The PTO Maskenball is coming up February 22! Please buy your tickets! One of the greatest ways you can give back to the school is participating in PTO events as all of their fundraising is intended to come back to the school benefiting TCGIS students and teachers. Thanks, PTO, for the awesome work and making the magic happen!

Another great way to give to the school is volunteering! If you're looking for new volunteering opportunities, please check out our new "I heart Volunteering" section at the bottom of this newsletter.

Another novelty of the Elternbrief is the "Middle School Parliament Announcement" section. The "Middle School Parliament Announcement" is written by representatives of our student parliament and summarizes the projects the parliament is working on. Many thanks to the Middle School Parliament for the great work!

Re-Enrollment Form for 2014-2015 School Year

Please take a moment to fill out our re-enrollment form for the 2014-2015 school year. Please fill out the form once for every child returning. Click here for the form. Thank you!

Facility Construction Update--Groundbreaking March 1!

With spring coming TCGIS is very excited to renew construction on our building project beginning March 1! Breaking ground on the project early will ensure we complete the addition by July 15 and have time to install playground equipment for the new school year.

As with any construction project, there will be unavoidable disruptions to the "normal" school routine. The Facilities Committee has worked very hard with Welsh Construction to develop a timeline with the greatest attention to maximizing student safety and minimizing disruptions to important instructional time. We are asking the TCGIS teachers and parents for their understanding that unexpected inconveniences will nevertheless arise and we will do everything we can to work with the community to mitigate concerns in a timely fashion.

The Facilities Committee has set up a communication process for all community members to express their concerns so they can be addressed in an efficient manner. If you have questions or concerns, please email [email protected]. The committee is also providing a letter reviewing information from last fall about the contaminated soils east of the Aula where the new parking lot will be.

We are looking forward to completing our beautiful new building, which will provide plenty of classroom space, a new library, a dedicated parent room for our PTO, a lovely foyer, proper administrative offices, a modern science lab and more!

Thank you and let's get excited for spring! Aufregend!

March Lunch Menu

Spring is around the corner - at least in regards to lunches! :)

Please find here the lunch menu for March. Whether you choose to order lunch or only milk, your order is due on February 21. Please be sure to check your lunch account monthly for a balance through your child's Power School account.

Carpool Buddy Sign Up

Three TCGIS parents are looking for a "Carpool Buddy" in the following ZIP codes: 55102, 55117, and 55418. If you're living in one of the mentioned ZIP codes and are also considering a "Carpool Buddy", please sign up here and we'll arrange a first contact exchange. If you live in a different ZIP code but are also interested in a "Carpool Buddy", please contact Isabel Vollenweider.

8th Grade DSD Test Dates

Please find below the dates for the 8th Grade DSD testing:

March 21st: DSD I exams part 1-3 (Listening comprehension, reading comprehension and essay writing)

March 26th: DSD I exams part 4 (oral presentation and interview)

TCGIS Green Team

The TCGIS Green Team has started a more comprehensive recycling program. Our crew collects recyclable items from the school and cafeteria every Monday after school. The work is far from glamorous, but we're working hard to live our mission of global citizenship.

How you can help: If you have any of the items listed below, please bring them into the school or send them with your students. Our school gets money for some of these items, and the proceeds go right back to the school. There is also an opportunity to volunteer to help us further. Please click here to check out how you can help out with our recycling program.

Recyclable Items TCGIS Collects:

Toothbrushes, Toothpaste tubes, floss containers

Mouthwash bottles and caps

Deodorant containers and caps

Soap packaging

Writing utensils (not wooden pencils/colored pencils or crayons)

Scotch Tape rolls

Glue bottles and glue sticks

Drink pouches (i.e. Capri Sun)

Applesauce pouches (i.e. GoGo Squeeze)

Toner and ink cartridges

Electronic devices (intact or broken)

Tablets, mobile phones, GPS, e-readers, MP3 players, laptop computers, calculators, graphing calculators, etc.

More items will be added later this year!

We also collect your used batteries to bring to the disposal center.

Power School Portal Update

We would like to make you aware of a very useful communication feature that is available to anyone who has successfully created an account for the Powerschool Parent Portal - the link is also located in the upper right corner of our tcgis.org website.

Once you are logged into your account, select

Email Notifications: If you wish to receive information about your student's grades, attendance, and assignment scores, use this tool to set up you e-mail preferences. You can specify which information you would like to receive, how often you would like to receive the information, and where to send the e-mail. After completing the form, please hit "Submit".

Yearbook Ad Sales

Support the 8th Grade Capstone Trip!

Want to promote your business? Want to honor your 2014 TCGIS graduate? Want to recognize your favorite teacher? The possibilities are endless!

If you are interested, please contact yearbook editor, Mason Helmel, or click here for the form. Checks can be made payable to TCGIS and dropped off at the main office.

Ad rates:

1 Page: $125

1/2 Page: $70

1/4 Page: $40

All profits go to the 8th Grade Capstone Fund!

Middle School Information

Twin Cities German Immersion School will soon be emailing our current and future Middle School parents to inform them of the excellent education we offer in the Middle School. We also invite interested parents to an information meeting on Thursday, March 6 from 6:30-8pm to provide information in person, allow for Q&A, and engage in future plans/brainstorming for ongoing school improvement at TCGIS.

Minnesota Algebra Challenge

The school math classes participated in the Minnesota Algebra Challenge! From February 3-12 our school solved algebra problems using the DragonBox Algebra App to help Minnesota schools reach the goal of 250,000 linear algebra equations.

For more information visit the algebra challenge website.

"In June 2013, the State of Washington posed a challenge to its K-12 students, "Solve 250,000 linear algebra equations in one week." During that week 4,192 students set to work and solved an incredible 390,935 problems! They used a modified version of DragonBox (a popular Algebra App) to learn how to solve algebra problems and log that process during the challenge week. This program showed a 93% competency in solving linear algebra equations after 2 hours of game play! Look at AlgebraChallenge.org for more information.

Big thanks to Blaine Strobe for helping implement and take advantage of this algebra game.

Carnival of Cultures 2014 on February 28

Building Bridges Between Cultures!

It's that time of the year again! The carnival is coming and along with it our annual celebration - the Carnival of Cultures.

The Carnival of Cultures recalls the ancient German tradition of celebrating Carnival and combines it with the school's mission of "Educating Children for an Active World Citizenship". At the Carnival of Cultures we celebrate our heritage and cultural diversity. This year's showcase will take place in our own Aula, and we are planning to invite some vendors to make the Carnival cozy.

Friday, February 28 - Mark it in your calendar!

6:30pm: part I - kindergarten, 1st grade & 2nd grade

7:10pm: intermission and artwork show

7:30pm: part II - 3rd grade through 8th grade

For more information please contact Valentin Solakhau.

Middle School Parliament Announcement

The middle school parliament is discussing the opportunity of a study hall with Jeff Horton. The parliament is close to completing this project. A bulletin board containing information about the middle school is already installed.

PTO Announcement

Be sure to add the following PTO events to your calendars!

February 20: Maskenball online auction & regular ticket sales end at 9:00 pm

February 21: Kaffeeklatsch at 2:30 pm

February 22: Maskenball party from 7:00 pm to midnight

March 8: PTO annual retreat from 1:00 to 4:30 pm

March 11: PTO monthly meeting from 6:30 to 8:00 pm

For news on these events, be sure to "like" our PTO Facebook page!

Black & White Maskenball: Auction and Raffles

The 2014 Maskenball Online Auction is now open! This year's auction offers a fabulous line-up of events for people of all ages. All of these opportunities are generously hosted by TCGIS staff and families. You will also find a handful of gift certificates and special items, such as the Auflauf Cook-Off Winners Cookbook. Don't forget to get your party and drink tickets!

Staff Raffle tickets will be available at the February 21 Kaffeeklatsch. This is your chance to show your favorite TCGIS staff how much you appreciate them. Each $2 raffle ticket gives staff a chance to win a spa day at Brian Graham Salon (a $130 value). Also watch the TCGIS PTO Facebook for other opportunities to purchase raffle tickets.

We are also collecting bottles of wine for the Wine Pull. Cindy Miller will be collecting donations at the February 21 Kaffeeklatsch. You can also contact Krysia Weidell, Cindy Miller, or Shelley Parker to make other arrangements.

Remember this the PTO's biggest fundraiser, and we need your help to make it a great one!

2014 GAI Summer Camps Are Here!

Registration open exclusively to TCGIS families until March 1

The time has come! Reserve your child's spot in the Germanic-American Institute's summer camps today! Camps run from June 9 - August 15 Monday-Friday mornings with afternoon care available until 6pm. TCGIS families can register under the GAI Household Member rate ($100/camp) and have exclusive access to camps until March 1.

Facilities & Playground Committees Volunteers

Passionate about Playgrounds? Fanatic about Facilities?

If you answered yes, the Facilities and Playground Committees would like to hear from you! We are looking for volunteers to help with planning of the playground and the planning and maintenance of the school facilities. Sign up to start making a difference at our school.

Drop Off / Pick Up Help

Morning: 7:45 - 8:15: for/with Michelle Wallace on VanSlyke

Duty includes: greeting students, and supervising their entrance from the cars to the door.

Afternoon: 3:10 - 3:30: for/with Michelle Wallace on VanSlyke

Duty includes: watching for carpool(s) and/or family pick up. Collecting the student(s) from the class line and delivering the student(s) to the carpool.

Carnival Of Cultures Volunteers

For our Carnival of Cultures on February 28, we're looking for helping hands to set up the Aula for the performance and the Cafeteria for the catering/vendors, and to get the Aula & Cafeteria cleaned up afterwards. Sign up to volunteer at the Carnival of Cultures.

Recycling Volunteers

How you can help: We have some recyclable materials that cannot be recycled in St. Paul. If anyone has some room in their trunk and room in their Minneapolis recycling bins, we have bags of milk cartons and yogurt containers that could easily be picked up and placed in their household recycling bins. All items are in tied plastic bags and are currently frozen :)