Liberty Common Elementary School 
1725 Sharp Point Dr. 
Fort Collins, CO 80525 
Phone:(970)482-9800
Fax: (970)482-8007 
www.libertycommon.org

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  
   


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
  • Aislinn Kottwitz: 217-5925
Next Board of Directors Mtg., 
December 17, 6:00 p.m. 
Liberty Common Elementary


  
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. 

Mark Your Calendar

December 11|Free Dress Day
December 11|Chess Club
December 14|Character Assembly
Cooperation
8:10-8:45: (4th-6th grade
8:55-9:35: Kinder-3rd grade

December 14|
Music Concert
6th Grade Band
5th and 6th Grade Choirs
6:30 p.m., LCS

December 15|
3rd & 4th Grade Soccer-3:15-4:00
5th-6th Grade Soccer- 4:05-4:50 

December 17|BOD Mtg. , 6:00 p.m., LCS.
December 18|T-shirt Day
End of 2nd Quarter 
December 21-Jan. 1|Winter Break

January 12|Geography Bee, 3:00 p.m.-5:00, LCS Library
January 14|Spelling Bee, after school, LCS Library
January 18|Martin Luther King Jr. Day, NO SCHOOL
CLICK HERE for 2015-16 School Calendar

Attendance Policy
Please call our attendance line by 8:30 am if your child will not be attending school due to illness, appointment or is out of town.
The number is 482-9800, option 2.

If you need to take your child to an appointment during school hours, please come to the Front Office, sign them out and we will call them out of class.

All students who arrive after 8:00 a.m. must be signed in at the Front Office.  It is important that a reason be included on the sign-in sheet.

If your student is ill and you want any/all homework, please contact the teacher my email as early as possible and homework will be available after 3:00 pm in the Front Office. 
 
COLD WEATHER
As the weather starts to get cooler, please remember to send jackets, gloves and hats with your child. Students will go outdoors unless it is raining or the temperature is below 15 degrees. Thank you. 

Dan Knab, Athletic Director
LCS Sports News

GO EAGLES - CLICK HERE to access our webpage.

This Week In Junior-High Sports:

JH-Boy's Basketball 
12/7, 4pm, Liberty vs Union Colony (Home) Quarter-Final
 
12/9, 4pm, Opponent TBD (Home) Semi-Final

Season Highlights:
Jr-High Boys Basketball
They did it!  The jr-high boys' basketball team finished the season 12-1 and earned a second seed for the playoffs.  They host the first round today at 4pm.  They will take on the Union Colony Timber Wolves.  This is a single-elimination-playoff format.  Therefore, a win will allow us to also host the semi-final game at 4pm on Wednesday, December 9th. 
 
You may ask yourself how the league only has three playoff games when there are 14 teams in the Northern Colorado Independent League.  Here is how it shakes out.  At the end of the regular season, the teams are split into two brackets based on their end-of-season record- a 'Gold' bracket and a 'Silver' bracket.  This leaves seven teams in each bracket to fight for their respective championships.  
 
Finals - TBD, stay tuned to emails from Mr. Knab or see LCHS Booster Club Facebook page for details.
 
JH-Girl's Basketball Tryouts
12/16 & 12/17, 3pm - 5pm, Elementary Gym 
  
  



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.  

The Eagle's Nest




Volume 19
Issue 16 

December 7, 2015

Newsworthy Announcements; Events, Activities and Reminders:



WATCH D.O.G.S. is an innovative father involvement, educational initiative of the National Center for Fathering . It began in 1998 in Springdale, AR and has since grown into a nationally recognized program that has brought hundreds of thousands of fathers and father figures into our nation's classrooms and hallways.
 
The WATCH D.O.G.S. program provides many benefits for our children and our school:
  • Students win because the father and father-figures give their time and energy as a positive role model.
  • Fathers, father-figures and grandfathers get a glimpse of their student's everyday school life.
  • Liberty gains another set of eyes and helping hands for the day.
  • Fathers, father-figures and grandfathers gain an awareness of the positive impact they can have in their student's lives.
CLICK HERE to learn more and become a part of the Liberty WATCH D.O.G.S. program.


News from Liberty's Board of Directors
Top 3 items from Liberty's BOD meeting held on 11/19/15:
Denise Benz, BOD, Secretary

1) Cyber Monday has come and gone but how apropos to announce that Liberty Common School is now accepting online credit card payments. Yes, you heard right.  LCS can now accept online credit/debit card payments for donations, sports
activities, student activities and testing through a financially secure website called Cheddar Up. A link to the website was provided in a note from Mr. Knab in the LCHS Monday notes on 11/16. Parents were able to click on this link to pay their athletic fees. Keep your eyes open for this brand new convenience.

2) A recommendation from the Academic Advisory Committee (AAC) for Latin II as a requirement for graduation at LCHS, as well as being mandatory for 8th grade was discussed. The benefits of continuing the Latin curriculum through Latin II was provided by Dr. Maureen Schaffer and Dr. Randy Everett. The BOD will investigate and further discuss the Latin recommendation.

3) Saving the BEST for last! We would like to introduce the newest member of the BOD, Aislinn Kottwitz. On Thursday, 11/19/15, Aislinn was sworn in as a member of the Liberty Common Board of Directors. Currently, Aislinn has a second grader at LCS and a preschooler on the way to LCS. Please welcome Aislinn to the BOD. We thank her for her commitment to Liberty.

News from LCHS Principal, Bob Schaffer
Invest In Liberty Now
By Bob Schaffer, LCHS Principal

 



Our school needs all parents to make financial donations to the school.  We need a lot of parents to pitch in.  We need a lot of money - $500,000.
 
CLICK HERE to contribute online.

 The need is actually crucial.  Ideally, the fundraising-solicitation letter sent out last week by fellow parent and Liberty's Board Chair Mrs. Paulette Hansen is receiving your highest consideration.

 
Everyone's mailbox and inbox are overstuffed with fundraising solicitations at this time of year.  If you're like me, you tend to pull out the few meritorious ones and stack them near your pile of bills for reconsideration at month's end.  Please do not let Mrs. Hansen's appeal linger.

 
We're grateful to the Liberty families who have already responded, who have sent generous contributions to the school, or who have contributed online. The capital needs at both Liberty campuses are immediate.

 
CLICK HERE to learn more about the school's construction plans.

 
The school's Board of Directors has committed our institution to an exciting, albeit daunting goal of doubling our gymnasium space, adding an elementary-school vestibule, building additional elementary sports storage space, and adding a "stoa" thereby extending the Great Hall at the high school - which is way too small for our 485 LCHS students, plus faculty, plus staff, plus visitors.  This matters to all Liberty families and impacts all Liberty students.

 
The school is borrowing most of what it needs to launch this capital project.  But the borrowed amount is not enough to finish the job.  The balance must come from parents.

 
For Liberty, we're used to pinching pennies.  As a charter school, we've always had to be more efficient.   Frankly, we have a better school because of it.

As we move forward with the final phase of our expansion plan, generous contributions from our parent community will make the key difference in decisions we're simultaneously making about staffing, instructional supplies and materials, and expanded student opportunities.

 
Raising $500,000 soon is our biggest need.  In fact, we've never needed financial help more than we do now.

 
Liberty is a qualified charity so any donation is fully tax deductible.  Donating in the next few weeks will reduce your federal and state tax liability for 2015 - and, trust us, there isn't a more meritorious cause in that pile of mail competing for your year-end check-writing attention.
 
For those interested in amplifying your financial commitment to the school, we still need volunteers on the school's Fundraising Committee, our Grant-Writing Committee, and on our Financial Advisory Committee. To volunteer, send a MESSAGE HERE.
 
CLICK HERE for all details of Liberty's Capital Campaign.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and for your ongoing investment in Liberty.
Liberty Common School provides two Handicapped Parking spaces for those in need.  Please do not park in these spaces unless you have a Handicapped Parking Pass.  These spaces are not to be used for short term parking, for example, picking up an ill child or returning a student after an appointment.  Thank you for your consideration of others.