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  

CALENDAR
March 11| WATCHDOG CORY COOMBS

6th-Grade Day at LCHS.  This Friday, March 11th, all three 6th-grade classes will be visiting LCHS to spend a day in the life of a 7th grader.  They will each be assigned a schedule containing English, history, math, science, Latin, and other courses.  Students will be given a great opportunity to see first-hand how amazing LCHS is, and be able to visualize what 7th grade will be like after spending a day with their future instructors.

March 14-March 18|
Spring Break|NO SCHOOL 
March 24|Liberty T-Shirt Day
March 24|BOD Mtg.
March 25|Good Friday|NO SCHOOL


Winter Carnival Photo booth Photos Ready for Viewing
We have your online gallery live!  Below is the link and you obviously can feel free to pass along to whomever you wish.  There is no password, anyone with the link can view the gallery.
Click Here to view.


2016-17 Calendar
  • Classes Begin-Aug.  29
  • Labor Day-Sept. 5
  • Parent/Teacher Conferences-Oct. 28
  • Thanksgiving-Nov. 23-25
  • Winter Break-Dec. 26-Jan. 6
  • Martin Luther King Day-Jan. 16
  • Professional Development Day-Feb. 17
  • Presidents'Day-Feb. 20
  • Spring Break-March 13-17
  • Good Friday-April 14
  • Last Day of Classes-1/2/Day May 26

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., 
March 24, 2016 
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. 
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.
 
Liberty Sports News
This Week In Junior-High Sports: 

JH-Girl's Basketball
Monday, 3/7, 4pm, HOME, Liberty Common vs Union Colony (Semi-Finals)
Wednesday, 3/9, Time TBD, Location TBD (All will be determined by today's results)  Watch for emails.

Kindergarten Store Donations
Every February the Kindergarten classes begin learning about money. To provide a real-life experience, we open a toy store in each kindergarten classroom. We could use help stocking our stores. If you have any gently used toys or books that are cluttering your house, the kinders would greatly appreciate them. Please drop donated toys by one of the Kindergarten classrooms.
 
The Kindergarten Teachers 

Child Care
Students, do you babysit? Be a part of our Spring Gala's Babysitter Club Auction Item.  If interested call Tami O'Malley at 970-224-4341 or email me at [email protected] to learn more. Don't wait -- let us know by February 29th.
By participating, you would:
*Allow a great set of parents a night out.
*Get your name out as a fabulous babysitter.
*Be sharing your loyalty and love for Liberty Common.
*Raise money for Liberty.

Grandparents Day Video
Thank you to parent Gina Hepworth for having Ben Shumate with Inspire Films video tape the Grandparents Day Performances.  What a great way to remember this day and for parents to see the performances of their children.
CLICK HERE to view.
ALEXA'S HUGS
5-K Coming Soon

Alexa's Hugs 5K & Family Fun Run Join us for our first annual 5K, Family Fun Run/Walk, and Family Safety Expo and support a local nonprofit.

Alexa's Hugs is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of providing positive encouragement for seat belt and vehicle safety.

Our Seat Belt Challenge grew from four schools (4,000+ students) to eleven schools (14,000+ students) in the last two years.

Our programs include safety events, "Click It To Win It," "Design Your Own Hug," the Seat Belt Challenge, and seat belt reminders we call "Hugs."  Hugs are made for the general public and customized for schools so our message of vehicle safety is shared no matter where you see us!

Our collaboration with Safe Kids Larimer County, Ford Driving Skills for Life, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, local safety agencies, and more, assures that you are supporting an organization that doesn't go it alone.  We are willing to work with others to achieve our goals of improving vehicle safety.

We're achieving results that matter.  In 2014, we saw an improvement in observed seat belt use of 8.6% in four local high schools.  In 2015, that number rose to 10.7% increase in seat belt use at eleven northern Colorado high schools.  There is more room for improvement, but we are making great progress in improving the safe driving habits of local teens!

Your support of Alexa's Hugs allows us to continue to offer these valuable programs in northern Colorado.  WE THANK YOU!

Fossil Ridge High School
Saturday, May 7 2016, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
5400 Ziegler Road, Fort Collins, CO 80528
CLICK HERE to register
The Eagle's Nest

March 7, 2016 
Volume 19 
  Issue 25     
  
 
Don't Wait;  You have till Friday, March 11th to register for the Spring Gala at the lower rate of $50 per ticket.  After March 11th the rate increases to $60 per ticket. Register on line today.
 

No More Empty Seats
by Casey Churchill, Principal at Liberty Common School


DID YOU KNOW?
* Starting in kindergarten, too many absences can cause children to fall behind in school.
* Missing 10 percent (or about 18 days) can make it harder to learn to read.
* Students can still fall behind if they miss just a day or two days every few weeks.
* Being late to school may lead to poor attendance.
* Absences can affect the whole classroom if the teacher has to slow down learning to help children catch up.
 
I think everyone would agree that teacher to student contact time would be a number one factor in a student's success at a school.  This is a very simple concept.  If you are in school, you will learn more.

Parents with sick kids do a great job of getting missed homework in the front office, but completing work at home is simply not the same.  Teachers here at Liberty are specialists in explaining content or skills in multiple ways to help students better understand the material.  They are also experts in the Thinking Framework model that help students see the interconnectedness with content and skills taught.  There are models and drawings to demonstrate and patterns that can be found with all lessons.  The dialog that is exchanged during classroom discussions cannot be reenacted.

This is the second year we have conducted our "Hug n Go" policy.  The Liberty Common staff is thankful to parents for their cooperation in allowing students to enter school on their own and begin their day by their own doing.
 
Below are a few teacher quotes about the success of this initiative.
 
"To me the best result of this "policy" has been having students in their seats in the morning, working quietly and confidently, resulting in WAY fewer tardies!  They come in knowing school is a fun and safe place and they are totally confident in their own morning routines...it has been a really great thing to watch!"

"It is so much easier for our little ones to navigate the hallways because they are so much less crowded."

"Our students are coming in in the morning and unloading their backpacks, putting up lunchboxes and turning in homework all on their own.  It is great to see how excited and proud they are to be responsible for themselves."

"Students are in their seats and ready to go when the announcements start."

"We are able to start our morning routine on time each morning."
"Our hall is not as congested as it has been in past years.  All of our kids are doing just great getting themselves ready for the day without their parents.  Great call."

"Parents are doing an awesome job of this by the band room doors. We have 100% of parents hugging and going, and students are managing to get to their classrooms without any issue."
 
As parents, we need to make sure our students are in school as much as possible.  We need to keep our students healthy so that they can be in school as much as possible.  We need to plan vacations around weekends, holidays, or summer.  School is too important to miss.

Keeping students in school is a top priority.  As a parent, you have chosen to come to our wonderful school and have committed to getting your child here on time, you have committed to helping with homework, and you have committed to volunteering your time here.  This school would not be where it is today without the help of our parent population.  We thank you.

Stay informed by taking the time to evaluate your own child(s) attendance records on your PowerSchool account and do your best to make sure they are here every day.   Please do not think that an absence only affects your child.   Not having your child in school impacts the learning of the 28 other students in the classroom.   Students that are absence reduce continuity with lessons taught since the teachers have to reteach the lessons and get students that missed a day or two caught up.  Lessons are slowed and planning becomes cumbersome and disjointed.

We want to send our children the message that school is of highest importance and there is too much going on to miss (expect if you are sick).  It isn't too late to give this message to students that their work, or school to them, will always be a top priority.  When they grow up their job will be exactly the same.

Thanks to each of you for taking the time to do your part to improve the Liberty Community through school attendance.  We can each make a difference to lower our school attendance numbers this year. Liberty should

Liberty Common Academic
Summer Camps

Dear Parent/s,
Summer will be here before you know it! Liberty Common Elementary School is offering a SUMMER CAMP for reading and literacy, math, and academic individualized tutoring, for students entering 1st.-6th. grades.  Spots are filling up, so register early.

CLICK HERE for information about and to register for  Reading and Literacy Camp.

CLICK HERE for information about and to register for Math Camp.

CLICK HERE for information about and to register for Individualized Tutoring.   

We are excited to offer our summer camp and hope your child can join us!

Sincerely,
Keith Churchill
Principal, Liberty Common School

Liberty Common High School Summer English Program.  Get on Track and Get Ahead.
Did your student struggle to manage the various, demanding language arts this year: grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc.?  Are you worried that waiting until next school year to revisit these areas will only result in a deeper hole at the next level?  Is your student going to be new at Liberty next year, and are you worried whether he/she will be ready for the cumulative nature of Liberty's English curriculum-especially the rigorous grammar training?  Maybe you just want your child to refine and bolster his/her language skills, guided by close instruction and support.  Regardless of the reason, this summer's four week English "booster" is the perfect, economical opportunity.  The cost is much less than typical tutoring, the tutor-to-student ratio is small, and the instructor is Mr. Dybzinski, head of Liberty's English department.  Regardless of whether your student is ahead or behind, he will set your child up to engage our rich English curriculum at LCHS.  Furthermore, he plans to have much fun in the process! 
CLICK HERE for information about the program.
Register and pay by CLICKING HERE.

An Opportunity to 
Purchase A Lasting Impression
Legacy Bricks. Purchase a Liberty-Legacy brick to show your support for finishing the gymnasium. 

Bricks are available in two sizes and can be purchased online as well as at the upcoming spring Gala. 4" x 8" is $250, 8" x 8" is $500, 8" x 8" with Eagle logo is $550.

Bricks will be laid in a garden area outside the new gymnasium at the high school. Design your brick and be part of Liberty Common High School's foundation forever.  

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR BRICK

Liberty Lecture: "Living What We Teach: Combating Anti-Intellectualism in Culture and Education"
Roll Back The Frontiers Of Ignorance.  Attention LCHS students, parents, grandparents, friends and supporters:  Please attend the next Liberty Lecture scheduled for
Wednesday, March 30, 2016 | 6:30-8:00PM | LCHS Great Hall | Topic:  "Living What We Teach: Combating Anti-Intellectualism in Culture and Education" | Presenters: Mrs. Natalie Scarlett and  Dr. Bob McMahon of Ridgeview Classical Schools | Put this last Liberty Lecture of the school year on your calendar now and make sure you participate in one of the most unique and valuable aspects of our school community. 
 
Colorado Eagles at Liberty; March 8th.