| Message from the Director |
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Schöne Frühjahrsgrüße von Herrn Anderson
Herr Anderson's shares a few thoughts before we head into Spring Break.
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| Videogruß vom Direktor 26. März 2020 |
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School Board Announcements
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Online Board Meeting tonight, 6:30 pm
The school board will hold its regular monthly meeting tonight from 6:30-8:30 pm by videoconference. Everyone is welcome to join this public meeting. Please connect to the WebEx meeting
via this link
, and enter the meeting number: 928 300 731. Alternatively, you may connect by phone by dialing 1-415-655-0003 and entering access code 928 300 731.
There will be a time for public comment, just like at in-person meetings. However, to minimize bandwidth and connectivity issues, please consider sending your comments to
board@tcgis.org
.
The board packet is available
here
. A summary of meeting highlights will be included in next week's Elternbrief.
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Upcoming Committee Meetings
Here are the scheduled upcoming committee meetings. Please contact the committee chair for meeting login details, should the public gathering restrictions still be in place.
Finance & Facilities Committee: Tues April 21, 6:30pm, contact
rheid@tcgis.org
April school board meeting: Thurs April 30, 6:30pm, details TBD
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Call for Nominations & Applications to the School Board
By serving on the TCGIS School Board, YOU can help our school, strengthen connections within our community, and make important decisions that affect the future.The work of the Board ensures that TCGIS provides a meaningful education and experience for all students.
This year, the community will elect
FIVE board members
to each serve a
three year term
. We seek any interested persons (
parents, teachers, and community members
), especially those with experience in management & leadership, diversity & inclusion, financial compliance, education, board governance, legal matters, and marketing & development.
If you are interested in serving or would like to nominate someone to serve, all details and forms are available through the links below. You do not need to be nominated to apply.
Important Dates
April 18
: All nominations and applications due by 4:45 pm. Send via email to Stephanie Forsland (
sforsland@tcgis.org
) or drop off in the school office.
TBD:
Meet the Candidates Forum
May 11-15:
Board elections, drop off all ballots by 4:45 pm on Friday, May 15.
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All-School Updates
Yesterday Governor Walz officially announced that schools will be closed through April. TCGIS teachers have continued to collaborate on and refine their equitable distance-learning plans for all students that will start after Spring Break on April 6. Tomorrow we will send another Community Update with more specifics on these distance-learning plans.
In the meantime, we have created two webpages to assist families with both health and wellness and German enrichment resources. You can find links to these below, on our
homepage, and in the footer of every Community Update, starting with #6.
In case you missed any of the email updates this past two weeks, find them here:
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TCGIS Distance Learning Attendance Form
To stay in compliance with Minnesota statutes, TCGIS will resume taking attendance starting Monday, April 6. Through the distance-learning period, attendance will be taken via a Google Form
filled out daily by parents. The deadline for each day will be 11:59 PM, and the first day to complete the form will be
April 6.
Detailed instructions, as well as a link to the form, will be contained in a future email on the morning of the 6th. Please contact
info@tcgis.org with any questions.
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Middle School Families: Technology Access Survey
Middle School Parents:
if you have not already completed the
MS Technology Access Survey
, please do this as soon as possible. Your feedback is vital information that helps us best support your student(s). Vielen Dank!
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Kinderclub Updates: Spring Break and April 2020
Kinderclub will be closed during Spring Break: March 30-April 3.
TCGIS will continue to provide care for students of Emergency Workers, First Responders and Essential Workers starting April 6th. You may review the list of eligible workers
here
.
If you will continue or need to start care at TCGIS please fill out
this form
by Monday, March 30
.
As a reminder we will provide care for your school-aged students between the ages of 5-12.
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Construction Updates
Despite all the upheaval construction is still going strong. There was a small delay due to a structural revision of the steel which has now been delivered and was installed today. The demo of the foyer is moving forward (silver lining: no one has to listen to the jackhammering!). The photo to the right shows the space adjacent to the front stairwell - where there used to be a floor and where the new and current buildings will connect.
We look forward to construction progressing, barring any other closures or delays from deliveries. Construction is considered 'infrastructure' and therefore falls under the category of 'essential work,' so we anticipate that construction will progress as planned until we hear otherwise.
Andy Nesset
TCGIS Facilities and Grounds
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MCA Update
The MCAs (Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments) are state-wide mandated assessments we administer each year in March, April and May as per Minnesota Legislative Statute. We assess in grades 3-8, and our testing was going to begin this month.
The MCAs have officially been cancelled for the 2020 testing season. We will share more information about this as it becomes available.
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Deadline Extended: Re-Enrollment Survey for All Current TCGIS Families
Help us prepare for the 2020-2021 school year by completing our re-enrollment survey! Please
click here
to fill out the survey by April 6th. If you have more than one student at TCGIS, please submit one form for every child in your family grades 1-8.
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!
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2020-2021 Kindergarten Parents
If you have not already done so, please respond to the Enrollment Decision form provided in your offer letter email sent March 13th. Vielen Dank!
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Deadline Extended: Enrichment Activity Spring Session Registration Still Open
Registration for the spring session of enrichment classes (formerly after-school activities) is still open! Spring session runs from April 6th until June 5th. TCGIS uses an online registration platform called Popsicle where you can register your children for classes and pay for them all online. The registration deadline is
April 5th at 11:59pm.
March 26th Update:
Classes led solely by interns have been cancelled and refunds are in process. I am working with our activity leaders to develop at-a-distance activity plans for our games, crafts, and movement classes. For now, please continue registration and if classes are cancelled, registration fees will be refunded.
This link will take you to course descriptions and
this link will take you to the schedule for the spring session.
Both of these have been updated to reflect changes.
If you need a scholarship for the classes, please visit
this link for more information.
Please visit
this link to create your Popsicle account and sign up for classes.
Here are instructions for creating a parent account and adding classes.
This link will take you to a troubleshooting guide and contact information for Popsicle support.
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The Yearbook Committee says ...
Visit
jostens.com to purchase a yearbook for your child(ren) today!
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Share the TCGIS message in different languages!
In an effort to promote our school's goal of increasing diversity, the TCGIS school board Communications Committee wants to use videos in languages other than German and English to share what makes our school great. We are seeking volunteers to speak for the school in languages commonly spoken in Twin Cities immigrant communities such as Arabic, Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Amharic, etc. Please contact Rich Iwen at
riwen@tcgis.org if you can participate in this outreach program.
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Spring Break: March 30 - April 3
Next week is our official school spring break, a well-deserved pause for everyone! While school staff will not be checking emails, we
will send you more information the last weekend of spring break to help your family prepare for the first day of distance-learning on April 6.
We wish your family a wonderful week to relax and enjoy each other!
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Support TCGIS: Volunteer Opportunities
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Seeking Intern Host Families for 2020-2021
Interns add so much value to our school - inside the classrooms, within host families, and to our entire school community.
We are still seeking 10 more host families for next fall.
Katharina will reach out to all interested families by email after Spring Break.
If you're interested in learning more about hosting an intern, please fill out
this short interest survey
as soon as possible and Katharina will be in touch
. Vielen Dank!
Fall Interns 2019
Back row, L. to R.: Niklas, Fabrice, Kristina, Eva, Tainah, Pia, Fabian
Front row, L. to R.: Alisa, Franziska, Joel
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Community Events: Updates
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GAI: Climate Workshop Delayed, Summer Camp and Language Course Registration Open
GAI is pleased to keep registration open for upcoming spring classes and SUMMER CAMPS.
The Climate Kids Workshop is delayed for now with a potential timeframe of September - early December.
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Summer Camps & Activities
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Girls Excel in Math (GEMs) Summer Camp
Missy Morrissey (Middle School) is offering GEMs, a summer math camp for girls, with support from the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Student Chapter at the University of Minnesota during the week August 17th-21st.
Register online here!
Who: All students entering grades 1-8
What: GEMs Summer Math camp
Where: University of Minnesota,Vincent Hall
When: August 17th-21st, 2020, from 9am-12pm.
Cost: $150 (daily snack provided)
Deadline for Registration: June 14th, 2020
Deadline for Payment: August 1st, 2020
Contact Missy Morrissey
gemsummercamp@gmail.com with questions.
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St. Paul Parks & Rec Summer Sign-ups
Click on this
link to access a Google Drive folder with information about Summer Park and Rec Activity Camps at North Dale, Northwest Como and Langford Park Recreation Centers. Click on
this link to see a complete list of camps offered at these three locations.
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Vienna Community Arts Summer Studio
Vienna is at TCGIS and in Maplewood this Summer!
We offer music lessons for new and continuing students in piano, classical guitar, ukulele (new) and violin/viola.
Extended Lessons, Buddy Lessons, Creative Projects, Parent-Child Duets.
Have some musical fun this summer with Vienna!
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Summer Camp at the GAI: Registration Now Open!
Each camp will last one week (M-F) and is centered around a fun, highly-interactive theme
. TCGIS families can register at 'member'
rates.
German beginners to bilingual campers are welcome, as different activities will be offered according to the children's language skills. Teachers and children will speak, hear, sing, and create in German while exploring subjects including arts & crafts, geography, cooking, science, photography and more. Half-day, Full-Day, and Extended Care Options available.
Click
here
for details and to register.
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Parent &
Family Resources
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Family Resources
Prepare your family and household:
Practice social distancing:
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Here's a
helpful graphic
from the Washington Post about the impact social distancing can have on flattening the curve.
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Take care of yourself and your family's behavioral health:
Free and reduced internet options:
These and more resources can be found on
this new page on our website:
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German Enrichment Resources
Looking for ways to keep your child(ren) engaged in German? Check out this
new webpage with resources in various media and subject-areas. Check back often for the
Video des Tages!
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