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.”
Our Advanced Advocacy Video class took on my dare to enter the Health Reform Video Challenge, initiated by the White House, to create the best 30 second video you can that makes the case for passing health insurance reform in 2009:
The resulting film was the ultimate community collaboration:
– starring Kayla Green and Mr. D’Agostino, P’10
– shot by Will Chafkin (pyrotechnics and props provided by his father),
– directed by Kevin Schneck (blood,make-up and cookies provided by his mother)
– written by Gabe Rudin ’10
– produced by Harry D’Agostino ’10
– lights and dolly provided provided by my production company
-Panasonic AG-HMC camera provided by the New School
-Voice Over Artist History Teacher Tom Murphy
Harry and Gabe were invited to present their films to the public at Facing History this afternoon, Thursday, May 13!
Also in the news, English Instructor Ileana Jimenez has been awarded a Fulbright!
The Distinguished Fulbright in Teaching Award (which is different from the Fulbright Teacher Exchange) will allow Ileana to spend six months in Mexico conducting research and taking graduate courses at a university, providing professional development to local teachers, and completing a capstone project on gender and education in Mexico. Her Fulbright will extend from January through June 2011.
Finally, thanks to all who participated in the 2010 Arts Festival! Please take a look at the workshops in action here.
More good news coming next week with a hiring update.
All the best,
Ruth
Updates and Announcements:
From Phil Kassen, Director– Last week there was a front page article in the New York Times concerning the ERB test for admission to Pre-K and Kindergarten programs and the fact that some schools are considering dropping the test as an admissions requirement. Take a look at the links for the article and to a letter to the editor that I wrote in response to the article that was printed on Wednesday.
Best,
Phil
1. The annual LREI Spring Book Fair is coming up on May 20-21. As usual, the book selection for this fair is based on the summer reading lists put together by the faculty and librarians. The lists will be posted online at http://lrei.org/libres/sr.html before the fair starts, so please check them with your kids to plan out some great summer reading! Some grades have reading requirements; these will be noted on the lists, or check with your kids’ teachers.
Click here for a credit card pre-authorization form for parents to fill out; this form will enable kids to purchase books at the book fair, spending up to a limit determined by their parents. Please fax the forms to (212) 677-9159 (Attention Tracie McGee) by Monday, May 17. Students can also bring the forms with them to the book fair. Please note that high school books will also be on sale at Charlton St. the afternoon of May 18, just after the book assembly.
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
4. 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 an exciting event this spring. Please contact Maude if you are interested!
“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