Message from the Principal | |
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Liebe TCGIS Gemeinschaft / Dear TCGIS Community,
In two days the travelers from the class of 2024 will embark on their Capstone journey to Germany. This is one of the pinnacle moments of their TCGIS careers and I am honored to lead them on this adventure. Joining our chaperoning team are: Claudia Mueller, Dr. Kat Sweeney, Emily Albers and Andrew Haugen. Many thanks to Katharina Schirg and Esther Neu who complete our trio of planners and organizers. If you are interested in the journey of our 8th graders, please check out this website. We will use it to capture our German-leg of the 23-24 exchange. Gute Reise, Class of ‘24!
Elizabeth Zehnpfennig, Principal
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Update on the Incident in Chatsworth Park | |
We would like to update our community about the email we sent out on Monday, April 22nd which notified the TCGIS community of an incident that occurred near Chatsworth Park last week. We have confirmed that none of the students involved were TCGIS students. We were also made aware that a non-fatal injury that occurred with a weapon that was not a firearm among the group of teenagers. We do not have any more information regarding the incident at this time, however, we will continue to update the community if there are any more developments. | |
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The Board of Directors meets tonight at 6:30 in Room 100. You are invited to attend in person or to listen to the meeting via Zoom. The board will recognize and thank the 2 candidates running for positions on the board in the May election, Anna Miller and Jens Linder. We are grateful for their engagement and commitment to TCGIS by volunteering for board service.
The staff council is invited to share the summary of a staff survey conducted after winter break. Executive Director Klinzing and Principal Zehnpfennig will report on key performance indicators, share the school’s proposal to the union, review spring screening test data, and discuss class size recommendations. The board will also hear updates from the Board Liaisons and discuss reports from the Committee Chairs. Please find the board packet here.
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Used German Book Sale - Happening NOW! | |
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Our TCGIS used book fair is TONIGHT, April 25th from 3:30-5:30 P.M. It is open to the public and will take place in the school atrium. Expect to find German books of all levels. All items are sold on a donation basis, and credit card or cash is accepted. The funds raised benefit the TCGIS library.
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Elective Course Offerings Survey | |
Please provide your feedback for elective programming priorities by filling out this survey by May 3rd. | Save the Date: Welcome To Middle School Night | On May 15th at 6:30, we will host an online session for parents of TCGIS 4th graders to learn more about the programming of our Middle School with a focus on 5th grade. An official invitation will be sent out closer to the date. You can find the calendar invite in the TCGIS public calendar. | |
Last Middle School Dance of the Year | |
Let's celebrate the Class of 2024 and summer with the last middle school dance of the year on May 31st! DJ Erwin will bring his show once again! Theme to be determined! Tickets will go on sale in May online in the school store.
- 5th/6th Dance is 6:00-7:15 p.m.
- 7th/8th Dance is 7:30-9:00 p.m.
| Attention Parents! Are you (or is someone in your life) a dermatologist? | |
If so, the Playground Task Force would love to connect with you! As part of our phased renovation, we would like to add a shade structure. We are exploring different grant opportunities to make this happen. One option requires a letter of support from a member of the American Academy of Dermatology. The dermatologist does not need to live in St. Paul. If you can help, please contact Christine Chitambar, parent of a rising kindergartner, 5th and 8th grader. Thank you! | |
Upcoming BIPOC affinity group events- mark your calendars | |
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May 4, 1-2:30 pm for Disc Golfing at Hillcrest Knoll Disc Golf course. The Murtha family will demonstrate how to play and provide our group with the discs!
June 9, 11am- 1pm for our end of year potluck picnic at Como playground.
July 26-28 for our group camping weekend; location TBD
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Spring Universal Screening | |
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Universal screening for all students will begin on Monday, April 29th and will continue until Friday, May 17th.
Universal screening is an important part of our multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework at TCGIS. It allows us to identify those students who are on-track to meet grade-level standards in reading and math, and also to identify those students who may need some additional support to meet grade-level goals by the end of the year. Click here to learn more!
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On Earth Day, some of our middle school students helped clean up our neighborhood during their advisory time. Our Umweltteam (Green Team) is also working on presentations and informative videos about recycling and setting up places to collect markers and plastic. Stay green, TCGIS!
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As we continue to navigate the digital landscape, I wanted to take a moment to discuss the importance of monitoring online conversations, particularly for our middle school students. We are seeing an uptick in group chats and group chat conflict among middle schoolers. As our children interact in these virtual spaces, it's crucial for parents and guardians to stay vigilant and actively monitor their online activities.
We encourage parents and guardians to set clear boundaries and guidelines for online behavior, take advantage of parental controls on social media platforms, and regularly monitor your child's online conversations. Look out for any signs of cyberbullying or inappropriate content. By monitoring online conversations, we can help ensure that our children are engaging in healthy and positive interactions online. Together, we can empower them to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. Reach out to Dean of Students with any questions.
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Our new yard signs have arrived, and they are going fast! They are for sale in the Infinite Campus School Store for $10. They will also be available for purchase at the Used Book Sale. Buy one today to secure a sign and help promote our school throughout the Twin Cities! | |
TCGIS Community Garden 2024 | |
Did you know our TCGIS Community Garden has produced and donated over 800 lbs of vegetables and fruit to our local food shelf? We are starting to plan our 2024 TCGIS Community Garden and would love your help! We are looking for a few items to get the garden up and running this season, including plants (Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Basil, Peppers, Eggplant), tomato cages, weed guard, and pollinators! If you have extra items, this season we’d love to have them! Please sign up here or contact Terra Erickson. We’ll be looking for garden helpers in the upcoming weeks! Sign-up here!
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2024 School Board Election | |
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As announced in last week’s Rundbrief, two candidates are running for the School Board. The candidates are Jens Lindner (parent) and Anna Miller (teacher). Additional information about the candidates is available here. The Parent Council and PTO will be hosting a Meet the Candidates forum prior to the election.
The annual election will be held from May 20-28, 2024 to fill two of the three open board seats. TCGIS is required to have at least one community member on the Board, so with no community member candidates in the election, the third open seat will remain vacant until a candidate is recruited and appointed by the Board.
If you know of a community member who might be interested in serving on the TCGIS board, please let us know! To be eligible to serve as a community member, the individual must be a Minnesota resident who is not employed at TCGIS, is not the parent/guardian of any child enrolled at TCGIS, and is not an immediate family member of a TCGIS employee or board member. The individual also cannot be someone involved in evaluating the school on behalf of our authorizer, the University of St. Thomas. Please email your ideas for potential applicants and their contact information to Director Hartman.
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- It's that time of year when we need some new people on the PTO Board. We'll be posting more information and sending an email out looking for some great volunteers to join us. The PTO is super fun and we welcome everyone. This is definitely a "many hands make light work" situation and we can't wait to have you join us.
- Greatest needs are a Treasurer, Fundraising, and Staff Appreciation. You can also get a friend to join you and tackle it as a team - it's much easier and more fun that way. Please stop one of us if you see us or email us and we'll be sending out more information soon.
- Our April 18th meeting has been postponed.
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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! | |
There are no volunteer needs at this time. | |
School Board (Schulvorstand) Announcements
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Upcoming School Board & Committee Meetings | |
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April Board Meeting: Thurs., April 25 - 6:30PM; Room 100/Zoom
Finance Committee Meeting: Tues., May 7 - 6:30PM/Zoom
Governance Meeting: Mon., May 20 - 4:30PM; Google Meet
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Join us on Saturday, May 4th from 9am to 11am for a morning walk at Wakaŋ Tipi (Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary) and celebrate the return of many of our migratory winged relatives. These events are geared towards engaging our Black, Indigenous and People of Color and LGBTQ+ communities and their families, as part of our commitment to supporting equity and inclusion in our shared green spaces. Register here!
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Yom HaShoah: Holocaust Remembrance Day | |
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Sunday, May 5, 2024
Bet Shalom Congregation
Register via Eventbrite
The Yom HaShoah Commemoration is co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas, Children of Holocaust Survivors Association in Minnesota (CHAIM), Bet Shalom Congregation, the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, the Jewish Federation of Greater St. Paul, Generations After MN, and the Micki and Mort Naiman Holocaust Education Fund.
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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 of our school’s core values. Click here to learn about highlighted events! | |
Lost & Found Being Donated | |
This is a reminder that the Lost & Found will be donated on Friday, May 3. Please come check it out to find any missing items before they are gone! | | | | |
