If you or someone you know has a student that will be entering Junior Kindergarten or Kindergarten in the fall and intends to enroll them at Westwoods, please complete this Westwoods Kindergarten/Junior Kindergarten Interest Form 2026-2027: https://forms.gle/ACYvM5t3PJKib5Zr5.

Our Junior Kindergarten/Kindergarten Parent Info Night will be held on Thursday, February 5 at 5:30 pm in the Westwoods Library. (If cancelled due to weather, it will be held on Wednesday, February 11 at 5:30 pm instead.)

Please share this information and the interest survey link with families you know that are not current Westwoods families.

about 2 months ago, Westwoods Elementary
2026-2027 Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten parent information night. Thursday February 5, 5:30pm in Westwoods Library. Learn about school readiness, meet the teachers, visit the classrooms, receive enrollment instrucations *parents only please , no childcare provided
All TCAPS buildings, including TCAPS Administration, are closed on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. No employees should report to work on Tuesday unless their supervisor contacts them for essential work. This includes first, second, and third shift employees.
about 9 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

School is Closed: All TCAPS schools will be closed on Tuesday, March 17, 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, visit www.tcaps.net.

about 12 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.
All TCAPS buildings, including TCAPS Administration, are closed today, March 16, 2026. No employees should report to work today. This includes first, second, and third shift employees.
about 18 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

Update: The TCAPS Administration at Glenn Loomis Building will open at 11 AM. Staff who usually report on a school closure day should report at 11 AM.

---

All TCAPS buildings will open at 11 AM on Monday, March 16, 2026. No TCAPS staff should report prior to 11 AM.

1 day ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update Graphic

School and Afternoon Activities Canceled - Monday, March 16, 2026

All TCAPS schools are closed tomorrow, Monday, March 16, 2026, due to inclement weather. All afternoon activities are also canceled. 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.

1 day ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Schools are closed due to inclement weather.

Free Meals at TCAPS! 🍎🥪

TCAPS is offering free breakfast and lunch meals at every building, every school day.

Free breakfast is served daily! TCAPS Food and Nutrition Services reminds parents and students that TCAPS offers free breakfast before the start of every school day at every building in the district.

Secondary buildings offer breakfast in the cafeterias, and elementary buildings offer a convenient "Grab & Go" breakfast for students to enjoy in the classrooms or the cafeterias. TCAPS encourages every student to grab a free breakfast to ensure they have the energy necessary to excel! 📚

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

4 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Food & Nutrition Services graphic with vegetables and the text: FREE MEALS!

SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Friday, March 13, 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.

4 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, Thursday, March 12. 🔔

For questions, please contact your school directly.

5 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day

More Than Just Rhymes: Why Poetry is a Powerhouse in CKLA!

Did you know that in our CKLA curriculum, poetry isn’t just a "fun break"? It is a foundational tool for building brilliant readers from Kindergarten all the way through 5th Grade.

Here’s how our students grow through the power of verse:

K–2 (The Sound of Language): Our youngest learners use nursery rhymes and basic poems to master Phonological Awareness. Rhyming helps them hear the "chunks" in words, making it a secret weapon for early decoding!

3rd Grade (The Bridge to Fluency): This is where it gets magical. Students focus on prosody: learning to read with expression, rhythm, and heart. Poetry teaches them that punctuation isn't just a dot, it's a breath.

4th & 5th Grade (The Depth of Knowledge): Upper elementary students dive into verbal reasoning. They deconstruct metaphors, personification, and imagery, turning "simple" stanzas into deep lessons in language comprehension.

Whether it’s a Mother Goose rhyme or an Amanda Gorman masterpiece, poetry helps our students weave the "Language Comprehension" and "Word Recognition" strands of the Reading Rope together.

5 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
A 3rd-grade class dressed in black for a poetry slam. They pose in their classroom before a digital board listing poetic devices.
Gemini said A student stands in a dim classroom presenting a "Snow Day" poem on a digital screen to classmates seated on a colorful rug.
Students sit at light wood desks in a classroom "Poetry Cafe," working on illustrated poems with colored pencils. In the background, a projector displays a "Poetry Cafe CAFE" sign featuring a cartoon illustration of cats at a bistro. The students are smiling at the camera.
Two elementary-aged boys sit at a long wooden counter in a sunlit classroom, focused on writing on worksheets. The boy in the foreground wears a blue and orange varsity-style jacket and dark green pants, while the boy next to him wears a black long-sleeved shirt. Large windows to their right let in bright natural light, and other students are visible working in the blurred background.
A classroom "Poetry Cafe" display featuring a small wooden table and stools on a colorful rug. The bulletin board behind it is decorated with a brick pattern, a yellow striped awning, and paper coffee cups labeled with poetic devices .

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day on Thursday, March 12. 🔔

For questions, please contact your school directly.

6 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day
Last week Ms. Trillet's class started CKLA Unit 5: Plants! On Friday, they did a craft that helped the kiddos to make connections to the different parts of a plant. Using coffee grounds for soil, yarn for the roots, a pipe cleaner as a stem, tissue paper for leaves, a muffin liner for the petals, and a sprinkle of everything-but-the-bagel seasoning as seeds, the kiddos created flowers to be hung in our classroom! The kiddos are loving all the knowledge that comes with CKLA!
12 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
Kindergarden students standing in two lines on a green, blue and red square rug, each holding a flower picture that they made smiling for the camera. Behind them is a white board with writing on it.
Read A Thon Spirit week, Week of March 2-6
Monday: Day at the beach, bring your beach towel to read on to start off read a thon
Tuesday- cozy day
Wednesday- dress wacky and read jokes
Thursday- Hats off for reading- wear your favorite hat
Friday- Dress like your favorite book character
19 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
Image titled Read A Thon Spirit Week with an image of a row of books to the right. Below the title is a calendar style set of 5 panels for each day of the week. Monday panel has image of a blue, green and yellow striped beach towel. Tuesday has image of long-sleeved pajama set and a stuffed hippo. Wednesday has graphic text that says "HA HA". Thursday shows drawing of a fisherman's hat, a ball cap and a knit hat. Friday shows a personified book wearing glasses and waving with one hand.
Today, the Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten classes learned about Nigerian Dwarf goats and had the opportunity to meet one. Mrs. Craig brought her Nigerian Dwarf goat, Matilda.
26 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
A teacher sitting on a chair wearing a purple sweatshirt, black pants, brown boots. while theree students are petting a dwarf goat on a leash. The students are looking at the camera smiling. The student on the left is wearing a white shirt with a graphic on it, with orange sleeves, black paints and running shoes. The student in the middles is wearing a ble 6,7 shirt and the student on the right is wearing a green camo shirt with neon zipper pulls, black pants and black running shoes. The students in the background are sitting on a square rug that has blue, red, green and purple squares.
Picture of a dwarf goat that is black with brown looking at the camera with the leash hanging below its neck. In the background are students sitting on a rug, wearing pink and flower clothing.
A teacher wearing a purple hoodie with black pants and brown boots, holding a leash with a brown and black dwarf goat. There is a white bucket in front of the goat and a chair and table next to the goat. A student is standing next to the table wearing a black ninja turtle shirt. Behind the teacher , student and goat are cubbys and misc. furniture stacked in front of the cubbies. There are bins
a student wearing a ninja turtle shirt standing next to ta black and brown dwarf goat on a leash. There are brown tables and cubbies behind the student and goat. The goat is wearing a blue diaper.
A teacher wearing a purple hoody holding a dwarf goat on a leash talking to students who are sitting at a blue, green and red rug listening to the teacher talk about the goat. Another student is sitting on a chair nest to the goat with his back faced to the camera. You can see the teacher sitting on a desk watching the presentation holding her maroon coffee mug.

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.

26 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day
5th graders jousting as part of their CKLA unit.
26 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
one student sitting on a yellow board with wheels, holding an orange pool noodle with a handle on it like a sword, wearing a mask and holding a shield. The other student is behind him with his hands on his shoulders ready to push him. Other students in the background are standing cheering on. They are in the gym pretend jousting.
Students are sitting on a yellow board with wheels, holding an orange noodle and a shield wearing a mask. Another student has her hands on the student who is sitting with the nooldle ready to push and pretend joust
A student sitting on a yellow board with wheels holding a red pool noodle and a mask, a student behind him wearing a mask with his hands on the other students shoulders. Teacher is standing watching the joustin tournament. Orange cones have ball on top of them and students are sitting in the bleachers cheering them on.
Two student in the gym. One is sitting on a yellow board with wheels on it, holding a red pool noodle with a white handle, wearing a mask and holding a shield. The other student is standing behind him wearing a mask and his hands are on the other students shoulder ready to push him. The teacher is standing off to the side.
Happy 100th day of school!
27 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
students lined up in front of 100th day of school projected on the whiteboard. The students are sitting, smiling for the camera wearing 100th day of school sunglasses.

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.

27 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day
The 4th graders worked hard on their valentines day boxes. They look amazing.
about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
A box covered in paper that looks like grass with two soccer goals on the top, a soccer ball in the center and the word goal written on the side. Red flags are sticking out the edge of the box.
A box covered in black paint and a penguin on the front with two eyes, a orange nose, two wings and small red hearts spartically on the box. The desk is covered with pencil bags, water bottles, red folder, a red retainer case, pencils and papers.
A red robot valentines box with white and pink hearts, two eyes, pink arms and red little legs that look like cans, with hearts on them. The box has a white sign on the front and it reads programed to love with red stripes above it. Behind the desk is tanother box that is blue and yellow with hearts on it and another box with hearts on it.
A valentines day box that looks like a deer head, made out of brown paper of varying shades of brown, black eyes, a black nose and white antlers. The deer head is made out of brown tissue paper. There are a plethora of valentines on the desk next to it, football and little trinket ones. Behind it is another box, a nike shoe box, withe orange and decorated on top with pink. Behind all of them is a black and silver water bottle, a cat bag and a shelf with mulit colored ( red, yellow green blue) bins holding books.

Our wonderful PTO surprised us with donuts, muffins, and coffee and cute little signs that say:

I donut know what we'd do without a teacher like you!

We are Muffin without you. Thanks for all you do!

about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
Two trays of donuts, one with white and black donuts, the other one with yellow, pink, ble and white donuts on a black table cloth, with tongs. A bowl of oranges on the side and a sign reading: I donout know what we'd do without a teacher like you!
A oranges in a wodden bowl, a tray of cinnamon rolls and a plater of muffins on a black table cloth with a sign reading: We are Muffin without you thanks for all you do!