TCAPS Early Release Schedule Change 🗓️

Due to today’s inclement weather closure, the 2-hour early release originally scheduled for today has been moved to Thursday, January 22. 🗓️

Please note that the scheduled early release for Friday, January 23 remains in effect. Students will have a 2-hour early dismissal on both Thursday and Friday.

Start & Dismissal Times: https://5il.co/3jfxa
Academic Calendar: https://5il.co/3jfx6

For questions, please contact your school directly.
about 14 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Update

SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Monday, January 19, 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.

about 20 hours ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.

🔔 Reminder: TCAPS has an early release day this coming Monday, January 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.

3 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS Alert Early Release Day
Word Power at TCAPS!

Did you know a strong vocabulary is a top predictor of reading success? At TCAPS, our CKLA curriculum builds "word power" from Kindergarten through 5th grade by immersing students in exciting, real-world topics. It’s not just about knowing a word; it’s about understanding it deeply and being able to use it!

Here is a look at the vocabulary our students are mastering:

Kindergarten: Building the Foundation In K, we introduce fascinating topics like "Farms," "Seasons and Weather," and "Colonial America" through captivating read-alouds. Your child is learning words like: harvest, migration, and colony! 📚

1st Grade: Expanding Horizons First graders delve into domains like "The Human Body," "Fairy Tales," and "A New Nation." They're learning words like circulation, heroic, and independence! 🌳

2nd Grade: Digging Deeper In second grade, topics like "Ancient Greek Civilization," "The War of 1812," and "Ecology" bring more complex vocabulary into play- such as democracy, conflict, and biodiversity. 🔍

3rd Grade: Bridging Listening to Reading Now, students are reading more independently, and CKLA helps them tackle more sophisticated texts in units like "The Ancient Roman Empire," "Astronomy," and "Immigration." They learn words like emperor, celestial, and immigrant. 🏰

4th Grade: Mastering Academic Language Fourth grade dives into subjects like "Early American Civilizations," "Geology," and "The American Revolution." Vocabulary becomes even more crucial for academic success. Words such as Mesoamerica, erosion, and patriot. 🌎

5th Grade: Preparing for Middle School In their final elementary year, students engage with challenging topics like "The Renaissance," "The Civil War," and "Human Anatomy and Physiology." Students learn words like patron, secede and skeletal. 🚀

From their first day to their elementary graduation, we are empowering TCAPS students to own their language!
5 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Infographic titled 'Words are Power' showing CKLA vocabulary: Harvest, Migration, and Colony for K-2; Emperor, Celestial, and Perspective

SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Wednesday, January 14, 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.

6 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.
🧠 Challenge Your Student: Explore the TCAPS Talented and Gifted Program Program!

The Talented and Gifted Program offers 4th graders accelerated learning with less repetition, focusing on growth mindset and challenging projects. Give your student the opportunity to learn in this unique environment.

Qualification testing (CogAT) is optional for all interested 3rd graders.

Register by January 21, 2026! Learn more at www.tcaps.net/TAG.
7 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Girl on a paper airplane looking through binoculars, surrounded by icons for science and discovery.

5th-grade pancake breakfast this morning!

10 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
a student sitting at his desk eating a pancake and 4 other students in the background by the whiteboard.
students sitting at their desk, eating pancakes and smiling
students sitting at their desk eating pancakes, smiling at the camera
Parents  and Mr. Steele outside making pancakes for the 5th graders
1st grade class earned a glow party in the gym, put on by our wonderful Westwoods PTO and volunteers. They had a blast dancing in the dark gym with glow sticks.
10 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
students standing over a glow table smiling and looking at it.
student putting his head an alien cut out that is glow in the dark smiling
student holding glow sticks smiling
students putting their heads through a cutout of aliens that glow in the dark, students are smiling
Student smiling  for the camera in a dark gym, holding glow sticks
student wearing a "hat" of glow sticks on her head smiling for the camera in a dark gym for a glow party
student standing in a dark gym holding glow sticks and smiling at the camera
a class of students posing for the camera with glow sticks in their hand and on them, in a dark gym
students smiling at the camera, posing for a class picture in dark gym with glowsticks
The kids are loving the snow!
12 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
Student making a snow angel
students standing under a gazebo pushing the snow off of it.
student in snow gear sitting on the end of the slide
two students standing together outside in front the play structure smiling, one student behind smiling on the play structure.
student dressed in pink snow gear smiling at the camera, standing in the snow
students smiling at the camera outside on the playground in the snow
Mrs. Ray and her Holiday obstacle course.
12 days ago, Westwoods Elementary
students sitting in a circle at gym with Mrs. Ray teaching them.  The students are surrounded by a Christmas obstacle course.
Christmas obstacle course: tall fake candles, cones with a hoop connecting them to walk through, a Christmas tree in the back
Christmas obstacle course, cones in a line that are numbered with candy canes sticking out of them.  Toy soldiers on the steps in the gym..

🔔 Reminder: No School Dec 22 - Jan 2.

Enjoy the winter break! All TCAPS school offices and the TCAPS Administration Building at Glenn Loomis will be closed during this time.

Buildings and classes will resume on Monday, January 5, 2026.

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

29 days ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Warm-toned photo with a silhouette of a person reading under a large tree and the TCAPS school logo

🔔 Reminder: No School Dec 22 - Jan 2.

Enjoy the winter break! All TCAPS school offices and the TCAPS Administration Building at Glenn Loomis will be closed during this time.

Buildings and classes will resume on Monday, January 5, 2026.

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

about 1 month ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Warm-toned photo with a silhouette of a person reading under a large tree and the TCAPS school logo

SCHOOL IS CLOSED: All TCAPS schools are closed today, Friday, December 19, 2025 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.

about 1 month ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
TCAPS ALERT Schools are closed due to inclement weather.
Fancy day today!
about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
Fancy Day at school, students sitting in front of a window, dressing in fancy clothes.
Our 5th grade student council is making and signing personalized Christmas cards this week. They picked a local adult foster care home to send a little extra holiday cheer to. We are certain that the recipients will appreciate the hearts of these kids just as much as we do!
about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
Students standing in front of a tree smiling, with Wilbur our therapy dog in the center

Ms. Stephanie, Ms. Rita, and Mrs. Bennett.

about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
3 teachers wearing brown and black standing together and smiling at the camera

🌟 Beyond Sounding Out: CKLA Knowledge Units Build Confident Readers! 📚

While learning to sound out words is essential, did you know that CKLA Knowledge Units teach your child about the world (like history and science) and grow their vocabulary by introducing important, academic words? This strong foundation of knowledge and words is how they move beyond simply sounding out letters to actually understanding the meaning of what they read, making them skilled and confident readers.

 CKLA Connected—check out the learning adventures happening right now!

 Kindergarten: Underdogs and Heroes: Stories 
First Grade: Common Threads: Different Lands, Similar Stories 
Second Grade: Legends and Heroes: Greek Myths
Third Grade: Rhythm and Rhyme: Poetry
Fourth Grade: Meaning and Metaphor: Poetry
Fifth Grade: Visions in Verse: Poetry

about 1 month ago, Traverse City Area Public Schools
Young girl using a pocket chart for a phonics lesson, placing a letter card under the 'Chaining' category.
Student learning what is inside the human body at school
Teachers and students in a classroom hold up cards with shapes (star, circle) and letters ('f', 'o', 'g') for a lesson.
Students learning in the classroom
Students with paper masks learning in the classroom
2nd Grade, Courtade:  Domain 2, “Ancient Greece” Display
Group of students smiling together in the classroom.
Mr. Sid is taking time out of his day to help Ms. Kaity fix a wheelchair. Thank you, Mr. Sid, for always thinking of the students. We appreciate all your hard work.
about 1 month ago, Westwoods Elementary
Mr. Sid laying on the floor helping to fix a wheel chair with Ms. Caity and a student in a wheelchair looking to the side.
Having fun in the snow at Westwoods!
about 2 months ago, Westwoods Elementary
students outside in the snow piled ontop of each other smiling at the camera
student laying in the snow making a snow angel
student laying in the snow making a snow angel
students laying in the snow in a zig zag pattern smiling at the camera
student buried in snow up to his neck smiling at the camera
students sitting in snow in a triangle form smiling at the camera
Today the 5th graders had a German Lesson from some High school students.
about 2 months ago, Westwoods Elementary
High school students speaking to a classroom of students sitting at their desk
High school students speaking to a classroom of students sitting at their desk pointing to a screen
High school students speaking to a classroom of students sitting at their desk.  The high school students pointing to the board.