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

November

• November 11: Veterans Day (yes, we have school)
• November 12: PTA Meeting, 6:00pm
• November 14: PTA Movin' in the Morning at 8:15am in gym; TR DEIB Meeting, 5:30-7:00pm
• November 15: Spelling Bee Registration Deadline for 3rd-5th Students
• November 18: PTA Raising Cane's Fundraiser, 4:00-8:00pm
• November 19: Mental Health Matters Webinar (see below)
• November 20: Ms. Gillispie/Mrs. Woodland Field Trip
• November 21: Adventure Club Students at Renner in PM (due to staff training)
• November 25-29: No School for Students

Most of us aren't ready to begin thinking about snow but if bad weather, temperatures or road conditions make it unsafe for students to get to school, it's important to be prepared. 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

Mental Health is a Muscle Webinar-Nov. 19

The next webisode in the Park Hill Family Webinar Series is entitled Mental Wellness is a Muscle. The webisode will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 6:00-7:00 PM. You can register for the webinar by clicking here.

We all have mental health, like we all have physical health – and just like there are things we can do to improve our physical health, there are things we can do to improve our mental health. When we think of mental wellness as a “muscle” we can “workout,” we open the door to a world of possibilities for becoming a healthier and happier you! Participants will learn about the importance of mental health and mental wellness, and the valuable tools we can use to exercise for positive mental well-being.

The presenter is Taylor Cline, the Youth Suicide Prevention Specialist at Beacon Mental Health Services (formerly Tri-County). Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she concentrated on youth mental health and gained valuable experience from working with local child welfare agencies and schools. As a Youth Suicide Prevention Specialist, Taylor works with schools and other community partners to provide educational mental health and suicide prevention programs to local youth and their families.

You can view past and upcoming webisodes in the Family Webinar Series by visiting the Student and Family Support page, scrolling down to Mental Health and Healthy Living Resources, and expanding the Family Webinar Series section.

At today's PBIS Assembly, we recognized students who received the most Pack Points in October for showing our Pack Expectations. We also recoginzed the top staff members to distribute Pack Points in October.

This year we set a new record of 49 PTA Reflections entries! All Timberwolves who turned in an entry received a donut on Friday. Students will find out how they placed in December. A special thanks goes out to Ray's Donuts for the amazing donuts and Amy Hoban for organizing the this event!

Head Custodian Alex Bryan is the Star Award recipient for Support Services for November. Alex has been nomintated 4 times, and this month a teacher nominated him saying:

• He is kind and helpful to the staff and gets them whatever they need when they need it..
• Mr. Alex also has students turn in PACK points to help him and they LOVE helping him.
• Mr. Alex provides opportunities for students who are having a hard time in the classroom a break from academics to help him.

At Thursday's District Administrator Meeting, Mrs. Kalis became the first ever quarterly Admin Star Award winner for the Park Hill School District. This was her 4th nomination for her service to Park Hill Schools.

We will be using the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s online testing platform for 3rd-5th grades. If you would like your child to participate, please follow the steps below.

1. Register your child for the online testing platform by November 15.

• If you have already registered in the online testing platform for another child, you can log in to your account and add an additional child to that same parent account. There is no need to register a different email address for each child in your household.
  

2. If needed, watch the video tutorial about registering HERE.

The student from each classroom with the highest score will move on to compete at the school level. This year, our school-level competition will be administered as a traditional in person oral spelling bee. Our school champion will then move on to represent Tiffany Ridge in the Mid Continent regional spelling bee.

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 extremly 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.

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

• November 2024 ELA Curriculum Connections

• November 2024 Math Curriculum Connections

• November 2024 Social Studies/Science 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: November 12 at 6:00pm in the library.

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.

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

• November 5 & 19, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm

• December 3 & 17, 10am-12pm and 5pm-7pm

• January 7 & 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