Liberty Newsletter-February 5, 2020


Important Dates

2/11 - PTA meeting at 7 pm

2/17 - School holiday


custodian

Congratulations to our Custodial staff

Every year FCPS Plant Operations nominates one elementary, one middle, and one high school to receive the Custodial Staff of the Year award.We are beyond proud that our that Liberty custodial staff won the Custodial Staff of the Year award for 2019. We are so thankful to have such a dedicated team!  Congratulations to Reina, Leonard, Jessica and Maria as well as, Ana, our buidling supervisor, and Edwin (who are not pictured).  


helpful tips

The Report Card & Student Success

  • Second quarter report cards have just come out.
  • When it comes to understanding your child’s academic achievements, the report card is a good place to start.
  • “A report card grade is also about effort and engagement.”
  • “Is your child turning in their homework?
  • Are they raising their hand in class? Are they working really hard? This is really important in terms of the broad life skills that our children need in order to thrive.” In addition to looking at your child’s report card, parents will want to take a look at graded tests and quizzes and look at the online grade book before the next report card is issued.

What else can parents do? Research shows that family engagement promotes student success. Students with involved parents are more likely to: earn higher grades and pass their classes, attend school regularly and have better social skills, and go on to postsecondary education.

(Adapted from a ptaourchildren.org article “Beyond the Report Card: How to Measure Your Child’s Progress” by Rebecca Bauer)


wall of hearts

Wall of Hearts

The Student Services Department will be hosting the annual Wall of Hearts campaign February 10th – 14th .

Our goal is to foster a school culture of safety and respect for others. Student and faculty members are invited to write a pledge stating how kindness and respect will be demonstrated in our school. The pledges will be posted in the school as a visual, daily reminder of our commitment to remember that “other people matter”.

The week will culminate by students and staff wearing pink on Friday, February 14th to show our dedication to respecting others.


dreams

Black History Month

This year, our theme for Black History month is “Black History: Dreams for America.”  Throughout the month of February, students and staff members at Liberty will share a moment in black history from a historical or personal perspective on the Liberty morning news show. On Monday of this week, students were introduced to the legendary Jackie Robinson who brought an end to the color barrier in professional sports. Our library has a Black History book collection on display with books available for checking out.  The display showcase (see picture) in the main lobby has the transcript from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and the hopeful dreams of our students artistically displayed in a cluster of dream clouds.


congrats

Liberty Students Recognized in 2020 Regional Scholastic Art Awards Program

Congratulations to Liberty students, Sophia Jang and Katelyn Kim, for receiving Drawing and Illustration awards in the Scholastic Art Competition.  Sophia received the Gold Key Awards for three of her entries and Katelyn Kim received the Silver Key Award for her entry.  The Scholastic Art Competition is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious art competition for secondary school students.  Our students’ artwork will be displayed at the Northern Virginia Community College’s Ernst Community Cultural Center in Annandale from Thursday, February 6 to Sunday, March 15. 


Your Health Matters: Relationships

One of the biggest challenges in middle school is navigating friendships.  Here are some tips to help you:

  • Figure out who you are but know you are changing as a person based on your emotions, values, beliefs and activities. 
  • Understand that some of your friendships may dissolve or you may develop new friendships
  • One of the most important factors in having good relationships is knowing who you are as a person, knowing your emotions, strengths and weaknesses and also what you believe is right and wrong for you. 
  • Develop boundaries that work for you in a relationship while also learning to understand your friend’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses and boundaries.
  • Find your role models.  This will help you to figure out who you are and who you want to be. 
  • True friends will appreciate and respect you for you who you are and will encourage you to be the best that you can be. 
  • Communicate your boundaries and needs to your friends and you may want to reconsider your friendships.
  • Friendships go both ways.  With that in mind, practice being the friend that you want to experience while you are also keeping in mind your friend’s needs.

PTA logo

 

Mark your calendars for these exciting PTA Events! February is turning out to be a super fun month for our students and staff!!

 

January 23 - February 13:  February Teacher Treats

Help us show our teachers and staff just how much we appreciate them!! We will be collecting bags of individually wrapped candy starting Thursday, January 23rd! Information about this special event can be found here: http://bit.ly/FebTeacherTreat Volunteers are needed!

February 3 - March 3:  Book Drive - PTA Service Project

If you have gently loved books collecting dust on your bookshelves we would love to take them off your hands! Many of our Lion Time classroom libraries are in dire need of upper elementary and middle school level books. The book drive will begin February 3rd and run through March 3rd. March is National Reading Month and we'd love to see just how many books we can add to these classroom libraries which are used by every single student at Liberty!! Books can be dropped off on the cart labeled PTA Book Drive located at the entrance to the library. Thank you for your help!!

February 4 - 14:  Valentine's Day Candy Grams

PTA is excited to sponsor this year's Valentine's Day Candy Grams! Candy grams can be purchased for $1.00 each during lunches on the following dates: February 4, 5, 6, 11 & 12. These notes will be wrapped around a full-sized Hershey chocolate bar and distributed on Valentine's Day! A perfect way for students to sweeten someone's day! Volunteers are needed to collect payment on these dates. Volunteers are also needed to wrap the candy bars on Thursday, February 13 and to help distribute them during Lion Time on Valentine's Day. Click here to see all the information about this event and to sign up: http://bit.ly/FebCandyGrams 

February 7:  Liberty Middle vs Stone Middle Basketball Game

It's that time again!! Join us for this fun family event Friday, February 7th. PTA will be selling tickets at the door from 6:15 - 7:00. (No entry after 7:00.) Concessions will be available for purchase in the cafeteria. Volunteers are needed for ticket and concession sales and several adults are needed to monitor entry/exit. Check out this link for more information & to see how you can help! http://bit.ly/LionsBasketball 

Calling all volunteers for the 8th Grade Celebration!

Email libertymiddleschoolpta@gmail.com and let us know you’re interested in joining the committee!!

February 11 7:00 pm:  Next PTA Meeting


Lions Chat

If an idea comes to you about a school program or policy or you have a question about a broader issue or topic, consider using our Lions Chat link


Social worker Resources

Click here to find some additional resources and announcements from our school social worker.  These resources can also be found on the Liberty MS Website