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| Elternbrief |
Weekly Newsletter for TCGIS Families October 25, 2012 | |
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Dear TCGIS community-
I hope everyone has had the chance to enjoy the beautiful fall colors the past weeks and have a restful four-day weekend over the MEA break. Remember the weather is now changing, so please bundle up children with sweaters, scarves, hats and mittens for recess!
Halloween - School-wide Celebration on October 31
TCGIS is buzzing with excitement about Halloween and classes are preparing for our traditional all-school celebration. On Halloween afternoon, the students will travel in small groups to activities in other classrooms. There are a few volunteer opportunities to be hall monitors and to offer assistance in classrooms. You may sign up to volunteer at our Volunteer Spot or contact your Elternkontakt. Students may wear costumes all day, but please, no masks or weapons.
St. Martin's Tag - Sunday, November 4th 4-6pm
The children are also diligently preparing for St. Martin's Tag at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. This traditional German celebration kicks off the holiday season and emphasizes charity, hope and light. The event includes music, dancing and the traditional lantern parade at the end of the evening. We look forward to you joining us to celebrate our TCGIS community. In the spirit of giving, please bring items to donate to Joseph's Coat. For more information, go to the following link and click on Nov. 4. http://www.landmarkcenter.org/programs/calendar.htm
Website
Thanks so much to Stefanie Berres who has been working diligently with me to update our school's website. Teachers have also generously contributed their own classroom pages with links to calendars highlighting daily events and homework. We encourage everyone to take a look at the site as there are always new updates being posted. Go to http://tcgis.org.
Facilities Update
Last week, teachers had a productive visit to one of the potential sites for a permanent home for TCGIS. The Facilities Committee was very appreciative of the feedback teachers gave. We are now putting together a core team of teachers to continue collaborating with the architect on meeting our school's educational programming needs for the future.
Thank you all for your continued support of TCGIS.
Sincerely,
Ann Jurewicz
Director
TCGIS
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Upcoming Events
October
Tonight!- School Board Meeting 6:30-9:00 pm
26- Kaffeeklatsch 8:00 am
27-GAI Annual 5 Course Wine Tasting Dinner November
1- Parent/Teacher Conferences (Evening)
2- Parent/Teacher Conferences (No School for Students)
2- GAI Film Screening: Young Goethe in Love at the Ratskelter
4- St. Martin's Day at the Landmark Center 4-6:00 pm
6- School Picture Retakes
9-Kaffeeklatsch 8:00 am
9- St. Martin's Tag School Celebration at 2:00 pm in the Cafeteria
13-PTO Meeting 6:30-8:00pm
16-PTO Craft & Bake Sale 2:30-5:30 pm
17-PTO Craft & Bake Sale 9:00am-12:00pm
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St. Martin's Tag Celebrations
Nov. 4th and Nov. 9th
St. Martin's Tag has come again.
The St. Martin's Day Celebration will take place on Sunday, November 4th, from 4 to 6pm at the Landmark Center. Participants, please arrive ahead of time.
TCGIS will feature 2nd grade performers with traditional German songs as well as the TCGIS Band and Blumenkranz dancers.
On Friday, November 9th, we will celebrate St. Martin's Day at school. The program starts at 2:00pm in the cafeteria. More information can be found online at
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Kaffeeklatsch
Friday, October 26!
 Our next Kaffeeklatsch is Friday, October 26th! We usually start serving coffee by 8:05 am. Our suggested donation is $1.00 if you bring your own cup, or $1.25 if we provide you with a cup. We are also serving tea! Now also selling Coffee Cards for your convenience: $8 (with cup), $10 (w/o cup)! No more searching for dollar bills necessary!
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Friday, November 2, 2012, 7pm
Free for GAI members, $5 non-members
 The GAI will be hosting a screening of the 2010 film Young Goethe in Love on November 2nd in the Ratskeller. The bar will be open and we will be serving popcorn. |
2012 Auflauf Cook-Off Results!
The 2012 Auflauf Cook-Off was a great night of fun. Over 200 TCGIS students, families and friends joined together at the Salvation Army in Northeast Minneapolis for a night of fun, food, and friendly competition.
And the winners are....
German Traditional
1st place: Amy Eian- Potato Cauliflower Ham Delight
2nd place: Lynn Hartweck- German Onion Tart
American Traditional
1st place: Steve Spencer- Venison Pie
2nd place: Britta Walker- Barakoli Obama
International
1st place: Gita Zeitler- Nepali Momos Masala
2nd place: Julie Alkatout- Cheesy Spinach Middle Eastern Auflauf
Best in Show
Steve Spencer- Venison Pie
People's Choice
Gita Zeitler- Nepali Momos Masala
 Sincere thanks to more than 50 volunteers who contributed time, talent, and food to this event.
Special Thanks to:
Ruhland's Strudelhaus for donating ten delicious strudels to the dessert buffet! Watch for our TCGIS Strudel Fundraiser announcement in November.
for childcare services
Eastside Food Co-op for composting all food waste and dinnerware and our Auflauf Judges: Scot Stephenson, Ann Jurewicz, L�bbert Kruizenga, Jessica Fleming, Kordula Coleman, and Tom Ruhland.
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PTO Craft and Bake Sale
Just around the corner!
TCGIS PTO is looking for handmade craft donations for our 4th Annual Community Craft and Bake Sale. The salle will be on Friday, November 16th and Saturday, November 17th at the school. We are excepting all types of crafts, canned goods, and kids crafts. Bakers are also needed.
Information on how to donate and/or volunteer will be coming soon! If you have questions, contact Heidi Zimmermann at [email protected]. |
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ZfA Sponsored Presentation Project
German Today
The Zentralstelle fuer Auslandsschulwesen (ZfA), one of the German governmental departments that sponsors TCGIS, is providing us with the opportunity for students to participate in a presentation contest created for German schools in America. The topic of the presentation is: Deutschland Heute (German Today).
Students in grades 5-8 will develop a topic and presentation, and present their findings first to their class, then to a formal jury.
This experience will prepare students for the official A2 and DSDI exams, which occur in the Spring, and indicate students' German language proficiency.
This is an exciting opportunity for our school community and our students. All interested members of the public are invited to attend the final contest on Friday, December 14.
If you would like to attend, or would like more information about the contest, please contact Elisa Schwalbach by email: [email protected]
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Five Course Wine Tasting Dinner
GAI fundraiser
Who: Germanic - American Institute
What: 5 Course Wine Tasting Dinner
Where: 301 Summit Avenue, St. Paul
When: October 27, 2012 at 6:00pm
Price: $65 for members, $75 for others
Join us October 27th for the Five-Course Winetasting Dinner, a gala-style fundraiser to support the GAI's mission of German language and Germanic culture education.
The GAI's very own Director of Event Services, Dr. Katrin Erdmann, returns to prepare an exquisite menu featuring a beef filet in red wine reduction butter and a plum trilogy dessert. Guests will learn about and taste five different wines accompanying each course.
Live piano music provided by Herbert Engelmayer will round off the entertainment of the evening.
Tables can be reserved for six or more guests. Prepaid reservations are required and can be made online at www.gai-mn.org or via check or credit card.
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School Picture Retakes and Group Photos
November 6th!
All students who have missed Picture Day will be photographed on that day. If for any reason you are unhappy with your child's photo order and would like to schedule retakes, please e-mail Stefanie at [email protected]. |
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Get Your Chinook Book and Save While Supporting TCGIS
Don't forget to pick up your 2013 Chinook Book or the new Chinook Mobile Pack for your smart phone. You'll save on all kinds of  essentials, activities and entertainment around town -- perfect for making the upcoming holiday shopping season a little more cost-effective. Best of all, we keep 50% of the proceeds to support our school. Available at the TCGIS front office, books are $20 and the easy-to-use mobile packs are just $14. Questions? Contact Kate Olson at [email protected].
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Second Grade Mother/Daughter
Book Club
A new mother/daughter book club for families of 2nd grade girls is starting up. We will meet once a month or once every other month, depending on the length of the book and time of the year. The book club will rotate homes each month and the the hosts (mother/daughter pair) pick the book and provide refreshments, or plan a field trip, around the theme of the book. At the end of each meeting the next host will present the next book. Books can be read aloud books, or as the kids get older, books that are read independently. Books could be chapter books, or even a favorite picture book that the kids would like to talk about.
Join us for the first book club meeting on Sunday Nov 18, 1-3pm at Katrina Holbrook's house. We will be discussing the book Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink. This is a longer book, in a short time, so read as much as you can before the 1st meeting.
Any Questions, Please contact Gretchen Barsch [email protected]
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Tour Guides Needed
Get to know new TCGIS families
TCGIS needs your help in providing tours to prospective new families interested in enrolling their children in TCGIS. Tour guides are needed on Friday mornings starting at 8:15am. Tours start at 8:30. For more info, please contact the school at [email protected]. |
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Lost and Found
 Friday is your last chance |
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Kinderclub Extended Care
November Scheduling
TCGIS Familes-
As November is approaching I am looking ahead at extended care dates. Kinderclub will be offering full-day care on the following November dates from 8am-6pm:
Friday, November 2nd - conferences - no school in session
Wednesday, November 21st - Thanksgiving break (Wednesday only, NO Kinderclub on Thu/Fri in observance of Thanksgiving holiday)
Monday, November 26th - Teacher Workshop - no school in session
Please follow the link in order to sign up your children. http://www.doodle.com/uqsyy5ud37phnpqq. The deadline for each date listed is a week prior to attendance. The cost per student is $37.00/day. Please finalize your family's plans prior to signing up as you are entering a valid payment agreement by reserving a spot for your child (as outlined in our KC family handbook). Payment is due prior to attendance and will be billed separately. Other families could potentially be turned away due to lack of space in order for Kinderclub to comply with our student teacher ratio. Last minute drop-in requests will be handled on a space-only basis. Thank you, and enjoy the gorgeous fall colors!!
-Babette Larimer
[email protected]
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Educating Children for Informed and Active World Citizenship
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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.
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