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.

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

Reminder: There will be no school for students from Friday, March 27, through Friday, April 3. Additionally, all TCAPS school offices and the TCAPS Administration Building at Glenn Loomis will be closed to the public during this time.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, April 6.

Have a safe and relaxing spring recess!

10 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
A silhouette of a person sitting under a large tree and reading a book against a warm, golden sunset background. Centered in the frame is the white logo for "TCAPS" with the text "Traverse City Area Public Schools" written underneath it.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day today, Thursday, March 26.

Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa

View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6

For questions, please contact your school directly.

11 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Early release promotional graphic

Reminder: Spring Recess Ahead! ☀️🌸

There will be no school for students from Friday, March 27, through Friday, April 3. Additionally, all TCAPS school offices and the Administration Building at Glenn Loomis will be closed to the public. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, April 6. Have a safe and relaxing spring recess!

Academic Calendar: https://5il.co/3jfx6

11 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
A silhouette of a person sitting under a large tree and reading a book against a warm, golden sunset background. Centered in the frame is the white logo for "TCAPS" with the text "Traverse City Area Public Schools" written underneath it.

Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day on Thursday, March 26. 🔔

Find start and dismissal times here: https://5il.co/3jfxa

View the academic calendar here: https://5il.co/3jfx6

For questions, please contact your school directly.

13 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Early release promotional graphic

Westwoods PTO organized volunteers and Home Depot helpers to assist with craft activities for our Read-A-Thon. The students followed instructions to create their crafts, and it was a wonderful turnout. Each student was able to take home their finished craft. A big thank you to our PTO and the volunteers who dedicated their time to support the students.

18 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
Two students working at a table with a hammer and instrucations. They are weraring orange home depot smocks and building a pink owl box. Behind them is a red, blue, green, orange and purple rug.
Studentst sitting on the floor of an empty classroom, filled with boxes and bags, creating a craft. The students are wearing orange Home Depot smocks and looking at the camera holding their wooden craft project that they made. In the middle of the circle of student is a rubbermaid bin with markers. One student is coloring on his wooden air plane craft.
A student and a parent Volunteer working at a table, reading instrucations and building with a hammer, wood and nails. The adult is wearing a black hoodie that says fresh coast and a gray hat. He is using a hammer to nail into wood. The student is sitting next to him wearing a grey hoodie, orange home depot smock and holding a box with an orange home depot sticker on it. There is another students who is facing the adult and student on the other side of the table. We only see her hair and part of her glasses.
TCAPS schools will be closed tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. This decision was made to prioritize the safety of our students, staff, and community by allowing our facilities team and local road crews the time needed to clear the heavy snow received throughout the district and on secondary roads. While all school buildings are closed, the TCAPS Administration Building will be open. Employees who normally report on closure days should report as scheduled.

Students currently enrolled in Michigan Virtual, Acellus, or Dual-Enrolled classes should follow the specific direction of their instructors for those programs.

For more information, please visit www.tcaps.net.
20 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Graphic
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.
20 days 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.

21 days 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.
21 days 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.

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

21 days 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.

22 days 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.

24 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.

24 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.

25 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.

25 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.

27 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!
about 1 month 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
about 1 month 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.
about 2 months 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.