterproofed, drain-tiled, and backfilled. The floors inside have been poured and are waiting for polishing. The steps at the lunchroom entrance are being poured today as well. Veit has excavated most of the area on the east side of the lot for the underground drainage system.
Once glazing happens and all exterior windows and door frames are in place, it will be exciting to see the building really take on its final shape.
Andy Nesset
TCGIS Facilities and Grounds
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Wednesday May 13 6:45 PM
- Meet the School Board Candidates on Zoom
Thursday May 14th - Art Auction OPENS
Sunday May 17th noon - Art Auction CLOSES
Sunday May 31st 4:00 PM - LAST PTO Meeting for the year (Virtual!)
*We will have voting on next year's executive committee as well as a brainstorming session on what 2020-2021 might look like. Please join us!*
Art Auction
Classroom Art Auction Information!!!
ONE WEEK to go!
We are sad that the beautiful artwork wasn't able to be showcased during the Maskenball event this year. Last year, it was such a cool experience. Good news, though! You can still purchase your child's classroom art piece AND support our school at the same time! On Thursday, May 14th, the Art Auction will OPEN. So get ready to bid!
Follow this link to the Facebook page for the online auction.
Open Positions for 2020-2021 School Year
We need you! The PTO executive committee is seeking new, fresh faces to join our team! It is a great way and fun to get involved with the school!
Open Positions Include: Secretary, Fundraising, Treasurer
Teasers from the classroom art auction:
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Community Events: Updates
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GAI: Virtual Music and Summer Classes
Summer Language Classes: Take advantage of your stay-cation!
Continue your German language learning this summer! Topics include conversation, pronunciation, literature, and grammar. Online and in-person (if possible) options are available. More information and registration at
gai-mn.org/Summer-2020
Since we can't come together in-person this year to celebrate the GAI's annual Musik im Mai concert series, our team has put together some suggestions for great listening at home. Find it at
gai-mn.org/Musik
Joey Johnson live on accordion
With a repertoire from traditional polkas, to Johnny Cash, to Don't Stop Believin', Joey will entertain you with music and stories. Type in your song requests during our Facebook Live streaming event on Monday, May 11, from 7-8 p.m. Go to
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Parent &
Family Resources
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AmazeWorks Webinars
AmazeWorks is a St. Paul-based organization that provides
anti-bias education curriculum, programs, and training for schools, and organizational and individual cultural assessments, consultation, and equity training for communities, nonprofits, municipalities, and for-profit businesses. Here are some upcoming webinars that may be of interest to the TCGIS community:
Discovering the Five Basic Needs:
Tuesday, May 5, 3:30 - 4:45
An introduction to William Glasser's model of the five basic needs as an important behavior management strategy. How can we better meet the needs of children to decrease unwanted behaviors, reduce conflict, and increase connection?
Who is Driving Your Behavior Car?:
Tuesday, May 12, 3:30 - 4:45
All behavior is purposeful. Humans act to get something or avoid something. We are driven by our actions, feelings, thoughts
, and physiology, but which one of those things is in control?
Reflecting On The Five Positions of Control:
Tuesday, May 19, 3:30 - 4:45
By understanding the five positions of control, caregivers can create daily structures that allow children to better manage their own behavior. This webinar will help caregivers guide their child
ren and youth in developing healthy self-management skills.
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Stress Management Resources at tcgis.org
In collaboration with school psychologist, Carol Mecklenburg, and our team of mental health providers and interns at TCGIS, Jessie Kember, Sydney Carlson and Danielle Becker, we have created a
resource page
for TCGIS families.
Resources include:
videos and apps for guided meditation, yoga and breathing exercises; tips for talking about the stress of the pandemic with children and teens; ideas for adapting daily life to these extraordinary circumstances; and many more.
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Family Resources
These and more resources can be found on
this page on our website:
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German Enrichment Resources
Looking for ways to keep your child(ren) engaged in German? Check out this
webpage with resources in various media and subject-areas. Check back often for the
Video des Tages!
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