Second Annual Pi Day!
Dear Families,
Tomorrow is our second annual Pi Day, a day of math workshops that provide a wonderful, thoughtful, transition between the second and third trimesters. Workshops for this year’s event include:
PROBABILITY AND GAMES OF CHANCE
The house always wins – but why. In this workshop students explore the math behind casino games like Roulette, Craps, Black Jack, and more.
GIFTS FROM THE GREEKS
Did Pythagoras worship numbers? What does Plato have to do with the Platonic solids? Did Euclid cut corners when he invented Geometry? Was Archimedes’ bath water just too hot? In this workshop, students take a trip back in time to the days before algebra (but also before calculators) to explore some of the ideas that helped give birth to mathematics as we know it.
“THE FISH GAME” SIMULATION
This simulation engages participants in an interactive, interdisciplinary game that applies systems thinking tools and game theory to real world challenges.
MATH IN SOHO
Students put on their favorite pair of sneakers to walk the neighborhood math trail. Students will experience Spring Street through the eyes of a mathematician.
PERSPECTIVE DRAWING
As art moved into the Renaissance period, many artists were also architects and engineers. Geometry was a tool for them to make objects look realistic even though they were painted on a flat surface. They began to pay attention to the viewer’s perspective. Have you ever wanted to draw a realistic picture of a solid (three-dimensional) object on a flat (two-dimensional) piece of paper? In this workshop, with the aid of Geometer Sketchpad, students will study two ways of making such drawings.
STRATEGIC GAMING
These games will seem simple at first, with just a few pieces and a simple board – who wins and who loses may appear almost random. Once students begin to develop a strategy, they become almost impossible to lose. Join this workshop to play these games and develop winning moves.
REALITIES OF ECONOMY
Can you analyze or predict stock market trends? Are there any patterns there? How to manage your credit cards and other financial investments efficiently? Use math and simulation exercises to answer these and similar questions.
The schedule for the day:
8:30-8:50 – Assembly, “Pi” contest
9:00-10:30 – First round of workshops
10:30-10:45 – Break
10:45-12:15 – Second round of workshops
12:15-12:30- Closing assembly
12:30-1:30 – Lunch with pie (of course!)
We hope your child/ren will be here to participate. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 but we encourage all to stay for lunch.
Speaking of special programs, this coming Wednesday, March 16, we will be taking the 9th and 10th grade drama classes for Trimester III and the entire 11th grade to see “The Comedy of Errors” at BAM.
Monday, March 14, Trimester III begins. Grades and Comments for Trimester II will be posted for all families March 29, 2011 on Podium.
All the best, Ruth
Updates and Announcements:
1. Several of our art students have been inspired by our Studio Art Instructor James French to participate in this year’s Single Fare show, a “show of small works on used metrocards.” This show which began last year is called “Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again.” Come and see the fantastic work (all of which will be on sale, one price for all of the works, $100) of Grace Tobin ’12, Lidor Foguel ’11, Lucas Renique-Poole ’11, Olu Odubiro ’11, Zoe Lubin-Fosha ’11, Tiffany Ramos ’12, and many more.
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 17th, from 5 to 9 pm
Exhibition: Friday, March 18 through Saturday, March 26, 2011
Gallery Hours: Noon to 6pm – Closed Monday & Tuesday
Sloan Fine Art, 128 Rivington Street, New York, NY.
2. Honors Project Proposals for Trimester III are due to Ruth by March 16, 2011.
3. From the PA Literary Committee
Did you ever wonder what that book was that had your child so enthralled, or why everyone is suddenly so gaga over teenage vampires? Then come to Well-REaD, a children’s and young adult book discussion event for parents, sponsored by the LREI Literary Committee. It will be held on Thursday, April 7th, from 6-8pm, in the Sixth Avenue building. Sign up for one of four book discussions led by our LREI librarians featuring titles that your children have read and enjoyed.
Like all good book discussions, wine and cheese will be served along with lots of lively discussion on some of the most popular titles published for youth today. Books will be made available for order through the LREI Literary Committee, and make great additions to your child’s bookshelf. Click here for the list of books/order form and credit card authorization form.
Following is a list of the groups and the books that will be discussed:
SUBTLE SOCIAL JUSTICE (Grades 1-4) led by Stacy Dillon
A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn William
Cameron and His Dinosaurs by Scott Christian Sava
The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow, (hardcover only)
GRAPHIC NOVELS (Grades 4-8) led by Jesse Karp
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
SOLID MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades 5-8) led by Jennifer Hubert Swan
The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman (5-6th gr)
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (7-8 gr)
TEEN DYSTOPIAS & PARANORMAL ROMANCE (Grades 9-12) led by Karyn Silverman
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Please sign up for one of the four book discussions and purchase books at our table in the Sixth Avenue Lobby, Friday (March 4) or Tuesday to Thursday (March 8-10), from 8-9am. RSVP forms will also be available at the reception desk if you are unable to sign up at our table by next week, or you may e-mail us at LiteraryCommittee@LREI.org.
Childcare will be available for those attending Well-REaD ($15 per child, $5 for siblings). Sign-up for childcare at the Sixth Avenue reception desk (or you may e-mail Mary Shea, at mshea@LREI.org) by Monday, April 4.
We’re looking forward to a night of interesting and informative discussions. Hope to see you there!
5. Save the Date. April 20th, 6-8pm. During “Earth Week” at LREI, Jamie Cloud of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education (and LREI parent) will be giving a presentation/workshop for parents, teachers and students (5th grade and older). Jamie has worked with several schools to advance sustainability in the classroom. She will lead a hands-on workshop that will help participants develop an awareness of sustainability and how to apply it to every day living and learning. If you want to attend, please email Red is Green at RedisGreen@lrei.org