A John Irwin School of Excellence, and A Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School
Character Award Presenters
Ripple Effect Martial Arts will be at Liberty Common School on April 25th for our Character Assembly. Please join us for their presentation. Ripple Effect staff presenting are: Master Greg Macy, Master Instructor Mr. Macy earned his 4th degree Black Belt in November 2014. He has trained in Martial Arts since the age of 7 and earned his 1st Degree Black Belt at the age of 13. Mr. Macy attended Colorado University, majoring in Chemistry and went on to start his first company in the Water and Power industry in 2003. It has been his life-long dream to own and operate a Martial Arts school based on the values and life-changing principles that marked his earliest training at Mile High Karate in Lakewood, CO.
Mr. Sean Robinson, Head Instructor Mr. Robinson is a 3rd Degree Black Belt and started at Ripple Effect Martial Arts in December 2013. He has his Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Accounting that he received at CSU. He started Martial Arts when he was 10 and earned his Black Belt when he was 13. If you mention that you are from Liberty, you can receive a free week of martial arts classes at Ripple Effect.
LCHS Spring Instrumental Concert. The Spring Instrumental Concert will be held on Thursday, April 14th from 6:30 to 8:00PM in the LCHS Great Hall. This concert will feature the String Orchestra, Intermediate Band and the Concert Band.
April 15-16|5th and 6th Grade Dessert Theatre
Know anybody interested in sending their kids to Liberty (either campus); or just learning more about the school's history and philosophy? Please urge them to attend our Public-Information Night next Monday, April 18th 2016 from 6:30-8:30PM in the LCHS Great Hall. This is an informative presentation for all Liberty parents wanting to know more about why we teach what we teach, and why we do what we do. For hopeful families waiting on the Liberty lottery list for any grades K - 11, attending one of these presentations puts you into the "upper tier" of those waiting for the next open-enrollment spot.
April 21|LCS BOD Mtg., 6:00 April 22|Free Dress Day April 22|Chess Club April 22|WatchDOG, Michael Kreisberg
April 25|Character Assembly-Perseverence
8:10-8:45(K-3)
8:55-9:35(4-6)
April 25|Public Info. Night, LCS, 6:30 p.m.
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.,
April 21, 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:
Girls Soccer- Monday, 4/11, 4pm, Away @ Estes Park Wednesday, 4/13, 4pm, Home vs Fort Lupton
Track- Monday, 4/11, 4pm @ Liberty Common
Keep Using
2nd Graders Learn Fire Safety from Poudre Fire Authority
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!
Volunteers Make Spring Gala By: Bob Schaffer, LCHS Principal
Last Friday's Spring Gala was another splendid success. It attracted lots of Liberty parents, grandparents, faculty members, and outside supporters of the school including a handful of prominent elected officials.
For the past month or so, the teachers' break room at the elementary school and the Apotheca at the high school have been transformed into command centers for planning for last Friday's Spring Gala. The loving volunteers - mostly Liberty moms - were focused on the cause.
Last Friday, it showed. The hard work of so many Liberty volunteers paid off as our seventh-annual Spring Gala unfolded into our happiest, most successful event ever.
If you weren't able to attend the event, make sure you don't miss out next year. Not only was this year's Spring Gala a ton of fun, nearly every attendee went home with bargains, treasures, and great memories. All proceeds go to support the school.
It was especially nice to have in attendance key community and education leaders including Larimer County Clerk & Recorder Angela Meyers and her husband Gary, Colorado State Senator John Kefalas, and Fort Collins City Council Member Kristin Stephens, who is also a Liberty parent. They all made donations (and so did Larimer County Treasure
Irene Josey even though she couldn't attend), and deserve our appreciation for their support of our school.
As a parent-run, parent-owned school, these kinds of events are absolutely necessary for the ongoing growth and improvement of our academic enterprise. When the Colorado law passed creating charter schools, this is just what the Act's authors had in mind.
Liberty is exactly what a charter school should be, and having all parents pitching in to support better educational opportunities through events like our Gala is a solid demonstration of Liberty's character.
The list of volunteers is long, and it's important that everyone recognize these heroes and heroines for the yeoman's work they did to make this year's Gala the noteworthy milestone it turned out to be.
There are lots of people to thank for pulling of such a magnificent event. Topping the list are
Qeryldine Hofinger and Jodi Fraser who served as event co-chairs. They are quite an amazing pair of parent-leaders who poured a good portion of their lives into the effort. It really made a great difference, too.
Heading the event Steering Committee were: Clare DeFrance, Kelly Notarfrancesco, Janelle Rohrbaugh, Kim Kent, Marnie Dame, Michelle Johanson, Lisa Bellendir, Tracy Heiden, Jen Hopkins, Shannon Pavek, and Maia Tomich. Each of these moms took on a specific planning objective involving dozens of other volunteers.
Big thanks to everyone who worked on the Procurement Committee obtaining auction items:
Marie Beck, Lisa Bellendir, Daniel Cooksey, Renee Gonzales, Andie Hewitt, Tracy Heiden, Rebecca Hicklin, Margaret Ho, Michelle Johanson, Ashley Katopodis, Kellie Kreikemeier, Cheryl Lenell, Linda Morita, Anna Morris, Tami O'Malley, Dola Sawyer, Yolanda Sears, Sandra Simon, Joann Steele, Maia Tomich, Marji Trinen, and Sara Tullius.
Big thanks to the Dessert-Auction bakers:
Joy Archer, Cynthia Dean, Brenda Farstad, Angie Grothmann, Heather Jackson, Staci Langford, the Becks at Panino's, Shannon Pavek, Cheryl Smith, Treats for TaTa's who made the incredible desserts that fetched equally incredible auction sums.
Big thanks to event photographer Amy Feist of Amy Adell Photography. Graphic design for event publications and postings was accomplished by Rebecca Finkel and Beth Molenaar. Audio-visual and film production was tackled by Roy Osborn of IAVCO.
Yolanda Sears produced the slide-show presentation. The "Legacy Brick" campaign was laid by Tiffany Green.
Terra Drobny provided technical support, and
Tom Stokovaz built and arranged the stage props.
Big thanks to the faculty for coming up with creative auction items, for attending and giving us parents a chance to hang out with them in a festive social setting, and for sharing the LCS teacher break room, accommodating Gala-related interruptions, and helping with special planning requests.
Big thanks to the many donors and corporate sponsors who front-loaded the event with funds and valuable items that made the fundraiser an impressive one. Please patronize these generous pro-Liberty businesses whenever possible.
It's highly probable there are a few important names that should be singled out and thanked yet are errantly unmentioned above. If so, I'm truly sorry as that oversight would be mine - same for any names I might have inadvertently misspelled. Please mention any omissions or mistakes to me for proper recognition in next-week's Monday Notes.
At a school teaming with active and engaged parents, nearly everyone pitched in to make the Gala a success, and we're truly grateful for the entire, community-wide effort.
Most of all, the multitudes of people who showed up, wrote generous checks and made in-kind donations to the event deserve endless thanks, too.
On behalf of Liberty's Board of Directors, the school faculty and staff, and mostly our wonderful students, I extend my deepest and sincerest thanks and gratitude to everyone who made this year's Liberty Spring Gala an event worthy of everyone's high praise, admiration and thanks.
News From the Health Office
Immunizations. Starting July 1, 2016, please be aware that parents/guardians seeking non-medical (religious or personal belief) immunizations exemptions for schoolchildren through-12th grade must submit non-medical exemption forms annually according to state law. Medical exemptions only need to be submitted once and require the signature of your child's doctor or advanced-practice nurse. To submit a non-medical or medical go to www.colorado.gov/vaccineexemption and follow the instructions. Children with an exemption may be kept out of school during a disease outbreak. If you have any questions regarding this new process, please ask your health tech, or e-mail the school nurse at
Upcoming CPR Class for current 6th Graders. Class takes place Thursday, April 21, 5:30pm - 8:30pm in the choir room at the elementary school. American Heart Association Certification (good for two years). Heart Saver CPR/AED (adult, child, infant, to include measures for choking) $35/student (this exact class runs in the Fort Collins Recreator for $70/person) Register here by Monday, April 18. Questions, contact ndybzinski@libertycommon.org or Dan Knab at dknab@libertycommon.org
Liberty Parents Called to Action
Dear Liberty Common Parents,
Last week, a formal request by the PSD charter schools was submitted to the Poudre School District board of education requesting reevaluation of the charter school allocations from the proposed 2016 bond.
As you may have read in last week's Monday Notes, the Poudre School District has allocated only $150,000 to Liberty Common School of the $375,000,000 proposed bond they will ask voters to approve this November. $40 million of the bond is slated for improvements to existing schools, while most of the remainder is slated for new construction. Liberty Common has requested a total of $1.2 million from the $40 million, which is a much fairer amount relative to the percentage of PSD students that Liberty Common educates.
As chairman of the Inter-Charter School Bond Committee (which consists of a representative from each of the four PSD charter schools), I have been working to improve the conditions and the amounts allocated to the charter schools. Last week I met with all seven members of the PSD Board of Education to discuss the bond. They were all willing to talk to me, and seemed positively disposed to at least consider our requests.
I am encouraging our parents, if they are so inclined, to contact the PSD Board of Education and encourage them to support our effort to receive a more equitable allocation of the proposed bond. All members of the PSD board were willing to meet with me, and respectfully considered what I had to say, so please bear that in mind when making your comments to the board members.
The entire PSD board can be emailed at boe@psdschools.org. Their individual contact information can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Additionally, the next PSD board meeting is Tuesday, April 12 at 6:30PM. Board meetings are held in the Johannsen Support Services Center, 2407 LaPorte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80521. Please attend this meeting and make your comments directly to the board during Community Comment.
I will keep you informed of any developments in our effort to get a fair and equitable allocation for our school from the Poudre School District's proposed 2016 bond. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.
Thanks and best regards,
Patrick Albright
Vice Chairman, Liberty Common Board of Directors
Chairman, Inter-Charter School Bond Committee
Don't miss this year's 5th/6th Grade Musical: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS!
The chess board is in chaos, being ruled by the malevolent Red Queen, and only the "Other Alice" can set things right! Join Alice on her journey THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS! Order Tickets by CLICKING HERE
Juice Donations Needed for 5th/6th Grade Musical
Musical organizers need juice box donations of any quantity for the 5th/6th grade play, Looking Glass. Please bring donations to the front office. We appreciate your generosity.
Future 5th grade parents and students, please mark your calendars for the evening of April 26th.
Future 5th grade parents and students, please mark your calendars for the evening of April 26th! Liberty Common is conducting its first ever Instrument Placement Night for next year's 5th graders and their parents.
If your child is interested in playing a musical instrument in band next year, this is a great opportunity to try out different instruments, and be evaluated by a professional musician to find the best match for your child. If you are not sure whether a band instrument is the right choice for your family, if you are debating which instrument to choose, or even if you want to make sure you have made the right choice, this night is for you!. The available musicians will also be able to answer any questions you might have.
The placement night will be held at Liberty Common Elementary School on the evening of Tuesday, April 26th at 6:00PM. This is an optional event, but encouraged if you are thinking about joining 5th grade band next year! Please contact Amy Clemens (aclemens@libertycommon.org) with any questions.
Band Volunteers Needed. Parent organizers of Liberty's first Instrument Placement Night at the elementary school are in high need of student volunteers (and parent volunteers, too). We have several instructors lined up to demonstrate their instrument to incoming band students, and will evaluate each student to determine suitability for the instrument. Students will rotate through the different instructors so that they will be able to try all instruments. Each instrument instructor will need help with sanitizing and getting the instruments ready for the next incoming group of students. This is what volunteers are needed for. It is hoped this first Instrument-Placement Night will be a real improvement to Liberty's band program. The number of helpers for instructors are as follows: Clarinet (2); Saxophone (2); and, one each for the following: Flute, Trumpet, Trombone, Baritone, and French Horn. Volunteers should arrive between 5:30pm and 5:45pm at LCS. Questions: Contact project coordinator Mrs. Bridgette Albright by phone at (970) 214-4298.
Liberty's 4th Graders Art Display at Old Town Library
Come to Old Town Main Library to check out the beautiful self portraits made by Liberty's 4th graders from Mrs. Nichols Art classes. Their Art Work will be featured in an Art display for the whole month of April as part of Old Town Library's celebration of Día de los Niños (Children's Day/Book Day). Some of the pieces are in the Children Section and some are in the Community Room and entrance to the Community Room.
Thank you,
Tracy Nichols
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
Attention Parents of Liberty Common Rising 6th Graders
Summer English Program. This summer's four-week English "booster" is the perfect, economical opportunity for students needing a grammar, vocabulary, or writing-skills boost. For more information CLICK HERE. 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 to sign up.
An Opportunity to Make 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.
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
Volunteers Make Spring Gala
As a parent-run, parent-owned school, these kinds of events are absolutely necessary for the ongoing growth and improvement of our academic enterprise. When the Colorado law passed creating charter schools, this is just what the Act's authors had in mind.
There are lots of people to thank for pulling of such a magnificent event. Topping the list are
Big thanks to everyone who worked on the Procurement Committee obtaining auction items:
Big thanks to the faculty for coming up with creative auction items, for attending and giving us parents a chance to hang out with them in a festive social setting, and for sharing the LCS teacher break room, accommodating Gala-related interruptions, and helping with special planning requests.
At a school teaming with active and engaged parents, nearly everyone pitched in to make the Gala a success, and we're truly grateful for the entire, community-wide effort.
Future 5th grade parents and students, please mark your calendars for the evening of 
Come to Old Town Main Library to check out the beautiful self portraits made by Liberty's 4th graders from Mrs. Nichols Art classes. Their Art Work will be featured in an Art display for the whole month of April as part of Old Town Library's celebration of 
