Hello Students and Families,

As we move closer to Thanksgiving Break, we are finding more and more opportunities to reflect on what we are thankful and grateful for. Personally, I am very grateful to be a part of Liberty Intermediate School. In such a short amount of time, I have created so many strong connections with our students, parents, and staff members. It truly feels like we are a family, there to support each other, laugh with each other, celebrate together, and build each other up when we are having a hard day. The staff members at LIS are some of the hardest working educators that I have seen and they are making a difference every day. They care about their students and want to help them learn as much as they can.

We would love to hear from our valued families about what you are grateful for at Liberty Intermediate School. Please take a brief moment to express your gratitude to our amazing staff using the link below. Your words of appreciation make a great impact on our staff members and will be shared with them next week.

A Note of Gratitude

Have a wonderful week,

Mrs. Hardwicke

In keeping with our Core Values, Duneland School Corporation is committed to fostering partnerships to improve the quality of life in our community. One of our most important partnerships is with our families. As we strive to continue to build upon and strengthen our family partnerships, DSC is applying for renewal from the Indiana Department of Education as an IDOE “Family Friendly Schools” corporation. In doing so, we will continue to “focus on addressing students' academic, physical, emotional, and social needs while providing the needed resources and fostering the active involvement of their families through schools and the community.” (Indiana Department of Education Family Friendly Schools Handbook)

Please help us as we continue to support our students and community by completing the IDOE online survey by November 21, 2023.

Your ongoing support in educating the children of our community is greatly appreciated!

SURVEY LINKS AND INSTRUCTIONS:

Survey Links:

• 2024-2025 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families

• 2024-2025 Family Friendly Survey Questions for Families-Spanish

School Name: choose your school from the drop-down list

School Corporation: 6470 Duneland School Corporation

School Liaison Name: MICHELLE PALKO

School Liaison email: mpalko@duneland.k12.in.us

School Codes for your convenience:

6928 - Bailly Elementary School

6819 - Brummitt Elementary School

6817 - Jackson Elementary School

6823 - Liberty Elementary School

6941 - Newton Yost Elementary School

6821 - Liberty Intermediate School

6927 - Westchester Intermediate School

6930 - Chesterton Middle School

6925 - Chesterton Senior High School

6926- Trojan Virtual Academy (TVA)

If you or someone you know is interested in working as a breakfast and/or lunch aide at LIS, please have them contact the main office. We would love to discuss this position you.

219-983-3690

Liberty Intermediate School is again sponsoring its annual anonymous Christmas for Teens Program. We would like to lend a hand in making your child’s holiday a happier one if you are in need. If you are interested in participating this year, please fill out the form that is linked below, by Friday December 1st. If you are having technology issues you can also fill out a form at the LIS main office no later than Friday, December 1st. Forms are to be filled out by a parent/guardian. We thank you in advance for helping us to keep ALL of our students unaware of this program, and their information will stay confidential.

The LIS staff will do our best to accommodate the needs of the students, but we can not guarantee items. We are only able to provide assistance to LIS students; however, there are other community organizations for all age groups that we may be able to help you contact. If you have more than one student at LIS, please fill out a separate wish list for each student.

You can also request a Christmas Food Basket from our canned food drive using the same form.

Online Form (fill out a separate form for each LIS student)

The Duneland School Counseling Department would like to support our students who have lost a parent or guardian. If your student has lost a parent, please fill out this survey to help us gauge what might be helpful in supporting our students (and their families) who are grieving the loss of a parent. If there is enough interest, we hope to offer free grief programming in partnership with the VNA Phoenix Center.

Mr. Weller is an Exceptional Learning Instructional Assistant. This is his second year working at LIS. He loves spending his days working with the students in his classes. We are so thankful that he is a part of our staff. Thank you for everything you do for us at LIS.

Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Book: Eragon

Favorite Board Game: Euchre

Favorite Hobbies: Coaching Soccer and playing basketball

An interesting fact about Mr. Weller is that he works in the same school as his mom, Mrs. Weller.

As we approach the winter season, please review the procedures for school closings and/or delays that may occur due to inclement weather. The decision to close school and engage in a virtual-synchronous eLearning day (see below) or alter the school day is made after collaborating with multiple district personnel, local, state departments and agencies, including: law enforcement, national weather service, highway/street departments, and transportation. In addition, other Porter County school districts are consulted due to partnerships that impact special education and career-technical education students.

Decisions about school delays due to inclement weather will be made as early as possible. In some instances, a school cancellation may follow a two-hour delay. In the event of a two-hour delay followed by a cancellation, we will do our best to make the decision to cancel school before 9:00 a.m. Delay or cancellation information will be delivered through the Skylert notification system. These notifications are based on the contact information provided in the General category within your Skylert notification system. Please review and update (if necessary) your contact information to receive these notifications. School closing/delay information will also be posted on the DSC website (www.duneland.k12.in.us) and sent to the following media outlets:

• Radio: WAKE 1500 AM; Indiana 105.5 FM; WEFM 95.9 FM; WDSO 88.3 FM; WGN Radio 720; WBBM Newsradio 780

• Local TV Channels: 2, 5, 7, 9, 32

• Websites: www.cancellations.com; www.emergencyclosingcenter.com

The following options will be considered during weather emergencies:

Option 1: Start of the school day will be delayed 2-hours. Delayed start times are:

• Elementary - 10:00 a.m.

• Intermediate - 10:15 a.m.

• Middle School - 9:50 a.m.

• High School - 9:40 a.m.

Option 2: Students will not report to school; students will participate in an unplanned inclement weather eLearning day (virtual-synchronous-see Guidelines for Students)

• Students will take part in Google Meet sessions with their teachers to receive face to face instruction. Teachers will post schedules by 9:00 A.M. Please click on the link above for more information.

Option 3: Schools will dismiss early

Mrs. Disney and Mrs. Warren would like to thank all of our students who participated in our Book Fair spirit days and supported our Book Fair.

November 14 - Mr. Young's Class Field Trip to Challenger Learning Center

November 16 - Kona Ice *Changed to Thursday due to weather.

November 21, 22 - Porter County Recycling Presentation for 5th Grade - Garbology

November 22-24 - Thanksgiving Break

December 8 - Kona Ice

December 19 - Band and Orchestra Holiday Concert

December 22 - End of the 2nd Grading Period

Duneland Athletes in grades 3-5 and grades 6-8 will learn the hitting philosophy used by the Chesterton High School Baseball team at this camp on Friday, November 24, 2023. Click the image below to register.

7:45 - Doors Open for Breakfast

8:10 - Students Dismissed to Class

8:15 - Classes Begin

3:05 - Students are Dismissed

This year, your child will be using Canvas to access materials for their classes and submit assignments. We are asking ALL parents to please sign up as a Parent Observer in Canvas. Parent Observers can link their Canvas account to their student's account so they can see assignment dues dates, announcements, their student's grades, and other limited course content. There is an app that you can download on your phone to get quick access to Canvas.

This corporation link can help you get started.

Canvas Observer Information

You can access the most current issue of the DuneNews by clicking here.

LIBERTY INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

School Website: https://www.duneland.k12.in.us/Domain/13

Address: 50 W. 900 N. Chesterton, IN 46304

Phone: 219-983-3690

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