On Friday, September 20, 2019, Veterans, active duty military, and first responders are invited to attend a special free pre-game tailgate to honor their service as part of the 2019 TC Patriot Game. The tailgate will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Michigan State Police, located across the street from Thirlby Field (218 W. Fourteenth St.) and will conclude at 6:00 p.m. The event will feature food sponsored by Folgarellis, beverages from Pepsi and a bounce house for the kids. Immediately following the tailgate, attendees will walk to Thirlby Field for the opening ceremony beginning at 6:30 p.m., which includes a U.S. Coast Guard flyover and flag ceremony honoring those who have served, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Proceeds from this year’s commemorative t-shirt sales and fundraising activities at the game will go to support Veterans in Crisis, which works in twenty-one northern Michigan counties as a safety net when veterans need emergency help. Learn more about the event at: tcpatriotgame.com.

On Friday, September 20, 2019, TCAPS will be offering free shuttle service between Traverse City West Middle School (3950 Silver Lake Rd.) and Thirlby Field (410 W. Thirteenth St.) for the TC Patriot Game. The shuttle will run approximately every 15 minutes beginning at 4:30 p.m. until 1 ½ hours after the game ends. Parking and shuttle pickup is located in the lower West Middle School parking lot between the tennis courts and the track/football field. Patrons will be dropped off in the alley near Montessori at Glenn Loomis and Thirlby Field. Shuttle pickup for patrons returning to their car will be in front of the Montessori at Glenn Loomis school building (1009 Oak St.) which is located next to the field. Click here for the map of parking locations at Traverse City West Middle School.

On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, Traverse City Area Public Schools will host a parent meeting for the annual TCAPS Global Service Trip at 6:30 p.m. in the West Senior High School library (5376 N. Long Lake Rd.). The trip is open to all TCAPS students (grades 9-11) and is not limited to students enrolled in Spanish language courses. The two and a half week long study abroad experience focuses on language study, volunteer work, cultural immersion, and making global friendships with students learning English at a public school in Leon, Mexico. For more information, contact trip leader, Kate Hansen at hansenca@tcaps.net.

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On Tuesday, September 24, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Traverse City Area Public Schools will host “Industry Night Out,” in collaboration with Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) and the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District (TBAISD) at the Sabin Data Center (2075 Cass Rd.). The evening will include a presentation from TCAPS about how the region’s largest school district uses Information Technology and will include a tour of the data center facility. The event is open to students enrolled at NMC, TBAISD and TCAPS who are taking classes in Computer Information Technology related fields.

The Traverse City Area Public Schools Board of Education will host “Office Hours” on Thursday, September 26, 2019, at 6:00 p.m. at Horizon Books (243 E. Front Street). The listening session format is intended to offer an opportunity for community members to have one-on-one conversations with board members in an informal setting.

October 2, 2019 - Student count day
November 1, 2019 - Half day for all TCAPS students
November 5, 2019 - No school for all TCAPS students, Election Day
District School Year Calendar
Blair/Traverse Heights School Year Calendar

Students at Cherry Knoll Elementary School received a visit from acclaimed middle grade author Jack Cheng this week. Cheng read an excerpt from his book, talked about his path to becoming an author and answered students’ questions. The author’s visit was the prize for the top school participating in the Traverse Area District Library’s (TADL’s) 2019 Summer Reading Club titled “A Universe of Stories.” Cheng’s book titled See You in the Cosmos, is a story of a boy, Alex, who’s inspired by all things to do with space and goes on a road trip with his dog, Carl Sagan, to shoot his golden iPod into the cosmos. On the trip, Alex discovers a family he didn’t know he had, new friends who help him find his way - and, just as important, whom he inspires and helps, too. The top five TCAPS elementary schools with students registered for TADL Summer Reading Club for 2019 were: Cherry Knoll Elementary School, Long Lake Elementary School, Willow Hill Elementary School, Eastern Elementary School and Courtade Elementary School.

Eastern Elementary School’s Kindergartners in the Community program provides a chance for students to learn about their community and about how they can become active participants and good citizens. This year’s program began with an event on September 13, 2019, where kindergartners conducted a cleanup of their school grounds. This effort will be followed with tulip planting at the school on September 20th. Later this month, students will walk to Traverse City Fire Station #2 on Eighth Street to learn from local firefighters about their role in the community.

Do you know an outstanding teacher who goes above and beyond for their students and is active in promoting the teaching profession? Nominate them for the 2020-2021 Michigan Teacher of the Year (MTOY) program. The Michigan Teacher of the Year program recognizes outstanding educational leaders across the state for their work to elevate the teaching profession. The Michigan Teacher of the Year program is an opportunity for communities around the state to nominate outstanding educators so they can share their knowledge and expertise with policymakers and other educators. Nominations can be made using the online recommendation form between now and Sunday, October 6, 2019, at 11:59 p.m.

Annual notifications for parents, students and staff regarding the following topics can be found on the TCAPS website at www.tcaps.net/about/annual-notifications.

• Asbestos Notification
• Child Find Special Education / Section 504 Notice
• Concussions and Athletic Activities
• District Policies & Administrative Guidelines
• Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) Notice for Directory Information
• Free & Reduced Meals
• Notice of Video Surveillance/Electronic Monitoring
• Notification Regarding Staff Qualifications
• Pesticide Notification Advisory
• Requirements for Student Immunizations
• Student Accident Insurance
• Students with Disabilities
• Title IX, Section 504, Age Discrimination Act, and Title II Americans with Disabilities Act
• Translation Services

The Michigan Department of Education is providing resources to families to make sure parents/guardians have the information they need to best support their child’s learning. Families can learn more about M-STEP test score reports and how they can be used to better understand whether your child is on track with the skills needed in Math and English Language Arts. To learn more, visit: mi.startingsmarter.org

Join the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA on Saturday, October 5th, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. and peruse over 85 vendors at the West YMCA location (3700 Silver Lake Rd.). Support local artists and craftsmen, while also supporting your local YMCA at this free event that is open to the public. All vendors will be donating items to be raffled off in support of the YMCA. You could win some unique and local items.

Proceeds benefit the YMCA's Annual Campaign which funds the Safety Around Water program for TCAPS' 3rd grade students. This program teaches water safety skills to help students enjoy the beautiful water surrounding our community more safely.

As a member of the adidas family, TCAPS staff, students, and families are being offered a limited time 20% off code valid for one week – from 9/23 - 9/30. The discount code is TC20ADP. For every purchase made, adidas will donate 10% of the sale back to TCAPS athletics. The holidays are just around the corner! Click on the image below to get started on your shopping!

TCAPS is pleased to join with the community in support of our area Veterans, active duty and first responders at the following events:

On Friday, September 6th, the U.S. Coast Guard Cup was held at Thirlby Field. The football game between sister U.S. Coast Guard Cities Grand Haven and Traverse City honored U.S. Coast Guard members and their families. Air Station Traverse City has been very busy this summer conducting Search and Rescue operations between Chicago and the Straits of Mackinac, and as far away as Isle Royale on Lake Superior. Recently, the Coast Guard hosted six family members and their dog, who were stranded on an isolated shore on Lake Superior when their boat took on water. Additionally, they rescued a husband and wife from Lake Michigan after they fell off their jet ski 3-4 miles offshore. Currently, Air Station Traverse City personnel and an aircraft are deployed to the Carolinas, Bahamas, and Florida supporting disaster response operations in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. The Traverse City West Senior High School Titans pulled off the win and are proudly displaying their victory trophy at the school.

This Friday, September 20th, TCAPS will host the TC Patriot Game. It is the 8th year of this honored event and the goal of our students is to raise $25,000 for Veterans In Crisis. If they reach the goal, the event will have raised over $100,000 for area Veteran charities over the past eight years.

On Wednesday, October 9th, TCAPS will be a part of the Grand Traverse Senior Center Network Hometown Heroes Event. Area Veterans will have a guided tour of local monuments, memorials and more, including TCAPS’ Veterans Memorial at Thirlby Field. A surprise special performance at the site will complement the visit. Following the tour, attendees will enjoy a lunch and special program at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station. The Grand Traverse County Senior Center Network supports local veterans year-round with programs and activities. For more information about the annual Hometown Heroes event on October 9th, contact the Grand Traverse County Senior Center Network, where veterans matter all year long.

TCAPS would like to thank all of the community volunteers who donated school supplies, snacks and clothing items to students in need at the start of the year. Removing barriers to learning makes the school day much easier on our students in need. Special thanks…

To Salon 804! Alexandra Billette, hair stylist and co-owner, donated a large amount of snacks to Central Grade School. She generously donated all of the profits from her back-to-school children's haircuts to ensure that Central Grade students have a healthy snack to eat at school.


To Hagerty! Senior Manager of Corporate Responsibility, Sarah Friess, contacted TCAPS to do a special supply drive for our extended day child care and preschool programs. The need is always great and the results of their donation were incredibly impactful. Donations of clothing, underwear, playing cards and board games, craft supplies, tissue and antibacterial wipes were happily received by our staff and most importantly, the students.


To TBA Credit Union! The team at TBA Credit Union is always ready to help! They held a school supply and snack drive which were welcomed at multiple schools in need at the start of the year. This support is in addition to their annual LEAP sponsorship, classroom grants and real life student work experience of the Student Run Credit Unions.

To Traverse Bay United Methodist Church! It’s always wonderful to hear from our friends at Traverse Bay UMC. Every year, they donate school supplies to support our students. Thank you for renewing your support each year for our learners.

To Shift Chiropractic! Thank you for your continued support of our staff and students. In addition to their annual school supply contribution which they brought to the back-to-school kick-off, they sponsored our annual administrative assistant training by bringing coffee and bagels to keep our staff full for their morning training!

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