January 10, 2008

From Phil Kassen, Director

January 10^th, 2008

Dear LREI Community,

Happy New Year. I hope that this note finds your family well and having enjoyed some restful and rejuvenating time during the Winter Break. On Monday morning the school was filled with children of all ages who, while looking a little sleepy, seemed quite happy to be back in school with their friends and teachers.

I want to take a moment to bring your attention to some special events coming this month. There are a number of events that will provide great wintertime activity. Most of the events and activities that I mention below can also be found on the calendar at www.LREI.org/calendar.

LREI Alumni College Panel—January 10^th, 2007, 6:30PM at the high school, 40 Charlton Street. This discussion is an opportunity to meet and speak with some recent LREI graduates and to hear from them about their experiences and about how LREI prepared them for college.

LREI Athletics—Our basketball season is in full swing for all 10 teams! I encourage you to attend a home game at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street (between Houston Street and Prince Street.) You can find the schedules for all teams at www.lrei.org/athletics. In addition, we post a sign in the Sixth Avenue lobby each morning announcing any home games that afternoon. Upcoming home games include:

· Our 5^th/6^th grade intramural league, an instructional/recreational league for our youngest middle schoolers, plays each Friday from 3:30PM-5:15PM. These are great games for young fans.

· January 14^th, 4:00PM—7^th/8^th grade Boys vs. St. Luke’s School

· January 16^th, 4:15PM—7^th/8^th grade Girls vs. UNIS

· January 17^th, 4:00PM—Varsity Boys vs. Garden School

· January 23^rd, 5:00PM—JV Girls vs. Steiner

· January 24^th, 4:30PM—Varsity Girls vs. Birch Wathen Lenox School

· February 21^st, 4:00PM—JV Boys vs. Trevor Day School

There are many other home games on the schedule. Come out and cheer for our student athletes!!!

Karamu! —On Friday, January 25^th from 6:00PM to 9:00PM the PA Multicultural Committee will host Karamu!, a celebration of food and the arts and community. Tickets will go on sale soon. This is one of the high points of each school year.

Finally, I encourage all families who are able to do so to make this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—Monday, January 21^st—a day on rather than a day off. As stated by the Mayor’s Volunteer Center, “The mission of the MLK Day of Service is to realize Martin Luther King’s dream and legacy by breaking down barriers amongst people and establishing volunteer service as a means for social change.”

Among the service opportunities available on this day are:

“Share the Dream, Live the Reality” will be held on Monday, January 21, 2008, from 9:00AM-3:30PM. The event will take place in Queens at Long Island City High School, 14-30 Broadway, Long Island City, NY.

Please register now to join hundreds of volunteers and help revitalize the community by painting murals, cleaning schools, and giving back to the community.

For additional questions, please call Shante Smith at 212-542-0798 or visit www.cityyear.org/newyork

5th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Anti-Hunger Serve-A-Thon

On January 19th-21st, 2008, celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday by partaking in the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) 5th Annual Anti-Hunger Serve-A-Thon. The Anti-Hunger Serve-A-Thon is similar to a walk-a-thon but instead of walking you’re performing a service to help pantries and kitchens meet their immediate needs. Individuals and groups can sign-up through the Coalition’s Volunteer Matching System to serve at selected food pantries and/or soup kitchens on Saturday, Jan. 19, Sunday, Jan. 20, and/or Monday, Jan. 21. The time commitment is flexible and is meant to fit within a busy schedule. Service opportunities will be available in all five boroughs.

For questions, contact Andrea Dispenza 212-825-0028 ext 202, adispenza@nyccah.org

Children for Children (www.childrenforchildren.org) hosts an annual event on this day. Last year, more than 2,000 volunteers came together for this event and we look forward to another momentous day this year. Participants will have the chance to complete a wide variety of hands-on projects, benefiting many different New York City-based and international causes. See their website for more details. http://childrenforchildren.org/index.php?q=node/36

If you have suggestions of service opportunities available on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, please send me the information so that I can make it available to all.

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

As you can see, there are many opportunities to get involved in LREI events and events sponsored by other communities in the coming weeks. I hope that all LREI families find them enjoyable and enriching.

Best,

Phil