Wrapping Up and Moving Up

Dear Families,

It’s been a busy week in the Middle School with

  • the sixth graders sharing some most excellent poetry at their potluck on Tuesday morning,
  • the fifth graders wowing us with their robotic amusement park rides, memoirs, math games, animations of Greek myths and a stellar dramatic production in which Ulysses was put on trial,
  • the seventh graders sharing scenes from Romeo and Juliet and then arguing a simulated supreme court case on national security and the first amendment at the courthouse in Brooklyn; and
  • the eighth graders preparing for the culmination of their Middle School experience, which will take place next Tuesday at our Moving Up Assembly/Ceremony.

It has been an exciting year in the Middle School and these culminating events point to just how far we’ve all traveled together this year. In a way, I’m surprised that the end of the year is upon us. However, with so much amazing work going on, it’s hardly surprising that it’s turned out that way. It has been a pleasure working with you and your children and I look forward to our continued collaboration in the fall. In the intervening months, I hope that you have a joyful summer filled with plenty of quality time for family and friends. Relax and be well!

This Week’s Attachments
General:
Middle School Supplemental Reading List
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment
Sixth Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment
Williamsburg Trip Registration Form
Fifth Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment

Of General Interest . . .
1) From Phil Kassen: Marcus Chang — Middle School PE teacher and Athletic Director — has resigned from his position at LREI. Peter Fisher, coach of the championship eighth grade boys basketball team and the high school baseball team and currently teaching in the lower and middle schools, will take on the athletic director responsibilities next year. Peter will spend some time this summer organizing 7th-12th grade athletics for the ’08-’09 school year and will spend considerable time in the high school in the fall getting to know the high school students better.

3) From High School technology coordinator Tim Cooper: High School students Gloria Bardin, AJ Sims and Ryan Kim have constructed a Lego robot that controls a solar panel so that a set of arms points the panel to the sunniest space in the sky. Their project will be on display all summer at the Cafe Habana in Brooklyn (click here for directions). The Cafe Habana and Habana Labs sponsored this project, which was exhibited at the Feedback Sustainability Event at the Eyebeam Gallery in Chelsea. The robot will let patrons recharge computers and cell phones and bring awareness of sustainable power solutions such as solar power. For more information about the project, go to
http://www.ecoeatery.com/lab/events.html

3) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert: A gentle reminder that Sixth Avenue library will end book circulation on Monday, June 2. This means that no more materials may be checked out from the library so that we can begin shelving and shelf-reading. However, regularly scheduled classes will continue as usual and students, faculty and parents should feel free to use the library space for study and independent reading. Please encourage your students to look for and return any overdue library books that may be hiding in their desks, lockers, closets, backpacks or under the bed. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s library books, please contact me.

4) For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.4) 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) The attached 2008-2009 calendar reflects an important change. Next year’s Family Conference dates for the Middle School will mirror those of the Lower School (November 7 and 14 and April 17 and 24 — All Fridays and both divisions will be closed on these days).

2) Please make sure to read the attached summer work assignments, which appear below in the grade level sections.

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) Just a heads up that the annual End-of-Year Middle School dance will take place on Monday, June 16th (not the 9th as indicated on the Art calendar). The dance location has been moved to the Thompson Street Athletic Center because of renovation work at Charlton Street. The dance will start at 6:00PM and pizza and ice cream will be provided.

5) Also for Monday June 16, please make sure that your child comes to school with a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles). The fifth grade will be going to Central Park for lunch and after lunch will visit the Central Park Zoo. The sixth and seventh graders will be off to Bear Mountain and the eighth grade will spend the day at the beach.

6) As we have done in the past, I will be posting a sign-up sheet outside of my office for students who want to help lower school teachers pack up their rooms. That said, we are also going to do a fairly extensive packing up of the Middle School classrooms. This is partly to make space for the summer camp, but also to prepare the rooms for some significant freshening up work for the fall. Some Middle School teachers will also be asking for packing up help over the next few days and starting at 1:00PM on Wednesday, June 18th and for the full day on Thursday, June 19th. Students who want to help Middle School teachers should speak directly to their teachers. Students may also sign-up to help Lower School teachers on the 19th as well. Students will be paid $5 for work that is done after school hours. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) For those students moving on to EI, you should have received the summer work assignments. If you have not received them, please contact high school principal Ruth Jurgensen.

2) 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. Please note that due to space consideration, we ask that attendance at this event be limited to parents/guardians and their eighth grader. Additional details from your parent reps will follow.

3) 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 and 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) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.

2) 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) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.

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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