Some Projects in Process

Dear Families,

I hope that you had a relaxing long weekend and were able to enjoy some valuable time together with family and friends. Things are back in full swing for us and students are hard at work on a number of important curriculum projects.

  • Over the next few weeks, the fifth graders will transform their classrooms into an Egyptian tomb filled with a range of artifacts connected to their study of this ancient civilization. The “discovery” of the tomb will culminate in a full day of guided tours through the tomb by our expert archeologists.
  • Sixth graders are hard at work preparing for our annual Medieval Pageant that will feature a dramatic and musical presentation  and exhibits in the core, art and science classrooms all connected to various aspects of their study of the Middle Ages.
  • Seventh graders are in the midst of presentations on the Red Scare of the 1950s, which is connected to their reading of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and has provided an powerful lens for examining parallels between the American colonial experience and our more recent history.
  • Eighth graders have been studying the Progressive Era and the impact that muckraking investigative journalists had on affecting public opinion and regulating laws on important social issues of their day.  As an outgrowth of this study, students will identify pressing social issues of our day and write their own investigative pieces. Much of this work will connect to their on-going explorations of the intersection between social justice and sustainability issues.

These are just a few examples of the kinds of projects that drive student learning in the middle school. Not only do they support the development of important learning skills (e.g., collaboration, research, discussion, presentation), we believe that they also lead to a  deep and lasting learning of critical content and knowledge. The learning is powerful because it is not only connected to authentic problems and questions that resonate for middle schoolers, but because it also provides them with opportunities to share their learning in meaningful ways. Click here to view a video on the value of project-based learning and an interview with educational pioneer Seymour Papert.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Director’s Drop-In — Phil will be available for drop-in conversations in his Sixth Avenue office from 8:45AM-9:30AM on Friday, March 6th. Drop in, ask a question, and hear about what is going on at LREI. Can’t make these times? Give a call or send and email.

2) Click here to see the 2009-2010 calendar. Note that school will begin on the Wednesday after Labor Day this year, not Thursday. Middle School and High School orientation will be on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Lower School phase in schedules, for our early childhood classes, will be distributed during the summer.

3) From Lower School art teacher Ann Schaumburger and shop teacher Peggy Resnick: You are cordially invited to the Lower School Art Show in the Bleecker Street Auditorium Thursday, February 19, 10:30AM-6:00PM and Friday, February 20, 8:30AM-3:00PM. We hope that you can drop by!

4) Big Auction Updates: The Big Auction is just two weeks away!!!  If you haven’t done so already, you can buy your ticket(s) by emailing or calling Sandra Song at ssong@lrei.org or 212-477-5316 x275.  Please have your credit card information ready with the expiration date and three digit security code–we only accept MasterCard and Visa. This year, we’re featuring select items online–please visit http://lreibigauction.cmarket.com and start bidding today! If you would like to bid anonymously for any of the LIVE items, you may do so by sumbitting an Absentee bid.  Please contact Sandra Song or Pippa Gerard (pgerard@lrei.org, 212-477-5316 x236) by noon on Wednesday, March 4th. To see the whole catalog online, please visit www.lrei.org/bigauction. We hope we’ll be seeing you on March 5th!

5) Red is Green Committee Updates:

    • Take the LREI Green Pledge! We are asking all students and families to sign an environmental pledge to do our part to save our earth. We’ve included things like conserving water, turning off lights and recycling. Look for the Red is Green table in the 6th Ave. lobby this Friday morning to sign the pledge. Please return the signed portion of your pledge by next Wednesday, Feb. 25. There is an envelope at the reception desk.
    • Join us for our first LREI Goes Green to School day next Wednesday, February 25. Find an earth friendly way to get to school: walk, bike, scooter, take public transportation or carpool. It’s a great way to get our kids involved and start off honoring the LREI Green Pledge!
    • Recycle update: So far the LREI community has collected 40 cell phones, 90 ink cartridges and over 600 batteries! Next month’s recycle drive will be corks and bare naked granola bags. Start saving now!
    • If you have any questions or suggestions, please email the Red is Green committee (lhommen@hotmail.com or kbeck2@nyc.rr.com).
    • And don’t forget to check out Lets Go Green’s website for eco friendly water bottles, garbage bags, light bulbs, paper goods etc. LREI receives 25% of all sales as profit. Thanks for all your help. Start collecting and keep recycling!

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

    7) 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/.

    This Week’s Attachments
    General:
    February MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
    Eighth Grade:
    Seventh Grade:
    Fifth Grade:
    Sixth Grade:

    For All Grades . . .
    1) Upcoming Service events:

    • Monday, March 2, 2008 — Project Cicero Book Drive (through March 5) Project Cicero is an annual non-profit book drive designed to create — or supplement — school and classroom libraries for children in under-resourced New York City public schools. Now in its eighth year, Project Cicero has distributed nearly 1,000,000 new and gently used books to 5,500 New York City classrooms and libraries, reaching 180,000 students. They solicit donations from individuals and families from over 90 independent, public, and parochial schools each year, and have received generous contributions from many book publishers.

    2) THE ARTS EFFECT is thrilled to invite you to FIND YOUR VOICE! on MARCH 8th @ The Brooklyn Lyceum from 2-6pm.  This exciting, unprecedented GIRL POWER event will bring girls (ages 8-14) and their families together to share their voices, celebrate their history, and raise awareness.  Enjoy amazing performances, inspiring guest speakers, a dance party and more—all while supporting Eve Ensler’s VDay Organization.  100% OF PROCEEDS will help END VIOLENCE against girls around the globe!!
    For Eighth Grade Families . . .
    1) A reminder that tomorrow is the Eighth Grade DISC dance. The dance runs from 7-9PM and is being hosted by Friends Seminary. Please make sure that your child has returned a permission form and dance fee.

    For Seventh Grade Families . . .
    No updates this week.

    For Fifth and Sixth Grade Families . . .
    1)     Schedule Change: Please note that our annual Intramural Basketball League Student-Parent game originally scheduled for Friday, March 12 after the championship game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 4th. Game times are as follows:

    • green @ 3:30PM
    • blue @ 3:50PM
    • red @ 4:10PM
    • purple @ 4:30PM

    See you on the court!

    For Sixth Grade Families . . .
    No updates this week.

    For Fifth Grade Families . . .
    No updates this week.

    ============= 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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