Message from the Executive Director | |
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Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft / Dear TCGIS Community,
The School Board passed a new policy last Wednesday at the Board meeting - Policy 550 STUDENT USE OF PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES & CELL PHONES. All schools are required to have a policy in place by March 15, 2025. We used our working middle school tech procedures, as well as input from staff, parents, and students, in the formation of the policy.
Middle School students will read and review the policy next week during Advisory. We encourage parents to read the policy and discuss the implications with your child if they have a phone or smartwatch that they bring to school. And just a reminder that the front office is always available to find your student to relay messages.
Elizabeth Zehnpfennig, Executive Director
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Spring Conference Sign-Ups Now Open | |
Last Day to Check Lost and Found: TOMORROW! | |
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The last day to check the lost and found for any missing items is Friday, March 7th.
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Swag Store Closing Sunday! | |
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The TCGIS Swag Store is closing on Sunday, March 9th. Order your swag today! Will be delivered BEFORE spring break.
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Hard Lockdown Drill Rescheduled for March 10 | |
TCGIS will be conducting a Hard Lockdown Drill on March 10. This drill simulates our reaction to any event in the building that would require limiting movement and access throughout the building. Click here to read more about the drill. Any questions can be directed to Assistant Principal Catherine Radecki. | |
Food Service Team is Looking for Substitute Helpers | |
Our Food Service team is looking for substitute workers that can help out when team members are out sick, or on PTO. The job duties include participating in lunch preparation, service and clean-up and would require a time commitment of ca. 4-5 hours (9-1 or 2pm) each time. If you know someone (neighbor, family member), please have them reach out to Alex Weeding, Food Service Coordinator. | |
TCGIS Lesemarathon & Bookmark Contest | |
We kicked off the 1st Lesemarathon week by finding out, who won the bookmark contest. Our Elementary School winners are in 3rd place Fritz (2A), in 2nd place Amelia-Charlotte (4C) and in 1st place Zoe (4A). Our Middle School winners are in 3rd place Mina (6C), in 2nd place Leopold (7B) and in 1st place Mara (8A). All winners received a $10 bookshop gift card as a reward. Both 1st place winners will have the bookmark professionally printed and handed out to all TCGIS students in the library.
On Monday all students also received their minute tracker sheet for this years Lesemarathon (Read-a-thon). From March 3 - 14 all minutes spent reading in school and at home can be tracked. Reading in every language, listening to audiobooks and being read to counts. Students set individual class goals and rewards with their teacher and individual prizes for most minutes read in ES and MS will be handed out before spring break. Additionally, students received a Bingo sheet as an incentive to read at different places and giving a variation of genres a try, which will be rewarded with a small prize. Let's make this two weeks fun to read.
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New items for Mausmünzen School Store | |
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As reward for showing great examples of our school values kindness, respect, responsibility and friendliness receive Mausmünzen. Elementary Students have a weekly Mausmünzen announcement in which one winner of each class can get a little gift in the library. Most middle school students have collected a whole bunch and are able to buy items in our student council run school store. The store is selling every Friday and is running low on some items. If you are able and would like to support rewards for our students please consider buying an item form our amazon wishlist to be added to the prize pool and school store. A contribution of as low as $10 can make a big difference for your kids. Thanks for your help!
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Meet the Spring Interns - Host One Next Year! | |
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We are currently looking for host families for our fall interns from Aug - Jan. If you are curious about the intern program and consider hosting an intern in your family in the 25/26 school year, reach out to Nina Maslofski or Claudia Müller or use this link to send us a host family application.
One month with our spring interns. All of them have settled in pretty well and will start taking over more teaching responsibilities in March in the subjects and cohorts they know. This week meet the remaining four that haven’t been introduced: Thomas, Tammo, Emily and Viktor:
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Hallo an alle, I’m Thomas Dobler, and I’m from Lower Saxony in Germany. I am almost done with my studies for English and Music to become a teacher. Since I’ve been at TCGIS for a few weeks, I’ve already had the chance to meet a few colleagues and the school, and I’m very happy with everyone and everything. Thanks for having me!
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Moin! (The „Hello“ of Northern Germany)
My name is Tammo Hoofdmann and I’m 24 years old. I grew up in Aurich, which is a small city in East Frisia, Lower Saxony. I study German and English for elementary school education and I have been working with the students in 3rd grade these past weeks. Aside from the internship, I work out a lot, read and write short stories and novels, and I enjoy listening to music pretty much all the time. I’m also into traveling as well as photography/videography and I always bring my camera along, so I’m very eager to go on a few adventures while I’m here. It has been a great stay so far and I’m looking forward to the time, people and experiences ahead!
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Heeyy, my name is Emily Eich and I am 22 years old. I'm from Cologne, where I am currently studying to become a primary school teacher. At TCGIS, I am doing my internship in class 1b and I absolutely enjoy it. What I love about children is that they don’t overthink things. Instead of asking why they should, they simply ask why not and that’s something truly wonderful. Every day I learn new things and I keep meeting wonderful new people. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and tennis. I am looking forward to the rest of my time at the school and Minnesota. Even though it’s very cold, I appreciate the snow, something we don’t really have in Cologne.
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Hey there, I'm Viktor Beck from Austria. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm working with 5B for English, Math and German, and 5A for German. When I'm not at school I enjoy playing chess and going for walks. I also like animals. I've got two rabbits back home. And I had no idea that you had so many free roaming rabbits over here, so that's a nice surprise and a reminder of home. We got our first taste of spring this week and it felt good. I'm looking forward to the upcoming months!
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Apply to Join the TCGIS School Board! | |
If you’re looking for a meaningful way to make a difference at our school, consider serving on the TCGIS Board. The TCGIS Board is accepting applications or nominations for an appointment of a new parent, teacher or community member to serve the remainder of SY24-25 through SY26-27. The TCGIS Board is a nine-member volunteer body that works collaboratively with school leaders to provide strategic oversight of our school’s operations, finances, policies and more. Visit our website or email Board Chair Kersten Reich to learn more. | Parent Council Update March 2025 | |
The TCGIS Parent Council is an all-volunteer, elected organization that facilitates communication between families and TCGIS staff, teachers, and administration. Parents and care-givers can contact your class representative directly, or email us if you have questions or items you would like the Parent Council to address. Here is a link to the contact information and current openings for Parent Council, as well as an overview of the most recent meeting. | |
Get your Girl Scout Cookies at TCGIS Tomorrow! | |
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It's the most wonderful time of the year: Girl Scout Cookie Season! Our TCGIS Girl Scout Troop #57317 will be selling girl scout cookies after school on March 7 from 3:45 - 4:30 PM. Cookies are $6 a box - buy for yourself or donate to a local food shelf. Proceeds support our local troop in learning about the world around them through educational programs, badges, nature camps, service projects, all while building a strong community and lasting friendships. Cash, check, credit card, and venmo all accepted. Questions? Reach out.
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The Spring Plant sale is open!
It may not feel like Spring today, but it is on it's way! Get ahead on your planning with our Gerten's sale. We receive 30% of all sales. Order now and pick up will be on May 9th. You can choose from succulents, beautiful hanging baskets and tubs of flowers, veggies, strawberries, flowers, and more!
Visit gertensfundraising.com and enter ID 550
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Maskenball is going to be great this year! It's our annual themed gala event (this year it's CLUE!) and held at the Germanic American Institute this year. We'll have music, drinks, snacks and desserts, great conversation with our community, kid's art on display, and even a quiet space with board games! We can't wait to see you there!
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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! | |
Food Service Team is Looking for Substitute Helpers | |
Our Food Service team is looking for substitute workers that can help out when team members are out sick, or on PTO. The job duties include participating in lunch preparation, service and clean-up and would require a time commitment of ca. 4-5 hours (9-1 or 2pm) each time. If you know someone (neighbor, family member), please have them reach out to Alex Weeding, Food Service Coordinator. | |
School Board (Schulvorstand) Announcements
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Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings | |
- Fundraising Committee Meeting: Tuesday, March 11 at 12:30pm on Google Meet
- Committee of the Whole Meeting: Thursday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. in person at TCGIS.
- Governance Committee Meeting: Monday, March 17 at 4:30pm on Google Meet.
- School Board Meeting: Thursday, March 20 at 6:30pm in Room 100 and on Zoom.
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Wheelchair Accessible Housing Needed for GAI Exchange Student! | |
| |  | A group of college students from St. Paul's sister city, Neuss, Germany will be visiting the Germanic American Institute for about two weeks in early October 2025! One student, Eduarda, is in a wheelchair and can only join the trip if housing can be found for her and her assistant. One to two steps into the house are okay as long as her bedroom and a bathroom are on the first floor. There are no special requirements for the bathroom, shower or tub would be fine. Her assistant needs a room as well, but it doesn't need to be on the same floor as Eduarda. The host family would not need to drive Eduarda around (though you could if you are able). We are also hoping to find a volunteer for transportation. A wheelchair accessible vehicle is not necessary as Eduarda can get out of her wheelchair to get into a car. The wheelchair is foldable. The host family is welcome to participate in events during the students' stay, but it is not expected or necessary. This is a great opportunity to gain first-hand understanding of German cultures and customs. Please email Mari if you are available or interested in learning more.
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Useful Minnesota Revenue Resources for Families | |
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The income tax filing season is officially open. The Minnesota Department of Revenue is informing families that they can qualify for valuable tax benefits on their 2024 income tax returns.
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Child Tax Credit: Families may qualify for a Child Tax Credit of $1,750 per qualifying child with no limit on the number of children claimed. They can receive a refund even if they do not owe tax. For more information visit our Child Tax Credit webpage or watch our video on the Child Tax Credit.
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K-12 Credit and Subtraction: Minnesota has two tax relief programs for families with children in kindergarten through 12th grade: the K-12 Education Subtraction and K-12 Education Credit. Both programs help lower taxes and may provide a larger refund For more information visit our K-12 Education Subtraction and Credit webpage or watch our video on the K-12 Education Credit and Subtraction.
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Free Tax Preparation: Families may qualify for free tax preparation through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or AARP Tax-Aide. These programs prepare federal and state income tax and property tax refund returns. To find a free tax site near you visit our free tax preparation webpage.
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Watch Holstein Kiel play Minnesota United with your TCGIS friends! | |
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Join Twin Cities German Immersion School at Allianz Field when Minnesota United FC takes on Holstein Kiel, from the German Bundesliga! Discounted tickets are available while supplies last, and they cannot be resold online. All sales are final. We’re excited to organize this again for our community! Tickets average $33, 36, 44 (after fees). Click here to purchase your discounted tickets.
What: Minnesota United FC versus Holstein Kiel
When: Monday, July 7th at 7:00pm
Where: Allianz Field, St. Paul
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March 3-7 - Scholastic Book Fair
March 7 - Girl Scout Cookie Sales in Foyer
March 9 - Swag Store Closes
March 20 - Board Meeting
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