The Beginning of the End

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear Families,

It is surprising how quickly it happens, but the long ending of the school year has started. Signaled by the first lower school potluck earlier this week, or maybe it was the middle school Performing Arts Showcase last week (a great new event), and culminating with the school’s 65th commencement exercises in June, the end is beginning. Between now and then, when the ending ends, we will host 14 lower school potlucks, the middle school musical (tomorrow evening, Saturday afternoon and evening), senior project presentations, the senior banquet, MS and HS awards ceremonies, the fourth grade immigration play, the Spring Concert, field day, Stir the Pot (buy your tickets now) and the Afterschool share and instrumental concert, among others. I encourage you to make time not only for your child’s events but also for events that sound interesting, maybe featuring students in another division. This is a great way to see what is going on at LREI.

IMG_6395One event that took place this week and that was a very big deal in the life of the School was this past Monday’s High School Ribbon Cutting—a small ceremony for the high school students and faculty inaugurating our newly enlarged high school campus. After some thoughtful words from Ruth Jurgensen, high school principal, and Michael Patrick ’71, Board Chair, the ribbon was cut and the students streamed into our newly expanded facility. They were so excited! Maybe it was the beautiful cake provided by the PA, but I like to think that it was the new classrooms, the student lounge and the courtyard. A very exciting morning indeed. However, I think that the next day may have been even more exciting. The hoopla was over and, from the student lounge to the new seminar room, the students had made the building their own. In one day we went from brand new to well used. Fantastic! Stay tuned for information about an all LREI Ribbon Cutting event—coming soon!

As with the new high school spaces, in the midst of all of the big events of the season, I encourage you to keep your eye on the day-to-day, the “regular.” While the big moments are exciting, and I surely don’t want to minimize their importance, the day-to-day learning, hard work, struggle and success continue to be our main focus. So, while you are finding time to be with children at big moments be sure to ask them about the journey that took them there. These will truly be things of which to be proud.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Click here to access the photo collection of LREI events and happenings at our on-line photo gallery. Here are some photos from last week’s Visual Art Show and Performing Arts Festival:

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”lrei-photos” id=”72157623839460877″ width=”460″ height=”345″]

2) “Stir the Pot” Tasting Event  – Thursday, May 13th at 6:30PM at 40 Charlton Street
It is hard to believe that Stir the Pot, our cocktail party/restaurant tasting event, is only a week away! This new event will allow us to gather as a community in the renovated high school building to enjoy each other’s company and reconnect before the school year ends. A lot of work has gone into the planning of this event and we need all of you to make it a success. We hope that you have already purchased your tickets, in case you have not, we will continue to sell tickets during drop off at the Sixth Avenue building this week and next until the day of the event. You can contact the advancement office to purchase a ticket if you cannot make it into the building. Even if you can’t make the party, we ask that you join in the fun and purchase raffle tickets. We have some amazing raffle items including PK’s NYC -a year of monthly hand selected goodies by the Phil Kassen ($5.00 or 6 for $25), or for $10 (6 for $50) a table for 6 at RAO’s, an overnight stay at the Bowery Hotel with dinner at Gemma, A tour of the Fresh Direct plant, cookbooks, gift certificates to fabulous restaurants all over town and more! Raffle tickets can be bought ahead of time or at the event. There is free childcare for LREI students only at the Sixth Avenue building during the event. YOU MUST SIGN UP AHEAD OF TIME TO USE THE CHILDCARE. Contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org. We hope to see you at Stir the Pot!

GLass Menagerie spring concert3) The GLASS MENAGERIE, LREI’s resident adult chorus, conducted by Susan Glass, will hold their annual spring concert this Saturday, May 8th, at 8:00PM at St. Joseph’s Church located at Sixth Avenue and Washington Place

4) From the Art Auction Committee: Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success! It was a spectacular event and everyone has a wonderful time. There are still some pieces of art that are for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available. If you have any questions, please contact Maude Kebbon at mkebbon@lrei.org or 212-477-5316, ext. 232. Additionally, there are still tickets available for two exciting events this spring. Please contact Maude if you are interested!

  • “Greater New York” Emerging Artists Survey, PS 1: Saturday, May 22nd at 2:00PM
    A private tour with curator & LREI parent Neville Wakefield one day before the exhibit opens. Meet the artists and see their art! Tickets are $200 each.

5) LREI Camping Trip: Sign-up tables will be in front of the Sixth Avenue building on the mornings of Tuesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 27. It’s time for the 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip, which will take place the weekend of June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River. Swimming, hiking, games, fishing, bird-watching & S’mores! All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help out, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.”

6) Red is Green Committee Announcements:

  • For more details about our monthly recycling drives and Go Green to School dates, please click Red is Green PA Page.

7) From PA Co-Presidents Regina Trumbull and Kim Hostler: Spring is here, so we are starting to plan for the next school year. The PA would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know. We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails. In the meantime, you can look at the Family Handbook, page 36 (link on our website www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. Of course, until the classes are actually made up for next year (mid-August or so), we cannot match parent reps to classes. If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees

  • Adoption Committee
  • Art Auction (the next art auction will be in the 2011-2012 year. But the committee will meet next year.)
  • Big Auction Committee
  • Community Service Committee
  • Faculty & Staff Appreciation Committee
  • Food Committee
  • Graphics & Communications Committee (Supporting other committees)
  • Halloween Fair Committee
  • Lesbian/Gay/Straight Alliance
  • Literary Committee
  • LREI Camping Trip Organizing Committee
  • Multicultural Committee (this is the committee that organized Karamu)
  • Parents of Children of Color (Lower School and Middle School)
  • Red Is Green (our sustainability committee)
  • School Store
  • Sports Committee

Also in the Family Handbook (p.38), there is a list of the co-chairs of the PA committees if you would like to contact them for more information. Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you would like to get involved.

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) While there is still much to be accomplished in the 2009-2010 school year, spring also signals the beginning of our formal planning cycle for the 2010-2011 school year. A crucial piece of this planning is the hiring process; while I am excited to report on some new additions to the middle school team, these efforts are connected to the more melancholy task of reporting to you on faculty who will be moving on.

After 32 years of dedicated service to the LREI community in a variety of different roles, middle school technology teacher Steve Neiman will be retiring at the end of the year. In his work with countless students and teachers, Steve has fully embodied the mission and values of the school. Always willing to listen and to lend a hand to any and all requests, Steve has helped us all to better ourselves and the LREI community. He will be sorely missed, but we know that in making this decision Steve will find the time for many of his other passions that were often put on hold in service to LREI. I’m sure that we will continue to see Steve around the LREI community for many years to come and that his presence will continue to be felt.

I am excited to report that Christopher Jung will be joining us as our next middle school technology teacher. Chris will work directly with students, but will also support technology integration in other classes across the division. Previously, Chris has worked as a director of technology and teacher in other independent schools, as a network designer and software developer and as a graphic designer. We were impressed with his demo lesson and our many conversations. He will be a great addition to the team.

In the time that David Lee has been with us, he has established himself as an important member of the community. Whether teaching French or Spanish, coaching track or helping to chaperon foreign language trips, David’s expectation for excellence, his enthusiasm and his joie de vivre have become an important fixture in the middle school community. David has decided to return to his former home in the Bahamas. This was not an easy decision for David who has found a home-away-from-home here at LREI, but we wish him the best and know that our paths will cross again in the future.

David’s decision presented us with an opportunity to look at our foreign language program and I am happy to report that beginning next year we will be adding Mandarin to our current program of French and Spanish. We will begin this program in the fifth and sixth grades next year and will grow the program into the other grades in subsequent years. I am also happy to report that Alicia Wang will be our first middle school Mandarin teacher. Alicia has taught Mandarin to native English speakers and English to native Mandarin speakers in a number of different settings; she has also just completed a Masters in Foreign Language Education at NYU. We are excited to welcome Alicia to LREI. More information about the Mandarin program will be forthcoming to current fifth grade families.

Finally, middle school learning specialist Susannah Flicker who has provided learning support services for both the seventh and eighth grades this year while Jennifer Haakmat was on leave will continue on in this position on an on-going basis. We are excited for Susannah to join the middle school team on a formal basis and know that she will continue push us forward in efforts to best meet the diverse learning needs of our students.

As I have said in the past, I am honored to work with such outstanding and passionate educators all of whom are equally committed to serving your children and to supporting each other in their own professional growth; I know that our new additions will prove no less remarkable. Setting aside any pretense of modesty, the Middle School faculty really is an exceptional team!

Mulan_hi2) Save the date for the Middle School Musical — this Friday (5/7 @ 7:00PM) and Saturday (5/8 @ 2:00 and 7:00PM): Travel back to the legendary days of ancient China with this stage adaptation of Disney’s Mulan. This is a heartwarming celebration of culture, honor and a fighting spirit. Come see the middle school musical, with an outstanding set, beautiful costumes, action, singing and dancing. This production is sure to delight your senses and guarantees a wonderful family night out. Tickets will be on sale all next week in the Sixth Avenue lobby from 8:00-9:00AM. Directed by Joanne Magee, Musical Director, Matthew McLean, Choreographer, Peggy Peloquin.

3) Grandparents and Special Friends Day is tomorrow. Here is the schedule:

  • 1:00-1:25 — Middle schooler to tour grandparent(s)/guest(s)
  • 1:25-1:50 — Classroom activity
  • 1:50-2:00 — Student escorts guest(s) to the auditorium
  • 2:00-2:30 — Presentations by chorus, band and musical cast
  • 2:30-3:00 — Remarks from Mark and Phil

4) IMPORTANT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES: As a follow up to last week’s eighth grade Social Justice Teach-In, here is some information about related fund-raising opportunities:

  • Getting Tools To City Schools – Over the course of the year, we have had a number of collection drives to collect school supplies to make 200 binders that will be donated to students in one of Getting Tools to City Schools‘ partner schools. As we enter the final phase of this work, we are excited to announce a service drive that will run through the end of the month. We are asking middle school students to ask parents, friends and relatives if there are chores around the home that they can do. In compensation for this work, you will contribute $2/hour worked to support our collaboration with Getting Tools to City Schools. All of the money raised will be used to buy school supplies at wholesale cost. Please use the attached certificate to record hours worked by your child. We ask that the monies earned and the completed certificate(s) be returned to your child’s advisor. At the end of the month, the homeroom that has logged the most hours will earn a pizza lunch party.
  • Skip Lunch Fight Hunger: While we want all middle school students to eat a healthy lunch each day, middle school students can help in the effort to raise money to feed New York City’s most vulnerable. All next week, in afternoon homeroom, students will have an opportunity to make a donation to support the LREI team participating in the City Harvest Skip Lunch Fight Hunger initiative. We are asking that students donate money that they might otherwise have used for their own snack and that if they choose to do so that they do not ask you for additional money to underwrite their donation. In this way, students will be giving up something in order to help others.
  • 5th Annual Walk Against Gun Violence NYC, Saturday, May 8:
    http://www.bradycampaign.org/chapters/NY
  • L.E.S. Girls Club Walk-A-Thon on Saturday, May 15:
    http://www.girlsclub.org/about/walk
  • AIDS Walk NY– on Sunday, May 16 (LREI has a team):
    http://www.aidswalk.net/newyork/
  • Free Rice – http://www.freerice.com/index.php (this site quizzes in many subject areas: math, vocab, foreign language, chemistry, geography and art–correct answers earn rice donations)

5) Our annual Middle School Awards Night will take place on Tuesday, May 18th, at 6:00PM in the Charlton Street PAC. This is a wonderful night in which all students in grades five through eight who participated on sports teams and/or in extracurricular activities are recognized for their effort and participation. Students will be recognized for their participation in the following activities: Model Congress, Little Red Singers, Band, Play, Musical, Robotics Team, Rube Goldberg Team, Intramural Soccer, MS Soccer, MS Cross Country, MS Volleyball, Intramural Basketball, MS Boys Basketball, MS Girls Basketball, Intramural Softball, MS Softball and MS Track.

book fair6) The annual LREI Spring Book Fair is coming up on May 20-21. As usual, the book selection for this fair is based on the summer reading lists put together by the faculty and librarians. The lists will be posted online at http://lrei.org/libres/sr.html before the fair starts, so please check them with your kids to plan out some great summer reading! All grades have reading requirements, which will be noted on the lists. Click here for a credit card pre-authorization form for parents to fill out; this form will enable kids to purchase books at the book fair, spending up to a limit determined by their parents. Please fax the forms to (212) 677-9159 (Attention Tracie McGee) by Monday, May 17. Students can also bring the forms with them to the book fair. Please note that high school books will also be on sale at Charlton Street the afternoon of May 18, just after the book assembly.

7) POCOC-Spring Book Club: This event, scheduled for May 21st, 2010 from 6:00- 8:00PM in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium, is a potluck event open to the families of both committees. After the potluck, children will break into their age/book groups with a facilitator (LREI teachers) to discuss the book they have read and/or do a project around it. During this time parents will be free to socialize. Book selections: 5th – 6th –Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis; 7th – 8th – Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Click here for the event flyer.

8) Some other important dates:

  • Wed, May 19, 2010, 3:00pm Spring Book Fair (through Friday)
  • Fri, May 21, 2010, 6:00pm POCOC-Spring Book Club
  • Thu, May 27, 2010, 6:30pm Spring Concert
  • Fri, May 28, 2010, Field Day-School closes at 1pm
  • Fri, Jun 4, 2010, 4:00pm LREI Camping Trip (through Sunday)
  • Fri, Jun 4, 2010, 6:00pm MS Dance
  • Tue, Jun 15, 2010, Last Day of School-School closes at 12noon

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) Please read the new math unit letter for section X from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

2) Some important dates (see above for important division-wide dates):

  • Tue, May 11, 2010, 8th Grade trip to DC (return on Friday)
  • Tue, Jun 8, 2010, 6:00pm 8th Grade Science Exploratorium
  • Fri, Jun 11, 2010, 6:00pm 8th Grade Moving Up Party
  • Tue, Jun 15, 2010, 8th Grade Moving Up

For Eighth and Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Join us on Monday, May 10th at 6:30PM for a discussion with a counselor from the Freedom Institute about substance abuse and prevention issues. Students have also engaged with Freedom Institute in related discussions and this is an excellent opportunity to dialog with other parents about strategies to best support your children so that they make safe and healthy decisions.

2) High School Dance Choreographers Workshop: Four high school students need seventh and eighth grade students who like to dance and are interested in being in student created dances. The workshops will take place on the following Fridays from 4:00-6:00PM: May 7th and May 21st; and on the following Mondays also from 4:00-6:00PM: May 17th and May 24th. If you are interested, email high school dance teacher Peggy Peloquin at ppeloquin@lrei.org. No experience necessary but welcomed.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Tomorrow, the seventh graders will participate in our annual High School Arts Festival. The Arts Festival is an intensive one-day arts elective experience. Each student will participate in a workshop led by a practicing artist. This year’s workshops include Improvisation, Textile Design, Architecture, Figure Drawing, Music Improv, Hip-Hop Dance, Portrait Painting, Adventures in Operetta, Animation, Pen and Ink Collage, Comedy Theatre Sports, Folk Dances and Drumming, Abstract Art, Storyboarding, Drawing with Light and Shade, Monologue, Knitting, Mask Making, Experimental Filmmaking and Solarization Photography

2) Some important dates (see above for important division-wide dates):

  • Fri, May 14, 2010, 7th Grade Visiting Day
  • Fri, May 14, 2010, High School Preview Event
  • Thu, Jun 10, 2010, 8:00am 7th Grade Potluck Breakfast & Constitution Work

For Seventh and Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) High School Preview: Are you thinking about what’s on the horizon for your sixth or seventh grader? Please join us on May 14th at 8:30AM for High School Preview Morning with High School Principal Ruth Jurgensen. You will learn about the program, hear from students and briefly see classes in action as we tour our fabulous new space! Contact the admissions office at bscott@lrei.org to confirm your attendance no later than May 12th. This event is a rescheduling of the High School Preview evening previously slated for April and is designed to connect with Seventh Grade Visiting Day that will take place on the 14th as well.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) Next Tuesday May 11th, we have the pleasure of hosting Australian author Lian Tanner on her first American book tour for her fantasy novel City of Thieves. All the 6th graders were provided with ARCS (Advance review copies) of the book last week, which won’t be published until September 2010. The students will have a chance to chat with Lian and get their books signed. While most of the 6th grade are working on or finishing up their book partnerships in Core, please encourage them to read as much of the novel as they can before next Tuesday’s visit.  Some students have already finished the novel and would probably be happy to discuss it with you:)

2) Some important dates (see above for important division-wide dates):

  • Fri, May 14, 2010, High School Preview Event
  • Tue, Jun 8, 2010, 8:00am 6th Grade Poetry & Potluck Breakfast

3) Looking further ahead to next year, click here to access the registration form for the Williamsburg / Jamestown trip that will take place next October. I’m sending you this information now so that you can spread out payments over a longer period of time. If you register online, please use the following trip ID#: A76310. W e would like all families to register for the trip by the end of the month. If you have specific questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Sixth and Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) From Athletic Director Peter Fisher: Softball games will still be at Houston Street ball field, with one team practicing and two teams playing each Tuesday and Thursday. For the next few weeks, we’ll play a few games and determine the playoff structure. Both days are ON next week, unless the weather turns ugly, then I will update the schedule and send an email. Please let me know if you have any questions.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) High School Preview: Are you thinking about what is on the horizon for your fifth grader? Please join us on Tuesday, May 4th at 8:30AM for High School Preview Morning with Ruth Jurgensen, HS Principal. You will learn about the program, hear from students and briefly see classes in action as we tour our fabulous new space! Contact the admissions office at bscott@lrei.org to confirm your attendance no later than April 30th. This event is a rescheduling of the High School Preview evening previously slated for April.

2) Some important dates (see above for important division-wide dates):

  • Wed, Jun 9, 2010, 6:00pm 5th Grade Grecian Festival

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

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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