Behind the Scenes . . .

Dear Families:

Well, the critics are still raving about last week’s middle school production of Alice in Wonderland. Congratulations to all (students, teachers, and parents) who were involved in the production. The true reward for my brief cameo in the play was the access that it granted me to the behind the scenes life of the production. From that vantage point, it was truly inspiring to watch students support, affirm, and challenge each other to do their best. Their risk taking, which looked so effortless from a seat in the audience, revealed itself to be the product of committed and thoughtful work that took in everything from the placement of a prop to the reworking of a scene. In the end, and, not surprisingly, the stage emerges as another LREI classroom and the musical another opportunity for learning. Bravo!

This week’s middle school meeting brought our 24 competition to a close with two closely reasoned matches in the single digit division. By the end of the meeting, two students emerged as champions: 3-Dot – Ella Park-Chan (5th Grade) and 2-Dot – Aaron Donner (6th Grade). These two were expertly challenged by 5th grader, Malina Buturovic (3-dot) and 6th grader Mint Toro (2-dot). Congratulations again to all of the participants.

This Week’s Attachments
(Click on the links below to open the attachments. If you are having trouble opening the links, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.)

General:
LREI AIDS Walk Survival Guide
Spring Concert 5/19
Child Care Saturday – 5/21
Spring Book Sale Information
8th Grade and 7th Grade:
Little Red Singers Rehearsal Schedule
6th Grade:
6th Grade Math Update
Little Red Singers Rehearsal Schedule
5th Grade:
Little Red Chorus Rehearsal Schedule

Of General Interest . . .
1) From Dean of Co-Curricular Programs Gabrielle Keller: The Aids Walk is this Sunday, May 15th, rain or shine. LREI has over 120 registered walkers! Make sure that you and your Middle School walker have a Walk “Survival Guide” with instructions for Sign-In beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Central Park. You will also receive the LREI logo Aids Walk T-shirt generously donated by the Picayo family. T-sheets will be handed out on Friday and at the Walk. You may still walk by downloading a sponsor sheet at www.aidwalk.net and checking in with me at the LREI meeting point on the morning of the walk. IF YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO WALK, YOU CAN STILL GO ONLINE AT WWW.AIDSWALK.NET AND SPONSOR A MEMBER OF THE LREI TEAM!

2) The annual MS Award evening is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17th at 6:30PM in the Charlton Street PAC (this is a change of location). This year we will be expanding the event to include recognition for participation in all extracurricular activities. Throughout the year, students contribute to the community life of the school in a variety of ways and it is important that the full range of these after school contributions is recognized. In addition to the fall, winter, and spring sports, students will be recognized for participation in chorus, the play and musical, band, the chess team, the robotics team/Expo, and the EyeBeam art/tech club. Light refreshments will be served in the Charlton Street cafeteria from 6:00-6:30PM. The program will start promptly at 6:30PM. We hope you that you will be able to join us to celebrate the students involved in these activities.

3) With the change in weather, the Houston Street ballpark has become an important after school stop for many middle school students. Whether with a parent or on their own, students should not leave their backpacks or coats near the gates at the entrance to the ballpark. It is important that students remember that use of the ballpark after school is different than during the school day when teachers are present to monitor who enters the park and to keep an eye on students’ possessions.

4) The Literary Committee is organizing a Spring Book Sale. Please read the attached letterfor additional information.

5) Attached please find a flyerfor the LREI High School Seniors’ “Child Care Saturday,” to be held on Saturday 5/21 from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

6) A few items from High School Principal Tony Fisher: Senior Philip Ellison is doing his Senior Internship with City Year (City Year is “an Action Tank for national service that seeks to demonstrate, improve and promote the concept of national service as a means for building a stronger democracy”), and his experience has been so successful that he will be joining their corps for a full year prior to attending college. He will also lead a group of LREI students on Saturday, May 14th to participate in City Year’s 2nd Annual One Harlem Service Day. Activities will include painting, creating murals, and landscaping.

Earth Celebrations is a “not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering ecological awareness through the arts.” Earth Celebrations has its annual Rites of Spring Pageant on Saturday, May 21st. Many LREI students have volunteered to help with the pageant itself, which for 15 years has involved bringing costumes, giant Puppets, Samba bands, and art performances to the community gardens of the Lower East Side and the East Village. Students have also volunteered to help with pre-pageant publicity and even with a puppet-making workshop the day before the pageant.

The Community Service Roundtable spearheaded the effort to raise money for the Tsunami Relief Drive. The Benefit Concert raised over $17,000 for UNICEF. In addition, the donation drive which was carried out in stores and restaurants around The Village as well as in the corridors and classrooms of the school buildings netted another $3,000, which was distributed to five organizations: Heifer Project, CARE, Habitat for Humanity, Knightsbridge International and Save the Children.

LREI High School films are once again getting noticed! This Saturday, at the Westport Youth Film Festival, the following films will be shown: Samuli Haavisto: “Let It Ride” (Naked Riot music video, starring Matt Levinson); Jerelyn Rodriguez: “I Never Loved Him” (Minimester poetry film); and Alex Zhang: “Protest? What Protest?” (Documentary about the protests surrounding last year’s NYC Republican National Convention). Jerelyn also has another film playing at the Festival, “A Sweet Affair,” which she made last summer at the Ghetto Film School.

The High School Jazz Band gave bravura performances last Wednesday at the Big Auction and again last Friday with tap dancer and LREI parent Derrick Grant (“Bring in Da Noise …”) at a special Lower School assembly. You can catch them again at the Spring Concert on Thursday May 19 or at the Coffeehouse on the 21st!

Click the following links to access a list of our High School seniors’ college acceptances for the past two years and this year’s list of the seniors’ plans for next year. We are proud of their accomplishments and excited about their choices. Our Dean of College Guidance has already begun her work with this year’s 11th graders and their families. As I reported in Tony’s April 28 Weekly Email, the students spent two days visiting colleges in and around Philadelphia in order to help them to begin to formulate their ideas, goals and questions as they move into their senior year. Once again, congratulations to our seniors on their excellent choices and good luck to our juniors as they enter an important time in their lives. For more information on our college guidance process please see the College Admissions Process section of our web site.

In the evening on Saturday, May 21, we will have our last Coffeehouse of the year, and it will have a Human Rights theme. Stay tuned for more details …

For 8th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Lynn Makrin if your child is a member of the Little Red Singers.

2) Just a reminder that the 8th Grade Pre-Moving Up party is scheduled for the evening of Friday, June 10th in the Charlton Street PAC. The Moving Up ceremony will take place the morning of Tuesday, June 14th.

For 7th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Lynn Makrin if your child is a member of the Little Red Singers.

2) Please note that following the breakfast Potluck at 8:15AM (in the classrooms) on June 9th, students will perform scenes from Romeo and Juliet. At 9:15AM, students will depart for Federal Hall (Wall Street) for the Constitution Works Supreme Court simulation from 10:00AM to noon. Parents are cordially invited to accompany the group to witness their child’s court debut!

For 6th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Lynn Makrin if your child is a member of the Little Red Singers.

2) Please read the attached letter from Jenny Cashin about the new math unit.

2) Just a reminder that the Potluck and Poetry Breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7th from 8:15-9:30AM.

For 5th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Meryl Danziger if your child is a member of the Little Red Chorus.

2) Just a reminder that the 5th Grade Expo/Potluck will take place on Thursday, June 2nd from 8:00-9:30AM.

Looking Ahead . . .
On the LREI web site additional information about upcoming events can be found at http://www.lrei.org/caleven/index.html (the middle school events page can be found at http://www.lrei.org/midschool/Events.html)

  • Sunday, May 15th — AIDS Walk
  • Monday, May 16th, 5:30PM — Edu. Comm. Mtg.
  • Tuesday, May 17th, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep Mtg.
  • Tuesday, May 17th, 6:30PM— MS Sports Awards
  • Thursday, May 19th, 6:30PM — Spring Chorus Concert
  • Friday, May 20th, 8:30AM — Multicultural Comm. Mtg.
  • Friday, May 20th, 8:30AM — Lit.Comm.Mtg.
  • Saturday, May 21st, 7:00PM — Coffeehouse, ChSt. PAC
  • Thursday, May 26th, 8:45AM — PA Exec. Bd. Mtg. w/Phil 6th Ave. caf.
  • Friday, May 27th — Field Day (School closes at 1PM)
  • Monday, May 30th — Memorial Day – school closed
  • Wednesday, June 1st — Senior Projects Evening
  • Thursday, June 2nd, 8:00AM — Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance Mtg.
  • Thursday, June 2nd — 5th gr. Expo & Potluck
  • Friday, June 3rd — LREI Camping Trip thru 6th
  • Tuesday, June 7th, 8:00AM — 6th gr. Potluck & Poetry Breakfast
  • Tuesday, June 7th, 8:00AM — Sports Comm. Mtg.
  • Tuesday, June 7th, 6:30PM — Aft. Enrichment Share Day
  • Wednesday, June 8th, 6:30PM — Aft. Instrumental Concert, PAS
  • Thursday, June 9th, 8:15AM — 7th gr. Potluck Breakfast
  • Thursday, June 9th, 10:00AM— Constitution Works Supreme Court simulation
  • Friday, June 10th — High School Graduation
  • Monday, June 13th, 7:00PM — MS Dance, ChSt.PAC
  • Monday, June 13th, 7:00PM — PA Thank You Party
  • Tuesday, June 14th — MS Moving Up
  • Tuesday, June 14th — Last Day of School – school closes at noon for all divisions (4s-1st gr 11:45)

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and interesting information – http://www.lrei.org.

Be well,
Mark

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