Now in September the 13th Annual Saint Paul Oktoberfest will begin its family-friendly festivities on Friday, September 20, 2013, from 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm, and continue on Saturday, September 21, 2013, from noon - 11:00 pm. This two-day event celebrates the Germanic heritage and everyone is welcome!

We have nearly made it through our first week of school and we have so much to celebrate! I want to give a week in review of everything that was amazing for our new school start up!

• Students and teachers love their new classrooms! They are bright and sunny and both have commented about how calm and enjoyable the learning environment is.
• We have a beautiful new Aula building with a large cafeteria and performance space for the future!
• Teachers are experimenting with Smartboards and voice enhancement systems to increase student engagement and increase native language acquisition. 
• The weather has been amazing making it possible to enjoy our wonderful new Como community. Coach Rosenthal has even had Sport outside!
• The School Board gave flowers to staff and director for all their hard work!
• We had a record lunch order with Lancer.  Students especially enjoyed the pancakes and cheesy potatoes on Thursday.
• Staff enjoyed a pizza lunch social on Wednesday and we celebrated Herr Stephenson's birthday at the staff meeting after school.

I know we still have some areas for growth settling into our new school, especially in the drop off and pick up routine. We appreciate you patience as we work out the kinks for our new life here at TCGIS Como Park!

Finally, if you have time, please consider offering a compliment to your child's teacher or support staff-they have all been pulling double duty to make the launch of our new school year the best possible experience for TCGIS children.

Danke Sch�n Alles!

Ann Jurewicz

Executive Director

It's that time of year again! If you would like to offer a class please fill out the attached form and hand it in to the office. After School Activities will be starting the week of September 30th. If you have any questions about teaching a class, please email Molly at [email protected]. Thanks! 

New procedures in transportation, safety and security

Dear TCGIS Parents,

Thank you for your ongoing patience and flexibility while we improve our pick-up and drop off procedure.  We are putting all of our staff resources into creating a workable traffic plan for all.  With this many people involved, the traffic plan will take time and practice; we appreciate your efforts!

In this email you will find some important changes to the procedure as well as feedback from our Como neighbors and reminders about traffic laws.

CHANGES TO THE PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF PROCEDURES

• Kindergarten and 1st grade will be picked up and dropped off on the north (Van Slyke) side of the building. Students with KG/1st grade siblings or carpools will be picked up and dropped off on this side as well.

• Grades 2 through 8 will be picked up and dropped off on the south (Como) side of the building.

• Staff have been made aware of these changes and will communicate this with students during the school day tomorrow. Please help by telling your student where you will pick them up.

• In all cases, pull all the way forward to make room for cars lined up behind you.

In addition, we have received feedback that our new neighbors feel strained during this transition. We offer several reminders of local traffic laws and considerations.

• No Parking signs are installed on both sides of the buildings. Parking here is illegal.

• Observe the fire hydrants & city bus stops - these are no parking zones.

• Our neighbors request that we avoid using the alley directly to the west of our building.

• When stopping curbside, avoid blocking driveways and alleyways.

• "Double parking" is illegal and unsafe, even with blinkers. Please plan to wait in line or park your car west of Lexington Parkway.

Meet-Up with Us at Como Playground for some playtime following afternoon pick up on the following dates this month:

• Thursday, September 5
• Wednesday, September 11
• Monday, September 16
• Friday, September 27

The park is across Midway Parkway from Como Town.

• West on Van Slyke toward Horton Ave
• Left on Horton Ave
• Right on Midway Pkwy
• Playground will be on the left

You may have seen in the news that students across Minnesota had a significant drop (18%) in both reading and math test scores. 

This is because a new reading test was introduced, much harder than last year's test. In math, students could only take the test once instead of three times per last year keeping the highest score. These factors have been attributed to the lower test scores this year. However, compared to the overall lower scores across the state, TCGIS only dropped 12% (not the 18% state average) in reading from 91% to 79%.  We were ranked 5th among metro charter schools. In math, we had a dip from 84% to 80%. We were ranked 7th in metro charter schools. For more information about TCGIS in comparison with other Metro Area Charter Schools, click here.

This summer the TCGIS Sustainability Council conducted its 4th annual School Supply Recovery Project.  Volunteers refilled glue bottles, tested glue sticks, sorted crayons, cleaned scissors and sharpened pencils. The reuse project is an effort toward Consumption and Waste Reduction, one of the pathways we are addressing as an WWF Eco-School.  Not only does this project address our sustainability goals, but it also saves all of us money.  For instance, our community saved over $500 by refilling 130 glue bottles and over $1,000 by sticking with gently used crayons!

Thanks to the teachers, office staff, parents and students who collaborated on the project. Student helpers included 6th graders Annabelle Hendrickson and Maya Amel, 4th graders Fiona Schmid, Lydia Spencer, and Natalie Weimholt, and 1st grader Joe Weimholt. A special shout out goes to 4th grader Tess Amel whose enthusiasm and recruiting kept the momentum going.  Way to go!