ISSUE 557/November 2, 2023 | |
Message from the Principal | |
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Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft / Dear TCGIS Community,
Thanks to all who came to do crafts with students and to be our crowd for our Halloween parade on Tuesday. What a fun and magical day! You can see our great photos on TCGIS’ Instagram.
We now turn our thoughts from costumes and candy to giving thanks and showing gratitude. As we prepare for our community’s celebration of Martinstag, we ask our students and families to consider how they can participate in our Spendenwoche/Week of Generosity. Thanks to our Fundraising committee for organizing the "Münzen Matter'' Coin Drive. Maybe your student has some coins from a piggy bank or allowance to add to the drive. To honor the story of Martin, our community has also arranged a coat and hygiene product drive. With the shift in weather, I am sure we all took stock of whether jackets still fit or not. Please consider donating your last year’s jackets to our coat drive.
This is an amazing community and I am grateful everyday to be a part of it.
Wir sind TCGIS! We are TCGIS!
Elizabeth Zehnpfennig, Principal
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Mark your calendars! November is a busy month! | |
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Friday November 3rd
Saturday November 4th
Monday November 6th
Wednesday November 8th
Thursday November 9th
Friday November 10th
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Last Call to Sign Up for Fall Conferences! | |
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Sign-up for conferences closes on Wednesday, November 8 at 8pm.
Fall Conference Dates:
- Monday, November 20th, 4-7:30: all meetings will be offered in-person OR virtual (Elementary, Middle School, Special Education)
- Tuesday, November 21st, 8:10-3:30: all meetings will be offered in-person OR virtual (Elementary, Middle School, Special Education)
Click here for more info.
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Kinderclub Closed this Monday, Nov. 6! | |
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Kinderclub will be closed this Monday, November 6th for medical training.
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Parent Social & Orientation Night: THIS MONDAY
Nov. 6th
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The Parent Council is excited to launch our first ever Parent Social & Orientation Night on Monday, November 6. We want to bring parents together to get to know one another, learn more about the school and ways to get involved, and share strategies for parent success at TCGIS. Join us for some or all of this event, and please help us plan space by registering here. This event is for adults, but we hope to have child care available to enable more folks to join us!
- 5:30-6:30 Social hour and food truck*
- 6:30-7:15 All parent session
- 7:15-8:00 Choose your own adventure (booths) – connect with representatives from various parent-led groups within the school or groups that support parents and families
Social hour Food Truck details: Come out and enjoy some food from D&D Goodies along with other TCGIS parents!! (menu)
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Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Family Affinity Group Events | |
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This Saturday, November 4, the BIPOC affinity group will meet at Fort Snelling State Park Visitor Center at 9:30 am for a naturalist guided trail walk. This is an opportunity to gain a better understanding of why the area where the waters meet is so significant. After the nature walk, we’ll head to the Dripping Root Juice Bar to have smoothies from 11:30-12:30. All are welcome to join!
Save the Dates for future BIPOC affinity group events!
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Capstone Fundraiser: THIS SATURDAY | |
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Support TCGIS Capstone THIS SATURDAY at
Chipotle 2720 Lincoln Dr. Roseville, MN.
33% of sales ordered from this Chipotle from 4-8 p.m. will be donated to Capstone. You must show this photo or bring in the flyer in order to benefit the fundraiser. If you order online, use code 3PDP4TN. See you there!
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Fundraising items going home tomorrow: remember to check backpacks! | |
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Tomorrow we’ll send your child home with a paper bag for your family to put any coin donation inside, should you wish to participate in the TCGIS Coin Drive, Münzen Matter. Please send the bag back to TCGIS with your child so they can pour their donation into a jar in their homeroom or advisory.
Coins collected during the drive, November 6th - 17th, will support the TCGIS Annual Fund.
On November 9th, at our Martinstag Celebration, we will be hosting a Coat Drive where families are encouraged to bring in gently used coats to donate to Joseph's Coat. If you are unable to bring your coats to our event on the 9th, we will also be collecting them on Friday, the 10th and Monday the 13th. Thank you for participating in TCGIS’s Coats & Coins drive!
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St. Martin's Day Celebration - Thursday, November 9th at 5:30 p.m. | |
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Please join us for our St. Martin’s Day celebration and traditional lantern parade starting at 5:30 on Thursday, November 9th!
Click here for the full run-down!
- We will gather in the gym for a short performance of St. Martin’s Day music. 2nd grade and 4th grade will be performing, the TCGIS band will play, and middle schoolers will enact the story of St. Martin.
- Afterwards students can parade singing through the neighborhood around the school with lanterns! Grades K-3 are making lanterns in art class. If students in other grades want to carry lanterns, they will need to bring / make their own. (Just singing and walking is also fine. Lanterns are not a requirement - just fun!)
- Frau Lenburg will have small lights for sale in the gym for anyone needing a light for their lantern. Please email her at alenburg@tcgis.org if interested in helping to sell the lights.
- After the lantern parade, enjoy treats from the Capstone Bake Sale in the cafeteria. Please note that all food must stay in the cafeteria or outside.
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PTO Auction Closing and Movie Night! | |
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The Auction closes TOMORROW night at 8pm!
Make sure you sign up for the events and get that basket or cake you've been dreaming about! Get your bid on here!
Join us for our next meeting - next Friday night - November 10th at 6pm. It's our first pizza and a movie night! We'll be showing the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Please RSVP here so we get enough food.
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Curriculum Advisory Committee: Public Input Session | |
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TCGIS’s Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC) is hosting a public input session on TCGIS’s progress toward Minnesota’s statewide achievement goals:
- All children are ready for school.
- All third-graders can read at grade level.
- All racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.
- All students are ready for career and college.
Please join the CAC to review progress over the past year and plans for the current school year and beyond to drive student achievement and readiness for the next steps in their educational journeys. The meeting will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, November 8 at 7 pm. As this is a public input session, questions and discussion are welcome and encouraged.
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Will you have a NEW student in 2024-2025? | |
Enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year is now open! If you have a NEW student who will attend TCGIS in the 2024-2025 school year, please submit an application for admission online or by mailing a paper application. The enrollment window is open until the deadline on February 23, 2024. Siblings of currently-attending TCGIS students receive sibling preference for enrollment; for more information about TCGIS' enrollment process, please visit our enrollment webpage. Please direct any questions to enrollment@tcgis.org. Currently-enrolled students do not need to reapply. | |
Festival of Cultures: Interest Survey | |
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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, February 8, 2024, 5 pm-7 pm.
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
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Our PBIS team launched the School Store/Schulladen for students in grades 5-8. Students can "buy" items using their earned Mausmünzen. The energy around the store has been so positive!
We are looking for donations to our Schulladen - Either via Infinite Campus OR via purchases on this Amazon Wishlist. If you have questions, please contact Catherine Radecki.
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Parent/Caregiver Support Groups | |
Last year we ran a PBIS at home group. We would love to again offer Parenting/Caregiver Support Groups this school year. Please fill out this survey so we can gauge the interest in the community and prepare. We look forward to hearing from you. Check here for more information about family groups at TCGIS. | |
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! | |
Lost and Found Volunteers Needed | |
We are looking for volunteers to help sort and organize the TCGIS Lost and Found throughout the year. Time commitment is flexible, you could volunteer to help for one week or many. It takes about 1 hour per week and we'd like to have 1-2 volunteers come in each week to keep the space tidy. If you can volunteer or would like more information, please email Parent Council. | |
School Board (Schulvorstand) Announcements
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The board of directors hired Karen Klinzing as the TCGIS Executive Director through the 2025-26 school year with a unanimous vote at the October 26, 2023 board meeting. The extensive school leadership experience Director Klinzing brings enhances the strengths of the TCGIS community. Together with the leadership of Principal Elizabeth Zehnpfennig and Director of Operations Kim Hackett, TCGIS is well-positioned to advance strategic initiatives and continuously improve the innovative education of the whole child through German immersion for our students.
The recommendation presented to the board is available here.
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At the October meeting, the board recognized the contributions of the administrators who organize the capstone exchange program, the school’s food service staff, and the families who hosted German exchange students in September. Please see the recognition slides and listen to the remarks in the meeting recording. | |
November Board Meeting Date Change | |
The board approved a date change for the November meeting. It will be held on Wednesday November 29, 2023 at 6:30pm on Zoom. | |
Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings | |
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Finance Meeting: Tues., Nov. 7 - 6:30PM; Zoom
Cmte of the Whole: Thur., Nov. 16 - 6:30PM; Room 100
Governance Meeting: Mon., Nov. 13 - 4:30PM; Google Meet
Diversity & Belonging Cmte: Tues., Nov. 14 - 6PM; Google Meet
Communication Meeting: Tues., Nov. 21 - 4PM; Zoom
Board Meeting: Wed., Nov. 29 - 6:30PM; Room 100 or Zoom
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German Film Festival begins next Thursday! | |
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Thursday, November 2–5
Ranging from madcap humor to hard hitting topics, the GAI's Twin Cities German Film Festival highlights the German capital city of Berlin. Showing at the The Main Cinema (formerly St. Anthony Main Theatre) in Minneapolis. Concessions at the theater include beer and wine in addition to popcorn and candy.
All films except One, Two, Three are in German with English subtitles.
Advance tickets $10 | Same-day tickets $12 | Field trip $6
Learn more and buy tickets here.
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Kohlfahrt—Norddeutscher Nachmittag | |
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Saturday, November 11 | 1–3 PM | At Summit Brewing
Beer, Boßeln (road bowling), a stick-to-your ribs meal of smoked pork, sausages, cooked kale, and Salzkartoffeln—what else would you rather do on a Saturday afternoon in November? The traditional Kohlfahrt (cabbage tour) is a gathering of friends to celebrate the harvest of kale in Northern Germany. Come learn what it’s all about!
Your ticket includes the pork and kale meal, one beverage (additional beverages are available for purchase), and everything needed for boßeln. Sorry, no Schnapps allowed at the brewery. The pork and kale will be served at 2 p.m. Vegan meals are available on request. $30 GAI members/$40 nonmembers
Buy tickets at gaimn.org/calendar/kale
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GERMAN FILM Fritzi: Eine Wendewundergeschichte | |
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When twelve-year-old Fritzi’s friend does not return from vacation, Fritzi and Sputnik, her friend’s dog, set out in search of her. Set in East Germany, this animated film retells the story of the 1989 peaceful revolution from a child’s perspective.
Part of the 2023 Twin Cities German Film Festival | Sunday, November 5 at 1:00 PM | The Main Cinema
Check out the rest of the film fest lineup! Tickets linked here!
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Intercultural Engagement Opportunities | |
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! | |
Contact info in case of emergency and sickness | |
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In case of an emergency or sickness of your student we need to reach you in a timely manner, please make sure to update and check your information in Infinite campus:
- Name, phone numbers, order of who should be called first. Please make sure your Voicemail is available in case you can’t answer the phone right away.
According to our General Student Illness Guidelines in our handbook:
”... ,if (a student is) too ill to remain at school, the Health Office will contact adult(s) in the order designated on the student’s Emergency Contact list (parents/guardians will be notified first) as soon as possible. Students are not allowed to call/text parents for pick up.
A parent, guardian, or other designated responsible adult must be available to pick up the student within one hour of phone call in the event of a serious illness or injury; this is for the health and safety of the student, as well as for the rest of the student body.”
We understand that this can be challenging for families, please plan for a backup plan if you are not able to pick up your student yourself.
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Friday November 3rd
Saturday November 4th
Monday November 6th
Wednesday November 8th
Thursday November 9th
Friday November 10th
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