Director’s Blog: A Guest Post from Phil
U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 3
“He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
I started writing this note earlier in the week just as President Obama was finishing his State of the Union address—a moment each year that requires a deft balance of leadership and politics. I was struck by two of the themes of this address, both of which, in my opinion, fit the “necessary and expedient” requirement—collaboration and preparation for an unknown and uncertain future. Hard to argue with the importance of these two goals yet also hard to understand why they are held out as so difficult to achieve. You should expect us to foster these essential habits in your children each day. We certainly expect to see them in the students’ behavior. I accept that our current two party system is inherently antagonistic—bringing together officials who represent a variety of viewpoints and beliefs, people who may strongly disagree with one another. I accept that their work is hard and that sometimes compromise represents loss and, therefore, may be unwanted. I would suggest that, as we teach your children, there is often a larger purpose than the obvious “us vs. them” and that no matter how hard it is to get along, no matter how easy it is to get lost in the immediate details, no matter how much we may want to win the day, in order to be successful communities must find a way to communicate, to hear each other, to see the world for a moment through the experience of another whose life is quite different from your own and to focus on the larger issues. For many of us, in our personal and professional lives, there is no choice but to create alliances and to get along. I don’t know why our elective representatives allow themselves to opt out of this most reasonable of expectations. I can’t imagine a discussion with the students, of any age, in which they counted sitting next to someone they disagreed with as a significant accomplishment. We don’t call this a momentous achievement. We call it lunch.
We also watch your children preparing for an uncertain future. We see them making connections between various disciplines; between what is happening at home and what is happening in the classroom. They solve complex problems. They are self-reflective and bold. They are willing to take risks and are supportive of their classmates. Not only do we expect these behaviors each day, we actually see them each day. Very much the stuff of progressive education. You should be proud of your children. Ultimately, what we need is more LREI graduates sitting in the hallowed halls of government.
On a different note, as many of you know our high school juniors and seniors are able to apply to take a class at New York University as part of the NYU College Preview Program. These students take on the full workload of a college course in addition to their six major subjects at LREI and whatever extracurricular commitments they have made. The seniors are also in the thick of the college application process. Attendance and requirements for the NYU classes are the same as they are for “official” college students and only the professor knows that they are high school students. The LREI students who took courses at NYU last semester are:
- Lidor Foguel—Calculus II
- Rachard Kemp—Black Urban Studies
- Aaron Naves—Black Urban Studies
- Luca Schliemann—African Cultures
- Grace Tobin—History of Modern Ireland II
- Ian Tsang—Developmental Psychology Across the Lifespan
Each of these students earned an A or B in their course. Congratulations on a job well done!
Finally, by now most of you have received your re-enrollment contract(s) for the 2011-2012 school year. If you have not, you will quite soon. If you have, a reminder that these documents are due back to us by February 1st, 2011, next Tuesday. Please do not hesitate to contact Michel de Konkoly Thege, Associate Director, or me with questions.
Best,
Phil
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LETTERS FROM LOWER SCHOOL TEACHERS
(click on the links below to view and print notes from teachers)
Diane & Alexia’s Fours-K: Click here to read a letter from Diane & Alexia about the class’ upcoming school study.
All Fourth Grade: Click here to read a letter for all fourth grade parents previewing the fourth graders’ next math unit.
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LOWER SCHOOL REMINDERS AND 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 2010-11 school calendar.
Spirit Game, 1/28: The LREI Spirit game is Friday, Jan 28th from 3:30-5:30 at the Thompson Street Athletic Center (145 Thompson St.) Please come and either play or cheer on the faculty or the LREI basketball teams. All teams rotate and play against LREI faculty. At half time, there will be a shooting contest for lower school and younger middle school kids. Click here for a flyer with complete details. Here is the schedule and order of the games:
- MID SCHOOL GIRLS: 3:30
- MID SCHOOL BOYS: 3:50
- JV BOYS: 4:10
- HALF TIME SHOOT OUTS: 4:30
- VARSITY GIRLS: 4:50
- VARSITY BOYS: 5:10
Updated Contact Info: If your contact information—address, phone numbers, email addresses—has changed since we distributed the directory in September, please contact Mary Shea, mshea@lrei.org, as she is preparing an updated directory for distribution in the coming weeks. Thanks.
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
POCOC Book Club & Potluck: The POCOC Book Club & Potluck will now take place on Friday, February 4th from 6:00 – 8:00 in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. Rita Williams-Garcia, the author of our Middle School book selection will join us. For complete information, including descriptions of the books, click here. To view the potluck sign-up, click here.
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PARENTS ASSOCIATION MEETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
All parent association meetings are held in the LS Cafeteria at 8:45 am, unless otherwise noted
Thu, Feb 3, 2011: Big Auction Meeting
Thu, Feb 3, 2011: LGSA Meeting
Red is Green: In January the Red is Green Committee will be collecting holiday cards for recycling. The cards will be donated to St. Jude’s Ranch. St. Jude’s will remove the front of each card and attach a new back then sell the new card to raise money for the organization. Cards that can be recycled must not have writing on the back side of the front cover. Please, no cards with personal photographs or Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards. Cards can be placed in the collection bin located in the lobby.
Sports Committee: Ready for some indoor fun on a chilly afternoon? Our basketball teams are RED HOT! So warm up with friends and come to one of our exciting home games! Be prepared to scream, yell, wave your flags and MAKE SOME NOISE as we CHEER OUR TEAMS ON TO VICTORY! All games are held at Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street. LET’S GO KNIGHTS!! Knights home game schedule for next week:
- TODAY! 1/28 at 3:30pm: SPIRIT GAME — All are welcome to come and cheer as our 7th-12th grade basketball teams take on the LREI Faculty! Please see flyer for details.
- 1/31/2011: MS Girls vs Dwight 4PM
- 2/1/2011: MS Boys vs City and Country 4PM
- 2/2/2011: Varsity Girls vs LFNY 4PM
- 2/3/2011: JV Boys vs York Prep 4PM
- 2/4/2011 : Intramurals – Red/TieDye Blue/Green
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LOWER SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES
All Lower School Assemblies are held in our Auditorium at 8:45 a.m, unless otherwise noted.
Wed, Feb 23, 2011: 9:00am Families Assembly
Wed, Apr 13, 2011: First Gr. Assembly
Wed, Apr 20, 2011: K’s Music Assembly
Wed, Apr 27, 2011: 2nd Gr. Assembly
Wed, May 4, 2011: 4s/4k Assembly
Wed, May 11, 2011: 3rd Gr. Assembly
Wed, May 18, 2011: 4th Gr. Assembly
Wed, May 25, 2011: K’s Movement Assembly
Wed, Jun 1, 2011: 4s/4k Movement Assembly
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LOWER SCHOOL PARENT REPRESENTATIVES 2010-2011
Beth’s Fours Maren Berthelsen, Becca Markley
Fours/K Marjorie Goldner,
Sara Taplitz
Elizabeth’s K Juliet Burrows,
Carmen Lenzi
Luise’s K Shannon Barden,
Yael Goverover
Gina’s 1st Diane Hoffman,
Ceci Van Blerkom
Galen’s 1st Dawn Eig,
Christine Boyle
Rebecca’s 1st Hilary Meltzer,
Mishi Hosono
Tasha’s 2nd Mary Gerzema,
Linda Phillips
Deborah’s 2nd A.M. Homes,
Fia Hatsav,
Julia Wilbur
Dan’s 3rd Holly Glass,
Denise Roederer
Vonick’s 3rd Heather McMaster,
Beth Dary
Dina’s 4th Connie Butler,
Lara Olivieri
Kate’s 4th Susan Harris,
Liselotte Vince