Digging in the dirt

Dear Families:

It has been a busy week in the Middle School with students working on a range of projects. The fifth grade Archeology Dig project, which is a new integrated project for us this year, is coming to an exciting conclusion. As part of their on-going study of ancient civilizations, the fifth graders have been exploring universal aspects of culture (e.g., politics, economics, and religion) and how they are expressed in unique ways by individual cultures. The Archeology Dig project places students in the center of this process. In groups, students have created the foundations for a fictional civilization. This has required them to create a set of core values of the civilization and a language and symbol system to express these ideas. They have this work as the basis for creating a set of artifacts that tell a portion of the story of their civilization. These artifacts will then be broken and buried in the simulated “dig” sites. Students will then excavate the artifacts created by another group and then try piece the story of the civilization together. The next few days should be exciting ones for the fifth graders and for their core, art, and science teachers.

Our Book Week author visits have also been engaging and thought-provoking and have provided another lens through which we can explore what it means to be a community of writers and readers.

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.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.)

General:
School Store Hours
Visibility Photo Exhibit
PA Community Service Committee Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
New Math Unit Letter
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

1) It’s time again for the Middle School to participate in the National Geographic Geography Bee (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/index.html). The first round of the Bee will take place the week of December 12th in the classroom. In this round, students respond orally to a series of geography-related questions. Participation in the Bee is voluntary and those who don’t want to participate will serve as the audience for their peers who do choose to participate. We will do the final and championship rounds at Middle School meeting on Wednesday, January 4th. The winner of the championship round will then take the state-qualifying test on Monday, January 9th. If you think your child may be interested in participating, some useful preparation resources can be found at:

http://geography.about.com/library/quiz/blpreviss.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/ax/newquizstart.html
http://geography.about.com/od/testyourknowledge/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographybee/resources.html

2) Middle School “Pajama Day” will take place tomorrow. Highlights will include hot chocolate and cookies at lunch and stories read by eighth 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!

3) From Gabrielle Keller: St. John’s Canned Food Drive – Quite a few of the Middle School advisory groups have gone to bag cans and fruit at St. John’s Food Pantry already this year. The groups work for an hour or so on Tuesday mornings helping the pantry to prepare for a Wednesday pick up by the families. We are now holding our annual Canned Food Drive for St. John’s and the goal is “One Child, One Can.” If every child in the Middle School contributes at least one canned food item, this will go a long way in helping the pantry to meet their significant needs during the holiday season. Please remind your children. Students should bring their donations to their homerooms by next Thursday. Thank you! Requested items: Canned soup, vegetables, meats and fish; packages of pasta and rice. PLEASE NO PEANUT BUTTER or any foods with nuts.

4) The school store will be open at the Sixth Avenue building tomorrow. See the attached flyer for more details.

5) GIFT REMINDER: Please be respectful of our tradition of sharing our appreciation with teachers through kind words or a note, not with holiday gifts. A Book Fair gift certificate is another way to contribute to your child’s class at this time of year. (P. 27 in the LREI Family Handbook contains further information on gifts for teachers.)

6) Please note that LREI will be closed on Monday, January 2 and that we will have a professional day on Tuesday, January 3. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 4.

7) As the holidays approach, the school photo process is coming to a close. At this point we ask that you contact Coffee Pond Photography directly (lifeguards@coffeepond.com, 800-632-2323 ext. 0) with any questions about photo proofs or your order. This ensures that orders are processed quickly.

8) Please see the following from the Community Service Committee:

* A letter about an upcoming event this Saturday;
* A list of December events; and
* Pictures from the recent Thanksgiving activity.

9) From Middle School play director Julia Collura: The Middle School is currently in production for “Arabian Nights”, which goes up January 20th and 21st. If you have any of the following items that you are able to lend or donate for the production, the cast and I would be very grateful. Thanks so much and hope to see you at the show! Needed: old cushions that can be re-covered, oriental rugs, two or three divans, sari tops, wide Turkish type pants, belly dancing outfits and/or accessories, pointed slippers, costume jewelry, and very wide leather belts.

10) LREI College Panel and Parent Reception: Join recent LREI graduates on Thursday, January 5th at 6:30PM in the High School Library at 40 Charlton Street and hear them talk about their college experiences and how LREI influenced their transition to college. Panel discussion and questions, reception to follow. Panelists: Akim St. Omar ’02 – Boston College; Shayna Jeffers ’02 – Wesleyan; Thea Bardin ’02 – University of Florida; Ian Patrick ’03 – Vassar College; Brian Marmolejos ’04 – Yale University; Michael Sokol ’04 – Drexel University; and Alison Wiggins ’05 – Skidmore College.

11) Whether you are lesbian, gay, straight or none of the above, we invite you to recognize the lesbian and gay people in your life or your child’s life and to let them tell their stories. Invite them to join you in LREI’s photo exhibit, “VISIBILITY: Celebrating the Lesbian and Gay People We Love.” For more information, please read the attached letter.

12) For information about LREI’s other efforts to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina please go to http://www.lrei.org/whoweare/katrina.html. For additional service opportunities, please see the attached calendar from the PA Community Service Committee.

13) LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA). NYC-PIA provides parenting education, information and a communications network to help parents prepare their children and teenagers to cope with social pressures and to make sound choices towards a future free of alcohol and drug abuse. You can access their on-line calendar of events at www.parentsinaction.org.

For 8th Grade Families . . .
1) There will be a parent meeting for the spring trip to Spain on Thursday, January 26th at 8:00AM.

For 7th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm about the new math unit.

For 6th Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.

For 5th Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.

Middle School Sports
Schedules and general information about Middle School sports programs can be found at http://lrei.org/athletics/at_4b.html. Information is also available through the LREI Sports Hotline at 212.477.5316 x 494.

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)

  • Tuesday, December 13th, 8:15 AM — MS Parent Rep Meeting
  • Thursday, December 15th — Winter Concert
  • Friday, December 16th — School closes at 12:00PM for Winter Break
  • Sunday, Jan 29, 2006 — Robotics Team Competition Day

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

Be well,
Mark

To view the attached .pdf files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on the following link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

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