Long Lake Newsletter

Dear Long Lake Families,

We are thrilled to welcome your family to the 2026-27 school year! We are equally excited to continue our House System this year! Our Long Lake House System was a great way to bring our community together last year and we look forward to celebrating our students through our House Assemblies again this year! If your child is a returning panther, he/she will stay in their same house. If you are a new family, your child will have the opportunity to reveal their house color during the first couple of weeks. An overview of our House System can be found here: House System Overview For Parents.

In addition to our House System, we are planning some exciting community events including a school farmers market in the spring! We also are piloting an innovative practice called Teaming in Kindergarten and Fourth Grade this school year as well. Teaming is where teachers at the grade level share the roster of students and mix students throughout the day to support needs and academic challenge. We will be sharing more with these grade level families at our open House. You can also find more information about Teaming in this Information Letter.

We hope to be able to count on your support and connection to school to help our students thrive this year! We value your partnership and welcome the opportunity to discuss questions or talk through challenges as they come up. Thank you for taking the time to read our weekly newsletters to stay connected to your child(ren)'s learning! It's going to be an amazing year together!

Warm regards,

Kate

As in past years, our Long Lake News will be shared with families each Sunday evening. The updates will come in the form of a digital newsletter, linked directly in an email message for easy access on any device. You’ll also receive a short phone message alongside the newsletter. Weekly updates will be posted on our school website as well, beginning the first week of school. https://www.tcaps.net/schools/elementary-schools/longlake/

Traverse City Area Public Schools utilizes an app called MyRide K-12. The app allows parents and guardians to view student routing information. You can find detailed Account Setup Instructions and Routing Information on our website. The Transportation Department is encouraging all families to dowload the My Ride K-12 App to access student bus route information for the coming school year. Emails will not be sent to families with routing information. If you need to set up bussing for your child, please contact our school office at 231-933-7801.

As you catch summer sales, here are the school supply lists for each grade level for next year!

Preschool, Jr. Kindergarten and 1st Grade families will gather between 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Preschool will meet at their side entrance door).

Kindergarten and 4th Grade Families are invited to a special presentation to overview our Teaming project from 4:30-5:00 p.m. in our gym followed by meet the teacher from 5:00-5:30 p.m.

2nd, 3rd & 5th grade families are welcome to visit between 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m..

GSRP will host a separate Open House/Meet the Teacher event closer to their start date.

During Open House, families will be able to meet teachers, tour the building, check out a House Shirt Swap Table, Visit with our fabulous PTO group, and pick up an envelope of goodies ahead of the first day of school. Each teacher will have a table outside to connect with students and families. We hope you can join us!

At our Open House Event on September 1st, we will have a House Tee Swap Table. If your child's House Tee is too small, please wash the tee and bring it to school to donate to the swap table. Donated shirts will be available for free to other families. PTO will also have House tees available for purchase. New students to Long Lake Elementary will receive one free house tee shirt compliments of PTO in September.

Families will receive teacher and class information via email on September 1st by 1:00 PM ahead of Open House. Please make sure that we have an accurate email address for your family in our system. You can update that information by calling 231-933-7800.

We kindly ask that families not make specific teacher requests for their children. In the past, using parent requests to build classes resulted in unbalanced groupings that created challenges for both students and staff. For this school year, class placements were thoughtfully created using parent input from the survey (shared in our spring Sunday Messages) along with teacher insights. This process helps us create well-balanced classrooms that consider both academics and student temperaments, ensuring the best possible learning environment for everyone. We truly appreciate your understanding and trust in this process. Once the school year begins, if you have concerns, our teachers are always willing to meet with you and work together to address your child’s needs. No matter which classroom your child is placed in, please know that every teacher is committed to supporting student success and values your partnership and feedback.

It is crucial that ALL our families complete the Educational Benefits form this school year. This form, formally called the Meal Magic Application allows families to gain access to additional resources such as extra-curricular discounts, meals, and supports. Additionally, Long Lake receives grant funding to hire additional teachers, instructional assistants, and instructional resources based on the form returns. These resources are vital to our program, and we need your help by completing the form to ensure we keep these resources in the future! Please click: https://traversecity.familyportal.cloud/benefits/onlyapplying The information provided is kept strictly confidential. Paper copies of the form are available in our school office. Thank you in advance!

This year, our school day starts at 9:05 AM and ends at 4:02 PM. Students can arrive as early as 8:50 AM each morning. We do not have supervision for students before 8:50 AM, so if you are needing to drop off before this time, please inquire about our Extended Day program. When students arrive, they can go directly to the classroom or stop in the cafeteria for breakfast. This document with dates for early release and half days might be helpful for families to bookmark. We will have copies of this in the Open House envelopes for each student.

The first day of school can bring a lot of emotions: excitement and nervousness! If this is your oldest child embarking on school, that makes it even more of a big deal! Please know that we take great pride in caring for our students! Additionally, safety is of the utmost importance to us! Given this, unfortunately we’re not able to have parents in the wing hallways during drop off and pick up (even on the first day of school). We ask that parents drop students off at the front door before 9:05 AM. As you can imagine, the first day can bring a level of nervousness for all students and having more people in the hallways makes it more difficult for students to find their classrooms. We will have MANY extra staff members on hand to help students find their classrooms on the first week of school. Thank you for your understanding and support!

If your family completed any of summer academic workbooks over the summer, please write your child's name on the front of the workbook and drop it off in the school office during the first couple of weeks of school. After the completed workbooks are turned into the office, we'll send home an Accomplished Medal!

Life Touch will be on campus on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 for fall pictures. All students will have their picture taken that day. If you would like to order school pictures, there are two ways to order. Orders can be placed online at mylifetouch.com using picture day ID number for Long Lake which is EVTWSCFKN. Your child can also bring their completed flyer with cash or check on picture day. Orders after picture day must be placed online at mylifetouch.com.

Yearbooks: New this year, you can order yearbooks when you place your school picture order. Yearbook orders are placed online at ybpay.lifetouch.com. The Long Lake yearbook ID code is 15170527.

Our fantastic PTO has organized a sign up to bring snacks in for our teachers as they set up their classrooms. Please help us welcome them by signing up to supply some snack and beverage to keep them energized throughout their busy days. Many of our staff spend hours setting up their rooms prior to their official report day for work. Please click on the Snack Sign Up Link to support our staff! Items may be dropped off in the main office Monday - Friday from 8:00am till 4:00pm. Thank you for your consideration!

Taking first-day photos is a great way to celebrate heading back to school! The Michigan State Police reminds families to be careful when posting these pictures online. Even with strict privacy settings, sharing too many details can help scammers or strangers learn about your child.

What to Leave Out:

• School names or locations

• Grade level or age

• Teacher or classroom information

• Physical descriptions such as height or weight

• Other identifying details that could be used to answer security questions or reveal personal information

Safe Ways to Share:

• Snap close-ups of new shoes, a fun backpack, or a big smile.

• Focus captions on excitement rather than specific details.

Have fun celebrating the big day while keeping your family's personal information safe!

Selection of members will be based on three criteria – expressed interest, ability to attend meetings as required, and that you meet one of the following categories:

• Parent of a student attending TCAPS

• Educator

• Local clergy

• Community health professional
  
  

According to the committee bylaws, 50% of the membership shall be the parents of current TCAPS students. If there are more volunteers than there are openings, a lottery system will be used to select members. If you are interested, please apply on or before September 28, 2026, using the 26-27 TCAPS Sex Education Advisory Board Application. Any questions can be directed to Erin Johnson, TCAPS Sex Education Coordinator, at johnsoner@tcaps.net.

The newest edition of theTCAPS District News is live! Stay updated on the latest stories from across the district. District Newsletter

Long Lake Elementary has earned an official Green School designation! 🏆

By completing 10+ environmental projects, our students and staff helped TCAPS become one of only two districts in Michigan to reach 100% participation. This milestone ensures our students are taking active steps to benefit the entire Traverse City community! 💚

Read more about the Michigan Green Schools program here: https://greenschools-michigan.hub.arcgis.com/.

September 8th: First Day of School!

September 11th: Early Release Day for TCAPS Students. Long Lake Releases at 2:02 p.m.

September 16th: Picture Day for Long Lake Elementary

September 17th: Constitution Day; Students will participate in related activities

September 17th: PTO Meeting 6:30 p.m. in the library or you can join virtually @ https://meet.google.com/rqp-hqre-sds

September 18th: House Assembly 9:20 a.m. All Families are welcome to join!

October 5th: Kindergarten Oral Health Assessments

October 7th: Count Day

October 9th: Long Lake Olympics Day

October 12th:Early Release Day for TCAPS Students. Long Lake Releases at 2:02 p.m.

October 15th: PTO Meeting 6:30 p.m. in the library or you can join virtually @ https://meet.google.com/rqp-hqre-sds

October 23rd: House Assembly 9:20 a.m. All Families are welcome to join!

October 23rd: PTO Sponsored Monster Mash Dance 6:30-8:30 p.m.

October 30th: Halloween Parade @ 9:20 a.m.

TCAPS 2026-2027 Academic Calendar
TCAPS 2026-2027 Building Hours

Long Lake Website: https://www.tcaps.net/o/lles

Long Lake Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LongLakeElementarySchoolTCAPS

PTO Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Long-Lake-Elementary-PTO-305155839569856/