Timberwolf Times

Tiffany Ridge Elementary School

School Hours: 9:10-4:10

School Phone: 816-359-4400

Principal: Sasha Kalis Assistant Principal: Laura Coughlin

Counselor: Alisha Brunk Social Worker: Gayle Laney

Office Staff: Robin Meyers and Andrea Berka

Nurse: Nicole Snodgrass

Students at Tiffany Ridge are selected by their peers as our "Leaders of the Pack" each month! They receive a "Leader of the Pack" t-shirt! Way to go to our December student leaders!

December's Top Timberwolves were selected by their classroom teachers as consistently awesome students at Tiffany Ridge! They had a special lunch with Dr. Coughlin. We are so proud of our Top Timberwolves!

January

• January 20: No School - MLK, Jr. Day
• January 20: TR Private Skate Party at River Roll, 11:00-1:00 (see details below)
• January 29: PTA Meeting in Library at 6:00pm (Superintendent Dr. Kimbrel Speaking)
• January 31: PTA Family Dance Night in Gym at 6:00pm

Park Hill Clothing Center donations can be gently used clothing or new socks/underwear.

***To inquire about financial assistance and/or how to meet your child's special needs, please contact Katie Turner at kmturner.99@gmail.com.***

This past week, we had multiple unsafe situations in Loop B. These situations slow down our car rider line and take staff away from their supervision duty. If you are a family who uses Loop B at dismissal, please be sure to follow our car rider procedures to ensure safety for all.

Car Riders

• All car riders need to be picked up from the car rider line. Students are not permitted to walk to parked cars in the parking lot. This is dangerous and not fair to cars who are following the proper procedures.
• If parents need to have thier child right away, they can park and come to the office to check their child(ren) out before dismissal begins.

Walkers

• Walkers are defined as students who walk off school property. Walkers are not students who walk to a parked car, so the car rider line can be avoided.

NWEA Winter reports will go home with students on Tuesday, January 21st. Please reach out to your child's teacher with any questions.

Quarter 2 Report Cards are available in Infinite Campus. Please log in to your parent portal to view your child's progress.

The Engagement Window (below) is a framework used in restorative practices that visualizes different approaches to managing behavior by considering the balance between "support" (encouragement, nurturing) and "accountability" (limit setting, discipline), aiming to achieve a restorative approach where authority figures interact "with" individuals, and do not simply do things "to" or "for" them, by providing both high levels of support and clear expectations. Learning about the Engagement Window helps staff at Tiffany Ridge identify if a disciplinary approach is too permissive, punitive, neglectful, or optimally restorative based on the level of support and accountability used.

Our district is required to inform you of information that you, according to the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-95), have the right to know.

Upon your request, our district is required to provide to you in a timely manner, the following information:

• Whether your student’s teacher has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction.
• Whether your student’s teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived.
• Whether your student’s teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.
• Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

In addition to the information that parents may request, a building receiving Title I.A funds must provide to each individual parent:

• Information on the level of achievement and academic growth of your student, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments required under Title I.A.
• Timely notice that your student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who has not met applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Please call the school if you have questions.

Thank you for your support after our 5 AMI days in a row! Should we have additional winter weather resulting in a school cancellation, the district will call a SNOW DAY, which means students would not be expected to complete classwork. The other difference is that these days will extend the end of our school year.

Everything you need to know about AMI days and snow days can be found on the Park Hill School District website below.

AMI Days, Snow Days and Late Starts

The webisode is entitled Beyond the Game: Supporting Young Athletes in a Competitive World and will be held live on Monday, January 27, 6:00-7:00 PM. This webinar will focus on the unique psychological challenges young athletes face and the critical role parents play in fostering a supportive environment. We’ll take a deep dive into the psychology of young athletes, with a special focus on bridging generational perspectives on relationship building, emotion regulation and competition. We will also discuss the pressures of competition over the years, the impact of self-esteem on performance and how to help teens handle setbacks. As youth sports evolve, so do the mental health needs of athletes. We will discover practical strategies to foster resilience, open communication, and mutual understanding to help young athletes achieve their best in a healthy, balanced approach both on and off the field.

Click here for more details and to register. To see all past and upcoming webisodes, visit the Student and Family Support page (scroll down to Mental Health and Healthy Living Resources, then expand the Family Webinar Series section).

Check out the linked Curriculum Connections below to see what our Timberwolves will be learning in January! Your child's teacher is always happy to provide more information.

• January 2025 ELA Curriculum Connections
• January 2025 Math Curriculum Connections
• January 2025 Science/Social Studies Curriculum Connections

Breakfast: Students need to eat breakfast at home or order school breakfast. If students bring in outside (restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations) food or beverages, they will be sent to the cafeteria to finish it. If school has already started, students will finish it in the office before going to class. These items will not be allowed in classrooms.

Lunch: Please do not bring in restaurant/fast food for your child unless you plan to eat lunch with your child.

Classroom Treats: To protect the health and safety of our students, homemade treats will not be distributed to students in the Park Hill School District. Due to allergies and other food intolerances, only birthday favors listed below are allowed.

Birthday Favors: Students may bring a birthday treat or favor to school to share with their classmates, as long as they come from our list of treats that contain none of the eight (8) major allergens - milk, wheat, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, fish and shellfish.

Thank you for understanding that all classroom treats must come from this list, because we do not have the staff capacity to check for allergens that could threaten the health of some students. Please bring birthday treats ahead of time (two hours after the start of school, at the latest).

• Stickers

• Erasers

• Pencils

• Crazy straws

• Blow Pops

• Juice boxes

• Popcorn

• Smarties

• Dum Dum lollipops

• Jelly Belly

• Nerds

• Ring Pops

• Skittles

• Sour Patch Kids

• Starburst

• Swedish Fish

• Life Saver Gummies

Would you like to volunteer with students at Tiffany Ridge? If so, you should be a Pack Parent. A Pack Parent is a screened volunteer who works with students. If you are interested, please sign up below.

Our employees are the real deal and the reason we are so successful. We would like to recognize them for all they do for our students. Each month, we recognize a pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher and a support staff member. Nominate an employee for this award by clicking the button below.

Tiffany Ridge has an amazing PTA that supports students, staff and TR families. We are asking for your support, with no volunteering/meetings required! Your membership fees will help fund school needs, assemblies, field trips, and fun school events so sign up today!

Next Meeting: January 29 at 6:00pm in the library with Dr. Kimbrel

Join PTA HERE

2024-2025 PTA Board Members

• President: Kristin Kuhn
• Vice President of Membership: Kim Taylor
• Vice President of Fundraising: Amy Gallawa
• Secretary: Jennifer Duckworth
• Treasurer: Meghan Kudrna

Tiffany Ridge is implementing Restorative Practices this school year. We are excited to be a part of the cohort 1 schools in Park Hill. Restorative Practices help strengthen relationships between individuals and build community among students, staff, and families. This year, we will be focusing on proactive circles. More information can be found HERE.

Call Box at Front Entrance: All schools in Park Hill have a Call Box at the locked Front Entrance Doors. Front entrance doors will be locked when school is in session. Office staff will ask for your name and the reason for your visit before the door is unlocked. Each time a parent or a family member visits Tiffany Ridge, a photo ID is required to check out a student or enter Tiffany RIdge beyond the school office area.

Student Check Out Process: Please be prepared to show a photo ID when picking up your child early from Tiffany Ridge. Students will not be allowed to leave with siblings or other family members unless the sibling or family member is listed on the child’s authorized pick-up list or verbal permission is granted by the parent by phone. A picture ID is required when picking up students.

Visiting Tiffany Ridge: Please be prepared to show a photo ID when visiting Tiffany Ridge during the school day or attending events during the school day, including class parties.

More information can be found in the Park Hill Parent and Student Handbook

As you probably know, teachers like candy and snacks! We have created a Tiffany Ridge Amazon Wish List with goodies that we can have on hand at meetings. We'd appreaciate any donations!

We know our students are more than learners, so we've created a bulletin board to celebrate our students' superpowers. If you child(ren) has activities or celebrations outside of school, please email a photo and short explanation to your child's teacher. We will display these superpowers on a bulletin board near the recess doors.

This year we are making two changes in our building (and all PH elementary schools) related to Valentines Parties. The first change is that we are moving our spring parties away from February 14. This year, our spring parties will be on Friday, April 4. In keeping with this change, we will not be exchanging valentines at Tiffany Ridge. We understand that holidays are very important to our entire community. We will continue our practice of recognizing holidays at school without celebrating holidays. There are many opportunities for students to participate in holiday celebrations with their families, community groups or friends outside of school. While we are at school, we will focus on creating opportunities that all students will be able to enjoy without the need for students to opt out of activities. We thank you in advance for your support and understanding.

Visitors: Visitors are welcome at Tiffany Ridge! Visits should be prearranged with the appropriate Tiffany Ridge Staff member at least one day in advance of the visit. All visitors must check in at the office, identify the purpose of the visit, and will receive an ID sticker to wear during the visit.

Lunch Visits: Parents are welcome to join their students for lunch at school. Lunch visitors must check in at the office. We have a designated area for students with lunch guests to accommodate space for visitors. Lunch visitors may only have lunch with their own children. Any visitors who are not listed as a contact for the student will require advanced permission from the student's parent or guardian. Please contact the office to schedule lunch visits with students.

Volunteers: We welcome all volunteers into our schools and classrooms, with prior arrangements made with Tiffany Ridge staff. All volunteers who work with our students or attend field trips need to complete background screening by Park Hill. Forms for the screening are available in the Tiffany Ridge office. Volunteers must check in at the office and wear an ID sticker.

Families who think they qualify for the Free/Reduced Lunch Program will need to apply after August 1, 2024. This is a program you must reapply for each school year. If your child is eligible for free or reduced meal benefits, you can also receive additional benefits at Park Hill High School such as fee waivers, activity passes, free screenings and more.

Click HERE for more information.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our school social worker, Gayle Laney, 816-359-5747 or erikson-laneyg@parkhill.k12.mo.us.

If you need the application translated, please use this link. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/translated-applications

The PTA of the Park Hill School District runs a clothing center that provides free, gently used clothing and new socks and underwear to district students.

The PTA Clothing Center serves all Park Hill School District students from Kindergarten through 12th grade, and the PTA asks you to bring some proof that you are enrolled in a Park Hill school. This could be a student ID, bus pass, dated letter from a principal or social worker, class schedule or enrollment form.

Donations are welcome at the Clothing Center. Please make sure your donations are clean, in good condition and bagged in kitchen-sized bags that the volunteers can lift.

2024-2025 Park Hill PTA Clothing Center Shopping Dates

• January 21, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• February 4 & 18, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• March 4 & 18, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• April 1 & 15, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm
• May 6, 4pm-6pm

Website: Tiffany Ridge Website

Facebook: Tiffany Ridge Facebook

Email: TiffanyRidgeAdministrativeAssistants@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Address: 5301 NW Tiffany Springs Road, KCMO, MO, United States
Phone: (816) 359-4400