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.

Dear Families,

Congrats to all on a terrific Trimester II!  Grades and comments for Trimester II will be available online on “My Backpack” on March 25, by 5PM. 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, the second week of spring break.

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, March 19 at 12 noon, so a response may not come until after April 4, 2010.

In other news, by now you may have heard that Amy Shapiro, Director of College Guidance, will be moving on to another school closer to her new home, at the end of the school year. We are actively searching for her replacement, and her participation in the process continues.  She loves the school, the community of students and families, and is truly invested as we all are, in finding the best fit for the high school.  In addition, Janet Atkinson, who has taught Studio Art here for 26 years, will be moving on to retirement and to her first grandchild!  Guo-Qing Heaton, who has taught Mandarin Chinese here, will also be moving on at the end of this year.  Finally, current English teacher, Julia Heaton, has been asked to lead the Admissions department for LREI, and she has accepted.  While we will miss her in the classroom, her expertise and energy in Admissions will benefit us all.  As we hire for these positions, we will share details of our new colleagues.  Particularly, we will be inviting 12th grade parents to meet all of our college guidance candidates.

I wish you and your family a safe, restful, wonderful spring break.

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

1.  From Red is Green Committee…

This Friday, March 19 is the last day to drop off your old batteries and cell phones.  Batteries will be brought to a city drop off location to be safely recycled.  Cell phones will be sent to Phones for Haiti.  All funds generated by Phones for Haiti will go to aid victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

April’s recycle drive will be corks, so start saving your corks now!  Corks will either be collected by teachers at LREI who use them in the classroom or recycled by Terracycle.

Next Saturday, March 27, from 8:30-9:30pm local time is Earth Hour.  Millions of individuals, organizations, governments, buildings and cities around the globe will be turning off their lights for one hour to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change.  You can join them by turning off your lights for one hour.  For more information on this movement, visit www.earthhour.org.

2.   Mark your calendars for LREI’s Spring tasting event called “Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future.” 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.

Dear Families,

Trimester II Exam Week is now complete and our Tenth Graders are in the cafeteria happily munching on sundaes served by Phil and catered by Ben and Jerry’s, their prize for having the most spirit during the 2010 Spirit Week.  Tomorrow, students will participate in our first “Pi Day.”  Workshops include Forensics Investigation where students will use TI technology to integrate science with algebra while conducting an analysis of the crime scene, Building Polyhedra which will have students using regular polygons to build 3D objects to investigate special number relationships within the solids built, M.C. Escher and Islamic Art where students will see how Escher used tessellations from Islamic art as a basis for intriguing transformational masterpieces and create their own Escher-like designs, Mathematical Games and the relationship with luck, Perspective Drawing and the study of a viewer’s perspective using Geometer Sketchpad, The Math of Music (intended for our musicians) and the relationship between mathematics and the 12 tones of the western music scale and music theory, Math and Philosophy (and the “game played with paper and pencil, according to an agreed-upon set of rules”) will meet to answer the questions, “Does the number 3 really “exist” in some real way?  What about pi? Or the square root of negative 1? ” and The Magical World of Fractals.

Thanks to the Math Department, and special guest workshop leaders, Irina Lyublinskaya from College of Staten Island and Carol Desoe from Scarsdale High School.   We are anticipating an exciting day.  The day will begin at 8:30 AM with a pi contest and the last workshop will wrap up at 12:30 PM.  We will have lunch available for all students at the conclusion of the day, and the dessert for lunch, of course, is pie!

It is with great excitement that I update you on the status of our new High School Robotics team!  Members Thomas Marin ’13, David White ’13, Liam Cohen ’13, Khalil Brown 13, Leon Sukhram ’13, Callie Richards ’13, Charles Simpson-Brown ’13 and Nicholas Cleves ’12 have been working tirelessly for months to prepare for competition this Saturday at the Javits Center!

All members of the LREI community are invited to cheer on our Middle and High school Robotics Teams as they appear in the 2010 City-Wide Championships.  We are so proud of both teams. The championships will be held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street in Manhattan. The schedule is as follows:

Saturday, March 13th—the high school robotics team will begin to compete at 9:45AM.

Sunday, March 14th—the middle school robotics team will compete from 8-3:30 with the best times to see our team being between 10:00AM-12:00PM and 1:00PM-2:00PM.

These events are free.

Best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

1. High School ROBOTICS!

Feeling disappointed that there is only one day of high school Robotics championships this weekend at the Javits Center? Looking for something to do on a rainy Saturday? Then please drop by LREI’s first High School Robotics team championship appearance to cheer on our rookie team. The team put a lot of work into building a great robot and would love to see you there. All ages are welcome.

FIRST Tech Challenge Championship, Jacob Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street, Exhibition Hall 3B, Saturday, March 13, Saturday, March 13, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM (The action for our team starts around 9:45!).

Here’s a link to the Robotics challenge that we are part of,  and this link takes you to the Javits center info.

2. Registering for Special Testing Accommodations:  From Carrie Korn (ckorn@lrei.org, x324), College Guidance Associate/SSD Coordinator

Hello 10th Graders & 10th Grade Families!

If you are interested in applying for special testing accommodations (extended time, use of a computer on essays, etc.) please contact me. Many of you have already gone through this process and already have a letter from the College Board confirming your accommodations and if this is the case, 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 10th graders well before the end of the year so that accommodations will be in place in time for the October PSAT.

3.  We want your recipes! Plans for the LREI Community Cookbook are under way, and we are now seeking recipes from all members of the community. Recipes can be for any dish that you would bring to a potluck. Please send recipes or questions to cookbook@lrei.org. The deadline for recipes is March 19 (right before spring break). Help us create a cookbook that represents all the diverse facets of our community! Please see the flyer for more information.

4.  Mark your calendars for LREI’s Spring tasting event called “Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future.” 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.

Everything Old Is New Again

Dear LREI Community,

Welcome to March—today it was warm enough for adventurous sixth graders to pull out a pair of shorts only a few days after our second snow day of the year.  I missed this historic event as last Friday I was in San Francisco for the National Association of Independent School’s Annual Conference.  It was a fascinating two days during which I heard a number of engaging speakers.  Among the sessions I attended was a panel discussion entitled, “Building Schools for a Digital Age, Imagining Schools of the Future.” During one exchange, the moderator, Wanda M. Holland Greene—the head of the Hamlin School in San Francisco—asked what the panelists thought that schools would look like in the future.  One panelist, Milton Chen, senior fellow at Edutopia: The George Lucas Education Foundation, said, “The future is changing, but it’s going to look a lot like the past. We’re returning to an age when kids were taught in a more intimate way.”  As recounted on the NAIS web site, he then “cited the intersection of what technology offers with the ideas of progressive education pioneer John Dewey, calling him ‘Saint John.’ Chen said that Edutopia, the Lucas Foundation online space, is very much about project-based learning and integrated studies that break down the boundaries between disciplines.”  “Dewey wanted to make kids more responsible for their own learning,” said Chen.  Sounds a lot like LREI.

Stanford education profession Shelley Goldman also spoke of Dewey.  In response to Chen’s comments she said, “Milton reminds me that I love Dewey, and his quote, ‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.”

In a conversation of where we all need to be headed, it was nice to hear references to one of LREI’s founders and about one of our ongoing guiding principals.

On other fronts:

• GO KNIGHTS!  Congratulations to our JV Boys Basketball Team on winning the league championship!!!  We are so proud of you. We are also proud of the members of our other intermural basketball teams—middle school boys and girls 7^th/8^th grade teams and the varsity boys and girls teams—all of whom made it to their league’s playoffs.  There are still two Fridays of 5^th/6^th intramural basketball left—Friday, March 5^th and Friday, March 12^thfrom 3:30-5:30 in the Thompson Street Athletic Center.  Come and cheer for our youngest athletes.
• Congratulations to the cast and crew of the high school’s production of Urinetown. Mark your calendars now; the middle school musical is coming the first week in May.
• Speaking of the first week in May….Grandparents/Special Friends Day is coming on May 7^th for Lower and Middle School students. We will be sending invitations out very soon. If you have not given us addresses yet, please email them to lsacks@lrei.org.  Thanks.
• Our seniors are finishing their last full term of classes and are preparing for their senior projects, which include a six-week internship.  We have students looking for internships in a number of fields, including: human rights, film/television/music production, medicine, photography, animation and the hospitality industry.  If you are able to offer, or have access to, internships in these fields or in others, please contact our high school principal, Ruth Jurgensen at rjurgensen@lrei.org.

Enjoy,

Phil

Updates and Announcements:

All the best,

Ruth

Updates and Announcements:

Please remember, Exam Week for Trimester II begins with Reading Day, Monday, March 8.  Please see last week’s blog for details and the schedule.

1.  The Visibility Opening Reception will be held Monday March 8th, 6pm – 8pm at the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. Please join us to celebrate this year’s exhibit which includes over 120 submissions. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served. For more information contact Visibility@LREI.org

2.  Registering for Special Testing Accommodations:  From Carrie Korn (ckorn@lrei.org, x324), College Guidance Associate/SSD Coordinator

Hello 10th Graders & 10th Grade Families!

If you are interested in applying for special testing accommodations (extended time, use of a computer on essays, etc.) please contact me. Many of you have already gone through this process and already have a letter from the College Board confirming your accommodations and if this is the case, 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 10th graders well before the end of the year so that accommodations will be in place in time for the October PSAT.

Thank you!

3.  TONIGHT!  LREI 2010 Art Auction, March  4, 2010

Cocktail Reception & Final Bidding: March 4th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Don’t miss the chance to see artwork by some of the world’s finest artists and community members. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend!  It’s our main fundraiser this year.  The event provides essential support for our Tuition Assistance Program and it is going to be a wonderful evening with refreshments and fun. Admission is free!

Visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that will be auctioned.

80’s Day