ISSUE 492 / March 24, 2022 |
|
Greetings from the Executive Director |
|
Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,
Please mark your calendars for some very special upcoming events. On Wednesday evening, April 27, TCGIS will host an evening honoring the resilience and hope of Holocaust survivors from Minnesota as part of the exhibit Transfer of Memory. We will have a short program in collaboration with the Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as a special screening of an animated short film, The Tattooed Torah, intended for young viewers. The evening will be family friendly and appropriate for all ages, with an emphasis on tolerance, openness to others, and finding common bonds.
On the evening of May 5 TCGIS will also host a representative from the Minneapolis Jewish community who will speak on Jewish traditions and customs. This event will also be appropriate for all ages.
Look for more details on and family resources for these events next week, but please plan to join us. Both events will be in person.
Herzlich
Kirsten
|
|
Incident Response Team (IRT) |
|
The IRT tracks COVID cases in this dashboard which will be shared weekly. |
|
Kids Deserve a Shot: Minnesota College Scholarship |
Any Minnesota parent or guardian whose 5- to 11-year-olds have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine by April 11 can enter to win one of five $100,000 Minnesota college scholarships. On April 15, the State of Minnesota will hold a drawing for five $100,000 scholarships valid at any public or private non-profit higher educational institution in Minnesota. Minnesotans can learn more about the Kids Deserve a Shot program, register for the scholarship drawing, and view official rules at Kids Deserve a Shot. |
|
COVID-19 Updates Available on IRT Webpage |
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:
- Updated Quarantine Procedures
- Updated MDH Decision Tree
- Weekly COVID-Testing at TCGIS
- Keep Sick Kids Home this School Year
|
|
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 see the full email. Danke!
|
|
Bravo to all of our Lesemarathon Readers!
|
We would like to congratulate ALL TCGIS students who participated in this year's Lesemarathon! Together, we surpassed our goal of reading 150,000 minutes, with a total of 280,737 minutes! As promised, Frau Christensen dressed up as a unicorn today and visited classrooms, handing out *sparkly* pencils and pens.
Prizes were announced this morning in school. A special congratulations to our top three readers in elementary and middle school!
|
|
ES winners: Rex Hackett McCoy (4A), Kaia Velo (4A), and Mae Hackett McCoy (4B). MS winners: Theodore Orsted (7A), Alexis Cook (7A), and Wilhelmina Iwen (5C). |
|
The top classes of elementary and middle school were 2B with Frau Stolzenbach and 6A with Herr Eberhard. A big congratulations to these two classes! They will each be having a lunch party with Frau Christensen when we return from spring break.
Thank you TCGIS families, for supporting your student(s)' reading!
|
|
BIPOC affinity group event tonight! |
Final invitation and reminder that the BIPOC affinity group will gather at 6:00pm in the TCGIS cafeteria and dinner will be provided. From 6:30-7:30pm, adults and youth (ages 11-14) will have separate circle groups and discussion will be facilitated by Amazeworks. Children ages 10 and under will have childcare with fun activities. Circle group discussion topics can be guided by the group. The adults will start with discussion on the inequitable treatment of BIPOC refugees. For more information about this affinity group, review the group’s charter here. |
|
8th graders share support for Ukraine |
Students in 8th-grade advisory classes have been talking about the war in Ukraine and considering ways to express their solidarity with those who are displaced and suffering. They made Ukrainian flags and came up with the idea to form them into a heart to show that love and a desire for peace know no boundaries. Director of Facilities Andy Nesset climbed onto the roof to capture the students' lovely expression of support. |
|
Vielen Dank for a Successful Capstone Fundraiser
|
Last Sunday marked the first joint TCGIS-GACC (German-American Chamber of Commerce) fundraiser to support the 8th grade class trip. Held at the Yoerg Brewery in St Paul, 85 families attended and many others donated online. The event netted $850 which will be used towards the 8th grade's class trip to Chicago in June, which is an alternative to the cancelled Capstone trip to Germany. |
|
We were excited to see so many TCGIS families with young children, as well as middle school families, board members, staff, and alumni whose children were in the very first classes at TCGIS. The event was an overall success and we hope to make this an annual event in support of the 8th grade Capstone trip.
If you would still like to support the 8th grade class trip to Chicago this June, donations are welcome on our online giving page. Herzlichen Dank to everyone who donated to this fundraiser!
|
|
Last chance to sign up for enrichment classes! |
THIS SUNDAY, 3/27, is the last day to sign up for spring Enrichment Classes. Classes are filling up fast, so get your spot now! The spring session will run from April 11 to June 10th.
Registration is via the online platform Popsicle. If you do not already have a Popsicle account, you will need to make one. All information is on the Enrichment Classes webpage, or feel free to email nkaplan@tcgis.org with any questions.
|
|
Spring Plant Sale
Plan your garden now! Our Spring plant sale is happening here. Store ID for TCGIS is 550. |
Strudel Sales
Get your delicious Rhuland's Strudel here. |
|
Maskenball tickets now available!
And we've saved the best for last! Maskenball is happening!
Maskenball is a fantastic gathering (for adults only) on April 30.
We'll have music, snacks, a cash bar, and loads of fun!
More information and tickets here.
|
|
Watch SC Paderborn play Minnesota United with your TCGIS friends! |
Minnesota United will host TCGIS on June 11 as they take on Germany’s 2nd division team SC Paderborn. Tickets went fast the last outing for MNUFC versus Hertha BSC Berlin. We held seats for the group this year but we expect our allotment to go quickly. 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
Tickets average $35 (depending on section). Click here to purchase your discounted tickets. |
|
Hello TCGIS families!
We appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate changes in technology, and various information systems. Winter screening emails were intended to be delivered to all families school-wide during late February, including your child’s scores on various universal screening assessments. If you did not receive screening results for one or more of your children, please email Jessie Kember. We will ensure that the results are sent to you as soon as possible. TCGIS Screening Team
|
|
There are still spaces in camps for grades 3-6 in all weeks. Get your spots before they're gone!
We have a waitlist for two Camps for grades K-2 (Kunst in der Natur + Reise um die Welt) and could possibly add a second week for each of those Camps. We are considering adding these to week 5 (7/25-7/29) and Week 7 (8/8-8/12):
- Reise um die Welt (add to Week 5- 7/25-7/29)
- Kunst in der Natur (add to Week 7 - 8/8-8/12)
Please add your student's name HERE if you are interested in signing up for these camps. If we have 10 or more students, we will look into adding a second camp!
Find all camp information here and register through Popsicle.
|
|
Haven’t ordered a 2021/2022 Yearbook yet? Now is your chance!
|
|
Carpooling Map Opt-in Form is Open |
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).
|
|
Re-Enrollment Survey for All Current TCGIS Families |
Help us prepare for the 2022-2023 school year by completing our re-enrollment survey! Please click here to fill out the survey by March 25th. If you have more than one student at TCGIS, please submit one form for every child in your family who is currently in grades K-7.
Filling out this form is not required in order to attend TCGIS next year but it is extremely helpful for the school. We gather information about returning and withdrawing students to plan our class compositions for the next year. We appreciate your participation; thank you in advance!
|
|
School Board Announcements |
|
Authorizer Contract Renewal |
|
Our 5-year contract with our authorizer, the University of St. Thomas, expires at the end of June. TCGIS applied to renew our contract, and we have been approved for another 5 years, the longest contract period offered by UST. The board will commence finalizing the contract terms, which include how TCGIS is measured and evaluated each school year. The notice of renewal and the final review from our previous contract, including all 5 school years are available for review. |
|
Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings |
|
The board of directors meets twice a month at the Committee of the Whole and the Regular Board meetings, both public meetings. All are invited to attend school board and board committee meetings. It’s a great way to stay engaged and informed regarding the governance of our public charter school and independent school district. Upcoming meetings and their agendas are listed below. Zoom links are available on the agendas and on the online school calendar.
March Board Meeting: Thurs., Mar. 31, 6:30 PM, Flex Room and Zoom
Fundraising & Development Cmte: Tues., Apr. 12, 8:30 AM; Agenda
Mission & School Culture Cmte: Wed., Apr. 13, 3:45 PM; Agenda
Governance & Leadership Development Cmte: Mon., Apr. 18, 4:30 PM; Agenda
Finance & Facilities Cmte: Tues., April 19, 6:00 PM; Agenda
Cmte of the Whole: Wed., April 20, 6:30 PM; Agenda
April Board Meeting: Thurs., April 28, 6:30 PM
|
|
GAI's Pork & Kraut Curbside Dinner |
$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!
|
|
Get a head start on German for your Preschooler! |
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. |
|
German Tutors for TCGIS Students |
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. |
|
March 24: BIPOC Affinity Group
March 31: School Board Meeting
April 4-8: Spring Break
April 13: Modern Families Think Tank
April 30: Maskenball
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
