Spring Branch ISD Featured News

When was the last time you got some good advice from a timber wolf?

If you are a student at Terrace Elementary (TCE) in Spring Branch ISD (SBISD), you can say, “Every day at school!”

Students at Terrace begin each day with “Timmy Time” lessons inspired by their school mascot, Timmy the Timber Wolf. These short, engaging sessions provide a consistent opportunity for students to practice and strengthen their skills as communicators and collaborators — Core Characteristics that SBISD nurtures in Every Child to ensure they are T-2-4 Ready Graduates.

Timmy Time: Building Communicators and Collaborators
Timmy Time lessons are designed to encourage cooperation, problem-solving, and positive character development. The activities incorporate elements of reading, math, science, writing, and art, allowing students to express ideas, actively listen, and work together to find solutions. These collaborative experiences are critical for student growth, helping them build confidence and develop the skills they need to lead successful lives beyond graduation.

The daily 15-minute lessons are adapted for kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade. 

Creating Community with PACK Expectations
Timmy Time lessons are thoughtfully aligned with the Terrace Timber Wolves’ PACK expectations:

• P (Positive Attitude)
• A (Act Responsibly)
• C (Choose Kindness)
• K (Keep Striving)

These expectations create a positive and inclusive learning environment where students feel valued and encouraged to contribute.

In a recent PACK-themed lesson, students listened to The Energy Bus for Kids, a story about creating positive energy for oneself and others. Afterward, they wrote notes of kindness to their classmates. In Noor Mawed’s fourth-grade class, students practiced having a Positive Attitude and then wrote kind words to every one of their peers.

“The kids loved it,” Mawed said. “Not only receiving positive words from their peers but also giving them. It made them feel connected and valued.”

Real-World Learning Opportunities
Timmy Time lessons also integrate collaborative learning opportunities, providing students with experiences they might not encounter during the regular school day. One popular lesson was inspired by the book Zombies Don’t Eat Vegetables. Students discussed their feelings about vegetables, identified the story’s problem and resolution, and collaborated to design pumpkin characters based on book themes. The resulting pumpkins were proudly displayed in the library.

“Small groups of students worked together to create pumpkins aligned to a book,” said instructional specialist Brooke Bramlett. “They decided on a book as a group, read and wrote about the book, and designed a pumpkin character, setting, or theme of the book.”

Supporting Student Success
Timmy Time lessons are designed to support all students based on their social, emotional, and behavioral needs. They also provide engagement opportunities for emergent bilingual students to develop language acquisition skills.

The lessons are carefully crafted to reinforce the schoolwide PACK expectations, ensuring that students clearly understand positive behaviors at school. Instructional specialists also build in subject-matter strategies to help students succeed on state assessments.

Laying the Foundation for T-2-4 Success
At its core, Timmy Time is about more than just character education. It’s about creating thoughtful, considerate critical thinkers who are prepared to communicate and collaborate in the real world. Each day, Terrace students are actively developing the SBISD Core Characteristics of a T-2-4 Graduate — traits that leaders, teachers, and community members identified as essential for leading successful lives.

Thank you, Timmy the Timber Wolf, for inspiring Terrace Elementary students to grow as communicators, collaborators, and leaders!