4: Middle School Parent Rep Meeting Minutes

Minutes Middle School Meeting
March 16, 2010

AIDS WALK – May 16th – Sunday

  • Gabrielle announced she is again organizing this years’ walk. 5th & 6th graders will need a designated adult to walk with but 7th & 8th graders can walk in the group. She is hoping that an 8th grader “social justice” group will help to organize the students so there is a LARGE group representing LREI.
  • Students and parents should perhaps be made more aware, if they’re not, that AIDS is still a very important issue and that the AIDS walk is a great way of showing support as well as raising money for research etc.

April 20th & April 21st – Adolescent Issues Parent Nights

  • Agenda to follow from Mark – also requests for areas of concern and or interest will be made by email to the parent’s prior to the evening.
  • The 20th is for the 6th & 7th grades parents and the 21st is for the 5th grade parents.

May 10th – Monday Parents Meeting with a representative from The Freedom Institute.

  • 7th and 8th graders kids will already have met with the representative/s from the institute in their adolescent issues classes to discuss substance abuse and prevention topics.

April 28th – High School Preview Night for Everyone – 7th & 8th graders are invited to attend

May 7th Arts Festival at High School for 7th graders – This is an opportunity for our Middle Schoolers to participate in classes at the High School.

April 29th – Middle School Art Show – This years’ evening event will be well publicized and parents will be encouraged to attend with their students.

  • Added to the traditional art show will be highlights from the Performance Electives that the 7th & 8th graders have been attending.
  • They will be performing in various venues throughout the building – such as Jazz Band, vocals, drama, etc.

Family Conferences – Friday April 16th and Friday April 23rd. NO CLASSES EITHER DAY

  • By now every parent should have received an email from their kids’ advisor with a list to reserve time for their meeting.
  • Specialists sign up sheets can be accessed through Mark’s blog.
  • Parent’s are encouraged to sign up with specialists, especially if they have specific concerns.
  • Report cards should be emailed out by 4/13 Tuesday at the latest so parents and students have time to review before conferences begin.

There was a lively conversation about the validity of 4th quarter narratives on reports written by students ( with their instructors help ) versus an end of the year final report from their teachers. As of now, the reports will remain with teacher’s commenting appearing on the 1st and 3rd reports.

Teacher/Instructor Updates:

Susannah Flicker  – learning specialist is on maternity leave and her replacement Mala Beckoff is already in place.

Steve Neiman  – will be retiring after 32 years at LREI. Imagine all the images Steve has accumulated over these many years. A search for a new technology teacher is underway.

End of Year Teacher Gifts – A vigorous conversation including the frustrations of parent reps in collecting money from families for these gifts.

  • Frustration included figuring out the money, gift, etc. We talked about the $25 maximum requested amount from each family. Some families want to give more while others can’t afford to give, but would like to. It can become awkward for some parent reps.
  • It was suggested that, perhaps, Mark or Kasey send out an email to parents’ letting them know that their individual reps will be contacting them for this and their timely reaction would be greatly appreciated. It was stressed to reps if they are having any difficulties they should contact Mark directly.
  • It was clarified that each grade is responsible for their 4 advisors as well as assigned specialists and that the specialists gifts should be different than the advisors.

In Middle School each specific grade has a theme end of year potluck. Check the online calendar for your class potluck date.

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Minutes Middle School Meeting
February 9, 2010

ERB’s: Start today, 1pm, and will run through Friday (if there is a snow day on Wednesday)

Literary Festival: Wednesday afternoon workshops

Intergrade Olympics:

  • Organized by the class reps. On Friday February 19th, 8 teams of 20 5-8th graders @ Thompson St., tug of war, skill games, afternoon only.

Pennies for Peace: Through March break – considering “non penny week”.

Project Cicero: March 1st – 4th math book drive, French Language books to Haiti. Karen received Barnes and Noble certificates as a donation. Bring on 1st day or so.

Middle School Dance: Was successful. February 19th – Sixth Grade DISC Dance @ VCS $7.00 with $1.00 to Red Cross/Haiti.

Progress Reports Out – use time before next set of reports to communicate with teachers on an as needed basis. Next conferences on April 16th and 29th.

In the second half of the year because of lost Mondays and Fridays, on a few select days we will run a Monday or Friday schedule on another day. This will even out the lost days so no one class is adversely impacted. Kids/families will be notified when this happens.

Basketball: 7th & 8th grade attend Thursday game vs. Birch Wathen Lennox – determines playoffs – February 11th

Visibility: Talk up program. Friday is the deadline for submissions. Opening is Monday the 8th of March at Sixth Avenue

Art Auction: March 3rd and 4th – Art Auction previews

Sports Practice: In case of cancellation on day of practice Peter will send something out. Peter will send out by 6:00am if cancelled. Snow days follow Public School closings.

FSA Template: 11-2pm on the 28th. Reps will send template and show up on the 28th.

Room to Grow: Please encourage all to contribute on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 17, 18th and 19th. New and gently used items will be sent to Parent Reps. (1 box of equipment.) Flyer will go out on blog.

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Middle School Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
1/19/10

COMMUNITY SERVICE/SPRING:

  • Students will resume volunteer work with St. John’s Food Pantry. With their advisory group they’ll pack food on Tuesday mornings and distribute food at the pantry on Wednesdays.
  • Pennies for Peace: this fundraiser begins today and continues until the start of spring break. It will be done by homeroom and benefits building projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This year the organization is requesting pennies specifically. In the past LREI has worked with Pennies for Patients but this year in conjunction with school wide reading of THREE CUPS OF TEA, donations will be made to benefit that part of the world.
  • Project Cicero: Monday 3/1-4, collection for K-12 books to benefit Project Cicero. Most books end up in needy classrooms.
  • Haiti: Super successful collection over the weekend. Many thanks to students and families for their time and their generosity. Goods should be landing in Haiti today!
  • Next Coffee House will raise money for relief efforts.

OTHER NEWS:

  • Pajama Day is 2/5 Info in blog
  • Mini Field Day being organized for Fri after ERB’s 2/12. It will be a color war type thing for a couple of hours in the afternoon
  • Spirit Day is 2/29 and will feature 7/8 grade and high school teams v. faculty basketball challenge
  • MS Dance is 2/29 at the Charlton St PAC. 6:30-8:30 5th Grade, 7:00 – 8:30 6th Grade, 7:00 – 9:00 7th and 8th grade. Entry and exit staggered by grade. Permission slips will come home with kids this week. Nile Adams, an alum, will DJ again. Please be prepared to pick up your children on time.
  • Reports for 2nd quarter with teacher narrative will be e-mailed on Friday. Expectation is that there should be no surprises for parents as all concerns should have been previously communicated
  • ERBs are February 9-11. Most Core/Math classes will work on test taking skills in the coming weeks with kids.
  • LIT FEST 2/10 after ERB session. If you are a parent in a literary/book field, consider organzing a workshop for the students. Students will participate in 2 1-hour sessions which are hands-on activities designed to explore different literary genres.
  • Visibility Exhibit is this year. “Gay and Lesbian People We Love” Mark your calendars for 2/22 6-8 opening reception at 6th Avenue. Flyer from LGSA committee coming with all info on submissions and student captions.
  • KARAMU, annual multicultural food and arts celebration, is this Friday 1/22. It starts at 5 this year so there will be more time before 6:30 performances. Please consider volunteering or donating food. Sign ups in Lobby. Buy your tix as they always sell out every year! Also, a gentle reminder to keep an eye on your children during event which is chaperoned by each parent individually…no teacher chaperones in charge.
  • Food Talk on Wednesday 2/3 at 8:45 am in cafeteria. Pediatrician parent Bridget Olson speaking on milk and parent nutritionist, Amy Nelms speaking on dinner. Presented by LREI food committee.
  • H1N1 booster in 2 weeks. Details in last weeks letter from Kitty. For children under ten who need followup booster.

Middle School Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
12/16/09

Upcoming events:

  • School Store open this Wednesday & Thursday.
  • Winter Chorus Concert, Tuesday was a big success.
  • Wednesday is Colonial Museum for 7th grade.
  • Friday is the Winter assembly, a very important Community Day.
  • Back to School on January 5th, the grading period ends that week.
  • ALL INVITED!! Come hear recent LREI grads talk about their transition to college. The “Alumni Panel” is a great way to get a glimpse of where your child will be in a few short years. Thursday, January 7th is a wonderful evening – not to be missed!
  • January 14th – Taste of Karamu bake sale.
  • January 20th is MLK Assembly run by the 8th graders.
  • Karamu!! Friday, January 22nd
  • Part 2 of “How to Raise an Ally” will be the evening of January 27th & the morningin of January 28th.
  • “School Spirit Game” Friday January 29th after school at Thompson St. Gym.
  • Middle School Dance will be on January 29th
  • ERB’s will be February 9th – 11th
  • Literary Festival will be held the afternoon of Wednesday, February 10th.

Further details of Events will be in blogs and the online calendar.

There was a conversation about making sure that middle school families have a good sense of what our high school is about before searching out other options.

The average time for assignments and tests to be handed back is one week.

Middle School Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, September 15

Welcome back to school. Principal Mark Silberberg announced that our Middle School is the largest it has ever been…157 students!

General Information:

  • Red gets greener…so there is NO ART CALENDAR this year. The calendar for the entire school year can be accessed on the school web site.
  • The school directory is being finalized, and will soon be available as a PDF which will be emailed to all parents. Any last minute changes should be sent to Mary Shea at mshea@lrei.org

IMPORTANT SCHOOL POLICY UPDATE: Parents are urged to review the new Internet Policy Acceptable Use revisions to the Student/Family Handbook. These revisions can also be accessed on line via a link on the Middle School blog. In brief, communication on electronic devices that takes place outside of school, but that have a direct and negative impact on individual members of the LREI Community and/or the larger LREI community at large are considered within the scope of the policy. Please review these important guildelines with your child.

Middle School Announcements:

  • Middle School Dances: No dates were announced. LREI MS Dances are FREE and open to all middle schoolers.
  • DISC Dances (Downtown Independent School Cooperative) open to 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The cost for these dances is $ 6. A week before the dance families will get a permission slip for their child to attend.
  • The Student Activity Period is on Fridays from 2:15 – 3:00. There are a variety of activities that students can choose from, that are run by the Middle School Faculty.
  • Parents are reminded to check the blog for information regarding Intramural sports, Middle School Band, Middle School Chorus, Robotics and other activities open to Middle School Students.
  • MS Spanish teacher and dean Gabrielle Keller spoke briefly about the plans for schoolwide community service for this year. We will continue our ongoing affiliation with St. John’s Pantry. Once a semester, advisory groups will go to the pantry on Tuesday mornings to help bag food and on Wednesdays to distribute the bagged items. Gabrielle has also arranged to get plants from the gardeners in Washington Square Park, which students will plant in Little Red Square.
  • Judo Club, open to all Middle School students takes place on Fridays from 3:15 to 5:30 at the Thompson Street Gym. Contact PE teacher Larry Kaplan about possibly getting a used Judo uniform for your child. There may be a limited number available from families who have donated them.

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. A link to their calendar of events is on the Middle School blog.

A parent suggested that students write down their homework assignments during class (this is the school policy) and not rely on the Digital Classroom link on the website, since the site may not be updated when your child is ready to do their homework.

REMINDERS:

  • Middle School Curriculum night Tuesday, 9/29 at 6:30. Parents will have the opportunity to get an overview of their child’s classes.
  • Middle School Conferences will be held 11/6/ & 11/13. This year, there will be an opportunity to meet with subject teachers in addition to your child’s advisor, on a drop in basis. Details coming.
  • 5th Grade: Report Card Information Meeting, Tuesday, 10/13 at 8:00 AM
  • 6th Grade: DISC Field Day Wednesday, 9/30 Raindate Thursday,10/1

7th and 8th Grade: Performing Arts Electives for this year (Instrumental, Vocal, Drama, Dance). Students will choose a major for the year, and a minor which will change each semester. The Middle School Spring Arts Festival will feature in Art Show and Performances from each elective.

As always, please check the weekly Middle School blog, updated on Thursdays, for detailed announcements and important updates.

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Middle School Parent Rep Meeting, May 19, 2009

Summer Reading and Math
Assignments will be in this week’s blog. In addition to the regular reading and assignment, all Middle School students will read “Three Cups of Tea.” The school will provide a copy of the book for each student and advisory groups will discuss the book in the fall and use it to frame some cross-divisional activities. Like last summer, families will get a letter with some ideas for “doing math” during the summer. If there are areas within the curriculum that your child needs to review, teachers’ will recommend ways to engage in these topics. Reading lists and teacher letters will come out later and Mark will send a link via e-mail.

Aids Walk
You can still go online and donate to LREI team by searching “Gabrielle Keller”

Important Dates:

May 21st
Spring Concert

May 22nd
Field Day – make sure kids wear their color and bring a lunch free of nuts. Mark sent information in blog.  1:00pm dismissal.

June 5th
Full day – High School graduation. Kids should come dressed for a ceremony. (1/2 day in lower school only)

June 5th
Middle School Dance, 6:00pm, grades 5-8, pizza and ice cream will be served – most teachers attend. 5th & 6th leave at 8:30pm, dance ends at 9:00pm for others.
Changed to 5th because the traditional Monday is a day too busy with class trips.

June 9th
6th grade breakfast
8th grade Science Exploratorium – no pot luck

June 10th
5th Grade Grecian Festival – a pot luck – Reps will be in touch

June 12th
This is the new date for 7th grade potluck breakfast & Constitution Works (not the 11th)

June 16th
12:30 dismissal, Moving Up ceremony: students in grades 5-7 will go to ceremony with 8th grade families.

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