Honoring Those Who Came Before Us

Reflection from the 2007 Fourth Grade Immigration Simulation: “I felt like I should be more thankful for what we have and be thankful we are in good health. It made me feel like I was rich.”

Ellis Island

Earlier this week, I walked out of my office because I heard voices that were quite different from what I usually hear in the halls. I had to see what was going on. I saw a long line of children dressed like adults from another era. They wore printed scarves and black wool coats. One fourth grader even wore a black pinstriped suit. Others had leather suitcases, trunks and cloth bags. They wore index cards with unfamiliar names around their necks. They stood on line with solemn faces waiting to be “inspected,” not knowing what their fate would be. Upon entering the inspection room they were asked the same types of questions immigrants were asked in the early part of the last century as they entered Ellis Island. “What is your date of birth? What country are you from? Why do you want to come to America?” Some of fourth graders were detained and had to visit the hospital or take exams to test their mental capacity.

The immigration simulation is part of the immigration unit where students research the different types of people who came to America, the ways in which they contributed to our country’s success and the hardships they had to endure to become a part of their new home and how they took advantage of all it had to offer. In addition to acknowledging those who came to this country through Ellis Island, students also reflect upon those who did not come to this country voluntarily. They do research to find out who else came to this country and how they came? What groups of people were already present?

In an attempt to more fully understand the contributions to the foundation of our city, fourth graders study Africans in Greenwich Village. Who were they? How did they contribute to our neighborhood? Fourth graders also use this information to build a multi-perspective view of history. They learn to more closely examine our nation’s history to make their own determinations about what may have happened that brought us to the place we are today. They also learn to appreciate the hardship, work and tenacity of others. Fourth graders begin to realize the successes we see and experience today were once the dreams of others. They challenge themselves to make dreams for an even better life for those in the future. The Ellis Island simulation is an attempt to provide fourth graders with a hands-on experience that will help them to better understand the human side of textbook history. Fourth graders also took a trip to the real Ellis Island late this week to continue to learn more about the people who came before us.

Please view our on-line Lower School gallery for more great photo’s of recent events: http://lrei.org/photos/0708/ls.

– Sharon

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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From the LREI Family Handbook….Gifts to Teachers: If your child wants to give his or her teacher a gift at winter break, the end of the year, or any other time during the year, a homemade gift or drawing is welcome and appreciated. A group gift from parents and children in the class may be given at the end of the school year. It has been our experience that individual gifts, though thoughtfully intended, may be misinterpreted by the children and, consequently, we discourage this. Thank you for your awareness and cooperation.

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Winter Choral Concert: The Glass Menagerie Chorus, LREI’s adult chorus-in-residence will be performing at St. Joseph’s Church in the Village (Sixth Avenue and Washington Place) on Saturday, December 8, at 8PM. Join Susan Glass, founder and music director along with the wonderful Chorus members for this special event. For more information please visit the Glass Menagerie’s website at glassmenagerie.org.

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From High School Principal Ruth Jurgensen: We invite you to the LREI Senior Arts Showcase at the Apple Store SoHo on December 10, from 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see our talented High School students’ artistic and technological successes. Join us to experience their multimedia creations. Click here for a PDF flyer.

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Little Red Chorus News from Ledell: The Lower School Chorus is getting ready for 3 big events! They will take a field trip and sing at Hudson River Guild on Thursday, Dec. 13th at 12:30 – 2:45. They sing at the LREI Winter Concert on Tuesday, Dec. 18th at 6:30 p.m. at the Charlton Street PAC (Dress is black skirt or pants and a white top). The chorus will also sing at the All school Winter Assembly on Friday, Dec. 21st in the morning. Please click here for a PDF flyer. We are a busy group!

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From Middle School Principal Mark Silberberg: For many years, robotics has played an important role in the middle school science and technology curricula. As some of you already know, our classroom inquiry has been supplemented by our award winning Middle School Robotics team. This year, interest in the program has grown so much that we now have two teams competing in the FIRST Lego League. This past weekend, both teams competed in the Manhattan borough competition and they both did extremely well.

 

  • The Advanced Team won 1st place in the Robot Performance category— their robot achieved the highest score in the competition in this category.
  • The Rookie Team won the Champion’s Award— the Champion’s Award is given to the team that achieves the highest combined score from their Project Presentation, Technical Presentation, Robot Performance and Teamwork

Most impressive. Under the guidance of science teacher Sherezada Acosta, art teacher Carin Cohen, and computer teacher Steve Neiman, both teams will now prepare for the FIRST Lego League Citywide Competition in which the top teams from the five boroughs will compete against each other. This competition will take place on January 26th, so save the date! More details to come in January. For more information about the Middle School robotics program, go to this week’s Middle School blog.

 

With the robotic teams’ victories fresh on our minds, congratulations are also due to the Middle School Girls Basketball team and the Middle School Boys Basketball team who have both started off their seasons with impressive victories. Please check the home game schedule for the boys and for the girls and we hope to see you at the Thompson Street Athletic Center.

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PARENT MEETINGS & EVENTS

  • Wednesday, 12/12 – 8:45AM: LS POCOC meeting
  • Wednesday, 12/12 – 6PM: Parent SEED meeting
  • Thursday, 12/13 – 8:45AM: Adoption Comittee meeting
  • Friday, 12/14 – 8:45AM: Affinity Chair meeting
  • Friday, 12/14 – 7PM: Middle School Play (PAC)
  • Saturday, 12/13 – 2PM & 7PM: Middle School Play (PAC)
  • Monday, 12/17 – 5:30PM: Afterschool’s Piano, Voice and Ballet Recital (PDF flyer)
  • Monday, 12/17 – 6:30PM: Afterschool’s Instrumental Concert (PDF flyer )
  • Tuesday, 12/18 – 6:30PM: Winter Concert (PAC)
  • Wednesday, 12/19 – 6:30PM: Afterschool Enrichment Share Day
  • Friday. 12/21: Winter Break – School closes at 12Noon (Fours – First grade at 11:45AM) – Afterschool Closed
  • For an up-to-date, searchable all school calendar, please visit lrei.org/calendar

 

LOWER SCHOOL NOTES

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