The Children's House

New Message from Michele:

Calendar:

May 16-21:  Jr High trip to Washington D.C.
May 17: Grounds Work Bee, details below
May 17: Family Bike Ride with Norte, 5:30-7:00 p.m., details below 
May 18: COVID Vaccine Webinar, 6:30 p.m., details below
May 27: Kindergarten trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes
May 28:  Campus Closes at 11:30, staggered carline: JH and Elementary 11:30-11:45; Primary, YCC, and NIDO 11:45
May 31:  Campus Closed, Memorial Day
June 1-4:  Jr High trip to Pictured Rocks
June 2-3: 3rd Grade overnight trip to Leelanau Outdoor Center
June 3: 1-2nd Grade day trip to Leelanau Outdoor Center
June 4:  All Lower Elementary day trip to Leelanau Outdoor Center
June 8: Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony, 5:30 p.m.
June 8: 6th Year Moving Up Ceremony, 6:30 p.m.
June 9: 8th Year Graduation, 6 p.m.
June 10: Rain date for Moving Up and Graduation Ceremonies
June 11: Dance of the Cosmos (details coming soon)
June 11: Campus Closes 11:30, staggered carline: JH and Elementary 11:30-11:45; Primary, YCC, and NIDO 11:45

Looking Ahead

June 21: Summer fun begins!

Extracurricular Activities:

As of today, May 14, $9,500 is still needed to reach our $160,000 goal. Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach this point! You can be part of the vitality of our school by making a gift to our new Bright Futures Fund. Gifts of all sizes from every family are appreciated and needed. Every gift counts. Bright Futures Fund

 Other Notes:

Grounds Work Bee
May 17
Help keep our campus beautiful! We have lots of grounds maintenance projects that need attention. Please sign up to help out. When you arrive, please wear a mask and check in at the front desk. Thank you for your help!

Let’s ride! Family Bike Ride with Norte
May 17 at 5:30 p.m.
Meet up with other TCH families to have fun on bikes and learn safe routes through Traverse City with a Norte coach. Meet at the Norte Clubhouse on the Civic Center grounds. Parents will ride with their children in small groups on a 2, 4, or 6-mile loop. Children on balance bikes and training wheels will stay at the Civic Center. Space is limited due to COVID protocols in place. $10 per child paid directly to Norte. Sign up here.  If you need to borrow a bicycle from Norte, please complete this form.

TCH Robotics Club for Elementary Students – Gauging student interest for Fall Semester 2021
Love ROBOTS? Have a passion for MAKING? Ready to dip your toe in the world of CODING? This weekly club for TCH students ages 8 to 11 years old will focus on building and coding unique robots in an after-school setting that is non-competitive, hands-on, and always fun. TCH parent, Jennifer Lacy Smith, has volunteered to coach a Robotics Club for the younger students stemming from her desire to give back to our educational community to share that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is accessible for all. If interested, please complete this Google form. If there is sufficient interest, we will develop the program over the summer and send out formal details in August for official sign up. If you have questions, you can contact Jennifer Lacy Smith directly at nathanandjenn@mac.com.

We’re Hiring
The Children’s House is hiring for a seasonal Young Children’s Community classroom support person. Experience with toddlers is preferred but not required. This position will run from June 16 through August 31, 2021. Interested candidates should contact Kim Gallagher directly: kim@traversechildrenshouse.org or 231-929-9325.

Paintings in our Lobby
On March 2, 2020, Lisa Schulte (TCH alumni parent) hung her stunningly beautiful, large scale paintings for our school community to enjoy. Little did we know, the works would be seen by very few people over the next year. We’ve created a new webpage to feature and sell her artwork … take a look!

Family Fun Challenges
We are all hopeful for a more normal time when we can gather and get to know all of the members of our school community better. But until we can do that safely, CHiPA is proposing some Family Fun Challenges that we can share on The Children’s House Community Facebook page.  

NEW Family Fun Challenge:  Let’s take a bike ride!  Be sure to share photos of your family making memories on bicycles on our TCH Community Facebook page!

Sharing our Gratitude
Please take a moment to read what others have shared on our Gratitude Padlet. To add your gratitude, just click on the + button in the lower right corner of the Padlet.

Parent Business Directory
With the harsh economic impact of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to support TCH family-owned restaurants and businesses. Visit our directory of TCH family-owned businesses in the Parent Portal. If you own a business and are not listed, please let us know by completing this Google form.  

Facebook Community Page
Join our Facebook group, The Children’s House Community, to share ideas, swap/sell items, and connect with other families.

Amazon Smile -  You Shop. Amazon Gives.

Weekly Covid-19 Update

Masks at TCH
We acknowledge the CDC’s new recommendation that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks in most settings. Because most of our students are not yet able to be vaccinated, we are keeping our indoor masking policy intact. The newest data shows the transmission of the virus outdoors to be less than 1%. Therefore, all students and staff will no longer be required to wear a mask when outdoors for recess, gym, non-contact sports, and gatherings where physical distancing is applied. Still, we do expect that masks are worn outside by anyone engaging in a close conversation and work. If you would like your child to continue to wear their masks outdoors, we will support that effort here at the school.

COVID Vaccine Webinar
You are invited to join us Tuesday, May 18 in learning more about COVID-19 vaccines and how getting yourself and your family members vaccinated may support a return to normalcy for our schools and communities here in northwest Michigan. In collaboration with our local health departments, medical providers and intermediate school district – Northwest Education Services (formerly TBAISD) – we are hosting a webinar featuring area physicians and pediatricians at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18. You can choose how you'd like to learn more about vaccination:

• Register through Zoom, which allows you to ask questions of the panelists (space is limited); or
• Watch the discussion on Northwest Education Services’ Facebook page (livestream link will be posted shortly before the event begins).
• For more information about the webinar, click here.

TCH COVID-19 webpage with link to the TCH protocol, was updated May 13, 2021 to remove the requirement for students and staff to wear masks outdoors.

Updated May 5 - See the most current Epidemic Order Infographic Here

Compass back-issues

The Week in Photos: