Congratulations to this week's ROAR Model award winners! Have a great long weekend!
Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, Thursday, February 19. 🔔
Note: There is no school for students tomorrow, Friday, Feb 20 (Teacher Work Day).
Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa
View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6
For questions, contact your school directly.
Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day this Thursday, February 19. 🔔
Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa
View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6
For questions, contact your school directly.
Help our 5th graders head to camp at Camp Arbutus! We’re hosting a plant sale with beautiful options arriving just in time for Mother’s Day. This year, we are focusing on pre-orders to ensure everyone gets their favorites. Please share this information with family and friends!
The Details:
How to Order: Fill out the 5th Grade Plant Sale Pre-order 2026 form (see below).
Deadline: Submit orders and payment (cash or check to Courtade PTO) by Friday, March 6.
Pick-up: Friday, May 8, from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM at Courtade Elementary.
Choose from succulent bowls, hanging baskets, vibrant geraniums, and even tomato plants! Thank you for supporting our students' final year of elementary school.
Order form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u9czVGxWmjrjEvkwbxUSaHfGqPvU281B3v3zkGZR3Ds/edit
The Details:
How to Order: Fill out the 5th Grade Plant Sale Pre-order 2026 form (see below).
Deadline: Submit orders and payment (cash or check to Courtade PTO) by Friday, March 6.
Pick-up: Friday, May 8, from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM at Courtade Elementary.
Choose from succulent bowls, hanging baskets, vibrant geraniums, and even tomato plants! Thank you for supporting our students' final year of elementary school.
Order form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1u9czVGxWmjrjEvkwbxUSaHfGqPvU281B3v3zkGZR3Ds/edit
It's a busy day here at Courtade! We started the day by celebrating a huge group of ROAR Models. We also are welcoming park rangers from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore who brought an inflatable planetarium into our gym. This free assembly is awesome, and our 3rd-5th graders are enjoying it! Many classes are celebrating Valentines Day. And, we look forward to seeing many of you tonight at the Glowlympics Dance.
Stay tuned for information on our fifth grade plant sale fundraiser!
Stay tuned for information on our fifth grade plant sale fundraiser!
Our Creative Explorers got to showcase their projects at last night's Creative Explorers Symposium! Thank you to all of the Explorers for your hard work in putting these projects together. Thank you to Mr. Boyce and Ms. Partman for facilitating the learning. And thank you to all of you that came to the symposium to check out the projects!
Word Smithing In Progress! Or Chain Reactions We Actually Like!
If your student has been talking about "chains" lately, don't worry—they aren't auditioning for a construction crew! They are mastering one of the most powerful tools in our CKLA Skills toolkit.
What exactly is Word Chaining?
It’s a fast-paced "mental gymnastics" game for the brain. We start with a word like cat, and by changing just one sound at a time, we transform it: cat → can → fan → fin.
Why it’s a Game-Changer:
- Phonemic Awareness: It trains the ear to hear the tiny differences between sounds.
- Decoding Speed: It builds the "muscle memory" needed to recognize patterns instantly.
- Confidence: Using our Word Chaining Folders, students get hands-on practice manipulating letters, turning "scary" big words into a series of small, manageable shifts.
Our students are proving that building literacy is all about making the right connections!
If your student has been talking about "chains" lately, don't worry—they aren't auditioning for a construction crew! They are mastering one of the most powerful tools in our CKLA Skills toolkit.
What exactly is Word Chaining?
It’s a fast-paced "mental gymnastics" game for the brain. We start with a word like cat, and by changing just one sound at a time, we transform it: cat → can → fan → fin.
Why it’s a Game-Changer:
- Phonemic Awareness: It trains the ear to hear the tiny differences between sounds.
- Decoding Speed: It builds the "muscle memory" needed to recognize patterns instantly.
- Confidence: Using our Word Chaining Folders, students get hands-on practice manipulating letters, turning "scary" big words into a series of small, manageable shifts.
Our students are proving that building literacy is all about making the right connections!
Join us tonight, Monday, February 9, at 5:30 p.m. for the Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten Information Session. Families seeking to enroll an incoming Kindergarten or Junior Kindergarten student for Fall 2026 are invited to attend!
Learn more about early childhood education at TCAPS by visiting www.tcaps.net/enroll.
Learn more about early childhood education at TCAPS by visiting www.tcaps.net/enroll.
Congratulations to this week's ROAR Model award winners! And thanks to Mrs. Grezeszak for leading our youngest students in their informances today!
Join us on Monday, February 9, at 5:30 p.m. for our Kindergarten & Jr. Kindergarten Information Night! Our amazing teachers will share all about our programs, what to expect, and how we make learning fun! You will also receive step by step registration details to make sure your child is all set for the big year ahead! We look forward to seeing you there!
Learn more about early childhood education at TCAPS by visiting www.tcaps.net/enroll.
Learn more about early childhood education at TCAPS by visiting www.tcaps.net/enroll.
We all should have Cougar Pride as the district is filming some of our teachers in action, as they teach our new language arts curriculum. These videos will be used for professional development of district teachers. Way to go, Mrs. Myers, Mrs. Lautner, Ms. Slawter, and Mrs. Helman!
Our annual Kindergarten and JK Information Night is on Monday in our library, at 5:30. The purpose of the meeting is to provide new families with information about our kindergarten programming, junior kindergarten programming, and about our school in general. If you know of any families with perspective kindergarten or JK students, please let them know about this event. If you are a current Courtade family, especially if you have had a JK or kindergarten student go through one of those programs already, you are welcome to come, but it is not required. The targeted audience of the presentation is adults. If families need to bring children with them, they can, but kids may not find the meeting content as engaging as the adults. Please call the office if you have any questions. We hope to pack the library with next year's families!
Our gym has had some cool stuff in it lately! Yesterday, Norte brought their balance bike program to our preschool students. Today the Traverse City Junior Golf Association brought some awesome golf tools and learning to the students who had PE today! Thank you to both of these great organizations!
Family Cooking Night is back! The North Ed Farm to School program is excited to partner with Chef Adam Worden this year. Chef Adam is a Courtade parent, works at Trattoria Stella and runs Cook It Forward. He has also been graciously leading the taste tests in the cafeteria this school year. We are very excited to be working with him!
The Cooking Night will be Wednesday, February 25th starting at 5:30 pm. We will be making gnocchi with sage butter.
The event will be recorded this year, so you have the option to attend on the day on Google Meet to cook live with Chef Adam, or can watch later at your own pace.
Please register by scanning the QR code in the picture, or following the link at the bottom of this post by Tuesday, February 17th to receive a free cooking kit. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email. Then, the week of the event, you will receive an email from Brooke Juday with the Google Meet link, more information, and instructions for picking up your recipe kit from the school.
We look forward to cooking with you and your family! If you have any questions, feel free to email, call, or text Brooke at bjuday@northwested.org or 231-675-6474.
https://forms.gle/9D8ZUEQooizFaRiu6
The Cooking Night will be Wednesday, February 25th starting at 5:30 pm. We will be making gnocchi with sage butter.
The event will be recorded this year, so you have the option to attend on the day on Google Meet to cook live with Chef Adam, or can watch later at your own pace.
Please register by scanning the QR code in the picture, or following the link at the bottom of this post by Tuesday, February 17th to receive a free cooking kit. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email. Then, the week of the event, you will receive an email from Brooke Juday with the Google Meet link, more information, and instructions for picking up your recipe kit from the school.
We look forward to cooking with you and your family! If you have any questions, feel free to email, call, or text Brooke at bjuday@northwested.org or 231-675-6474.
https://forms.gle/9D8ZUEQooizFaRiu6
Congratulations to last week's ROAR Models!
Even though it's a Snow Day, teachers Ms. Partman and Mr. Boyce did an excellent job of presenting to the TCAPS Board of Education Curriculum Committee about our Creative Explorers Program! The theme of the meeting was in line with TCAPS Strategic Goal #2, which is, "helping students belong to their school community". Our Den was also mentioned. The meeting can be watched at the link below. Thank you, Ms. Partman and Mr. Boyce!
https://www.tcaps.net/page/board-of-education
https://www.tcaps.net/page/board-of-education
SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Tuesday, January 27, 2026 due to inclement weather. Students in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual Enrollment classes should follow the direction of the instructors for those programs.
For more information on snow days, including how they are communicated and how decisions are made, go to www.tcaps.net.
Thank you to all of the families that braved the weather to come to Math Night last night! It was a big hit! Also thanks to the Great Lakes Children's museum and to our staff for all of the work they put in to make this night a success!
All TCAPS schools are closed tomorrow, Friday, January 23, 2026, due to inclement weather. Students in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual Enrollment classes should follow the direction of the instructors for those programs.
Due to the inclement weather closure, we are moving the 2-hour early release to Thursday, March 26, 2026. Based on staff and community feedback, we want to prioritize full days of instructional time for this upcoming week.
Thank you for your flexibility as we work to maximize learning time for our students!
Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, January 22. 🔔
Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa
View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6
For questions, contact your school directly.
