Choosing to Participate

Dear Families,

While the eighth grade is away this week in Gettysburg and DC as part of their core curriculum, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share with you another important piece of their learning journey, which culminated on May 28th.

For the past five months, the eighth graders have been researching issues related to sustainability as part of their core curriculum . This curriculum explores a range of social justice themes connected to the study of US history from Civil War through the Civil Rights Era. Throughout the year, students look at a cross-section of individuals who have taken a stand on social justice issues and who have “chosen to participate.” This year, we expanded the curriculum to support students as they developed social activist skills and “chose to participate” themselves.

Their research into sustainability led them to organizations and volunteer opportunities that have helped them to better understand this crucial issue. As leaders in the Middle School, the eighth graders then planned a Day of Learning for the students in grades five through seven. This day included a series of assemblies and student-run workshops that framed their experiences over the past five months and suggested ways for their classmates to take action on this issue.

Here is a sampling of the workshops that were offered:

  • Food, Glorious Food! — Have you ever been dissatisfied with an apple that you wished fulfilled your taste buds? Did you ever consider where that apple came from, or how much pollution it created before it arrived in your hand? Well, if you come to our workshop we will make an organic snack. You will learn to experiment with local food to create a delicious meal while we learn about the environmental impacts associated with our food.
  • Other People’s Trash, Our Treasures — In this workshop, we will create wonders out of trash. You will make a piece of art out of a variety of recycled objects, such as bottle caps, magazines, cans, hangers, and paper towel rolls. You are free to open your imagination to anything that shows people how important it is to be sustainable. If you enjoy letting lose and being creative, join us for this thrilling workshop, and bring some recyclables along with you!
  • Malaria Jeopardy — Interested in the health side of sustainability? Enjoy game shows? How about saving the young children of Africa from the malaria epidemic? Have fun, learn a lot, and win great prizes in this Jeopardy-style educational experience.
  • Make Trees, Save the Planet! — In this workshop, you’ll learn about different types of trees, and why it is crucial that we plant new trees and sustain forest growth. We’ll design and create our own tree shapes and paste them onto a huge roll of paper, making a collage of a forest. You will use magazines and different shades of green construction paper. If you like creative group work, this workshop is for you!
  • Build-A-Farm — Are you interested in cows? Farms? Sustainability? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are perfect for the Build-A-Farm activity. In this workshop, we’re going to sketch architectural blueprints for farms and examine the differences between organic and factory farming. If you looking for a fun workshop, this is the one!
  • Race to the Best Bento Box — If you like Japan and cool art, this workshop is for you. First, we’ll explore the importance of “reusing,” which is one of the three Rs of sustainability. Then we will make our own bento boxes out of sustainable materials. A bento box is a Japanese lunch box with many compartments to store different items. You don’t necessarily have to use your finished box for food. You can use it to store whatever you want. There will also be a (sweet) surprise.
  • Green House for the Gingerbread Man — In this workshop, you will create a sustainable “gingerbread” house. Using different candies to represent different aspects of sustainable architecture and design, you will create a graham cracker house that will be as sustainable as possible. Group members will be able to eat their “green” creations to make the activity even more sustainable!
  • Sweet, Sustainable Jewelry — Sustainability extends much farther than many people may think…and you can do the simplest things to help. Come to our workshop and explore the easy ways you can reuse candy wrappers to create some great, colorful jewelry. It’s fun and creative, not to mention environment-friendly!
  • The Solar Shop — On your marks, get set, gooooo! The race toward discovering and using solar energy has begun. Build your own solar powered car and race them against remote controlled cars. If you like to build or are curious about the usage of solar energy, join our workshop.
  • The Little Green School House — In this workshop, we will come up with ideas that will make a room in LREI more green and eco-friendly! Then you will split up in groups to design and construct your vision of what that room could look like. We will have a contest to see what group came up with three or more different ideas to make a room at LREI more “green.”
  • Natural Beauties — Have you ever wondered how beauty products are made? Here’s your chance to find out! In this workshop, we will make natural beauty products with ingredients such as essential oils, fruits, and honey, as well as learn about how making your own products is better for you and for saving the environment! Please bring small, airtight, plastic containers (such as Tupperware or Ziploc containers).

The assemblies featured a number of student-created videos, a panel discussion with local sustainability activists and a keynote presentation by educator and activist Josh Hahn from the Stone Bridge group. It was an empowering day and one that profoundly put students at the center of a progressive learning experience. It taught them something about the complexities of organizing and leading an event. I think they also discovered some new found respect for their teachers after having to walk a mile in their shoes.

Throughout the project, students maintained a class blog that was used for recording thoughts and experiences and for collecting feedback from the rest of the Middle School students and teachers following the Day-of-Learning. I encourage you to explore the blog to dig more deeply into the learning experience of our eighth graders.

I am already looking forward to next year’s Day of Learning.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
LREI Camping Trip
Book Fair Pre-Authorization Form
Field Day Information
April MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Williamsburg Trip Registration Form
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) If you are interested in continuing as a rep next year or would like to volunteer to serve as rep for the 2008-2009 school year, please let Kasey Picayo know. You can email Kasey at picayosmith@aol.com.

2) The Second Annual Literary Magazine Publishing Party Coffeehouse is this Saturday, May 17th, at 7:00PM in the Charlton Street PAC. Join us for a wonderful evening of reading and music.

3) Being Smart On-Line–Parents of Second-Sixth Graders are invited to a discussion of Internet safety. LREI Technology teachers Celeste Dorsey, Steve Neiman and Tim Cooper will offer practical suggestions and helpful ideas. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and suggestions. Monday, May 19, 8:45AM, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria. Click here to view the flyer.

4) Gabrielle, Michelle and Henry’s advisory is looking for all your worn out athletic shoes! That’s right, make room for summer flip flops and sandals by giving us your old sneakers. Nike’s reuse-a-shoe program takes worn out athletic shoes and grinds them into material used in making playgrounds, tracks, and basketball courts around the world. Our reuse-a-shoe collection will take place next week, 5/12 to 5/16. Please drop off your shoes in Leila’s 8th grade room. Here are the conditions:

  • Athletic shoes only (any brand)
  • No shoes containing metal
  • No cleats or dress shoes
  • No wet or damp shoes

For more information, check out http://letmeplay.com/reuseashoe/program.

5) 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. For additional information, please contact Gabrielle Keller at gkeller@lrei.org.

6) The Spring Book Fair will take place on Thursday, May 22nd, from 8:00AM to 6:00PM in the Sixth Ave. auditorium. This is a great opportunity to buy selected titles from the summer reading lists for grades 1-12, as well as summer reading for adults. Attached please find a copy of the Parent Pre-Authorization form, which you can complete and send in so that your child can purchase books at the fair in lieu of bringing cash to school. Please click here for the flyer. Concurrently with the fair, this year the Literary Committee is sponsoring the first Spring Literary Celebration to showcase the many written accomplishments of LREI students. Please click here for the flyer.

7) 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.

8) The Spring Concert on May 22nd at 6:30PM in the Charlton Street PAC features the Little Red Chorus, Elisabeth Irwin Singers, cast of “Into the Woods” and the EI Jazz Band. All parents and friends of LREI are invited to attend this joyous music event.

9) Next Friday, May 23rd, we will hold our annual Field Day and Senior Appreciation at Pier 40. We’re looking forward to an exciting day! Please read the attached letter for additional information and t-shirt color assignments.

10) It’s a party to celebrate Sharon Dupree’s four years at LREI! Please join us for a Sixth Avenue Rooftop celebration on Tuesday, May 27th from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. All parents welcome. Childcare will be available in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria. Please RSVP to Sharon Fong at sharonf@bflnyc.org if you plan to attend and to sign up for childcare by Thursday, May 22nd.

11) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert: A reminder that all LREI library books be returned to both libraries by Monday, June 2nd. Like past years, we will be closing to circulation on this day, which means that while we will continue to check materials in, we will no longer check any more materials out. Please look through your child’s bookshelves at home, through closets and under beds for any stray LREI library books. We will be sending home overdue slips as usual, and please let me know if there are any errors on your child’s slip.

12) Save the date: The 15th annual LREI Camping Trip will be held on the weekend of June 6-8. All LREI families and their children — pre-K through high school — are invited to participate. As in past years, we expect that a good time will be had by all: hiking, swimming, sports, fishing, camping, cooking, eating, singing around the campfire, etc. The site, as in past years, will be near the Delaware Water Gap (somewhat north of where I-80 crosses the Delaware River). The cost will be $30 per adult, $20 per child. Also, we need volunteers to help with hauling food and supplies and equipment out to the camp site (and back) and providing extra space in their vehicles for those who need a ride out and back. More details will be forthcoming for those who are interested. We will have a sign-up table on the mornings on Friday May 16 and Wednesday May 28 at LREI. Please see the website. Please save the date and let us know if you are interested in receiving more information — and especially if you are interested in volunteering: Send an email to Larry White at Lwhite@stern.nyu.edu. Click here for more information.

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

14) 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 all Grades:
1) Save the date: our annual Middle School Awards Night will be held on this Tuesday, May 20th at 6:00PM in the Charlton Street PAC. This is a wonderful evening to recognize all students who have participated in extracurricular activities this year.

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.

3) On Friday, June 13th, the Middle School students will attend our High School Graduation Ceremony at the New York University. Please note that this is not an early dismissal day for Middle School students. Students will leave the Sixth Avenue building at about 12:45PM. At the graduation, Middle School students will be recognized for their hard work, completion of their current grade and their movement to the next, and will join in the celebration of the accomplishments of the seniors as they move on to the next phase in their education. As this is a very special occasion, we ask that students dress appropriately—no jeans, no printed T-shirts, shirts with collars and shoes are preferable. After graduation, the students will return to the Sixth Avenue buildings by 3:15PM.

4) From School Nurse Kitty Highstein: By now you have received the packet from my office that includes the health form for 2008-09. I need to bring several things to your attention:

  1. The health form must be returned to my office before school opens in the fall. Your child’s physical should be current for the 2008-09 school year. If the date for this physical falls on a birthday that is after the first day of school, please include a note with the other forms you’re returning to me to let me know when the appointment with your pediatrician will be.
  2. Please make sure you complete the medication permission and that your pediatrician signs it.
  3. Always make a copy of the health form to keep with your child’s records. Parents of children going on overnight school trips will need information it contains to complete forms for those events.
  4. Check over all the forms before you send them in. Be sure they’re completed and signed so they don’t have to be returned to you! Thank you.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) Mark your calendar: Eighth Grade Pre-Moving Up Party, Friday, June 13, 2008. Please arrive by 6:00PM for the Potluck Dinner and Recognition Program, which will be followed by dancing until 9:00PM. The event will take place in the Sixth Avenue auditorium. Additional details from your parent reps will follow.

2) The Moving Up Assembly/Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 17th, in the Sixth Avenue auditorium. The assembly will start promptly at 9:00AM and will run until about 10:30AM. Given space constraints we ask that only immediate family members attend (that being said, if there are extenuating circumstances please contact me directly). Immediately following the assembly, the eighth graders will return to their classroom, while parents will exit out the Bleecker Street doors and gather by the steps in front of Sarah’s classroom. The rest of the Middle School community will exit the building from the Sixth Avenue side and then join families by the steps. When all are assembled, the eighth graders will receive their certificates and process one-by-one down the steps.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Following on the heels of last week’s very successful Arts Festival, the seventh graders will participate in our annual High School Visiting Day tomorrow Friday, May 16th. The visit will last from 8:45-10:30AM and will provide students with an overview of the EI experience. On the visit, they will get to meet high school teachers and learn about the exciting programs taking place. They’ll also meet with high school principal Ruth Jurgensen for a Q & A. It’s a great morning.

2) The seventh grade potluck breakfast and Constitution Works event will take place on Thursday, June 12th. The breakfast will begin at 8:00AM in the seventh grade classrooms. Following the potluck, we will leave for Constitution Works program at 9:15AM, which will be conducted at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Parents are encouraged to attend this exciting event. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.

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! Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on the 19th.

2) The annual sixth grade poetry and potluck breakfast will take place on Tuesday, June 10th at 8:00AM in the cafeteria. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.

3) While there is still much to do this year, I wanted to get information about next year’s trip to Williamsburg out to you. We are asking that families register for the trip by June 1, 2008. Registration for the trip is handled by our tour company NCT. The attached form continues the relevant registration information. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Our annual Grecian Festival will take place on the evening of Wednesday, June 11th at 6:00PM. From 6:00-6:30PM, you are invited to view students’ robotics projects in the computer lab and in the science lab. At 6:30PM, we will convene in the Sixth Avenue auditorium for a dramatic presentation, which will be followed by the fifth grade potluck in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about the potluck.

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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