A History of Story and Voice

Dear Families:

A rousing congratulations to all of the members of the cast of the Middle School play. The three performances of “Afraid of the Dark” and “The Hitchhiker” were truly outstanding. Each of the cast members made important contributions to the production and pushed themselves to fully inhabit their roles. The substantial commitment of time and energy by each of the actors helped to create a real ensemble work of the highest caliber.

On Wednesday, we enjoyed another celebration of our students sustained commitment to academic excellence. As in past years, the seventh grade Colonial Museum was rich in scholarship and offered many interesting insights into life and work during the 1700s. Students dug deeply into areas of personal interest and, in addition to learning much about their topics, they learned important research skills that will serve them well in future academic endeavors. The Colonial Museum is one of several culminating activities that are part of the seventh grade core curriculum. Each of these events occurs against the backdrop of a year-long exploration of the events that led up to the framing of the Constitution.

Throughout this journey, students explore the theme of “Cultures in Contact.” Through this lens, they examine the experience of Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans and how each contributed to the history of the period. Students also confront the issue of how the historic record is often not reflective of these varied perspectives. As a result, they come to understand why it is crucial that our attempts to understand the past take in the fullest possible view of these diverse experiences. The idea of history as an echo of varied voices and contested stories, mirrors the seventh graders attempts to craft the story of their research experience and to find their voices as historians. One needed only to spend a few minutes in the Museum yesterday to hear the power of their voices. It was my pleasure to have spent the better part of a day surrounded by their stories.

One the subject of stories, a reminder that this evening is the Winter Concert and our choruses and the high school jazz band will have their stories to tell. The concert is at the Charlton Street PAC and starts at 6:30PM. On Friday, we will have our annual Winter Assembly and as Middle School music teacher Henry Chapin notes:

THE SONG REPERTOIRE FOR THE WINTER ASSEMBLY has been carefully chosen this year by all four music faculty together. We thought over past song choices, and decided to keep some and add some. Our choices are also informed by honoring a trend in the music world of re-visiting classic, well-loved songs. I think, for example, of Carly Simon’s recent CD that included “Oh, Susanna.” and Bob Dylan’s recording of “Froggie Went A-Courtin.”

Accordingly, everyone will raise their voices together in singing “We Shall Not Be Moved,” with new verses written by some classes, “Down By The Riverside,” where we can think about what we would
place there to better “study war no more,” and “This Little light Of Mine,” a perennial LREI favorite requested by students not to be left out. Further, everyone has been learning “Peace, Salaam, Shalom,” by Pat Humphries, the composer of “Common Thread” and “Swimming to the Other Side.” This African style repetitive, layered chant/prayer has many simple parts that, when sung and drummed simultaneously, create a rich, rhythmical, ecstatic sound. Interspersed between the songs will be some reading from each division.

The combined choruses – Lower, Middle, and High school – will perform one piece from the previous night’s Winter Concert, “I Wish I Knew How It Feels To Be Free,” by the renown Jazz pianist, composer and educator Dr. Billy Taylor. I predict it will be a challenge for the rest of our school community not to become swept up in this buoyant expression of joyous longing.

Lastly, everyone will begin their winter holiday by singing, all together, another classic from past Winter Assemblies, “Let It Snow.” And then – Let it Snow!

My best wishes to you and to your family for a healthy and happy winter break and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

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:
Minutes from 12/12/06 Parent Rep Meeting
Middle School Faculty List
Parents in Action Flyer
Community Service Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) A number of you have asked about a Middle School faculty list. Click here to view the list.

2) Meeting About Tuition Increase and 2007-2008 Budget: Michel de Konkoly Thege, Director of Finance and Operations, will give presentations to the LREI community concerning the planned tuition increase and overall budget for the 2007-2008 school year. These presentations will take place at 6:30PM on Tuesday, January 16th in the Charlton Street cafeteria and at 8:00AM and 8:45AM on Wednesday, January 24th in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. All parents and other members of the LREI community are invited to attend and ask questions.

3) There’s an updated Home Game only basketball schedule on the web – enjoy !
http://www.lrei.org/athletics/pdf/winter_sports_home.pdf

4) Please take a moment to review the Community Service calendar for a range of service opportunities.

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

6) 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 . . . .
No updates this week.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Looking Ahead at LREI: All parents of third to seventh grade students are being invited to an informal evening with Director Phil Kassen for a conversation about “The Value of an LREI Education” as your child enters the middle and upper years. Invitations were mailed to you this week. Please note you are given three evenings to choose from in order to accommodate your schedule: January 9th, January 18th or January 23rd. If you have any questions, please contact Rowena Penaranda (ext. 295) or Sandra Song (ext. 275).

 

 

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Looking Ahead at LREI: All parents of third to seventh grade students are being invited to an informal evening with Director Phil Kassen for a conversation about “The Value of an LREI Education” as your child enters the middle and upper years. Invitations were mailed to you this week. Please note you are given three evenings to choose from in order to accommodate your schedule: January 9th, January 18th or January 23rd. If you have any questions, please contact Rowena Penaranda (ext. 295) or Sandra Song (ext. 275).

2) The intramural basketball schedule is available at http://www.lrei.org/athletics/wintersports.html#intramural.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Looking Ahead at LREI: All parents of third to seventh grade students are being invited to an informal evening with Director Phil Kassen for a conversation about “The Value of an LREI Education” as your child enters the middle and upper years. Invitations were mailed to you this week. Please note you are given three evenings to choose from in order to accommodate your schedule: January 9th, January 18th or January 23rd. If you have any questions, please contact Rowena Penaranda (ext. 295) or Sandra Song (ext. 275).

2) The intramural basketball schedule is available at http://www.lrei.org/athletics/wintersports.html#intramural.

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)

  • Wednesday, January 3, 2007– School Reopens
  • Monday, January 15, 2007 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday-School Closed
  • Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Wednesday, January 17, 2007 — MS MLK Assembly
  • Thursday, January 18, 2007, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
  • Friday, January 19, 2007 — MS End of 2nd Quarter
  • Friday, January 19, 2007, 7:00PM — MS Dance
  • Friday, January 26, 2007, 5:00PM – Karamu
  • Saturday, February 3, 2007, 7:00PM – Coffeehouse
  • Tuesday, February 13, 2007, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Tuesday, February 13, 2007 — MS ERBs (through Thursday, February 15, 2006)
  • Wednesday, February 14, 2007 — MS Literary Festival
  • Thursday, February 15, 2007, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Meeting
  • Monday, February 19, 2007 — Presidents’ Weekend-School Closed (school reopens on Wednesday, February 21, 2007)
  • Wednesday, February 21, 2007 — MS Black History Month Assembly
  • Friday, February 23, 2007, 7:30PM — Eighth Grade DISC Dance @ Grace Church
  • Thursday, March 15, 2007, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
  • Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Wednesday, March 21, 2007, 6:00PM — Sixth Grade Medieval Pageant
  • Thursday, March 22, 2007 — Fifth Grade Egyptian Tomb
  • Friday, March 23, 2007 — Founder’s Day
  • Friday, March 23, 2007 — MS End of 3rd Quarter
  • Friday, March 23, 2007 — Spring Break-School closes at 12:00PM (school reopens on Monday, April 9, 2006)

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

Be well,
Mark

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