LIBERTY LEDGER
FEBRUARY 2024
MESSAGE FROM MR. SMITH, PRINCIPAL
Video Message From Mr. Smith
Please click on the link below to view my February 2024 message. This message is sent with care, compassion, and love of our school community.
Respectfully,
Mr. Smith
*HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS*
CEF Raffle Tickets Still Available
CTA Liberty, start your engines! The Chandler Education Foundation Winner’s Choice Car or Cash Raffle Fundraiser is here! This exciting event provides valuable funding for our school PTO/Boosters and scholarships for promising CUSD students!
Just $20 per ticket for a chance to win either $27,000 off the MSRP of any Toyota vehicle OR $20,000 cash – it's your choice!
PLUS – if you purchase your ticket before 9 am on February 5, you’ll be entered into a BONUS drawing for Early Bird Prizes!
Don’t wait – get your ticket online now at https://rb.gy/1t7dmy. And please help spread the word with your friends, family and colleagues! Thank you for your support!
Club Picture Day - 2/1/24
School Pics are being taken on campus today during school. Ordering information will be available online approximately three weeks after picture day. Families will receive an email notification from CTA Liberty with access instructions and ordering details.
Discounted pricing as well as FREE delivery to CTA Liberty will be available for a limited time.
If you have any questions, please email School Pics at customerservice@schoolpicsaz.com
President's Day Holiday - 2/19/24
In observance of President's Day, there will be no school on Monday, February 19th.
Spring Picture Day - 2/22/24
School Pics will be on campus taking spring pictures on February 22, 2024 during school. Spring Pictures are free dress for students. Wear fun, bright colors except green. School Pics will be using Green Screen Technology for this shoot, so please do not wear green.
No money is required on picture day. Proofs will be sent home with students approximately 3 weeks after picture day. Pose, background choice, and portrait package selections will be available online to view and order.
Please see the attached flyer for complete details. Of if you have any questions, please email School Pics at customerservice@schoolpicsaz.com
Idiom Day - 2/23/24
CTA Liberty Idiom Day is coming on Friday, February 23rd.
It's a piece of cake! Students and staff will come to school dressed as their favorite school-appropriate idiom. Time flies, so be a smart cookie and get started on your outfit soon.
Remember to not land in the dog house or in the hot seat; put your best foot forward when creating your school-appropriate idiom.
Teachers are tickled pink and will reach out to spill the beans and specifics soon! In a nutshell, follow your teacher's directions, be creative, and have fun! Students not participating should be in Friday dress code attire.
Chandler Innovation Fair - 2/24/24
Don't forget to attend the amazing Chandler Unified School District Innovation Fair on Saturday, February 24th, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
This free event offers unique opportunities for attendees to explore the discoveries of science engineered in their own backyard and taught in Chandler Unified schools. Chandler uses 'sneaky science' by entertaining the whole family while explaining how science is important to daily life.
The STEAM and science culture of CUSD serves to ignite students’ natural curiosity about the world. The Chandler Innovation Fair provides ALL students an opportunity to use that curiosity to explore, discover, and present. We build and utilize community partnerships to support students as they innovate, investigate, and problem-solve solutions in a rapidly changing world.
CIF goes beyond traditional science and engineering fairs to encourage innovation in a range of categories that cut across multiple content areas. Chandler has been hosting the Hamilton Invitational Science and Engineer Fair for decades. We realized pathways into STEM careers are becoming more diverse and our solution was to expand the fair to include categories for Project-Based Learning, Computer Science, Robotics, Invention Convention, and Arts. The student-centric fair incorporates opportunities for students in Career and Technical Education (CTE) to showcase their skills in authentic learning experiences.
Partnering with professional organizations and businesses in the area gives our students the chance to see how STEM skills are applied in the workforce. Working professionals willing to share their journey and experiences can have a profound and positive effect on helping inspire our students to continue with their love of science, technology, engineering, math, and innovation!
We hope to see you there! Don't miss seeing seeing the Voices of Liberty and the Ukulele Club who will perform at 1:30.
Parent/Teacher Conferences - 2/28 and 2/29/24
Parent/Teacher conferences are almost here!
Important information:
- Wednesday, February 14th
- Your student's teacher will be emailing an invitation to their Sign-Up Genius between 3:30 and 4:00 pm. You will use that link to sign up for your conference time slot.
- Wednesday, February 28th
- Parent/Teacher conferences from 11:30 am to 4:00 pm
- Early release day for students at 11:10 am
- Thursday, February 29th
- Parent/Teacher conferences from 11:30 am to 7:00 pm
- Early release day for students at 11:10 am
Student Honored by ASU
Congratulations to Samantha Sanchez, in third grade, for placing second in ASU's Annual Martin Luther King Celebration Contest. The objective of the contest was to capture Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy in word. Samantha was honored for placing third in the essay/poetry contest with a breakfast on Thursday, January 18th. Her family and Mr. Smith attended to celebrate and honor Samantha. A copy of Samantha's essay is attached below.
READBowl 2024
READBowl is still going strong. As we enter February, we have one more week to make the leaderboard! Don't forget to log all reading minutes! Remember ALL reading counts! As a school we have read a total of 470,000 minutes! Can we make it to 1,000,000?
Dates to remember:
Week 4 reading logs due: Monday, February 5th
Winners will be announced on Super Bowl Sunday, February 11th!
Let's do this Eagles, Read on!
CTA Liberty Running Club Race Results From 1/16/24
CTA Liberty Running Club participated in the second CUSD Race on Tuesday, January 16th. CTA Liberty brought home 31 ribbons! Awesome!
Kindergarten Ribbon Winners
- Parker Hochstetler - 4th Place
- Melody McClure - 1st Place
- Aaron Milner - 1st Place
- Alexander Sarkozi - 6th Place
First Grade Ribbon Winners
- Brooklyn Hammer - 1st Place
- Tatum Kearl - 4th Place
- Easton Miranda - 2nd Place
- Blake Parrott - 1st Place
- Nethan Ryan - 4th Place
Second Grade Ribbon Winners
- Mireya Albalos - 3rd Place
- Leonardo Guardado - 2nd Place
- Samuel Needham - 6th Place
- Audrey Ramsdell - 1st Place
- Zayden Silas - 4th Place
- Trey Westbrooks - 1st Place
- Emily Wilson - 2nd Place
Third Grade Ribbon Winners
- Derek Anaya - 3rd Place
- Emerson Butson - 1st Place
- Vincent Corvino - 4th Place
- Peyton Hammer - 2nd Place
Fourth Grade Ribbon Winners
- Finley Butson - 1st Place
- Oakley Thompson - 2nd Place
- Aiden Yuva - 6th Place
Fifth Grade Ribbon Winners
- Benjamin Bermudez - 2nd Place
- Jeremyah Diaz - 5th Place
- Samantha Huaman - 6th Place
- James Longanbach - 3rd Place
- Kinley Parrott - 2nd Place
- Caroline Saurin - 4th Place
- Ryder Semanek - 1st Place
Sixth Grade Winners
- Lauren Bermudez - 3rd Place
- Mateo Valverde - 1st Place
Congratulations to all the ribbons winners and great job to all who participated! Go Eagles!
Don't Forget to Order Yearbooks!
Visit: https://buytheyearbook.pictavo.com
- School Code: 716066
- Click on the Yearbook picture
- Enter student information
- Add to cart
- Complete your purchase!
*For best results, use Google Chrome
The last day to order is March 8, 2024.
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Tollefson
Blood Drive Save the Date - 3/20/24
CTA Liberty is proud and honored to support the Blood Drive in memory of Jacob Medina.
Jacob Medina was 17 years old when he was diagnosed with B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in March 2019. After 15 months of battling this terrible and debilitating disease he passed away in May 2020 at the youthful age of 19 years old. Jacob was a kind and gentle soul who wanted to help everyone, even on his worst days with cancer he still made it a point to smile and try to brighten the lives of others. Jacob would be so proud to know that a blood drive is being held in his memory because it was always his mission to help others when he was well enough to do so. Your blood donation could help save the lives of people like Jacob who are battling cancer but also those with other blood disorders, surgical procedures of those facing life threatening situations that require multiple and frequent blood transfusions.
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Time: 1:00 to 5:00 pm
Location: The Community Room - Gilbert Memorial Park
2110 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert 85297
Across the street from Perry High School
To make an appointment contact Krystal at krystal.medina@jm23foundation.org or visit the appointment link below. A flyer is also attached with an appointment QR Code.
*LIBRARY NEWS*
Kailei Pew, Author Visit - 2/2/24
We are super excited to announce that local author, Kailei Pew, will be visiting Liberty on Friday, February 2nd. She will be reading and teaching our kids all about how picture books are made, how to become published authors, and discussing themes from her debut picture book, The Monster Above the Bed.
It is a really unique and special opportunity for an author to visit the school. Kailei is offering our students signed and personalized copies of her book. Please fill out the attached form and send it back with $20 cash by the morning of February 2nd. Some students may have purchased the book online but those orders were due January 31st.
We are looking forward to this visit and hope your students are as well! And an amazing tidbit of information - Kailei Pew is the daughter of CTA Liberty's very first principal, Mr. Don Shelley!!
Read Across America Spirit Week - 2/26 thru 3/1/24
Blast off with Reading!
Read Across American Spirt Week Days
Monday, 2/26/24
- We are GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - Wear a Disney or superhero themed shirt with uniform bottoms.
Tuesday, 2/27/24
- We are ALL STARS - Wear a jersey or sports themed shirt with uniform bottoms.
Wednesday, 2/28/24
- We are OUT OF THIS WORLD - Dress like you are from outer space/an alien.
Thursday, 2/29/24
- We are SUPERSTARS - Dress like your favorite book character.
Friday, 3/1/24
- Dream upon a STAR - Wear your pajamas.
Library Materials Selection and Adoption
CTA Families - This notification is to inform you that we will be purchasing new books/materials for our library on February 1, 2024. State law mandates that schools notify parents of the opening and closing public view period within seven (7) school days prior to the opening date. Therefore, this notice dated February 9, 2024, provides the opening date of the public review period for newly purchased library books/materials as February 9, 2024 and the closing date of February 9, 2024.
(A.R.S. 15-721/15-722)
*CHOIR CORNER*
Voices of Liberty to Perform on 2/24/24
On Saturday, February 24th, the Voices of Liberty and the Ukulele Club will be performing at the Chandler Innovation Fair at 1:30 PM. The fair will be held at the Chandler park at the crossroads of Chandler Blvd and Arizona Ave. Come early and check out the CTA Liberty booth. Stay for our concert. There are other schools and businesses that will also have booths. The theme for the Liberty science projects is stars, and that’s the theme for the concert, as well. There are other schools and businesses that will also have booths. It will be lots of fun and out of this world!
* COUNSELOR'S CORNER*
Newsletter
*PTO NEWS/EVENTS*
PTO Open/General Meeting - 2/21/24
Hello, Liberty Families!
We will meet in the CTA Liberty library on Wednesday, February 21st at 6:00 pm.
PTO Sweetheart Dance - 2/2/24
CTA Liberty PTO invites you to a
SWEETHEART DANCE!
Date: Friday, February 2nd
Location: Willis Jr. High located at 401 S. McQueen Road, Chandler
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
- *All students attending must be chaperoned by an adult*
- *All adults must remain at Willis Jr. High with students for the duration of the event*
Cost per adult-child couple:
- $20 at the door
- $5 for each additional person
Featuring: DJ RachelZ, Light Refreshments, Photo Booth
Please see the flyer below with a QR code to purchase tickets.
PTO Sky Zone Fundraiser - 2/28/24
You're invited to PTO's Fundraiser at Sky Zone Chandler!
Date: Wednesday, February 28th
Time: 12 to 8:00 pm
Location: Sky Zone Chandler
1095 S. Arizona Avenue
Chandler 85225
PTO Spring Carnival Save the Date - 4/5/24
SAVE THE DATE!
The PTO Spring Carnival will be held on Friday, April 5th. Be on the lookout for upcoming details on attractions, vendors and tickets.
*SCHOOL/SAFETY REMINDERS*
General School Reminders
As a reminder:
- Drop Off in the morning is no earlier than 7:45 am. Although building doors may be unlocked, students are not allowed on campus until 7:45 am.
- In the North (back) parking lot students should only enter or exit cars in front of the Muli-purpose Room. They should not be entering or exiting cars in front of the annex or along the curb leading to the Muliti-purpose Room.
- Students should not exit cars on Emmett Drive while waiting to enter the parking lot.
- No U-Turns in crosswalks or in front of the school.
- The back gate closes at 8:05 am to allow teachers to report to their classrooms. If the back gate is closed you must drop your student off through the front gate and follow the drop off rules. Please do not have your student exit your car until they have reached a teacher at the front of the line.
- Please have your student dressed appropriately for the weather. If they wear a jacket or sweater to school, please be sure it is dress code approved (red, white or blue) and clearly labeled with the student's name. All water bottles should also be labeled.
- Only students and staff are allowed on campus, with the exception of Pre K parents, for drop off and pick up. During school hours, parents may only enter campus through the front office.
- After school clubs: No parents/guardians are allowed on campus for after school clubs. Students will be directed to their club location by staff and parents/guardians should pick up at the appropriate time in the south parking lot (front of school near the flag). The club sponsor will stay with the students until they are picked up.
Thank you for your support!
#aroundhere
*100TH DAY OF SCHOOL*
*WILLIS JR HIGH VISITS 6TH GRADE*
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Attached is a flyer with CTA Liberty's QR Codes. Scan the QR Code with your camera app to follow our social media pages. Or the codes are shown below.