November 2, 2011

Top Stories from LPS

Location Change for Liberty North Football Playoff Game Scheduled for Tonight

The Liberty North High School Eagle football team makes its playoff debut later this evening as they battle Savannah for a 7 p.m. game with the Savages.  Earlier this morning, it was announced that the game will now be played at Missouri Western State University, located at 4525 Downs Dr. in St. Joseph, MO. 

If you cannot make it up to the game tonight and would like to follow it, the LNHS newspaper, The Eagles View, will be providing updates on both its Facebook and Twitter pages. In addition, you can listen to the radio broadcast of the game by clicking HERE.  Good luck tonight Eagles!

LPS to be Featured on KCTV 5 Morning Show Friday

The KCTV 5 morning show will be broadcasting live from the Liberty square Friday, November 4, and will be highlighting many students from LPS.  The live segments will begin at 5 a.m. and take place through 8 a.m.  Be sure to tune in and see some of our best programs and students in Liberty Public Schools as they will be showcased throughout the region! 

November 8 Ballot Issue FAQ's to Know

A 43-cent tax levy issue has been placed on the November 8, 2011, ballot to address the demands of current and projected growth in Liberty Public Schools.  Each week leading up to the election, QuickNews will address three Frequently Asked Questions asked by members of the community in recent weeks in an effort to inform our stakeholders.
 

Q.  When is the election?

A.   The election will take place Tuesday, November 8, 2011.  Polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.  This ballot issue will require a simple majority to pass. 

For results of the election, tune in to KLPS-TV Channel 18 at 8 p.m. for an election night special on the evening of November 8.

 

Q. Where do I go to vote on November 8, 2011?
 

A. Detailed voting locations are provided at the Clay County, Missouri Board of Election Commissioners website and can be accessed by clicking HERE.
 

Q.  How will the proposal appear on the ballot?

A.  By law, this tax levy issue must appear on the ballot in the following form:

Question
For the purpose of acquiring, constucting, improving, furnishing, equipping and operating school facilities of the District, shall the Liberty Public School District No. 53, Clay County, Missouri be authorized to increase the tax levy ceiling by $0.43 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation through tax year 2031?

If this proposition is approved, the tax levy ceiling of the school district is estimated to be $5.3300 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation. 

Other LPS News to Know

Veterans Day Ceremony Scheduled for November 11

Liberty Public Schools will honor our many local heroes with a special Flag Raising Ceremony to be held at Liberty North High School Friday, November 11, 2011. The event will take place in front of LNHS beginning at 8 a.m.  The ceremony will then be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Channel 18 for the entire district and community to watch at 9:30 a.m.  All local veterans are invited to attend this ceremony and are welcome to stay for a breakfast inside Liberty North High School immediately following.  Veterans may RSVP by calling Lynn Martin in the district communications department at 736-5328.

Upcoming Events

SVJH Presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

"The prince is giving a ball!" The South Valley Players are proudly presenting Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella November 3-5 at South Valley Jr. High. Tickets are $5 for students, $7 for adults and can be purchased at the door or during lunch period at SVJH. The show will start at 7 p.m. You can also access more information on their website by clicking HERE.

LNHS Opens Theatre With Crimes of the Heart

Liberty North's theatre department opens its new theater with the play, Crimes of the Heart, by Beth Henley. Performances are November 4 and 5 at 7 p.m. Elisa Parker, Kristen Holleman, and Emily McFadden play sisters who reunite on a very bad day. This drama explores with pathos and dark comedy the relationships among these sisters as they work to understand the struggles they have faced and the future they want to create. Each sister helps another through a bad moment and each finds a new strength and hope within herself. These characters have made some bad choices in their lives, and the actors will be discussing and portraying some of those bad choices. Liberty North's theatre department does not condone these bad choices, but rather believes that presenting them in dramatic form opens up conversation for helping students learn to make wise choices for themselves. It is our hope the audience will be encouraged to claim the help of others, and that we will all be inspired to offer that help when we see someone in need. Colorblind casting was used, which means that family members are not all the same race nor ethnicity. Rounding out the cast are Marissa Cooper as their cousin, Connor Bush as one sister's lawyer, and Brandon Seoane as another sister's former boyfriend. Rebecca Dempsey directs, with David Young as Technical Director, Tori Citro as Student Director, Shelby Liebel as Director Assistant, Jessica Griffith as Stage Manager, Bailey Williams as Light Operator, Madison Grove as Sound Operator, and Chandler and Audria Hill as backstage crew.

For more information, contact Rebecca Dempsey at 781-8152 or

rebdempsey@sbcglobal.net.

Kansas City Symphony "Support School Music" Concert

Tuesday, November 8, the Kansas City Symphony will perform at the new Liberty North High School Performing Arts Theatre. The proceeds for this event will benefit Liberty Public Schools' fine arts programs. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased from your student's LPS music teacher (elementary music, vocal music, band, or orchestra) or by contacting Terri Barnes in the fine arts department at 736-5660. For more information, please click here.

Minority Focus Dinner Information

Minority parents in the Liberty Public School District are cordially invited to our 4th Annual Minority Focus Dinner to be held on Friday, November 11, 2011 from 6 - 8:30 p.m. at Liberty North High School, 1000 NE 104th St., Liberty, MO.   This special evening is designed to present and share information regarding the academic state of minority students and support programs available to minority students in LPS.  We are excited about having you as our guest for the evening and, as usual, dinner will be provided by our Culinary Arts students.  This year, break-out sessions will be available to students and parents on relevant topics including college planning and safe technology. 

Thank you for your RSVP to Dee Ann Gaskins at 736-5349 by Monday, November 7.  We look forward to your participation.

Kid's First Town Hall Meeting

Thursday, November 17, at 7 p.m., the Liberty Council PTA and Missouri PTA will host a Kid's First Town Hall meeting in the Liberty School District Administration Center. As in past years, all of our state and federal representatives have been invited to attend; we expect to have a full panel of guests. In order to have an effective meeting and impress upon our elected officials that both parents and teachers in the Liberty School District believe quality education is a high priority, we need your attendance. Investing in the education of all our children is making an investment in our country's infrastructure. What sort of education students receive today will directly affect the jobs they will be qualified to hold in the future. We live in a global society, and our children must be prepared to compete in that environment. Decisions made at both the state and federal levels impact significantly the means and tools available for school districts in all areas of education, from bricks and mortar, to curriculum taught in the classroom. Plan to set aside an hour of your time on November 17, and join us as we put Kid's First.

LHS Cheerleading Clinic
Attention all Kindergarten through 5th grade students! Liberty High School cheerleaders will be offering a Winter Cheer Clinic Tuesday, December 6. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m., the clinic will be from 6-7:15 p.m., with a special performance for parents at 7:15 p.m. Cost for the clinic is $30 for pre-registration and $35 for walk-ins, which includes a performance shirt.

Clinic participants will perform with the 3-time state champion cheerleaders at the varsity basketball game on Monday, December 12, at Liberty High School! For more information, click HERE, or contact Brenda Moats, at 736-5460, ext 2752.

Student and Staff Recognitions

LNHS Student Receives Award

Congratulations to Liberty North senior Brigitte Tripp!  She is the recipient of the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City's Outstanding Model United Nations Student Award.  She received this award, along with a $500 scholarship, Tuesday night at the annual Kansas City Mayor's UN Dinner.

Women Compete at Avila Science and Mathematics Challenge

Saturday, October 29, students from both LHS and LNHS competed at the Avila Science and Mathematics Challenge for Young Women and had an excellent showing!  LNHS students took 3rd place in both the Biology and Mathematics competitions, while LHS took 3rd place in Chemistry and Earth Science, 2nd place in Physics, and 1st place in Biology.  Liberty North earned 4th place overall, while the Liberty High School team garnered 2nd place in the competition.  Liberty North students were Emma Barry, Kayla Bowers, Hannah Brackett, Rebecca Filla, Alycia Shepherd, Arianna Skindell, and Kelcy Yunghans.  The LNHS team was coached by Jessica Robinson and Mary Coogan.  The Liberty High School team was comprised of Helen Alpern, Erin Cooper, Monica Gehrig, Adina Hoyle, Kathrine Kuhlmann, Kelsey Malone, Taylor Schmidt, and Hannah Scholes.  The LHS team was coached by Rosemary Camp.  We are incredibly proud of both teams!

LHS Speech and Debate Results
Congratulations to the LHS speech and debate novice team who brought home their first overall sweepstakes trophy this weekend at the Lee's Summit tournament!  The following students placed individually:

Lucas Peterson (1st Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking)

Nathan Wilkerson/Lucas Peterson (2nd Policy Debate)

Ben Anderson (2nd Lincoln Douglas Debate)

Mason Carey (2nd United States Extemporaneous Speaking)

Zach Kilgas (2nd Original Oratory)

Cassidy Murry (3rd Lincoln Douglas Debate)

Olivia Wilson/Zach Kilgas (3rd Public Forum Debate)

Victoria Gomez (3rd Original Oratory)

Hannah Bisges (4th Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking)

Olivia Bisges (4th Original Oratory)

Riley Terzopoulos (5th Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking)

Olivia Wilson (5th Original Oratory)

Allie Workman/Mac Barnett (5th Duo Interpretation)

Nathan Wilkerson (6th United States Extemporaneous Speaking)

Lucas Peterson (6th Original Oratory)

Matthew Couturier (6th Prose Reading)

Ben Anderson (7th Prose Reading)

Alexa Irons (8th Lincoln Douglas Debate)

Congratulations to the following varsity students who placed at the Lee's Summit North tournament:

Alex Bisges (2nd Lincoln Douglas Debate)

Max Accardi/Carolyn Pjecha (2nd Policy Debate)

Eric Luan (2nd Foreign Extemporaneous Speaking)

Zach Green/Chris Vlamis (3rd Policy Debate)

Caroline Abbott/Lauren Wrigley (4th Public Forum Debate)

Alex Bisges/Jimmy Sitzman (4th Duo Interpretation)

Jaci Gilchrist (6th Radio Speaking) 

LNHS Speech and Debate Results

Congratulations to the following LNHS speech and debate students who placed at the Lee's Summit/Lee's Summit North tournament:

4th Policy Debate- Brigitte Tripp/Taylor Watson

5th Radio Speaking- Mackenzie Barnes

6th Original Oratory- Melissa Pittman

6th US Extemp- Mackenzie Barnes

1st Novice Public Forum Debate- Dylan McCloskey/Hannah Larkin

1st Novice Humorous Interp- Emma Allman

2nd Novice Duo Interp- Emma Allman/Claire DeVry

2nd Novice Student Congress- Charlie Roberts

3rd Novice Dramatic Interp- Lindsey Bilbao

3rd Novice Prose- Kenny Tran

4th Novice Student Congress- Dylan McCloskey

6th Novice Dramatic Interp- Alberta Engelman

6th Novice Lincoln Douglas Debate- Charlie Roberts

District/Community Events

Community Christmas Tree Coloring Contest

It's time for the annual Liberty Community Christmas Tree Coloring Contest where Liberty students are invited to put their artistic skills to work!  Print the entry form for more information.

QuickNews Bulletin Board

In an effort to make our Liberty Public Schools e-newsletter, QuickNews, a concise publication in which subscribers can read in a timely fashion, district/community announcements will be advertised in the main QuickNews section for a maximum of two weeks.  After this period of time, announcements will then be transferred to our new QuickNews Bulletin Board, which is located on the LPS website provided at the link below. In addition, there are other announcements that have, in the past, not met criteria to place in this publication.  The addition of the QN Bulletin Board will allow them to now be publicized.

This bulletin board will continuously be updated throughout the week, and announcements will remain until they expire by date.

http://www.liberty.k12.mo.us/news/quicknews/quicknews-bulletin-board

LPS Mission  

Through our collective best, we do whatever it takes to inspire and equip every learner to find their voice and realize their unlimited potential.

LPS Vision 

As stewards of discovery, we will embrace innovation to instill a passion for life-long learning that will best serve our nation and the world in the 21st century.

LPS Core Values 

· Learning is our priority

· Respect is our norm

· Excellence is our expectation

· Collaboration is our culture

· Integrity is our foundation

What's Included in this Issue

Other LPS News to Know

QuickNews Bulletin Board

Dates to Remember

Tuesday, November 8

Election Day

Monday, November 21
Board of Education meeting
7 p.m.

Wed., Nov. 23 - Fri. Nov. 25

Thanksgiving Holiday