April 3, 2008

Spring News and Notes

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear Families,

I hope this note finds you well and rested after your children’s Spring Break. I want to use this week’s blog to share a few updates and thoughts.

First, it is my pleasure to announce that Sandra “Chap” Chapman will be returning as our Director of Diversity and Community next year. When Chap began in her current role last July it was as Interim Director of Diversity and Community. As you know there was a small, dedicated group of parents, teachers and administrators who interviewed a number of candidates and hosted half-day visits by Chap and another finalists. Thank you to those parents who attended the group interviews and to the members of the PA and the affinity groups who participated in interviews and discussions. In the end, it was clear that Chap was the best candidate and I am thrilled that she will be continuing her work with families, faculty and students in all three divisions.
As her first official act, Chap has asked for me to remind you of two events next week—actually one event being offered at two times. We invite you to participate in ”Bringing the Conversation Home: Strategies for Addressing Challenging Diversity Topics Your Child Brings Home,” happening on Tuesday, April 8th at 8:45AM in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria and Thursday, April 10th at 6:00PM in the Charlton Street cafeteria. These conversations will focus on real situations that have occurred in LREI homes throughout this past year. The situations deal with issues of class/wealth, race/ethnicity, gender, and family structure. These have been interesting and fruitful conversations in the past and I encourage you to join in this year. Please RSVP, particularly for the Thursday evening session, as it will only take place if we are expecting sufficient parent participation. You can email Chap at schapman@lrei.org or let the receptionists know that you will be attending.

Over Spring Break, 47 LREI students traveled overseas on school sponsored trips:

Fifteen eighth graders traveled to France with their French teachers Sharyn Hahn and David Lee. This group visited Paris, Versailles, took the train (TGV) south to Avignon, and Aix-en-Provence, then off to Nimes, St. Jean de Vence, Monaco, Aise, and Nice.
Nineteen eighth graders traveled to Spain with Gabrielle Keller, Middle School Spanish teacher, Margaret Andrews, middle school math teacher, and Victor Diggs, seventh grade core teacher. This group went to Madrid and Barcelona, visiting the new Prado, a comprehensive Picasso exhibit at the Reina Sofia and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral as well as strolling, shopping and eating along the Ramblas in Barcelona.
Thirteen high school students visited the Gunter-Stohr-Gymnasium, the school with which we have had an exchange program for the past five years. These students stayed with a host family in Munich, attended school, visited many museums, the Royal Residence and Dachau, as well as reuniting with friends made when the German students visited us in October. Many students traveled with their host families over the Easter weekend. Some went skiing in Austria and others visited Verona and Venice.

Finally, we are nearing the departure date for seven of our middle school robotics team members and their coaches—Sherezada Acosta, Carin Cohen and Steve Neiman—who will travel to Tokyo for a global robotics tournament. In the coming days you might see afternoon bake sales that this group is organizing to help pay for some sight seeing excursions and to support the other US team that has been invited to attend this event.

It was wonderful to welcome your children back to school on Monday. They all seemed to have grown so much in just two weeks! One of the aspects of the spring that makes it such a fruitful time of the school year is that students fully inhabit their grades. When they entered school in September they were essentially still operating as members of the grade they had left in June. For example, new fifth graders still had one foot firmly planted in the lower school. Students’ slow journey through the fall and into the winter supported, encouraged, nudged and demanded their maturation into fully-fledged members of their current grade. Upon returning from a two week break on Monday there was absolutely no part of last year left in them. We have even started to see glimpses of next year from time to time. There is a confidence and easiness in the students in the spring; the student’s work, individually and in groups, is graceful and smooth in a way that it was not just a few weeks ago. Much will be asked of all LREI students in the coming weeks. The last quarter of the school year will require that the students continue to develop skills and competencies while putting to use all that they have experienced and learned in the past seven months. Each child will have a number of opportunities to share with their families and the community all of the abilities that are part of their new selves and that will support them as they, in a few short months, take that step into the next set of challenges.

Best,
Phil

This Week’s Attachments
General:
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
High School Preview Night Flyer
MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) The LS and MS Parents of Children of Color Committees (POCOCs) Book Club: The POCOCs have been talking about starting a book club for the children of color in the lower and middle schools for some time as a great way to get the children together again after our very successful breakfast in the fall. We are excited to announce that we are now ready to launch our book club! We would like to invite all families with children of color in the lower school and middle school to participate fully and help us make this a wonderful, successful event. Please click here for more information. We are looking forward to a fun evening of books, camaraderie, community building and of course, food. A few notes:

If you are the parent of a child of color of the lower school, we invite you to read the attachment, commit to participate and invite at least two other families with children of color in your classroom.
You do not have to be a member of the POCOC to participate… the book club is open to all families with children of color in the lower school.

Important dates:

RSVP March 14th
Book Club meeting date: April 4th 2008 6-8pm

If you have questions please email Shindy Johnson at shindy@kenduuwa.com.

2) Summers at LREI news: Summers at LREI offers six weeks of programs from June 23-August 1. Programs are:

Little Red Summer Camp, day camp for ages 3.5-10
Musical Theater Workshop for ages 7-14
LREI Institute, an academic and arts program for ages 10-14.

General registration for Little Red Summer Camp and Musical Theater Workshop is currently open. You may download the registration form from the Summers at LREI website or call the Summers at LREI office to receive a hard copy in the mail. Registration for LREI Institute will begin in late March. Please see the attached flyer for a listing of the major workshops being offered this year. Feel free to contact the Summers at LREI office with any questions at 212-477-5316 ext. 506 or email cfriesen@lrei.org.

3) Big Auction 2008 is coming on May 1. You should have received an invitation during the last week – if not please contact Pippa Gerard at pgerard@lrei.org. Attached is a flyer about a wonderful auction tradition – the community afghan. If you are a knitter or crocheter there is still time to participate and donate a square to be included in the afghan. April 11th is the deadline for afghan submissions.

4) As a class fundraiser, the ninth graders are collecting used ink jet cartridges and old/broken cell phones. They will send the collected items to an organization that recycles them and the class will receive cash for these items. Please note that the collection is limited to used ink jet cartridges and old/broken cell phones. For additional information go to www.fundingfactory.com. They will begin collecting used cartridges and cell phones on Wednesday, February 6th and will continue until Thursday, May 22nd. A collection box will be located in the Sixth Avenue lobby. Tell your friends and family about this opportunity so that these items can be recycled and don’t end up in landfills.

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

6) 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/.

Seminar with Dr. Mel Levine: NYC-PIA and Mt. Sinai Children’s Center Foundation are co-sponsoring a seminar with Dr. Mel Levine on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at the 92nd Street Y at 1395 Lexington Avenue. In this seminar,”A Mind in the Middle: What Leads To, Takes Place, and Results from Middle School Learning”, Dr. Levine will speak about the critical brain changes that occur during early adolescence. Please make a reservation by calling us at (212)987-9629.
Luncheon Speaker Event: On Tuesday, May 6th, NYC-Parents in Action is holding a luncheon speaker event, “Ready, Set, Go: Preparing for Transitions in Childhood and the Tween Years”. The speakers are Jean Mandelbaum, Head of All Souls Preschool and Jeanette Friedman, consultant and therapist focusing on the causes and effects of substance use in teens and families. To receive your invitation to this luncheon, contact your NYC-PIA School Representative Carol Pratt.

For all Grades:
1) Please note that the Family Conferences scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th, from 12:15-3:30PM, will take place the following week on Wednesday, April 23 (this will still be a full day for students). These conferences will be with your child’s advisor and will address work in all subjects. Your child’s advisor will contact you to set up a conference on either Friday, April 18, or Wednesday, April 23. These two conferences days will not be days to meet with individual subject area teachers. If you have questions or concerns about a specific subject you should contact that teacher directly to set up a time to meet or speak on the phone.

2) A reminder that Grandparents and Special Friends Day is scheduled for Friday, May 9. For Middle School students, those grandparents and special friends who do attend will be treated to a tour of the school by their student from 1:00-2:30PM, which will be followed by tea, coffee and discussion with Phil and I. We will send invitations home, which you can send to a grandparent or special friend. Click here to view the invitation.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) Please note that the science Forensics Evening, which had been scheduled for Thursday, April 3, will take place on Wednesday, April 23, at 6:00PM in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.

2) The Eighth Grade DISC Dance has been rescheduled for Friday, April 18. The dance will take place at 40 Charlton Street and will run from 7:30-9:30PM.

3) Please read the attached letter about our Adolescent Issues substance abuse prevention education sessions with the Freedom Institute.

4) For those students continuing on to the high school, the math placement exam will be given on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 3:30PM – 4:30 PM at 40 Charlton Street.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the new math unit letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

2) SAVE THE DATE: Join us for the High School Preview Night on Tuesday, April 8th at 6:30pm in the Charlton Street Performing Arts Center (PAC). This is a wonderful opportunity for Middle School and Lower School parents to learn more about the High School from parents, students and recent alumni. We hope to see you there! RSVP to Samantha Caruth, Director of Admissions, at 212-477-5316 ext. 305, scaruth@lrei.org.

3) Monday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

4) Please read the attached letter about our Adolescent Issues substance abuse prevention education sessions with the Freedom Institute.

5) On Friday, April 25, the seventh grade will travel to Philadelphia for the day to visit Independence Hall and the Constitution Center. Additional information from Matthew and Victor will be forthcoming.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) The fifth and sixth grade intramural softball program will begin next Tuesday morning, April 8th, at 7AM at Houston Street Ball Field. Practice days will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Players should bring gloves; all other equipment will be provided. You should also download and complete a copy of the permission form. Louis Hernandez and Peter Fisher will run the program.

3) The Sixth Grade DISC Dance is scheduled for Friday, April 11, at St. Lukes. The dance will run from 7-9PM. Students will be bringing home permission slips early next week.

4) Monday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) The second parent Adolescent Issues evening will take place on Monday, April 7th at 6:30PM and will be lead by Mark Silberberg and Middle School psychologist Andrew Weiss. All parents/guardians are encouraged to attend. Childcare will be available for this event. Please email Mary Shea directly at mshea@lrei.org to confirm that you will need childcare. We have also scheduled a follow up discussion evening with the folks from Parents In Action. This meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, at 6:15PM.

2) The fifth and sixth grade intramural softball program will begin next Tuesday morning, April 8th, at 7AM at Houston Street Ball Field. Practice days will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Players should bring gloves; all other equipment will be provided. You should also download and complete a copy of the permission form. Louis Hernandez and Peter Fisher will run the program.

3) SAVE THE DATE: Join us for the High School Preview Night on Tuesday, April 8th at 6:30pm in the Charlton Street Performing Arts Center (PAC). This is a wonderful opportunity for Middle School and Lower School parents to learn more about the High School from parents, students and recent alumni. We hope to see you there! RSVP to Samantha Caruth, Director of Admissions, at 212-477-5316 ext. 305, scaruth@lrei.org.

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.

A reminder that the homework blog “feeds” for every class can be accessed from the Digital Classroom link on the sidebar (you may want to bookmark this page for easy access). These feeds provide an easy “one-click” solution to find out what has been assigned for homework. Keep in mind that a feed will only show what has been posted as of the time you check it.

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

Be well,
Mark