Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,

Excitement about History Day continues! Many of our students competed at the state level on April 22 at the University of Minnesota, and five of our talented 8th graders qualified to advance to nationals at the University of Maryland in June.

In the group documentary category, Eva Eakin, Zsuzsa Gallo, Evelyn Price advanced with their project on Fantastic Four #52: The First Mainstream Black Superhero.

In the research paper category, Theo Orsted advanced with his paper on The Panama Canal: A New Frontier for Tech, Trade, and Travel and Felicia Cook advanced with her paper on The Partition of India: The Creation of India and Pakistan's Frontiers.

We are so proud of these bright, hard-working historians and wish them all the best as they represent TCGIS on the national stage!

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!

The last day of school (June 14th) is scheduled as a full school day as part of the calendar changes to make up for snow days in 7th and 8th grades. Since transportation is organized school-wide, we cannot split elementary and middle school dismissal times. We recognize that this is a departure from tradition. There will still be a picnic in the park in the morning, and we’re planning many other fun activities for the afternoon. We’re all looking forward to celebrating the end of the year and the start of summer - thanks for your understanding and for your help in making the last day meaningful for our students!

Let’s celebrate the people and experiences that make our school special during the TCGIS Spring Fundraising Campaign. Tribute gifts of any amount made during the campaign will be recognized in our Garden of Gratitude, where flowers with the names of honorees will be “planted” and celebrated. Please consider making a gift to this year’s Spring Campaign to help TCGIS raise “$30K by the 30th of May” to meet our annual fundraising goal of $110,000.

Attention 8th grade families! We are happy to offer TCGIS Graduation yard signs for our 8th grade graduating class! These yard signs are available in the Infinite Campus School Store under 'Spirit Wear/Swag'. Signs are 18"x24", double-sided, come with a yard stand, and cost $20. The cut-off date to order is midnight on May 10th. Signs are expected to arrive in late May and can be sent home with students or picked up in the front office.

Kaffeeklatsch is a great opportunity to connect with other parents/guardians in our TCGIS community. Hosted by our School Board, Kaffeeklatsch will be held outside on the playground (weather permitting) on Friday, May 19 at 8am. There will be coffee and treats. We encourage attendees to bring their own mug and help keep our environmental impact low. In place of attending Morgenkreis, there will be classroom projects displayed in the school atrium, and a tour of the library will be offered at 8:30.

To prepare for the 2023-2024 school year, all families are required to fill out the Annual Update in Infinite Campus by Wednesday, May 31. You will be asked to verify your contact details and your child(ren)’s health information. If this form is not received, your child(ren) will not be allowed to participate in classroom neighborhood walks in the fall, and your middle school student(s) will not be issued a Chromebook. Click here for instructions to complete the Annual Update. Email info@tcgis.org with any questions.

Spring universal screening is near! Spring universal screening will begin Monday, May 8th, and continue through Friday, May 19th. We use screeners to identify those students who are on-track to meet grade-level standards in reading and math and those students who may need some additional support to keep them on-track to meet grade-level goals by the end of the school year. Meet some of our interventionists who are integral to conducting universal screening! Please also check out our universal screening resource: Screening FAQ. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Jessie Kember (jkember@tcgis.org) with any questions or concerns. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we work together to systematically support our students to reach their full potential. 

Hosting an intern weaves the language and culture your student(s) are learning into life outside of school through a personal relationship with a young adult from Germany, Austria or Switzerland. But the benefits don't stop there: host parents say they find the experience personally enriching as well. If you'd like to learn first-hand from a host family what it's really like to host before you apply, email Katharina Schirg and she'll connect you.

We are seeking host families for 10 interns who will join TCGIS in August!

"Meet" our fall interns here! 



Ready to apply? Fill out the Host Family Application (deadline May 19).

Learn more: tcgis.org/host-an-intern

Photo: Intern Ecem Üzüm making art with her host family, the Robertsons.

Thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday for the meet the candidate forum and special thanks to the PTO and Parent Council for hosting this event. The recording of it can be watched here. Now we ask for your participation in the school board election next week - cast a vote for the candidates who have stepped up to help lead our school as directors on the school board. Read more about our candidates here! 

The Diversity & Belonging committee is very happy to introduce the indigenous land acknowledgment to our TCGIS community after being approved at last month’s board meeting. Over the course of the last two school years, teachers, parents, and board members at TCGIS came together to learn about the indigenous history in Minnesota and discuss what a land acknowledgment could mean for TCGIS. This process included reading books written by Native authors, listening to podcasts interviewing Native people, and conducting research at the Minnesota Historical Society and museums. The knowledge and commitment formalized in the land acknowledgment will support educational efforts in regards to indigenous history in Minnesota in and outside of the classroom. The acknowledgment will be read and heard at the beginning of board and committee meetings as well as staff meetings and student assemblies. Thank you to Director Julie Alkatout, Dr. Kirsten Christensen, Director Richard Heid, Vanessa Koehler, Rachel Schlee, Dr. Tyler Norris Taylor, and Brenda Van Dyck for this important work!

-Director Kevin Eberhard, Chair of the Diversity & Belonging Committee

Ice Cream Social, Saturday, May 13, 2pm-3pm, Micholandia; 861 45th Ave. NE, Hilltop, MN. Let’s meet at this family-owned paleteria that offers Mexican ice cream and snacks with traditional flavors. Please plan to buy your own treats for this casual family meetup.

Year-end picnic, Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 5-7 pm @ Midway Peace Park. Let’s meet up for a potluck picnic and playtime. Please bring a dish to share and favorite yard games.

Sign up for our fall sports on May 15-31 on Infinite Campus (school store). All middle schoolers (current 4th-7th graders) are welcome to join our sports teams. Costs: $200.

• Cross-country 5th-8th grade: practices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and meets on varying days of the week
• Soccer 5th & 6th grade: practices on Mondays and games on Wednesdays
• Soccer 7th & 8th grade: practices on Tuesdays and games on Fridays

For more information, please check out our websites for cross-country (calendar) and soccer (calendar). With questions, please contact Athletic Director Tabisz.

Grab the family or a friend, put on your seeking hats, and go take a great walk around Como Park for a Scavenger Hunt. Saturday, May 13th from 10-2 and finish up at TCGIS for a prize. Sign up here.

We're working on refreshing the lounge and it really needs new furniture. Please consider donating, in any amount, if you can to help us buy a few new couches for them!

Our last meeting of the year is coming up on Sunday May 21st. Please join us for snacks, a craft and great conversation. Please RSVP here.

Check out this fast and helpful overview about Mental Health, what it is and how to take care of your child's Mental Health. If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out to the school social worker. We will collaborate with you and connect you with resources.

Raising Children Using Digital Technology & Social Media in a Healthy Manner:

School social worker Diana Erwin made this presentation for families to view. Danke, Frau Erwin!

We are opening 14 extra spots for Camp week 5: Wild about Nature (TK-2) with Herr Graf and Fr. Jelinski. If you are on the waitlist, you are automatically added and get a request to pay. Your spot is not guaranteed until it's paid in full. 

Registration opens tomorrow (5/5) at 8am and closes on Friday (5/12) at 6pm. Reach out to Michaela Bromenschenkel with any questions.

Vienna Community Arts studio offers lessons throughout the summer. If you are interested in continuing your music lessons or just want to try something new, we offer lessons in piano, classical guitar, ukulele, and voice. We also have summer choir opportunities. Contact Nancy or Herbert at infoviennarts@gmail.com.

Can you help spread the word about TCGIS? We are looking for as many volunteers possible to hang up copies of this flyer around the Twin Cities & surrounding areas. Preschools, daycares, libraries, community centers, shops, cafés, etc.! Flyers are also available to be picked up in the front office, or be sent home with your student. Please email Frau Zimmerman with any questions.

Organized by our D10 neighborhood's community council, represent TCGIS at the upcoming Lake Como Clean-Up! Volunteers will gather with others in the community to clean trash from the lake surface or shoreline. We’ll meet near the dock on the lower level lake side of the Pavilion to pick up tools, supplies, and have a refreshment. Board Chair Julie Alkatout will be there to check in with you.We are giving a TCGIS T-shirt to our registered volunteers to thank you for demonstrating our school's value of community! Register here by May 21.

This inaugural event will showcase the variety of cultures of our TCGIS families, from Austrian to Zimbabwean! Fifteen cultures will be represented with table displays in the cafeteria and atrium. Musical performances, including the TCGIS Liederkranz youth choir and the GAI Minnesänger, will be held in the Sporthalle. Brick Oven Pizza food truck will be onsite for a convenient dinner! We hope you will join us! 

We still need several volunteers to help during the festival. Please sign up for a time slot and volunteer role here.

We’re seeking a community garden co-coordinator! For the 4th year, TCGIS will tend a plot in the D10 community garden near Snelling and Como Avenue. We plant around the end of May and donate produce throughout the summer to the Keystone Food Shelf. Sign up help coordinate, or to donate plants and materials here. Stay tuned for info to come on volunteering to plant, weed, harvest, and generally help the garden grow through the summer. Questions? Contact Julie Alkatout.

Communication & Outreach Committee Meeting Wed, May 10 - 12PM; Zoom

Governance Meeting Thurs., May 4 - 4PM; Google Meet

Fundraising Meeting Wed., May 10 - 8:30PM; Room 99

Diversity & Belonging Cmte Meeting Tues., May 16 - 4PM; Google Meet

Board Meeting Thurs., May 21 - 6:30PM, Room 100 & Zoom

For teachers and families with upper middle school to high school students

Thursday, May 11 | 6–7 PM | Zoom

Germany is one of the most popular study abroad destinations. Join us for a virtual information session to find out all about studying in Germany. DAAD representative Hanni Geist will explain what you need to prepare for your international study experience, how to find a study program, what requirements there are and how the application process works. There will be 15 minutes reserved for Q&A. Held online via Zoom. Register here.

Families looking for quality preschool should look no further than the GAI’s German Immersion Preschool! The Kinderstube program focuses on experiential learning in a play-based, German immersion preschool setting modeled after a combination of the German Kita and the American licensed preschool program. Learn more 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!

Mark your calendars! Middle Schoolers can celebrate the 2022-2023 school year on Friday, June 9th. DJ Erwin will join us again for the festivities. Tickets will be available for $5 online for purchase. We will once again have the fifth and sixth graders' dance be from 6:00-7:15 and our 7th and 8th graders from 7:30-9:00. Theme will be forthcoming!

We are looking for leaders and members who are interested in the LGBTQ+, Modern Family, and Gun Safety affinity groups.

• LGBTQ+: Please contact Michael White at mwhite@tcgis.org.
• Modern Family: Please contact Elizabeth Zehnpfennig at ezehnpfennig@tcgis.org.
• Gun Safety: Please contact Trish Jewett and/or Craig Chapman.

May 8-13: Staff Appreciation Week

May 11: Festival of Cultures

May 13: Scavenger Hunt (sponsored by PTO)

May 19: Kaffeeklatsch

May 21: PTO meeting

May 26: 7 & 8th grade school (K-6 no school)

June 9: Middle School Dance

June 14: Last day of school (Full school day)



TCGIS Google Calendar