‘Tis the Season

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear Families,

spring

  1. the season of the year following winter and characterized by the budding of trees, growth of plants, the onset of warmer weather, etc.
  2. the first stage and freshest beginning

culminate (cul-mi-nate)

  1. to reach the highest point or degree
  2. to come to completion; end

Spring has clearly sprung.  The weather is warming, the trees are budding, the ball field is full each afternoon, as are the benches in Little Red Square—with students, parents and faculty taking advantage of the season.  While spring is a moment of new beginnings, as I walk the halls of the three divisions at this time of the year, the more prevalent feeling is that of a beginning of culmination, a coming to completion.  All LREI students and families will have opportunities to participate in or witness these endings in the coming weeks.  Among these events have been or will be:

  • the upcoming middle and high school sports awards ceremonies;
  • the middle school musical, Into the Woods;
  • the first grade Learning Center, Funky Earth Café and block neighborhood;
  • the second grade city constructions;
  • the fourth grade immigration play;
  • the eighth grade Sustainability, Day of Learning.  On this day the eighth graders led workshops for all middle school students dealing with issues of sustainability. They also organized two assemblies featuring outside speakers;
  • the seventh grade trip to Philadelphia and the eighth grade trip to Gettysburg and Washington, DC;
  • the fifth grade Grecian Festival;
  • the seventh grade’s mock Supreme Court hearings;
  • the publication of IE, our literary magazine;
  • Senior Project presentations;
  • and ArtACTION, an exhibit of high school art, organized by senior Ella Suanders-Crivello, that will raise funds for a variety of causes. More information in each division’s blog;

and countless other moments taking place in each classroom and around the City.

For each student there will be many opportunities to demonstrate all that they have learned this year. For older students, there will be tests and quizzes and papers and presentations.  For all there will be projects and events, including those listed above. Clearly, you will be invited to share in your child’s culminating events.  There are also a number of events that are open to the whole community.  Keep your eye on the blogs for more information.  As a preK-12th grade school, among our most important culminating events are the publication of our college list (we will email it to you next week, once all decisions have been made) and, of course, Commencement—an essential event.  Enjoy these opportunities to celebrate our students’ growth and learning and their many, many successes.

Happy culmination,
Phil

This Week’s Attachments
General:
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) Mark you calendars! Come to the annual Middle School Art Show on Thursday, May 1st and Friday, May 2nd. Come and see artwork created by the Middle School students over the course of the year. The exhibition will be on display in the Sixth Avenue auditorium all day on the both days. Please join us for a closing reception on Friday, May 2nd from 3:00-4:00PM. See you there!

2) From Middle School French and Spanish teacher David Lee: Fourth and Fifth grade Spanish speakers have been putting together a blog to represent the Hispanic culture at LREI. So far it is full of interviews with Spanish speaking students and staff. Please check it out, post comments & feel free to make any suggestions: http://lreispanish.blogspot.com/

3) Please join us for a terrific and important community event: Glass Menagerie and Friends — A TRIBUTE TO ROBERT DECORMIER. Sunday, May 4th at 3:00PM at St. Joseph’s Church on 6th Avenue and Washington Place (2 blocks below 8th St.) Tickets are $20 ($15 students/seniors). For information contact gmenagerie@yahoo.com.

4) Inspired by the art show at Synchronicity Arts, and the previous Broadway benefits, Senior Ella Saunders-Crivello, has put together a two-day event/art installation and benefit at a gallery space on Mercer Street. She is encouraging young artists from our school, grades 9-12, to donate their favorite, original art pieces for purchase; 80% of the purchase price will be donated to one of four charities–the artist’s choice. The charities are Action against Hunger, Doctors without Borders, the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation, and Sean Casey Animal Rescue, a no kill shelter in Brooklyn, NY. This event, ArtACTION, will take place on May 10 (opening reception, 3 PM-8 PM) and May 11 from 12 PM-8 PM, 7 Mercer Street, New York City.

5) A message from Chap, Director of Diversity & Community– Bringing the Conversation Home: Strategies for addressing challenging diversity topics your child brings home. Thank you to those who were able to attend last Tuesday’s diversity discussion. A list of articles and parent resources can be found at the following link: http://lrei.org/diversity/pdf/bit_parent_resources.pdf

6) AIDS Walk 2008: The AIDS Walk is an important LREI community service event and is scheduled this year for Sunday, May 18, 2008. We’re hoping for strong representation from all Middle School grades this year. Please remember that students in grades six and below must be accompanied by an adult. Registering for AIDS Walk New York has never been easier. Just click on this link below and choose your registration type (“Join a Team” — we are team #1222). If you prefer, you can always register by phone. Simply call (212) 807-WALK (9255) and they will be happy to register you. If you are not able to walk, please make every effort to support the team by making a donation.

7) Save the date: The annual LREI Camping Trip is scheduled for June 6-8. This event is a great, fun LREi family tradition! You can camp out on Friday night and/or Saturday night. You supply the tent and sleeping bags and we supply the food. Enjoy swimming, games, fishing, bird-watching and s’mores. For more information contact: David Trumbull at dave.trouble@gmail.com, Neil Capobianco at ncapobianco@seyfarth.com, or Larry White at lwhite@stern.nyu.edu.

8) 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.

9) Summers at LREI news: 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.

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

11) 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/.

  • 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) 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. Please contact Mark if your middle schooler will be having a visitor. Click here to view the invitation.

2) Our annual 24 Challenge will be held this year on Tuesday, May 27th (the day after Memorial Day). It will be held in the seventh grade rooms from 7:45 to 8:30AM. One important change to this year’s competition is that students will compete at tables of 4 rather than against a single other person. The stack of cards in the center will be larger and the person with the most cards at the end will win that round. Winners may proceed to another table to play other rounds, or (if the bracket is small) they may not. Categories will be the same and sign up sheets will appear when we get closer to the actual day. The finals for our in-house 24 Challenge will take place at Midde School Meeting on Wednesday, June 4th.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) On Wednesday, May 7th, at 8:00AM will will have a parent meeting for the upcoming DC trip.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) On Friday, May 2nd, the seventh graders will spend the day at the high school and will join high school students in our annual Arts Festival. The festival features day-long workshops that represent all aspects of the arts and are taught by practicing artists. It’s a great day.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) On Monday, May 19th, the sixth grade is going to Carnegie Hall for a Link Up! concert and they are practicing for the trip! Performers will be the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by John Morris Russel, and audience members – including those sixth graders who are prepared – playing recorder. In order to prepare, each student has a Link Up! workbook, with two CDs of musical examples and exercises for self-study of the recorder at home. Students will be given their material – workbook and recorder – to take home, beginning the week of April 28th – May 2nd. Students will practice various pieces from the workbook as homework during the two weeks leading up to the Monday concert. The class will not practice their recorder during regular music classes. Rather, students will have the opportunity to practice during school. IWPs will be reserved for 6th grade recorder players Tuesdays and Wednesday May 6, 7 and 13, 14. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on the 19th.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) A reminder that a follow up discussion evening with the folks from Parents In Action is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, at 6:15PM. Childcare will be available for this event. Please email Mary Shea directly at mshea@lrei.org to confirm that you will need childcare.

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

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