Message from  the Director 
Liebe TCGIS Families, 

I write to you today with important status updates about our planning for our school community in light of the quickly evolving landscape regarding the COVID-19 virus. 

What we are doing now: 
  1. TCGIS will remain open unless otherwise directed by the MDH or another government agency. No recommendations for closure have come from any local health authority. 
  2. Teaching staff are preparing lesson plans for virtual learning. Our instructional technology staff are working out the details for technology use at home and providing support for teachers to make at-home learning possible for all students. TCGIS is evaluating the access to technology for all of our middle school students. 
  3. We are adjusting how conferences will be offered this evening and tomorrow with the following changes: 
    1. Elementary School Conferences:  if you're already at school when reading this , we will be glad to see you and proceed as usual. Otherwise we encourage all parents to connect by phone with teachers. Parents who choose this option should email the teacher(s) the number at which they would like to be called and expect a call at their scheduled conference time. 
    2. Middle School Conferences:  parents who are already here are welcome to drop in as planned . Parents who were planning to come but would prefer to hold a phone conference should email the teacher who will then call them back, depending on availability.  Because of the increased expectations for e-learning in secondary education, middle school conference hours on Friday will be reduced to enable teacher-time for collaboration on e-learning plans. The revised hours are between 8:00 - 9:30 am and 2:00-3:30pm. 
  4. Our facilities team is increasing daily sanitation of doors, bathrooms and common areas. Our nightly cleaning crew has been notified and is also doing more extensive cleaning.  In the lunchroom, we are communicating with lunch supervision staff to make sure students are properly sanitizing tables and staff are re-sanitizing as necessary. 
  5. Administration will be participating in a webinar conference call with the MN Dept of Ed tomorrow. Administrators are also in contact with leaders at other schools. 
  6. The Health Office and Front Office are recording and monitoring reports of student and staff illnesses. We are being flexible with attendance if your child is out of school longer than the 10 days in our attendance policy. 
  7. Kinderclub: will be open as scheduled today and Friday, however families who choose to cancel their Kinderclub during conferences last-minute will receive a full credit for that time. 
What you can expect: 
  1. TCGIS will continue to monitor the situation and all recommendations from appropriate authorities (CDC, MDH, MDE)
  2. In the event of a school closure, TCGIS teachers will share plans for at-home-learning that are grade-level appropriate and manageable.
  3. In the event of an abrupt change of the situation, TCGIS will use the text-message function to inform families. Otherwise communication will continue through the Elternbrief and special messages like this when necessary. 
  4. We will be good to each other as a community, remembering our TCGIS values of curiosity, kindness, challenge & support, intercultural engagement, and community. 
The last 24 hours have been very difficult for many members of our community. Thirty-five members of our staff, along with all of our interns, learned last night unexpectedly that their ability to travel home and back has been restricted. With spring break coming up, this has affected many people's travel plans. 

Finally, after weeks of monitoring, of deliberation, all of it intense and difficult, we decided today to cancel the 8th grade Capstone visit to Germany, a decision that while heart-breaking for all of us, is the only responsible one. Our students have waited so long for this experience and the successful visit from the fall only raised the excitement level. We announced it to the kids and families just minutes before this message went out. Please know that lots of our kids and families are hurting as you read this. 

In closing, I want to underscore the gratitude that I feel as I finish this message. The support from our parent community is unparalleled and the skill, commitment and care that I have witnessed from the team that educates our kids - from the EAs to the teachers to the office and custodial staff to the admin team - is as humbling as it is inspiring. These are hard days, for sure, but I wouldn't want to spend them with anyone else. 

We're building a school together. We will get through this. 

Mit dankbarem Gruß, 

Ted Anderson