Community Contributions

From guest blogger Director Phil Kassen:

Dear LREI Families,

Thank you to all who participated in this past weekend’s Halloween Fair. All of your hard work, collaboration and creativity blossomed into a fun day for all. It was nice to see so many members of the community participating, including a number of high school volunteers. This day was just one example of many LREI events that represent the community coming together for the benefit of all. There are many more events of this type being planned—the upcoming DVD/CD Swap, the Book Fair, the Literary Evening, our new community cook book and Karamu!, our multicultural celebration, just to name a few. This focus on the community coming together for the education and enjoyment of all is a hallmark of communities like LREI.

At the beginning of each school year LREI embarks on another community effort in which both reaching our goal and doing it together are essential—our annual fundraising campaign. LREI’s Annual Fund is comprised of money raised during events such as the Halloween Fair and the Big Auction (coming on May 11, 2011) and cash donations from families, trustees, alumni, alumni parents, grandparents, faculty/staff and friends of the school.

The Annual Fund helps us to bridge the gap between the School’s annual expenses and income from tuition, increases to which we keep as low as possible. Simply put, the Annual Fund allows us to be LREI. It allows us to make decisions that are consistent with Elisabeth Irwin’s original progressive ideals and with our current progressive mission. The Annual Fund supports LREI’s commitment to offering the level of tuition remission that we do, among the highest of independent schools in New York City. The Annual Fund allows us to say “Yes” to providing the same core experience to each LREI student, supporting all families as we plan overnight trips, for example. The Annual Fund allows us to say “Yes” each time teachers want to bring students out into the world. It allows us to say “Yes” to professional development for our excellent faculty. The Annual Fund allows us to take risks and to be creative. It allows us, in short, to do what we ask the students to do. It allows LREI to remain a leader in educational thought and practice.

So here is where the community part comes in. We are grateful to all who have helped us to meet the challenge of achieving our Annual Fund goals in the past. Thank you to the many members of the community who have already contributed this year, including all 34 members of LREI’s Board of Trustees. Our goal is not only to raise quite a significant sum, but also to increase the percentage of members from each constituency who contribute. Please give at whatever level is comfortable for you. Whatever that amount is, if you have not already done so (and, again, thank you if you have) please participate. Thank you, in advance, for supporting our 14-year progressive program.

If you have questions about our Annual Fund, you can contact Brooke Gadasi, Director of Advancement (bgadasi@lrei.org) or me, at any time.

Thank you for all that each family, and each individual, does for LREI throughout the year. You make us a stronger community and a better school.

Warmly,
Phil

Of General Interest . . .

1) Lower and Middle School Families–Join the Parents Association in welcoming Carey Socol, LREI’s new Director of College Guidance. Carey, Ruth Jurgensen, high school principal, and Phil will discuss LREI’s college guidance process.  Tuesday, November 9th, 8:45AM. Click here to view the flyer.

2)  A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community:

How to Raise an Ally: Social Justice at LREI
Wednesday, November 10, 8:45 AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.
Let’s Get Real: A documentary film where youth speak up about name-calling and bullying

When youth in the film were asked how they are singled out or targeted, issues such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, body size and immigration status, among others, came to the forefront. How might we unconsciously perpetuate inequalities or negative attitudes toward some people in our midst? Are we setting an example of respect by our language, our demeanor, and the attention we give to children’ feelings and their treatment of each other?

The social justice program of the school helps to develop language for students to express their feelings, resolve conflicts, and understand the societal factors that lead to prejudice. Viewing segments of the film and engaging in a discussion with other parents will help support your children (and teachers) at home with the conversations we are having at school. Grab a cup of coffee and a good seat as we embark on Part 1 of a series of 3 Open PA Diversity Meetings. Click here to view and print a flyer with more information.

3) Afterschool Reminder: Open Class Week for Enrichment Classes will take place Monday, November 15th through Friday, November 19th. This is an opportunity for a parent, or special grown-up to come and observe their child/children during their Enrichment classes. Classes will meet on their regular day and time. All classes will meet at their usual locations, with the exception of Basketball which will take place at the E.I. Gym at the Highschool. All locations are listed on the Afterschool bulletin board next to the Afterschool Office. Please contact the Afterschool office with any questions at (212) 477-5316, ext. 239.

4) 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. Please note that the online system for filing tuition remission materials will now open on November 8, not November 1 as stated in the attached e-mail.

5) Molière’s TARTUFFE: Friday, November 12th & Saturday, November 13th at 7:00pm at the Charlton Street PAC (40 Charlton Street)
LREI High School Play Open to all ages!
Directed by Meghan Farley Astrachan

Laugh along at the farcical adventures of Orgon’s dysfunctional family and watch as impostor Tartuffe wreaks “holy”havoc. 17th century style, with a splash of 21st! In rhyming verse! Fun for the whole family! Tickets available for purchase every morning in the 6th Ave lobby as well as at the box office at Charlton Street. Click here to view the complete flyer with all the details.

6) From the Red is Green Committee: Red is Green recycling drive — 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.

7) The LREI School Store will be open on 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!

8)  ISDN Boys of Color event, for 4th, 5th & 6th graders and their Parents: co-sponsored by St. Bernard’s School, to be held on FRIDAY, Nov. 19th, 6 to 8pm at St. Bernard’s School (4 East 98 St., bet. 5th & Madison). Join us to:

• Play team building sports games, under the direction of a coach and have fun.
• Make new friends and relationships.
• Enjoy light refreshments for adults and dinner for students.
• Parent topic: “Staying Within The Box”: How do we retain our cultural integrity in an independent school?

RSVP to Wendy Van Amson – wvanamson@gmail.com by 11/12/10. Click here to view and print a flyer with more information.

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

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

11) 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) Accessing Progress Reports:

• To enter our secure information system go to http://www2.lrei.org.
• Your user name is the first three letters of your first name and the first three letters of your last name (e.g., Donald Duck’s user name is “donduc.”). If you have any difficulty logging in, try adding the fourth letter of your last name to your username (e.g, “donduck”).
• The temporary password is “welcome.” After you enter this password, you will be asked to select a new password.
• After logging in, you will be taken to the “Academic Portal” page and can access the reports from the “Performance” section of the page (i.e., click on the “Report Card” link).
• Reports can be read on-line and/or can be printed out.
• A video tutorial covering how to access progress reports can be viewed at
  http://screencast.com/t/VfadPfG5P.
• If you have any questions or run into any difficulties accessing the reports, please do not hesitate to contact me.

2) 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.

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.

3) Following on the heels of stellar performances in volleyball and cross country, the MS soccer team ended it’s winning season with a 6-0 victory over the Garden School. Well done!

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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) The High School Open Houses is scheduled for 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