Timber Ridge ES Monthly Newsletter

Welcome Back, Ranger Families!

Over the past few weeks, we have welcomed new and familiar faces back to school, with a focus on building a positive learning environment to support each student's growth and success this year!

Positive partnerships between teachers and parents are critical to student success. If you have not had the opportunity to talk with your child's teacher, please feel free to reach out and schedule a call.

September is Attendance Awareness Month. Student attendance matters because students can not learn if they are not present. Excessive absences can lead to gaps in learning, which over time can become significant barriers to achievement. Please see the graphic below for more information about the importance of attendance. We are here to partner with you! If you have any questions, please let us know.

As always, please continue to encourage your students to engage positively in learning every day and to interact with others appropriately. Thank you for your continued support of Timber Ridge ES.

In partnership,

Stephani Grisham

Timber Ridge ES Principal

September 2nd - 6th: Substitute Appreciation Week

September 8th: Town Hall Meeting - District Optimization, 6:00 PM, Harker Heights HS Cafeteria

September 11th: Patriot Day

September 18th: Progress Reports Go Home

September 25th: Open House, 4:30 - 6:00 PM

ECSE/ECSE DHH (Pisana/McAdams)

We are finishing up with Theme 1: Marvelous Me and will begin Theme 2: My Family and Friends.

Theme 1: Week 3 and Week 4

This week, we will focus on the importance of having and being a friend. Your child will learn what it means to be a friend and discover ways to help friends feel welcome. They will also discover what it means to wonder, think, and problem-solve. At home, play music and encourage your child to dance and move to the beat. For added fun play a game of Freeze. Play the music, and when it stops your child should freeze (stand still) until the music starts again. Take a walk with your child around your neighborhood or park. Ask your child to think of why the wind blows, how birds fly and ask child to think of why these things might happen and problem-solve possible answers together. The storybooks for these two weeks are, “Play Is More Fun with Friends” which can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resource-detail/35248b4c-2823-48d7-82cd-f42defcfc3b0 and “Basketball Star” can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resource-detal/fbe3995f-2a84-4160-8212-415a79f83a1e.

Theme 2: Week 1 and Week 2

Our new theme is, “My Family and Friends.” Children will learn about the many things that families do together. They will also learn that extended family often includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. List family members and help your child identify them in family pictures and invite your child to draw a family portrait. Play a game of I Spy with your child while focusing on colors and sizes. The storybooks for these two weeks are, “The Lizards in the Window” can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resource-detail/c1736c1d-6c5f-4a4e-8bb0-1132b193c58d and “Beach Memories,” can be found at https://lilypad2.frogstreet.com/public/resource-detail/2da83463-b3e1-4a11-b5cd-ce20ce5dae29.

Fall Vocabulary:

https://youtu.be/3s3NttI60p8?si=KxRZQuMJZsbb7W_v

https://youtu.be/ix2EApsBexs?si=htgyOSaz3--HHgXT

https://youtu.be/puWjgxgaQ-c?si=8gtH5Sry2t1smLRl

https://youtu.be/HzSZLycq6Ls?si=ajegNx_lgLoNSIxE

Hello 2nd Grade Families!

We’ve had a wonderful start to the school year, and your children are already growing into confident, independent learners. Here’s a look at what’s happening this month in 2nd grade:

📚 What We’re Learning:

• Reading: Exploring story elements and different genres

• Writing: simple sentences and building our writing stamina

• Math: mental math strategies for addition and subtraction, one and multi step word problems

• Science: Investigating matter, force, and energy

• Social Studies: Learning about communities, rules, common beliefs and celebrating Freedom Week.

Important Dates: MAP Sept 9th and 11th

Our Skills class is off to a wonderful start this school year! Students are learning routines, practicing classroom expectations, and building their social, academic, and life skills each day. We look forward to a year filled with growth, learning, and celebrating the amazing progress our students will make together.

The 4th grade team at Timber Ridge Elementary is excited to kick off the new school year! We began by participating in teacher pre-service training, which gave us valuable time to collaborate and grow as educators. Our team also enjoyed connecting at Job Alike, where we shared ideas and strengthened our understanding of the Capturing Kids’ Hearts program. This training reminded us of the powerful impact building strong, positive relationships has on student success.

We are thrilled to have five dedicated teachers on the 4th grade team this year. Each of us has enjoyed getting to know one another while also welcoming the 100+ wonderful students we have the privilege of teaching. The first weeks have been spent reviewing school and classroom policies and procedures, setting clear expectations, and building a supportive learning environment. Along with this, we’ve already begun instruction in all core subjects, giving students a strong start to their academic journey.

A special highlight this year is the addition of Mr. Welch to our team. His energy and commitment have been a wonderful asset, and we are delighted to have him join us. We are looking forward to a successful September filled with growth, learning, and joy!

Respectfully,

The 4th Grade Teachers

We are excited to announce that Honor’s Choir Information will begin going out the first week of September to 4th and 5th grade students for the 2025-2026 year!

This year our Honors Choir will be attending the Choral Festival April 2026 along with singing opportunities throughout this coming year! More details to come.

Grade level music classes have been Rockin’ and Rolling as we review important specific grade-level music concepts!

Timber Ridge ES is committed to frequent two-way communication with families about their child's learning. We value and appreciate your partnership as we collaborate to ensure growth and learning for each student. If you have a concern, we ask that you allow us the opportunity to investigate and respond. If the concern is about a classroom situation, we ask that you first attempt to resolve the concern with your child's teacher. If you still have a concern after speaking with your child's teacher, please feel free to reach out to an administrator and we will be glad to assist you.