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 24|
Liberty T-Shirt Day
March 24|BOD Mtg., 6:00 p.m.
March 25|Good Friday|NO SCHOOL
April 5|Kindergarten Concert, 6:30 pm
April 5|
WatchDOG, Ryan Banning
April 7|
WatchDOG, Brien O'Malley
April 8|
Kindergarten Roundup
April 8|
Liberty Common Gala, 6 pm-11pm, Hilton Fort Collins.
April 14|
WatchDOG, Azer Yalin
April 15-16|
5th and 6th Grade Dessert Theatre
 

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 BOD@libertycommon.org 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
Congratulations to the Jr. High Girls Basketball team. They beat Windsor Charter Academy for the NCIL Championship!

 
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 

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
Liberty Girls Win Again
 
Recently, Isabelle Knowles and Julia Yalin took second for Grade 2 and Isabelle came fourth in the 800-1000 rated section.  Way to represent girls!

The Eagle's Nest

March 21, 2016 
Volume 19 
  Issue 26   
  
   

Still Time To Put In Your Reservation


EXTENDED DEADLINE for lower priced reservations to attend Gala 2016!  Register before March 28th at the lower rate of $50 per ticket.  After March 28th the rate will go up $10 per ticket. Don't miss out - register online today!
_____________________________________________________
What does it mean to be rated  investment grade?
By: Katrina Bossia, Liberty Common Business Manager
When a bond is rated investment grade, its issuer is considered able to meet its obligations, exposing bondholders to minimal default risk. Most US corporate and municipal bonds are rated by independent services such as Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's (S&P). The ratings are based on a number of criteria, including the likelihood that the bond issuer will be able to make interest payments and repay the principal in full and on time.
 
There are over 260 charter schools in Colorado and only around 30 of them that are rated investment grade, with Liberty being one of them. This rating allowed for Liberty to secure its lowest interest rate on its bond issuance that occurred in late December to help fund the expansion at the high school and front entry at the elementary school.
 
Kudos to Liberty Common School for not only providing a strong education to our students but also for maintaining a strong financial foundation.

2016 BOD Elections

This year three Board of Director seats at Liberty Common School will be up for election. Each are three-year terms. The elections for new Board members will be held from Monday, April 18th through 4:00 p.m. Friday, April 22nd.
 
All eligible voters will receive a third party email from Simplyvoting.com on April 18th. This email will contain a password to vote. Each voting member will vote for up to 3 of the 4 candidates. 50% of the eligible voters must vote in order for the election to be valid, so voting is of utmost importance. Please CLICK HERE to read a profile for each candidate to help you make an informed vote.

We will also host a candidate forum on March 24th at 8:00 PM at the monthly BOD meeting, here at Liberty Common School, so that you are able to ask candidates questions and hear their views face to face.
 
The definition of an eligible voter according to the LCS Bylaws is:
 
ELIGIBLE VOTERS.   Eligible voters shall include each parent or legal guardian of every child currently enrolled in the school, full and part-time teachers, all full time employees contracted for 27 hours or more per week, and members of the Community Advisory Board. Each eligible voter shall have one vote regardless of the number of children enrolled in the school and of the basis of eligibility.
 
The LCS Board of Director duties include: Final responsibility for all School decisions, hiring of Principals, creation and amendment of Bylaws, provide for the financial management of the School, negotiate and coordinate with the District and State on behalf of the School, provide a performance evaluation of the principals, and assume the School's compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local Charter School requirements. The Board plays a critical and fundamental role in how Liberty operates and functions.

The candidates for this year's BOD elections are: Paulette Hansen, Joel Goeltl, Kelly Notarfransesco, and Brady Walters.

For more information about the election, contact Board Member, Aislinn Kottwitz at 217-5925.

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.