October 26, 2006

What our students had to say . . .

Dear Families:

Last week, Phil sent out an email announcing our selection as a “Rising Star” Middle School as part of the Manhattan Media Group’s 2006 Blackboard Awards. The award is a true honor and a validation of the committed and dedicated work of the Middle School faculty, students and parents. A number of you have inquired about the award and the selection process. The following is a brief excerpt from the Blackboard Awards’ website:

Why We Give Them
In the lives of New Yorkers, it’s hard to think of a bigger issue than the state of our educational system. It’s a financial, political and moral issue: educating the next generation. The city’s in the middle of a gigantic debate about how best to do that, just as the state’s in a struggle over how much to pay for it. While the big issues continue to play out — and we’re committed to covering them — it’s also important to tell the success stories from our educational system. That’s one reason we have the Blackboard Awards, which pay tribute to the schools, teachers and students who are succeeding, every day and in every way.

Despite the drumbeat of criticism and the ongoing debates, some of our children are learning – not just their ABCs, but how to become active citizens in a global community. And what better place to learn that than here in New York City? In this dizzyingly diverse city, our children are growing up street smart, tech savvy and racially tolerant. The number of children from the city’s schools matriculating to the best colleges in the country is at a high – all thanks to a dedicated corps of public servants who work long hours, for little pay and even less recognition. Teaching is a labor of love – nobody gets rich in this business.

Manhattan Media and The Blackboard Awards salute the professionals who work so hard to create and sustain successful learning communities; the parents who provide the moral and financial support to make that success possible; and our children, whose spirit, enthusiasm and openness make it all
worthwhile.

How it Works
The Blackboard Awards were created in 2002 by Manhattan Media, owners of Our Town, the West Side Spirit and AVENUE magazine. Our goal is to highlight notable achievements by schools across all of New York’s educational systems. The Blackboard Awards program has met with an excellent response from schools, readers and the New York Press Association. Enormous care is taken with the selection process. We polled parents and students; spoke with many educators and educational consultants; and ran a Web site where well over 1,000 opinions were recorded. We were guided throughout by a distinguished advisory board, including representatives from independent, public and religious schools, who helped us define great learning communities, and who offered us insights into how the best schools educate their students.

With this as our backdrop, Middle School dean Gabrielle Keller, our two most senior eighth grade class reps and I had the pleasure of attending the Blackboard Awards ceremony last week. It was a wonderful event, but in one respect long on adults giving and accepting congratulations for the learning that takes place in their schools. For me, the highlight of the evening was when our award was accepted by our eighth grade reps Amy and Emily. They were the only students to speak that night and when they did the side conversations in the audience stopped. Their presence on the stage refocused the evening on the real reason why we were all gathered in celebration. . Amy and Emily were poised and articulate and, as representatives of our larger community, reflected the core values of our progressive mission that places students at the center of the learning process. The impact of this was not lost on those gathered for the event. I close with their words, which speak volumes for the hard work that takes place each day in the Middle School.

Emily: We’re glad to accept this award on behalf of the middle school students, faculty, and parents. When I think of our middle school, I think of great teachers, community, progressive values, interacting with my peers, and the confidence to be myself.

Amy: For me, LREI is a place that sets the highest of standards for us, both academically and personally. It challenges us to reach our goals and gives everyone a chance to be their best person. It fosters independence and a knack for digging deeper into any material we get our hands on. It’s all this and more that makes me so proud to accept this award on behalf of my school. Thank you again for this wonderful honor.

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:
Parents in Action Flyer
Eighth Grade:
EI Visit Form
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) It has been an exciting week for our eighth graders who participated in the annual Minimester program at the High School. Students selected from a wide range of offerings (view list here) and then spent three days in intensive study in their area of choice. The week concluded with a public share from all of the groups. Please read High School principal Ruth Jurgensen’s blog for more information about Minimester and the work accomplished by students this week.

2) From MIddle School music teacher Henry Chapin: On Middle School Curriculum night, parents requested that I let families know what compositions music classes will be listening to ahead of time, so that families can support this listening at home. Responding to that request, in the next two weeks, Middle School classes will be listening to selected examples of the music of Steve Reich, in honor of this important American composer’s 70th birthday celebration. I hope classes will enjoy the clean, accessible and thoroughly modern sounds Reich has given us. Reich is considered one of the most influential American composers of the 20th century, perhaps the most famous composer of Minimalist music. Composer John Adams said of Reich’s work “He didn’t re-invent the wheel as much as give us a new way to ride.” Classes will explore some new forms of music composition that he developed, such as the “phase shift”. The in-class listening will take only a portion of a music class, and last, with follow-up conversations, about 15 minutes per class. Families interested in supporting this might want to listen to “Drumming,” “Clapping Music,” “Music for 18 Musicians,” or “Different Trains.” I also welcome any feedback, suggestions, or contributions any families to this exploration. Contact me at school, or at hchapin@lrei.org.

3) On November 12th, fifth and sixth grade art teacher and visual arts department chair Melissa Rubin heads off to Japan for three weeks as part of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund (JFMF). The JFMF Teacher Program is a competitive fellowship program that provides American primary and secondary school teachers and administrators with fully-funded short-term study tours of Japan. The program is designed to increase understanding between the people of Japan and the United States by inviting U.S. elementary and secondary educators to visit Japan and share their experiences with fellow Americans upon their return. JFMF participants travel to Japan with other outstanding educators, learn about Japanese culture and education, and return to implement a self-designed plan to share their knowledge and experience with their students, colleagues and community.

As part of her plan, Melissa will create a digital picture file of her visit to Japan, which will become a resource for the Middle School art curriculum and the entire school community. She will also create a series of lessons with cross-disciplinary connections to art, social studies, and language arts. In addition to these curricular focused goals, Melissa will create an online journal that will provide interested teachers in Japan and at LREI with a forum to share ideas and experiences connected to two professional development models, Lesson Study and Critical Friends Group.
Melissa’s participation in the JFMF program is an honor for her and for LREI. There is no doubt that the experience will be both professionally and personally rewarding and that our community will benefit from the learnings that Melissa will bring back with her.

While Melissa is abroad, her classes will be covered by David Blais who is an experienced arts educator. David spent time observing our art program last year and is excited to be joining us for this period. David will join us during the week prior to Melissa’s departure, which will provide an opportunity for the two to transition. Melissa will return to her classes on Monday, December 11th. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

4) Sign up sheets for Family Conferences, which are scheduled for Wednesday, November 15th (12:15-3:15PM) , and Friday, November 17th (full day – school is closed) are posted. The sign-up sheets for core teachers are posted outside of their rooms and the sign-up sheets for specialist teachers are posted on the bulletin board outside of my office.

5) As many of you know, the LREI Halloween Fair is here! It will be held this Sunday, October 29th, from 1:00PM – 4:00PM. This year we will again use the Thompson Street Athletic Center at the corner of Thompson and Houston Streets. The theme is pirates. I encourage you all to attend with your children and their friends. In addition, middle school students are encouraged to sign up to help with the event. There is a sign-up sheet on the community service bulletin board by the second floor landing.

6) Photo Scholarships: Our photographer, Coffee Pond Photography, is able to offer a limited number of photo scholarships. Please contact me (msilberberg@lrei.org or at extension 221), if you receive financial aid and are unable to pay for photographs. If you have specific questions about the ordering process, you can contact Coffee Pond Photography at lifeguards@coffeepond.com or by phone at 1-800-632-2323 extension 0

7) Attention book lovers: On Wednesday, November 8th join the Literary Committee as the LREI librarians present, “East Meets West,” an evening of youth books that feature culture clashes and truces, diverse viewpoints and changing perspectives. Each year our nationally recognized librarians share their literary suggestions for students in all grades, Fours-12th grade, with the LREI community as they do with other school and professional audiences throughout the school year. All three of our full time librarians have served, or are presently serving, on American Library Association panels responsible for selecting prize winning books. Join this evening as Stacy, Jennifer and Karyn share their book selections with us, along with LS library teacher and graphic novel reviewer, Jesse Karp (LREI ’87), who will give his suggestions for the best in graphic novels. Each year the Literary Committee brings us the book fairs, Book Week, the amazing Literary Evening (December 7) and this evening with our librarians. The Committee also supports the librarians’, and their students’, attendance at conferences.

8) A reminder form the PA Community Service Committee: We will be doing the Thanksgiving Decorations for Hudson Guild Fulton Center again this year as a volunteer opportunity for the whole community (4’s through 12th grade and beyond) on Saturday, November 18th at 11:00 -1:00. Save the date and we hope to see you there!

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

10) 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 2006-2007 calendar. You can also access their on-line calendar of events at www.parentsinaction.org.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) Please read High School principal Ruth Jurgensen’s blog for more information about Minimester and the work accomplished by students this week. Click here to view the list of offerings.

2) Over the next few weeks, eighth graders will spend a day at the high school in small groups. Students will receive the attached sign-up sheet tomorrow. Please go over the sheet with your child. They should bring a completed sheet with them to school on Monday.

2) Please check the Winter Sports page for the listing of practice and games schedules for the Middle School basketball teams. Practice for seventh and eighth grade teams will begin the week of November 6th.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) The expected return time from Williamsburg is 4:00PM. When the group is on the road, they will make periodic calls to let us know if there are any changes in the ETA. You can call the reception desk to get updates regarding the group’s arrival at Sixth Avenue.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Practices for the intramural basketball season will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:00AM at the Athletic Center, starting December 5th. Games, which will be held on Fridays after school, will start after the winter break. Please check the Winter Sports page for the listing of practice and games schedules for the Middle School basketball teams.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) The fifth grade will be visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern art collection on Tuesday, October 31st. We will be leaving school at approximately 9:00AM to meet our 10:00AM appointment. While at the museum, students will be making observations of the ancient Sumerian artifacts through a variety of writing and sketching activities. Please be sure your child brings a bag lunch to school (no seeds, nuts or glass bottles, please) and is dressed appropriately for the weather. Thanks–Melissa, Heather and Wendy

2) Practices for the intramural basketball season will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:00AM at the Athletic Center, starting December 5th. Games, which will be held on Fridays after school, will start after the winter break. Please check the Winter Sports page for the listing of practice and games schedules for the Middle School basketball teams.

Middle School Sports
Schedules, permission forms and general information about Middle School sports programs can be found at http://www.lrei.org/athletics/index.html. Information is also available through the LREI Sports Hotline at 212.477.5316 x 494.

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, October 29, 2006 — Halloween Fair
Tuesday, October 31, 2006 — Fifth Grade to the Met (Ancient Near Eastern Art)
Friday, November 3, 2006 — MS-End of 1st Quarter
Tuesday, November 8, 2006 — LREI librarians present, “East Meets West”
Thursday, November 9, 2006 — Eighth grade to the Bob Dylan exhibit at the Morgan Library
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 — Eighth Grade to the Donnell library for the National Book Award Panel
Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 12:15PM — MS Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, November 16, 2006, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
Friday, November 17, 2006, 8:30AM — MS Parent-Teacher Conferences (MS closed)
Monday, November 20, 2006 — Irwin Scholars Application due
Tuesday, November 21, 2006, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 — Thanksgiving-School closes at 12:00PM (school reopens on Monday, 27, 2006)
Friday, December 1, 2006, 7:00PM — Seventh Grade DISC Dance 40 CHST
Monday, December 4, 2006 — Book Week (through Friday, November 8, 2006)
Wednesday, December 6, 2006 — Book Fair (through Friday November 8, 2006)
Thursday, December 7, 2006, 7:00PM — Literary Evening
Friday, December 8, 2006, 7:00PM — MS Play
Saturday, December 9, 2006, 2:00PM and 7:00PM — MS Play
Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 6:00PM — Seventh Grade Colonial Museum
Thursday, December 14, 2006, 6:00PM — Winter Concert
Thursday, December 14, 2006, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
Friday, December 15, 2006 — Winter Break – School closes at 12:00PM (school reopens on Wednesday, January 3, 2007)

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

Be well,
Mark

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