Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,

It was such a pleasure to see so many of you at the Parent Council-sponsored Kaffeeklatsch last Friday. It was a great opportunity to gather as a community on a beautiful day. Elementary parents were also invited to join Morgenkreis and enjoy this beloved part of our daily school routine. It was wonderful to see so many parents and younger siblings in classrooms to observe and appreciate.

We were especially delighted to have state representative Athena Hollins join us for Kaffeeklatsch. Hollins represents District 66B, and we were grateful that she took time from her busy schedule while the legislature is in session to come get to know our school community and speak with parents. (We were so excited that she was here that we forgot to take a picture with her!) Thanks to the parents who shared their TCGIS experiences with her and advocated for Safe School and other funding measures currently before the house that impact charter schools. 

It’s not too late to join in this important advocacy work. See more detail here. You can find your representatives here.

Herzlich

Kirsten

Note: If you don't see the calendar at the end of your Rundbrief, the message has been clipped and you must click "View entire message" to read the entire Rundbrief. Danke!

This inaugural event will showcase the variety of cultures of our TCGIS families. Stop by the Korean table and play a traditional game, sample a favorite Syrian dessert, talk with Sami American families to learn about special traditions. Those and many more cultures will be represented with table displays in the cafeteria and atrium. Musical performances will be held in the Sporthalle and the Brick Oven Pizza food truck will be onsite. We hope you will join us! Please fill out this 3 question RSVP/survey to help the planning committee gauge attendance to plan the space and resource needs!

Would you like to volunteer during the festival? Sign up for a time slot and volunteer role here.

Mark your calendars! Middle Schoolers can celebrate the 2022-2023 school year on Friday, June 9th. DJ Erwin will join us again for the festivities. Tickets will be available for $5 online for purchase. We will once again have the fifth and sixth graders' dance be from 6:00-7:15 and our 7th and 8th graders from 7:30-9:00. Theme will be forthcoming!

4th Grade Parents, please read this information on the TCGIS Band Program, available to all middle school kids! On Thursday, May 25, all 4th graders will attend a band instrument showcase! Find information on instruments available here. 

Join us on Wednesday, May 3rd at 6:30pm to hear our three candidates talk about their visions for the school before the upcoming election the week of May 8-12, 2023. Read more about our candidates here! We thank the parent council and PTO for co-hosting the forum to meet the candidates.

We are looking for leaders and members who are interested in the LGBTQ+, Modern Family, and Gun Safety affinity groups.

• LGBTQ+: This group is designed to be a space of support for parents and guardians who are either part of the LGBTQ+ community themselves or have children who identify as LGBTQ+. If you are interested to share experiences, build community or are looking for guidance as a member of this group or would even like to help lead it, please contact Michael White at mwhite@tcgis.org.
• Modern Family: This group is designed to be a space for single parent, foster, and blended families to share experiences, build community and provide guidance to each other. If you are interested in becoming a member or even would like to lead this group, please contact Elizabeth Zehnpfennig at ezehnpfennig@tcgis.org.
• Gun Safety: This group is designed to create a communication strategy to emphasize the importance of gun safety, especially safe gun storage, in private homes. These communication materials will be shared with guardians/parents school-wide on a regular basis. If you are interested in becoming a member or help lead it, please contact Trish Jewett and/or Craig Chapman.

We are seeking host families for 10 interns who will join TCGIS in August! If you are interested in hosting an intern - or learning more about hosting - visit tcgis.org/host-an-intern to read FAQs and hear from other host families why they host. Ready to apply? Fill out the Host Family Application (deadline May 19). Click on the image to "meet" our fall interns!

MCA Science Schedule (Grades 5 & 8 only): April 24 & 25

There are also upcoming dates for Make Up Assessments for students who did not complete their assessment or were absent the day of administration. You can view more schedule details on TCGIS’s MCA Assessment Calendar.

Registration for TCGIS Summer Camps closes on April 30! There are still spots open, and some camps need more campers to be able to run!

Maybe your student has a TCGIS friend who would like to join them!? Please share with your contacts! Visit the Summer Camp website for a full description of the camps and to register.

Vienna Community Arts studio offers lessons throughout the summer. If you are interested in continuing your music lessons or just want to try something new, we offer lessons in piano, classical guitar, ukulele, and voice. We also have summer choir opportunities. Contact Nancy or Herbert at infoviennarts@gmail.com.

Sign up for our spring sports and summer track-and-field April 1-30 on Infinite Campus (school store). All middle schoolers are welcome to join our sports teams. Current 4th graders (as rising 5th graders) may also sign up for summer track-and-field. Costs: $150, which includes USATF membership, meet fees, uniform rental. For more information, please check out our website and calendar. With questions, please contact Athletic Director Tabisz.

Earth Day, Saturday, April 22 from 9-11:30am

Organized by our D10 neighborhood's community council, represent TCGIS at the upcoming Regional Parks Clean-Up Day at Como Lake! Let's pick up litter that has recently become exposed due to the melting snow. Come by the Como pavilion at 9am - Board Chair Julie Alkatout will be there to check in with you. We are giving a TCGIS T-shirt to our registered volunteers to thank you for demonstrating our school's value of community!  Register here by 7PM TONIGHT!

Did you know TCGIS built a dedicated mothers’ room in our recent building project? This is meant as a quiet space (Stillzimmer) to express milk while at work. We need to furnish this space and are seeking the donations of a comfortable chair. Please email info@tcgis.org if you have one to donate.

Board Meeting Thurs., April 27 - 6:30PM, Room 100; Zoom

Finance & Facilities Cmte Meeting Tues., May 2 - 6:30PM; Zoom

Meet The Candidates Meeting Wed., May 3 - 6:30PM; Room 100 & Zoom

Communication & Outreach Committee Meeting Wed, May 3 - 12PM; Zoom

Governance Meeting Thurs., May 4 - 4PM; Google Meet

Fundraising Meeting Wed., May 10 - 8:30PM; Room 99

Diversity & Belonging Cmte Meeting Tues., May 16 - 4PM; Google Meet

Board Meeting Thurs., May 21 - 6:30PM, Room 100 & Zoom

Watch Minnesota United FC versus 1. FC Kaiserslautern with your friends!

• When: Wednesday, June 28th at 7:30pm
• Where: Allianz Field, St. Paul

Tickets average $26, 29, 35 (depending on section). Click here to purchase your discounted tickets.

Pork & Kraut Curbside

Saturday, April 29 | Pick up from 1–3 PM

Buy tickets by April 23! 

Satisfy your German food cravings with our annual Pork & Kraut dinner, available for curbside pick up. Prepared in-Haus, your meal will include German comfort food favorites—a smoked pork chop, Helga’s secret recipe sauerkraut, Apfelstreuselkuchen, a Warsteiner beer, and more! $20 members / $25 non-members. Order here.

The board’s Diversity & Belonging committee would like to highlight upcoming events in the Twin Cities as opportunities for intercultural engagement- one our school’s core values. Click here to learn about highlighted events!

We invite all staff, families, and community members to take our TCGIS Website Survey. This short, eight-question survey helps us make our website as user friendly and accessible as possible. We appreciate your help! The survey will close on Friday, April 21.

Changes were made to the school calendar for the current school year, and then approved by the Board on March 2nd. A reminder that:

• April 2: Early release day for all students and staff. We will follow the typical early release day schedule. It will be a B day.
• May 26: Full instructional day for grades 7 and 8 ONLY. Grades K-6 will have no school. It will be an A day.
• June 9: Full instructional day for grades 7 and 8 ONLY. Grades K-6 will have no school. It will be a C day.

Our Family/Caregiver Support group presents: Raising Children to use Digital Technology & Social Media in a Healthy Manner on Wednesday, April 26⋅6:30 – 7:30pm on Join Zoom Meeting here. Join parents and caregivers, the School IT specialist & School Social Worker for this important topic.

Frau Jelinski (Frau Coffee) is collecting data for a project on teen technology use. She is interested in knowing student, teacher, and caregivers' thoughts on screen time and what you do to manage it. Filling out this survey means you agree to your answers being shared with graduate students at the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Professional Psychology. Please reach out with questions at mjelinski@tcgis.org.

April 21: Early Release Day

April 22: Clean up Como Lake with TCGIS

April 26: Caregiver Support Group Meet-Up

April 27: Lost & Found emptied

April 30: Summer camp registration closes

May 3: School Board Meet the Candidates Forum

May 11: Festival of Cultures



TCGIS Google Calendar