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Liberty Common Elementary School
Phone:(970)482-9800
Fax: (970)482-8007
OfficeHours:7:50-4:00
Attendance Line:
(970)482-9800,option2
Common Knowledge,
Common Virtues, Common Sense
A National Charter School of the Year,
A Nationally Recognized Blue Ribbon School,
A Certified Official Core Knowledge Site School,
A John Irwin School of Excellence, and A Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School
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Board of Directors
You may contact all members of our Board of Directors at [email protected] or by telephone:
- Patrick Albright: 232-8257
- Joel Goeltl: 593-8556
- Paulette Hansen: 282-8455
- Jeff Webb: 545-9636
- Denise Benz: 420-4184
- John Rohrbaugh: 225-2259
Next Board of Directors Mtg.,
November 19, 2015, 6:00 p.m.
Liberty Common Elementary
Thank you to Moms in Prayer, for providing our faculty and staff with lunch last Friday. The delicious food provided was a treat and a nice way to end a busy week. Thank you.
Board of Director News Please consider joining the Board. Applications encompassing a letter of interest and statement of educational philosophy are due no later than November 8th. To ascertain eligibility requirements and to complete an application, CLICK HERE
The term of this position is through the 2017-2018 school year. If you are considering the position, I strongly encourage you to attend the November 19th Board meeting at 6pm at the Elementary School.
You are welcome to contact me at [email protected] or any Board member who can answer your questions regarding membership.
Paulette Hansen, Chairman
Liberty Common School Board of Directors 
 In an effort to keep students safe during drop-off and pick-up times, please refrain from using cell phones. The front, middle and back drop-off and pick-up areas are designated NO CELL PHONE AREAS.
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October 30|Chess Club
October 30|Liberty T-shirt Day
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 November 1|Daylight Savings Time Ends. Don't forget to set your clocks back so your student will not be late to school.
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November 6|Picture Retakes. Skillman Photography will begin taking pictures at 7:45 a.m.
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November 12|"Liberty Lecture," Dr. Gary Wolfram, 6:30 p.m., LCHS
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November 13|Hearing /Vision Screening
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November 19|BOD Meeting, 6:00 p.m., LCS
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November 24|Grandparents Day
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November 25-27|Thanksgiving Break, NO SCHOOL
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November 30|Character Assembly
8:10-8:45 (K-3rd grade)
8:55-9:35 (4th-6th grade)
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December 1|3rd and 4th Grade Concert, 6:30 p.m.
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Dan Knab, Athletic Director
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LCS Sports News
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This Week In Junior-High Sports:
BOYS BASKETBALL 
Monday, 10/26, 4pm, Home, Ridgeview Classical
Thursday, 10/29, 4pm, Home, Immanuel Lutheran
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
Jr-High Boys Basketball
The jr-high boys basketball team is off to a dominant start, beating a tough Dayspring Christian team 32-31. No doubt these two teams will see each other again in the playoffs. The team went on to crush Loveland Classical. Coach Norris is pleased with how quickly his team moves the ball up and
down the court.
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Please mindful of our requests of no cell phone usage in the office, building or classroom. Using cellphones in these areas is disruptive to business and learning. Thank you.
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Lost and Found Overflowing
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Now is the time to check our Lost and Found for missing water bottles, lunch boxes, jackets, code clothes, sports uniforms, notebooks and even shoes. All items not claimed this week,will be donated. Thank you.
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 Health Tips From Liberty Common Health Office
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To reduce the chance of you or your child contracting a case of head lice, start by not sharing items that touch the head. Though it may be tempting to share personal belongings (especially for kids), doing so can lead to the spread of head lice. Avoid sharing:
- combs and brushes
- hair clips and accessories
- hats and bike helmets
- scarves and coats
- stuffed animals/ toys
Ask your child to keep their belongings-especially hats, coats, scarves, and other clothing inside their backpack zipped up.
Thank you,
Jen Hopkins
Liberty Common School Health Technician
482-9800 extension 3113
[email protected]
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Newsworthy Announcements; Events, Activities and Reminders:
Public-Info Nights. Know anyone registered on the lottery list, or interested in getting on it to possibly attend Liberty? Urge them to attend one of two upcoming public-info nights. The briefings cover both campuses, and attending puts students further ahead in the lottery queue. The next public-info night is tonight, 6:30-8:00 PM at the elementary school in the performance hall. The next after that is next Monday, November 2nd 6:30-8:30PM at the high school in the Great Hall.
Dear Parents,
Parent-Teacher Success. Thank you to the LCS parents who attended last week's Parent-Teacher Conferences. Communication with your students' teacher plays a vital role in to his/her success. Please remember PowerSchool is a great conduit to view student grades, access upcoming events in the daily bulletin, check attendance, and see how much lunch money you have left. We have worked hard to keep our website as well as all PowerSchool information up to date to keep you all in the loop and informed as much as possible. If you have not done so already, please access PowerSchool so that you can attend any future parent conferences informed. If you are unsure on how to log in, make sure to contact the front office. They are here to help.
The more we know, the more we can all work together to help your children.
Thank You,
Liberty Administration
Keith (Casey)Churchill
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Vote In School-Board Election. Local school-board elections conclude on Tuesday, November 3rd. Liberty Common School is chartered by the Poudre School District (PSD). Please CLICK HERE to see how PSD Board candidates responded to a recent questionnaire compiled by The Colorado League of Charter Schools. The League asked all candidates to respond to multiple questions relating to charter schools. These responses are linked for voter-education purposes. The school does not endorse any particular candidate or response. The school strenuously encourages all parents to vote, and to be actively engaged in the selection of political leaders. For further candidate information CLICK HERE. For procedural voting information CLICK HERE.
 School Picture Retakes
LIBERTY COMMON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MAKEUP DAY
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
TIME - 7:45 am to 8:30 am
*Your student may wear non-code clothes for pictures and then will need to change into code clothes for the remainder of the school day.*
If you were absent or are new to the school you may purchase a new package or have one taken for the records, yearbook and ID.
If you had a picture taken but didn't purchase a package you may have a new picture taken and purchase a package.
If you purchased a package and want a retake you must return the original package in full with reason for retake clearly stated on package.
Please refer to guidelines on back of package as what justifies a retake.
Order forms for new packages are available in the office. OR
SECURE PRE-ORDER ON LINE-www.skillmanphotography.com
Click on pre order fall school portraits and have credit card ready. Access Code : LCE2015MU
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Liberty Lecture - Economics. Parents, grandparents, students,
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Hillsdale College's Dr. Gary Wolfram, is the first "Liberty Lecture" speaker of the school year on Thursday, November 12th.
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neighbors and friends: Please plan to attend the school-year's first "Liberty Lecture" on Thursday, November 12th from 6:30-8:00PM in the LCHS Great Hall. Dr. Gary Wolfram, professor of economics at Hillsdale College, will be our special-guest presenter covering hot topics in economics. Dr. Wolfram will discuss economic trends that relate to poverty, job creation, income, and politics. The event is being organized by LCHS students and is open to the public.
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 Can You Hear Me Now? Hearing and Vision Screening
Only 5 More Volunteers Needed
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The Health Office is in need of at least 5 volunteers from about 7:50am-12:40pm on Hearing and Vision screening day, November 13th. Prior experience not necessary, but is helpful. Volunteers need to stay the whole time, because it is cumbersome to train half way through the day. Light snacks and waters will be provided.
Please CLICK HERE to volunteer.
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Board Meeting Highlights
By Patrick Albright, Vice-Chair
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Adoption of Strategic Plan
At the October 15th, 2015 meeting, the Liberty Common School Board of Directors formally adopted their strategic plan for the 2015-2016 school year. There are three elements to the strategic plan:
Facilities expansion - The expansion includes the construction of a new gymnasium, expanded parking lot, and enlargement of the great hall for the high school, and a new entrance vestibule and storage for the elementary school. The board formally approved the expansion at its September meeting.
Education on School Philosophies for Board and Parents - This component is concerned with making certain that resources and training are available to board members and parents to fully understand the underlying philosophies of the education that Liberty Common provides our students so successfully.
Academic Measures - This component involves understanding the various assessments our school chooses, or is required to use, in evaluating our students, and making certain that these assessments provide value in evaluating student performance with minimal impact to classroom instruction time.
New Bond CommitteePoudre School District will most likely ask voters to approve a bond in 2016. This bond will be used primarily to fund two new high schools, an athletic facility, and various other needs in the district CLICK HERE to read more. The amount the district plans to ask voters to approve is in the range of $250 million - $300 million.
Historically, charter schools receive very little money from district bonds, despite the fact that charter school parents are required to pay taxes to cover the bond debt. With that in mind, and with the approval of the Liberty Common Board of Directors, Vice Chairman Patrick Albright, has reached out to the other PSD charter schools and formed the Inter-Charter School Bond Committee with the goal of making certain that charter schools receive a fair share of any bond that is passed by voters. The committee had its first meeting in September, and has appointed Mr. Albright, who served on the PSD Board of Education from 2009-2013, to be the official representative of all charter schools to PSD bond matters. Currently, Liberty and the other charter schools are determining what needs they would like to have funded from the bond, and will submit these to the school district to be included.
English-Department Report
The English Department made a report to the Board and gave updates regarding improvements in curriculum and suggested ways of improving preparedness of incoming students. One item that was emphasized was improving student ownership of writing assignments-giving them guidance in proofreading their papers, making certain that scholarly sources are used and cited for research, and providing an evaluation checklist that students can use to help improve the quality of their writing.
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Important Grandparents Day Update
GPD Chair Mrs. Erin Mihulka:
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 Hello Liberty Families! By now, most families will have received their official invitation to Grandparents Day (GPD), 2016. The invitations have been sent to all families on Liberty's roster at the elementary and the upper schools as well as to all grandparents who have previously attended the function and submitted their address. If your family or grandparent has not received an invitation, please email Erin Mihulka to be added to our address list. However, grandparents do not need an invitation to attend, nor do they need to RSVP. There are extra invitations in the elementary-school front office. This GPD is the sixth-annual event and promises to be a unique, special day for students and their grandparents.
The part-time kindergartners have their own GPD event on Monday, November 23rd. All other students (both the elementary and high school) will spend time with their grandparents on Tuesday, November 24th.
Please keep in mind that beyond volunteering for a select number of positions, we ask that this day be reserved for only grandparents and their grandchildren who are students at Liberty. If children do not have a grandparent able to attend, an older, influential person in their life may be a good alternative, but we ask that parents do not attempt to fulfill that role. We host and serve a hot breakfast to 500+ grandparents alone at the elementary and simply cannot support parents as well.
For those families new to Liberty, or for answers to any question, please review our event webpage - CLICK HERE - where you'll find plenty of information and FAQs:
VOLUNTEER SIGNUP: To make this event seamless and extraordinary, a small group of committed parents have been meeting every Friday morning for weeks and have carried out many action items to prepare; but the planning committee needs more help. We really do need your help. Please click the links below to volunteer to assist with this wonderful Liberty tradition.
Thank you in-advance for your support and help with Grandparents Day!
Erin Mihulka
Parent Volunteer, Chairperson GPD Planning Committee
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Why Liberty? A project of the Parent-Education Subcommittee
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Why Liberty?
Spreading the word about our unique philosophies is something our Board of Directors and founding parents believe is paramount to the success of our community. It is the responsibility of each parent to understand our philosophy and the policies that support it. To that end, we will post relevant articles, written by an expert in that domain. Please make the time to read and absorb them. We kick off the series with the following article describing a component of our literature policy by Dr. Maureen Schaffer, founding parent.
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Why Do Liberty Students Do So Much Reading?
Part 2 of 3 By: Dr. Maureen Schaffer
Mature Literacy. "Mature literacy develops as students become acquainted with a broad and rich body of knowledge and become familiar with many well-written, diverse and meaningful works of literature." (LCS Charter)
According to E.D. Hirsch Jr., one reason children lag behind in reading ability, and are thus prevented from achieving mature literacy, is a huge vocabulary deficit. Hirsch advises, and Liberty advocates, time devoted to activities that "foster vocabulary, domain knowledge, and fluency."
Domain knowledge is the threshold level of knowledge needed to understand a topic. If one knows nothing of the game of baseball, for example, one can't comprehend the sentence: "Jones sacrificed and knocked in a run." The more domain knowledge acquired, the easier it becomes to read and understand a wider variety of material.
In today's schools, the teaching of the kind of specific knowledge needed to become a fully literate individual, is woefully inadequate. The texts and literature used in most American elementary schools are, for the most part, of a trivial nature. There is no shortage of material on topics like pets and sharing, but little on history, geography, and science.
At Liberty, vocabulary and domain knowledge are developed by teaching the rich body of content knowledge defined in the Core Knowledge Sequence. Vocabulary is further developed through Greek roots and Latin language instruction.
Finally, in order to immerse students in word knowledge and expose them to many well-written, diverse and meaningful works of literature, we have supplemented the Core Knowledge Sequence with (primarily) classic works of fiction - stories which have withstood the test of time. In accordance with Liberty's Charter, "The literature is chosen not only for its place in the core body of knowledge, its multi-cultural representation, and its rich use of language, but also because it provides access to deeper meaning of universal human problems, particularly those which preoccupy children's minds."
For more information on Liberty's approach to literacy, see Policy 7.13 Reading and Literacy and Policy 7.14 Literature Acquisition.
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Liberty's Annual Spring Gala-our premier fundraising event Please help with your donations!
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The Gala Team is currently collecting donations of items for both our Silent and Live Auctions. Do you have something you could donate to benefit our school? We appreciate all donations which generally tax-deductible!
Do you have Travel Points good for free flights or hotel stays? DONATE
Do you have Gift Cards you don't need? DONATE
Do you have Home Repair Services? DONATE
Do you have Harmony Club Tee Times? DONATE
Do you have a Vacation House on the coast? DONATE
Do you have Legos you bought on sale, but ended up never giving to the kid you thought you'd give them to? DONATE
Can you donate any of these items?
- A wire basket just perfect for a cruiser bike
- A tour on My Handle Bar
- Food from any of the local area food trucks
- Any brand-new electronics (Kindle, iPad, etc.)
To benefit Liberty with your donation, please contact Kelly Notarfrancesco: [email protected]
Own a business and want to be a Gala Sponsor? Benefit our amazing school and see your name in lights? Please contact Maia Elmore: [email protected]
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