Category: Middle School News
Sullivan County PK-12 Art Show to be at Bethel
The Sullivan County PK-12 Art Show will present the work of students from the county’s seven school districts and Sullivan BOCES at the Event’s Gallery at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts from April 10 to April 12.
There will be an opening for high school student from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9.
The public opening and reception will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday April 10, with the show continuing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 11 and 12.
During the show, student artwork from the 10 media categories of Ceramics and Glass, Digital Art Design, Black and White Drawing, Color Drawing,
Mixed Media, Painting, Black and White Photography, Color Photography, Film and Animation, and Sculpture.
The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will also provide free museum admission to students attending the Art Show throughout the weekend.
The Sullivan County PK-12 Art Show is one of the many programs offered through the Arts In Education Program at Sullivan BOCES. Dedicated to raising visual and aesthetic literacy standards and levels while strengthening and supporting learning in all curriculum areas, the Arts In Education Program supports the Arts and arts-integrated learning experiences for K-12 students and teachers.
For more information about the Arts In Education Program at Sullivan BOCES, visit scboces.org.
Bethel Woods is at 200 Hurd Road in Bethel.
Requests for transportation to non-public schools deadline nears
Requests for transportation to non-public schools for the 2026-27 school must be submitted by parents/guardians in writing by April 1.
A parent or guardian of a child not living in the district on that date must submit a written request within 30 days after establishing residency in the district. Requests must be submitted on an annual basis.
A request may be denied for lack of a reasonable explanation, as determined by the Liberty Board of Education.
Forms are available at nonpublic schools in the Liberty Central School District and are submitted to the LCSD Assistant Superintendent for Business’ office. Forms are also available on our website.
Running/leadership team forming at LMS
Liberty Middle School girls are invited to find their place in Girls on the Run/Heart and Sole.
Trained coaches lead Middle School girls to inspire them to value what makes them unique. Together, teams uncover confidence and understand the importance of physical and emotional health. Girls work on setting goals through exercises and discussions. Each season ends with a non-competitive 5K, where participants celebrate who they are, how far they have come and where they want to go.
The girls will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:50 to 4:30 p.m. at Liberty Middle School starting April 7 and culminating with a non-competitive community 5K on June 7 at Legoland Resort in Goshen.
Registration is now open for all girls in fifth through eighth grades. Teams are limited in size and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration fee is $180, but financial assistance can be requested and applied automatically within the online registration form.
For more information and to register, visit https://www.girlsontherunhv.org/3rd-5th-grade-program-details
Liberty hosts All-County Music Fest
Dozens of Redhawks participate
About 500 student musicians traveled to Liberty High School earlier this month to take part in the annual Sullivan County All County Music Festival.
The students musicians, representing all seven school districts in Sullivan County, spent the afternoon of Friday, March 6, and the morning of Saturday, March 7, preparing for Saturday’s concerts, which were broken up into three groups:
- Elementary Choir and Middle School Band
- Senior High Orchestra, Treble Choir, Junior High Jazz Band
- Junior High Mixed Choir and Senior High Band
Among the talented students participating were dozens from the host district:
Elementary Choir
Mackenzie Beatty, Blake Beseth, Graciela Birkett,Chase Blume, Elisa Brust, Michael Davis, Ava Diehl, Kate Dworetsky, Viviana Frasier, Joseph Geoghan, Parker Gissentaner, Indigo Love, Cora McConnell, Nicholas McPhillips, Logan Moore, Arysta Murphy, Jordana Ratner, Shaleigh Santiago, Jayden Thomas, Katelyn Vasko, Henry Vogler, Darick Winfrey and Ivan Zheng.
Middle School Band
Owen Brust, Raymond Cottman Jr., Dia D’Agata, Avery Decker, Genesis Harrison, Ana Hernandez, Dylan Joya Reyes, Tyler Kavleski, Aubrie Keating, Josslynn Letohic, Derek Mateo Cruz, Josemiguel Ramirez-Alvarez, Scarlett Ratner, Sherlene Romero, Caleb Rusin and Sophie Zayas.
Junior High Jazz Band
Claire Ferguson, Michael Garzon Valle, Lilly Kehrley and Bentley Moore.
Junior High Mixed Choir
Alyessia Avellino, Justin Dowe, Liam Greaves,Aubreigh Green,Tyrone Harris, Alexandra Kelly, Sara Liddle, Nevaeh Jones, Ryan Perry and Ethan Zheng.
Treble Choir
Mya Davis, Isabella Intranuovo, Makenzie Knack, Corinne Lake, Harper Matuszak, Lorelai McCarthy, Zalaina Nash, Denali Owens, Luna Pixie Hulse, Myla Rielly and Raegan Wagner.
Senior High Band
Zachariah Bickham, Carmela Burgio, Joseph DiBartolo, Tyler Juron, Gustavo Leon, Jeremiah McLeod, Selkir Molina Gonzalez, Cassandra Porter and Phillo Romero.
Senior High Orchestra
Zach Alvord, Sheyla Anguisaca-Llanos, Alyessia Avellino, Jill Baumander, Genna DeFrank, Sophia Duarte, Belle Gandulla, Aubreigh Green, Sydania Foster, Colten Jay Allen, Nevaeh Jones, Alexandra Kelly, Sara Liddle, Roger Lynker, Olivia Matuzak, Mariely Medina Orellana, Mckinzie Paterson, Will Pennell, Giselle Perez Sanchez, Adriana Ponce Agredano, Brooke Porter and Sophia Vasko.
Few changes in ESSA designations for Liberty
The New York State Education Department recently released accountability designations for all public school districts as required under the state’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
A few changes were noted.
According to the New York State Education Department:
- The Middle School is now an Additional Targeted Support and Improvement School. The Hispanic student subgroup was a previously identified group listed for Target Support and Improvement and is performing at or below the criteria for the lowest 5% of Title I schools.
- The Middle School was also designated as a Potential TSI school, due to the achievement of our students with disabilities. Potential TSI designation means that the subgroup has not met expectations for a single year.
- The Elementary School also remains designated as a Potential TSI School, based on the achievement scores of our Hispanic student subgroup.
- Liberty High School remains a Local Support and Improvement school, formerly known as a “School in Good Standing.”
- The District continues to be a Targeted Support and Improvement District, because of the Middle School designation.
The designations are in effect for the 2025-26 school year based on 2024-25 data.
For more information about the district’s accountability designations, visit the district’s ESSA webpage, or contact Assistant Superintendent Dr. Derek Adams at 845-292-5400, ext. 2052, or dadams@libertyk12.org.
Community Easter events planned
There are several Easter events taking place in the area for Liberty families in the coming weeks.
On Saturday, March 21, the Town of Liberty Parks and Recreation will host its Liberty Community Easter Celebration, with an Easter egg hunt and activities starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Liberty Elementary School Field. The Egg hunt will be done by age groups: 0-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7 and older. That will be followed by the Liberty Elks Lodge 1545 annual Easter Event from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch and photos will be available at the lodge on Darbee Lane. All kids up to age 10 will receive an Easter Basketwhile supplies last. For more information, call 845-292-3434.
The following weekend, the Hurleyville Performing Arts Center will host Breakfast with the Easter Bunny from 9 to 11 a.m. March 28. The cost will be $15 per person or $5 for children 3 and younger for the breakfast buffet. An Easter egg hunt will follow. HPAC is at 219 Main St. in Hurleyville. Tickets are available for purchase online. For more information, visit hpacny.org
Grant to help Liberty students facing housing insecurity featured in radio interview
Liberty Central School District recently received a $525,000 three-year grant to help our students who are experiencing housing insecurity.
The grant is part of the New York State Education Department’s distribution of $8 million in federal funding to educational institutions through the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act.
For more information about the program, visit the McKinney-Vento page on the district website.
Construction work on maintenance building begins
The district was just notified that the initial construction work for the maintenance building will begin today, March 12. As stated the Feb. 2 communication, the walkway behind the district office from Winthrop Avenue to the high school will be closed.
The softball field will not be impacted by the work. However, the Winthrop Avenue parking lot will also be closed during construction. Spectators should park in the parking lot between the high school and district office.
Movie night to benefit Liberty HS Choir
Liberty HS Choir will host a movie night fundraiser Friday, March 20, in the high school auditorium.
Liberty Central School District families are invited to watch the live action version of “How to Train Your Dragon” (PG) at 5 p.m., followed by “Hamilton” (PG-13) at 8 p.m.
The cost is $5 per person for one movie or $8 for the doubleheader.Concessions will be available for purchase.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the LHS Choral Program.
For more information, email Vocal Music Teacher Emily McConnell at emcconnell@libertyk12.org.
Teacher brings childhood Winter Olympics learning tradition to LMS
History, mathematics and global learning were brought to life for fifth and sixth grade students at Liberty Middle School by continuing a meaningful classroom tradition introduced nearly three decades ago during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
When LMS math teacher Miss Danielle Cummins was a fifth-grade student at Duggan Elementary School in the Monticello Central School District, her teacher, Mr. Michael Cordisco, created an engaging, project-based learning experience centered on the Winter Olympics. Each day, students predicted which countries would medal in upcoming events by placing a clip labeled with their chosen country onto a coffee can. The following day, the class tracked actual medal counts on a large bar graph and analyzed the results together.
The project not only strengthened students’ understanding of data, graphing and probability, but also deepened their knowledge of countries around the world — a key component of the social studies curriculum. The combination of real-world events, friendly competition, and hands-on learning left a lasting impression on LMS math teacher Miss Cummins.
This year, Miss Cummins and social studies teacher Ms. Nicole Gabay re-created that same excitement in their classrooms during the 2026 Winter Olympic games in Italy.
“This project was incredibly meaningful to me because it allowed me to share a lesson I loved as a fifth-grader with my own fifth- and sixth-grade students,” Miss Cummins said.
During social studies, students researched participating countries and learned about Olympic events before making their medal predictions. In math, students independently tracked medal counts on their own bar graphs, applying grade-level skills in data collection, representation, and analysis.
“I enjoyed our Olympic project because I liked graphing the medal count,” fifth-grader Avianna Gibbs said.
The highlight of the experience was the opportunity for students to earn authentic Olympic pins for correct predictions, the students said.
Mr. Cordisco mailed a package containing more than 100 pins he had collected over many Winter Olympic years. Students selected pins, celebrated their successes, and even traded pins with classmates — fostering collaboration, sportsmanship, and a strong sense of classroom community.
“It was cool that we got to learn the history of the Olympics in a fun way,” fifth-grader Brantley Olivo said. “Thank you, Mr. Cordisco!”
The cross-curricular project exemplifies the power of project-based learning. Ms. Gabay and Miss Cummins, with their teacher assistants Mrs. Lorraine Kelder and Mrs. Jaqueline Gieger, respectively, said they are proud to continue a tradition that not only enhances academic learning but also connects generations of students through shared experiences.
“It’s a reminder of the lasting impact a great teacher can have—not just on academic growth, but on the future paths of their students,” Miss Cummins said. “I offer a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Cordisco for instilling a love of learning in his students and for continuing to share his generosity and passion with future generations.”