What Historians Do

Dear Families,

Yesterday, our seventh graders presented their annual Colonial Museum to lower and middle school students and teachers and to their families. The museum represents a culmination of several months of study including a week-long visit to Williamsburg. During their week in Williamsburg, students gathered information for their research papers, conducted and recorded interviews with historical re-enactors, and took photos to document their experience. This initial research in the field informed the substantial additional research that they carried out once they were back at school.  Based on the research papers that they then wrote, each student created an exhibit that s/he curated at the museum. For the final stage of the project, students will make additions to our growing Colonial Museum wiki that future seventh grade classes will explore and will then add to in turn. In this way, students come to understand something of the historians experience as they wrestle with what new contributions they can make to the field.

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Congratulations seventh graders and congratulations also to all of the members of the Middle School chorus and band for their wonderful performances at Tuesday’s annual Winter Concert.

It has been a busy and exciting first half of the year and I wish yo a relaxing and restful winter break.

On a final forward-looking note,  please mark you 2010 calendars now–Join us for our annual Alumni College Panel. This is a terrific opportunity to hear recent LREI grads discuss their transition from high school to college and how their time at LREI prepared them for success. Thursday, January 7th, 6:30PM, Performing Arts Center, 40 Charlton Street. RSVP to Liza Sacks at (212) 477-5316 ext. 291 or lsacks@lrei.org.

Of General Interest . . .
1) From Phil… Congratulations, Seniors! We are so proud of our twelfth graders. Included in our early information about college admissions is early admission to Carleton College, Smith College, Georgetown University, Brown University, Vassar College, Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications, McDaniel College, Ithaca School of Photography and Cinematography, Marymount Manhattan College, the Universities of Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, Tampa and Vermont and Quinnipiac College. A list as diverse and interesting as our seniors and their interests and futures. Bravo!

Also, There are a few spots left in both Adult rED classes. Contact Rowena Penaranda – Askins at rpenaranda@lrei.org to enroll. See Phil’s blog (blog.lrei.org/director) for more information.

2) From the LREI Parents Association Community Service Committee–Please contribute to our annual Winter Coat Drive, December 17-18. We will be collecting new and gently used winter coats for adults and children. All donations will be distributed to families in need at Hudson Guild’s Elliot Center. Please bring in your donations to the Sixth Avenue reception desk. Place all donations in the boxes available – Thank you! Sponsored by the LREI Community Service Committee

3) New LREI Event–Many of you have asked about the yellow “Stir the Pot” postcards that you received in recent days. We wanted to whet your appetite and to be sure that you mark your calendars for LREI’s Spring tasting event called “Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future.” You won’t want to miss the chance to meet and mingle with other parents and enjoy great food–Thursday, May 13th in the Charlton Street campus. The next committee planning meeting will be held on Tuesday January 12 at 8:45am in the cafeteria at Sixth Avenue. We would like to have as many volunteers as possible and hope that you will join in making this a wonderful LREI evening.  You can let us know by contacting Jenn Esposito (jenn_espo@msn.com), Ceci Van Blerkom (cloebl@gmail.com), or Maude Kebbon in the Office of Advancement (mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232).

4) Please read the attached letter from the Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance committee about the upcoming Visibility exhibit. The holiday season is a great time to think about collecting photographs for the show.

5) Red is Green Committee Announcements:

  • Through Friday, December 18th, we will be collecting plastic bottle caps for our December recycling drive.
  • During the month of January we will be recycling holiday and greeting cards. These cards will be donated to St. Jude’s Ranch. No photo cards please. For more information click here. Also during the month of January you can bring in your wrapping paper scraps. These scraps will be used to decorate the school for Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day. Look for the box in the lobby after the holidays.
  • Mulchfest 2010: Recycle your Christmas Tree at NYC Parks Jan 9-10, 2010. Click here for more information on where you can drip off your tree in the 5 boroughs. Alternatively, you can put your tree outside with your regular garbage for recycling. Clean, non-bagged Christmas trees that are left at the curb will be recycled into compost. Pickup dates are Monday, January 4th through Friday, January 15th.
  • E-Waste: Do you have broken, unwanted electronics in your home? You can recycle your e-waste on Sunday, January 3, 2010 from 10 – 4 p.m. at Union Sq. For more info click here.
  • For more details about our monthly recycling drives and Go Green to School dates, please click Red is Green PA Page.

6) The LREI Cookbook Committee is working on creating a LREI community cookbook. The theme of the cookbook is potlucks. If you have any recipes that you would like to submit for consideration, please send them to cookbook@lrei.org. Also, if you are interested in participating in the creation of the cookbook, email Kathryn Kellinger at kksidedish@aol.com or Susie Marples at susiemarples@yahoo.com

7) Click here to access the new LREI on-line photo gallery.

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

9) LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA – http://www.parentsinaction.org/). 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. Click here to view upcoming events and/or to download their calendar.

For All Grades . . .
1) Click here to read the minutes from this week’s Middle School Parent Rep meting

2) A reminder that you can access teachers’ blogs by following the “Digital Classroom” link on the sidebar.

3) Read about our Middle School sports teams and game summaries at http://lrei.org/athletics/news.htm.

4) Afterschool Spring Registration Information – We have had a great fall session in Afterschool!Here are the links for the Winter-Spring 2010 Registration Materials: Instrumental – Registration, Instrumental – Bios, Core Afterschool – Registration, Core Afterschool – Descriptions. . The materials will also be e-mailed to all Lower School and Middle School families today and will be available on the school’s website this Friday. The deadline for the Instrumental and Enrichment Class Shuffle will be on Tuesday, January 5th at 3 p.m. (the first day back from break). Registration forms will be processed on a first come, first served basis through Friday, January 8th. Have a great break! Please contact the Afterschool Office with any questions, at ext. 239.

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

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

For Fifth and Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Click here for the team rosters. Regular team practices will start on Wednesday and Thursday, December 16th and 17th. Players must have a completed permission slip to play. Forms can be downloaded from the Athletics section of the LREI website.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) The sixth grade will visit the Met on Friday, January 8th to see their Arms and Armor collection. Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on this day.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) The fifth grade will visit the Brooklyn Museum to view their Egyptian collection on Friday, January 22. Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on this day.

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

  • View all events with the LREI On-line Calendar
  • Click here to see the 2009-2010 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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