Have a terrific Spring Break!

Dear Families,

Our students have worked hard this trimester, and they certainly deserve a break before beginning the end of the year!

While they have time, students may want to participate in community service opportunities around the city. As you know, each student is to complete 25 hours of service, 10 of which can be served in school (helping with coffeehouses, assisting in the library, etc.) by the end of the school year. While we will announce opportunities for community service throughout the spring, I encourage you to take a look at these youth volunteer opportunities because students may find a connection with an organization they truly want to invest in, which is the purpose of the program.

Speaking of service, what does it mean to think ‘green’? Gloria Bardin ’09, Ryan Kim ’09, and AJ Sims ’09 have submitted an exhibit to the Feedback exhibition at Eyebeam, 540 West 21st Street, this month. Together, they designed, built and programmed a small robotic controller and accessories to control a solar array to follow the sun. The system analyzes power information from the array and then move arms that tilt the panel so that it is at the best angle to get power from the sun. This can double the power from a stationary solar panel. The students built the project in their 11th grade technology elective. Later the array is going to Cafe Habana in Brooklyn and will be there to give power to people using laptops in the cafe. The system is made out of Lego and uses a Mindstorms NXT controller running RobotC.

This is a large exhibition with lots of artists and engineers creating sustainable projects, and the service they provide is important! The exhibition runs from March 13 – April 19, 2008, and the opening is tonight, Thursday, March 13, 6 – 8PM. The closing reception is April 19, at 3PM. 540 W. 21st St.

On another note, LREI HS will be participating in the Youth Media Arts Show taking place this Friday, March 14, from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Titus Two Theater, Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street.

From Vinay Chowdhry, Media Arts Instructor:  “LREI has had a media arts program for a number of years now and has been a leader in this field among independent schools. Much of what we do is synthesis of practice and theory. The films selected represent our great school and were chosen based on merit, content quality, educational value, and production value. It was a tough decision as we have so many talented students who have created a such good work. Our success can be claimed by everyone at LREI; media is truly an all encompassing and collaborative medium. ”

From Dr. Eric Heyworth, Director, Youth Media Arts Show:  ” On Friday, March 14, 2008 a unique event will take place in our media-rich city. Students from New York’s high schools and middle schools will come together to share the media works they have created. When students use language, the arts, technology, community investigation, teamwork, and problem solving, they are deep in the process of what education is all about. The display of student video and multi-media productions is a vivid test of authentic learning.”

While our submissions have been edited down for time, and not all of the selected films will be shown, we congratulate our students, Brendan McCormick, ’08, Gavin Cady, ’08, Laura Hallman, ’08, Oskar Peacock, ’08, Keith Nocera, ’08, Duncan Lewis, ’08, Nemo Allen, ’08, Jane Sternbach, ’08, Dash Lunde, ’08, Ava Hamilton, ’08, Jesse Towsen, ’08, Ellie Shnayer, ’09, AJ Sims, ’09, and Lola Lorber, ’09, who represent our Media Arts program beautifully.

Finally, congratulations to all who participated in An Evening with Tennesse Williams, A Series of One-Acts featuring American Blues, which will be performed at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer in Scotland. We are so proud of the cast and crew and director Meghan Farley Astrachan!

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and announcements:

Grades and comments will be available beginning March 21 on “My Backpack.” If you would like your child’s grades and comments for Trimester II sent home, please contact Adria Maynor, amaynor@lrei.org, at 212-477-5316, x323.

• The school’s calendar can be accessed by clicking here.

• Click here to view the 2008-2009 LREI Calendar.

• For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and season recaps.

1. A message from Director Phil Kassen and Sandra “Chap” Chapman, Director of Diversity and Community:
Bring the Conversation Home – An Open Parents Association meeting. Join us on April 8th at 8:45 AM OR April 10th at 6:00 PM for a discussion and Q&A on strategies for addressing challenging diversity topics with your child(ren). Click here for more information (0313-PAmeeting). RSVP to Chap by Friday, April 4th at schapman (at) lrei.org or call at 212-477-5316, ext. 294.

2. For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.

3. LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA). NYC-PIA provides parenting education, information and a communications network to help parents prepare their children and teenagers to cope with social pressures and to make sound choices towards a future free of alcohol and drug abuse. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2007-2008 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.