Welcome Back, from Phil
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 10th, 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 5th/6th 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 14th, 4:00PM—7th/8th grade Boys vs. St. Luke’s School
• January 16th, 4:15PM—7th/8th grade Girls vs. UNIS
• January 17th, 4:00PM—Varsity Boys vs. Garden School
• January 23rd, 5:00PM—JV Girls vs. Steiner
• January 24th, 4:30PM—Varsity Girls vs. Birch Wathen Lenox School
• February 21st, 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 25th 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 21st—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.Register online as an individual or group. 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. Contact Andrea Dispenza 212-825-0028 ext 202, adispenza@nyccah.org with questions.
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 (http://childrenforchildren.org/index.php?q=node/36)for more details.
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
Please view our on-line Lower School gallery for great photo’s of recent events: http://lrei.org/photos/0708/ls.
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Afterschool Reminder!
This Friday marks the end of Afterschool registration week. If you have not yet registered for Enrichment Classes, Core Afterschool, or the After 5 program for adults, please view the schedule and class descriptions at lrei.org/afterschool/index.html. New Enrichment Classes for 2008 include: Boys Basketball (3rd-5th), Girls Basketball (3rd-5th), Beginning Chess, Mastering Chess, The Science of Toys, Making Mosaics and 3D Sculpture, Here We Go Video, and Art Exploration: Robots, Machines and Structures. The After 5 Program will be offering Pilates on Monday at 5:00 and Yoga on Wednesday at 4:15.
All Afterschool programs will begin next Monday, January 14th. Please contact the Afterschool Office with any questions at 212-477-5316 ext. 239.
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Save the Date for Karamu! on Friday January 25th. Karamu! is a multicultural celebration of dance & music – performers from around the world – all are invited.
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 22nd. Discount tickets available, please see Regina Trumbull or Kasey Picayo (picayosmith-at-aol.com). This event always sells out so get your tickets early! Here are ways to be involved: get tickets & come to the show, photo project, scavenger hunt & heritage map. Sign up sheets are in the lobby; If you’d like to solicit donations from shops and restaurants, please this letter (PDF). Please volunteer to help and join the fun!
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A Visibility Photo Exhibit Reminder! Your holiday break may be the perfect opportunity to photograph a loved one, family member, or friend you don’t see during the year who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Visibility is fast approaching, running from 2/20 to 3/14, and this exhibition is so much richer when everyone participates! If you need more information please see the attachment on Visibility (PDF attachment).
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PARENT MEETINGS & EVENTS
- Wednesday, 1/16 – 8:45AM: LS POCOC Meeting
- Thursday, 1/17 – 8:45AM: LS Parent Rep Meeting
- Monday, 1/21 – Martin Luther King, Jr. day – School Closed
- Thursday, 1/24 – 8:45AM: Adoption Committee Meeting
- Friday, 1/25 – 6PM: Karamu!
- For an up-to-date, searchable all school calendar, please visit lrei.org/calendar
LOWER SCHOOL NOTES & ATTACHMENTS