Category: District News
LES students complete winter reading challenge at Liberty Library
Ten Liberty Elementary Students completed the Winter Reading Challenge at the Liberty Library and earned their tickets to make a “Build a Buddy,” a stuffed polar bear, on Feb. 3.
To complete the challenge, students had to read 20 picture books by themselves or with a grown-up’s help, or read four chapter books by themselves between Dec. 18 and Jan. 31.
Congratulations to Athena Dailey, Parker Gissentaner, Kyra Magie, Anastasia Honcharenko, Sevyn Straker, Nova Keating, Lillian Keating, Emily Marques, Jayden Thomas and James Crandall.
Liberty student photographers earn honors at regional event
Liberty High School student photographers were honored Friday, Feb. 2, for their award-winning work at the Mid Hudson Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards ceremony at SUNY New Paltz.
Liberty photo students and Liberty Photo Club members earned eight Gold Keys,14 Silver Keys and 18 Honorable Mentions. The ceremony was followed by the opening of the show containing all Key winners’ work. Seven of Liberty’s Key winners were able to attend the ceremony.
Gold Key winners, the top 5% of all photographs, were Kaitlyn Bodolosky, who won two, and Endya Alvarez, Maria Quintanilla Bonilla, Joaquin Isler Diaz, Allison Vasko, Leonel Malaga Ventura and Rachel Yaun, who each won one.
Silver Key winners, the top 10%, were Leonel Malaga Ventura with four, Jill Baumander, Kaitlyn Bodolosky, Allison Vasko and Rachel Yaun, each with two, and Endya Alvarez and Giovanni Flores Leon each with one.
Honorable mentions, top 11% and 12%, were awarded to Leonel Malaga Ventura with four, Joaquin Isler Diaz, Madelline Kelly and Rachel Yaun, each with three, Allison Vasko with two, and Endya Alvarez, Kaitlyn Bodolosky and Maria Quintanilla Bonilla, each with one.
LMS band to join Pennsylvania bands in exhibition concert
The Liberty Middle School Band will travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Feb. 6, to join with the Western Wayne Middle School and Western Wayne High School for a one-of-a-kind clinic and exhibition concert sponsored by the KHS America Academic Alliance.
After working on the festival music in their own schools, band students from the two districts will meet for the first time as a band early in the morning and spend the day getting to know one another through music. Under the baton of clinician Dr. Peter L. Boonshaft, the students will have the opportunity to collaborate and learn festival rehearsal techniques to take back to their schools.
Boonshaft, director of education for KHS America, is the author of “Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise.” He was honored
by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education,” and was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where is professor emeritus of music.
The culminating exhibition concert is free and open to the public. The concert will begin at 4 p.m. at Western Wayne High School Veterans Memorial Auditorium, at 1970 Easton Turnpike, Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.
For more information on KHS America and the Academic Alliance, visit https://academicalliance.com/
Middle schoolers learn “Real Food Rules”
Students in sixth grade at Liberty Middle School spent two Fridays in the fall learning — and singing — about food.
STEAM Fund (Siegel Trust Enriching Arts & Music) at CFOS (Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan) brought its Real Food Song Program to LMS on Oct.13 and 24.
There, the students learned about where food comes from and how it is delivered, with the goal of helping create a generational change in the choices they make.
“We were happy to welcome the Real Food Song Program to Liberty Middle School,” Principal Heather Cheh said. “With Sullivan County being near the bottom in statewide health rankings, we want to do our part to help change that statistic for the positive.”
Facilitated through the STEAM fund at CFOS, the program is supported educationally in collaboration with the not-for-profit, A Single Bite, whose mission is to feed — and educate — Sullivan County residents with real, local food.
“It was great to witness the excitement and enthusiasm the LMS students exhibited,” STEAM Founder Gary Siegel said.. “As part of STEAM’s Healthy Habits Initiative, the Real Food Song Program is one of many local programs designed to improve the health of the children, teens and adults in our schools and communities, providing them with tools to make healthier choices while having fun.”
The songwriting program presents the students with the opportunity to ponder questions such as “What does food mean to you? Where does it come from? What does it do? What are your favorites … are they real? How does food make you feel?”
“The experience was so cool. I was grateful to be able to do that,” student Madison Allen said. “I learned the importance of eating real food.”
In the interactive songwriting workshops, the singer-songwriter teaching artists, Scott Bierko and Beth Bierko, introduced the concepts of real vs. processed food to the students and taught about songwriting and musical concepts such as rhythm and form. Under the guidance of Bierkos, the students collectively wrote their own lyrics to the song “Real Food Rules” and then recorded their own version.
“I think that real food is good and healthy,” student Atticus Macnimara said. As for the song? “The best part is the chorus.”
A video was created with the participating students, shared in recent assemblies at LMS and can be seen below:
Capital project proposal passes, 178-47
Voters in the Liberty Central School District approved the district’s $42.7 million capital project proposal, 178-47, on Wednesday, Jan. 17.
The project will address safety, efficiency of building systems and educational spaces and meeting the needs of today’s learners. It also will fix issues identified in the latest building condition survey. The project will have no impact on taxes.
“I thank the community for its continued support of Liberty Central School District and its students,” Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan said. “The work included in this project will improve the educational environment for our students, offering them more comfortable, healthier and safer spaces to learn now and explore their futures.”
The Liberty Central School District Board of Education and administration, working with CSArch, the construction management team from Schoolhouse Construction Services and Fiscal Advisors, crafted the plan using information gathered in a capacity study, a long-term demographic analysis and the building condition survey conducted during the 2021-22 school year.
The design process will continue through July 2024, with state Education Department review and approval expected by November 2024. The bid process is expected to be completed by February 2025 with the contract awarded the following month. Construction should begin in late spring 2025 with the project substantially completed by early fall 2027.
Link to livestream of final capital project forum available
On Jan. 10, Liberty Central School District hosted its final community forum on the proposed $42.7 million capital project.
Superintendent Dr. Patrick Sullivan offered a presentation on the proposal, explaining what is proposed and how it will impact student learning.
Chris White from Chenango Contracting presented “Field Turf 101,” showing how turf fields are created and installed and providing details on the safety of turf vs. natural fields.
To view the recording of the forum, visit https://events.locallive.tv/events/136016.
The vote will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, in the Liberty High School Gymnasium, with an inclement weather date of Jan. 17.
Those who have questions may email questions@libertyk12.org with “Capital Project” in the subject line.
For more information about the project, visit the district’s capital project page at www.libertyk12.org/about-us/capital-project-2023-24.
Video: Capital Project – Athletic Field
Learn more about why the athletic field and track upgrades are a vital part of the capital project proposal:
Video: Capital Project – High School proposed changes
Learn more about why the Innovation Lab and 300 Wing changes are a vital part of the capital project proposal:
LHS welcomes new assistant principal
Liberty High School welcomed Lacy Jones as assistant principal on Jan. 2.
Jones had served as a speech-language pathologist for Sullivan BOCES since 2018 and served as the related-services team lead, mentor and representative on numerous district committees. She provided early intervention speech pathology services to families in Orange County and Pennsylvania’s Pike County, where she lives with her husband and three children.
Jones is completing her certificate of advanced studies in school leadership through SUNY New Paltz and the Mid-Hudson School Study Council’s “Homegrown Sullivan” cohort.
She graduated summa cum laude from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania where she earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in speech-language pathology.
Proposed upgrades aim to provide safe, comfortable learning environment
Included in Liberty Central School District’s proposed $42.7 million capital project are vital upgrades to heating, plumbing and electrical systems, building repairs and safety enhancements that are vital to creating a comfortable and safe learning environment for the students and staff. Many of the items below were noted in Liberty’s latest state-required building condition survey, completed in 2022.
HVAC
In the three school buildings, heating, ventilation and air conditioning are controlled by outdated, inefficient pneumatic systems. A switch to direct digital control allows for more efficient heating and cooling of our buildings.
Proposed work at the elementary school would also replace the classroom unit ventilators and install a ventilation system in the gymnasium. The old steam boiler that provided heat to the entire building will be converted to hot water, a safer and more efficient system.
Electrical
Emergency generators will be replaced at the middle and high school, as well as in the district office. The middle and high school are deemed emergency shelters, and the district office houses the servers. New generators will help ensure power will be available to this vital systems if power is disrupted.
Electrical upgrades at the Middle School will help address continual electrical issues with the more than 30-year-old building. The 2000A main electrical distribution panel, damaged by water infiltration, has outlived its useful life and a replacement will allow electricity to be more effectively distributed. Site upgrades at the chiller and transformer feed locations at the middle school will mitigate issues with water infiltration into the building.
Hardwired carbon monoxide alarm systems will also be installed in all district buildings. A hardwired system allows for a more reliable system that doesn’t rely on replacing batteries on a regular basis.
Exterior repairs and upgrades
As part of the project, the elementary building facade near the roof will be repaired for preventative maintenance.
At the high school, exterior stairs to the 100/200 and 300 wings that are in disrepair will be replaced, allowing for a safer entry into the building.
The paths to the athletic fields will also be reconstructed to provide for an ADA compliant and safer route for the public to watch our student athletes perform. And when there, new complaint bleachers will allow all members of the community to display their Liberty pride on safe, accessible seating.
Interior upgrades
At the Elementary School, flooring repairs and replacement will address potential safety concerns. Vinyl asbestos tiles in one classroom are deteriorating. If left undisturbed, the tiles do not cause a hazard, but damaged tiles must be removed and properly mitigated. There are also sections of original wood flooring that are uneven and/or deteriorating that will be repaired or replaced and refinished.
Many people enjoy the view from above in the elementary auditorium. However, the railings are not compliant with ADA regulations. The proposed project would address these issues, making the bleachers above safer or more accessible for all who attend the concerts and programs at the elementary school
At the high school, cafeteria and senior lounge renovations are geared toward making the areas a more social and attractive place to gather. The changes also help make the area safer, offering more supervision in the lounge and creating a single point of entry to the dining area.
In the middle school, 41 interior doors will be replaced, and emergency lighting will be updated, creating a safer and more secure building.
Voting will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, in the high school gymnasium, with a snow date of Jan. 17, at the same time and location.
For more information, visit the capital project page on Liberty’s website, https://www.libertyk12.org/about-us/capital-project-2023-24/, or ask questions at a community forum or via email at questions@libertyk12.org.