Taking Action

Dear Families,

As a follow up to Chap’s post from last week on social justice work at LREI, I thought I’d highlight some work that is happening in our eighth grade classes.

Each year, our eighth grade students embark on a project to better understand and personalize the social justice issues that emerge from their study of post-Civil War US history. This project connects them to individuals and organizations that are making a difference in the community and beyond. Through this process, our eighth graders come to better understand the rewards and challenges of active citizenship and the need for all individuals to choose to participate. One benchmark point on what we hope will be a life-long journey is our annual spring Social Justice Teach-In during which the eighth graders plan and run a set of workshops and assemblies for the rest of the middle school.

This year-long journey begins in the summer as students read the novel Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, which chronicles the experiences of the Little Rock Nine and the efforts of many others to desegregate Little Rock’s public schools. This reading serves as frame for our students’ critical examination of our nation’s history from the Civil War through the Civil Rights era.

Inspired buy the Little Rock Nine and the Civil Rights Movement and their investigation of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, each eighth grader created an action art project and a supporting artist’s statement about their work as it related to a current civil or human rights issue. Their art work and writing ask us to stop, think and, ultimately, to act. The following are a few view representative pieces of this work:

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”lrei-photos” id=”72157625088230193″ width=”460″ height=”345″]

On a related note, the following letter from eighth grade core teacher Sara-Momii Roberts highlights how one of last year’s social justice projects has created some new possibilities for this year’s eighth graders:

Recently, eight eighth graders and I traveled to Inspiration Academy in the Bronx to deliver the school supplies that were collected from last year’s Getting Tools to City Schools drive (http://gettingtoolstocityschools.org/home) and to meet some students in hopes of building a relationship with them as a part of our Social Justice Project.
Inspiration Academy is a 200-student high school near 174th street and Grand Concourse that was founded in 2005 by students activists who had grown tired of the sub-par conditions that they were used to at their large, overcrowded school.  They banded together, met with council members and teachers, and established their own school.  Now, in its sixth year, Principal Marta Colon-Jusino tries to keep with the original vision of the founding class by leading a democratic school that aims to be as progressive and as social justice-oriented as possible.  Before we came she had read all about our Social Justice project from the blog and was eager to meet us and connect our two groups in shared vision.
We arrived around 11:30AM and entered Inspiration’s crowded hallways.  Big high schoolers towered over us, passing from class to class, and our kids seemed a bit intimidated, but excited as we entered the school’s main office and were welcomed by a contingency from the school.  A group of Inspirations’ student leaders, the Assistant Principal and the Principal took us to a basement classroom where we sat in a large circle and began by introducing ourselves one by one.
joining hands(2)
Our kids shared about their recent Human Rights Project, the Tools for City Schools campaign, and how we’re embarking on a new round of community work.  The Inspiration students who joined us (a mix of 9th-12th graders) were so impressed and excited to begin a collaboration.  They talked to us about their struggles: no internet, plumbing and building conditions, basic school supply needs.  They also shared how last year they had set up meetings with the Bronx borough president himself to ask for more funding for their school. To say the least, our eighth graders eyes were opened, not only to the challenges the students faced, but also to the vibrant community of their school.
We ended the meeting by bringing in the bags and boxes of binders and school supplies into the main office — Inspiration’s staff practically applauded. Next steps include brainstorming about how to work more closely on similar civil rights/human rights issues this year.

Of General Interest . . .

1) From the Red is Green Committee: Red is Green recycling drive — Now is a great time to go through your toy box to see what can be recycled and put to good use. The Halloween Fair committee is collecting small toys to be given away at the event.  If you have anything to recycle, please deposit them in the cauldron in the Sixth Avenue lobby.

Also, the plastic bag recycling drive continues. Did you know that approximately 500 to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide? Did you also know that plastic bags are not biodegradable and take from 500 to 1000 years to decompose? It would help the environment if we all used less plastic bags. But, it is sometimes unavoidable so let’s recycle the bags we have. We will collect clean plastic bags in the entryway of the lower school throughout October. After that, you can bring your bags to most chain stores for collection.

LREIdragonShirtRED2) LREI Halloween Fair 2010, Saturday, October 30th — 2:00-5:00pm

Dear LREI Community:

Please save the date for our Annual Halloween Fair!

A magical world of castles and dragons awaits you at the Thompson Street Gym. There will be games, crafts, a ghoul salon, a magic castle, and a dungeon bake sale! Anyone interested in volunteering their decorating, baking or crafting talents? Please look for the supply donation cauldron and volunteer sign-up sheets in the lobby! The Planning Committee will meet on Friday at 8:45am in the 6th Ave Cafeteria- come one, come all to help put together this fun-filled community event!

Anyone interested in volunteering their decorating, baking or crafting talents?
Please look for the supply donation cauldron and volunteer sign-up sheets in the lobby, email us or attend a planning meeting to find out how you and your family can be involved!

Some specific items we need are:

  • Cup cakes and treats for the bake sale and cup cake decorating station
  • Water & Juice boxes for the bake sale
  • Paper plates and plastic cutlery

Volunteers to help with fun games like:

  • Joust Challenge
  • Ghost-Centration
  • Arachno-pitch
  • Monster Golf

Volunteers to help with the craft and cup-cake decorating stations with fun activities like:

  • Decorate a shield or tiara
  • Color your own treat-or-treat bags
  • Monster bead friendship bracelets
  • Make your own monster mask
  • Decorate a cupcake   ·

Volunteers to help with the Ghoul Salon:

  • Face painting
  • Monster temporary tattoos

The Planning Committee will be meeting on Friday October 22nd & Friday October 29th at 8:45am in the 6th Ave Cafeteria- come one, come all to help put together this fun-filled community event!

Feel free to email Co-Chairs Kelly or Louise (yirawala@aol.com or lu.fam1@verizon.net) with any questions.

4) Click here to access the most current “At a Glance” calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.

5) For additional school news, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

6) 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 minutes from this week’s Parent Rep Meeting.

2) Last week the Middle School Students of Color Group had its first meeting. Fifth through eighth grade students of color shared food and participated in a number of ice breaker activities. In small groups with 8th graders taking the lead, participants also shared a bit about themselves with other members of the group. Here are some images from the gathering:

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”lrei-photos” id=”72157625060468015″ width=”460″ height=”345″]

3) Family Conferences and Subject Area Meetings (November 5th and 11th): Please click here to schedule a family conference for one of the dates indicated above. At this conference, your child will share work samples, offer reflections on her/his work and identify some goals for the second quarter. It is also a time for you to dialog with your child and her/his advisor about your child’s learning experience in the Middle School so far this quarter. On these days, you will also be able to schedule brief meetings with each of your child’s teachers should you so choose (the above link will also take you to the sign-up page for these conferences). As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers if you have questions about her/his performance and/or the curriculum. As a further invitation to engage in on-going dialog with your child’s other teachers, please use the attached Home-School Communication Log, which you can place on the refrigerator, to help track your conversations.

4) Next week our Middle School Volleyball team will play in their last home games of the season, come out to cheer, yell, root for and support our Knights to help them on their way to the Big Apple Championship! Games are held at Thompson Street Athletic Center,145 Thompson Street. Go Knights!

  • Monday 25th 4pm vs York Prep
  • Wednesday 27th 4pm vs Churchill
  • Thursday 28th 4pm vs City and Country

Upcoming MS home soccer games:
Tuesday, 11/2 Middle School Soccer vs Garden, 3:00PM Pier 40

5) Photo Re-take Day: Re-take day for students who were absent on photo day will be Monday, December 6th. Photos will be taken inside.

If you received your photo day proofs, you may order prints in one of two ways: using the envelope that will be sent home or ordering online.

To order proofs via mail, using the ordering envelope:

  • Select a package from the options listed on the envelope.
  • Detach and fill out the bottom portion of the envelope, indicating which packages you’d like to order.
  • Complete payment information and return in a separate envelope to:
  • Marty Hyman Photography, PO Box 1058, Valley Stream, NY 11582
  • Your prints will be sent directly to your home address.
  • NOTE: Even if ordering prints through the mail, you may choose to view a larger version of your child’s proof online, following the instructions below for online ordering.

To view/order proofs online:

  • Go to www.martyhyman.com
  • Click the yellow link that reads “PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ORDER PHOTOS ONLINE,” in the top left corner.
  • Click where it says “please click here” after where it says “If your ‘WEB PASSWORD’ consists of letters & numbers.”
  • Enter your child’s web password. The web password is a combination of letters and numbers that is listed on the ordering envelope both in the top right (below the student’s name) and in the bottom left corner just above the bar code. Click “login.”
  • Click “No, thanks” or enter your email address to receive notifications.
  • You will now be taken to an online proof of your child’s photo.
  • Use the buttons at the right of the photo to view packages and color options and to place your order.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) Looking ahead to the spring, click here to access the registration form for the spring Gettysburg/DC trip that will take place next May. 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#: 55757. If you have specific questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. The deadline for registration for this trip has past so please register ASAP.

2) We encourage all eighth grade students and their families to learn more about high school program first-hand, by attending one or more of the following events:

  1. High School Tours: A tour for eighth grade families is scheduled for Monday, October 25th at 9:00AM. If you are unable to make this tour, please contact Julia Heaton at jheaton@lrei.org or at extension 305. Julia can sign you up for one of the general high school admissions tours or she can schedule you for a tour at some other time that is more convenient for you.
  2. High School Open Houses are scheduled for Thursday, October 28th and Tuesday, November 9th at 6:30PM. This is an opportunity to learn more about the academic program and extracurricular offerings at the high school, meet high school faculty and administration, and hear a panel of current LREI students. If you plan to attend an Open House, please contact the Admissions Office at extension 210.
  3. Minimester is a three-day event in the high school when faculty members offer special interdisciplinary workshops to students in grades 8-12. This year, Minimester will take place from Wednesday, October 20th through Friday, October 22nd. All eighth graders will attend and regularly scheduled classes will not meet.
  4. Eighth Grade Visiting Days: In groups of two and three, eighth graders will also spend a half-day in the high school before the winter break following a regular schedule with a high school buddy.
  5. Assembly programs at the high school also provide students with additional opportunities to gain insights into life at the high school.
  6. During the week of October 19th, you will receive an application for the Irwin Scholars program. Each year, LREI offers Irwin Scholars merit scholarships to students moving from our eighth grade into the ninth The Irwin Scholars program recognizes selected eighth grade students moving on to the high school who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the areas of scholarship, citizenship, leadership and service. Scholars will receive up to $10,000 per annum towards their high school tuition at LREI.

If you have any questions about the high school program or the events listed above, please contact High School Principal Ruth Jurgensen (rjurgensen@lrei.org, extension 303) or Director of Admissions Julia Heaton (jheaton@lrei.org, extension 305).

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Please join other LREI seventh grade families for a ParentTalk on Monday, October 25th at 6:30PM. This discussion will provide an opportunity for parents to come together to talk about a variety of issues with a trained facilitator from Parents In Action.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) On Friday, January 7th, the sixth grade will travel to the Met to view the Arms and Armor collection. trip. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles)  on that day.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) On Friday, November 12th, the fifth grade will travel to the Met to view the Ancient Near Eastern galleries. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles)  on that day.

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