Traverse City —
BY LINDSAY VANHULLE
lvanhulle@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Carter Schmidt can’t wait for first grade.
He is so excited, his father said, that he has been counting the number of nights that have to pass before he will wake up on the first day of school.
“My friend Oliver, he said in first grade you get your own crayon box with your name on it,” said Carter, 6, who attends Eastern Elementary in Traverse City.
“It’s fun moving up from kindergarten.”
The leisurely pace of summer break will end Tuesday when thousands of local children return to school. Some already are returning to their “school night” bedtimes. Others intend to soak up every last second of vacation before the first bell rings.
Carter sped his bike around the skate park at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. He visited the park several times this summer, along with the beach, the library and Michigan’s Adventure amusement park in Muskegon.
Aliyah Adams, 9, stayed a week with her grandparents this summer. It was her first big trip away from home.
She spent a morning last week at the Great Lakes Children’s Museum in Elmwood Township with her siblings and friends.
Aliyah is ready to start fourth grade this year at Cherry Knoll Elementary in Traverse City.
“I get to see my friends, and I get to learn about new stuff,” she said. “Every second you have something to do, unlike summer, where you have nothing to do so it goes by slow.”
Her mother, Rhonda Adams, is easing her children into the school routine by setting bedtime closer to 8 p.m., instead of the 10 p.m. schedule they kept this summer.
The weekend looked cooler and more overcast than earlier in the season, when Briyana Kibby and three of her friends swam away the days.
Even with the threat of rain, they played an impromptu game of baseball Friday at F&M Park in Traverse City. None of the four said they were ready to go back to class.
“I’m just excited to see my friends, but then I don’t want to do the work,” said Briyana, 13, an eighth-grader at Glen Lake Community Schools in Maple City.
They could count the number of remaining vacation days on one hand, so the older children weren’t going to let bad weather force them indoors.
Kenny Kocevar, 12, a seventh-grader at Traverse City West Middle School, was sure of it.
If they had to, he said, “we’ll swim in the rain.”
Region
Related Photos
-
Kaylee Kuhr, 5, watches her brother, Kelly, 7, climb out of a tire at Kid's Kove park inside the Grand Traverse County Civic Center. The children go back to school Tuesday. Record-Eagle/Lindsay VanHulle
-
Chase Adams, 6, left, and his sister, Aliyah, 9, play with the water table at the Great Lakes Children's Museum in Elmwood Township. Their mother, Rhonda Adams, said they are preparing for school to start Tuesday by going to bed earlier each night. Record-Eagle/Lindsay VanHulle
-
From left, Kevin Rula, 9, Wioletta Marczuk, Marta Marczuk, 12, and Konrad Rula, 12, all of Chicago, listen as Josh Keller, top right, and the band Who Hit John?, of Kalamazoo, perform Friday at the intersection of Cass Street and Front Street in Traverse City. "This is our last vacation trip of the summer," Wioletta said. Kevin, Marta and Konrad will begin school after Labor Day. Record-Eagle/Keith King
Summer vacation ends
-
-
City may not ban smoking in parks
City Commission support is wobbly for a parks board proposal to ban tobacco at all Traverse City parks.
Continued ... -
Cause of fatal Kingsley fire might be forever unknown
Fire investigators believe they might never find out what caused a blaze that killed a World War II veteran.
Continued ...
Clifford Merrick, a Battle of the Bulge veteran who turned 90 in December, died in a house fire Jan. 28. -
Taxpayers must cover septage plant losses
Taxpayers will have to kick in an estimated $102,000 to cover last year's losses at the Grand Traverse County septage treatment plant.
Continued ... -
Court: Leelanau sheriff, undersheriff don't have immunity
A federal appeals court determined Leelanau County's sheriff and undersheriff don't have immunity from some legal claims made by a group of deputies.
Continued ... -
Group drops charter school application
Associate Superintendent Jayne Mohr said the North Prep Academy Charter School development team withdrew its application this week.
Continued ... -
Woman faces felony charge over jewelry
Brandi May Mikowski, 20, of Williamsburg, is charged with a single count of larceny between $1,000 and $20,000.
Continued ... -
TART Trails raise $125,000 for paving
Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation Trails raised more than $125,000 from donations and matching grants for its Leelanau Trail Paving Campaign.
Continued ... -
Goodwill offers tax preparation to many
The program is available to seniors and households with less than $50,000 income through the AARP Tax-Aide program.
Continued ... - Friday, February 3, 2012
- Woman accused of stealing from stepmom
-
Debate rages over neglected horses' fate
A custody battle is brewing in Grand Traverse County over horses police said were mistreated severely.
Continued ... -
TC leaders offer 'office hours'
Pull up a chair. City commissioners started holding regular "office hours" at the Governmental Center to chat individually with citizens.
Continued ... -
Grant helps special students sail
Special education students from the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District will have a chance to experience the Great Lakes, thanks to a significant grant to the Inland Seas Education Association.
Continued ... -
Shipwreck found at Sleeping Bear
A piece of a shipwreck that experts believe is from a schooner that sank 140 years ago has washed up along Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
Continued ... -
Fire damages Antrim County home
An early morning fire in Antrim County nearly destroyed a home on Alden Highway.
Continued ... -
Environmental award nominations sought
The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council will host the 24th Annual Environmentalist of the Year Awards & Celebration on April 27.
Continued ... - Thursday, February 2, 2012
-
Keillor coming back to Interlochen
Garrison Keillor will not go gentle into that good night.
Continued ... -
Weather a setback for sports fans
Winter sports lovers suffered another setback in a lackluster season when warm weather squelched a traditional cross-country ski race.
Continued ... -
Judge's wife jailed in investigation
A local judge's wife could face a domestic violence charge after police said she assaulted him at the couple's residence.
Continued ... -
Elmwood wants to buy land for parking
Elmwood Township officials to buy 5 acres across M-22 from the township marina and Greilickville Harbor Park for overflow marina parking.
Continued ... -
Tax assessor named in GT County
A man who formerly headed up equalization chores for the state's richest county will take over as Grand Traverse County's chief property tax assessor.
Continued ... -
Village manager wins trustee appointment
Kingsley Village Manager Adam Umbrasas won an appointment from his peers to serve a two-year term as trustee of the Michigan Municipal League board.
Continued ... -
Man faces charge for armed robberies
Another man faces a criminal charge for a series of armed robberies in Manistee County.
Continued ... -
Memorial Friday for vet who died in fire
A memorial service is planned for Friday for a Battle of the Bulge veteran who died in a house fire.
Continued ... - Wednesday, February 1, 2012
-
Munson wants to re-route Kids Creek
Munson Medical Center wants to reroute part of Kids Creek and make other Sixth Street campus changes.
Continued ... -
Planners approve phase 1 of Meijer plan
A lengthy, arduous planning process left developers and Acme Township officials satisfied with the final design for a proposed Meijer store.
Continued ...
-
City may not ban smoking in parks
