Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,

This week I am delighted to highlight the upcoming PTO Maskenball. You can see more details in the PTO section below, but I want to underscore how important (and how fun!) this major annual fundraiser is for our school. Come join us on March 25th beginning at 7:00 pm at the University Club in St. Paul for an adults-only, Hollywood-themed evening together featuring appetizers, live music, and an auction (including student art!). This is such an enjoyable way to help the PTO do its important work of supporting teacher professional development, providing classroom resources, and helping to build a fund to support playground renovation. 

Hope to see you there!

mit Begeisterung,

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!

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 two presentations to introduce this important work to our TCGIS community, and to provide a forum for discussion. The second talk by TCGIS teacher, Rachael Schlee, is rescheduled for March 9 at 5:00 pm.

Note Time Change: Thursday, March 9, 5:00 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.

We invite 5th grade families to join administrators Elizabeth Zehnpfennig and Michael White for a conversation around 5th graders and their needs for challenge and support. We will meet in the TCGIS Cafeteria tonight from 6pm to 7pm with Google Meet option.

The City of Saint Paul has declared a 1-sided residential street winter parking ban will be in effect beginning on Friday, March 10 at 8 a.m. and will be in effect until April 15, or earlier if the city determines the street conditions allow the ban to be lifted. 

Parking is not allowed on even-numbered sides of residential streets. In Saint Paul, the even-numbered side of the street is typically the south or east side of the street. Residents and visitors must park on the odd side of residential streets and follow all posted parking rules on arterial (main) streets. www.stpaul.gov/1sideparkingmap

Sign-up for conferences closes on Wed., March 15 at 8PM.



Spring Conference Dates:

• Thursday, March 30th, 4pm-7:30pm: all meetings are in-person (Elementary, Middle School, Special Education)
• Friday, March 31st, 8:10am-3:30pm: all meetings are virtual (Elementary, Middle School, Special Education)

You should have received a Constant Contact email with sign-up information on Wednesday, March 1 at 8pm (when the window opened).

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 date and time for this event is Thursday, May 11, 2023 from 5pm -7pm.

If you have not done so already, 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!

Maskenball is March 25th - Save the Date and book the sitter! Our theme this year is Hollywood! We can't wait to see how creative you get. Go glam, old school, red carpet, Hollywood punk - whatever you come up with will be amazing! Buy tickets here.

We need YOU to make a successful Auction happen! Deadline for submissions is Sunday, March 12th, We're looking for your amazing crafts, your delicious food, super cool items, and great stuff from your favorite stores. Got season tickets to a playhouse or a sports team? Want to host a movie night? Or water play date for your kid's class? This is the time and place to do it. You can email the Auction team at auctiontcgispto@gmail.com. Auction Great Stuff here. Auction Great Gatherings here.

We know it doesn't feel like Spring right now, but let's brighten up your day and check out these amazing plants available in the Spring plant sale! Go to Gertens to order. Our school ID is 550. Orders must be completed by 10 PM on Thursday, April 6. Orders will be ready for pick up on May 12.

This May, the community will elect three directors to the TCGIS School Board. Based on the current board composition and TCGIS bylaws, directors elected through the upcoming election must include at least one parent and at least one teacher. The third director can be a parent, a teacher, or a community member. Each will be elected to serve a three year term that begins in June. We seek any interested persons, especially those with experience in financial compliance, education, board governance, legal matters, management and leadership, and marketing and development. 

If you are interested in serving or would like to nominate someone to serve, all details and forms are available here. You do not need to be nominated to apply. All nominations and applications are due by April 10.

By serving on the School Board, YOU can help our school, strengthen connections within our community, and make important decisions that affect the future.

Haven’t bought a Yearbook yet? There’s still time! Use this link to order one. We have 60 copies left to sell!

Parents/guardians of elementary students are invited to read a book in your student's class throughout the month of March. 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.

Our 3rd annual Lesemarathon has begun! Here's how students can participate:

• READ & RECORD! (any language counts!) From March 6-20, students track minutes spent reading, being read to, or listening to an audiobook using our minute tracker (tracking sheets are being sent home with students this week and are also available to print here).
• SUBMIT your minutes March 19-20th using this Google Form.

Help us prepare for the 2023-2024 school year by completing our re-enrollment survey! Please click here to fill out the survey by March 24th. 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! 

The MCAs (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) are administered state-wide each spring in grades 3-12. Assessments begin in March and go through the beginning of May. You can learn more about MCAs by reading this information from the Minnesota Department of Education. Important Additional Information can be found here.

The next MCAs are:

• Grade 3: March 27th, 28th
• Grade 4: March 29th, 30th

The data we glean from the MCAs is helpful in informing instructional and curricular decisions. Parents and guardians have the right to refuse participation in MCA testing by filling out this form, which can be submitted in hard copy in the office or by email to dnicholson@tcgis.org. Please submit this form at least 3 days before your child(ren)’s first assessment so we have time to process it.

March 5-11, 2023 is National School Social Work Week, an opportunity for schools, communities, and partners to acknowledge and recognize the impactful work School Social Workers do to support students, families, and their communities. 

The theme for National School Social Work Week 2023 is “We Rise.” During the school year, School Social Workers are confronted with challenges, heightened anxieties, and anticipated difficulties. However, School Social Workers face these challenges with strength and resilience. School Social Workers rise up - supporting their students, families, and school communities. School Social Workers rise to share hope. They rise to listen and understand. They rise to challenge inequities. They rise to support all students. 

Please join us in acknowledging our hard-working School Social Worker, Diana Erwin, MSW, LGSW! 

Governance Meeting Mon., March 13 - 4:30PM, Google Meet *Rescheduled due to the board meeting schedule change

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

Diversity & Belonging Meeting Tues., March 21 - 4:30PM; Google Meet

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

TCGIS is proud to be hosting the exhibit Lest We

Forget, a touring collection of twenty-four 3D multimedia works of art with short literary

vignettes. Lest We Forget translates the stories of Fred Amram, a child Holocaust survivor, into

visual art.

TCGIS would like to recognize Nuveen/TIAA for providing the grant funding to make this exhibit possible. Additionally, we offer our heartfelt thanks to the TCGIS family who named our school as the recipient of this employer grant.

On Thursday, March 16, at 6:30 P.M., the public is invited to hear Ms. Brick speak about Mr. Amram’s life and about their collaboration to tell his story. This free event will be held in the TCGIS school atrium.

On Sunday, March 26th, 4:00-6:00 pm– the Lest We Forget exhibit will be open to the public a second time at TCGIS. There will not be a program; community members are welcome to view the exhibit independently.

Enrollment is open for spring lessons with Vienna Community Arts. We have spots available for piano, ukulele, classical guitar and for choir. Registration is also open for summer lessons in all instruments and also for voice and choir.

Email Nancy or Herbert at infoviennarts@gmail.com.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Ab aufs Eis! We had so much fun last time, we’re doing another German Community Hockey Night. The Wild go head to head with Jets. Admission includes a limited edition Wild-German scarf. Wear your German-related fan gear to show your German and MN Wild pride! 

Note: In order to join us for GAI-specific activities, tickets MUST be purchased through this link.

March 11 – 7:30 p.m.

March 12 – 2:00 p.m.

E.M. Pearson Theatre

Ethnic Dance Theatre returns to the stage for two shows, presenting traditional dance, music and songs from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. Our production showcases selections from Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Austria and more! Featuring the EDT Folk Orchestra and special guests Mila Vocal Ensemble. Buy tickets 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!

March 6-20: Lesemarathon (Read-a-thon)

March 9: Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Talks at TCGIS

March 9: 5th Grade Challenge & Support Night

March 16: Lest We Forget event at TCGIS

March 25: Maskenball & Auction

March 26: Lest We Forget exhibit open to public

March 30 & 31: Parent/teacher conferences

March 31: No school



TCGIS Google Calendar