Long Lake Newsletter

Dear Families,

February is flying by! Students really enjoyed spending time in their Houses last Friday! We look forward to celebrating the Woodland Explorers this week for securing the championship for 1st semester. If your child is in that house, see below for information on the celebration!

Report cards went home in backpacks last Friday, February 6th. Please take time to review them together and celebrate your child’s progress and growth this marking period. Report cards are designed to provide a snapshot in time of learning, highlighting strengths as well as areas where continued practice and support may be helpful. They reflect progress toward grade-level standards and important learning behaviors such as effort, responsibility, and work habits. For standards that are still heavily covered in Semester 2, a level 2 grade means that they are where they need to be based on current work. For areas where students have met end of the year benchmarks a level 3 would be noted. If there is a standard area that is blank, this simply means that the standards hasn't been covered or assessed yet this school year.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your child’s report card in more detail, our upcoming conferences on March 3rd, 5th and 11th might be the perfect time. You are also welcome to reach out to your child’s teacher at anytime. We value our partnership with families and appreciate your continued support of your child’s learning.

Hoping you had a nice weekend!

Warmly,

Kate Burwinkel- Long Lake Elementary Principal

CALLING ALL INCOMING KINDERGARTEN FAMILIES: It is already time to start thinking about kindergarten options for the 2026-27 school year! If you are considering having your child attend kindergarten or junior kindergarten at Long Lake next school year, please fill out this form: LL Kindergarten/Jr.K Interest List. Filling out this form does not enroll your child; but it does put you on our mailing list so that you will receive any information we send regarding kindergarten. If you have any questions, please call our office at 231-933-7800

SAVE THE DATE: We will be holding an Incoming Kindergarten/Jr. Kindergarten Parent Information Night at Long Lake on February 9th, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 PM in the school library. We hope you can join us!

SCHOOL YEARBOOKS: Yearbooks are available to purchase online and the deadline to order is April 17, 2026. To order, visit the following website: www.ybpay.lifetouch.com. You will need the Long Lake yearbook ID Code which is 15170526. The cost is $12 per yearbook. We do have funds available to help families in need. If your family would benefit from a scholarship for a yearbook, please complete this form or contact the school office to let us know.

ABOUND PARENTING WORKSHIP SESSION FOR LL FAMILIES: If you missed the Abound Parenting Workshop last week, you can catch the video HERE. It shared simple things families can do to boost reading for their children. Here's one Long Lake Parent's feedback: "It was wonderful. It instantly motivated me more to engage at any opportunity that I can with Kelvin and very greatful for the advancement of technology these days. He's very eager to learn and I am going to take full advantage of it in hopes it only strengthens his curiosity."

FREE RESOURCE- ABOUND PARENTING: The Abound Parenting App makes it easy for families to support growth at home! Go to the App Store or Google Play, download & open the Abound Parenting App. Enter account info (e.g. your email, and create a password including a symbol, number, upper and lowercase letter). Enter your INVITE CODE, LLE2026 An informational flyer can be found here. If you have any questions about the App or presentation, please contact info@aboundparenting.com, or joan@aboundparenting.com.

HOUSE UPDATE: Our next House Assembly is Friday, February 27th @ 9:30 a.m. Families are welcome to join us and be a part of this celebration! Just sign in at the office upon arrival. We will highlight one student per class and recognize classes for attendance and for following our lifelong guidelines!

HOUSE CHAMPS: Our first semester CHAMPIONS are Woodland Explorers! K-5th graders who are part of that house will enjoy a movie: The Gruffalo on February 10th with their House team. Graffalo is about a clever, small mouse walking through a "deep dark wood" who avoids being eaten by predators (a fox, owl, and snake) by inventing a imaginary monster—the Gruffalo. The story centers on themes of wit, intelligence, and bravery overcoming physical size. If your child is part of the Woodland Explorers House and you do not want your child to participate in the movie, please let us know by February 9th by contacting the school office.

NOTICE CHANGE OF DATE: Our February PTO meeting has been moved to Thursday, February 26th at 6:30PM. We hope to see you there!

POPCORN POPPERS: PTO is happy to provide the entire school popcorn once a month and volunteers are needed. Bring the kids with you for extra helping hands and it is a fun way to meet new friends! Below is the sign up genius to help pop popcorn for students. Please consider helping out. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-58294686-popcorn

CRAFT SHOW COMMITTEE: The PTO is looking for anyone who may be interested in joining a new committee to help coordinate our annual Craft Show in future years. This committee would be responsible for managing vendors, marketing/announcements, event setup and more. Please email longlakepto1@gmail.com for more information. All candidates will be considered at a future PTO meeting

PRINCESS DANCE: Join us for "A Knight to Remember" on Saturday, March 7th from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Long Lake Elementary gym. Cost will be $20 for a couple and $25 for a family. See link below for sign-up opportunities!

Snack Donations: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-55123530-princess

Volunteering opportunities: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-61490486-princess

Conference Meal Sign Up: Please help consider providing a meal for our AMAZING LL staff during conferences. Click on the link below for opportunities:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-61638789-confrence

Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Superintendent, Dr. John VanWagoner, will have monthly “office hours”, alternating each month between in person and virtual meetings. This month’s meeting will be in person on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., and will be held at Horizon Books, 243 E. Front Street, Traverse City, MI 49684 on the second floor (Mezzanine level).