Being our best selves . . .

Dear Families:

A thank you to those of you who were able to attend The Middle School Awards this past Monday evening. The number of students involved in extracurricular activities and the diversity of these activities was inspiring. There is no doubt that these opportunities, which challenge students to think and learn in powerful ways, contribute in important ways to our mission of educating the whole child. As with all endeavors, these experiences are not without their own obstacles (being overmatched by an opposing team, struggling to get the harmonies just right, having to adapt materials to met a robotics challenge). However, when we see our students pushing themselves to do their best for themselves and for the team/group, the opportunities for learning are self-evident. These programs also provide students with the opportunity to “bump” into a new passion or to deepen a commitment to an area of interest and strength. Through these extracurricular programs, students with varied prior experiences and abilities regularly come together under the guidance of experienced teacher leaders to support each other as they work to be their best selves. I hope that this year’s Awards Night sparked some new areas of interest for students and faculty alike. I look forward to future evenings where we are able to come together as a community to celebrate this important work.

I would again like to thank this year’s Middle School Parent Representatives for their hard work on your behalf in helping to make the Middle School the vibrant learning community that it is. If you are interested in continuing as a rep next year or would like to volunteer to serve as rep for the 2007-2008 school year, please let Kasey Picayo know. You can email Kasey at picayosmith@aol.com.

Also, please fill out the attatched PA ballot and return to the reception desk at theSixth Avenue or Charlton Street buildings by Wednesday, May 30th. Hard copies are also available at the reception desks.

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:
PA Ballot
Parents in Action Flyer
Spring Community Service Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) This Friday, May 25th, we will hold our annual Field Day at Pier 40. This is a wonderful school event in which students from all three divisions will have the opportunity to participate in a fun-filled day of recreational activities. Students will spend the first part of the day in activities with their buddies. The younger lower school classes will return to the school after this while the third through twelfth grades will participate in a variety of activities in mixed age groups. Students will need to bring their own lunch along with a container of water. (No nuts or seeds, please.) Plastic bottles are fine, but please no glass containers! Clothing should be comfortable and easy to move in, shorts or sweatpants and athletic shoes. No sandals. Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are strongly recommended. Finally, it is very important for students to arrive at school on time, by 8:15AM. We will return to school in time for 1:00PM dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation. We’re looking forward to an exciting day!

2) Our annual math department sponsored 24 Tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, May 30th, and Thursday, May 31st. Both preliminary rounds will take place in the cafeteria and will get underway at 7:45AM. The finals will take place the following Wednesday, June 6th at Middle School Meeting.

3) Michelle and Henry’s advisory has been addressing the “3Rs” — RECYCLING, REDUCING, and REUSING. Recycling is pretty well understood by most people in our school community and those who live in NYC. Reducing is an activity we have been discussing a fair amount, especially as it relates to the resources that we use at LREI. On Thursday, May 31st, Michelle and Henry’s advisory will focus our attention on Reusing through a swap event that their advisory will host. All Middle School student are invited to bring one or two small items – CDs, DVDs, older electronic games and board games, books, costume jewelry – to swap with other students at our Stuff Swap on Thursday, May 31st, during Advisory time. Items may be brought in any time between now and the 31st, and given to either Henry or Michelle. Please remind your child that the item(s) will not be returned to him/her so choose wisely. The items will be labeled and tagged; bringing in an item is a student’s “ticket” to attend the event. This is a great opportunity to pass something along that you no longer want and that might otherwise end up in the trash to another person who can enjoy its use. We encourage everyone to participate in this first LREI Middle School event and to learn how reusing can benefit individuals and the community. Building awareness around the 3Rs and spring cleaning – a great combination!

4) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert: The library will be converting to a new computer catalog towards the end of June. Because of the upcoming conversion, it is more important than ever that all LREI library books be returned to both libraries by Friday, June 1st. Like past years, we will be closing to circulation on this day, which means that while we will continue to check materials in, we will no longer check any more materials out. Please look through your child’s bookshelves at home, through closets and under beds for any stray LREI library books. We will be sending home overdue slips as usual, and please let me know if there are any errors on your child’s slip.

5) The LREI Camping Trip is a decade-old, parent-organized tradition that will take place this year during the weekend of June 1-3. You can signup for the trip in the Sixth Avenue Lobby on Friday, May 4th, and Wednesday, May 16. Typically, 50 to 80 campers head to a beautiful site near the Delaware Water Gap for one or two nights of camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, and games. For more information, visit the LREI website and/or click here to view the event poster.

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

7) 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 http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) Mark your calendar: Eighth Grade Pre-Moving Up Party, Friday, June 8, 2007 at 40 Charlton Street, PAC. Please arrive by 6:00PM for the Potluck Dinner and Recognition Program, which will be followed by dancing until 9:00PM.

2) The Moving Up Assembly will take place on Tuesday, June 12th, in the Sixth Avenue auditorium. The assembly will start promptly at 9:00AM and will run until about 10:30AM. Given space constraints we ask that only immediate family members attend (that being said, if there are extenuating circumstances please contact me directly). Immediately following the assembly, the eighth graders will return to their classroom, while parents will exit out the Bleecker Street doors and gather by the steps in front of Sarah’s classroom. The rest of the middle school community will exit the building from the Sixth Avenue side and then join families by the steps. When all are assembled, the eighth graders will receive their certificates and process one-by-one down the steps.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) The seventh grade potluck breakfast and Constitution Works event will take place on Thursday, June 7th. The breakfast will begin at 8:00AM in the seventh grade classrooms. Following the potluck, we will leave for Constitution Works at 9:15AM, which will be conducted at the federal courthouse downtown. Parents are encouraged to attend this exciting event. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) The annual sixth grade poetry and potluck breakfast will take place on Tuesday, June 5th at 8:00AM in the cafeteria. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Our annual Grecian Festival will take place on the evening of Wednesday, June 6th at 6:00PM. From 6:00-6:30PM, you are invited to view students’ robotics projects in the computer lab and in the science lab. At 6:30PM, we will convene in the Sixth Avenue auditorium for a dramatic presentation, which will be followed by the fifth grade potluck in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about the potluck.

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.

In order to make sure that you receive timely notifications about changes to the practice or game schedules, we have created an email list that we will be using to provide these updates. If you child participates on an LREI sports team, we ask that you go to http://lists.lrei.org/mailman/listinfo/lrei-sports where you will be able to subscribe to the list. The instructions are posted on this page.

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)

  • Friday, May 25, 2007 — Field Day (1PM dismissal)
  • Friday, May 25, 2007 — Memorial Day Weekend-School closes at 1:00PM (school reopens on Tuesday, May 29, 2006)
  • Tuesday, June 5, 2007, 8:00AM — Sixth Grade Potluck & Poetry Breakfast
  • Wednesday, June 6, 2007, 6:00PM — Fifth Grade Grecian Festival & Potluck
  • Thursday, June 7, 2007, 8:00AM — Seventh Grade Potluck Breakfast and Constitution Works
  • Friday, June 8, 2007 — High School Graduation (regular dismissal for MS)
  • Friday, June 8, 2007 — MS End of 4th Quarter
  • Friday, June 8, 2007, 6:00PM — Eighth Grade Pre-Moving Up Party
  • Monday, June 11, 2007, 6:00PM — MS Dance
  • Tuesday, June 12, 2007, 9:00AM — Eighth Grade Moving Up
  • Tuesday, June 12, 2007 — Last Day of School, School closes at 12:00PM for all Divisions

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

Be well,
Mark

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