Four Additional “R’s”
Dear Families,
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 endge 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 gibing 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.
Cheers,
Phil
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LETTERS FROM LOWER SCHOOL TEACHERS
Gina & Ruthie’s First Grade: Click here for our newsletter!
Rebecca & Christine’s First Grade: Please click here for our letter.
Dot & Becka’s Third Grade: Please click here for this week’s updates.
Note to all families from Peggy, in woodshop: Fourth Graders built chests which carried their belongings on their imagined trip to America. Their chests are in the Sixth Avenue lobby display case. Be sure to see them!
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UPCOMING LOWER SCHOOL MEETINGS & EVENTS
For the most up-to-date information visit the school’s online calendar at www.lrei.org/calendar. Click here to download the one-page 2009-10 school calendar.
4/8 Third and Fourth Grade Science Night! 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the 6th Avenue Auditorium – open to all 3rd & 4th graders and their parents and caregivers. A night full of fun science experiments!
4/13 Open PA Thank You & Welcome Breakfast —
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 8:30 a.m. 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!
Remember, if you are a parent at LREI you are a member of the PA.
4/15 First and Second Grade Science Night! 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the 6th Avenue Auditorium – open to all 1st & 2nd graders and their parents and caregivers. A night full of fun science experiments!
4/16 & 4/23 LS/MS Parent Teacher Conferences & Childcare: Lower School and Afterschool closed on these dates. Sign-up sheets for childcare (conference only or full day) will be available in the lobby. Full day childcare is $20 per child. You may pack a bag lunch (please, no nuts or seeds) for your child that day; morning snack and pizza lunch will be provided. Please contact Dena Tasse-Winter if you have any questions (dwinter@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 215).
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LOWER SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES
All Lower School Assemblies are held in our Auditorium at 8:45 a.m.
SPRING 2010
4/14 – 1st Grade Music Assembly
4/21 – Kindergarten Music Assembly
4/28 – 2nd Grade Music Assembly
5/12 – 3rd Grade Music Assembly
5/19 – 4th Grade Music Assembly
5/26 – Kindergarten Movement Assembly
6/2 – 4s & 4s-K Movement Assembly
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UPCOMING PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
4/9 Literary Committee Meeting
4/9 “Stir the Pot” Tasting Event Committee – The committee needs more volunteers! Please come to our meeting on Friday, April 9th at 8:45 a.m. in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.
4/12 Multi Cultural Committee Meeting
4/13 Open PA Thank You & Welcome Breakfast
4/14 Food Committee Meeting
4/19 How to Raise an Ally: Social Justice @ LREI
4/20 LS POCOC Meeting
4/21 Adoption Committee Meeting
4/21 Parent SEED Meeting
4/22 Tasting Event Committee
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
*Click here for information on Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future, which will take place on Thursday, May 13th at 6:00 p.m. The committee needs more volunteers! Please come to our meeting on Friday, April 9th at 8:45 a.m. in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.
*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 successful affinity groups. Monday, April 19 at 8:45 a.m. 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. Please click here for more information.
*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 click here for more information.
*Please click here for a note from the Art Auction.
*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, 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.