March 2015

LLiibbeerrttyy MMiiddddllee SScchhooooll At Liberty, WE are the change we have been waiting for! 7465 Wallace Tatum Road

770.781.4889

March 24, 2015

Dear Parents:

It is so very hard to believe that spring is here. Winter gave us

a bit of a lashing this year, but I hope you found itsLearning as

a viable way for your students to learn during our days away

from school. I would love to hear from your experiences as we

are working hard as a school and as a district to make the

necessary improvements to make our students’ online learning

experiences even better.

In the way of other important news, I’m sure that most of you

are now aware that I will be leaving Liberty at the end of this

school year. I have loved leading this wonderful school for the

past seven years. I have been truly blessed to work with a

fantastic faculty and staff, super students, and awesome

parents. My experiences as Liberty’s principal have prepared

me for leading at the next level. On June 1, I will assume the

responsibilities of Director of Instruction for Forsyth County

Schools, so while I am leaving this building, I will absolutely be

continuing to work with and for our students.

Mrs. Cheryl Riddle, currently the Assistant Principal at Little Mill

Middle, will become the principal of Liberty effective June 1. I

have known Mrs. Riddle for many years, and I know that you

will appreciate all that she brings to our school. Mrs. Sweat

and Mr. McNeese will be continuing in their roles as assistant

principals and will provide continuity to our already

established learning programs while supporting Mrs. Riddle in

improving our current endeavors.

Spring Break (April 6-10) is right around the corner and upon

our return, we will be entering into testing season. This year

your students will be taking the Georgia Milestones instead of

the Georgia CRCT. Testing will occur from April 21 through

May 1. While every student will not be testing every day, this is

our district’s designated testing window for regular and make-

UUppccoommiinngg EEvveennttss

4/2 Light It Up Day! Wear blue

for Autism Awareness Day!

4/3 7:45 Art Club

4/6 – Spring Break

4/10

4/22 FCA Huddle in gym – 7:45

4/21- MILESTONES TESTING

4/23

4/28- MILESTONES TESTING

4/29

Follow LMS on Facebook and

Twitter!

up testing. Please do your best to have students to school on

time each day as students may not enter testing rooms after

testing has begun. All effort should also be made to have

students in school on testing days. Research shows that

students perform best when testing during the regularly

scheduled testing times with their peers versus make-up

testing.

Lastly, please check our school website on a regular basis

regarding announcements about various end-of-the-year

activities. We will do our best to keep the calendar up-to-

date as we know that middle schoolers are not always the

best at sharing school information with their parents. If you

have any questions regarding activities as we move toward

the year’s end, always feel free to email your child’s BT

teacher.

Wishing you all a happy and restful spring break!

Connie Stovall

Liberty Middle School Fellowship of Christian Athletes

2014-2015

Huddles meet in the Gym of Liberty Middle School from 7:45 - 8:45 a.m. on Friday Mornings!

(ALL STUDENTS WELCOME! - 6th

, 7th

& 8th

GRADERS)

April 15th

: (WEDNESDAY MORNING)

May 8th

: Final Huddle

GEORGIA MILESTONES INFORMATION

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System (Georgia Milestones) is a comprehensive assessment

system spanning grades 3 through high school. Students in grades 3 through 8 will take End-of-

Grade (EOG) assessments in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

Georgia Milestones is designed to measure and provide information about how well students are

mastering the state adopted content standards in the four core content areas. Importantly,

Georgia Milestones is designed to provide students with critical information about their own

achievement and readiness for their next level of learning.

Georgia Milestones includes the following features:

Multiple-choice items in all content areas and courses

Open-ended (constructed-response) items in English Language Arts and Mathematics (all

grades and courses)

A writing component (in response to passages read by students) at every grade level and

course within the English Language Arts assessments

Nationally norm-referenced items in all content areas and courses to complement the

Georgia criterion-referenced information and to provide a national comparison

Georgia Milestones will be transitioned to online testing over time

We ask that you make every effort to ensure that your student gets a good night’s rest and arrives at school on time each

day for testing. The EOG tests will be administered over a two week period. The exact dates are as follows:

Tuesday, April 21: English/Language Arts Section 1&2, Grades 3-8

Wednesday, April 22: English/Language Arts Section 3, Grades 3-8

Thursday, April 23: Mathematics, Grades 3-6 and 8

Friday, April 24: Mathematics, Grade 7

Tuesday, April 28: Science, Grades 3-8

Wednesday, April 29: Social Studies, Grades 3-8

If you would like more information about the EOG, you may visit the Georgia Department of Education website at

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Assessment/Pages/CRCT.aspx.

Forsyth County School System provides many measures of test security, which include providing

extensive training for school-level testing coordinators, limiting access to test materials and system-

level administrative oversight on test days.

For questions or concerns regarding test administration or test security, please contact your child’s

school administration at 770-781-4889, ext. 290104 or Forsyth County Schools’ Assessment Division at

770-887-2461.

Grad Coach’s Corner

As testing time approaches we often wonder what motivates students to perform well in testing,

assignments, and classroom performance. Our hope is that students will want to do their best in

every situation. Our hope is that students will rise above receiving a great score, or a passing

grade, and learn that learning something to the best of one’s ability is a life skill that will carry on

well beyond the classroom walls. The article below comes from Scott Shickler and Jeff Waller, co-

authors of the 7 Mindsets. Many of you have already heard of the great learning happening at

Liberty due to our involvement with the 7 Mindsets Training during our Basic Training Time. Click on

the link at the bottom for further information on instilling intrinsic motivation in students. Happy

Spring Break!

How to Instill

Intrinsic Motivation in Students

For many years, my son Daniel disliked math. The issue wasn't that he was unable to do it; he simply found the subject

boring. He struggled with his homework problems, and we both became increasingly frustrated.

He certainly wasn't developing a love for math, and every technique we tried felt counter-productive. And the kicker was

that it was taking a toll on our relationship.

Then, one day, an idea popped into my head which I believe was one of my best parenting moments ever. I recalled a

scene from one of my favorite movies, Contact, in which extraterrestrial life forms sent a message to Earth. The only way

for humanity to interpret the message was through math.

Since numbers are absolute, the same principles apply throughout the universe making it a truly universal language.

Knowing Daniel was fascinated with space and UFOs, I explained to him why math was so important. I could almost see

the mental shift occurring as I explained that, if he ever met an alien, math might be the only way for them to

communicate.

It was perfect. The lights switched on, and he was highly motivated ... albeit for a week or two. But in that moment, I

experienced what it felt like to have an intrinsically motivated child, and it was wonderful.

Continue reading to learn how to

instill intrinsic motivation

You might also like these recent posts:

37 Affirmations for Teens

Smart Goal Setting for Teens

2015-16 Parent/Student Meetings/Registration Dates

North Forsyth High School/West Forsyth High School

Day Date Time Activity Location

Tues 1/13 6:30 pm Advanced Placement Info Night WFHS

Thurs 1/22 1:00pm Course Recommendation Meeting

with LMS teachers

LMS

Mon 1/26 10:30am NFHS students visit to talk with 8th

grades who will attend NFHS

LMS

Mon 1/26 10:30am WFHS counselors meet with 8th

graders who will attend WFHS

LMS

Tue 1/27 6:30pm Transition Night A-K WFHS

Wed 1/28 6:30pm Transition Night L-Z WFHS

Fri 1/30 4pm Out of District Forms Due

Sat 1/31 9am-

11am

Freshmen Festival WFHS

Wed 2/18 6:30-

8pm

Rising 9th Gr. Parent Night

LMS students (last names M-Z)

NFHS Auditorium

Wed 2/18

MS and HS (IF)

send home registration and Portal

Information/Directions

ALL

Wed 2/18

MS & HS PORTAL OPENS IC

Thurs 2/19 6:30-

8pm

Rising 9th Gr. Parent Night

LMS students (last names A-L)

NFHS Auditorium

Mon 2/23 4-6pm Computer Lab open for parents to

access Parent Portal/Elective

Registration

NFHS Media Center

Computer Lab

Fri 3/6 4pm Portal Closes

for HS and MS

ALL

Fri 3/6 4pm Driver’s Education Fee Due NFHS

Wed 3/25

Course Verification Distribution

for HS (in IF) and MS

Mon 4/13 4pm Waivers Due ALL

CONGRATULATIONS, LMS CHORUSES!

On March 25 and 26th all three grade level choruses participated in the District 9 Large Group

Performance Evaluation. They traveled to Cumming First United Methodist Church where they

performed two songs for three judges. They then participated in the sight-reading event in which

they had to sing a short 8 measure song after practicing it for only five minutes. All three choruses

performed flawlessly receiving superior (the highest possible) ratings from all three performance

judges. The choruses also received superior ratings in sight-reading as well! Congratulations to all

the Liberty choruses!

CONGRATULATIONS, SCIENCE OLYMPIAD TEAM!

The LMS Science Olympiad team placed 4th overall at region competition. Here are the

award winners:

Event Team A

Placed Competitors Team B

Placed Competitors

Air Trajectory 5th Eli Tipton 1st Maurice

Wodtke

Anatomy and

Physiology 6th Morgan Schindler,

Savannah Granito 5th Kevan Khan

Bio-Process Lab 5th Logan Reed, Savannah Granito

Bottle Rocket 6th Nick Gavin

Can’t Judge a

Powder 3rd Avery Green,

Eli Tipton

Crave the Wave 6th Caitlyn Bumpus, Brooke Kunzman

5th Nathan Bly,

Crime Busters Avery Green, Morgan

Schindler 2nd Stephen Walker,

Robert Schindler

Disease Detectives 5th Morgan Schindler, Logan Reed

Dynamic Planet 4th Nick Gavin, Zack Moore

8th Nathan Bly

Elastic Launched

Glider 9th Nick Gavin 8th Brenden Knight,

Javier Morales

Experimental Design 4th Savannah Granito,

Curtis Newcomb, Zack Moore

10th Javier Morales, Rudra Dixit

Entomology 9th Caitlyn Bumpus, Logan Reed

Brenden Knight

Fossils 8th Hunter Chernak 7th Javier Morales

Green Generation 5th Brooke Kunzman, Nick Gavin

8th Maurice

Wodtke

Meteorology 4th Rudra Dixit

Picture This 3rd Celeste Montero,

Hunter Chernak 6th Brianna

Bumpus, Javier Morales,

Kevan Khan

Road Scholar 9th Ella Madson, Celeste

Montero 4th Brianna

Bumpus,

Robo-Cross 5th Caitlyn Bumpus, Eli Tipton

Simple Machines 5th Avery Green

Solar System 9th Ella Madson, Celeste Montero

7th Nathan Bly

Wheeled Vehicle 3rd Hunter Chernak, Zack Moore

Write It Do IT 9th Savannah Granito, Brooke Kunzman

Click here for more information: http://shar.es/1fDrUg

Register your student for camp at http://collegiateprep.com/liberty-middle-school-camp/

Help our school earn technology and media dollars – buy a raffle ticket from LMS! The Morrow Foundation is sponsoring their third “BYOT Raffle” to support school media centers. They have arranged a raffle where ALL prizes have been donated, so that 100% of the ticket sales come back to the LMS! Last year these dollars bought book sets for classes, media center books, tablets for student use, and new modern furniture for a section of our media center! Speaking of prizes, these are GOOD ones – there’s $1000 in cash (last year’s $1000 prize winner was an LMS ticket!), 3 iPad Minis, and a Lenovo Android Tablet! The 5 winners will be drawn on APRIL 9th, so we collect all of our ticket sales and turn them on by April 1st. Take the order form below to work, to church, anywhere you think you might be able to make a few sales, and know that every dollar will go to support LMS! We’re making it worth our kid’s while, too – once we’ve hit 500 tickets sold, we’ll be offering a party in May to the homeroom who sells the most tickets! The top student seller will receive a $50 gift card and the second place student winner will receive a $25 gift card! Did we also mention that it’s TAX DEDUCTIBLE? Let the raffle coordinator, Kim Simshauser, know if you’d like a receipt for tax purposes. We’ve only got until April 1st, and we’ve set our goal at 500 tickets! We can get there – with your help! THANKS for buying, for selling, and for supporting the media and technology programs at LMS! For more order forms, questions, etc., contact Kim Simshauser (ksimshauser@forsyth.k12.ga.us) or call 770-781-4889 extension 290151.