Elternbrief
Issue: 290                           
May 25, 2017 
In This Issue

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Administrative Information
 
Enjoy the Long Weekend!

This is a friendly reminder that there is no school this Friday, May 26, and Monday, May 29. Enjoy the long weekend!
Board Election Results

With 224 ballots cast and a participation rate of just over 30%, the board election results are in! This year we had four candidates for three open seats. In no particular order, the three board members elect are:
  • Dianne Bell (parent, returning board member)
  • Stephanie Forsland (parent)
  • Wolfgang Koch (teacher)
The board would also like to thank Nic Ludwig for running this year. Each candidate had great qualifications and brings different strengths to the board work. We are grateful for each candidates efforts and commitment to the school and our students.

Additionally, TCGIS thanks Burkhard Tiessen, Natalie Yaeger and Nic Ludwig for their service on the TCGIS school board. Each held multiple roles and gave countless hours toward our school's success and our children's learning. As they roll off the board, we know they will continue to contribute in meaningful ways. Danke!
Get Ready to Celebrate at the End of Year Picnic!

We hope you join us for the End of the Year Picnic on June 8 from 11:30-1:30 at the Como Park Picnic Shelters, 1199 Midway Parkway, St. Paul MN 55 103 (Horton and Midway Parkway, East Picnic Grounds). 

If you ordered a food ticket ahead of time, they will be available for pick up at the picnic. We will also be selling tickets for food at the picnic and will accept cash or cards. Students and non-student siblings eat for free, and an adult picnic lunch costs $4. In addition to selling lunch tickets, we will also be selling yearbooks and spirit wear! The schedule of the day will be:
  • 10:45am - Set-up at Como Park Picnic Shelters
  • 11:00am - All Classes walk to Como Park
  • 11:30am - 1:30pm Picnic and Activities
  • 1:30pm - Clean-up, Classes walk back to TCGIS
  • 2:00pm - Dismissal at School (Early Release*)
If you have extra freezer space and would be willing to make a quick delivery on June 8 to the pavilions, please let Lauren Kalish ([email protected]) know! We are looking for help freezing popsicles for the picnic. 
2017-18 Re-registration Forms NOW DUE

Please remember to return your student's registration paperwork for the 2017-18 school year. Families should have received all necessary forms via email, but you can also find them here. Please return all documents no later than Wednesday, May 31st.
Strategic Plan:  We Need Your Feedback

The Strategic Planning Committee made up of parents, teachers and community members have drafted 4 statements that will guide our decision making, along with the Vision, Mission and Values, at TCGIS for the next 3 years.

Provide your feedback at one of the following sessions:
  • Friday, June 2, 7:45-8:30 AM  Room 102
  • Friday, June 2, 2:45-3:30 PM, Room 99
Can't attend one of the above sessions? Watch for an electronic form to provide input coming this next week.
Service Learning: We Take Charge Week

Service Learning would like to inform you that on May 30th through June 2nd  our school will be participating in We take charge . It will be a week of community service.

TuesdayWe take charge for the environment
Pack a no-trash lunch, save water, avoid to eat meat. Pick one or more things to help the environment! (All school)
Wednesday We take charge for our community
Como Clean up for Volunteers. Sign up (25 middle school students) to help at the clean up at the SV board in Middle School (4th hour & recess)!
Thursday We take charge for each other
Teacher appreciation and school dance (whole school) - Be nice to your teachers and have fun with the other students! :) (All school)
Friday We take charge for our World
Middle School Field Trip to Feed my Starving Children to do volunteer work - Help to make the world a better place!
Contribute to TCGIS Year-End Fund & Get Our NEW TCGIS Car Magnet!

We need your help! As the end of the year approaches please consider making a special financial donation to TCGIS. TCGIS receives only about 60% of what a regular public school receives in state and local funds. Yet this 40% funding deficit doesn't mean we educate our children 40% less! On the contrary, we regularly exceed the MCA standards with a German immersion curriculum. However, it is a financial challenge for us to do so well with so much less.  

TCGIS has additional expenses that make our school unique that a local school does not - such as our intern program, German language programming resources and materials, the Biohaus and Capstone programs, and last but not least, teachers fluent in German who provide this amazing environment and structure for our children to learn in.

Make a minimum donation of $10 and you'll get our NEW TCGIS car magnet or window cling . They will be available for pick up at the end of the year picnic. Make your donation now online at the school's Square Store , or drop off a check in the office made out to TCGIS and put "Magnet" on the memo line. Dankeschön!

 
iMac Sale

As we prepare for our larger 5th grade in the 17-18 school year and beyond we will be liquidating our computer lab.  After assessing our technology programming needs we are able to maintain all academic technology programming in the absence of a lab. We will continue to provide one-to-one chromebooks for each Middle School student, and iPads and MacBooks for Kindergarten through 4th Grade. 

The iMacs in the lab will be on sale for our community members, starting  June 12, for $650. The computer specifics are as follows:  Apple iMac 21.5" Mid 2014: Core i5-4260U 1.4GHz - 8GB - 500GB - MF883LL/A 

They will be sold as is with a keyboard and mouse.  Please contact  Jesse Whitney  with any questions.
Supply Lists and Bulk Ordering

In order to save families money and time, and also to save teachers work in organizing and sorting supplies, we are offering  a  Classroom Supply Bulk Order  again this this year.

Full details will be included in next week's Elternbrief!
TCGIS Summer Library Dates!

Join us this summer for our summer library dates!
  • Tuesday, June 27
  • Wednesday, July 19
  • ThursdayAugust 10
Open  2:00 - 4:00 pm Each student may have 5 books/items checked out at a time.  Use the main entrance. Summer library hours are scheduled during regular school staff hours and the library will be run by volunteers. Thank you! 
Summer Math Camp for Girls!

Missy Morrissey (Middle School) and Kim Kulhanek (Elementary School) are offering a summer math camp for girls with support from the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics Student Chapter at the University of Minnesota during the week of August 14th-18th.

Who: All students entering grades 1-9
What: GEMs Summer Math camp
Where: University of Minnesota, exact building location coming soon!
When: August 14th - 18th, 2017, from 9am-12pm.
Cost: $150 (daily snack provided)
Topics Covered via the GEMs curriculum:
incoming 1st-3rd - Beads and Bar Graphs
incoming 4th-6th - Prisms and Perfect Squares
incoming 7th-9th - Cryptology and Graph Theory
Deadline for Registration: June 10th, 2017

Contact Missy Morrissey ( [email protected]) if you have any questions.
Only One More Week to Sign Up for Sommercamp!

TCGIS Sommercamp
 runs from July 10 - 28 for incoming 3rd - 8th grades. Camps are filling up, so sign your child up today for a fun, week-long day camp with one of the following themes: circus, bees, cooking, folklore, mural painting, or book arts!  Campers speak German all day and receive a T-shirt with the Sommercamp logo. Click here for more information. Registration window closes on May 31. 
GAI
GAI Announcements
 
New Program: Sommer Schule 2017
Program for kids 1st to 4th grade (TCGIS or equivalent/advanced German skills ) -June 21 to Aug. 16; 8 weeks on Wednesday afternoon, June 21 to Aug. 16
Program for Middle School / High School - 1 week intensive Monday through Friday, 9am to noon, Aug. 21-25

Programs for students with prior German knowledge who want to maintain & enhance language skills over the summer months.  Courses are taught in a classroom setting and will focus on speaking & vocabulary and listening & reading skills.  Click for more information and to register.

Deutsche Tage 2017
Saturday, June 10 - 11am to 10pm & Sunday, June 11 - 11am to 5pm
It's the GAI's Great GERMAN Get Together: Deutsche Tage! Come celebrate German-speaking culture and heritage through music, dance, food, drink & fun!

German Language Summer Camp 2017 -  June 19 to August 18 
Spots are disappearing quickly for GAI German Language Summer Camps. Our weekly day-camps provide fun, interactive German language education for children grades 1-3. Two camps will also be offered for incoming Kindergarteners in the middle of August. A list of the dates, themes, and information on before/after care options available online.  Click this link for more information & to register.

PTO
PTO Announcements

The last PTO meeting of the year will be  June 6 at 6:30  at the Germanic American Institute. We'll elect officers for next year and then have a social that includes adult beverages. No childcare will be provided.