Family Conferences

Dear Families,

With the end of the first quarter just behind us, progress reports, family conferences with your child’s advisor and meetings with subject area teachers are just around the corner (see below for information on signing up for a conference/meeting). Conferences are scheduled for November 5th and 11th (the Middle School will be closed on both days). Progress reports will go out on Tuesday, November 2rd. These reports will be accessible on-line and I will send out an email next week with information on how to access your child’s report.

Progress reports provide an important opportunity for shared discussion about successes to date and challenges to address as we move forward into the second quarter. I encourage you to review the section on progress reports in the handbook so that you are familiar with the format of the reports.

For sixth grade families, this will be your first set of reports with letter grades. Letter grades are based on a set of evaluations in three categories that are outlined on the report card. There is some variability in these categories across subjects. The reported letter grades reflect a student’s progress in comparison to grade level expectations. For example, a “C” means progress that is approaching grade level expectations and a “B” signifies progress that meets grade level expectations. However, within these ranges could be unsatisfactory class participation balanced by excellent quiz scores and/or homework assignments. It is natural for there to be some anxiety around grades. As with all assessments, it is important for students and families to view them as representative of where the student stands as a learner at a particular moment in time. Areas of struggle as indicated by reported grades can be addressed by committed hard work.

Our reports are purposely designed to show a student’s progress over the four quarters so that you and your child can more easily see the work of a particular quarter in a broader context of their overall learning experience. Prior to receiving the reports, take the opportunity to speak with your child about his/her perceptions of the work he/she has completed this past quarter. This will help to frame your discussions when you go over the progress reports together.

For all families, while progress reports and family conferences provide an opportunity to reflect on a student’s progress and to think about strengths and challenges, it is important to remember that assessment is an on-going process at LREI; it is a means to an end, but not an end in and of itself. Its aim is to improve student understanding of key ideas and skills. In the Middle School, teachers strive to develop assessments that are learner-centered and focused on student understanding in relation to the particular goals identified for each area of inquiry. Rather than being separate from learning, assessment plays a central role in the instructional process. The assessment process also sheds light on which instructional strategies are most effective. Through thoughtful assessment, the teacher gains critical feedback for choosing and utilizing those teaching strategies that can best help a learner progress towards the goals of a particular unit of study. Opportunities for meaningful assessment also allow students to gain deeper insight into areas of strength and challenge and allow them to develop plans to address growth in both of these areas.

The Family Conference is an extension of these assessment activities and should be viewed as a dynamic opportunity to talk about growth and development. The student’s presence and participation in these discussions is of vital importance. The Family Conference affords the student an opportunity to reflect, applaud, and problem-solve with two of her/his most important advocates, family members and her/his advisor. These conferences should be approached with a forward-looking perspective. As prior performance is reviewed, all of the participants should seek to work together to identify strategies and opportunities for learning that will support the student’s continued growth and development.

The Family Conference in the Middle School places the student at the center as an active participant. We do this for a number of reasons:

  1. to encourage students to accept personal responsibility for their academic performance;
  2. to help students develop the reflective skill of self-evaluation;
  3. to facilitate the development of students’ organizational and oral communication skills and to increase their self-confidence; and
  4. to encourage students, parents, and the advisor to engage in open and honest dialogue.

Family conferences are an important part of the educational experience at LREI. They are important for students, parents/guardians, and teachers. Like all learning opportunities, the Family Conference requires trust and a willingness to take risks on the part of all participants. While the conference may not be tension-free, it does provide an opportunity for inquiry and understanding. Here are two discussion ideas that you might want to consider as you prepare for these important dialogues:

  • share with your child memorable experiences from when you were a middle school student and consider why such memories may be important to the educational life of your child
  • explore how you and your child approach the concept of learning and reflect on why looking at the differences and similarities in your responses might be important.

In preparation for these conferences, Middle School students will spend  time reflecting on their work thus far this school year. With their teachers’ and advisor’s guidance, students will identify areas on which to focus during the next quarter and will develop plans for achieving these goals. Your child will have these reflections with her/him during your conference. Here are some additional topics/questions that you might reflect on before your family conference:

  • Your child’s work habits at home–when are the most and least successful?
  • Which assignments, or types of assignments, seem to lead to the most success? To be the most frustrating?
  • Is our organizational plan working for your child? How is your child managing her/his time?
  • When you and your child discuss school/school assignments at home, are there consistent themes that should be discussed at the conference?
  • Are there extracurricular commitments or extenuating circumstances that should be discussed at the conference?

There’s no doubt that conferences are hard work, but the potential for learning that can take place when all participants commit to the process is clearly worth the effort.

I look forward to seeing you at the conferences.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Coffee with Phil Kassen, Director—Join Phil, Ruth Jurgensen, high school principal, and Carey Socol, our new Director of College Guidance for a discussion of LREI’s college guidance process. Tuesday, November 9th, 8:45-9:15AM, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria

2) Applications for 2011-2012 Tuition Remission — Please be on the look-out for an e-mail from Michel de Konkoly Thege, Associate Director, which was transmitted on October 26, 2010 and contains information about applying for tuition remission for the 2011-2012 school year.  This year for the first time we are communicating with families that receive tuition remission by e-mail only and are urging these families to use the online option for completing the necessary forms.  If you received tuition remission in the current school year and did not get this e-mail, a copy may be accessed by clicking here.

3) 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.

Go Green to School Day is this Wednesday, November 3rd and will continue throughout the year on the first Wednesday of every month. Please make every effort to take a green mode of transportation to school – walk, bike, scoot, take public transportation or car pool.

Also, to celebrate America Recycles Day (November 15) we will have a DVD/CD Swap. Starting on Monday, November 15 and continuing through Wednesday, November 17 tables will be set up outside of the Sixth Avenue building for the swap. You can drop off DVDs/CDs ahead of time in a bin located in the lobby, beginning November 1. Students/faculty/parents can swap all forms of CDs and DVDs, including computer, film, music, game and video. Any unwanted CDs and DVDs at the end of the week of November 17th will be sent to Back Thru the Future Technology Disposal who will safely recycle them.

4) The LREI School Store will be open on Wednesday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 17th from 8:00-9:00AM at the Sixth Avenue entrance (or in case of bad weather, inside the lobby). Show your LREI Spirit and start your holiday shopping now!

LREIdragonShirtRED5) LREI Halloween Fair 2010, Saturday, October 30th — 2:00-5:00PM. 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 29th at 8:45AM in the Sixth 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.

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

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

8) 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) 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.

2) Last week, the eighth grade participated in our annual Minimester program at the high school. Minimester is a three-day event in the high school when faculty members offer special interdisciplinary workshops to students in grades 8-12. Click here to peruse this year’s most impressive list of Mimimester offerings.

3) Wednesday, Oct 27th was a huge night for LREI Athletics! The middle school volleyball team defeated the Churchill School 2-0 to become League Champions. Thompson Street Gym was packed with LREI students and families (even red pom-pom shakers on the sidelines!) rooting the team to victory. Uptown at Van Cortlandt Park, the middle and high school cross-country teams took home two first-place finishes in the AIPSL Big Apple Championship meet. Eighth grader Will Yarinsky won the middle school boys race with a time of 11:14, and junior Sasha Stomberg won the high school girls competition in 22:24. Both high school teams scored second place overall. Notable finishes on the boys’ side include junior Niles Diggs (6th), freshman Lenny Weissman (8th) and senior Monty Hill (9th). Seniors Margret Wiggins, Claire Hart and Sonrisa Murray-Fox crossed the girls race finish line in seventh, ninth and tenth place, respectively. Congrats to all our Knights for outstanding season finishes! Here are some photos from the volleyball match:

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”lrei-photos” id=”72157625132527089″ width=”460″ height=”345″]

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

4) 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. If you have not done so already, please register ASAP.

2) High School Open Houses are scheduled for Thursday, October 28th (this Open House is full) 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. If you have any questions about the high school program, please contact High School Principal Ruth Jurgensen (rjurgensen@lrei.org, extension 303) or Director of Admissions Julia Heaton (jheaton@lrei.org, extension 305).

3) You should have received the 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. Completed application are due on Monday, November 15, 2010. Click here to access the application.

For Eighth and Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) As part of the performing arts elective program, students will travel to NYU on Friday, November 19th, to view a dance performance. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on that day.

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

Comments are closed.