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

Six staff members were recognized Wednesday morning by Dr. Kimbrel with Park Hill Star awards. We are so proud of them!

Melissa Burrows, Special Education teacher: Nominated by school employee

• Student-focused and works hard to build and foster strong relationships with students to meet goals on a consistent basis
• Works well with teachers to ensure continuous improvement with student progress
• Collaborates well with families, and always willing to go above and beyond expectations to support; she communicates effectively and empathetically, ensuring that families feel heard and understood; she creates strong partnerships between home and school, making a difference in fostering, supporting, and inclusive learning environments

Michelle Kieslich, 2nd grade teacher: Nominated by family of a student

• Improves children's performance levels
• Exudes ability to accommodate student's requirements
• Good treatment of students

Molly McCoy, Kindergarten teacher: Nominated by family of a student

• Highly effective, student-focused teacher who has remarkable impact on her students' lives despite being only in her second year of teaching
• Goes above and beyond to connect with her students, learning some Spanish to better communicate with Spanish-speaking students and showing care and attention to every child
• Fosters a positive and caring classroom culture, responds quickly to parents' questions and concerns, and treats students with dignity, making her an invaluable teacher

Rodney Nance, Technology Specialist: Nominated by school employee

• Always willing to help with a smile; "he gets technology"
• Always checks in to make sure IT is working properly in school
• He is kind and helpful

Alex Wilson, Kindergarten teacher: Nominated by family of a student

• Focused on student success and growth; constant positive attitude and kindness brings a smile to each student
• Helps students transition from ECSC to general education classroom with services; she's worked with resource teacher to make sure student had support and resources they need to succeed and be included with his peers
• Helps students thrive and continue to show progress in her classroom; "she has the biggest heart and it shows in how her students all love and respect her"

Callie Woodland, 3rd grade teacher: Nominated by school employee

• Perpetual learner and always willing to teach those around her daily; she meets with students where they're at academically and pushes them to grow and develop emotionally
• Anyone at school can count on her to do the best she can, and she has endless amounts of compassion and empathy for everyone at her school

March

• March 21: No School for Students: Teacher Work Day
• March 24-28: No School - Spring Break

April

• April 2: Title 1 Annual Evaluation of Programs Virtual Meeting (Teams Link), 12:30pm
• April 4: Spring Party, 2:30-3:30pm
• April 7: Rising Tiger Night (for future Plaza 6th graders), 6:00-7:00pm
• April 8: Local Election
• April 11: TR T-Shirt Contest Due Date (K-4th)
• April 11: PTA Movin' in the Morning (gym), 8:15-8:50am
• April 11: Assembly & Family Groups
• April 16: 5th Grade Field Trip to National WWI Museum and Memorial
• April 16: TR Glow Night, 5:30-7:00pm
• April 17: Spring Picture Day
• April 17: ELD Night
• April 18: School in Session (this was originally not a school day
• April 25: Kindergarten Field Trip to Kaleidoscope
• April 25: PTA Private Skate Party, 5:30-7:30pm
• April 28: 4th Grade Field Trip to Kauffman Stadium

With the warm weather we have seen an increase in students leaving coats/jackets/sweatshirts at school. Please encourage your student to check the Lost and Found if they are missing an item. Click the link below to see the items we currently have in Lost and Found.

It takes both great teachers and outstanding schools to provide the quality of education our Park Hill community expects. To continue the community's investment and Park Hill pride in our schools, the Park Hill Board of Education put two initiatives on the April 8 ballot, Proposition G and Proposition O.

If approved, we would maintain our quality with great teachers, up-to-date classrooms and facilities, and safe and accessible schools.

Proposition G ensures competitive pay and benefits, helping us recruit and retain excellent teachers and staff to support our high-quality school operations.

If passed, Park Hill School District would be in the Top 5 Beginning Salary strand for first-year teachers and would be in the Top 3 Average Salary strand for all teachers.

Proposition G asks for approval of a 10-cent increase in the operating tax rate to support teacher and staff salaries and benefits and other operating costs. For 22 years, our operating tax levy has stayed at the level voters approved in 2002, or even lower.

Proposition O allows us to maintain the community’s investment in our facilities and bring them up-to-date.

Proposition O asks for approval to increase the debt service levy 30 cents to issue general obligation bonds in the amount of $128 million for the Phase 1 replacement of Park Hill High School, stadium and field improvements at Park Hill South High School, additions to various elementary schools, safety upgrades and the purchase of land.

More Information

• Learn more about Propositions G+O on our website.
• Learn more about how this affects you in our Frequently Asked Questions.
• Learn more about the April 8 ballot language.

We had a fantastic turn out at our skate party on March 14th!

Congratulations to Mrs. Starich's class who won the golden skate trophy!

Congratulations to the following families who won the Chick-fil-A raffle:

Taylor (Kami and Keira), Remund, Herren, Kuhn, Gage, Bitzer, Dahm

Thanks to everyone who has made our skate nights a great success!

Due to the snow days, our district calendar has been updated for the 2024-2025 school year.

The following adjustments have been approved:

• Friday, April 18: School in session
• Friday, May 23: Full day of school (instead of half day)
• Tuesday and Wednesday, May 27 and 28: School in session
• Thursday, May 29: Last day of school (half-day for students, full day for teachers)

Preparing for Summer School:

• Tuesday, June 3: First day of Summer School

Loop B Concerns

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 their 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.

NW 90th St./NW Beaman Ave. Concerns

We continue to have unsafe dismissal conditions from car rider parents. There are a large number of parents who park on both sides of NW 90th Street (Autumn Ridge) to pick up their child(ren) who are "walking" home. We are extremely worried about the safety aspect of this. When cars are parked on both sides of the street, it makes it incredibly difficult for cars to drive down the street, for cars to pull into Tiffany Ridge to pick up car riders, and for our students who are actually walking or biking home. We strongly encourage all parents to pull into Loop B to pick up their student(s) instead. Our Loop B is incredibly fast and a much safer option for all involved.

Thank you to the multiple parents who have reached out about this continued concern.

Deputy Brennar Jones is our School Resource Officer. He works full-time at Congress Middle School but is also assigned to Tiffany Ridge. Should we have an emergency he would be one of the first to arrive to help us. Deputy Jones tries to visit Tiffany Ridge on a weekly basis to get to know students, play games with kids, and help with arrival. He's also a new dad and loves showing off pictures of his baby girl!

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!

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.

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

• March 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