Long Lake Newsletter

Dear Families,

We had an incredible Closing Ceremony last week to celebrate all of our fundraising efforts! Students loved watching Ms. Casey get a haircut and staff raced in inflatable costumes! Thanks to our PTO and our families for all that you do to partner with our school! Speaking of partnerships, the House Tee Shirts that were funded by PTO, have arrived! Every student should have received their House Tee. Students should wear their shirts this Friday for our House Assembly at 9:30 a.m.! Families are welcome to join us!

Let's make it a great week Panthers!

Warmly,

Kate Burwinkel

VISION & HEARING SCREENINGS: The Grand Traverse County Health Department will again be providing free screening services for students. Screenings for all students will take place on campus next week. All students will be screened unless otherwise indicated. Parents/guardians will be notified of any results which meet MDHHS referral criteria. Families wishing to decline their child's participation are asked to complete a screening waiver, available from the school office. (Waivers apply to the current school year and site only.) Free student screenings are also available by appointment during Health Department clinics -- call 231-620-3697 to schedule.

VISION: Any student with prescription lenses is asked to have them available on the screening dates.

HEARING: Any student with an implanted medical device (shunt, cochlear implants, insulin pump, continuous glucose monitor, etc.) will NOT be screened for hearing due to potential effects on device settings. Please be sure that your child’s teacher is aware of any implanted medical device.

The MDHHS routine screening schedule is outlined below.

Preschool, GSRP - vision and hearing

Kindergarten - hearing

1st Grade - vision

2nd Grade - hearing

3rd Grade - vision

4th Grade - hearing

5th Grade - vision

LL HALLOWEEN PARADE October 31st: Long Lake will be hosting a Halloween Parade on Friday, October 31st at 9:20 a.m. at our outdoor track. Students should come to school wearing their costumes and bring a change of clothes. Parents can join the parade by walking around the side of the building and stand on the inside of the track. Our parade will move inside if the weather doesn’t cooperate. Please see the flyer below for information about how to participate and costumes that day. Flyer Here

OCTOBER HOUSE ASSEMBLY: Our first House Assembly is scheduled for Friday October 24th at 9:30 a.m. Families are welcome to join us and be a part of this celebration if interested! 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!

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!

RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES: If your family is in need of boots for your students or a weekly nonperishable food bag to come home in backpacks, please reach out to our front office or email burwinkeka@tcaps.net.

PANTHER PUMPKIN PROJECT: We’d love for you to join us in creating a pumpkin for our Panther Pumpkin Project! It runs from October 20th thru October 23rd. Students can decorate (not carve) a pumpkin based upon the chosen theme of "Houses" for this year. Then bring the pumpkin to school to be judged by all the other students. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes from Horizon Books.

MONSTER MASH DANCE:Save the date for our annual Monster Mash dance on Friday, October 24th. Dig out your favorite Halloween costume and join us for a family friendly Monster Mash dance party! This event is free but we take donations to cover the cost of the DJ and decorations. This event is for current Long Lake students and their families only. Students must be accompanied by an adult. Pizza will be available for purchase for $2 a slice.

Volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-59360367-monster

Snacks: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F44ACAC29A0FBCF8-59358190-monster

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#.

Boys Basketball Youth Clinic Opportunity - October 25 The Trojan Coaching Staff & Traverse City Central Players will be teaching the fundamentals of basketball! An emphasis will be placed on developing skills while having fun and competing. Click here for more information.

Central High School Production: Mark your November calendar! Central High School's production of "Urinetown" takes the stage on Nov. 14, 15, 21, and 22 at 7 P.M. Matinees are available on Sunday, Nov. 16 and 23 at 2 P.M. Standard tickets are only $20. Be sure to purchase your tickets now at tcaps.booktix.com !