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 TCGIS Online Calendar
Upcoming Events:
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Oct. 24 - PTO Auction OPENS!
Oct. 25 - Intern Breakfast, 1st Grade
Oct. 29 - Conference Sign-up Opens
Oct. 30 - Board Meeting
Oct. 31 - Halloween Celebrations
Nov. 1 - NO SCHOOL
Nov. 8 - Saint Martinstag
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| Message from the Director |
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Watch today's Videogruß (video greeting) from Ted and hear about what we've been up to this week. (Unfortunately there's no embedded video this week due to unexpected technical difficulties.)
This week's Elternbrief is chock-full of important and interesting information about upcoming events. Please take a few moments to read all the way to the end.
Vielen Dank und Schönes Wochenende!
Thank you and have a great weekend!
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School Board Announcements
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Mark your Calendar! Morning Circle & Kaffeeklatsch
The School Board will host this year's first Kaffeeklatsch, a long-time TCGIS tradition, on Friday November 8, 8:15 am-9:30 am. Parents have the opportunity to observe morning circle time in their child's classroom, and then join other parents, administration and school board members for coffee and conversation in the foyer. We look forward to seeing you!
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Next School Board Meeting: Wednesday, Oct. 30
The school board meets next Wednesday evening in room 100 from 6:30-8:30 pm. The
agenda
includes a presentation on student assessments from Mike Mullins, the director of teaching and learning, review of the annual report, and special recognition to select staff and parent volunteers. All are invited to attend!
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Let's Build a School Together!
There are now six posters on display at TCGIS to remind us of our goals. We've shared the four posters in the series so far. Here are the last two of the six posters.
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Does Your Employer Match Donations?
A number of companies in the Twin Cities match their employees' donations to nonprofits and educational institutions. Do you know if your employer does? Now is a great time to ask! A matching donation from your employer is a simple way to amplify your gift to the school!
The Fundraising and Development Committee is seeking volunteer "Company Captains": TCGIS parents who have experience with employer-grant-matches at their workplace and who could be a resource for fellow TCGIS parents who work at the same company but are unfamiliar with the grant-matching process. If you'd like to volunteer in this capacity, please email Katharina:
kschirg@tcgis.org. Vielen Dank!
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Give to the Max Day is Coming!
Over the next three weeks we'll showcase our intern program and its impact on our school community as part of our fall fundraising drive in conjunction with Give to the Max Day. Watch for fun interviews and messages about how you can help us make the intern program sustainable at TCGIS.
Your donation help us cover the cost of visas, lunches, monthly stipends and more for our Intern Program.
Learn more at our new micro-site:
extramiletcgis.org
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Conferences Sign-up opens Tuesday, Oct. 29
Conference Dates:
Thursday, Nov 14 4:30-7pm
Friday, Nov 15 8:10am-3:30pm
All families will receive a Constant Contact email with sign-up information at 8pm CT (when the window opens) on Tuesday, Oct 29.
Elementary School Conferences
Conferences this year will remain the same for Elementary School families.
The Fall Conference sign-up window opens Tuesday, Oct 29 at 8pm CT and runs through Nov 12 at 8pm CT.
Prior to conference scheduling, be sure to make a list of all of the teachers you would like to meet with (the scheduler does not provide this) as well as a list of times that you would like to attend.
Middle School Conferences
*
New this year*
Conferences for
Middle School families will be
Open Conferences for all
Academic Teachers.
Open Conferences
allows parents of older students the flexibility of attending conferences if they feel the need to meet with a specific teacher. You are welcome to come anytime during the hours of conferences to have a 10 minute
unscheduled conference with any academic teacher at a time that works best for you.
If you would like to meet with a
Specialist (Art, Drama, Sport, Tech),
you will need to sign-up for a 10 minute conference slot once the sign-up window opens on Tuesday, Oct 29 at 8pm CT.
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School Photos Updates
School photos & proofs have not arrived yet. We are anticipating them to arrive any day now, but since Lifetouch has merged with Shutterfly, things seem to be moving slower than expected!
As soon as they arrive, we will send them home. If you have questions, you can contact Lifetouch directly at 1-800-736-4753.
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Join Us for Our Halloween Celebration: Thu., Oct. 31
Costumes are what make the day exciting, of course, however, please
avoid the following:
- NO masks
- NO blood/gore
- NO weapons
- We STRONGLY DISCOURAGE small accessories (they tend to get lost throughout the day, which results in tears!)
- NO shared candy
Parade at 2:30 - Parent Viewing at Chatsworth Woods
Come to Chatsworth Woods at 2:30pm for our school-wide parade! (Chatsworth Woods is the park directly east of school along Chatsworth Avenue.) At 2:20 p.m. students will start lining up outside the school on Van Slyke, and will then parade to Chatsworth Woods. We ask families to please stay off the grass and the neighborhood sidewalks, waiting in Chatsworth Woods for the children to arrive. When the children arrive in the woods feel free to take pictures and shoot video, but please do not pull them out of the parade. Instead, you are welcome to join your child at this point, returning to school with them while walking the parade route.
Dismissal
For the safety of all students we will ALL return to school for a 3:15 dismissal. Parents: please do
not
take your child(ren) home from Chatsworth Woods or along the parade route; instead, children must return to their specific classrooms until school dismissal. You may join your child(ren) in the classroom and sign out your son or daughter from there.
If you plan to leave with your child after school, please set your child's PikMyKid mode to walking pickup or independent walker so we don't send them to the bus or car pick up.
Absence from School for Personal Reasons
If you choose to keep your child from school on October 31, it is recorded as an Excused Absence with a parent email or written note sent to the school office:
info @tcgis.org
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Halloween at TCGIS: Alternative Activities
We are offering alternative fun activities this year if you would like your child to
not participate in the Halloween parade and afternoon parties because of religious or moral objections. Please email Michael White (
mwhite @tcgis.org), TCGIS School Culture and Student Success Coordinator, to let him know by 4pm on October 29. Students are unable to opt-out on their own - the email
must come from a parent. Please be aware that other Halloween-themed lessons and activities will take place in classrooms throughout the day.
If you choose to keep your child from school on October 31, it is treated as an Excused Absence with a parent email or written note sent to the school office -
info @tcgis.org.
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2nd Grade Neighborhood Clean-up
The 2nd graders did a neighborhood clean-up walk on the last day of school before fall break. We collected a lot of garbage around Como Lake and along Como Park towards Como Zoo and by the Picnic Shelters. It was a cold day, but we felt awesome about doing something positive for the environment.
2A (Frau Zinnow's class) pictured above
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Expansion of Health Education Program
TCGIS is excited to announce we are expanding our sexual health education program to include fall and spring courses in social and emotional health for grades 4-8. These additional classes will be taught by TCGIS staff member Clarissa Herman who is an experienced health educator. Examples of the new topics include staying safe online, maintaining healthy friendships, and managing emotions. More information will be sent home to parents next week via email including specific courses and the option to opt-out, please look for this in your inbox next week.
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Fall Screening Complete
We screened all students in grades K-8. Depending on the grade level we screened in the following academic areas:
Math//English Reading//German Reading
Why do we screen? These screenings are formative assessments and provide us, along with teacher input from classroom work, the two most important data points we use in assessing student progress. Read more about why and how we screen here.
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Saint Martin's Day Celebration: Friday, Nov. 8 at 5:00 pm
Please join us for a traditional St. Martin's Day lantern parade! Students 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!) As part of the parade there will be a small reenactment by Middle School Students of the story of St. Martin. After the lantern parade, enjoy treats from the Capstone Bake Sale at Mission OPC (the church across the street).
We would love to have parents / guardians / grandparents / siblings etc. join in the singing! Here are links to slide presentations for the 2 songs we will be singing during the parade. On the first slide of each are links to videos of each song (one with voices and one with just accompaniment). Your student can help you learn the songs.
Please note: All students must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
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Parent Council Updates
The 2019-2020 TCGIS Parent Council had our first meeting on Oct. 7th, 2019. Last year's council members joined us to help the new members understand how the council functions and point us in the right direction. Watch for an email update from your EK about your specific Parent Council representative in the days to come.
One current topic we'd like to hear from you about is the annual visit of Krampus to our school. Please complete the short google survey
linked here
to let us know your feelings about this event.
You can always email the Parent Council as a whole with questions, concerns, or celebrations at
parent-council@tcgis.org
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October 22 Mausmünzen Drawing!
The selected students have shown exemplary behavior at TCGIS during the school day and are representing their class and grade level.
Meistermäuse have demonstrated to staff one or more of the following praised traits: Sicherheit (safety), Verantwortung (responsibility), Respekt (respect), and Freundlichkeit (kindness).
KB - name and photo withheld by request; 1A - Everett, 2B - Gwyneth;
3A - Stella; 4C - Julian; 6C - Aaron; 8A - Mathias; Staff - Frau Simon
May they continue to make our school a better place!
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| After School & Extra-curricular Activities |
Register
here!
More than half of our slots have already been filled. If you are interested, please register soon before the uniforms are all gone!
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PTO Updates  |
The PTO Auction is OPEN for bidding!
Don't miss out the chance to snatch up seats at the Hogwarts table, spots in the cookie exchange, or space in backyard yoga. Find your community and strengthen relationships within our awesome school! Check out the great offerings here!
*New this year: Outbidding has changed! Text messages will be sent instead of emails if you have been outbid. If you do not have texting capabilities, please revisit the website to monitor your items! Thank you and happy bidding!*
The
Auction
closes at midnight on Saturday, November 2nd.
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Join Us: PTO Meeting Meal and Guest Speaker
When: Thursday November 7
Where: TCGIS Room 100
Agenda:
6:30-6:45 Meal
6:45 Childcare begins
7:00 Guest Speaker Kim Kulhanek on topic of dual language/immersion education
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Staff Appreciation Meal Sign-ups
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Important PTO Dates and Events for 2019-20
Have a look at the
2019-20 PTO Dates to see what great things we have in store this year!
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Local German Cultural Events
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Windsbacher Knabenchor
performs this Saturday
The Windsbach Boy Choir from Bavaria, together with the North Star Boys Choir, will perform vocal music by Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms and more.
More info here.
Saturday, October 26, 7:00 p.m.
St. John's Lutheran Church, Corcoran, MN
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Lessons from the German-Jewish Migration
Presented by
The Leo Baeck Institute - New York|Berlin and
Mount Zion Temple
This event explores the history of the German-Jewish diaspora through the lens of material
objects: How does one pack for displacement? What things matter when one's life is turned
upside down? How did objects that were placed in boxes in Hamburg, Vienna or Frankfurt fit into new homes in London, Buenos Aires or Minneapolis?
Learn more here.
Wednesday, October 30 - 7pm
Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
To RSVP for this event, please click
here. This event is complimentary but registration is required.
This event is part of the Year of German-American Friendship, initiated by the German Federal Foreign Offi ce and the Goethe-Institut, and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).
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Univ. of St. Thomas Fall Lecture and Reception:
"Good thing you didn't know - the real story of the night the Berlin Wall fell"
Dr. Jeffrey Engel will deliver a lecture he describes this way:
"This is the story of how the Wall opened, and how a massacre such as had just recently occurred in Tiananmen Square was ordered for East Germany, but fate-and a fair bit of luck-intervened. This is the real story of the Cold War's end in Europe, and how close it all came to being more catastrophic than soft velvet."
Monday, November 4, 2019
6pm - Reception including heavy hors d'oevres and open bar
7:15pm - Lecture and Q&A
8:45pm - "Tear Down" of our "Berlin Wall" (Campus Plaza)
Tickets
and more information about the event can be found
here.
The lecture is part of the 2019 "Wunderbar Together" Campus Campaign sponsored by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Washington, D.C. and the University of St. Thomas.
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Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig performing in St. Paul
The Twin Cities was selected for the grand finale concert in the Midwest for the
Gewandhaus Orchester Quintet concert on
November 8, 7:00-8:00pm. The venue will be the United Church of Christ, 900 Summit Avenue, St. Paul.
One of the oldest existing chamber ensembles in the world, the Gewandhaus Woodwind
Quintet was founded in 1896. The Quintet, originating in Leipzig, Germany, has performed
extensively across Germany and abroad. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of
the Berlin Wall, this program features a finale to the year of German-American friendship,
Wunderbar Together.
The new Consul General from Chicago, Wolfgang Mössinger, will give the opening address. All concert attendees are invited to the complimentary wine and cheese reception to follow.
Read more about the event
here
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Eddi Hüneke & Tobi Hebbelmann DUO Concerts
Eddi Hüneke
is a German a-cappella singer, who was in the German a-cappella group,
Wise Guys.
Their songs have been used by many a German teacher, including Waldsee and the
Goethe Institut.
Hüneke will be accompanied by Tobi Hebbelmann, who is a pianist from Cologne.
For tickets: please fill out this form
to the concert!
Note: TCGIS 5th and 7th graders will be attending one of their concerts at Spring Lake Park High School during the school day
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News from the GAI  |
Fall Events at the GAI
THIS FRIDAY Bier und Bingo Fundraiser
Friday, October 25 | 6-9 PM | Summit Brewing Ratskeller
Play Bingo, win fun prizes and drink beer-all to support the GAI's cultural programs.
More info
Gewandhaus Woodwind Quintet plays Bach and Mozart
Friday, November 8 | 7 PM | St. Paul's United Church of Christ
The Gewandhaus Woodwind Quintet, part of the world-famous Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, will give a free concert at St. Paul's United Church of Christ to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
More info
SAVE - THE - DATE Study abroad Infoabend
Tuesday, November 19 | 7 PM | Germanic American Institute
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