ISSUE 600/December 5, 2024

Message from the Executive Director

Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft / Dear TCGIS Community, 


We are coming out of Thanksgiving weekend and our fundraising campaign feeling grateful for such an amazing community. We invite you to our Gratitude Kaffeeklatsch tomorrow morning to celebrate those volunteers that help make TCGIS a great place for staff and students. RSVP to join us in our atrium to celebrate and connect around a cup of coffee. 


In the spirit of gratitude and parent perspective and to help us improve the educational experience for our students, we invite you to participate in this survey regarding the first months of the school year. We value parent involvement and feedback in our Twin Cities German Immersion School community! 


Elizabeth Zehnpfennig, Executive Director

School News & Updates

Gratitude Kaffeeklatsch: 8:00 a.m. Tomorrow

Join us tomorrow, December 9th, at 8 a.m. for a Kaffeeklatsch dedicated to our volunteers, interns, donors, host families, parents, and generous community. As a way of saying thank you, we will have coffee for all! This event will take place in the TCGIS foyer. There will not be visits to Morgekreis at this event. RSVP here.

Early Release Day Next Week - Front Office Closed

This is a reminder that there is an Early Release Day on Wednesday, December 11th. The front office will be closed for a retreat from 1:30-4:00 PM. Kinderclub will still be available at 651-999-3707. Any messages for the office can be sent to info@tcgis.org. Thank you for your flexibility!


Kinderclub Fully Booked for ERD 12/11 - Please Plan Accordingly

Kinderclub is fully booked for next week Early Release Day on Wednesday 12/11 so please plan accordingly.

Rundbrief from Nov. 21

Due to an error that has since been fixed, the Rundbrief on Nov. 21 missed many inboxes. We apologize for any inconvenience. You can find all past editions of the Rundbrief, including the Nov. 21 edition, on our website under Family Resources. Click here to catch up.

Winter Screening is Here!

Winter universal screening is right around the corner! Winter screening will begin December 2nd. Universal screening allows us to identify those students who are on-track to meet grade-level standards in reading and math, and also to identify those students who may need some additional support to meet grade-level goals by the end of the year.

 

Students in every grade level will participate in at least one assessment so that we can learn more about their current skills and knowledge. A brief summary, by grade level, is provided here.

Lifelong Learners Feedback for CACR

New legislative changes call for a Comprehensive Academic Achievement and Civic Readiness (CACR) plan. These plans must incorporate a strategic goal for the goal area: Prepare students to be lifelong learners. We are seeking your feedback to help TCGIS form a strategic goal for this goal area. Please consider providing feedback here.

Winter Enrichment Classes: Registration Is Open!

Registration for the upcoming winter session of after-school Enrichment Classes is currently open! This session runs from January 6th, 2025 through March 26th, 2025, and includes activities for students in all grade levels. Click here to see the details about which classes are on offer and how to sign up for them!

Looking for Winter Gear

We are looking for the following items (new or gently used) for students in need:

-Men's Winter coat size M/L

-Men's boots size 8/9

-Women's boots size 9.5

-Boys snowpants size 16 youth or adult small


Please email Catherine Radecki if you have something to donate. Thanks in advance!!

Lunch Bunches Returning 

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Our school social-emotional-behavior interventionist will be continuing lunch bunch groups with students in grades K-4. A lunch bunch is a weekly, small group gathering of students during their lunch period, where they participate in engaging activities designed to promote positive social interactions and develop social-emotional skills. Student groups will be formed in a variety of ways, sometimes by student choice and sometimes by teacher selection, with the goal of giving students social skills instruction tailored to their needs at the moment. If you do NOT want your child participating in a lunch bunch this school year, please contact your child's classroom teacher. 

Volleyball-Trainer*in gesucht!

TCGIS Athletics is looking for 1-2 volleyball coaches for the spring 2025 season. Check out the description here, and email AD Tabisz with any questions.

First Quarter School Pulse Survey 24-25

We appreciate your involvement in our Twin Cities German Immersion School community! To help us improve the educational experience for our students, we invite you to participate in this survey regarding the first eight weeks of the school year. Your feedback is invaluable.

Festival of Cultures Table Host Interest 

Are you interested in hosting a table at the TCGIS Festival of Cultures? Please complete this form.

PTO News

Showing Appreciation

We all love to show appreciation to the incredibly hard working teachers and staff at TCGIS. If you are looking for ideas - we have a resource for you! We’ve compiled a list of “favorite things” for each of them - from treats they enjoy, stores they shop, to classroom supplies they covet. We’ve also have their birthday information! Check out the list here. 

Follow us on Facebook!

Keep up with everything that is happening! Click to follow us!

Volunteer Opportunities

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!

Represent TCGIS at the GAI Christmas in Germany

The Comm and Outreach Team is looking for volunteers to go with them and represent TCGIS at the sold out GAI Christmas in Germany event. Click here to sign up if you can help.

Represent TCGIS at MPLS School Finder Fair

The Comm and Outreach Team is looking for volunteers to go with them and represent TCGIS at the MPLS School Finder Fair at MPLS College. Folks that speak languages such as Spanish and Somali are especially helpful! Jan. 11 from 10-2 Click here to sign up if you can help.

School Board (Schulvorstand) Announcements

Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings

Governance Committee Meeting: Monday, December 16 at 4:30pm on Meets

Community News

Kinderstube: Current Openings, Open Haus & 25-26 Registration

Kinderstube German Immersion Preschool welcomes younger TCGIS siblings and their families to learn more about our school! We serve children 33 months to 5 years.

  • Current openings: limited part- and full-time openings at our St. Paul and Minneapolis locations!
  • Open Haus in St. Paul: Sun, 12/8, 10 am - 12 pm during Christmas in Germany
  • Open Haus in Minneapolis: Sat, 1/18/25, 10 am - 12 pm at Mayflower Church
  • Registration for new families on our Interest Form: Jan 15-31, then open to the public
  • In addition to our scheduled Open Haus events, we are happy to schedule individual tours. Reach out to preschool@gaimn.org with any questions!

Resources & Calendar

CALENDAR

Dec 6 - Gratitude Kaffeeklatsch


Dec 11 - Early Release Day


Dec 19 - School Spirit Day











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