Authentic Assessment

Dear Families:

You should receive progress reports for the second quarter next week. These reports will include a narrative section that provides additional information on your child’s performance in each of his/her classes. With this week’s attachments, I have included a link to material from the handbook about progress reports.

At the same time, I think that it is important to say a word or two about the kind of work that our students are asked to do and how it is assessed. In addition to the more traditional forms of assessment, like tests and quizzes, as a progressive school, we are also committed to the use of meaningful authentic assessments.

Authentic assessments ask students to read real texts and use real materials, to write for authentic purposes about meaningful topics, to confront meaningful problems that may have multiple solutions, and to participate in authentic tasks such as discussions, presentations, experiments, journal and letter writing, and regular revision of their work. Most importantly, authentic assessment values the thinking behind work, the process, as much as the finished product. As you review the progress report with your child, I encourage you to ask her/him about the kinds of authentic work that she/he has been doing. This conversation is as important as the information contained in the progress report itself

This Week’s Attachments

(Click on the links below to open the attachments. If you are having trouble opening the links, go to http://www.columbia.edu/~mis14/ to access the files.)

1) Information on Interpreting Progress Reports

2) Message from Director of Education Nick O’Han

3) Middle School Dance Permission Slip

4) Middle School Literary Festival

5) LREI Arts Festival

6) On Colds and Coughs: A Message from Nurse Kitty Highstein

Of School-wide Interest . . .

1) Middle School “Pajama Day” is tomorrow. Highlights will include hot chocolate and cookies at lunch and stories read by 8th graders during independent reading. Here are a few guidelines, which were developed by the Student Association on the occasion of the first Pajama Day (they had fun coming up with them):

  • A robe adds a nice touch
  • No lingerie or underwear
  • If you wear boxers, please wear some type of undergarment beneath
  • Slippers are fine, but you should bring a pair of shoes/sneakers (especially if you have PE)
  • Blankets and stuffed animals are welcomed, but should not be so big that they require their own desk
  • If you don’t wear pajamas, we do not want to know about it!

2) Please see the attached message from Director of Education Nick O’Han bringing us up to date about LREI’s emergency relief efforts to aid the survivors of the Asian tsunami.

3) The Multicultural Committee is thrilled about the popularity of Karamu but regrets that it sold out so quickly. The committee has fulfilled wait-list requests in the order they were received, up to what fire regulations allow. If you have tickets that you can’t use, please return them to the 6th-Avenue desk by Friday morning and you’ll make someone else very happy. Thanks to everyone who participated by volunteering, donating, submitting a photo, stickering the map, answering the library quiz and contributing to a record-setting Taste of Karamu at both buildings! As this is a community-wide event, we welcome feedback from all, including suggestions/connections for a future venue (with 300+ seats!) that might more easily accommodate the high demand. Send your thoughts to: marguerite.lukes@liu.edu

4) Coffeehouse on Saturday (1/29) at 7:00 PM in the Charlton Street PAC! Half of the proceeds will go to tsunami relief. Come one, come all!

5) On Tuesday, February 1, at 6:30 PM, the Media Arts department of LREI will present 14 films by 9 high school students, as a representative sample of the best work of the last year. The total program will last about an hour, and will take place in the second-floor screening room of the Apple Store SoHo, on the corner of Prince and Greene. These films show the great diversity of interests in our student body, and reveal how a progressive education can lead to great and serious artistic work. In this collection are narrative fiction films, experimental poetry films, Presidential campaign commercials from this past fall, documentaries, and a terrific music video of one our media student’s own rock band. Come watch and see for yourselves why everyone is talking about LREI .

LIST OF FILMS:

1. The Reporter, a film by Stefan Holt (8min57sec)

2. Alice, a film by Sophia Capotorto-Weiss (1min10sec)

3. Break Time, a film by Alex Coles (14min53sec)

4. Presidential Campaign Ad by Samuli Haavisto (1min21sec)

5. New York, a film by Nick Heller & Kortney Hartz (2min15sec)

6. Presidential Campaign Ad #1 by Stefan Holt (40sec)

7. No Me Moleste Mas, a film by Melissa Reyes (1min17sec)

8. Magic Fantasy Arts, a film by Jonathan Segal (8min38sec)

9. Presidential Campaign Ad #2 by Stefan Holt (47sec)

10. Music in Words, a film by Brunnell Velazquez (54sec)

11. Presidential Campaign Ad #3 by Stefan Holt (52sec)

12. Protest? What Protest? a film by Alex Zhang (9min12sec)

13. Naked Riot: “Let it Ride” (Music Video), by Samuli Haavisto (3min26sec)

14. Hoops, a film by Stefan Holt (5min5sec)

6) The LREI Art Auction 2005 will be held at the I-20 Gallery, 529 West 20th Street on Wednesday, February 2 – Thursday, February 3, 10 AM – 8:30 PM. A kids afternoon at the auction, including scavenger hunt, drawing, candy and goodies will be held from 3:10pm – 5:30pm on Wednesday. Reception and final bidding will take place on Thursday, February 3rd from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. ADMISSION IS FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC . Follow the link above to pre-register (save time at the auction!), view pieces and get more information. Raffle Tickets on Sale in the Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street lobbies – $10 for one, $50 for 6. Also, join us for Kids’ Preview Day on Wednesday, February 2 at 4:00 RSVP to events@lrei.org or via phone at 212-477-5316 x 292. The Art Auction needs volunteers! This year, all pieces must be wrapped for shipping on Thursday night. If you can help, please sign-up on the volunteer board in the Sixth Avenue lobby or contact Sara Narumi at snarumi@lrei.org, 212-477-5316 x 232. Thanks! Please feel free to forward this on to anyone interested in attending the LREI 2005 Art Auction. Last year, the auction raised almost $110,000 for LREI’s Tuition Remission Program. Help make the 2005 Art Auction the most successful yet!

7) To all 6th Grade Families from Melissa, Jeff, and Jennifer: Next Wednesday, February 2nd, the 6th grade will be taking a trip to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, at 112th and Amsterdam Ave. We will be leaving LREI at 9:15, by school bus, in order to meet our 10:00 a.m. appointment. While there, we will work with educators and explore the architecture of the Cathedral, which has its roots in medieval design. We will also examine the highly ornate stained glass windows and students will participate in a hands on activity. Please have your child bring a bag lunch to school on Wednesday. We will return to LREI at approximately 12:30.

8) To all 5th Grade Families from Melissa, Gina, and Heather: Next Friday, February 4th, the 5th grade will be taking a trip to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. We will be leaving at approximately 10:00 a.m. in order to meet our 11:00 a.m. appointment. While at the museum students will view the Egyptian Collection. They will make observations by participating in writing and sketching activities. We will return to LREI at approximately 1:30. Please have your child bring a bag lunch to school next Friday.

9) Reminder: Our first middle school dance of the year is scheduled for Friday, February 4th at 7PM in the Charlton Street PAC. The permission form for the dance can be accessed through the link at the top of the page.

10) Reminder: From High School Principal Tony Fisher: We still need workshop proposals for the LREI High School Arts Festival 2005! This year, the Arts Festival is occurring on Friday, February 11, and will involve all students from grades 8 through 12. This is an exciting day when students choose from a variety of workshops offered by faculty, friends, parents and others in and out of the LREI school community. The workshops run in the morning and are followed by an afternoon of exhibitions. For more details, please see the attached proposal form; in particular, if you or someone you know is interested in offering a workshop, please send the form in to me by Monday, January 31 (EXTENDED DEADLINE!).

11) Reminder: We are now in the process of organizing this year’s Middle School Literary Festival, which is scheduled for Wednesday, February 16th. This annual event, which is a celebration of the writing and reading that goes on in our community everyday, is an excellent opportunity for parental involvement. Please read the attached letter from Middle School Dean of Students Noni Polhill for more information.

Looking Ahead . . .

On the LREI web site additional information about upcoming events can be found at http://www.lrei.org/caleven/index.html (the middle school events page can be found at http://www.lrei.org/midschool/Events.html)

  • Friday, January 28th, 5:00PM – KARAMU (set up at noon) ChSt. PAC
  • Saturday, January 29th, 7:00PM — Coffeehouse, ChSt. PAC
  • Wednesday, February 2nd, 10:00AM – 6th Grade to Cathedral of Saint John the Divine
  • Tuesday, February 1st, 8:00AM — Sports Comm. Mtg.
  • Wednesday, February 2nd — Art Auction
  • Thursday, February 3rd, 8:00AM — LGSA Mtg.
  • Thursday, February 3rd — Art Auction
  • Friday, February 4th, 11AM – 5th Grade to Brooklyn Museum
  • Friday, February 4th, 7:00PM — MS Dance
  • Thursday, February 10th, 8:45AM — PA Exec. Bd. Mtg., 6th Ave. caf.
  • Friday, February 11th — HS Arts Festival
  • Monday, February 14th, 9:00AM — Comm.Serv.Mtg.
  • Tuesday, February 15th, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep Mtg.
  • Tuesday, February 15th – Thursday, February 17th — ERBs
  • Wednesday, February 16th — Literary Festival
  • Friday, February 18th, 8:30AM — Lit.Comm.Mtg.
  • Monday, February 21st — Presidents’ Weekend – school closed
  • Tuesday, February 22nd — Presidents’ Weekend – school closed
  • Thursday, February 24th, 8:45AM — PA Exec. Bd. Mtg. w/Phil, 6th Ave.caf
  • Thursday, February 24th — LS Art Show
  • Friday, February 25th — LS Art Show
  • Friday, February 25th – 6th Grade to the Met (arms and armor exhibit)

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and interesting information – http://www.lrei.org.

Be well,

Mark

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