3rd-6th Grade Boys Basketball

TO: Parents of boys in grades 3-6 interested in playing basketball
FROM: Ben Gerken – Head Boys Basketball Coach at Liberty-Benton HS

We are organizing Liberty-Benton 3rd, 4th. 5th, & 6th grade basketball teams for the Fall 2015 YMCA league.

Here are some general details:

  • Registration Deadline is October 4.
  • Games start on Saturday, October 24 and run until Saturday, December 12.
  • Cost: $60 for non-YMCA member | $30 for youth YMCA members $5 for YMCA members
  • We plan to hold practices at Liberty-Benton High School or Liberty-Benton Middle School
  • Most likely, we will have one weeknight practice and one Sunday afternoon practice (after 1:00pm) per week. Practice times and dates are still TBA.
  • We will practice all the boys in the different age ranges at the same time (3rd & 4th Together | 5th Grade | 6th Grade), utilizing fundamental drills that are stressed throughout the Liberty-Benton Basketball Program.
  • Teams will be split based on numbers of players.
  • Parental involvement is KEY to a successful youth program! Please consider volunteering to coach your son’s team.

If you are interested in having your son play for the L-B teams, here is what I need you to do:

Click Here to Register

Once registered, you will receive an email giving you instruction on how to complete the registration through the YMCA.

Thanks for getting your son opportunities to get better at the game of basketball!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Ben Gerken – [email protected]

Superintendent Update 9/15

jkanable.jpg.JPGWelcome to the 2015-16 school year. This time of year brings great excitement with the energy our children and staff bring to our schools. The summer has allowed us to re-energize, train, and repair as we welcome back our students. We had 169 employees greet our 1,375 students on the first day of school.

As I begin my sixth year as Liberty-Benton Local School’s superintendent, I continue to be pleased with the overall direction of the school district. I feel fortunate to be part of a team that continues to oversee the operations of the school district. As we enter the 2015-2016 school year the district’s financial condition is in excellent shape and we continue to add curriculum offerings in a prudent fashion, giving our students a wide variety of pathways towards success.

The senior class of 2015 ACT results have been received and they produced the highest average composite score in our history. In addition to this, new record highs were set in all subject areas.  The chart below is a summary of past results dating back to 1991-92. It was the 2001-02 school year that L-B’s scores started to outpace the State of Ohio’s average (orange on the chart).

L-B ACT Results 1991-2015.jpg

Liberty-Benton has expanded the number of College Credit Plus (formerly Dual Enrollment) courses offered, making ours one of the most comprehensive post-secondary programs in the area. We have also added vocal music programs and expanded options through Millstream.

This past summer we were able to negotiate employment contracts with unions that represent our non-teaching staffs. All this was accomplished within a few hours of negotiations and enables the district to continue living within our means. My job as superintendent is to make sure we stay on this path of improvement, which I am committed to do, and to live within our budget.

The last time the district passed new money for the school district was in 2009. This levy, along with concessions from the unions, allowed us to weather a difficult financial time.  Since then, we have operated every year with a balanced budget and did not spend more than we received. Today, we have a balance of just over $6 million. The Board is considering using some of that money to address inadequate space for learning and safety conditions on the Elementary/Middle School building.

I would like to wish all of our students and staff the best as we start back to school. Let’s work together to make every day a great day to be a Liberty-Benton Eagle!

Jim Kanable, Superintendent Liberty-Benton Local Schools

LBHS Principal Update 9/15

bfrankart.jpg.JPGWelcome Back, Everyone!  We are excited for another fantastic school year!  I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the summer, have some fun, relax and enjoy time with family and friends.  Now, let’s get this school year started with some Eagle spirit.  Go, Eagles!

While it seems like our enrollment has been changing daily this time of year with students and families moving in and out, as I write this newsletter article our high school enrollment is currently 422 students.  We have 105 freshmen, 92 sophomores, 113 juniors, and 112 seniors.  These are good numbers for our high school classes.

Good luck to our Fall sports teams and marching band as they have been hard at work preparing for their seasons.  This is an exciting time of the year!

Welcome to our new staff at the high school:  Kari Hogue – Spanish I, IV, and V; Ashlee Amspaugh – Spanish II and III; and Mark Verroco – Intervention Specialist with all of grade 9 and part of grade 11.  We are excited to welcome you to Liberty-Benton High School!

School pictures will be taken at the high school on September 27th.  Pick out a nice colorful shirt and bring your best smile.

The Academic Boosters will be treating high school students to doughnuts or fruit on our first full week Friday morning, August 28th.  Thank you Academic Boosters!

We are already planning away for the kick-off of our annual STRIDES leadership and service program.  We will kick-off STRIDES on our September 17th Leadership Day.  Stay tuned for more information and photos in the next edition.

District-wide, we have converted things over from Progress Books to an online program called Schoology.  Letters were mailed with the Schoology access information.  If you need any help or have questions, please feel free to give us a call at (419) 424-5351.

Brenda Frankart, Liberty-Benton High School Principal

Academic Boosters First Meeting 9/24/15

The purpose of the Academic Boosters (AB) is to promote and recognize the outstanding academic achievement of all our students, specifically at the high school level. Our most notable recognitions:

  • Honor Roll Ice Cream Parties – at the end of each grading period, we support an ice cream party for all students on the honor and/or merit roll. We scoop between 10-12 gallons of ice cream each quarter!
  • 3.5 Honors Banquet – This is held in the spring each year and honors all students that have maintained a 3.5 grade point average or better throughout the school year. These students are invited to dinner along with 2 guests. The dinner for each student is covered by the AB.
  • Student and Staff of the Month – 36 students and 9 staff members are honored throughout the year.
  • Senior Posters – each senior is provided a congratulatory poster for their graduation party.
  • Senior Scholarships – in the past few years we have been able to award over $3000/year to seniors pursuing higher education.

The AB is able to provide these recognitions by hosting several fundraisers throughout the year. Our most notable fundraisers are:

  • Academic-Booster-Button.jpgVolleyball Concessions
  • Bingo Night
  • Talent Show

Please watch for further updates on these activities as the time nears for each.

The AB will meet five times throughout the year. These meetings will be held in September, November, January, March and May. Our first meeting of the year will be Thursday September 24 at 6:30 pm in the HS library. Anyone having an interest in promoting the academic excellence of our students is invited to attend.

The officers for the 2015-2016 school year are:

Kim Weadock – President
Kristi Lease – Vice President
Lisa Loughman – Treasurer
Cindy Frankart – Secretary

If you have any questions about AB, please contact Kim at [email protected].  We look forward to seeing you on September 24!

Online Payment Option For Fees and Lunches

Liberty-Benton School District is pleased to offer you the option of paying your child’s student fees of all types online as well as put money on your child’s meal account over the internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week using PayForIt.net.

By logging onto www.payforit.net, you can easily:

  • Set up an account
  • Deposit money at your convenience into your child’s Cafeteria account
  • Set email reminders to notify you when you child’s account gets low
  • Set up recurring payments for your child’s Cafeteria account
  • Check your child’s Cafeteria account balance
  • View an activity report so you can see what your child has eaten in the previous 30 days
  • View and pay your child’s student Fees online
  • Schedule Fee payments for future payment

To set up an account, all you will need is:

  •  A valid email address
  • A credit card or ACH Check Information
  • Your child’s student identification number

Each child in your family can be set up on the same account.  If you decide to put money on your child’s cafeteria account or pay a student Fee, there is a convenience fee of 3.9% per transaction for Visa/MasterCard or $1.75 for Electronic Check. Once the money is put on the account, it typically appears in your child’s lunch account in 2 hours and student fees are paid right away.

– Lisa Dobbins, Liberty-Benton Schools Treasurer

PTO – Get Involved Today!

If you have ever wanted to get involved with your child’s school, now is the time.  Getting involved with the PTO is a great way to give back to the teachers and school.  There are many ways to help out the PTO.   We are always looking for parents to volunteer.  Throughout the year, there are many activities the PTO offers and we could not do it all without the help the chairpersons.  We are currently looking for two chair positions to be filled this year – Concessions and Spirit Wear.  If you are interested in volunteering for either chair position, or helping the PTO in any way, please contact one of the PTO officers.  The PTO appreciates all the parents who volunteer their time.

The Elementary School will be having its fundraiser earlier this year than in years’ past.  Look for the pamphlets to come home shortly after school resumes.  The Elementary School fundraiser will kick off August 26th and run thru September 9th.  The Middle School fundraiser will kick off September 11th and run thru September 22nd.

The PTO would like to remind parents of some ways you can help support the PTO on a regular basis:

Box Tops: Our goal this year is $7,000.  Tell your friends and family to help collect box tops too!  You may send the box tops to school any time throughout the school year.

Shop PTO: Purchase gift cards at the Elementary School Office.  Consider purchasing gift cards for groceries, gas, shopping, and gifts.  It is a one-stop shop and it gives money directly back to the LB!

Eatery Nights: LB PTO sponsors nights to eat out at local restaurants.  A portion of the each sale goes back to the PTO.

Kroger Community Rewards: Enroll in Kroger Community Rewards, scan your Kroger Reward Card upon checkout, and the PTO earns money!  Please remember that the community rewards need to be re-enrolled every year.

Great Scot Receipts: Save your Great Scot grocery receipts and turn them into the elementary office.  Each time we collect $2,000 in total receipts, Great Scot donates a portion back to our school!

The PTO is super excited for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year!

PTO Officers
President – Tami Karhoff
Vice President – Cherie Hocanson
Treasurer – Jennie Hammond
Secretary – Holly Checki

FFA Officers – Ready for the New Year

The Liberty Benton FFA is excited and eager as the new school year approaches. Goals are set, determination is present, and memories will be made.

The 2014-2015 School year went out with a bang for the FFA as the Petting Zoo ended in a success. However, the end of the school year didn’t stop the FFA from getting down to business.

The FFA took the time to visit working farmers to thank them along with giving them a sweet treat and drink., they had a float in the Cory-Rawson parade, they helped at the Hancock County Steam engine shows, and the Alumni Meetings started. This school year is going to be great!

The Liberty Benton FFA would like to thank the FFA Alumni along with the community for all of their support and all of their future support as well!

– Jade Sterling, FFA Reporter

2015-16 Accelerated Reading Program

This school year 2015-2016 Accelerated Reader Program at Liberty-Benton Elementary is Reading is Out of this World. The Accelerated Reader program is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get right. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year.

At the beginning of the school year, your child will take a Star Reading test that determines his/her appropriate reading level. Based on his/her performance on this diagnostic tool, he/she is assigned a zone of proximal development, or ZPD. The number roughly correlates to the expected performance in a specific grade at a certain month of school. For instance, a level of 3.4 indicates third grade, fourth month.

Parents can assist their child with his/her daily reading assignment. Students should be reading 15 to 20 minutes each night. Help your child make good book choices appropriate to their reading level as well as encourage their reading effort and ask them about the stories they are reading. Continue to help your child make their goal each nine weeks. As parents it is also important to keep in contact with their teachers on their reading progress throughout the year.

Accelerated Reader Prizes Kindergarten
5 points – AR Space Pencil
10 points – Lunch with Mr. Burkett, Mr. Horstman or Mrs. Smith
15 points – Ice Cream Gift Certificate
20 points – AR T-shirt
25 points – Recognition Dinner Served to Student and Two Guests

Accelerated Reader Prizes 1st and 2nd Grade
10 points – AR Space Pencil
20 points – Lunch with Mr. Burkett, Mr. Horstman or Mrs. Smith
30 points – Ice Cream Gift Certificate
50 points – AR Water Bottle
60 points- AR T-shirt
70 points – Recognition Dinner Served to Student and Two Guests

Accelerated Reader Prizes 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade
20 points – AR Space Pencil
40 points – Ice Cream Gift Certificates
60 points – AR Water Bottle
80 points – Quarterly Luncheon
100 points – Book Fair Gift Certificate
125 points – AR T-shirt
150 points – Recognition Dinner Served to Student and Two Guests

rsmith.png Ronda Smith, Liberty-Benton Elementary Literacy Coach