Hello Students and Families,

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, we hope you are excited to spend a few extra days with your family. In case you were looking for family friendly ideas to keep you busy, here are a few that might help bring everyone together.

-Play Board or Card Games - Scrabble, Battleship, Monopoly, UNO... The list goes on and on. What is your favorite game to play when your family is together? Mine is Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza.

-Fill a Gratitude Jar - Have everyone write something they are grateful for on a piece of paper. Fold your paper and put it in a jar. Once everyone has done that, you can either save them for a rainy day or go around the table reading papers guessing who said what.

-Take a Walk - Who doesn't love a chance to get outside and get some fresh air? With no rain in the forecast, your family might have a few different opportunities to get outside and go for a walk. You might need to bundle up though.

-Bake Holiday Cookies - Sometimes spending more time in the kitchen after a big holiday might not sound like fun, unless it is because you are baking cookies. What is your favorite? Gingerbread, sugar cookies, chocolate chip? They all sound good to me!

-Make a Family Tree - If your family is getting together, spend time sharing stories about your past and family history. Taking a trip back in time is always fun for the younger ones to hear about.

-Have a Movie Marathon - Sometimes, having some down time at home is what you just might need. Catch up with some rest and relaxation and watch your favorite movies.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Hardwicke

Principal

Mrs. Nelson's classes are learning about the phases of the moon. Today they tried an experiment with a flashlight and a styrofoam ball to see the way the light reflection on the moon changes.

The LIS staff and students would like to assist you in making your child's holiday season a happy one. If you need assistance with holiday gifts for your LIS student, please complete the form below before December 2nd to assist our elves in their holiday shopping. Gifts and food baskets will be available starting Wednesday, December 18th at LIS during school hours. The LIS Christmas for Teens program is for LIS students only. You do not need to select all items, so please select only what is needed and we will do our best to get the items on the list. We would like to thank our PTO for helping us sponsor this generous event.

PTO has opened up a spiritwear shop online. Orders can be placed throughout the year.

Buddy Bag Form Link: https://forms.gle/ScwTgvpuFmg7es16A

Liberty Intermediate and Liberty Elementary schools have partnered up with NWI No Child Hungry to provide Buddy Bags for students in need.

The Buddy Bag program is designed to help fight childhood hunger. Buddy Bags are kid-friendly sacks of food that are sent home with students on Fridays to ensure they have enough to eat on the weekend. In each bag, students get a shelf-stable breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit cup, applesauce, sweet snack, and salty snack. Each student who participates in the Buddy Bag program receives meals for both Saturday & Sunday.

The program is free of charge and is run anonymously in partnership with NWI No Child Hungry and their generous sponsors. For more information about this program, or if you would like to make a donation, you can check out the NWI No Child Hungry website.

Currently this program is only for Liberty Intermediate and Liberty Elementary school students. If you have more than one student in these schools, the program will provide a bag for each student that is signed up.

For other questions about the program, contact the counselor at your child's school:

Liberty Elementary School: Mrs. Stainko

Liberty Intermediate School: Mrs. Smenyak

As part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of all our students, we want to inform you about an important update regarding students who are injured and wearing medical devices such as walking boots, crutches, casts, slings, or splints. Effective immediately, any student with a medical device will be required to provide a doctor’s note confirming that they are cleared to participate in both gym class and recess. If a doctor advises against participation for any specified duration, the student will need to provide a subsequent note from the doctor clearing the student to resume these activities once they are healed.

This update is designed to ensure that all students can safely engage in physical activities while also considering their health and recovery. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Health Clinic. Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Sixth grade students will have the opportunity to participate in both LIS intramural sports and Liberty Middle School athletics. If your child wants to participate in middle school sports, they must have a current physical on file, dated after 4/1/24. Sixth grade students can ONLY participate in Middle School Cross Country, Westling, and Track and Field. Below is a link to the Liberty Winter Sports page. This winter, students can participate in Middle School Wrestling. Mr. Nick Bamber is the athletic director for Liberty Campus. Please reach out to Mr. Bamber with any questions.

11/26 - Kona Ice During Lunch

11/27-11/29 No School - Happy Thanksgiving!

12/11 - PTO Meeting After School

12/16-12/18 Garbology Presentation - 5th Grade

12/18 - General Music Class Musicals

12/20 - End of Grading Period 2

12/20 - Reindeer Games

12/23-1/3 Winter Break

1/7 - School Resumes

1/7 - Toma the Mime Visit - 5th Grade

Cell Phones, Smart Watches, Earbuds, & Earphones Usage

5th and 6th grade students are not allowed to use their personal communication devices (cell phones and smart watches) during the instructional day. Items used for communication should be stored in lockers to be kept safe throughout the day. If students need to contact a parent/guardian during the day, they are welcome to do so from the office. Classrooms also have phone access. Similarly, students are not permitted to wear personal earbuds with bluetooth capabilities attached to their phones (e.g. Air Pods, etc.). Students will need to use their school-issued iPad earphones for Exact Path lessons and select ILEARN testing sessions. The only time audio ear pieces are permitted are for teacher-assigned classwork and medically-approved needs.

iPad Use

• iPads are the property of Duneland Schools. Students should keep the devices in operable condition.
• Students should refrain from downloading apps, pics, etc. that are not permitted under school and/or corporation policy.
  
• Students are required to bring their charged iPads to class. Intermediate curriculum is designed to utilize iPads for lessons and enrichment activities.

Information regarding student bus transportation for the 2024-2025 school year is available on DSC website under the Transportation Department.

TRACK STUDENT'S BUS WITH MYSTOP APP

The Duneland School Corporation Department of Transportation has now made My Stop available to our families.

My Stop is a web-based application which will allow parents to access live bus GPS information using a smartphone, tablet, or computer and securely view the current location of your child’s bus on routes. The system also provides the bus’s estimated time of arrival at your child’s bus stop.

Please read the attached letter to parents for more information on how to use My Stop to track your child's bus.

The DSC Child Nutrition Department utilizes NutriSlice as its menus program. This app is available for iPhone and Android through your mobile app store. Parents can also access the full website for Duneland Schools on a computer via this NutriSlice link.

This app will allow parents and students to view the menus as well as the nutritional info for each menu item at any of the Duneland Schools. This program will be developed further incorporating images of the actual food items being served at each of the Duneland schools.

To make an appointment please call 219-763-8112. Let NorthShore know you are a Duneland School student or staff member and that you would like to make an appointment at the Duneland School Clinic located at the old CMS.

Learn more about the Duneland Early Learning Classes at the the HUB. Click on the image below to enroll.

DuneNews

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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