Long Lake Newsletter

Dear Families,

This Tuesday, November 4th is a training day for TCAPS staff. School will not be in session that day. Our clocks fell back one hour this weekend! We’re hoping your family enjoyed an extra hour of sleep!

If you haven't yet, please sign up for our Fall 2025 Parent Teacher Conferences which start this week: November 6th, 11th and 13th. Please use SignUpGenius to schedule a time to meet with your child's teacher. You can sign up for conference times here. Parents can request any format (virtual or in person) on any of the evenings. Virtual links can be found here. We ask that dual households schedule one conference for their child. This helps everyone to be on the same page to support the student’s learning, it also allows the teacher to have enough time slots for all of the students in their class. Resource Room and Intervention Teachers will join student's homeroom teacher times. If you experience problems signing up, feel free to contact our office at 231-933-7800 or your child's teacher. We look forward to connecting to share all of the progress your child has made this year!

TEACHER CONFERENCE MEALS: Help us support our amazing teachers and staff during parent-teacher conferences by providing them dinner on conference nights. See the link below to sign-up.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-59846139-conference

CONFERENCE CHILDCARE:

Please consider volunteering a bit of your time to help provide fun and safe childcare while parents attend their Parent Teacher Conference. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-59986911-childcare

Looking forward to kicking off November with our Panthers!

Warmly,

Kate Burwinkel

VETERAN ASSEMBLY AND TRICK OR TREAT FOR TROOPS: We invite all Veterans and Active Duty Military to join us for our annual Veterans Assembly (in honor of Veterans Day) on November 10th @ 9:30 AM. Know a Veteran who would be interested in joining us for this honorary celebration? Please invite anyone who may be interested! We'll also be collecting Halloween Candy and Personal Care Items to send to troops overseas. See the flyers below for more information!

VETERAN CELEBRATION: As we prepare for our Veterans Celebration on November 10th, we would love to honor the veterans and active service members connected to our school community. Please email a photo of your family member who has served or is currently serving to burwinkeka@tcaps.net. Their photo will be included in our Veterans Assembly slideshow!

Cherry Festival Royalty

Congratulations to Princess Kennedie and Prince Colton who will represent Long Lake Elementary in the 2026 National Cherry Festival!

SKI CLUB 2026 would love to see you and your kids at Crystal Mountain! Students must be 7 years and older by January. Membership includes 1 lesson/week, skiing all evening Thursdays, and for an additional fee on Sundays. Discounted Thursday night passes for adults too! Click here for more information!

2025 SSN WINTER WARM-UP SHOP: The TCAPS Student Support Network is hosting the Winter Warm-Up Shop on Thursday, November 13th and Friday, November 14th. The Winter Warm-Up Shop offers FREE new and gently used winter outerwear and footwear for students currently enrolled in TCAPS. Shopping is by appointment only and items are available while supplies last. Please complete this form to request an appointment.

HOUSE UPDATE: Our next House Assembly is scheduled for Friday, November 21st @ 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!

LONG LAKE CRAFT SHOW: The annual craft show is this Saturday, November 9th from 9 am-3 pm. The public is welcome to join for a day of shopping. Our annual vendor item raffle will be taking place again this year. It is sure to be a great event to get your holiday shopping done early!

CRAFT SHOW VOLUNTEERS: We need some helpers for the craft show set-up, clean-up and raffle ticket sales. If you are interested in helping out, please sign up.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-59914205-craft

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

SUPERINTENDENT OFFICE HOURS: 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 virtual on Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 5:00 p.m., Virtual office hours will be held via Google Meet and can be accessed here - https://meet.google.com/cpo-wwwz-qat?hs=122&authuser=0 , or by calling +1 475-549-0438‬ and entering PIN: ‪961 104 679‬#.

Board Office Hours: The Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Board of Education will host its next monthly “office hours” as a virtual meeting on Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. You can use this link to join VM: (Google Meet)- meet.google.com/ten-gqes-pow or call 1.440.462.2802; PIN 243 200474#TCAPS Board office hours provide community members with the opportunity to talk to a school board trustee. This month, Trustee Hardy is scheduled to attend.

SNAP Benefits Paused for November The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has been directed to temporarily pause the November payment of SNAP benefits (food assistance) due to an ongoing federal funding lapse. This situation affects approximately 1.4 million Michigan residents, placing many families with students at high risk of food insecurity. Key resources for families experiencing food insecurity are listed below.

Internal Resources for Families:

Free Meals Continue: All eligible students should continue to eat free school breakfast and lunch without interruption.
Get Help: Families needing assistance are strongly encouraged to reach out to their School Social Worker or Counselor for help with food and other essential needs.

External Resources for Families:

For Immediate Food & Assistance Referrals: Call 2-1-1 or visit 2-1-1 Michigan.
For Local Pantries: Visit the Northwest Food Coalition website to find food pantries near you.

For Benefit Updates: Check your local MDHHS office or MI Bridges for official information on benefit release.

Join us in celebrating Native American Heritage Month - November 2025! In conjunction with Rock Your Mocs week, which is nationally celebrated, we are hosting a spirit week, November 10-14. Themed days were thoughtfully selected by our program staff and students. Show your support, celebrate, and share your looks with us each day on social media, email (henionly@tcaps.net). Share with us on social media using the hashtag #TCAPSIE so we can feature your participation on our social media.

Themed Days:

Monday, Nov. 10: Rock Your Braids - Hair is culturally significant to Indigenous people, back the braid, and wear your hair in braids.
Tuesday, Nov. 11: Rock Blue or Red - Celebrate Veterans' Day and honor Ogichidaa (warriors). Click here to watch a YouTube video on how to say Ogichidaa.
Wednesday, Nov. 12: Rock Red or Ribbon Skirt/Shirt - Support Indigenous resilience through fashion.
Thursday, Nov. 13: Rock Kindness & Indigenous Bling - This World Kindness Day, wear Indigenous bling and tell someone they are Maamakaaj (awesome)! Click here to watch a YouTube video on how to pronounce.
Friday, Nov. 14: Rock Your Mocs or Crocs - In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, wear your mocs, crocs or turquoise.

Math Movie - Counted Out. Counted Out investigates the biggest crises of our time through an unexpected lens: math. Northwest Ed is hosting the movie at AMC Cherry Blossom theaters on 11/9 at 4:30pm. Community members and students are encouraged to attend - Non-educators Register Here

The Detroit Lions Touchdowns for Teachers program is designed to celebrate and support outstanding educators by providing them with Lions experiences and classroom grants to enhance their teaching experience while benefiting their students. Nominate a teacher here: Touchdowns for Teachers.