From the Desk of Mr. Osborn, Superintendent

From the Desk of Mr. Osborn, Superintendent

I would like to congratulate the Class of 2016 on a tremendous school year and

wish all of you "Good Luck" in the next chapter of your life. You were an

amazing group of young men and young ladies.

Secondly, as I finish my second year as Superintendent of Liberty Union

Thurston Schools, I want to express my sincere thanks for welcoming me to

your community and how fortunate I am to be in such a great place. This is

"The Place To Be."

This past May, our Middle School had a talent show, and I have received several

phone calls and emails regarding our students and how amazing they are. They

were not talking about the talent; they were recognizing the integrity and

maturity of our students. During one of the performances a student forgot the

words to song she was singing and our students took the initiative to start

clapping to the beat of the song, sang out the words and got the student back on track with the song. Way to

show our Lion Pride Middle School Students.

Please take a moment to review our District website, www.libertyunion.org We posted a slide show that

highlights some of the remarkable accomplishments this year in Liberty Union Schools. Go Lions !

LIBERTY UNION - THURSTON LION REPORT May, 2016

LOCAL SCHOOLS

1108 S MAIN ST www.libertyunion.org

BALTIMORE, OH 43105 Ohio Department of Education: www.ode.state.oh.us/

To view the “Lion Report” online, refer to www.libertyunion.org.

SENIORS:

Emily Kristine Aneshansley

Roger Ladon Aubery

Dmitri Luke Bailey

Zachery Taylor Bankes

Mason Gray Barnett Sierra Elizabeth Baughman

Anna Michelle Beagle

Bryan Joseph Beavers

Kiersten Elysse Bell

Michael David Bergum

Michael Douglas Betts

Jack Lee Bitler

Lindsey Paige Blevins

Macie Mae Blevins

Jared Allan Bowers

Tyler David Brehm

Haley Marie Bright

Mikayla Autumn Brooks

Ashley Kay Brown

Dru Alan Chester

Caroline Jeanine Cooley

Tanner Kegan Cox

Jaycee Lynn Crouch

Kailey Elizabeth Dean

Kelsey Annette Decker

Tanner Austin Denny

Jacob Mitchell Desautels

Anna Remijia Dominguez

Madison Marie Donald

Madeline Devore Drake Kyle Raymond Featheringham

Desirea Dawn Gaffney

Wyatt Andrew Gardner

Karli Jean George

Brandon Carter Glasgow

Emmaleigh Ann Grady

Drake Matthew Graff

Emily Marie Hanson

Brandon Allen Harlan

Kelly Jo Henderly

Megan Claire Herald

Sadina Layn Hill

Alyssa Marie Hilliard

Alison Julia Hinton

Abby Michaela Hite

Grace Xiuqiao Hoover

Tyler Benjamin Ison

Kaylee Elisebeth Jeffrey

Keven Allen Keister

Taylor Kay Kingery

Kyle James Landis

Jamie Renee Madden

Alexis Renee Mangette

Claudia Marion Manter

Lucas Anthony Martin

Austin Lee McClelland

Nash Michael Miesse

Aaron Paul Miller

Sabrina Lynn Montanye

Braden Edward Moon

Naysa Sutton Mooney

Logan Chase Moore

Alberto William Ortega

Adrianne Frances Pepin

Allen James Pilkington Jeremy McClain Posey-Jones

Kaitlyn May Provens

Blaine Ashton Rager

Jacqueline Noel Ratliff

Jacob Dylan Raymond

Clayton Joseph Ridenour

Olivia Kaitlyn Robinson

Katie Lynn Roth

Daniel Dalton Rutherford

Chandler Wade Scalf Keith Michael Scheidegger

Brittany Marie Schmauch

Katelyn Jane Shook

Abbigail Victoria Smith

Kyler Michael Smith

Ginger Kaylea Solomon

Keith Warren Stebelton

Adam Scott Taylor

Gage Robert Thomas

Tyler David Thomas

Shaffer Evan Tiedtke

Jeremy Michael Trapp

Mary Margaret Turley

Kennedy Nicole Urban

Thomas Edgar Vanek Madison Leigh Wadsworth

Kenlea Evelyn Weaver

Kolt Michael Wiley

Sidney Nicholle Wilson

Trevor Austin Wilson

John Joseph Yenichek

Thomas William Zulch

CONGRATULATIONS

It has been a very productive spring for the Liberty Union FFA chapter. Our Greenhouse and

Nursery Operations class competed in the Cooperate Education Career Development contest

and placed 2nd in the State. Our Ag, Food and Natural Resource class competed in the

Greenhand Quiz Career Development Event and placed 3rd in the State. We are happy to

announce that these teams have made history because they have set a new school record for

these contests.

The Ohio FFA Convention was another successful event for the LU FFA. For the first time,

we have a State winner in the Agriscience Fair. Ethan Kaper placed 1st in the Plant Science

Category and will be competing at the National FFA Convention in October. Danielle Hannan competed in the

Ohio FFA Talent competition and placed 3rd. She also performed the National Anthem multiple times for the whole

convention. Logan Shell placed 4th in the state in his Forage production proficiency category. Finally, the LU FFA

had 6 students receive their State FFA Degree. These students are Emily Aneshansley, Kelsey Decker, Bailee

Poston, Brooke Price, Logan Shell and Jamie Walter.

Three students (Desirea Gaffney,

Meghan Herald and Kaitlyn Provens) from Liberty Union FCCLA

Organization placed at the State level with a bronze medal finish.

The students created a high fiber soup which gave them a gold level

placing at the regional competition and a trip to the State competition.

The club worked as a team with the other members of the club, but

only three members were permitted to compete. It was decided that

the senior members of the group would be the representatives to go to

regionals and then on to state. The girls enjoyed the workshops and

keynote speakers at the state convention. The members gained skills

in team work, speaking in front of a group of people, being creative when given a set of requirements, and

presentation.

Liberty Union High School inducted 31 juniors and 1 senior into the National Honor Society (NHS) on April 21,

2016. It was the largest class in many years and 10 more inductees than last year. “Twenty-Five percent of the

junior class has been inducted today. That’s amazing,” said NHS Advisor Megan Gonzalez. “These students

completed an extensive application process, which included staff recommendations and verified documentation of

accomplishments, to demonstrate they met the standards set forth by the National Honor Society.” Inductees

demonstrated sustained commitment to the four NHS ideals of Character, Leadership, Scholarship and Service,

while maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.5. The LUHS auditorium was filled with the entire student body, parents,

grandparents, faculty and staff. The ceremony included short speeches from the five NHS Officers of the 2015-2016

academic year: Naysa Mooney (President), Alison Hinton (Secretary), Grace Hoover (Treasurer), Emily

Aneshansley (Public Relations Officer), and Wyatt Gardner. Following the induction ceremony, all NHS

members and their guests were invited to a celebratory luncheon at Cheers Chalet in Lancaster, Ohio.

On May 17th, Liberty Union

hosted the PRIDE Awards to

honor academic excellence.

In the senior class, 15

individual were awarded for

earning Academic Honors and 24 seniors earned High Honors. 20

students received recognition for perfect attendance during the

2015-16 school year, while 31 students earned “All A’s” this year!

Congratulations to all recipients this year!

Ford Scholarship: Abby Hite Dale R. England Scholarship: Braden Moon

Mary Louise Fletcher Memorial Scholarship: Cari Cooley & Naysa Mooney Horatio Alger Association: Alison Hinton

Mona Linardi Memorial Scholarship: Haley Bright Army National Guard: Keven Keister

Caleb Miller Scholarship: Grace Hoover Looney Scholarship: Kelly Henderly, Grace Hoover, Jeremy Trapp & Emily Aneshansley

American Red Cross: Cari Cooley & Katie Roth Eversole Leadership Award: Kelly Henderly

Liberty Union Alumni: Olivia Robinson Billy Holbrook Scholarship: Keith Stebelton

Middle School Lion Pride

State Science Fair Winners

The middle school had 4

eighth grade students who

qualified from the district level

to compete at the State science

fair competition held at the Ohio

State University. The students

earned three superior ratings

and one excellent.

The advisor for the middle

school science fair is Mr. Joe Palmer, eighth grade science

teacher.

Bottom row: Derek Burns , Tucker Meachem Top row: Jakob Burket , Ethan Kaper

Career Day May 4th was the middle school career day.

The eighth grade traveled to Fairfield Career Center

to spend the day observing the many career fields that Fairfield Career offers to their students. The 5th

,6th and 7th grades had their career activities at the school. Community individuals provided a wide

selection of careers and discussed the training needed to obtain a job in that field. Deputy Maloy

from the Fairfield County Sheriff canine unit discussed the training needed for the dog and

himself for his job. The students were given a demonstration on how the dog is used for drug

detection and for officer protection at a crime scene.

A total of 15 different career speakers presented to the 5th, 6th and 7th grade levels.

Middle School Lion Pride continued

7th Grade Choir >

< 8th Grade Choir

Middle School Choirs Compete at

Capital University The 7th and 8th grade choirs traveled to Capital University to

compete in the Ohio Music Education Association contest. Both choral

groups were placed in a higher level category this year. Both groups did

an excellent job with the 8th grade receiving a two rating and the 7th grade received a one. The one and two ratings are

the highest given by the judges at the contest. The choirs are under the direction of Mrs. Emily Fisher.

State Winner in the Invention Convention Contest.

Each year the 5th grade students participate in the Ohio Invention

Convention contest. A local contest is held first and the winners are

sent to the Ohio contest held in Columbus. This year Grace Cornett

won the 5th grade level in the State of Ohio and is traveling to

Washington D.C. for the National contest.

Grace invented a cart to carry items while using a hover board.

Club Activities A new program this year is the club activity period. Students

can choose a club from the 13 that are provided. Examples of the

clubs are cooking, fitness, Lego and board games. The clubs have

students in grades 5 through 8 and meet twice each month. Funding

for the equipment and supplies came from the South Central Power

Round Up Grant.

< Cooking Club

From the Desk of Mrs. Rainey .....

Great Things Are Happening at the Elementary!

Let Them Go! Our Technology Coach, Mrs. Savage, worked

with our teaching staff to initiate a project

called, “Let Them Go!” The purpose of this

project was to encourage students to be more

independent. So often, students count on

specific directions and details for

assignments, and while there is a place for

following directions, we also want our students

to think for themselves. So teachers gave

their students a computer and told them to

research a subject and just let them go at it.

Students not only survived, but learned about teamwork (they asked one another for ideas) and about using

technology. (Photo: Mr. Smolewski’s and Mrs. Washburn’s classes work together on project research.)

Bracelets for Autism Awareness Studemts in Mrs. Fairchild’s class made bracelets and

sold them to the students to

raise money for Autism

Awareness. In addition,

teachers were offered the

opportunity to purchase an

Autism Awareness t-shirt

with all profits going to the

cause. Over $750.00 was

donated to the Autism Society of Central Ohio. (Right:

Staff members in Autism Awareness t-shirts pose in front of a bulliten board decorated with over 500

puzzle pieces, each piece encribed with an LU elementary student’s name. Left: Mrs. Fairchild helping

students purchase a bracelet made by her class.)

Health Fair/Economics Fair/Science Day Our fourth graders finished their elementary

career with a variety of educational experiences

in which they not only learned a lot, but they

also enjoyed. During Health Day (photo: left),

volunteers from many health related businesses

donated their time to talk about health related

topics including hearing, exercise, and nutrition.

At the Economics Fair (photo: top right),

students worked in groups to develop a product and then students in other

grades had the choice of which product to purchase. Competition was fierce

and everyone learned much about the 4 factors of production. At Science

Day (photo: bottom right), students from Mr. Jacob’s science classes

facilitated stations to teach concepts about energy. (Photo: center.)

Elementary News continued

AEP Grant Winners We are all proud of Mrs. Lauvray and Mrs.

Byers who were awarded a grant for over $500 from American Electric

Power. With the money, they have purchased video production equipment

including a video camera and green screen for students to use when

completing science projects.

Summer Office Hours The elementary office will be open from

8:15-4:15 Monday through Friday until June 15. It will reopen on July

27. If you have a question during the break, please feel free to call the

District Office at 740-862-4171.

Open House 2016-2017 Open House will be held on Tuesday,

August 16 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. At this time, students may find their

new classroom, drop off their school supplies, and meet their new

teacher. Hopefully this new time will allow to stop by before going to any evening activities.

Back-to-School Mailing 1st – 4th Be sure to keep an eye out in the mail for an evelope from the

school during the first week of August. Included will be a newsletter, menu, fee schedule for each grade

level, and information about bus routes.

Attention: Parents of Kindergarten Students At the beginning of August, every

parent/guardian of incoming kindergarten students will receive a mailing that includes a Health Screening

time for your student. At the screening appointment, your child will have his/her vision and hearing screened.

The Transportation Supervisor, Mr. Mapes, will also be available to answer questions about bus routes.

Kindergarten Academic Screening will be scheduled by 1-hour appointments (each student needs only one

appointment.) Parents/Guardians may sign up for an appointment during Open House. Since the law prohibits

the screening from being done prior to the first day of school, appointments will be available on August 26,

September 2, and September 16. If you are unable to attend Open House, please contact your child’s teacher

after the first day of school.

To help our kindergartners adjust to school, they will only attend school on either August 17 or 18. One

half of the students will begin on Wednesday and the other half will have their first day on Thursday. Every

student will only attend either Wednesday, August 17 OR Thursday, August 18. Then everyone will attend on

Friday, August 19.

Box Tops and Boosters Our Elementary Booster Group works so hard for our students.

Throughout the summer, please save BoxTops and encourage friends, neighbors, and relatives to save them

too. These little 10 cent squares really add up to great things for our students.

Kindergarten Registration-Class of 2029 If you have a student who will be entering

kindergarten in August, 2016, please be sure to call the elementary office and schedule an appointment to

register. And if you know someone who has a student who will be entering kindergarten, please encourage

them to call the office as well.

Coming Soon:

K (only) Health Screenings: Aug 9 and 10 (by appointment)

Open House: Aug 16 3-5 pm

First Day of School K (one half of the students only) 1st-4th: Aug 17 Follow us on Twitter

First Day of School K (other half of the students only): Aug 18 at LUelementary

From the desk of Jennifer Blackstone, Curriculum Director

Summer Learning Program Liberty Union – Thurston Local School District (grades K-5) will be offering a Summer

Learning Program in partnership with the Baltimore branch of the Fairfield County District

Library. The program will run from June 1st to August 1st.

At the end of May, participating students will receive a book bag with a variety of

goodies, including a summer skill learning workbook and a book for reading. Parents can

utilize the workbook any way that best fits their summer schedule and routine. It is just

a resource for students to continue learning this summer. Three times during the

summer, Liberty Union teachers will be available for workbook check-ins and fun events.

Also, local Baltimore and Thurston businesses will have “Book Swap” boxes where

the students can take in their book bag reading book and switch it out for another one that interests them.

In addition, the Baltimore Public Library will be offering events all summer with a theme of “Ready, Set, Read”

based on the Olympics, sports, health, wellness, and sound mind/body.

We are excited to offer this extended learning opportunity to our K-5 students.

From High School Athletic Director, Adam Brately - Liberty Union Youth Summer Camps:

Girls Basketball

Grades 3 - 8

June 20-22

9:00-12:00

Cost $45

Boys Basketball

Grades 3 - 8

June 27-29

9:00-11:00

Cost $35

Football

Grades 1 - 8

July 11-13

9:30-11:30

Cost $20

Volleyball

July 25-28

8:30-10; 11-1

Cost: $40

Boys/Girls Soccer

July 25-29

4:00 - 6:00; 6:00 - 8:00

Cost: $30

Alt Park

For more information go to luathletics.org and click under camps.

Liberty Union is pleased to announce the following student athletes will be recognized for making First Team MSL

Buckeye at Fairfield Union on May 31 and June 1:

Softball

Bailee Poston, Jr

Ali Ety, Soph

Baseball

Kyle Boggs, Jr

Boys Track

Zach Bankes, Sr

Girls Track

Katie Hanson, Jr

Kenley French, Fresh

Sydnee Mangette, Soph

Elayna Miracle, Fresh

From the Desk of Jan Friedrich, Food Service Supervisor: As another school year comes to an end, we celebrate our accomplishments in the Food Service Department. We

continue to look for ways to improve our meals and meal service. Our point-of-sale software is once again being

upgraded by our administrator, Esber Cash Register, in an effort to make the system more efficient. This year we

also introduced Pay-For-It, a web based system that will allow you to create an account for your student. Once the

account is set up, you can monitor the student’s account balance, and you can even sign up for email alerts. The

service is free, unless you choose to make an online payment, which then has a fee of 3.9% charged to your credit

card. We have had a number of parents take advantage of this service, with many positive comments. Instructions

can be found on the school website.

As we look to next year, we hope to see some new offerings from some of our food manufacturers.

Regulations continually change, so we are always looking for new items within the guidelines to make our menus

more appealing and nutritious.

One last note from Food Service. . . lunch prices have not been increased since August 2012. In compliance

with the Paid Lunch Equity memo from the Ohio Department of Education National School Lunch Program, Liberty

Union Thurston Schools will be required to increase lunch prices $.10 at each building. The regulation is intended to

better align paid lunch prices with the free lunch reimbursable rate, which is currently $3.07. New lunch prices for

the 2016-17 school year will be $2.60 at the high school and middle school, and $2.35 at the elementary school.

Reduced price lunch will remain $0.40, as well as breakfast at $1.10, and milk at $0.40. Please remember that

applications for free and/or reduced meals will be sent home at the beginning of the school year, and are also

available in each of the buildings during the school year. Applications are accepted any time, not just at the

beginning of school. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Food Service Supervisor, Jan Friedrich,

at 740-862-4126, or [email protected]. Have a great summer!

From Kevin M. Mapes,

Transportation Supervisor

As another school year comes to a close, I

would like to wish everyone a safe and

enjoyable summer. With that said, it is time

for us to turn our focus onto the new school year which is right around the corner. I do

anticipate a few changes as we enter into the fall that I would like to make everyone aware.

Bus routes & assignments: Bus information will be posted along with the classroom

assignments at each building just like this past year. If you believe that there is an error or if

you have a question, please contact me by email at [email protected] and I will take a

look at your child’s bus assignment and make corrections as needed. Please contact me as soon

as possible! I would like to have completed route sheets to the drivers a few days prior to the

start of school for them to review.

Alternate stops: If your child needs to have an alternate stop to accommodate for a baby

sitter, shared parenting, or for any other purpose; please fill out an alternate stop request form

by going to our School District website at www.libertyunion.org and locate “Departments,” scroll

down to “Transportation” and click on it. You will find the form under “Documents” on the right

side of the page. There are also copies available inside the District Office. Once completed,

you may either drop it off or mail it to the District Office – 1108 South Main Street; Baltimore,

OH. 43105. Please make sure these are completed and turned in by no later than August 5th.

Ohio Administrative code allows for students to have a primary stop and one alternate stop.

Keep in mind that a driver may have over 70 students on board and it is difficult to expect one

person to be able to remember where and when alternate stops are for that many children on

every day of the week. This confusion could possibly create a safety issue for students when

drop off locations are in question. Please help us keep your children safe by limiting alternate

stops to a minimum.

Eastland & Fairfield Career and Technical Schools: A minor change will take place

with the Career Center shuttle. Both schools will be transported on the same bus this year.

Students who wish to ride from Liberty Union High School to either Eastland or Fairfield need

to be at the high school and on the bus by no later than 6:50. Estimated return time in the

afternoon will be about 3:10. Students are required to have their own source of transportation

both to and from Liberty Union-Thurston High School.

Medications: Under Ohio law, no medications are permitted to be transported on board the

school bus by students. If your child requires to be on a prescription, please ask your

Pharmacist for a second container to use at school. Parents must transport the medication to

school and give it to the proper staff member responsible for the distribution of it.

A huge thanks goes out to everyone for their cooperation with these issues! As always, safety

is my number one priority in this industry. I know you wouldn’t expect anything less from me

and I aim to deliver. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at the above email address should you

have any questions or concerns.

End of the Year Report from HS Choir Director, Emily Fisher

This year marks several firsts for Liberty Union Vocal Music. This past fall we were honored to host the Fairfield County All County Choir, featuring middle and high school students from Liberty Union, Lancaster, Berne Union, Amanda Clearcreek, Fairfield Union, and Walnut Township. Students had the opportunity to work with two talented guest conductors, and presented an impressive concert to conclude the event.

Perhaps our most celebrated event was the production of our first K-12 musical production, “Annie.” The show was a huge success, drawing crowds for all three performances. Leads were played by 6th grader, Ava Poling (Annie); senior, Anna Dominguez (Miss Hannigan); senior, Austin McClelland (Oliver Warbucks); and sophomore, Savannah Simonson (Grace Farrell) among others. Approximately 80 students participated in the show between all three school buildings. Our audiences were amazing at the amount of talent found in one small school district! Dedicated volunteers donated countless hours of their time to make the show a success! Great work everyone!

Another first this year was to have four Liberty Union choirs participate in OMEA Large Group Contest! In May the middle school choirs attended contest at Capital University. The 8th grade choir received a II, or Excellent rating, and the 7th grade choir received unanimous I’s, or Superiors, from all three judges. In March both HS Women’s Choir and Chorale received Superior ratings at OMEA Large Group District Contest, qualifying them for OMEA Large Group State Contest. This was Chorale’s 7th consecutive year to qualify for State Contest and Women’s Choir’s 1st! In April both choirs performed beautifully at State, Chorale receiving an overall Excellent rating, and Women’s Choir their first ever State Superior Rating! Special thanks goes to our senior choir members for their dedication and leadership this year. Best wishes for what will certainly be bright futures ahead!