A stronger more thoughtful community

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear LREI Community,

December, as you know, has been filled with special events during the school day and well into each evening. As I look back over this long list of meetings and performances, on the eve of the Winter Break, I realize that of all of the events and occasions in which I have participated in the past few weeks, none was more interesting than one of our regular, weekly principals’ meetings earlier this month. Each week I meet with the three principals, Cari Kosins—Director of Afterschool and Summer Programs and Chap Chapman—Director of Diversity and Community. For the meeting in question I invited the music teachers and, for the first time, the president and vice-president of the high school student body. The first item on our agenda was the program for our annual Winter Assembly.

The student leaders contacted me late last month as their constituents had questions and frustrations about our annual pre-winter break, all-school get-together. Jesse Towsen, the president, put it quite plainly, “We think the assembly is boring.” In addition to wanting the group to discuss ways to make the assembly more enjoyable, the students had significant questions about how we choose the songs we sing at this all-school gathering. A number of years ago we decided to have the songs and readings focus on the themes of peace and light—images present in the winter traditions of many cultures and religions. We consciously stayed away from songs that came out of any specific religious tradition. We also decided not to attempt to sing songs from all religions as this is not only impossible to do but ignores the students who do not identify with a particular tradition. This was one of the things with which the students were most frustrated—why did the adults feel as if we as a community could not acknowledge the religious traditions represented in the room. A good question, one I have thought quite a bit about and a topic about which I have strong feelings.

While we are a community that believes strongly in having, discussing, displaying and living according to a set of values and beliefs, for better or for worse we have become cautious and uncomfortable when discussing religion and spirituality. When we bring the whole school together, almost 600 students and over one hundred adults, for an all school assembly we are making a statement that “this is an important event.” To have a song that comes from a specific religious tradition at the center of one of these assemblies also makes a big statement and leads us to many questions. Among them—Can we represent all religions? Do we even want to try? How do we support the children who come from families that do not subscribe to any organized religion, whether or not they are spiritual people? If we sing songs of a particular faith at an assembly is the school “endorsing” one faith over another? The high school students answered these questions by asking one of me. “Why,” they asked, “can we have an assembly to introduce the Hindu celebration of Diwali to the student body” (which we have done for the past few years), “but we would not be allowed to have a Christmas assembly?” An excellent question and one that raises issues of power and privilege, familiarity and ignorance.

While we cannot support or endorse any one faith, or the having of faiths and religious beliefs in general, we also have to make sure that our students and families don’t feel as if they have to check their beliefs at the door. LREI students of deep religious faith should feel just as comfortable discussing their beliefs as those students who are not members of any particular religion are in discussing theirs. We must find ways to have our students understand the importance that religion holds for many, many people, to celebrate the diversity of spiritual beliefs in the same way we celebrate other differences between us and to foster an understanding of the history of religion in human society. In a country where the depth of one’s beliefs is seen, by some, as a measure of one’s fitness to be President, our children must have, in order for them to grow into informed and active citizens, an understanding of the power that belief holds for a great many people.

The faculty will be spending some time this spring, and into the fall, examining the role discussions of religion might play in our school. We will examine our current practices and look for new ones in order to ensure that no one feels excluded due to their beliefs. We will look at the ways we teach about religion in history, literature and arts classes. And we will find time to talk with the children, and with you, about this interesting, difficult and important topic.

I am looking forward to this exploration. We will learn a lot. We will become more understanding of our colleagues and neighbors and we will be a stronger more thoughtful community for having challenged ourselves with this discussion.

A last word. I was persuaded. We will sing a few songs this year that stem from specific religious traditions and will, in the New Year, discuss how this felt and make plans for future events. Please do not hesitate to email or call if you would like to discuss this topic.

I wish you all the best and a Happy New Year.

PS I want to correct an omission. In last week’s blog, I should have thanked the members of the Literary Committee for the many weeks and months of planning that made Book Week—the author visits, book fair and Literary Evening—possible. What an amazing event! Thank you and we are already looking forward to next year’s event.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
College Panel Invite
Visibility Exhibit Letter
Community Service Committee Calendar
Eighth Grade:
DC Trip Payment Letter
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Intramural Basketball Schedule/Roster
Fifth Grade:
Intramural Basketball Schedule/Roster

Of General Interest . . .
1) 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.

2) From the Community Service Committee: Please view the calendar of events, a few highlights are below:

  • The Hudson Guild has need of volunteers on Tuesday, December 25, from 9:30AM to 1:30PM. Please contact Joseph Barretto at 212.760.9803 phone or email jbarretto@hudsonguild.org to sign up before attending. This is a popular volunteer event so call early!
  • God’s Love We Deliver needs approx 50 volunteers to organize 1,400+ blizzard boxes on Sunday, January 6th (Shift 1: 10AM-1PM and Shift 2: 12:30-4PM). These boxes contain food items for our clients so they have something to eat if an emergency (including, but not limited to a blizzard) hinders their ability to deliver meals. If you are free, they’d love for you to join them in filling these boxes. This is a great opportunity to volunteer with kids. If you’re available and want to help, contact Brandon Snead at 212-294-8184 or bsnead@glwd.org.

3) Afterschool Winter/Spring 2008 Registration: Information and registration forms for Afterschool at LREI’s Spring Core, Enrichment, and Instrumental programs is posted on the Afterschool page of the school’s website. You can also download Enrichment, Core and Instrumental registration forms by clicking on the attachments below:

The following is a schedule for the beginning of Afterschool in the New Year:

  • Monday, January 7th -Registration week begins. Registration for all programs will be processed starting at 3:00PM.
  • Friday, January 11th – The last day to register for Afterschool programs.
  • Monday, January 14th – All Enrichment Classes, Instrumental Lessons and Core Afterschool programs begin.

4) Save the Dates:

  • Please join us for our annual College Panel Night, which is scheduled for Thursday, January 10th, from 6:30-8:30PM in the Charlton Street PAC. This is a great opportunity to hear from LREI graduates about their college experience and how LREI prepared them for it. RSVP to Alumni Relations Coordinator Liza Sacks at lsacks@lrei.org. For more information, please read the invitation.
  • Karamu! – a multicultural celebration of dance & music with performers from around the world is scheduled for Friday, January 25th. All are invited. Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, January 22nd. Discount tickets are available, please see Regina Trumbull or Kasey Picayo. This is always a sold out event so get your tickets early. Here are some ways to be involved: Get tickets & come to the show, photo project, scavenger hunt & heritage map. Sign up sheets will be in the lobby after winter break. Please volunteer and join the fun! More details to follow.

5) Please read the attached letter from the LREI Lesbian Gay Straight alliance (LGSA) announcing the upcoming Visibility show.

6) For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.

7) 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. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2007-2008 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
No updates this week.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached schedule/team roster for the fifth and sixth grade intramural basketball program. Please note the following change to the schedule: Practices will start on January 8th and 9th. All players must bring a completed permission form to the first practice. Click here to download a permission form.

2) On Friday, January 11th, the sixth grade will travel to the Met to see their arms and armor collection. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, and bottles).

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached schedule/team roster for the fifth and sixth grade intramural basketball program. Please note the following change to the schedule: Practices will start on January 8th and 9th. All players must bring a completed permission form to the first practice. Click here to download a permission form.

For additional information, follow these links:

  • Calendar of Events
  • LREI Athletics. For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and season recaps.
  • Click here to view the Middle School Photo Gallery.

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and other interesting school-related information.

Be well,
Mark

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