Dear Middle School Families,

On Wednesday, we held our annual Martin Luther King Assembly. We began with the song, “The Dream of Martin Luther King” (click here for lyrics and music). This was followed by an update from our eighth graders on their social justice projects. These projects will culminate in April with our annual “Teach In” during which the eighth graders will lead workshops for the rest of the Middle School on a range of social justice topics connected to their volunteer experiences and their related research. This project relates to the eighth grade core theme “Choosing to Participate” and the underlying notion of the importance of student activism. This idea was embodied in the life experience of our assembly’s key note speaker Lynda Lowery. Lynda was joined by author Susan Buckley who has written about Lynda’s experience in her book, Journeys for Freedom.

Lynda Lowery turned fifteen years old during the Selma to Montgomery march making her the youngest marcher. She was arrested fifteen times over the years in which she participated in the civil rights movement. In the video clip below, Lynda describes “Bloody Sunday” and the resolve that carried her through to the final march two weeks later.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGuhSvYuCoQ

We were inspired by Lynda’s accounts of her determination to make a difference. Hearing her story and its intersection with the life of Martin Luther King Jr. not only helped to make a pivotal moment in history come to life, but also helped us to better appreciate how the contributions of ordinary citizens, especially young people, were crucial to the success of the Civil Rights Movement. More importantly, Lynda’s story calls on us to ask ourselves today, “What are we doing to continue this important work?” In and out of our classrooms, we will continue to commit ourselves to this work.

Of General Interest . . .

1) If your contact information—address, phone numbers, email addresses—has changed since we distributed the directory in September, please contact Mary Shea, mshea@lrei.org, as she is preparing an updated directory for distribution in the coming weeks. Thanks.

2) 1/21, Save the Date for Karamu! Friday, January 21st… Karamu! is LREI’s annual multicultural event of music, dance, and food celebrating the diversity of our school and community. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 18th… Karamu! always sells out; get your tickets early (discounted tickets available – contact multiculturalcommittee@lrei.org). We need food and volunteers! … Sign up sheets to help produce Karamu! have been posted in the Sixth Avenue lobby, as have sheets to sign up to contribute to the potluck. If you would like to sign up, but do not visit the buildings often, you can email the committee at the address above. There will also be a Karamu! bake sale after school on Thursday, January 13th in the Sixth Avenue lobby.

4) Sports Committee: Ready for some indoor fun on a chilly afternoon? Our basketball teams are RED HOT! So warm up with friends and come to one of our exciting home games! Be prepared to scream, yell, wave your flags and MAKE SOME NOISE as we CHEER OUR TEAMS ON TO VICTORY! All games are held at Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street. LET’S GO KNIGHTS!! Knights home game schedule for next week:

• Thursday, 1/20 at 4pm: Varsity Girls vs Brooklyn Friends
• Friday, 1/21: 5th/6th Grade Intramurals 3:30 Green/Black 4:15 Tiedye/Blue
• Monday, 1/ 24 at  4pm: Varsity Boys vs York Prep 
• Tuesday, 1/25 at 4pm: Varsity Boys vs BWL
  
• Wednesday, 1/ 26 at  4pm: Varsity Girls vs Garden
• Thursday, 1/27 at 4pm: Middle School Boys vs Brooklyn Friends 3:30 
• Thursday, 1/27 at 4:15pm: JV Boys vs LFNY
• Friday, 1/28 at 3:30pm: SPIRIT GAME — All are welcome to come and cheer as our 7th-12th grade basketball teams take on the LREI Faculty! Please see flyer for details.

5) Red is Green: In January the Red is Green Committee will be collecting holiday cards for recycling. The cards will be donated to St. Jude’s Ranch. St. Jude’s will remove the front of each card and attach a new back then sell the new card to raise money for the organization. Cards that can be recycled must not have writing on the back side of the front cover. Please, no cards with personal photographs or Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards. Cards can be placed in the collection bin located in the lobby.

6) Our new community cookbook, Downtown Potluck, a compilation of recipes from our talented parents and teachers, has been garnering praise in the media, including Time Out New York Kids and Esquire. It will be on sale at Karamu! and other upcoming school events. It will also be available through the school store, and in the Sixth Ave. lobby shortly before Valentine’s Day (perfect for gift-giving!). The book costs $25; supplies are limited. Email cookbook@LREI.org for information.

7) Click here to access the most current “At a Glance” calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.

8) For additional school news, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

9) LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA – http://www.parentsinaction.org/). 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. Click here to view upcoming events and/or to download their calendar.

For All Grades . . .

1) On other fronts, congratulations to the members of the Middle School Robotics Team and coaches Sherezada Acosta and Chris Jung who continued their winning ways with excellent performances at this past weekend’s FIRST Lego League Manhattan borough competition. The team has now qualified for the citywide competition that will take place at the Javits Center in March. The team really rose to the occasion in the research presentation phase of the competition coming in 2nd place out of 40 teams that were competing. Congratulations on this most excellent achievement. Below are some photos from the competition.

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2) Click here to read the minutes from this week’s Middle School Parent Rep Meeting.

3) The new date for the POCOC Book Club & Potluck is Friday, February 4th from 6:00-8:00PM in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. Rita Williams-Garcia , the author of our Middle School book selection and winner of the 2011 Scott O’Dell Award will join us. Reminder: The Parents of Children of Color Committee (POCOC) provides a forum for discussion on the needs and concerns of parents of children of color.

4) Just a reminder that the first Middle School dance is scheduled for Friday, January 28th. The dance will start at 6:30PM for fifth graders and at 7:00PM for sixth through eighth graders. The dance will end at 8:30PM for fifth and sixth graders and at 9:00PM for seventh and eighth graders. Permission slips will go out the week of the dance. The afternoon of Friday, January 28th is also our much anticipated Spirit Game in which faculty take on the seventh-twelfth grade basketball teams.

5) Both of the above events will cap off our first annual Middle School Spirit Week that will serve as the culmination to the Kind-a-thon that has been organized by the student reps. Below is the roster of Spirit Week Events:

• Monday, January 24th: Crazy Hat Day – Pretty self-explanatory
• Tuesday, January 25th: Bring-Your -Own-Lunch-To-School Day – No nuts, seed or glass bottles.
• Wednesday, January 26th: Twin (or triplet) Day – Pairs or trios of classmates come to school dressed similarly. Outfits should be in good taste and should adhere to Pajama Day guidelines 1, 2, and 8 (see below). We’ll celebrate the most creative combinations at our weekly MS Meeting.
• Thursday, January 27th: Costume Day – Students may come dressed in a costume of their choosing that is in good taste and adheres to Pajama Day guidelines 1, 2, and 8 (see below).
• Friday, January 28th: Pajama Day – Highlights include hot chocolate and cookies at lunch and stories read by eighth graders during independent reading. Here are a few guidelines, which were developed by the Student Representatives on the occasion of the first Pajama Day many years ago:

1. Just because it’s Pajama Day doesn’t mean the dress code went to sleep
2. A robe adds a nice touch
3. No lingerie or underwear
4. If you wear boxers, please wear some type of undergarment beneath
5. Slippers are fine, but you should bring a pair of shoes/sneakers (especially if you have PE)
6. Blankets and stuffed animals are welcomed, but should not be so big that they require their own desk
7. If you don’t wear pajamas, we do not want to know about it!
8. If you can imagine Mark wearing it, it is probably okay.

6) Second quarter report cards will be accessible tomorrow. In addition to the grids and curriculum statements, these reports also include teacher comments. You will follow the same procedures that you used in the first quarter to access these reports. Below is an outline of these procedures:

• To enter our secure information system go to http://www2.lrei.org.
• Your user name is the first three letters of your first name and the first three letters of your last name (e.g., Donald Duck’s user name is “donduc.”). If you have any difficulty logging in, try adding the fourth letter of your last name to your username (e.g, “donduck”).
• Enter the password that you set last quarter.
• If you did not access reports last quarter, the temporary password is “welcome.” After you enter this password, you will be asked to select a new password.
• If you forgot your password, click on the link that says, “Forgot your login?”
• After logging in, you will be taken to the “Academic Portal” page and can access the reports from the “Performance” section of the page (i.e., click on the “Report Card” link).
• Reports can be read on-line and/or can be printed out.
• A video tutorial covering how to access progress reports can be viewed at http://screencast.com/t/VfadPfG5P.
• If you have any questions or run into any difficulties accessing the reports, please do not hesitate to contact me.

7) ERBs are scheduled for February 15th-17th. The ERBs represent one piece of the assessment puzzle at LREI and it is important that they are seen in this light. They convey useful information, but not the full-picture of a child’s achievement. While the content of the ERBs is generally aligned to grade-level expectations, there are areas where this is not the case. For example, a math concept that appears on the sixth grade test, may not be addressed in our curriculum until the seventh grade and teaching this concept out of context may not always make sense. Your child’s teachers will make every attempt to identify these particular alignment areas. So while much of our ERB prep is focused on reviewing concepts that have been addressed in the curriculum, teaching general test prep skills, and helping students to feel comfortable with standardized testing conditions, our focus tends not to be on “cramming” new concepts. Please do not hesitate to speak with me if you have questions about the ERB process. Please also read the attached letter from the Middle School math teachers regarding prep for the upcoming ERBs.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) Starting this week, eighth graders will travel in groups of four to the high school for half-day visits in the morning. During the visit, the will have the opportunity to sit in on several classes and to speak with High School principal Ruth Jurgensen and other members of the High School team. These visits provide students with a window into the high school experience.

2) A reminder that there will be parent meeting on Thursday, January 27th at 8:00AM for the spring France and Spain trips. If you have not done so already, please make sure that Gabrielle or Sharyn have your child’s passport information.

3) Also on the 27th, eighth graders will take the 90-minute National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). If you would like to have additional information about NAEP, please visit http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

4) Click here to read librarian Jennifer Hubert’s most recent post on the Eighth Grade Social Justice Project.

5) Looking ahead to the spring, click here to access the registration form for the spring Gettysburg/DC trip that will take place next May. I’m sending you this information now so that you can spread out payments over a longer period of time. If you register online, please use the following trip ID#: 55757. If you have specific questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you have not done so already, please register ASAP.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

No updates this week.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

No updates this week.

For Sixth and Fifth Grade Families . . .

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From Athletic Director Peter Fisher: We are excited to start the 5th and 6th grade Intramural Season this Friday! Players will be given their team shirts before the games. All players should wear their game shirts (to games only), shorts or athletic pants as well as proper athletic shoes to every game and practice.

The link to the schedule can be found HERE. Below is our season schedule:

PRACTICES ARE CANCELED THE WEEK OF 1/24

• Every Tuesday – Blue and Green Teams practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)
• Every Wednesday – Black Team practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)
• Every Thursday – Red and Tie Dye Teams practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)

Game Schedule:
Friday, Jan 7th – Red vs Black at 3:30, Tye Die vs Green 4:15 —- Blue – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 14th – Blue vs Black at 3:30, Green vs Red 4:15 —– Tie Dye – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 21st – Green vs Black at 3:30, Blue vs Tie Dye 4:15 — Red – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 28th – LREI SPIRIT GAME, 3:30 – 5:30
Friday, Feb 4th – Red vs Tie Dye, 3:30, Blue vs Green 4:15 – Black – Bye Week
Friday Feb 11th – Red vs Blue 3:30, Tie Dye vs Black 4:15 – Green – Bye Week
Friday Feb 18th – Playoffs
Friday Feb 25th – Playoffs
Friday Mar 4th – Consolation and Championship
Friday Mar 11th – Parents Game 3:30

**The last practice will be March 3rd, no practices the week of the parents game

If you have any questions, please let me know!

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

No updates this week.

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

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