A Picture’s Worth . . .

Dear Families,

This week’s sixth grade Medieval Pageant and fifth grade Egyptian tomb were wonderful culminating activities to units of focused study that were carried out across several subjects. As the quarter draws to a close and I reflect on my varied interactions with students and teachers, I am continually struck by the richness of our integrated curriculum. The value of an integrated curriculum, which connects traditionally-separate subject areas, and its particular relevance at the middle school level, is something that has been a core value at LREI from the very beginning. As Agnes De Lima notes in The Little Red School House: “We are, then, concerned in our curriculum to make sure that it affords the kind of experience and the kind of activities which will help children grow normally and naturally. The old-line pedagogue was continually asking, what must a child know, what knowledge is of most worth? We ask instead, What should a child be like, what ways of acting and what habits of repose are most worthwhile…. We take the child as he is and where his is, try to understand him, and then seek to help him understand the kind of world in which he lives and the part he is to play in it (p. 16).”

The interesting thing is that through this process students learn an incredible amount of what we traditionally consider as subject area knowledge. More importantly, they learn how to use this information to solve authentic problems and to assess critically this knowledge. Through our integrated curriculum, inquiry occurs in a thematic and holistic manner. In this way, the curriculum empowers our students to see connections and to generalize and transfer knowledge to a variety of problem-solving situations. As we celebrate Founders Day tomorrow, I have no doubt the Elisabeth Irwin and her colleagues would be pleased with the current state of affairs here at LREI. Here are a few images from the Pageant and Tomb that capture this spirit. The images go quite well with this piece composed by the students for the pageant.
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Last Saturday’s competition, which ran from early in the morning until late in the afternoon, was the culmination of several months of hard work for the members of LREI’s Middle School Robotics Teams.  What follows is an update from team coach and middle school science teacher Sherezada Acosta:

This weekend marked the end of a great season!  I was proud of the great work all the students put in to get us here and how hard they pushed themselves throughout the competition day.  It was a very long day, but they did an incredible job representing our school! I am happy to report that out of the 72 schools at the event, which represented the top performing teams in the New York City area, the LREI Knights Team received a perfect score in every aspect of the teamwork category, earning them a 4th Place for the Teamwork Award!

Teamwork Award:
“Teamwork is critical to succeed in FIRST LEGO League and is the key ingredient in any team effort.  FLL presents this award to the team that best demonstrates extraordinary enthusiasm, an exceptional partnership, and the practice of the FLL values.”

What the judges had to say:
“Great enthusiasm!”  “Good group collaboration”
“Good innovative solution proposed”
“very proactive and high awareness”
“Research extensive!”

The LREI Squires were not far behind getting incredible feedback from the judges as well:

“Informative, polite, well spoken large team with excellent teamwork.”
“Most out of the box solution”
“Demo was very creative”
“Great job dividing and sharing roles to design robot”
“Very enthusiastic presentation”

Well done all!

Of General Interest . . .

1) Director’s Drop-In — Phil will be available for drop-in conversations in his Sixth Avenue office from 8:45AM-9:30AM on Friday, March 6th. Drop in, ask a question, and hear about what is going on at LREI. Can’t make these times? Give a call or send and email.

2) Click here for information on the April 1st Open Parents Association Meeting. All are invited.

3) A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community: Bring The Conversation Home — Strategies for addressing challenging diversity topics your child brings home — Socioeconomic Class Part III. Join us for the last parent diversity discussion of the year.
Monday April 6, 8:45-10:00AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria

4) From Mary Shea: If you did not receive an email and/or the phone call announcing our snow day on Monday please contact Mary Shea to update your contact information. Also let Mary know if you would like to add to or change your contact numbers or addresses. You can reach Mary at mshea@lrei.org or at extension 244.

5) “Folk Music Performance At EI on March 28th and 29th”… Please see the attached message from High School history teacher and school historian Nick O’Han about two very exciting events for the whole family taking place during Spring Break that are being co-sponsored by LREI and the New York Folk Music Society

6) Red is Green Committee Updates:

  • Our March recycle drive is… Corks! We will be sending them to Terracycle, a company that upcycles various waste items into useful products (www.terracycle.net). They will accept both natural and synthetic corks. Look for the box in the 6th Ave. lobby and help keep corks out of our landfills.
  • Saturday, March 28 at 8:30PM local time is Earth Hour.  World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.  Last year, over 50 million people, representing over 400 cities on all seven continents turned out their lights in the largest climate event of all time.  For more information, or to sign up to pledge to turn off all non-essential lights for Earth Hour, go to http://www.earthhour.org.
  • Save the date:  Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day.  When we get back from the break, look for information about LREI’s First Annual Earth Day Celebration for lower and middle school kids from 2:45-4pm in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.
  • And don’t forget to check out Lets Go Green’s website for eco-friendly water bottles, garbage bags, light bulbs, paper goods etc. LREI receives 25% of all sales as profit. Thanks for all your help. Start collecting and keep recycling!
  • If you have any questions or suggestions, please email the Red is Green committee (lhommen@hotmail.com or kbeck2@nyc.rr.com).
  • Have a great (and green) spring break!

7) For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.

8) LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA). 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. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2008-2009 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
MS Parent Rep Meeting (3/10) Minutes
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Fifth Grade:
Sixth Grade:

For All Grades . . .
1) Thinking ahead? Join us for the High School Preview Night on Tuesday, April 7th at 6:30pm in the Charlton Street Performing Arts Center (PAC). This event is a wonderful opportunity for Middle School and Lower School parents to learn more about the High School from parents, students and recent alumni. We hope to see you there! RSVP to Samantha Caruth, Director of Admissions, at 212-477-5316 ext. 305, scaruth@lrei.org.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) For students in the Math X section, please read the new unit letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the new unit letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

2) Monday, April 13th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Monday, April 13th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Tuesday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

============= For additional information, follow these links: =============

  • View important middle school dates here.
  • View all events with the LREI On-line Calendar
  • Click here to see the 2009-2010 calendar.
  • LREI Athletics. For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and season recaps.
  • Click here to view the Middle School Photo Gallery.

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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