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Dear Families,

With graduation tomorrow, I can honestly say that “time flies.”  What a terrific year!  Our students and faculty accomplished so much together and while we are looking forward to a summer break, we also look forward to returning to the work in the fall.

When we return, we will not have our wonderful colleagues school nurse Joanne Gouge and studio art teacher Janet Atkinson here with us as both are headed off to retirement.  

Last Thursday, we celebrated their work and impact with a surprise assembly and party.  At the assembly, history teacher (and LREI legend) Mark Bledstein spoke on behalf of the faculty about Janet, who has been here for 26 years.  In his remarks, he shared the following:

Janet Atkinson is in my mind the most conscientious and professional educator on the LREI staff…Each day she gives both the students and her colleagues her fullest attention and best judgment.  Daily, she does her job both thoughtfully and creatively.   She never asks for any special considerations, not because she is paid more for her superior service, but because, in her eyes, integrity and authenticity are the twin pillars that bind her together, hold her erect…

Now and then I donned my hiking boots and wend my way up to Janet’s art studio on the fourth floor. Year after year what impressed me most about her art studio was the riot of color and design that spread across the tables and ran up and down the walls, the free and open spirit of the students and finally, the easy instructional banter that passed non-stop between Janet the art teacher and her many students.  “You might brighten this up, you might tone this down.  Stand back, look at it, think about it.  Maybe you could rework this.”   In my presence students embraced Janet as the gentle and experienced guide, the caring and conscientious mentor, the trustworthy and astute advisor.

Thus, one might call Janet’s art studio a haven … Indeed, I believe that for many students the art studio served as a refuge, a retreat, a place where knitters could knit, sewers could sew, painters could paint, sculptors could sculpt, printers could print and anybody, absolutely anybody – including me – could hang loose, let go, vent their creative frustration.   Example.  On Arts Day several years ago, I was assigned to the studio where I played around initially with paint on paper.  Then, when the paper didn’t seem large enough I began dribbling and dashing lattice-like streamers of water based paint – a la Jackson Pollock – over the newspaper that covered sections of the linoleum floor.  If Janet was amused by my enthusiasm she was not at all pleased by the sight of her studio’s paint-splattered linoleum flooring.    I spent the late afternoon and early evening scrubbing and mopping away my creative enthusiasm.  Trust me.  If Janet has a keen eye for quality she has an even keener nose for bullshit.

Still, Janet’s foremost achievement in her 27 year tenure at LREI was the way in which she turned the arts studio from a somewhat narrow, didactic space dedicated to still-life drawing into an open-ended, free spirited, imaginative and inventive play space dedicated to a wide range of creative arts, ideas and styles.  From day one, Janet’s aim was always to widen student exposure, to broaden student sensitivities, to expand student awareness concerning all the variable and different visual and plastic mediums defined today as the World of Art.

A personal note.   A conversation with Janet is not simply a superficial exchange of pleasantries.   A conversation with Janet wanders invariably into a wide-ranging exploration of both the power of ideas and the comedy of the human condition.

A professional note.  When I first came to E.I. art and photographic galleries were opening up for the first time in Soho.  Although I loved the arts, I didn’t really have an arts background.  Nevertheless, I had the bright idea of developing an art history class at E.I. and in making a central component of the class a weekly visit to a Soho gallery.  Once Janet joined the staff I found myself aided, supported and guided by an arts professional who was both friends with artists in England and America and knowledgeable of the major gallery openings taking place in Soho and around the City.  For many years, I and all of our engaged arts students benefited from the happy and seamless cooperation and interaction that bound together Janet’s superb studio art classes and my (pre – internet) slide-centered courses on the cultural history of the arts.

At LREI Janet has always combined in herself an uncanny blend of depth and kindness,, imagination and clarity, skill and generosity.   And, just as we have all benefited from her special presence, we will all feel a palpable sense of loss due to her regretful but necessary absence.  Next year Janet will not walk amiably and reliably every morning through LREI’s fresh-minted glass doors.  She intends to spend more time, as she should, with her two daughters and their families and with her soon to arrive grandchildren.  Still, I know that she will visit us and I know that she will respond to our e-mails.  In fact, Janet already remains in contact with many of our former students.   Often she tells me about one former student who just gave birth to her first child, and then another who has started her own art gallery, and still another who is working on a master’s degree in psychology, and then another who is working on a PhD.

In sum, Janet is first and foremost a people person.  She loves to hear from you, to know about you, to encourage you to reach high, do your best, – sometimes even better than your best – to stake out for yourself, as she has staked out for herself, a path you enjoy, a profession in which you are challenged, a creative life in which you can join hands with those who cherish the values you cherish, and ultimately, to succeed as she has succeeded in nourishing and enriching for 27 years all those in our school who have been privileged to know, to love and to learn from Janet’s wonderful character and presence.  I thank you.  Our students thank you.  The entire institution thanks you…

Mark A. Bledstein

Have a terrific, restful, wonderful, inspiring summer.  Congratulations to the Class of 2010 and their families!

Best, Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

*Congrats to all on a terrific Trimester III!  Grades and comments for Trimester III will be available online on “My Backpack” on June 25, by 3PM. Please check to make sure you can log on to the system successfully. If you have any problems logging on, please contact help_desk@lrei.org, which can assist you. If you would like your child’s grades or comments mailed, please send an email to Adria Maynor, amaynor@lrei.org.  She will also be available at 212-477-5316, x301 until July 1.  She will return from vacation August 2.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding a grade or comment, please contact the teacher directly, the student’s advisor, and/or class dean. Please note, teachers, advisors and class deans will be on vacation starting on Friday, June 18 at 12 noon, so a response may not come right away.

*Summer reading assignments are now online!  Please take a look here.  Students will receive necessary texts this week and next, and if your student has any questions, he or she should ask teachers next week.

1.  From the Literary Committee: 6/8 – 6/9 Little REaD Book Swap! Are your kids’ bookshelves so full they’re about to buckle? You can start clearing them out for the first ever Little REaD Book Swap! On June 8th and 9th, bring those books that your kids loved a few years ago but will never read again to school to swap for something new. Drop off and pick up books from 8-9 AM and 2:45-3:45 PM next Tuesday and Wednesday. Please — only kids’ books in good condition. Foreign-language books are fine. Any leftover books will be given to the GO Project or other charities. Please help recirculate good books around our community! Please see the flyer for more information.

2. The cookbook committee is still taking pre-orders for our new LREI community cookbook, Downtown Potluck, to be published in the fall of this year. Look for us in the lobby, or send an email to cookbook@lrei.org if you would like to order a copy ($25 each). If you place an order by the end of the school year, you will be entered in a drawing to win a free cookbook and a dinner for two at Minetta Tavern! Thanks to everyone!

3. Pride 2010 is upon us and the LGSA committee at LREI is in full swing on planning the March again this year. As usual we will have a float, and this year The Calhoun School will be joining us again.  The parade is Sunday June 27th from 12pm – end.

This week, sign up at our Pride Table on Thursday 6/10 and Friday 6/11 outside of the Sixth Avenue building.    Please see the attached flyer for more details!  See you at the March!

Dear LREI Families,

As we sprint towards the end of the school year—two weeks filled with all sorts of special events and celebrations to go—it seems like a good time to congratulate members of the faculty on some of their successes this year.  I asked the faculty in all three divisions to volunteer specific honors earned this school year.  The responses were:

Ana Chaney, middle school math teacher and math department chair, completed Bank Street College of Education’s Leadership in Mathematics Education program and earned a Masters’ of Science in Education.

MicahDov Gottlieb, high school Assistant Principal, was chosen to represent Brooklyn College’s Educational Leadership program at their NCATE (National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education) accreditation.  In addition, he will be working with PBS on an episode of a new program called “Do The Math.” His record label “The Brooklyn Label” will be showing children how math is used in the recording studio. The group that will be featured is DobleFlo (a hip-hop duo), which features LREI alum Luis Lopez, ‘03.

Matthew Rosen, seventh grade core teacher, was awarded an National Endowment for the Humanities grant to attend a summer institute at Yale, The Lost World of Early America, in which he will explore themes in colonial American history, such as race relations, politics, economics, family and community life, and rites of passage.  In addition, he was selected to be a recipient of the Richard Koppenaal Scholarship for superior academic achievement at NYU where he will continue with his graduate studies in English Literature and Writing in the fall.

Deborah Damast, lower school movement teacher/middle school dance teacher, was the recipient of the Outstanding Postsecondary Educator award from the National Dance Education Organization for outstanding contributions to dance education nationally and in the community. This award is given once every two years and nominations come from colleges and universities across the nation.

High school English teacher Ileana Jiménez has recently been awarded the Distinguished Fulbright in Teaching Award (which is different from the Fulbright Teacher Exchange). The Fulbright will allow Ileana to spend six months in Mexico conducting research at a major university, providing professional development to local teachers, and completing a capstone project on gender and education. Her Fulbright will extend from January through June 2011.  She hopes to bring her research on gender and education back to both our English program and the high school’s program re-design focusing on global education and diversity.

Vin Scialla, high school music teacher/jazz band director was recently offered an album and distribution deal with Random Chance records for Snehasish Mozumder & Som, whom he performed with at Lincoln Center Out of Doors.

Elizabeth Simmons, seventh grade Core teacher, will attend the Klingenstein Summer Institute for Early Teachers. The Institute brings together approximately 75 teachers from across the country and around the world, and is especially designed to make teachers more effective leaders in the classroom and throughout the school.

Early childhood librarian Jesse Karp’s first novel, Those That Wake, will be published by Houghton Mifflin in Spring 2011.  The young adult novel centers on two teenagers who stumble upon a dark force that secretly manipulates society, and their struggle against it.  In addition, Jesse’s Graphic Novels in Your School Library, a non-fiction book about using comics and graphic novels in education, will be published by ALA Editions in Spring 2011.  Finally, he is currently serving his second year on the American Library Association’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens Committee, a body devoted to selecting the best graphic novels for ages 12-18.

Stacy Dillon, Lower School Librarian, has been selected to be a member of the Newberry 2012 committee. What an honor!  As you may know, the “Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

MS Librarian and Library Department Chair Jennifer Hubert Swan has been accepted into the Cullman Center Institute for Teachers Summer Seminar taught by author Karen Russell this July, and will be chairing the 2012 YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Award for Excellence in Nonfiction committee starting in September. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute in the School of Information and Library Science where she teaches evening courses in young adult and tween literature.

Karyn Silverman, high school librarian, is currently Chair of the Frances Henne YALSA/VOYA Research Grant Jury, which awards an annual fund to research supporting the Strategic Goals and Mission of YALSA, and am currently a member of the YALSA Nominating Committee, which is charged with finding qualified candidates for all award committees and governance positions. In addition, I will be teaching a graduate class on Young Adult Literature at Queens College this summer.

Each summer, for many years, LREI awards summer grants to support program development. Two years ago we began to award a series travel grants to support travel by LREI employees that may be, but does not have to be, related to the curriculum.  Click here to go to the Director’s blog to see a complete list of grant recipients.

We also had a very successful year for some of our academic teams. To read of their successes, please click here.

Best,

Phil

Updates and Announcements:

• Congratulations to the Class of 2010!  Senior Project Presentation evening was a huge success.  We are so proud of each member of this class.
• New photos are up on Flickr!  Check out photos from the Spring Concert last week and from Field Day!
• Please remember to remind your student about appropriate dress for Graduation Day, June 11, 2010.  No sneakers, flip-flops, t-shirts or jeans, please.  Thanks!
• Please see last week’s blog about next week’s exam schedule and the last days of school.
• Summer reading assignments are now online!  Please take a look here.  Students will receive necessary texts this week and next, and if your student has any questions, he or she should ask teachers next week.

1.  6/8 – 6/9  Little REaD Book Swap! Are your kids’ bookshelves so full they’re about to buckle? You can start clearing them out for the first ever Little REaD Book Swap! On June 8th and 9th, bring those books that your kids loved a few years ago but will never read again to school to swap for something new. Drop off and pick up books from 8-9 AM and 2:45-3:45 PM next Tuesday and Wednesday. Please — only kids’ books in good condition. Foreign-language books are fine. Any leftover books will be given to the GO Project or other charities. Please help recirculate good books around our community!

2.  We’re on Facebook and Twitter! So parents, students, faculty and the community have two new ways to stay in the LREI loop.

LREI on Facebook

LREI on Twitter

3.  Please click here for the 2010-2011 school calendar!

4.  Spring Admissions Alert:

Greetings!  As the end of the school year approaches, the Admissions Office is already planning for Fall 2011.   In order to best anticipate enrollment needs, it is helpful for the department to know the number of current LREI families who intend apply for admission for a sibling for the 2011-2012 school year.

In order to facilitate our planning for 2011-2012 we ask that you contact the Admissions Office by June 11th to provide your child’s name, date of birth, current grade and school name, and the grade to which she or he will apply for the 2010-2011 school year.  In doing so you will assist the admissions office with entering this information into our database so we may provide you with information about the process beginning in late summer.

As a point of reference, please be advised that LREI offers an optional Early Notification Program for applicants to Fours, Kindergarten and First Grade who are siblings of current LREI students, children of faculty or staff, and children or grandchildren of alumni. This program expedites the admissions process for those who are members of the community and benefits the School by clarifying the number of places available in each grade for the general applicant pool.  Applicants to Fours and Kindergarten must be four years old and five years old respectively by September 1st of the year in which a child will begin school.

Should you have any questions about the admissions process for your child, please contact the admissions office at 212.477.5316.  You may also send us information about your child by sending the aforementioned details to admissions@lrei.org.  We look forward to our continued work with LREI families.

Best wishes for a healthy spring!

The Admissions Team

5.  Join us on the LREI Float to Gay Pride March 2010, Sunday, June 27th, 2010 12pm -end.  March sign up to come.  Contact: Carrie Borows, cborows@gmail.com for more details!

6.  Click here for the 2010-2011 Ballot for Parents Association Officers.  To cast your ballot, please print the form, complete it and return it to the receptionist in either building by Monday, June 14th.

Dear Families,

Beginning June 4, students will enter exam week for Trimester III with Reading Day.  Click here to find the Trimester III exam schedule.  The exam schedule may undergo a minor change before Friday’s Reading Day. The most current schedule will be posted at the high school. Below, please find what exam week will look like in case you have any questions, or need to make particular arrangements.

Friday, June 4:  Reading Day

• School is open regular hours.  This is a day for students to prepare for exams, final papers and exhibitions. This is also an opportunity to catch up with outstanding work, work with groups for final presentations, use the Tech Center and printers around the school, etc. This is a quiet work day. Students may choose to work at school or at home. Students are not required to report to school, and it is not counted as an absence if they are not here. However, you may prefer your child to come to school for the full day to work. Please send him or her. School will be open. The Library will be open all day. No classes will meet so that all teachers are available. There will be review sessions held. If a student is in crisis, teachers may encourage that student to make an appointment or attend a review session.
• Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 7, 8, 9:  Exams. Exam periods are 9 AM-11 AM and 1 PM-3 PM. Each day, students should come in plenty of time for their morning exam, and students may leave after their exams are complete. Again, the exam schedule is attached.

Thursday, June 10:  8:30 AM start time.  We will have an arts assembly in the morning, wrapping up arts for the year, then advisory and clean-up.  Students will be dismissed after lunch.  If students are in need of community service, they should check in with their class dean, as there may be opportunities to help teachers pack up for the summer on this day.

Friday, June 11:  8:30 AM start time.  We will have class meetings to distribute yearbooks and wrap up the year.  Then, we will have a school meeting to give end of the year awards, lunch, then head to NYU for 2010 graduation which will begin at 1PM.  Students will be dismissed for the year after graduation.

Please note, all students must be dressed appropriately for graduation.  Nothing revealing, no t-shirts, jeans, flip-flops or sneakers.

Finally, don’t forget, tomorrow is Field Day!  Students should be here by 8:30 AM.  Every student needs to bring a lunch (no nuts, seeds or glass bottles).  This year, we will begin with a brief introduction of the Class of 2010 and their after high school plans and ribbon cutting to celebrate the new addition to the high school, then head to Pier 40 for games, bonding and fun.  Each student will receive a t-shirt to wear for Field Day tomorrow morning.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

Best, Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

11th grade parents, please see this important email from Director of College Guidance, Amy Shapiro.  Please note that the 11th grade will meet new Director of College Guidance Carey Socol and Associate Analisa Cipriano on Thursday, June 3.  I will be sending contact information to all parents for the new members of the office so that summer appointments can be made in the coming weeks.

1.  We’re on Facebook and Twitter! So parents, students, faculty and the community have two new ways to stay in the LREI loop.

LREI on Facebook

LREI on Twitter

2.  Please click here for the 2010-2011 school calendar!

3.  Spring Admissions Alert:

Greetings!  As the end of the school year approaches, the Admissions Office is already planning for Fall 2011.   In order to best anticipate enrollment needs, it is helpful for the department to know the number of current LREI families who intend apply for admission for a sibling for the 2011-2012 school year.

In order to facilitate our planning for 2011-2012 we ask that you contact the Admissions Office by June 11th to provide your child’s name, date of birth, current grade and school name, and the grade to which she or he will apply for the 2010-2011 school year.  In doing so you will assist the admissions office with entering this information into our database so we may provide you with information about the process beginning in late summer.

As a point of reference, please be advised that LREI offers an optional Early Notification Program for applicants to Fours, Kindergarten and First Grade who are siblings of current LREI students, children of faculty or staff, and children or grandchildren of alumni. This program expedites the admissions process for those who are members of the community and benefits the School by clarifying the number of places available in each grade for the general applicant pool.  Applicants to Fours and Kindergarten must be four years old and five years old respectively by September 1st of the year in which a child will begin school.

Should you have any questions about the admissions process for your child, please contact the admissions office at 212.477.5316.  You may also send us information about your child by sending the aforementioned details to admissions@lrei.org.  We look forward to our continued work with LREI families.

Best wishes for a healthy spring!

The Admissions Team

Dear Families,

This blog post is particularly important for current 10th and 11th grade families, but will be of interest to 9th grade families as well.  Yesterday, we gave students moving up to 11th and 12th grades in the coming school year History, English and Art electives for 10th, 11th and 12th grade course descriptions and sign up sheets.  Please take the time to look it over with your student if you are interested.  There are many wonderful choices for the next school year.  The sign-up sheets are due next Wednesday, May 26, by 3PM.  If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me, Sarvjit, advisors and grade level deans.

Also out this week, NYU College Preview Courses available to us for Fall 2010.  Please click here for the list of classes and the requirements for applying for this opportunity.  Applications for NYU are due on Monday, May 24.

While we are sad to say goodbye to a few of our colleagues, we are thrilled to welcome our new faculty and staff members for the 2010-2011 school year.  More information about our new colleagues will be shared in the summer letter, sent mid-August, but I wanted to introduce our new folks by name now:

• Carey Socol, our new Director of College Guidance beginning July 1, comes to us from Hunter College High School, where she was a college counselor for ten years.  She is thrilled to be joining our community.
• Analisa Cipriano, a graduate of LREI’s Class of 2004, and Connecticut College Class of 2009, will be joining the community as the high school College Guidance Associate.  She has already started working with our current college office to begin the transition.
• James French, who has been a member of our community for two years, filling in for Janet in the studio art room on Fridays, will be starting full time in the position of Studio Art Teacher in the fall.  The students are so excited to have him as a teacher five days a week!  James is excited to bring woodshop to the high school, in addition to studio classes.
• Amy Chang will be our new Mandarin Chinese Teacher beginning in the fall.  She comes to us from Hunter College, where she taught college level Mandarin classes and from Hunter College High School, where she participated as an instructor in their after school Mandarin program.

Finally, on Friday, May 28th, we will hold our annual Field Day at Pier 40. Prior to beginning the Field Day festivities, we will convene as a community on Charlton Street to celebrate the completion of the most recent phase of renovations/expansion at the Charlton Street campus. Here, we will also celebrate our senior class and hear what each senior’s plans are for after graduation.  We are looking forward to an exciting day! School will close at 1:00PM on this day. Some additional information follows:

• It is important for all students to arrive on time.
• To celebrate the importance of the day, LREI will be providing each student with a Ribbon Cutting/Field Day T-shirt. T-shirts will be distributed on Friday morning. Students do not need to wear any special color shirt to school on Field Day.
• Students will spend the first part of Field Day in activities with their buddies. The younger lower school classes will return to the school after lunch while the third through twelfth grades will participate in a variety of activities in mixed age groups.
• Students will need to bring their own lunch along with a container of water. (No nuts or seeds, please.)  Plastic bottles are fine, but please no glass containers!  Clothing should be comfortable and easy to move in, shorts or sweatpants and athletic shoes.  No sandals.  Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are strongly recommended.
• We will return to school in time for 1:00PM dismissal, 12:45PM for the Fours, Fours/K and K.

Lots to look forward to!

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

1.  Urinetown, the DVD, is now on sale!!  Please email Musical Director Joanne Magee, jmagee@lrei.org, for more details.

2.  Dear Parents,

Spring is here, so we are starting to plan for the next school year.  The PA would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know.  We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails.  In the meantime, you can look at the Family Handbook, page 36 (link on our website www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. Of course, until the classes are actually made up for next year (mid-August or so), we cannot match parent reps to classes.  If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; a list is attached. Also in the Family Handbook (p.38), is a list of the co-chairs of the PA committees if you would like to contact them for more information.  Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you would like to get involved.

3.  Save the Date:  The 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip will take place June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River.  All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate.  Watch for details and sign-up tables coming soon.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966

Dear Families,

With four weeks until graduation and Friday being the end of the internship portion of senior project, it is time that we celebrate the seniors, wrap up this school year and prepare for the fall.  In these final few weeks, we have heard some terrific news celebrating students and faculty:

From Media Instructor, Vinay Chowdhry:

Last week, our students participated in Social Justice Expo 2010 is an opportunity for high school students who have been working on social justice oriented projects to showcase them for each other and for other New York educators and activists.  The Kimmel Center at NYU was abuzz with hundreds of young activists from all over the 5 boroughs. The atmosphere was positive, with considerable energy built up around the star of this event, Social Justice. It was evident as we rounded the second hour of judging that things were looking good for LREI. A queue of judges gathered around our sleek Macbook Pro stations; some of the judges even went so far as telling the students bluntly: “This should win hands down” and “This is really incredible.”

So we weren’t that surprised when LREI seniors Kayla Green, Harry D’Agostino, Kevin Schneck, and Gabe Rudin walked away with the 3rd place overall Social Justice Expo prize, awarded by a jury of activists, NYU alumni, filmmakers, and journalists, for their film “201 Varick Street.” The film highlights the injustice and abuse faced by detainees just a few blocks from our school.

Another film that received considerable attention was “Number One” by junior Cameron Diggs. It is an informative piece about the horrors of the domestic human sex trafficking industry. After the screening, an NYU faculty member came over to commend Cameron for her amazing film, citing it as her favorite.  She told Cameron that her film was “one of the only ones here that actually is about something serious.”

Dear Families,

Trimester III interim grades will be available Monday, May 3 by 3PM for all students earning B- and below in their classes. Please note, some teachers will put a running grade up for every student in their class, but students earning B- and below will receive a comment. Please go to this link to login your name and password. Instructions with this information was mailed; if you do not know your login name and password, please email help_desk@lrei.org. Further, if you would like your child’s interims mailed, please call Adria Maynor at 212-477-5316, x323.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding an interim grade or comment, please contact the instructor directly via phone extension or email (first initial, last name@lrei.org) or your child’s advisor. Please note, exam week for Trimester III begins with Reading Day, June 4. The end of Trimester III is June 9, with the last exams.

Next Friday on May 7, students will participate in our annual Arts Festival, organized and implemented by the Arts Department.  The day will begin at 8:30 with Morning Meeting and continue with each student participating in a workshop.  Each workshop, including ones that focus on hip-hop dance, architecture, textile design, improvisation, figure drawing, experimental filmmaking, knitting, collage, portrait painting, among others, is open to all students.  The workshops will run from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and then we will have a community share at 1:00 PM.   Take a look at the exciting workshop offerings here.  Many thanks to the Arts Department for putting it all together and to the wonderful and talented artists (several are also parents of current high school students!) who are volunteering their time.

Finally, I hope to see many of you on Monday morning at 8:30 for the townhouse ribbon cutting ceremony!  Yes, it is finally finished!  I especially extend an invitation to our seniors and their families, as our graduating class members are out in the world of work now and may not know about this event on Monday.  Please spread the word.

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

1.  For next year PA interested parents:

Dear Parents,

Spring is here, so we are starting to plan for the next school year.  The PA would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know.  We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails.  In the meantime, you can look at the Family Handbook, page 36 (link on our webiste www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. Of course, until the classes are actually made up for next year (mid-August or so), we cannot match parent reps to classes.

If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; a list is attached. Also in the Family Handbook (p.38), is a list of the co-chairs of the PA committees if you would like to contact them for more information.

Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you would like to get involved.

2.  The Internet is Public Life Today – social networking for parents. The Internet is a great resource and fun for socializing; come join us in learning best how to enjoy and explore the Internet safely and responsibly. This was a presentation by  Don Buckley, Director of Communications Technology at the School at Columbia.  If you missed this event or attended and would like the notes from the workshop, click here.

3.  Save the Date:  The 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip will take place June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River.  All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate.  Watch for details and sign-up tables coming soon.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.

4.  Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future, Thursday, May 13th at 6:00pm, Charlton Street

What is the Stir the Pot event all about?  First and foremost, it is meant to be a laid back gathering where the LREI community comes together for some food and fun.  We are connecting the event to our local community by soliciting restaurateurs who are willing to highlight their culinary skills to the LREI community.  Think of it as a potluck dinner with amazing food and a little bit of fundraising mixed in to support the school.

To date, we received some incredibly generous donations including Mario Batali’s Gelato truck, Lee Hansen’s Minetta Tavern burgers and Jason Denton’s Inotecca Tapas.  While we’re off to a great start, we need a lot of additional restaurant and beverage donations as we’re looking to feed about 400 hungry parents.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Thank you so much, in advance, for your support!

5. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success!  It was a spectacular event and everyone has a wonderful time.

There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available.  If you have any questions, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Additionally, there are still tickets available for two exciting events this spring.  Please contact Maude if you are interested!

The Jim Cottrell/Joe Lovett & Sue Scott Collections, Hosted by LREI Parent Sue Scott:

An evening of art & conversation at two private collections including works by Baechler, Basquiat, Murray and Bourgeois. Tickets are $200 each.

Wednesday, May 5th at 6:00pm

“Greater New York” Emerging Artists Survey, PS 1

A private tour with curator & LREI parent Neville Wakefield one day before the exhibit opens.  Meet the artists and see their art!  Tickets are $200 each.

Saturday, May 22nd at 2:00pm

Dear Families,

Every Wednesday morning, I have the pleasure of meeting with the Class of 2010.  Currently, all are interning or working on specific projects for the Senior Project program, but on Wednesdays we take time out to meet, regroup, follow up, and share how their experiences have made an impact so far.

Yesterday morning, I reminded them they only have three weeks to go, then the serious preparation for the Senior Project Presentation evening (on Wednesday, June 2) begins.  With three weeks to go, I am also happy to share where our seniors are interning this year.  While it was much more difficult to place seniors in projects or internships with smaller graphic design, fashion and film companies, even the companies that in the past have offered us internships (due to the economy, many of these companies are just trying to keep their heads above water or have downsized in space especially so they could not take on a high school student).  In a couple of cases it took longer to secure placement, which created a challenging experience for some seniors.  Still we worked to get our students in internships that closely matched their interests.

This year, our seniors are interning with the Shubert Organization, Razor and Tie, Equality Now, Chromavision, CNN (with Soledad O’Brien specifically), Diane Von Furstenberg, The Wall Street Journal, Life Magazine (now a dot com), with Denise Adler (providing art direction for a book project), with Simon and Schuster, Partisan Pictures, Billionaire Boys Club, at Otto Restaurant, Q Prime, College Humor, Cool Gray Seven, Good News and Mercy Corps, and with photographers Jose Picayo and with Yola Monakhov, the Pediatric Office of Dr. Rosello P’12 and with Soho OB/GYN.  We have two seniors interning right here with us in our athletics department and in our arts department.  We also have a few seniors that are working on their own personal film, photography and business projects, and we are excited to share the results in June.

The experiences that our seniors have had, and the long hours they report working (well beyond the 20 hour minimum for about half of the class) have been excellent experiences and have offered them the opportunity to apply what they have learned during their years at LREI to the world of work, or to their own specific projects.  I love hearing about their day to day responsibilities, and the presentation evening is sure to be a testament to their hard work.

With the Class of 2011, we intend to be very specific about the experiences we can offer from our “rolodex” to our new seniors, and those who have interests in an area where we do not have an “in” we will look to you to help us make introductions and connections.  Any feedback or opportunity you have is welcomed.  I will have a meeting for junior and senior class parent reps in late May or early June to discuss next steps.

Best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

1.  For next year PA interested parents:

Dear Parents,

Spring is here, so we are starting to plan for the next school year.  The PA would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know.  We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails.  In the meantime, you can look at the Family Handbook, page 36 (link on our webiste www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. Of course, until the classes are actually made up for next year (mid-August or so), we cannot match parent reps to classes.

If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; a list is attached. Also in the Family Handbook (p.38), is a list of the co-chairs of the PA committees if you would like to contact them for more information.

Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you would like to get involved.

2.  The Internet is Public Life Today – social networking for parents. The Internet is a great resource and fun for socializing; come join us in learning best how to enjoy and explore the Internet safely and responsibly. Join your fellow LREI parents/guardians for a discussion of our childrens’ online lives with a presentation by  Don Buckley, Director of Communications Technology at the School at Columbia.

April 26th, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Sixth Avenue Auditorium.

3.  Update from Red is Green Committee:

Please join us for a presentation on Monday, April 26, at 8:45 a.m. in the Sixth Ave. cafeteria on how climate change is affecting our NYC water supply and wastewater infrastructure. Hilary Meltzer, LREI parent and part of NYC’s environmental  law team will discuss regional projections about environmental changes and threats to our water supply all posed by climate change.

April’s recycle drive is… Corks. Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. While it is a renewable resource, it takes a long time to harvest (25 years for the first harvest, 9 years thereafter). We recycle corks either by fulfilling teacher demand for them, or sending them to Terracycle, who turns them into products like cork boards. Drop off all used corks – natural or synthetic, wine or champagne. Drop off corks in the Red is Green bins in the Sixth Ave. or Charlton St. lobbies through the month of April.

4.  Save the Date:  The 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip will take place June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River.  All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate.  Watch for details and sign-up tables coming soon.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.

5.  Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future, Thursday, May 13th at 6:00pm, Charlton Street

What is the Stir the Pot event all about?  First and foremost, it is meant to be a laid back gathering where the LREI community comes together for some food and fun.  We are connecting the event to our local community by soliciting restaurateurs who are willing to highlight their culinary skills to the LREI community.  Think of it as a potluck dinner with amazing food and a little bit of fundraising mixed in to support the school.

To date, we received some incredibly generous donations including Mario Batali’s Gelato truck, Lee Hansen’s Minetta Tavern burgers and Jason Denton’s Inotecca Tapas.  While we’re off to a great start, we need a lot of additional restaurant and beverage donations as we’re looking to feed about 400 hungry parents.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Thank you so much, in advance, for your support!

6. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success!  It was a spectacular event and everyone has a wonderful time.

There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available.  If you have any questions, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Additionally, there are still tickets available for two exciting events this spring.  Please contact Maude if you are interested!

The Jim Cottrell/Joe Lovett & Sue Scott Collections, Hosted by LREI Parent Sue Scott:

An evening of art & conversation at two private collections including works by Baechler, Basquiat, Murray and Bourgeois. Tickets are $200 each.

Wednesday, May 5th at 6:00pm

“Greater New York” Emerging Artists Survey, PS 1

A private tour with curator & LREI parent Neville Wakefield one day before the exhibit opens.  Meet the artists and see their art!  Tickets are $200 each.

Saturday, May 22nd at 2:00pm

Dear Families,

Congratulations to the Class of 2010 and their exciting college choices.  Many of our seniors are currently spending time taking one final look at their schools to make a decision.  As they decide where they want to spend the next four years, we begin to take a look at the last four years.  With 8 weeks left in the school year, we don’t have much time together to do so, but with individual and class meetings, we have started the process of saying goodbye.  Phil will be sending the final college list out sometime in the next week so families can take a look.

Meanwhile, our juniors are just beginning the process.  Next week, on Thursday and Friday, as a class they will travel to visit colleges, Yale University, SUNY Purchase, Muhlenberg College and Haverford College, and our tenth graders have their first college night on Tuesday, April 20, 6:30 PM.  Families are encouraged to attend with their tenth grader.  Finally, the college office invites tenth and eleventh grade families to attend a College Financial Aid Information workshop provided College Funding Services. This workshop will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 6:30 PM here at the high school.

LREI’s college calendar continues even as we search for a new Director of College Guidance.  One candidate visited the school today, and another is visiting on Monday, April 19.  Once again, I encourage your participation and feedback. Please see my email from this week to families detailing candidate information and visit schedule.

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

History teacher Mark Bledstein has been selected for a TEA Summer Seminar in China. The 2010 TEA Seminar in China is made possible through a generous grant from the Freeman Foundation, which has dedicated its efforts to improving the quality of teaching about Asia in the nation’s schools.  Mark will be joining nine other educators from across the nation in the study program which is conducted by the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

During the 14 day seminar, the group will travel to the cities of Taipei, Tainan, Junmen, Xiamen and Hong Kong.  During the program, the group will focus on understanding “What is Modern China?  Considering China’s Southern Edge and Beyond.”  As part of the seminar program, teachers will tour historical sites, visit with academic specialists and local resource people and participate in daily class meetings.  Mark will share the study experience with students, other faculty and the community throughout the next academic year.  Congratulations, Mark!

1.  The Internet Is Public Life Today- social networking for parents. Join your fellow LREI parents/guardians for a discussion of our children’s online lives with a presentation by Don Buckley, Director of Communications Technology at the School at Columbia.  April 26th, 6:30PM-8:00PM, Sixth Avenue Auditorium.

2.  Adult rED–click here to read about our next round of adult education classes. Sign up ASAP as our classes begin on Tuesday, April 20th.

3.  Update from Red is Green Committee:

As part of our Earth Day celebration,  we are planning to have a slide show with a variety of images that are representative of Earth Day in some way.  Please send us your pictures of what Earth Day means to you.  So far we have received pictures of kids working in the garden, children at the beach, families playing together outside, animals, pictures of the earth and pictures from last year’s Earth Day.  Thank you to all those who have already sent in pictures.  Please send pictures in .jpg format to kbeck2@nyc.rr.com by this Friday, April 16.

We will be having an organic bake sale on Monday, April 19 after school.  Weather permitting, we hope to be outside the Sixth Ave. building.  Sign-up sheets are posted in the Sixth Ave. lobby, next to the receptionists desk.  Please stop by for some tasty organic treats!

Please join us for a presentation on Monday, April 26, at 8:45 a.m. in the Sixth Ave. cafeteria on how climate change is affecting our NYC water supply and wastewater infrastructure. Hilary Meltzer, LREI parent and part of NYC’s environmental  law team will discuss regional projections about environmental changes and threats to our water supply all posed by climate change.

April’s recycle drive is… Corks. Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. While it is a renewable resource, it takes a long time to harvest (25 years for the first harvest, 9 years thereafter). We recycle corks either by fulfilling teacher demand for them, or sending them to Terracycle, who turns them into products like cork boards. Drop off all used corks – natural or synthetic, wine or champagne. Drop off corks in the Red is Green bins in the Sixth Ave. or Charlton St. lobbies through the month of April.

4.  Have you noticed the beautiful poems posted on the walls of the LREI the last couple weeks? We are in the midst of National Poetry Month, and our kids have been reading, reciting, studying and writing poetry. Next Tuesday, April 20th, will bring another way for us all to appreciate poetry together: Poem in Your Pocket Day! Please encourage your kids to pick out a favorite poem to have in their pockets, ready to share with others throughout the day. Click here for the flyer. (Don’t worry if you forget; there will be extra poems available at the front door that morning, or in the library.)

5.  Save the Date:  The 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip will take place June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River.  All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate.  Watch for details and sign-up tables coming soon.  If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.

6.  Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future, Thursday, May 13th at 6:00pm, Charlton Street

What is the Stir the Pot event all about?  First and foremost, it is meant to be a laid back gathering where the LREI community comes together for some food and fun.  We are connecting the event to our local community by soliciting restaurateurs who are willing to highlight their culinary skills to the LREI community.  Think of it as a potluck dinner with amazing food and a little bit of fundraising mixed in to support the school.

To date, we received some incredibly generous donations including Mario Batali’s Gelato truck, Lee Hansen’s Minetta Tavern burgers and Jason Denton’s Inotecca Tapas.  While we’re off to a great start, we need a lot of additional restaurant and beverage donations as we’re looking to feed about 400 hungry parents.

We are hoping you will join the Stir the Pot Planning Committee.  Our next committee meeting will be held on Thursday, April 22nd at 8:45am in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. This is a great opportunity to contribute to the school and meet some new parents.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Thank you so much, in advance, for your support!

7.  Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success!  It was a spectacular event and everyone has a wonderful time.

There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available.  If you have any questions, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Additionally, there are still tickets available for two exciting events this spring.  Please contact Maude if you are interested!

The Jim Cottrell/Joe Lovett & Sue Scott Collections, Hosted by LREI Parent Sue Scott:

An evening of art & conversation at two private collections including works by Baechler, Basquiat, Murray and Bourgeois. Tickets are $200 each.

Wednesday, May 5th at 6:00pm

“Greater New York” Emerging Artists Survey, PS 1

A private tour with curator & LREI parent Neville Wakefield one day before the exhibit opens.  Meet the artists and see their art!  Tickets are $200 each.

Saturday, May 22nd at 2:00pm

Four Additional “Rs”

Welcome back!  The students returned from a seemingly long Spring Break brimming with energy, mostly reserved for time with friends, and have now settled back into their routines and all is running smoothly and productively.

The Kassen family had an invigorating Break.  Deciding it was time for our kids to see the nation’s capital, my wife and I packed the car and off we went down I-95 to Washington, DC.  We visited museums and memorials, landed on the edge of a major demonstration for immigration rights and had many mealtime conversations about government, history and democracy.  Our trip coincided with the health care debate/vote, leading to even more conversations about governance, compromise and representation.  At the end of it all, the most important thing we took away with us, more important than any gift shop knick-knack, was the fact that all of the museums and memorials, statues and pictures that we saw, visited and learned about represented real people; that society and leadership require regular women and men to take on significant responsibility and to act for the common good.  The words and ideas seen in the National Archives have less meaning when not seen in concert with the actions of the men and women represented by the World War II memorial who had responsibility thrust upon them, for the most part, or, a short walk away, with the life of Honest Abe, who sought out his participation.  In both cases, these memorials represent real people who took on life altering responsibilities in order to protect the common good.

From DC we continued on to Williamsburg, VA to visit historic Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg.   We had a terrific few days visiting the site of the original Jamestown colony, the recreation of Jamestown fort and the Powhatan Village and Colonial Williamsburg. I found that even though I had visited these sites in years past with LREI’s seventh graders (who make this same pilgrimage to Virginia each fall) there was so much to learn and do. After three days of doing our best to live in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries we felt that we had gained some sense of what life must have been like back then.  It became clear, as we discussed the trip on our long drive back north, that the Powhatan, and their new neighbors, were incredibly resourceful and resilient people.  Life was hard back then, with few safety nets and many life and death consequences.  Survival required a mix of self – reliance and true reliance on your community.  (We learned that one way to accomplish all that had to be achieved each day was by giving real work and responsibility to the children in the community, beginning at a very early age.  This was not a popular “take-away” for two members of the Kassen clan.)  Our conversations did prompt me to think about the skills that LREI should be teaching in order to help your children be resourceful and resilient in the 21st century. Some are similar to those taught and learned in the 17th and 18th centuries, others would have been unimaginable then.  This is a conversation that we are having with increasing frequency in all three divisions of the school.  I wonder what you find you need to know to be a resourceful, reliable and resilient person today?  What will you need to know to be so tomorrow?  Please share your thoughts on this.

Responsible, resourceful, reliable and resilient—an important roster of attributes and, while we do a good job of fostering them in our students, always worth reflecting on and discussing.

-Phil

Updates and Announcements:

About Registering for Special Testing Accommodations

Hello 9th Graders & 9th Grade Families!

If you are interested in applying for special testing accommodations (extended time, use of a computer on essays, etc.) please contact me. Some of you have already started going through this process and a few may already have a letter from the College Board confirming your accommodations. If you have a confirmation letter from the College Board, you do not need to contact me at this time. Any family interested in applying now, please be in touch. I am happy to let you know what documentation needs to be in place and to help you navigate the process. I would like to have applications prepared for 9th graders well before the end of the year so that accommodations will be in place in time for the October PSAT.

Thank you!

Carrie Korn, College Guidance Associate, x324, ckorn@lrei.org

1.  Mark your calendars for LREI’s Spring tasting event called “Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future.” And the committee needs more volunteers!  Please come to our meeting on Friday, April 9th at 8:45AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.

You won’t want to miss the chance to meet and mingle with other parents and enjoy great food–Thursday, May 13th in the Charlton Street campus.  For further information, please contact Maude Kebbon in the Office of Advancement at 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

2.  From Red is Green Committee…

Save the date for LREI’s 2nd annual Earth Day Celebration!  April 22, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  Our afterschool event takes place in the Sixth Ave. auditorium and will be a fun and interactive way for kids to celebrate the day and learn about their environment. Click here for our poster.

Please join us for a presentation on Monday, April 26, 8:45am in the Sixth Ave. cafeteria on how climate change is affecting our NYC water supply and wastewater infrastructure.  Hilary Meltzer, LREI parent and part of NYC’s environmental law team will discuss regional projections about environmental changes and threats to our water supply all posed by climate change.

April’s recycle drive is…Corks.  Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree.  While it is a renewable resource, it takes a long time to harvest (25 years for the first harvest, 9 years thereafter).  We recycle corks either by fulfilling teacher demand for them, or sending them to Terracycle, who turns them into products like cork boards.  Drop off all used corks – natural or synthetic, wine or champagne.  Drop off corks in the Red is Green bins in the Sixth Ave. or Charlton St. lobbies through the month of April.

3.  ATTENTION LREI PARENTS!!

Please join us for a special Parent Association Breakfast!

We hope you can stop after drop-off on Tuesday, April 13th at 8:30am for LREI’s  ”Thank You and Welcome” PA Breakfast.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Parents Association yet, drop by the Sixth Ave. cafeteria, have a cup of coffee and a breakfast treat. This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow parent co-chairs and become better acquainted with our wonderful parent affinity groups and committees.

Find out what your PA is up to and what we can look forward to!

4.  LREI 2010 Art Auction, March 3 & 4, 2010

Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success!  It was a spectacular event and everyone has a wonderful time.

There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available.  If you have any questions, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232.

Additionally, please watch this space for information regarding upcoming art related events in the spring.

Remember, if you are a parent at LREI you are a member of the PA.

5.  Recipe Raffle! Send in your last-minute recipe submissions to win a pair of tea towels!  This is the absolute last call for submissions to be part of Downtown Potluck, the new LREI community cookbook. We’ve extended our deadline to April 12th; after that date we will draw names of contributors to find our lucky winner! Please see the attached flyer for more information.

6.  A Message from Chap, Director of Diversity & Community

Affinity Groups – What are they and how do they benefit my child? Why are schools across the country developing informal and formal affinity groups for students of all ages, parents, and former students? The term affinity group is used as a bringing together of people who have something important in common, e.g. race, gender, profession, or special interests.  Any significant historical movement or everyday social interaction could probably be traced to the actions of people who share a common experience and passion.

Join us for our last discussion of How to Raise an Ally: Social Justice at LREI to learn more about our successful affinity groups.  Monday, April 19 at 8:45 AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria. Grab some coffee, bring a friend, and engage in the last of our three part series of discussions with fellow LREI parents.