Elternbrief, April 19, 2012

Thank you! The Capstone Benefit Event on Sunday was a huge success with many members of our community there to participate. We raised $1,700 in scholarship funds for our 8th Grade Capstone Trip. Such an event is a tribute to the kindness, generosity, skill and hard work of many, many members of our community. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen: special kudos to Andrew and Sylvia Oxenham for organizing, rehearsing and playing with the musicians. Tanja Brandt and Nancy Mulholland looked after the craft sale. Jim Crego provided the band equipment and managed the set-up. Barbara Shaterian oversaw the baking and the bakery "Rustica" donated generously to the bake sale. Silke Moeller, Ina Elliot, Barbara Shaterian and Carol Schoonover helped in the kitchen. Gina Vader and Chris Weimholt provided generous help, advice and support. Julie Elias helped with the layout of the event and the clean-up, and the GAI let us use the building and waived the clean-up fee. Thanks to each and every musician and volunteer who added to the vitality of the event as both a community builder and a fundraiser.

Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival: The next two weekends provide another opportunity for our community to come together and celebrate our kids' ability to use German outside of the school walls. TCGIS is sponsoring the screening of the film Vorstadtkrokodile 2 (Crocodiles Strike Back) at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. There will be two screenings: one this Saturday, April 21st at 1 PM, and another next Sunday, April 29th at 3 PM. We recommend purchasing tickets in advance. To do so, go to the Vorstadtkrokodile information page and click on the "Purchase" link for the screening you would like to attend. More information about purchasing tickets online can be found here. Special thanks to Cindy Miller and Lisa Erickson for organizing this sponsorship. This is a fun opportunity to bring families together outside of school and to help them celebrate together their German language skills.

MCA Testing: Students successfully completed the Reading MCAs this week. We do not get to see the results until the summer. We will do another round of Math MCAs next week: third and fifth grades will test on Monday and Tuesday, April 23-24. Fourth, sixth and seventh grade will test on Wednesday and Thursday, April 25-26.

Thanks for all you do to support our school and the community.

Annika Fjelstad

Director, TCGIS

651-492-7106, ext. 103

[email protected]

Upcoming Dates
Save the Date Calendar

APRIL

21 - 1 PM, Crocodiles Strike Back at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

23-26 - MCA Math Round 2

26 - 6:30 PM, Board meeting

27 - 8 AM, Kaffeeklatsch

27 - 5:30 PM, PTO Pump It Up Fundraiser

28 - 9 AM - 2 PM, PTO Retreat

29 - 3 PM, Crocodiles Strike Back at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

30 - 3 PM - 6 PM, Band Parent Info "Open House"

MAY

1 - 6:30 PM, PTO meeting

8-9 - MCA Science

11 - 8 AM, Kaffeeklatsch

18 - School Board election

22 - 6:30 PM, Board meeting

25 - Teacher Work Day - NO SCHOOL

28 - Memorial Day - NO SCHOOL

For the complete school calendar, click here.

PTO Retreat
Join us on Saturday, April 28th

Each year the PTO holds a retreat to reflect on what went well, to think about what we should do differently, and to plan for the following year. This year's retreat is Saturday, April 28th from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM at the school (with lunch break). TCGIS Board President Lisa Friedman will facilitate the conversation. Everyone is welcome! Even if you can just join us for a portion of that day, we want to hear what you have to say. Sign up here to attend.

Pump It Up Party
Friday, April 27th at 5:30

Join us for a night of fun! On Friday, April 27, 5:30 - 7:30 PM we will hold a fundraiser for the TCGIS PTO at the Oakdale Pump It Up (NOTE: different location than last year!).

The cost is $10 per person and includes two pieces of pizza, a drink, and an hour and 15 minutes of jump time! The fee is payable at the door.

Adults are welcome to either stay and play, or drop off their kid(s) and enjoy and an evening out. If you plan on staying and eating, please sign-up. The cost is $10. You can also stay and not eat for no cost.

Sign up here if you would like to attend. If you signed up through the Maskenball auction, please do not sign up again. You will receive an email prior to the event with complete details. Contact Michelle Sheire at [email protected] with any questions.

TCGIS Band: Parent Open House
Information for parents about the TCGIS Band

The band instrument "petting zoo" was a huge success! Thank you teachers for taking time out of your schedules to allow students to try out instruments!

Schmitt Music will once again be at TCGIS on Monday, April 30, 3-6pm to talk with interested parents about renting instruments. In order to get an idea as to how many students may be interested in the band, please fill out this short survey. If you have any questions, feel free to call or e-mail Krista Johnson at 612-209-3396 or [email protected].

PTO Spring Strudel Sale
Order your strudel by May 2

The TCGIS PTO will offer Ruhland's Strudel again this spring. Download your order form here, or pick one up at the front desk. Choose from 5 sweet strudels and 5 savory strudels. Place your order by Wednesday, May 2. Strudel will be available for pick-up at TCGIS on Thursday, May 17, between 3:00 and 5:30 pm. Please contact Marilee Tuite at [email protected] with any questions.

Order Gift Cards with Scrip
End-of-the-year due dates: April 24th & May 22

Purchase gift cards with Scrip to help raise money for TCGIS! Only two orders left for this school year! Due dates are April 24th & May 22nd. Deliveries are usually the Wednesday of the following week.

-Are you thinking of end-of-year appreciation gifts? Scrip has many great options, including Starbucks Teacher Appreciation cards!

-Doing some spring gardening or home improvement projects this summer? Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards gift cards are available.

-Groceries, gas, entertainment - just about everything can be purchased through Scrip to help earn money for TCGIS.

It's easy to sign up for a family account on the Scrip website, and hundreds of retailers are donating a portion of sales back to TCGIS. You pay only the face value of the gift cards you purchase, and they are the same gift cards you would purchase at each retailer. Just make sure you use TCGIS's enrollment code when you sign up so we get credit for your purchases - it is 4CA2AE9714L14.

Place your order online, and bring a check (made out to TCGIS) to the office by the due dates - simple! Feel free to contact the Scrip Coordinator, 6th grade parent Deb Helmel, with any questions at [email protected].

TCGIS Parent Survey
TCGIS Amity Program

We are currently working on finding amity interns for the 2012-2013 school year. However, at this time, we will need to limit how many interns we are able to invite unless we are able to find enough families that are willing to host. We are committed to inviting as many interns as possible because they are such a crucial component of our successful program. We want to gather some more information about what obstacles families have that prevent them from hosting Amity interns. Please take a couple minutes to fill out this survey. The survey will be open until Friday, April 20th.

Construction Update
Closings on University and Snelling
Cones

Spring construction is in full swing for the Central Corridor Light Rail. A full construction update with maps can be found here. Some points of interest for the school:
-Snelling is reduced to one lane of traffic in either direction at University.
-Prior will be closed to north-south traffic at University starting on April 20.
-Fry is restricted at University to right-in, right-out turns.

If your ride to school will be affected by intersection closures at Fry or Prior, we recommend crossing University at Aldine or Fairview instead. We know the construction can make the commute to school difficult - we will do our best to keep you updated on current construction. Thank you for your patience.

TCGIS Spirit Wear Sale Begins Tomorrow!
Place your order by Friday, April 27

TCGIS is holding a spring Spirit Wear Sale! We have added a few items, including polo shirts and fleeces, and we have expanded our color selection. T-shirts, sweatshirts, and zip-up hoodies are all still available! A complete product list, with pictures, is available here. Each piece will be printed or embroidered with the TCGIS logo. Please fill out an order form, available by clicking here or at the front desk, and return your form to the front office with payment by Friday, April 27.

Amity Host Homes Needed
Help us keep our student-to-teacher ratio low

We are still looking for host homes for Amity Interns for next fall and spring. If we had sufficient host homes we could use as many as 17 interns in our program, but at this point the committee has capped the number at 12 until sufficient host homes are confirmed for the fall. Having interns in every classroom has been a crucial component in keeping our staff-to-student ratio low, and it is a distinctive feature in our success. This strength is facilitated by the generosity of our school families who have provided room and board to our interns. If you might consider investing in our low staff-to-student ratio by providing room and board to an Amity intern, please contact Amy Davis at [email protected]. This is the crucial recruiting season for interns and your timely offer will help us instill confidence in inviting more interns. Many families have done this over and over again. We need to have some new families considering this option.

Summer Kinderclub
Registration Deadline on May 1

Summer Kinderclub is now accepting registrations for June through August of 2012. Kinderclub offers a 10-week full-day program during the hours of 8 AM - 6 PM. Summer Kinderclub starts on June 11th, 2012 and ends on August 17th. Each week will incorporate different child-friendly activities and themes in a German immersion setting full of summer fun!

In an attempt to offer total flexibility for families, parents can choose one of many different payment and scheduling options, full or part time, occasional drop in days or weeks, and additional German Language Camps. Please contact the GAI directly at 651-222-7027 or sign up online if you are interested in these supplementary Language Camps. Camp hours are 9 AM-12 PM and can be supplemented with Kinderclub before or after camp hours.

Note: We do not offer Summer Kinderclub during the last week of Summer Break (Aug. 20-24) due to set-up and take-down of classroom materials and toys and the move from the GAI to TCGIS.

Registration: Registration forms can be found below. If your child has been registered with Kinderclub in the past, no additional registration fee is required. Please only submit the Summer Kinderclub Registration form. If your child is new to the Kinderclub program, a $25/child registration fee is required ($15/sibling). New families should submit the Summer 2012 Enrollment for New Families form as well as the Summer Kinderclub Registration form. The registration deadline is May 1st, 2012. We encourage families to register at their earliest convenience to help us plan ahead for summer enrollment. Please contact Babbett Larimer, [email protected], with any questions.

Registration forms:

Summer Kinderclub Registration form

Enrollment for New Families

Summer Kinderclub FAQ's

TCGIS PTO Spring Plant Sale
Orders due Friday, April 27
Flowers

Spring is here and so is the TCGIS PTO spring plant sale fundraiser! The plants are from Gertens and portion of all sales benefit the PTO.

Sale Details:

Orders are due by Friday, April 27. Place order form and check in the PTO box at the front desk. Make checks out to the TCGIS PTO.
Plant Cards are a great option if you don't quite know what you want to plant yet!
Plant pick up will be at the school on May 18 after 3:00 PM.
Questions? Contact Lisa Antony-Thomas at [email protected].
Interested in volunteering? Contact Lisa to help sort and distribute plants on May 18, 2012.

Order Form - Please be sure to total quantities and dollar amounts on the last page of the order form. Please be sure to include all pages. Photos of plants/flowers available here. Get more information on the Gertens fundraiser here.

Sport Class Update
Swimming instruction coming up in May!

Swimming Instruction during Sport Class is coming in May. We are very fortunate that the YMCA has once again offered us the opportunity to receive free swimming instruction during Sport. The classes will be available for grades 2 - 7. All Sport sections in grades 2 - 7 between May 7th - May 24th will participate in swimming. 6th and 7th grade will have an additional swim day on Tuesday, May 1. In the next few weeks, permission slips will be made available online and by hard copy. The YMCA is asking us to have parents sign permission slips a second time. Parent volunteers (dads too!) are needed to help with hair drying, clothing management, and general supervision. Anyone that can help would be greatly appreciated!

Performing Arts Update
Recent Events and Upcoming Projects

Click here for an update on the Performing Arts program at TCGIS. Watch out for more information on upcoming Blumenkranz performances at the Festival of Nations on Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5. Thank you to all the parents and community members who help support all of our various performing arts programs! You can keep up with performing arts at TCGIS by clicking here.

GAI Summer Language Camps
Space available this summer

There is still space available in the Germanic-American Institute's summer language camps! These weekly day camps are centered around a fun, interactive theme and are for beginners to bilingual campers ages 6-12. Camp instructors are professional German teachers with extensive experience in teaching German as a foreign language. Enrollment fee includes all materials and daily healthy snacks. Early morning and extended options available. Join us this summer! Contact GAI Language Services at 651.222.2979 or visit the GAI online for more information about dates and themes.

2012-2013 School Calendar
Calendar available now

We are happy to have approved the school calendar for the 2012-2013 school year. It is available here.

Educating Children for Informed and Active World Citizenship

The Elternbrief is published electronically Thursdays throughout the school-year and on an as-needed basis at other times. Submissions are due by 3 PM on Tuesdays. Content printed at the discretion of the TCGIS administration.