Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,

Thank you to the parents, students, and staff who attended the solidarity event on Monday evening. It was a deeply meaningful opportunity to center the voices of our BIPOC community members. I am grateful to our panelists for their courage in sharing their experiences and hopes for our community and for all in attendance who joined in humble, vulnerable conversations about changes and progress we envision. 

At the event we highlighted some of the many ways that TCGIS is engaged in the work of Diversity and Belonging, including opportunities for community engagement. You can see those highlights here. I invite you to find ways to join us in this work.

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!

Did you know that over 1/3 of TCGIS students participate in our busing program? To keep this important service financially viable for our school, we ask all busing families to consider making a monthly contribution in whatever amount is sustainable for their family. (A suggested donation amount is $2/ride or $80/mo per child.)

Bus donations from families help offset transportation costs, which increased 39% (primarily due to fuel costs) for SY22-23. Bus donations can be made in the School Store in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal (login), Boonli, or parents can complete the School Bus Donation Authorization Form for automated giving options (where suggested amounts are also noted). Return completed forms to Isabel Vollenweider. Thank you! 

In order to use the Van Slyke carline, your student(s) must be able to exit/enter the car independently; adults must remain in the car. If your child is unable to do this, walking pick-up/drop-off is the only other option. Walking pick-up/drop-off means caregivers park on specific streets (see map below) around the school and can either come to the playground to drop-off / pick-up their child, or their child(ren) may walk from/to where they are parked. 

Van Slyke Carline Reminders

• Students may only exit/enter the car within the loading zone which is marked by sandwich boards
• Enter the drop-off/pick-up line from Horton east-bound only and take a right on to Van Slyke. 
• Do not block the city bus stop or alleyways
• Close gaps between cars in the (un-)loading zone - pull up if there is space in front of you so we are using the entire loading zone.

The first dance of the year is tomorrow (Friday) evening. The 5th and 6th graders will have the gym to themselves from 6:00-7:15. Doors will open at 5:55. 7th and 8th graders will have their dance from 7:30 to 9:00. 

Dance is as fancy as your kiddo wants it to be! There will be a coat check area, a snack area, and a quiet zone. DJ Erwin will join us again and the disco ball will be back. Herr Tabisz and Frau Jacobson will be there to lead German group dances! Students should bring cash if they want to purchase snacks from the Capstone Bake Sale during the dance.

Tickets are still available in the school store in Infinite Campus.

TCGIS will be at the St. Paul Charter School Fair on Feb. 11th from 9-12PM at St. Paul College. This is a great opportunity for families to talk with representatives from our school. If you're on social media, we would appreciate if you shared our recent post on Facebook and Instagram.

Herzlichen Dank!

The TCGIS Cafeteria staff is looking for a substitute who would work on days when staff is out sick, in training, and taking PTO. Work hours are 9-2pm on each occasion. Substitute would be helping with prepping meals, setting up the lunchroom, and clean-up. Must be able to lift up to 30lbs. Pay is $15/hr. If you are interested in helping and have questions, please contact Alex Weeding, Food Service Coordinator.

We have heard from several families regarding receipt of a letter from Zepto Life Technology detailing significant outstanding balances for COVID-19 testing services.  If you received one, the letter is not a bill. Please click here for more details.

The Diversity & Belonging Committee has been researching and writing an Indigenous land acknowledgement, the first sentence of which reads: “We recognize and appreciate that the Twin Cities German Immersion School sits on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary homelands of the Waȟpékhute Dakota people.” The committee is hosting one more presentation to introduce this important work to our TCGIS community, and to provide a forum for discussion. Please join us for the following talk by TCGIS teacher, Rachael Schlee:

Thursday, February 16, 6:30 pm, Room 100 with Zoom option. TCGIS Land Acknowledgement: Dakota Place Names and Origins, A lesson from 6th grade English class. Rachael Schlee has been teaching 6th grade English at TCGIS since 2017. She has licensure and a Masters degree in K-6 education, and enjoys teaching her students the history of the land they live on.

The School Board will once again publicly recognize and celebrate TCGIS colleagues with multiple years of service at the February 23 Board meeting. The Board will present awards to commemorate milestones of 3, 5, and 10 years of service! All honorees, staff, parents, and students are invited to attend the beginning of the February Board meeting for this recognition of TCGIS colleagues.

We also invite you to congratulate the honorees with a personal written message on this form by February 15. You may also submit pictures of the honorees’ time at TCGIS. All well-wishes from colleagues and families will be printed and shared with the honorees along with their awards. Please feel free to sign one, several, or all! And please sign your name at the end of your comments. Thank you for helping us celebrate these incredible milestones!

The Diversity & Belonging Committee is planning a Festival of Cultures to celebrate the diversity of our school by sharing our unique cultures through music, art, storytelling, dance, food, and community. The tentative date and time for this event is Saturday, May 20, 2023 11am-2pm.

Please fill out this short Google Form in order for the planning committee to find out what cultures are represented in the TCGIS community and who would like to share their culture at the event. Volunteers may be parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents or friends! Thank you for your consideration! If you have any questions, please email keberhard@tcgis.org

Our next PTO meeting is Saturday! We'll be talking Maskenball & Auction, eating pizza, and playing Bingo! It's going to be a great time you don't want to miss! There will be small prizes for Bingo winners. Saturday February 11th at 11am. We'll meet in the school cafeteria. 

Please sign up here so we can make sure we have enough pizza.

Maskenball is coming up March 25th! 7pm at The University Club. Save the date, book the sitter. Theme reveal coming this weekend at our Bingo meeting! We'll have more information about Auction donations in the coming weeks.

We'd like to thank everyone who has come out to our recent events. We have had so much fun painting at Cookies & Canvases and Sledding. You don't want to miss out on Bingo this weekend!

Parents/guardians of elementary students are invited to read a book or share your experience in your student's class throughout the month of February. If interested, please get in touch with your teacher. If you're not sure about a book, your teacher or our library coordinator Frau Zimmerman may have one.

We are looking for one or two volunteers to help hang up the Periodic Table of Black History, and a few other signs/posters in the hallways in honor of Black History Month. Inspired by the Periodic Table of Elements, classes visit to learn and engage in conversation about past and present African-American leaders and innovators. This would be an after school project, taking approx. one hour. If you would like to help, please email Mary Zimmerman.

The Middle School is running low on menstrual supplies, so new donations are needed if you have the means! Donations can be brought to Frau Schlee in room 322. Please only send pads and tampons. All flow levels are appreciated. Thank you in advance for your generosity! 

There are still many books checked out from before winter break. Please check with your student to make sure they have returned all of their overdue library books. Questions about German library books? Contact Frau Zimmerman.

This reminder includes returning English books to their English class - especially for 7th and 8th grade students! Please contact Frau Melk with any questions regarding 7/8th grade English books.

SPARK For German is a special Enrichment Class opportunity, offered in collaboration with the students of the University of St. Thomas German Department. SPARK is a playful approach to after-school German lessons, providing extra instruction to students who are still beginning to learn German. The curriculum is designed for K-1 students who are beginning with German, with space for 20 students. Sessions are 3:30-4:30 on Fridays, February 10th through May 12th. Enrollment opens Friday, February 3rd in the Infinite Campus School Store.

Sign up for our spring sports and summer track-and-field on Feb. 1-15 on Infinite Campus (school store). All middle schoolers are welcome to join our sports teams. Current 4th graders may also sign up for summer track-and-field.

For more information, please check out our spring sports slideshow. With questions, please contact Athletic Director Tabisz.

Cmte of the Whole Meeting Wed., Feb. 15 - 6:30PM

Board Meeting Thurs., Feb. 23 - 6:30PM, Room 100, Zoom

February 19th, 12-4PM

Landmark Center - 75 5th St. W, St. Paul, MN 55102

$4 kids 7 and older; $6 adults; Free 6 and younger

Experience the music, dance, language, foods, costume and arts & craft traditions of several countries hailing from the Black Sea region of Eastern Europe. Produced in partnership with Landmark Center and Ethnic Dance Theatre.

Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 1 PM – 3 PM

Landmark Center, 75 5th St. W, St. Paul

Free Admission, 1-3PM

Urban Expedition: Norway will include a children's craft area, Peer Gynt Dancers youth performers, a Hardanger fiddle performance, genealogy information, language fun, Norwegian handwork displays, food, a Bunad parade, and more! One of our own TCGIS students will be performing!

Find out more on the Facebook event page.

Saturday, March 4, 2023

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Pre-registration is required | $10 per player

Play the world-famous German board game CATAN and compete to win fun prizes! Beginning at 5 p.m., we’ll explain the rules and how to play the game. At 6 p.m., take what you learned and put it into action! Tickets to this family-friendly board game night include one drink and bar snacks. Children 11 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Those 12 and older may be dropped off.

Prefer to play in German? Let us know at registration and we’ll put you at a German-speaking table. We’ll teach some basic German CATAN vocabulary as well!

No previous CATAN or German language is required. All are welcome! Register here.

Registration has now opened for Parkway Little League Baseball. The league is located in St. Paul and kids play with from all over - North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale, and Woodbury, and more! See this flyer for more details.

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!

February 10: Middle School Dance

February 11: Pizza & Bingo with the PTO

February 11: St. Paul Charter School Fair

February 16: Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Talks at TCGIS

February 17: No school

February 20: No school

March 25: Maskenball & Auction



TCGIS Google Calendar