Timberwolf Times
August 5, 2022
Tiffany Ridge Elementary School
School Hours: 9:10-4:00
School Phone: 816-359-4400
Principal: Desiree Rios Assistant Principal: Laura Coughlin
Counselor: Leslie Andes and Thuy Nguyen
Social Worker: Gayle Laney
Office Staff: Robin Meyers and Andrea Berka
Nurse: Nicole Snodgrass
Happy 10th Birthday to Tiffany Ridge!
Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year!
We hope you have enjoyed a great summer with family and friends. Teachers and Staff at Tiffany Ridge have been working hard to prepare for the students to return on August 22nd. We are looking forward to another great year with our students and families! I am confident that we will have an exciting, enjoyable and learning-filled year! If you are brand new to Tiffany Ridge, we want to personally welcome you to a wonderful school community that embraces diversity and encourages all parents to be actively involved. We operate with the vision of “Challenging Today’s Learners to be Tomorrow’s Leaders.” Our mission is that Tiffany Ridge will provide a caring environment dedicated to helping students feel safe, take risks, solve problems, and reach their highest potential.
You can expect an email from the school each week called the “Timberwolf Times.” This
newsletter will be filled with important reminders and information about events at Tiffany Ridge. Please take a few minutes each week to read the email for important announcements.
Our school also has the following sites to provide information to our families!
Prior to the first day, we invite all families to our “Back to School Night” on Thursday, August 18th from 5:30-7:00pm.
As a reminder, every family must complete online verification and residency before your child will receive a classroom teacher assignment. This process is quick and necessary to verify your student’s information, as well as make any updates to emergency contacts. For students in grades 1-5, classroom placement information will be emailed to you on Monday, August 15th. Kindergarten students will spend the first week of school in "Camp Kindergarten" and will learn all about Kindergarten with various activities in the Kindergarten classrooms with all of the Kindergarten teachers! Classroom placements for our Kindergarten students will be finalized at the end of the first week of school to begin in their official classrooms on Monday, August 29th.
If you have not provided proof of residency, your child’s classroom placement will not be able to be emailed to you at that time. Please contact the Tiffany Ridge office at 816-359-4400 as soon as possible if you need assistance.
School begins Monday, August 22nd! Arrival time is between 8:50 and 9:10, with dismissal at 4:00. On behalf of the entire TR staff, we look forward to working with all of our Tiffany Ridge Timberwolves! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
It’s a great day to be a Timberwolf!
Desiree Rios, Principal
Laura Coughlin, Assistant Principal
What is Camp Kindergarten?
Kindergarten students will not be assigned a teacher until after the first week of school. Students will be spending time with each of the kindergarten teachers. This will help them get to know all students.
Students will have a consistent classroom for arrival, dismissal, and lunch during the first week of school, as this will be the student's "campsite."
Each day during the first week of school, we will meet our Kindergarten students on the playground. They will receive a wristband designating their group for the day. Remember, this may not be their permanent placement for the school year.
The students will find out their teacher for the school year on Friday, August 26th at the end of the day. At that point, they will get to know their new teacher and classmates to be ready to start in their own classroom on Monday, August 29th!
Goals of Camp Kindergarten:
- Help ease the transition for kindergarten students to a new learning environment
- Assess the academic, social, and emotional needs of all incoming kindergarten students
- Build our Kindergarten community to help all students and teachers know each other
Welcome Back Tiffany Ridge Staff!
Important Dates!
August 15th after 3pm: Class Placement and Bus Transportation to Families who have completed Online Enrollment and Residency Verification
August 18th: Back to School Night, 5:30-7:00pm
August 22nd: First Day of School, 9:10-4:00
September 5th: NO SCHOOL, Labor Day
September 7th: Early Release, 2pm
September 8th: Virtual Parent Orientation
September 23rd: School Picture Day
Health Services and COVID-19
Park Hill School District continues to work closely with our community public health partners as we prepare for the 2022-2023 school year. Please review these reminders as we prepare for back-to-school.
- The CDC continues to recommend masks in our schools, facilities and buses when community levels are high, but they will not be mandated at this time.
- The district will no longer have a COVID-19 dashboard.
- For up-to-date information about our community’s case numbers, the following dashboards are available:
MARC KC Region COVID-19 Data Hub
Student Lanyards
Back to School Night
Our Back to School Night is on Thursday, August 18th! Come and meet your child’s teacher and drop off school supplies! It helps everyone make a smooth transition on the 1st day of school. We hope you can join us for this exciting event!
Please attend at the following times, based on your last names:
Last Names A-E: 5:30-5:50pm
Last Names F-L: 5:50-6:10pm
Last Names M-Q: 6:10-6:30pm
Last Names R-Z: 6:30-6:50pm
Our Tiffany Ridge teachers will be providing Parent Orientation information to families on September 8th. You will receive a virtual presentation from your student's teacher which you may view at your convenience. Teachers will have contact details for any questions you may have!
Show your Timberwolf PRIDE!
First Day of School Photos
Thank you for sharing your first day memories with us! #ParkHillProud
Attendance
School attendance is vital for student success and academic growth. Please help your student(s) be successful by arriving to school on time each day. We also ask for your help in this area by attempting to schedule any necessary appointments either after school hours or on non-attendance days. Please remember that the arrival time for Tiffany Ridge is 8:50. Prior to that time, there is no adult supervision for students. Students are tardy if they arrive after 9:10.
Missouri guidelines require 90% of our students to be in attendance 90% of the time. To help meet this goal, Park Hill has established expectations for attendance and letters will be sent to families if the following attendance percentages are not met.
Level 1: Attendance rate of 90%
Level 2: Attendance rate between 85% and 90%
Level 3: Attendance rate is below 80%
If your child will be absent, please contact the school office by 9:00am. Also, if you have changes in plans regarding transportation home, please notify your child’s teacher or the school office before noon at 816-359-4400. Thank you for making your child’s education a top priority!
Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports
School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention & Support (SWPBS) is a systems approach to establishing the whole-school social culture and intensive individual behavior supports needed for school to achieve social and academic gains while minimizing problem behavior for all students. SWPBS is NOT a specific curriculum, intervention or practice, but a decision making framework that guides selection, integration and implementation of scientifically-based academic and behavioral practices for improving academic and behavior outcomes for all students. A central feature of SWPBS is implementation of behavioral practices throughout the entire school. SWPBS defines practices that all students experience in all parts of the school and at all times of day.
- Fewer behavior problems
- Improved school climate
- Reduction in discipline referrals
- i.e.—Every faculty and staff member will have a protocol to follow.
- Safer schools
- More time spend on instruction and less on discipline
The power of PBIS at Tiffany Ridge is that we have building wide expectations for all areas of the building. We use a Matrix (below) that identifies the expectation for each area in our building. The expectations focus on four key behaviors:
- Be a Problem Solver
- Act Responsibly
- Care for Everyone
- Keep Safe
When students demonstrate these expectations they are honored with a building wide currency (PACK POINTS) which they can exchange for menu items. Students work very hard to earn a lot of PACK POINTS!
Cafeteria Information:
Students may bring their lunch from home or purchase a school lunch from the cafeteria. Students also have the option to purchase a breakfast upon arrival to school. See breakfast and lunch pricing:
Breakfast: $1.50
Lunch: $2.70
Milk: $0.70
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, please consult your classroom teacher before sending any pre-packaged treats to school. Individual student snacks 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
Application for Free and Reduced Lunch
The program which allowed FREE meals for ALL students was discontinued at the end of last year. To qualify for free or reduced meals for the 2022-2023 school year, you must fill out a free/reduced application form. If you think your family may be eligible for Free or Reduced Meals this school year, please apply now. Go to the link HERE to access further information and apply. The information provided on the application is confidential.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our school social worker, Gayle Laney, 816-359-5747 or by email HERE.
If you need the application translated, please use this link. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/translated-applications
Student Transportation Information
For the safety of all our Timberwolves, communication is the key! During Back to School Night, please be sure that you communicate with your child’s teacher the details of your child’s mode of dismissal transportation. Families must establish their child as one of the following:
- Bus rider: All students who have completed registration before 8/5/22 will be rostered on a bus (if they selected that they are bus riders at registration). Your student's ID badge will designate their bus information. A sticker with their bus number will be placed on the back of the badge on the first day of school. Please confirm your child's bus number with his/her teacher.
- Car rider (loop A/B): All families with car rider students will receive a car name tag to place in the front car window to assist teachers assisting with student pick-up.
- Walker or Bike Rider
- Adventure Club
During the year, please notify the school office of any transportation changes prior to 2:00pm. Thank you for your assistance!
Additional Bus rider information: In early August, our bus company, First Student, will be sending an email with your student’s bus information. Our recommendation is for you to contact First Student if you have any concerns regarding your student’s stop. First Student can be reached at 816-741-4023 or contact Kay Burnos at kay.burnos@firstgroup.com.
Parent Transportation Plan: Arrival and Dismissal
Arrival
Adventure Club: Drop-off begins at 6:30am and parents must check in their child through the lower level entrance. Students must be enrolled in Adventure Club to participate.
Walkers: Students may enter the building at 8:50 and have two entry points; the main entrance or the lower level entrance.
Bus Riders: Students will be released from the buses as soon as they arrive at Tiffany Ridge and will either report to the cafeteria for breakfast or go directly to their classrooms.
Car Riders: Drop-off begins at 8:50am. Students will report for breakfast in the cafeteria or go to their classrooms. All cars will enter Tiffany Ridge at the NE parking lots and use a single file line for dropping off students. If your child is late, arriving after 9:10, please escort them to the office to sign them in using our check-in system.
Dismissal
Adventure Club: Pick-up begins at 4:05pm through the lower level entrance.
Walkers: Students will be released to parents at the main entrance.
Bus Riders: Students riding buses will be escorted by their classroom teacher to their bus starting at 4:00pm.
Car Riders: Pick-up begins at 3:55pm. Cars will begin to line up in Loop A and Loop B along the curb. Students will be supervised in the main hallway until their name is called by our staff. Staff members use the name sign on your dash/visor to call student names in order of parent arrival. Students will stand by a designated cone and then be escorted by staff to their car.
Safety at Tiffany Ridge
Park Hill Parent and Student Handbook:
To access our handbook, please visit our district website:
https://www.parkhill.k12.mo.us/cms/one.aspx?portalId=62500&pageId=808658
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 and Volunteering at Tiffany Ridge:
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 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.
KidGuard Insurance
Parents can purchase additional insurance protection for accidents that occur during school classes, while students are away from school, at home, during the weekends, and vacation periods, including summer months. The cost of this insurance is a one-time payment of $40.00. For information regarding this optional coverage, contact KidGuard Insurance at 1-800-432-6915 or email a request for information to contact@kidguardinsurance.com.
PTA Committee Sign-Up!
Health Room Information
All non-prescription, over-the-counter medication must be sent in the original container with a written request by the parent or physician. If for any reason your child is on medication, before it can be administered, the medication must be in a prescription labeled bottle accompanied by a doctor’s note. The medication is kept in the health room. The medication authorization form must be completed and signed by the parent or guardian for all medications given at school. It is recommended that medication NOT be sent to school with the children. Parents should bring the medication to the health room.
All students need to be up to date on immunizations BEFORE starting school on August 22. Documentation of immunizations must be turned into the health room. No exceptions will be made. Please call the health room with any questions or concerns at (816)359-4404.
- English: Child Care and Preschool Immunization Requirements (PDF)
- Spanish: Requisitos de inmunización para las escuelas de Missouri (PDF)
- Arabic: متطلبات رعاية الطفل والتحصين في مرحلة ما قبل المدرسة(PDF)
- Amharic: የልጅ እንክብካቤ እና ቅድመ ትምህርት ቤት የክትባት መስፈርቶች (PDF)
- Somali: Shuruudaha Tallaalka ee Dugsiga Missouri (PDF)
Infinite Campus - Parent Portal
Park Hill School District uses Infinite Campus as our student information system. You can access your child’s essential school information and district information quickly! This includes Attendance, Grades, Schedule, Bus Information, Technology Fees and School Communications.
To be able to access your child’s information, you must set up an account. You will need to log-in and enter the GUID code, followed by setting up your own username and password.
Infinite Campus organizes students by household, so you can access your family in just one account. If you have questions, need technical support, or have misplace your unique access key code, feel free to call us at 816-359-4400.
Family Support Service Options:
Confidential Resource Checklist
Please fill out this form and drop off at the office for any resources or information you need.
Miles of Smiles Program
Miles of Smiles (Level Up Kids) will be at TIFFANY RIDGE
AUGUST 25th – SEPTEMBER 12th, 2022!
Miles of Smiles, a program of LevelUp Kids, provides free dental care to children in the Northland who do not have access to oral health services. The dental care will be provided to students at TIFFANY RIDGE during the school day August 25 – September 12, 2022! All care is provided by a licensed dentist and assistants and all patients receive a comprehensive exam, cleaning and x-rays.
Please register ASAP if you would like your student to be seen during the school day. We highly encourage online registration, which is quick, easy and convenient! You can register right from your phone!
https://practisforms.com/milesofsmilesinc/forms/milesofsmilesinc-registration-form
https://practisforms.com/milesofsmilesinc/forms/milesofsmilesinc-formulario-de-inscripcion
Please contact Karen Schaff (816-359-6175) if you have any questions or need help registering your student.
Are you or someone you know looking for a well-paying job that allows you to make a difference for students? If so, join our team of dedicated Park Hill School District staff members. We have full-time and part-time support staff positions open, including nutrition services, childcare, teacher assistants and substitute teacher positions.
We recently increased the pay for these positions to . . .
- Lunchroom and playground supervisor: $15.29
- Adventure Club associate teacher: $15.29 plus a $1-an-hour bonus, paid twice a year
- Nutrition services assistant: $15.90 plus a $1-an-hour bonus, paid twice a year
- Teacher assistant: $16.54
- Adventure Club site manager: $17.20 plus a $1-an-hour bonus, paid twice a year
- Specialized teacher assistant: $17.89
- Custodian: $18.61
If you know of someone who would make a great addition to our Park Hill School District family, please let them know about these opportunities.
Nominate a Staff Member for the Park Hill STAR Award
That is why we present the Park Hill Star award once a month to a Pre-K or elementary teacher, a secondary teacher and a support employee. Anyone can nominate an employee for this award by using the form below. It asks you to share how your nominee demonstrates our district values of continuous improvement, high expectations, integrity, visionary leadership and student focus. You can also share how your nominee supports the goals in our district’s strategic plan.
Tiffany Ridge PTA
2022-2023 PTA Board
President: Kelli JohnsonVice President of Fund Raising: Kim Taylor
Vice President of Membership: Amy Gallawa
Secretary: Amy Hoban
Treasurer: Courtney Pratten
Tiffany Ridge Elementary
Follow us for up-to-date information on all the events at Tiffany Ridge through social media!
Email: TiffanyRidgeAdministrativeAssistants@parkhill.k12.mo.us
Website: https://tiffanyridge.parkhill.k12.mo.us/
Location: 5301 Northwest Old Tiffany Springs Road, KCMO, MO, United States
Phone: (816) 359-4400
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TiffanyRidgeElementary/
Twitter: @TiffanyRidgeES
Dr. Desiree Rios - Principal
Timber, Our Tiffany Ridge Mascot
Dr. Laura Coughlin - Assistant Principal
Our Mission: Tiffany Ridge will provide a caring environment dedicated to making students feel safe, take risks, solve problems, and reach their highest potential.
Our Core Values:
- Student learning is ignited by inspiring passion, uncovering knowledge, and developing positive relationships.
- Students should be challenged to reach their full potential as critical thinkers, problem solvers, and decision makers.
- Students learn best in a safe, secure, and respectful atmosphere.
- Partnerships among school, home and community are essential to success.
- Children should be engaged socially, emotionally, academically and physically.
- Every student learns in their own unique way.