Building for Action

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear LREI Families,

Thank you to those who were able to join us last Wednesday for our Building for Action event. It was wonderful to have so many of you there, along with alumni, past parents and staff, to share in the tremendous support for LREI that was in the room. For those of you who were not there, you might want to visit our web site, click on the Building for Action button to view much of the information we shared on the 24th. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page you can watch the Then and Now slide show that was a crowd favorite at the event. Or, just click here.

As you heard last week, or will see on the web site, we announced plans to renovate and green all of the classrooms in the Sixth Avenue buildings over the next few summers—we completed the majority of the middle school classes this summer—and to add a great deal of space to the Charlton Street campus, as well as to renovate current Charlton Street spaces. This work grows out of the strategic plan created by the Board of Trustees, and a large group of LREI community members, in 2000. In addition to creating improved spaces for our current student body in the lower, middle and high schools, this campaign will create a larger high school building to provide for the planned increase in the high school student body. A larger high school student body will be more attractive to many prospective families, will allow for an increasingly academic program and will support our tuition remission program for all three divisions and ongoing increases to faculty salaries and professional development funds.

In the weeks and months to come there will be many opportunities to learn more about Building for Action. There will also be opportunities for those who want to join the Building for Action team. There will be a drop-in information session on the morning of Wednesday, October 8th from 8:15-9:30AM, in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. I will be available to discuss our goals and to answer any questions you may have.

I look forward to continuing the conversation.

Best,
Phil

This Week’s Attachments
General:
Eighth Grade:
Permission form to leave and reenter the building
DC Trip Registration Form
Seventh Grade:
Permission form to leave and reenter the building
Williamsburg Trip Registration Form
Fifth and Sixth Grade:
Ashokan Trip Registration Form

Of General Interest . . .
1) Click here for important information for current families applying another child to LREI.

2) You are invited to join us to learn about the Annual Fund and the significant role it plays in the school’s operating budget. You can attend one of three sessions:

  • 8:15AM, Friday October 3rd, Sixth Avenue cafeteria

  • 8:45AM, Friday October 3rd, Sixth Avenue cafeteria

  • 6:00PM, Tuesday October 14th, Charlton Street library

Annual Fund co-chair Mindy Goldberg and LREI’s Director of Advancement Pippa Gerard will be available to answer any questions you may have. Please RSVP to Sandra Song in the Office of Advancement at 212-477-5316 x275 or via email at ssong@lrei.org.

3) Please read the attached letter from the PA Literary and Multicultural committees.

4) From Chap, Director of Diversity & Community: 2008/2009 Parent SEED group — SEED (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) work invites the engagement of head, heart, and soul. Participants examine inner and outer ways in which systems bear on lives inside and outside of school. SEED work develops ways of understanding complex relations between self and system with regard to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability/disability and cultural experience. Our First Parent SEED Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 15th at 6PM, in the MS Art Room (Sixth Ave). Make a commitment to join LREI’s monthly SEED parent group. Click here for the commitment form. Contact Sandra (Chap) Chapman, Director of Diversity & Community at schapman@lrei.org or Peggy Peloquin at ppeloquin@lrei.org to learn more.

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 2008-2009 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

  • November 11, 2008
    An Expert’s Guide to Negotiating the Prickly Points of the ‘Tween Years
    Temple Israel, 112 East 75th Street, 12:00-2:00 pm
    Speaker: Julie Ross, M.A., Executive Director and Founder of Parenting Horizons; Author of “Practical Parenting for the 21st Century: The Manual You Wish Had Come With Your Child” and “How to Hug a Porcupine: Negotiating the Prickly Points of ‘Tween Years”

For all grades . . .
1) School Picture Day is coming up!

  • Coffee Pond Photography will be taking individual portraits of each student and each class. Students in grades 7-8 will have pictures their taken on 10/6/08 (in case of inclement weather, pictures will be taken on 10/27). Students in grades 5-6 will have their pictures taken either on 10/27 if the 10/6 session is canceled or during the first week of November when Coffee Pond returns for makeups.
  • Coffee Pond Photography is able to offer a limited number of photo scholarships. Please reply to Kim Cherubin via email kcherubin@lrei.org (or call at extension 215) by the end of the day Thursday, 10/2, if you receive tuition assistance and are unable to pay for photographs. Because of the small number of scholarships available, they will be first come-first served. Please list the name(s) and grade(s) of the children for whom you are requesting the package.
  • You will receive proofs in the mail directly from Coffee Pond and can choose which photograph you like best. All orders will be placed online using the Coffee Pond website. To get the best photo of your child, please make sure they are dressed appropriately that day. If you have any questions about ordering, you can email Coffee Pond at lifeguards@coffeepond.com or call 800.635.2323 between 9AM and 5PM on weekdays.

For Seventh and Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) Middle School chorus director Ledell Mulvaney is looking to start a vocal ensemble for seventh and eighth graders. If your child likes to sing, has participated in our chorus program in an earlier grade, or has participated in the Middle School musicals, please encourage them to attend. Ledelll will be speaking with students about the time and location for the first meeting, which will take lace during the school day.

2) As outlined in the handbook, seventh and eighth graders who want to leave the building after dismissal and then return to use the library or lab must have a signed permission form. Click here to download the form.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) While the trip to DC is not until the spring, please use the attached form to register your child for the trip. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) If you have not done so already, please use the attached form to register your child for the upcoming Williamsburg trip. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Fifth and Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Please note that the upcoming trip to Ashokan is scheduled for October 6-8 (not the September dates that appear in the Art Calendar). If you have not done so already, please complete and submit the trip registration and payment form. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. Given that on the evening of the 8th some of you will be celebrating Yom Kippur, the trip is structured so that students will be back by 3:30PM.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) On Tuesday, October 14th, the sixth grade will visit the Cloisters to view their Medieval collection. Students will need to bring a lunch on this day (no nuts, seeds, and glass bottles).

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Students had discussions today about our upcoming trip to Ashokan. I will send out a separate email this evening that outline the structure of the three days. While we have not had a parent meeting in the past, I will be available tomorrow morning in the back of the cafeteria from 8:00-8:30AM to answer any questions for those of you who want to stop by.

2) Save the date: Please join us on Monday, October 20th at 8:00AM in the cafeteria for our Fifth Grade Math Breakfast. This event, which will be hosted by fifth grade math teacher Ana Chaney and Middle School math teachers Margaret Andrews and Michelle Boehm, will provide an excellent orientation to the structure of the fifth grade math program. You will have an opportunity to engage in a number of activities that will help you to better understand how instruction unfolds, to hear more about the program, and to ask questions.

3) On Thursday, November 13th, the fifth grade will visit the Met to view their Ancient Near East collection. Students will need to bring a lunch on this day (no nuts, seeds, and glass bottles).

===============For additional information, follow these links: ===============

  • View important middle school dates here.
  • View all events with the LREI On-line Calendar
  • 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 individual homework blog and the “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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