May, 2013
Dear Liberty Parents and Families,
Moving into the closing weeks of our year together, the Liberty school community is working to ensure a positive experience for our children as we wind down while continuing to prepare for another great year in 2013-2014! Several highlights regarding recent happenings at Liberty, as well as plans for the future will provide information and insight that you may find helpful.
School Community, Family & Volunteer Participation
Research shows a correlation between parental involvement and school success, and at Liberty, the family involvement component remains strong, as parents flooded the school with high participation rates during conference nights as well as attendance at PTA sponsored events. Liberty had nearly 250 students (that’s close to 50% of our student population) participating on a beautiful morning for the “Walk to School Day.” Families were out with strollers, dogs, and bicycles to jump start the day in a wonderful way! In a culminating activity, Crew Soccer champion, Frankie Hejduk, promoted health and fitness while jumping, dribbling and cheering with a gym full of enthusiastic children. What a day! The PTA already has new chairperson in place to begin coordinating this event for next year! Our children laughed and learned whether enjoying Mark Wade, the ventriloquist, or deepening good character values as they listened to singer songwriter, Jerry Jacobe or storyteller, Lynn Ford. Together our entire school served the community through the annual Penny Harvest activities. The Friday night Wellness Event brought out many of our families who shared healthy food, a good time, and an evening of exercise and dance for all!
Students experience unique learning experiences through grade level field trips and special events which abound during these spring days of school. We look forward to our Field Day on May 28; as well as yearbook signature swap time; and the congratulatory Clap Out send off for our 6th grade Leadership Class, to close out the year on the last day.
Our “Liberty” Leopard mascot was unveiled recently, much to the delight of our children! He will be “spotted” on and off throughout the school next year, returning from his travels periodically to give hugs and high fives and to celebrate learning with us! The first wave of spirit wear has been distributed, and our teachers and families will begin reflecting pride in our school wearing our Liberty name and PAWS proudly.
The development of the 2013-2014 Liberty school calendar is in progress, the PTA Board is in place, and many dedicated parent/community volunteers are stepping up to fill important roles as chairs.
Staffing and Instruction
Congratulations to Mrs. Nonie Chick and Mrs. Nancy Ehlert, both of whom will be retiring after extended service teaching children in the Worthington City Schools. Also, we wish Mrs. Sheri Fitz the best as she assumes the role of Financial School Secretary at Granby Elementary in 2013-2014. Other teachers making changes are Ms. Katie Corrigan who will teach a full day kindergarten class at Colonial Hills and Mrs. Lisa Rogers, who will start next year at Wilson Hill as the Library Media Specialist.
Next year Ms. Jennifer Howes will join the fifth grade team, and Mrs. Fran Middaugh will join the team at sixth grade.
Please join me in welcoming several new teachers and support personnel to our Liberty staff team.
Ms. Emily Phillips will step in to the role of second grade teacher. She is a recent graduate of The Ohio State University and comes to us as a licensed pre-K teacher with a M. Ed in Early Childhood Education. She expressed passion and a strong commitment to children and their learning throughout the interview process and comes highly recommended by those who have worked with her.
Also joining the team, are Ms. Bonnie Melchi and Ms. Jessica Schiefer, who will teach fourth grade. Some of you may have already experienced the touch of Ms. Melchi or Ms. Schiefer, as they worked in various roles throughout this school year, and their demonstrated work experience among us speaks volumes. Both are PreK-3 licensed teachers with a 4th and 5th Grade Generalist Endorsement and a Reading Endorsement.
Ms. Alyse Schwartz comes highly regarded from Capital University with several licenses and will be serving intermediate students as an intervention specialist. She brings a wide range of experiences that have prepared her well for her new role.
Mrs. Michelle Banks has taught kindergarten in the Worthington City Schools since 2008 and has over a decade of excellence in teaching. She will serve as an Instructional Coach at both Liberty and Colonial Hills.
Mrs. Cindy Barney, who has worked in the office at Liberty periodically throughout the year, will be a full time member of the Office team. As a Worthington resident, she has a passion for the school district, the community and its children.
Each of these newly hired members of the staff team participated in a rigorous interview process, reflected outstanding preparation and presented themselves as passionate, dedicated people who are ready to make a positive difference in the lives of children at Liberty!
In the area of curriculum, the Common Core will continue to be a strong focus with programs implemented to support the teaching of these new standards, including Stepping Stones Math in grades 3-5 and also expanding RAZ Kids to include science. At Liberty, more children will increase and enrich their vocabulary through learning experiences with “Vocabulary Worshop.”
Teachers across the district will have extensive learning opportunities throughout the summer months in a wide range of areas, from math, to vocabulary acquisition, to on-line learning programs, to growth through the new teacher evaluation system, to literacy intervention programs etc… Be assured that teachers at Liberty will be busy preparing for improved teaching and learning in 2013-2014!
School Safety, Procedures and Routines
As a part of district safety measures, Liberty will have a camera and buzzer entry system next year. Protective film will be utilized on selected windows, and “panic” buttons will allow for an immediate and direct connection to local police departments in the event of an emergency. The Building Crisis Team continues to meet and debrief situations as they may arise, and safety drill routines have been diligently taught and practiced throughout the year.
Though we will continue to review and monitor our recess-lunch plans for improvement, intervention referrals for both discipline and the Health Office from the playground have decreased since our return from Spring Break.
THANK YOU for your cooperation this year in learning several new building routines that enable us to operate more efficiently and with added measures of safety.
As we move into next year, please make plans for both the start and end of the school day to ensure that your child will arrive to school not prior to 8:00 and will be picked up at the end of the day during the passenger pick up by 3:00, as staff are not available outside of that time frame for the supervision of children.
In an effort to make processes easier for Worthington families across the district, parents will no longer be asked to complete pink cards, and much of the other paperwork related to school enrollment will also be eliminated. Enrollment and emergency information will primarily be collected, coordinated and managed; along with progress reporting systems, through Infinite Campus.
This spring the staff will be working to develop well-balanced class groupings for the upcoming school year. This is not a random act, but rather is a deliberate, purposeful process, and one that involves many factors that will be weighed and well considered, to ensure the ultimate result of classroom settings conducive to maximized learning for all. For these reasons, it is impossible to accommodate all parental requests regarding class placement. If, however, you have insight regarding your child that you believe is important and relevant to this process, you may direct those requests and provide that information in writing to the building principal with the understanding that we cannot honor specific requests.
As you may already be aware, Liberty 1st graders, while being fully a part of our school, spend most of their school day in the Sutter Park building. The first grade teaching team, along with the great cooperation of the staffs at both Liberty and Sutter do an outstanding job of making a less than ideal circumstance a wonderful educational program. If you are a parent of a kindergartner, please feel free to contact me or a first grade teacher with any questions or concerns. Through the years, plans and processes have been established to address this situation, and they really do work successfully.
Themes and Opening Days’ Schedule
You may want to make a calendar note regarding several activities for the opening of school in 2013-2014:
August 19 Meet the Teacher and Curricular Meetings with Teachers, Gr. 2-6 (More information to follow regarding kindergarten and first)
August 20 Students’ First Day in School, Grades 1-6
August 20 Half of Kdg Class Students’ First Day
August 21 Other Half of Kdg Class Students’ First Day
August 22 All Kdg Students Attend School
August 29, 6:00 PTA Welcome Back Ice Cream Social Remember, too, that you can access calendar events and important information throughout the school year via the Liberty school website.
We will continue to promote positive messages that support our Liberty themes of Here to LEARN - Golden Rule - Our School - Best Effort - Healthy Minds and Body - and Educational Excellence.
What a pleasure it has been to serve in the Worthington City School District this year, where we all strive for “Absolute Excellence and Exponential Impact.” In closing, I want to thank you for welcoming me to Worthington with a spirit of support and cooperation and for entrusting me and the Liberty staff team with the care for your children. It is an awesome responsibility and one that we do not take lightly. It has truly been a rewarding experience to be among the families of Liberty, and as we move into another year, I commit to CARE for our children and endeavor to TEACH them well!
Sincerely,
Holly G. Coombs
"CARE for the CHILDREN and TEACH them well."
