Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,

I’m pleased to remind you of two upcoming events that underscore our shared commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging.

• TONIGHT at 6:30 in Room 100 with Zoom option is an opportunity to learn more about the work the Diversity and Belonging Committee has been doing to formulate a Land Acknowledgment. The event features Dr. Tyler Norris Taylor speaking on TCGIS Land Acknowledgment: An introduction to the Indigenous history of the land we occupy. 
• Monday at 6:30 in the cafeteria we invite all to join us for a Solidarity event in response to the racist incident we described in our community message last week. Please see more information below and be sure to RSVP. We look forward to coming together in support of equity and belonging. 

Thanks for all you do to make this a community where all feel welcome and valued.

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 Diversity & Belonging Committee has been researching and writing an Indigenous land acknowledgement, the first sentence of which reads: “We recognize and appreciate that the Twin Cities German Immersion School sits on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary homelands of the Waȟpékhute Dakota people.” The committee is hosting two presentations to introduce this important work to our TCGIS community, and to provide a forum for discussion. Please join us for the following talks by TCGIS parent, Dr. Tyler Taylor and TCGIS teacher, Rachael Schlee:

• Thursday, February 2, 6:30 pm, Room 100 with Zoom option.
• Thursday, February 16, 6:30 pm, Room 100

Read more about the talks and presentors here.

Monday, Feb. 6th, 6:30-8:00pm at TCGIS

Every act of hatred should be met with an act of love and unity. Come together to show TCGIS’s solidarity against bias and hate and for inclusion and belonging. Wherever you are in this school community, we invite you to come together, engage with what happened, and consider how we may move forward. As your school leadership, we are seeking to create circles of conversation and relationship. From these conversations, we hope that we can mitigate harm and identify a course forward that honors our individual identities and shared aspirations. We hope to grow closer together through these conversations and reaffirm our collective commitment to equity, inclusion, belonging, and antiracism. In person attendance is preferred, with a virtual option for those unable to join in person. RSVP here. 

SPARK For German is a special Enrichment Class opportunity, offered in collaboration with the students of the University of St. Thomas German Department. SPARK is a playful approach to after-school German lessons, providing extra instruction to students who are still beginning to learn German. The curriculum is designed for K-1 students who are beginning with German, with space for 20 students. Sessions are 3:30-4:30 on Fridays, February 10th through May 12th. Enrollment opens Friday, February 3rd in the Infinite Campus School Store.

Next week is Middle School Spirit Week! Here are the daily themes:

• Monday: Anything but a backpack day
• Tuesday: Wear your favorite color day
• Wednesday: Dress like your favorite character day
• Thursday: PJ Day
• Friday: School Spirit Day/TCGIS Blue/Team shirts Day

Current TCGIS families are the #1 way new families find our great school. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to consider TCGIS for their student(s)! Here are a few ways you can help out:

• The St. Paul Charter School Fair is on Feb. 11th from 9-12PM at St. Paul College. Spread the word! This is a great opportunity for families to talk with representatives from our school.
• Let your friends/family know that there is one more school tour on Monday, Feb. 6th.
• If you're on social media, will you share these recent posts on Instagram and Facebook with your networks? Beyond social media, here is a link to share via text or email: tcgis.org/school-tours.

Herzlichen Dank!

The School Board will once again publicly recognize and celebrate TCGIS colleagues with multiple years of service at the February 23 Board meeting. The Board will present awards to commemorate milestones of 3, 5, and 10 years of service!

All honorees, staff, parents, and students are invited to attend the beginning of the February Board meeting for this recognition of TCGIS colleagues.

We also invite you to congratulate the honorees with a personal written message on this form by February 15. You may also submit pictures of the honorees’ time at TCGIS. All well-wishes from colleagues and families will be printed and shared with the honorees along with their awards. Please feel free to sign one, several, or all! And please sign your name at the end of your comments.

Thank you for helping us celebrate these incredible milestones!

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 tentative date and time for this event is Saturday, May 20, 2023 11am-2pm.

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

There are still many books checked out from before winter break. Please check with your student to make sure they have returned all of their overdue library books. Questions about German library books? Contact Frau Zimmerman.

This reminder includes returning English books to their English class - especially for 7th and 8th grade students! Please contact Frau Melk with any questions regarding 7/8th grade English books.

Our next PTO meeting is next Saturday! We'll be talking Maskenball & Auction, eating pizza, and playing Bingo! It's going to be a great time you don't want to miss! There will be small prizes for Bingo winners. Saturday February 11th at 11am. We'll meet in the school cafeteria. 

Please sign up here so we can make sure we have enough pizza.

Maskenball is coming up March 25th! 7pm at The University Club. Save the date, book the sitter. Theme reveal coming soon. We'll have more information about Auction donations in the coming weeks.

The grad ad sale got re-opened until February 9th! Get a grad ad for your 8th grader now! 

And don't forget to buy a yearbook, we only have 100 copies left! You can order it here.

The Middle School is running low on menstrual supplies, so new donations are needed if you have the means! Donations can be brought to Frau Schlee in room 322. Please only send pads and tampons. All flow levels are appreciated. Thank you in advance for your generosity! 

Sign up for our spring sports and summer track-and-field on Feb. 1-15 on Infinite Campus (school store). All middle schoolers are welcome to join our sports teams. Current 4th graders may also sign up for summer track-and-field.

For more information, please check out our spring sports slideshow. With questions, please contact Athletic Director Tabisz.

We are doing our best to finish up winter school-wide screening this week. Students have completed assessments specific to their grade level in reading, math, or both of these areas. In the two weeks, please keep a close eye on your email for your child's winter screening assessment scores. If you still have questions or concerns after reviewing the results, we encourage you to review this resource.

As always, thank you for all that you do. - Your TCGIS Screening Team

You can find this year's schedule for Summer Camps here. Registration opens on February 1st. All Info can be found in our Summer Camp Handbook .

Governance Meeting Thur., Feb. 2 - 4:30PM, Google Meet

Finance Meeting Tues., Feb. 7 - 6:30PM, Zoom

Fundraising Meeting Wed., Feb. 8 - 8:30AM; Room 97, Google Meet

Cmte of the Whole Meeting Wed., Feb. 15 - 6:30PM

Board Meeting Thurs., Feb. 23 - 6:30PM, Room 100, Zoom

Saturday, March 4, 2023

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Pre-registration is required | $10 per player

Play the world-famous German board game CATAN and compete to win fun prizes! Beginning at 5 p.m., we’ll explain the rules and how to play the game. At 6 p.m., take what you learned and put it into action! Tickets to this family-friendly board game night include one drink and bar snacks. Children 11 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Those 12 and older may be dropped off.

Prefer to play in German? Let us know at registration and we’ll put you at a German-speaking table. We’ll teach some basic German CATAN vocabulary as well!

No previous CATAN or German language is required. All are welcome! Register here.

Registration has now opened for Parkway Little League Baseball. The league is located in St. Paul and kids play with from all over - North St. Paul, Maplewood, Oakdale, and Woodbury, and more! See this flyer for more details.

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!

February 2: Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Talks at TCGIS

February 4: Sledding Party with Herr Tabisz

February 6: TCGIS Solidarity Event for Inclusion & Belonging

February 8: Early Release Day

February 9: History Day Contest

February 10: Middle School Dance

February 11: Pizza & Bingo with the PTO

February 11: St. Paul Charter School Fair

February 16: Indigenous Land Acknowledgement Talks at TCGIS

February 17: No school

February 20: No school

March 25: Maskenball & Auction



TCGIS Google Calendar