A Message from the Principal - Mrs. Henderson
We have had a great start to the 2020-21 school year! It is wonderful to have many of our students back in the building and some learning virtually. As I roam the halls and classrooms (whether in-person or online), the energy and excitement for getting back to a routine has been apparent. Students are safely learning and socializing with peers in such a positive way. Although we may not be able to see their smiles under the masks, they are evident when we look into our students' eyes.
Next week, all of our in-person learners will be with us each day. The Hybrid plan has allowed us to ease into the school year and ensure we have many safety measures in place. You will see a list of many of our safety protocols below. Students have done a great job of adhering to guidelines and helping to keep themselves and their peers safe. We are committed to providing the safest possible environment for our students when we are all together next week and beyond.
Each day our teachers are working to provide meaningful, engaging and positive learning experiences for all of our students! As we kick off this school-year, I want to share a little bit about our building goals for academic success. Our goal in literacy this year is to increase proficiency on our Literacy FAST Assessment (early reading skills & fluency) by 10% from the fall to spring testing windows. We are confident that we can meet and exceed this goal. Due to the early closure, we do not have this data for last year. Prior to last year, Liberty students and staff met or exceeded this goal three years in a row! In addition, we added a math goal last year, striving to increase proficiency on our Math FAST Assessments (early math skills, problem solving & computation) by 7% from Fall 2020 to Spring 2021. As parents, you can help us by ensuring your students are reading at least 20 minutes per night and practicing number sense and basic math facts. If you would like more specific work for your students to practice these skills, please reach out to your child's teacher.
We are looking forward to a fantastic year regardless of how things change with the virus. Our job is to provide a rigorous, engaging and meaningful educational experience for you children. Working together, we continue to grow to make Liberty the best place to work and learn.
Be Well,
Mrs. Stacie Henderson, Principal
Join our PTO!
Our PTO works to support our students and staff in many ways. At each monthly meeting, we discuss ways to provide support to our students and staff. We also plan events that engage families in their students' learning. We will not be hosting events for awhile, but will want to discuss ways in which we can innovatively foster a positive home-school connection. We would love your input, voice and ideas. Please consider joining us for our meetings this year.
PTO Meeting Dates:
September 15 - 6:00 p.m.
October 13 - 6:00 p.m.
November 17 - 6:00 p.m.
December 16 - 6:00 p.m.
January 12 - 6:00 p.m.
February 16 - 6:00 p.m.
March 15 - 6:00 p.m.
April 13 - 6:00 p.m.
May 11 - 6:00 p.m.
Morning Drop-Off
Safe and Secure Environment - Mitigation Measures and Building Access
We have put many measures in place for the safety of our students and staff. The following is a list of mitigation measures we will be utilizing this school year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures will impact the daily operations of the building and how families access the school building. Additional measures may be added based upon virus activity. The situation remains fluid and the mitigation measures may change as warranted. Please read them carefully and reach out to building administration if you have any questions.
- Building signage
- Updated Drop-off procedures for students
- Specific directional flow throughout the building
- Social distancing & physical spacing as able
- Alphabetical line order (to aide in contact tracing)
- Classroom seating chart in each classroom
- Use of desks in 1st-5th grade (no flexible seating at this time)
- Use of tables with designated spaces in TK-K (no flexible seating at this time)
- Recess with “station locations and activities” assigned to each classroom with no mixing of classrooms; ex: walking breaks; stretching; aerobic activity; circuits, games, etc.
- Use of only recess and playground equipment assigned specifically to each classroom
- 1:1 technology for each student (TK-1 will each have an iPad and 2-5 will each have a laptop with a barcode label specific to each student)
- Lunch with assigned seats in alphabetical order by classroom, every other seat for physical spacing, spacing in line, directional traffic flow
- Staggered dismissal times at the end of the day by grade level & different dismissal doors
- Sanitizing between art, music, PE, library
- All drinking fountains will be turned off. Water bottles will be provided.
- Handwashing by all staff & students frequently
- Face masks and/or shields will be worn at all times in all classes, transitions, at recess and taken to lunch
- Lanyards will be available for every student and staff member to hold the face mask when taking it off to eat or drink
- Individual classroom materials will be used
- Hand sanitizer will be readily available in each classroom
- The Caring Room will occupy room 118 and the back entrance to this room will only be used by students accessing the caring room
- No visitors or family members will be allowed in the school past the office
- No events may occur at the school
- Family members needing to drop off items for students will be required to place the item in the vestibule on a table with the student’s name
- Visitors to the building will be restricted to the office area
Safe and Secure Environment - Raptor Visitor Management System
Liberty Elementary is pleased to announce that we will begin using a computerized visitor management and sign-out system for this school year. We believe the implementation of this new technology will benefit you, your child, and this school by better allowing us to track visitors, contractors, and volunteers in our schools, therefore providing a safer environment for everyone. We will also be using this system for families who choose to sign their student out early for an appointment. To ensure every visitor checks in using the new computerized system, you must enter the building through the main entrance.
The visitor management system is a computerized security program that offers many features to protect your child from outside threats. Let's review the basic functions of the system. First, any visitor entering Liberty Elementary will be required to provide a state-issued photo ID. If you do not have a state-issued photo ID, you may contact the school in advance of your visit to inquire about other acceptable forms of identification
Once the ID is presented, a school representative will scan this ID using the latest in ID scanning technology. The system instantly captures the name, photo, and birth date of the visitor. When this successfully occurs, the software compares the identity of the visitor with the national sex offender registry. If a positive match occurs, school personnel will be immediately and discreetly alerted. Individuals with a sex offense on record will not be permitted to enter the building. In addition, scanning will take place for those picking up students early, alerting our staff to any custody issues.
It is important to note that the computerized visitor management system only scans the visitor's name, date of birth, and photo for comparison with a national database of registered sex offenders. Additional visitor data from the driver's license is not gathered, nor is the system connected to any other system such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. Therefore, any other information on the ID is not scanned by the system and is not accessible to any of the users.
Once an entry is approved, the visitor will be issued a badge that identifies him/her as a visitor. The badge includes the date and the purpose of the visit. All staff members are trained to recognize visitor badges. Collectively, everyone in the building will be working together to ensure all visitors have a badge on and have gone through the appropriate check-in process at the main entrance.
As you leave our facility, please pass through the main office to return your badge so we can scan you out of the system.
The safety of our students is our highest priority, and the computerized visitor management system enhances the safety practices at Liberty Elementary. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions, please call our office at 712-279-6845
Let's Talk
An engaged community makes our District stronger. That is why we have made it easy for you to connect with us whenever it is convenient for you. We encourage you to take advantage of Let’s Talk!, our 24/7 online submission site. Reach out with your ideas, questions, concerns, and praise. To make a submission, please visit http://www.siouxcityschools.org/lets-talk/.
Communication and Preparedness
Student and staff safety is of paramount importance in the Sioux City Community School District. For this reason, the District exercises a host of crisis prevention and planning tactics. Should an emergency occur, the school notifies you through our Blackboard phone system. In an emergency, the system calls every phone number associated with your child in order to reach you. The message will give you details about the emergency and provide directions on when/where to pick up your child if the normal school day is altered. Learn more about school safety.
Focus 2022 Strategic Plan
Liberty Elementary School
Principal: Stacie Henderson
Assistant Principal: Dave Schipper
Email: henders1@live.siouxcityschools.com
Website: https://www.siouxcityschools.org/liberty/
Location: 1623 Rebecca Street, Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 712-279-6845
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LibertyElementarySchoolSiouxCity/
Twitter: @LibJrWolverines
