The IRT tracks COVID cases in this dashboard which will be shared weekly.

In order to shorten the Rundbrief, we will prioritize new items for this newsletter and link to our Incident Response Team Updates webpage so you can reference past updates more efficiently.

Dear Middle School Families,

If your student was not participating in our COVID-19 PCR testing in school by Zepto and is signed up to go to Waldsee this coming week, please remember so send the PCR test result by noon on Friday, April 15th.

Please send your results to Monika Avery and Ashley Weston Miller. Only students with a negative PCR test result will be able to participate in the trip.

We wish our students a fun trip with lots of new experiences and exposure to German!

Mark your calendar - our used book fair will be on April 21 and 22! Our two-day fair will be from 3-5pm in the TCGIS parking lot (Rain site: Lobby). Our book fair is a fundraiser for our school, supporting initiatives such as our intern program and school library.

There will be two gift baskets that will be raffled off! Raffle tickets will be available to purchase on both days for the chance to win an Earth-Day/Zero Waste gift basket and a reading-themed basket.

We are looking for two parent volunteers to help out on Thursday. Please contact Mary Zimmerman by April 15 if you're interested in volunteering.

Have books you'd like to donate to the fair? We are accepting donations until April 19th. Please contact Mary Zimmerman to arrange a drop-off time.

Missing your student's coat, mittens, hat, etc.? We might have it! Please help us to return these items to their owners by looking through it before the end of next week. Our lost and found is located at the West Entrance at the bottom of the staircase. Items will also be out on April 21 & 22 during the Used Book Fair for families to look through. After the 22nd we will be donating any remaining items to keep our “lost and found” organized and easier for students to search for items.

In honor of World Book Day on April 23, our school will be having a Dress Up Like Your Favorite Book Character Day on Friday, April 22nd. Students and staff are invited to dress up like a character from one of their favorite books.

Wednesday, April 20, 3:30-4:30 (Kinderclub)

Thursday, April 21, 3:30-5PM (Guardian & Student(s))

TCGIS is providing costume ideas and materials for students. If you are interested in the April 21st sign-up (with guardian), please first read this information before emailing Frau Zimmerman to sign up. Wednesday Kinderclub families were sent an email with a sign-up yesterday.

We are in need of three parent volunteers to help out with our Wed. and Thurs. workshops! If you would like to help, please email Mary Zimmerman by Friday, April 15.

The MCAs (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) are administered state-wide each spring in grades 3-12. Assessments begin in March and go through the beginning of May. You can learn more about MCAs by reading this information from the Minnesota Department of Education. 

The data we glean from the MCAs is helpful in informing instructional and curricular decisions. Parents and guardians have the right to refuse participation in MCA testing by filling out this form, which can be submitted in hard copy in the office or by email to eneu@tcgis.org . Please submit this form at least three days before your child(ren)’s first assessment so we have time to process it.

We are saddened to report the passing of one of our former interns, Matthias Göppner. Matze left us unexpectedly on March 30, 2022 after battling cancer. He was an intern in 4th grade in the 2015/2016 school year and was greatly cherished as a colleague, teacher, and friend by the TCGIS community. Matze felt a deep connection to Minnesota and still loved to talk about his time at TCGIS and the people he met here. If you would like to share something about Matze, you can do this here. Rest in peace, Matze.

The Annual Fund ensures that we can provide those opportunities and programs that are unique to TCGIS and to learning German like hosting interns and purchasing German language materials for the library and classrooms. Watch your email this weekend for some fun ways to support TCGIS and to help us reach this vital goal for our school! Click here to make a gift today, or click here to learn more about fundraising at TCGIS. Vielen Dank!

PTO meeting tonight at 6:30! We'll talk Maskenball, Staff Appreciation Week, and the new logo design.

Meeting ID: 871 8179 8866

Passcode: 181666

Do you have season tickets for a sports team or playhouse? Do you own or work for a company that has something you can donate or put together and super cool basket? Want to be awesome and donate to our Maskenball Silent Auction? Money raised will be going towards Playground upgrades.

You can learn about donation and BUY YOUR TICKETS FOR MASKENBALL here.

We have added a second camp for grades K-2! The camp Kunst in der Natur is now also offered on August 8-12th with camp leader Frau Kaufman. Registration is open until April 30th. Register directly in Popsicle. Please reach out to Michaela Bromenschenkel with any questions.

We are also pleased to offer Afternoon Care only during Camp Weeks. You do not have to be registered for Camp to utilize the 12:00pm-5:00pm Care. Cost for the PM without Camp is $150. Please register in Popsicle and email Michaela Bromenschenkel to be invoiced the additional $30.

We have spaces left for Grades 3-6 for Summer Camp! In order to run each Camp, we need a certain amount of sign-ups. Here is the list of the available Summer Camps by weeks, with the number of students needed to run the camp:

You can find Camp Descriptions and Staff Bios here. Sign up is through Popsicle. Please reach out to Michaela Bromenschenkel with any questions regarding Summer Camps.

Please remember to vacate the playground at 3:30 when Kinderclub uses it for their programming. The playground is open to the public again at 6:00 pm. Families are welcome to move to Chatsworth Park to continue hanging out after the playground is closed.

From April 15-May 13 we will host the exhibit Transfer of Memory in the school atrium. The exhibit is a series of beautiful, full-color portraits of Holocaust survivors from Minnesota, set in their own homes, with brief texts. As described on the exhibit website, "these images focus on life and hope,” offering “constant reminders about the value of freedom and the enduring human spirit." You can find resources for families on engaging with the exhibit here.

On Wednesday evening, April 27, TCGIS will host a special evening in connection with the exhibit. The evening will be family-friendly and appropriate for all ages, with an emphasis on honoring past generations, and on tolerance, openness to others, and finding common bonds. 

6:00 pm--Doors open for the exhibit. 

6:30 pm-- short program with introduction by Dr. Christensen and remarks from Steve Hunegs, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and David Sherman, the photographer who created the portraits in the exhibit.

6:45 pm--screening of the animated short film, The Tattooed Torah, intended for young viewers. 

7:30 pm--event concludes

Sunday, May 1, 4-6pm - Transfer of Memory exhibit open to the public

Thursday, May 5, 6:30 pm at TCGIS-- Heidi Schneider from the Jewish Community Resource Center will speak on Jewish life. This event will be appropriate for all ages.

Minnesota United will host TCGIS on June 11 as they take on Germany’s 2nd division team SC Paderborn. There are still regular-priced tickets left, available at $46. We’re excited to organize this again for our community!

What: Minnesota United FC versus SC Paderborn

When: Saturday June 11th at 7pm

Where: Allianz Field, St. Paul

Click here to purchase your tickets.

There are now 60 families who have opted in to using this Google form to participate in the 2022 Carpooling Map.

Interested in exploring carpooling to / from school? Fill out this Google form. We will share the link to the unlisted Google map with those who have opted in (through the form).

$20 GAI members/$25 non-members

Order here by Sunday, April 24

Pick up Saturday, April 30, from 1–3 PM

Feed your Pork & Kraut cravings with our annual dinner, again available for curbside pick up. Prepared in-Haus, your meal will include a smoked pork chop, Helga’s secret recipe sauerkraut, sweet and sour green beans, boiled potatoes, Apfelstreuselkuchen, and a can of Paulaner beer! Order ahead, then pick up your Pork & Kraut dinner at the GAI Haus and warm it up at home. Guten Appetit!

Kinderstube German Immersion Preschool is enrolling for fall at its Minneapolis location -- less than a 20 minute drive from TCGIS! We welcome younger siblings to join our preschool. Through daily play, music education, art and science exploration, as well as outdoor play time, Kinderstube students are exposed to all the concepts of early childhood education--while learning German! No language experience from the child or family is needed. Learn more about 2022-2023 enrollment here.

TCGIS has built a list of local university/college students interested in virtual private tutoring in German for TCGIS students. We update this Google spreadsheet of tutors regularly. Learn more here.

April 21: Student & Guardian costume workshop

April 21 & 22: Used book fair

April 22: Dress up like your favorite Book Character Day

April 30: Maskenball