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June 14/15: GAI's Deutsche Tage
June 21/22: German Fest
June 26: US-Germany Soccer Madness at Glockenspiel |
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Ein Grosses Dankesch�n (THANK YOU)!
The entire TCGIS administrative team would like to give a gianormous DANKE to the entire TCGIS community--grandparents, parents, teachers, interns, students and all volunteers! It has been a whirlwind year of transition, construction, challenges and new traditions. We deeply thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your patience, flexibility, generosity, forgiveness, input, volunteer efforts, positive support and overall "can do" attitudes! We wish you the most restful, relaxing and fun-loving summer, and we look forward to seeing you all in our new building next school year! Be well! Ann Jurewicz, Jeff Horton and the Entire Front Office Staff |
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Congratulations 8th Graders!
Last Sunday our 8th Graders were celebrating their graduation from TCGIS. It was a wonderful celebration with moving speeches and great musical entertainment.
We'll keep you,
Noah Adriany,
Claudia Feilmeyer,
Mason Helmel,
Till Konczak,
Claire Nelson,
Erik Nelson,
Alena Oxenham,
Nick Ruble,
Tia Ruh,
Ingrid Sampson,
Anna Weimholt,
in our hearts and wish you all the best for your high-school adventure! But first things first - have an awesome summer break!
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Out of Sight Is Not Out of Mind!
Dear Friends of TCGIS,
By now you probably know that I am leaving TCGIS to move to California this summer where my children and grandchildren live. You are making it very hard for me to leave this amazing place. It has been a great pleasure for me to become part of an incredible community of people. You welcomed me with open arms. You allowed me to share your lives, participate in the building of the school, experiment with different ideas, benefit from your support, learn new things and most of all teach your children. All of the students were very special to me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have done to make me succeed and grow (in many ways!!) at TCGIS. I enjoyed every minute of my eight years at the school (even during the times when I was the last one to turn out the lights). I will miss you all.
Out of sight is not out of mind. I am not actually retiring (yet). I will be teaching first grade at a German immersion school in Menlo Park, in the San Francisco Bay area. I am sure the exchange of ideas will continue in the future. Be well!
With love and gratitude,
Susanne Grimm
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Thank You for a Successful Move to Excellence 2014 Campaign!
As of today, we have raised an incredible $31,598 for our new playground. Together, we not only reached our goal of $25,000 but overdid it! Many thanks to those who made a gift. We're very thankful for our generous, dedicated, and loyal community! Many thanks also go to PTO for the very generous matching gift of $10,000, which was a big incentive to give.
For those who missed the campaign and would like to give a gift, the donor site will be open until Sunday, June 15.
Thanks again for your contributions!
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We're Still Looking for 1 Host Family and 2 Back Up Families for our Fall '14 Interns!
The Amity interns are well educated and dedicated young people who not only increase the German language exposure at the school but also bring freshness, fun, and an intercultural atmosphere to our community. Please consider hosting an intern for the upcoming fall semester. We still need one fall host-family and two back-up families.
If you're interested in hosting an Amity intern, please fill out the online form here. This is only an expression of interest at this time, and not an absolute commitment or promise. For more information about our Amity program and hosting an intern, please go to the TCGIS website or contact Isabel Vollenweider.
"Living with our intern has been a wonderful experience for us. It has been so nice for us to have a friendly, upbeat adult in the house, for chatting, for getting updated about my old home country, and of course, to help with things like homework or watching the kids while we go grocery shopping. " says a current host-family.
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Title I Services a Huge Success at TCGIS!
At the start of the 2013-14 academic school year, TCGIS applied to the Minnesota Department of Education to implement Title I services for the first time in the school's short history. In addition to the everyday rigorous curriculum students received, specialized groups were formed in math and reading to help students who were identified as "at-risk" of not meeting proficiency on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) in math and reading. Tom Munoz led the math initiative, and Katie Stephens led reading. Both groups were given baseline assessments to determine the students present level of content knowledge. Based on the assessments, the teachers designed curriculum to meet the students' needs. After the MCAs were completed, the students were post-tested to measure the success of the intervention. While the goal of Title I is to support students passing the MCAs, TCGIS wanted to know the amount of student growth from start to finish. The data would inform how the initiative would be implemented in future years; also, it would allow the school to celebrate the success of individual students who worked really hard this year to improve their abilities, even if they did not meet proficiency on the MCAs last year. Our school results show student achievement in math and reading increased significantly; in fact, the average math student increased his or her performance by 42.25%! Thank you Tom Munoz, Katie Stephens, and students for all of your time and effort! The TCGIS community has a lot of reason to be excited about the release of the official MCA scores this coming August for 2014 based on the early indicators from the Title I initiative!
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Looking for Male & Female Muscle Power!
 We're looking for volunteers with muscle power who would like to help us with the move into the new annex building. It is a great exercise opportunity and we would save a lot of money if we don't have to hire a moving company. We'll provide refreshments so that you won't dehydrate! The moving action is planned for the following two weeks: - Week of July 28-August 1
- Week of August 4-8
Please sign up here if you're interested in helping out with the move. Thank you! |
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Amazon Smile: You Shop - Amazon Gives to TCGIS!
TCGIS is signed up to receive donations by Amazon Smile. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Next time you purchase something from Amazon, think of TCGIS and check out Amazon Smile.
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TCGIS @ German Fest
Saturday, June 21
Dear TCGIS Families,
The summer break is around the corner and it is time to plan some fun weekend activities. This year for the first time the German Fest will take place at the historic Schmidt Brewery on the weekend of June 21/22. The event organization invited TCGIS to participate in the festivities with performances and volunteering. We'd like to welcome you to join us on June 21 to celebrate the German heritage with dances, songs, and brats and beer at the German Fest.
Blumenkranz Performance on June 21
Meet Blumenkranz Dance Troupe Jr & Sr on stage at the German Fest Saturday, June 21 from 11:00am to 12:30pm.
Singers wanted for student choir
Herr Solakhau would like to assemble a student choir for the German Fest. Students from grades 2 - 8 are welcome to participate. We'll sing German songs, including traditional songs, modern songs, and rap songs. The repertoire will include many songs the students are already familiar with. Commitment is 3-4 rehearsals between June 13 and June 20, and the performance on the day of German Fest, on June 21. Please sign up here if your child is interested in participating in the choir.
Support TCGIS while volunteering at the German Fest
The German Fest organization will match every volunteer hour with $10 to the organization of your choice (hopefully TCGIS!) Possible areas of volunteering include:
- helping on tours
- selling beer / pop & water
- selling merchandise / wristbands
- helping at the volunteer table
Please sign up here if you're interested in volunteering.
If you have any questions about Blumenkranz or the choir, please contact Valentin Solakhau. For questions about volunteering, contact Isabel Vollenweider.
For more information about the event, please visit the German Fest website at www.germanfestmn.org.
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TCGIS Summer Art Challenge!
If you are looking for ways to keep your artistic side busy over the summer, then Frau Lenburg has just the thing for you! A different set of art challenges will be published each month in the Elternbrief, and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one, many, or all of the challenges listed. For more information and the Art Challenges for June, please click here.
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Soccer Madness Continues!
June 26, 11am at Glockenspiel
Dear Soccer Fans,
Please join us for the USA-Germany Game on June 26, 11am at Glockenspiel-Restaurant.
Let's get ready for the CUP. Es wird Zeit, dass sich was dreht.
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GAI's Deutsche Tage
 June 14-15
Join us June 14-15 for the Great GERMAN Get-Together at the GAI. Saturday kicks things off with our 5K Lederhosenlauf and Bicyclists' Biergarten. Sunday is Family Day with kid-friendly activities. Click here for more details about this free annual celebration of German culture and cuisine.
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