ISSUE 519 / November 17, 2022

Director's Message

Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft! / Dear TCGIS community,


As you gather with family and friends in the coming days, I encourage you to ask your students what they have been learning about Native Americans this month, the books they have heard during library storytime, or the beautiful posters they’ve seen that were made by our middle school Library Club members about Native American books in our collection. 


You might also consider finding ways to honor the native communities of Minnesota or of the areas where you will be gathered. This site allows you to click on a detailed map of the U.S. and Canada to identify peoples native to specific regions, the languages they speak, and the treaties that have impacted their lives. 


A wealth of historical and cultural information about the Dakota people, keepers of the land on which TCGIS rests, can be found here. Included on that site is this very short documentary (see esp. beginning at 3:25), which movingly articulates efforts to preserve the Dakota language by teaching it to the community’s youngest speakers, an endeavor that should resonate particularly with us.


Herzlichen Dank / With thanks for all you give to our school community,

Kirsten 

School News & Updates

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 see the full email. Danke!

Today is Give to the Max Day!

We're so excited to share that we just unlocked our $9,000 board match! Herzlichen Dank to everyone who has given so far. The momentum is strong, and there is still time to give!


If your family plans to give, there is still time to help us get as close we can to our $110,000 annual fund goal! Click here to give now.


This is our biggest week of generosity at TCGIS. All families and friends of TCGIS are invited to participate as they are able. Please know that all gifts are appreciated and all gifts make a difference for our school. Consider sharing this link with your family and friends to encourage them to support our school today! Vielen Dank!

Parent Teacher Conferences are Next Week!

Fall Conference Dates:

  • Monday, Nov 21: 4-7:30 (MS: virtual, ES: in-person)
  • Tuesday, Nov 22: 8:10-3:30 (MS & ES: virtual)


For Elementary School families, conferences will be held in person on Monday and virtually via Google Meet on Tuesday. For Middle School families, conferences will be held virtually via Google Meets on Monday & Tuesday.


To access your conference schedule, please login to the conference scheduler here and use the master password: Herbst2022, along with your password.

Dec. '22 Lunch/Milk Order Window: Closes this Sunday, Nov. 20th at 10PM

Remember to place your order for December 2022! Please log on to our online store website Boonli to place your child's School Lunch/Milk order. Please make sure to check out your cart to successfully place an order and to check your order for completeness. All orders must be submitted by 10pm on Sunday, November 20th. Orders received after the 20th will have a one-week delayed start date.

We need 6 host families for interns coming in January

Are you on the fence about hosting? We can connect you with current and past host families to answer your specific questions, family to family. Email Katharina Schirg to be connected with a current or fomer host family! See what our interns and families have to say about this incredible opportunity!

Ready to host? Fill out the Host Family Application this weekend. We begin matching interns with families this month. See who is coming here!

Parent's Night Out

Kinderclub is offering a Parent's Night Out on December 3rd from 4pm-7pm. (Pizza provided!) We still have spaces available. Registration is open until 6pm on November 17th. Please log in to Popsicle to book your spot. If you would still like a spot once registration is closed, please email Michaela Bromenschenkel.

Parent/Caregiver Support Group Sign-Up

Create and maintain a safe, structured, consistent home environment where adult-child relationships are strengthened. This group will be hands-on making a PBIS at home matrix aligned with the school’s PBIS values safety, responsibility, respect, kindness and support for successful implementation. Exchange with other parents ideas and thoughts along the way and feel empowered. Our next meeting takes place on November 29th from 7-8 PM. Read more here, or sign up here.

Scholastic Book Fair

Save the date! Our Scholastic Book Fair will be from 3:30-5:30 December 5-9th, in room 97 (across from the gym). Support your child's love of reading and our school at the same time!

Support TCGIS through AmazonSmile

Looking for an easy way to support TCGIS this holiday season? Look no further than AmazonSmile! By using AmazonSmile, you get the same Amazon prices and experience AND have the opportunity to select a nonprofit of your choice to receive a percentage of your eligible purchases. Sign up today!

TCGIS Night at Iron Ranger: Dec. 1st

Looking for an evening of good food and good friends? Then join us for TCGIS Night at the restaurant Iron Ranger on Thursday, Dec. 1 from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. The Iron Ranger (located on Grand Ave. & Lexington Ave.) will be donating 20% of all TCGIS sales back to our school, so invite your friends and family to join in this fun--and delicious--opportunity to support our school. No registration required; simply show-up, order, and be sure to tell the staff you are with TCGIS!

Special Education Advisory Council Meetings

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming SEAC Meetings! Our Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) will be meeting on December 5th. Learn strategies to support your child, ask questions about the special education process, find your support system, and share feedback. Our meeting is hybrid and will be in the cafeteria and on Zoom at 5PM. Join here. Passcode 920995. Please contact Dr. Hendrix with any questions.

PTO News: The Soup's On! + Staff List

The Simpls sale is back! They have soups, pizzas, and more delicious bakes - all delivered straight to your door within a few days. Go here and use promo code TCGIS at checkout on orders $40+ and we'll get money back.



We know you love our TCGIS staff and love to shower them with love and gifts over this holiday season. So whatever you buy for - Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yule, or New Years - check out this list and get them something that they actually want! Many of the staff have filled out an amazingly helpful form.

Please send extra winter gear with your student

Our students love playing outside and even with snow gear clothes can get wet. We try to help out, but are not able to keep items in all sizes for our K-8 students. Please send a set of extra clothes including underwear and socks with your student. Remind them to bring winter clothes like s`now pants, winter boots, mittens, hats, and all they need to stay cozy and dry.

Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for inspiration and wondering how to get involved in volunteerism at TCGIS? Flip through the volunteer recognition slides from the board of directors meetings from last year to see the range of ways our community supports the school through volunteerism!

Tape Donation Request

We are in need of restocking our tape supplies. If you are willing and able to donate tape, we could use scotch tape, masking tape, and painter's tape. Please bring donations to the front office.

SEO and Google Analytics Specialist

We are looking for a parent volunteer who works with SEO and Google Analytics to help us improve our online presence and make it easier for families to find TCGIS when searching for a school. If interested, please email Mary Zimmerman

Photographer

We are in search of one or two parent photographers who will take photos of students and staff during the school day to help build our visual library for use on the website and in recruitment efforts. If interested, please email Mary Zimmerman.

Reminders

National School Psychology Week

This week is National School Psychology Week and I would like to provide some information about what a school psychologist does. School Psychologists support students' ability to learn and teachers' ability to teach. They are experts in learning, behavior, mental health and school systems. This two page 'job description' from the National Association of School Psychologists gives a more complete picture. This year's theme for National School Psychology Week is "Together we Shine" putting the focus on community, hope, and a shared vision for a more equitable and inclusive future for all children. -Carol Mecklenburg, School Psychologist

List of German Tutors for TCGIS Students

We are updating our Google spreadsheet of tutors. If you are interested in being listed as a tutor on our list, please email Mary Zimmerman.

Student Names in Yearbook

Now that picture day is over, our Yearbook class will start working on the portrait pages soon. On the portrait pages we will print a picture of your child, along with their first and last name. If you want to have a different name than your child's birth name printed, then please fill out this survey by Friday, November 25th. You don’t have to fill it out if you want to have your child’s birth name printed in the yearbook. Thank you!

 

You haven’t bought a Yearbook yet? Order one here or get a recognition ad for your 8th grader!

Will you have a NEW student in 2023-24?

Enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year is now open! If you have a NEW student who will attend TCGIS in the 2023-2024 school year, please submit an application for admission online or by sending a paper application. The enrollment window is open until the deadline on February 15, 2023. 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.

Share what you love about TCGIS

You can help prospective families find and learn more about our excellent school and welcoming community when you leave a brief review on sites like Google or GreatSchools.org. Sharing what you love about TCGIS online is a great way to help more families find our wonderful school, especially now as the application window has opened for 2023/24!

Diversity & Belonging Committee

The Diversity & Belonging committee is looking for volunteers for the sub-committees to plan an international fest next spring/early summer. If you are interested, please sign up in this document and contact Kevin Eberhard (keberard@tcgis.org) with any questions.

 

The D&B committee would like to create a book club, in which members will read and discuss a book (fiction or nonfiction) revolving around diversity. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this short Google survey. Please contact chair Eberhard with any questions.

School Board Announcements

Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings

Board Meeting Thurs., Nov. 30, 6:30PM; Room 100; Zoom

Finance Meeting Tues., Dec. 6, 6:30PM; Zoom

Fundraising Meeting Wed., Dec. 7, 8:30AM; Room 97; Zoom

No Board Meeting in December

Community News

Cookies, crafts, and cocoa: Teens in der Küche-Weihnachtsedition

Sunday, December 11 | 2–5PM

Learn how to make German Christmas cookies while having fun with your friends and trying your hand at giftable German Advent crafts. The Haus will be decorated to the rafters, cocoa will be served, and those freshly baked cookies will need to be quality controlled…

Program fee includes all materials, ingredients, snacks, instruction AND, of course, a big helping of Christmas Gemütlichkeit! Learn more here.

Samstagsschule (Saturday School) Winter Session

Classes begin Saturday, January 14, 2023

Kids are immersed in the German language while participating in fun activities such games, crafts, singing, and physical motion, along with age-appropriate language lessons. We offer brining to advanced levels for all ages. All classes are in person at the GAI. Learn more here.

GAI's Christmas in Germany

Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4

11 AM to 4 PM both days

The GAI's annual Open Haus returns with a new name, Christmas in Germany. New this year for kids is an alpaca petting zoo! We'll also have the German model trains and crafts in the ballroom. Meet St. Nikolaus in front of the Haus from noon to 2 p.m. both days. Food and drink will be sold outdoors, Weihnachtsmarkt style. Find all the details here.

Celebrate Hmong New Year in St. Paul!

The 42nd St. Paul Hmong New Year Celebration is November 26-27 at St. Paul RiverCentre. Tickets are available at the doors which open at 8:00am. Find more information here.

Exhibition: Crimes Uncovered-First Generation Holocaust Researchers

November 20-December 15

University of St. Thomas

Between 1939 and 1945, the Germans and their accomplices murdered six million Jews, intent on destroying Jewish life and culture. The perpetrators of the Holocaust sought to erase all traces of their genocidal crime. This exhibition presents the real-life stories of several Jewish academics who resisted the Germans and their collaborators by documenting and, collecting and securing evidence of the crimes committed against the Jewish people during the Holocaust. This exhibition is free and open to the public. Find more information here

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!

Resources & Calendar

German Tutors for TCGIS Students

TCGIS has built a list of local university/college students interested in virtual private tutoring in German for TCGIS students. We update this Google spreadsheet of tutors regularly. Learn more here.

CALENDAR

November 21 & 22: Fall conferences

November 21-25: No School (Thanksgiving Break)

November 29: Parent/Caregiver Support Group

December 1: TCGIS at Iron Ranger

December 3: Parent's Night Out

December 5: Special Education Advisory Committee Meeting

December 5-9: Scholastic Book Fair (Rm. 97)












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