Dear Families,

We are so proud of the seniors’ acceptances to a terrific set of colleges and universities-a  wonderfully varied and interesting list! Working individually with Carey Socol, our Director of College Guidance, and her associate Analisa Cipriano, LREI ’05, in order to choose schools that match the students’ specific academic and personal ambitions. Our seniors are confident that they have chosen exactly the right schools for them.  The college process, which also involves families, advisors, teachers and the high school principal Ruth Jurgensen is comprehensive and inclusive.

Click here to see a complete list of acceptances earned by the class of 2011.

Now that they have chosen the schools that they will attend for the next four years, what will the members of the class of 2011 take with them to their new campus homes?  We know, through the experience of our alumni, that the class of 2011 will arrive academically and intellectually prepared to succeed.  College will be challenging, as it should be, but our alumni tell us, year after year, that they have had the academic preparation required to thrive in the next stage of their academic career.

One tool for success was noted at this past January’s Alumni College Panel by Lily Wiggins ’07. (Lily is currently attending Pitzer College. She started at LREI at five and is the recent recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Indonesia next year.) Lily told us, “LREI really fosters good relationships between teachers and students. When you go to college, you have the confidence to email them, to get into the classes you want or meet with them outside of office hours because we were used to meeting with teachers at LREI.”

We hear this quite often.  LREI not only prepares students with the necessary academic and communication skills, but also with the ability to be advocates for themselves and their beliefs. Taylor Bello ’10, noted:

“My bio class, my chem lab and my chem class all have over 300 students, which was bigger than my whole high school. That was a big change, but because the relationships between teachers and students at LREI are so strong, I was able to go up to professors, talk to them, so they could recognize my face when I raised my hand in class and call me by my first name. Don’t be afraid to talk to professors when you get to college because it makes a huge difference and LREI definitely prepared me for that.” (Taylor is a pre-med student at Boston College.  She started at LREI in ninth grade.)

An important component of LREI’s preparation for success in college is providing our students with a range of academic experiences.  According to Kai Furbeck ‘10, (Kai, who started at LREI in Kindergarten, is now finishing his first year at Brown University):

“Academically, [at LREI] there’s a lot of room for self-directing and self-motivating and pursuing things you wouldn’t necessarily get a chance to pursue in the classroom. I got the opportunity to take a lot of honors courses where I would meet with teachers individually outside of class or in small groups, and basically, anything you could think of that you wanted to learn, there would be a teacher who knew something about it and could either jump in and learn about it, or if there weren’t many teachers who knew about it, you could find someone willing to learn about it with you and you could both jump in and just sort of explore anything you were interested in. That was one of the most valuable opportunities I had here.”

In addition to providing a range of academic experiences, our students value the variety of co-curricular opportunities they have.  According to Jeffrey Adler ’08, “One thing that’s great about LREI is that you’re able to pursue completely different passions at the same time…. A lot of my friends when I went to college, they were like ‘How can you do that? You can’t really manage that.’ The basketball players were like, ‘Theater?’ And all of the theater people were like, ‘Sports? No way.’ But only at a place like LREI can you become the type of person where you can do so much. I am really grateful for that.”  (Jeffrey is currently a student at Occidental College and began at LREI at 5. His younger sister Jaquie is in the LREI class of 2019—the third grade.)

In what other ways does LREI prepare its students for the rigors of postsecondary life? What other experiences enable our students to be as successful as they are?  According to Ana De La Cruz ’10, currently a freshmen at Georgetown University, who started at LREI in the eighth grade, “We also got the chance to take classes at NYU. It prepared me so much for college. I took a journalism course and it really helped me improve my writing.”  (Ana was speaking of our College Preview Program through which juniors and seniors can take classes at NYU.  LREI is the only independent school participating in this program.  Students enroll in these classes in addition to all of the requirements for their grade).

Speaking of the lasting impact of her time at LREI, Kamillah Aklaff ’07 added:

“We had all of these amazing speakers come in during our assemblies and all these just really exciting events. People at Tufts are always so impressed when I say that x person came to speak to us in high school and I went on all these trips in school. That was when I think we really got to apply our critical, analytical skills. And then that helped me as I learned and grew at Tufts. I think that I have grown academically and personally and socially in a number of ways at Tufts, but I still always think back to my time at LREI. When I think about how I’ve sort of flourished into this person who is passionate about sociology and doing all these social justice initiatives, I think a lot of that came from my time spent at LREI and all of the skills and values that I learned while I was here.” (Kamillah is a sociology major at Tufts University.  She began at LREI at five.)

Confident, connected, passionate, competent, well rounded—our students leave LREI eager and prepared as they go off to college.  Once again, please join me in congratulating our seniors as they head off to the colleges and universities of their choice and as they prepare to use all that they learned at LREI as active and involved young adult members of society.

Click here to see a complete list of schools in which the class of 2011 has enrolled.

Click here to read last year’s college blog and list.

Sincerely,
Phil

Also from Phil:

As you know, we are very proud of our historic mission. Our founding goals continue to guide us as we create challenging academic experiences for our students, requiring them to grow and stretch in order to become active, effective world citizens. That said, we also continue to look ahead and ask ourselves what we need to do to remain relevant and timely, and we all know that being relevant today means having an up-to-date and interactive Web presence.

I invite you to visit the new lrei.org. On our redesigned site, you will find a fresh look, current news and announcements, and in-depth descriptions of the school and its program. In the weeks ahead, look forward to:

• More news stories, photo galleries and videos
• A mobile version of the website for your iPhone, BlackBerry, Droid or iPad
• A secure, behind-the-password area where you can update your profile (address, email, phone numbers). Remember beginning-of-year paperwork? That’s history.
• Coming this fall: Content in the behind-the-password area that is tailored to your family’s LREI experience (classroom updates, athletic team rosters and more).

Behind-the-password area. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. My LREI? Knights’ Corner? Maybe. Can you do better? Can you come up with the name for our password-protected, community-only website? We hope so. The LREI community member who submits the name that best fits lrei.org will win a new iPad 2. Students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the contest. Entries should be submitted here by Friday, May 20. The following week, we will announce the winner. We hope you’re as excited as we are about this relaunch. If you have questions or comments, please email Laura Hahn. We’d love your feedback.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Congratulations Nell Jocelyn ‘08 on the publication of your first book “Ones and Twos,” written in collaboration with your mom, award winning author and LREI Book Week regular (and inventor), Marthe Jocelyn. Join Nell and Marthe for a book party to celebrate the publication of their beautiful first piece together.  We sure hope it is not the last! Click here for the book release flyer!

2) LREI Spring Concert: Wednesday, May 18th, 6:30 pm at NYU Eisner & Lubin Auditorium, Kimmel Center 60 Washington Square South, 4th floor. Click here for the flyer!

3) Book Swap: Bring in your old books and exchange them for new ones at this year’s LREI Book Swap, on Thursday and Friday, May 19-20. Last year’s Swap was such a success that we decided to try it in place of the Spring Book Fair this year. So, please bring in everything from beginning board books to adult books. We’d especially like any books from past summer reading lists. You might write a note about why you loved the book and leave it in the pages for the new owners. We’ll have donation boxes in the Sixth Avenue Lobby on May 17 and 18th. After that you can bring them to the swap directly. Hope to see you there!

4) LREI’s adult chorus-in-residence, The Glass Menagerie Chorus, directed by Susan Glass, will give a full performance of Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA at FIT’s Haft Auditorium.
With Two Pianos and Percussion.
Saturday, May 7th 8pm
Tickets:  $20, $15 students/seniors
Click here for the flyer with details.

5) Click here for the 2011-2012 school calendar.

6) BIG THANK YOU to all who participated in the coffeehouse fundraiser for Japan! Donation boxes are at reception at both Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street buildings.

7) From the Parents Association: Spring is here, so it is time to start planning for the next school year. The Parents Association would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know. We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails. You can also refer to the Family Handbook (accessible through our website www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. We will be matching parent reps to classes in mid-August or so, when the class lists are finalized. If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; please click here [http://lrei.org/ParentsAssociation/index.html] for the list. Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you have any questions or suggestions. All parents are cordially invited to the Volunteer Thank You and Welcome Breakfast on Friday, May 20th, from 8 to 9:30 AM in the courtyard at 40 Charlton St. This event is for all present and future parent volunteers, and will be a time to learn more about what the PA does. Representatives of all PA committees will be present, so it will be a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

8) From the Red is Green Committee: For the remainder of the school year middle school science teacher Stephen Volkman’s Middle School advisory group is collecting batteries and corks for recycling. Their creatively designed boxes are in the lobby for your drop off. The group will also be collecting CD’s and cellphones. Watch for the new containers. Thank you to Steve and his group for their efforts.

9) From the LREI Community Service Committee: The 11th Annual Kids Walk is on Saturday, May 7, at 2 pm, in both Central Park, NYC and Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold NJ. All details are at www.kidswalkforkidswithcancer.org. As always, 100% of funds will be used for important pediatric cancer research at MSKCC. Please get all your friends and family to walk and to register at www.kidswalkforkidswithcancer.org!

• Registering online automatically creates a fundraising page so donors can sponsor you online. (Can’t make it to the park? Get online sponsors as a “virtual” walker!)
• Walkers under age 14 can’t register themselves online but parents can do that (use the “select someone to register” prompt, when registering or by logging back into your active.com account).
• Walkers can also register at the event. Just fill out the brochure and sign the consent form (this should be signed by a parent for walkers under 18).

10) Piano Painting Event for LREI Students and Families on Saturday, May 14, noon – 3pm: Sing for Hope, a New York City-based non-profit, will place 88 pianos in parks and public spaces throughout the five boroughs from June 18 – July 2. A symbol of Sing for Hope’s commitment to make the arts available to all, the Pop-Up Pianos will unite and engage diverse communities throughout New York City. After their public residency, the Sing for Hope Pop-Up Pianos will be donated to local schools, hospitals, and community centers, enriching lives for years to come. Last year, LREI students painted the piano placed at Little Red Square! This year, we are inviting LREI students and their families to do the same, under the guidance of a Sing for Hope Teaching Artist. On May 14, from noon to 3pm, participants will have the chance to decorate a piano at Sing for Hope’s Piano Warehouse at 32 Avenue of the Americas in TriBeCa. We hope that you will take part in this special celebration of public art! To sign up, RSVP to Rowena Penaranda-Askins at rpenaranda@lrei.org. To learn more about Sing for Hope, please visit www.singforhope.org.

11) Come check out the Afterschool blog at: http://blog.lrei.org/afterschoolphotos/. We have just posted The Afterschool Music Video!

12) The Big Auction will be at Capitale on May 11th. We are planning a great party and look forward to seeing you all there.  You can check out the full catalog and other event information on our new website. Also, if you haven’t already purchased your tickets please do so quickly.

13) LREI Camping Trip: The 18th Annual LREI Camping Trip will take place June 3-5 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River. All LREI families and their children  from all grades fours through twelfth grade  are invited to participate. Sign-up tables will be in front of the 6th Ave building on Fri May 6, Tues May 17, and Thurs May 26. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.

14) Downtown Potluck, LREI’s own community cookbook, will be on sale in the Sixth Avenue lobby Thursday and Friday, May 5th and 6th, for all your spring gift giving needs. (Mother’s Day is May 8th!)

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

16) 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) Middle School Musical: This year’s middle school production of Oliver is next week on Friday, May 6th at 7:00PM and Saturday, May 7th at 2:00PM and 7:00PM. With a cast and crew of 60 students, this is one of the biggest musicals we have seen at LREI. The musical has been winning awards since 1963, but is still as exciting and entertaining as ever. Charles Dickens originally wrote the novel Oliver Twist, which is a rich story of the impoverished lives of characters in the 1850s in London, England. This musical is an entertaining and compelling adaption, with many musical numbers and larger than life characters. We celebrate the wonderful talents of our middle school students and hope that you all come. Tickets are on sale in the Sixth Avenue lobby between 8:00-9:00AM, so make sure you get yours before we sell out! Adults $12 and students and senior citizens $10.

2) Saturday, May 7th is Free Comic Book Day.  This is an annual event held in comic book stores throughout the city.  No purchase is necessary.  All you have to do is walk into the store and they GIVE YOU FREE COMIC BOOKS.  Always sensitive to their readership, many of the stores even have a special assortment just for younger children. This is an excellent opportunity to share in an experience your kids already love.  You can find more information at http://www.freecomicbookday.com/index.asp.  To find a participating comic store near you, click here.

4) Afterschool Recitals:

• Tuesday, May 31st at 5:30 – Piano & Voice Recital for 2nd grade – Middle School, PAPAS
• Tuesday, May 31st at 6:30 – Instrumental Concert for 2nd grade – Middle School, 6th ave auditorium

5) From librarian Jennifer Hubert: Just wanted to remind everyone that circulation of books in the Sixth Avenue library ends Tuesday, May 31st. That means no more books may be checked out, as the librarians will be doing their end of the year shelf-reading and inventory.

6) Our annual Middle School Awards Night will take place on Tuesday, May 17th, at 6:00PM in the Charlton Street PAC. This is a wonderful night in which all students in grades five through eight who participated on sports teams and/or in extracurricular activities are recognized for their effort and participation. Students will be recognized for their participation in the following activities: Model Congress, Little Red Singers, Band, Play, Musical, Robotics Team, Intramural Soccer, MS Soccer, MS Cross Country, MS Volleyball, Intramural Basketball, MS Boys Basketball, MS Girls Basketball, Intramural Softball, MS Softball and MS Track.

7) Our annual Literary Coffeehouse, an evening of readings and musical performances to celebrate the newest issue of IE, the school literary magazine, will take place on Saturday, May 21st at 7:00PM in the Charlton Street PAC.

8) Just a heads up that the annual End-of-Year Middle School dance will take place on Friday, June 3rd in the Charlton Street PAC. The dance will start at 6:00PM and pizza and ice cream will be provided. The dance will end at 8:30PM.

9) On Friday, June 10th, the Middle School students will attend our High School Graduation Ceremony held at New York University. Please note that this is not an early dismissal day for Middle School students. Students will leave the Sixth Avenue building at about 12:45PM. At the graduation, Middle School students will be recognized for their hard work, completion of their current grade and their movement to the next and will join in the celebration of the accomplishments of the seniors as they move on to the next phase in their education. As this is a very special occasion, we ask that students dress appropriately—no jeans, no printed T-shirts, shirts with collars and shoes are preferable. After graduation, the students will return to the Sixth Avenue buildings by 3:15PM.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) On Friday, May 6th, the eighth grade will travel to Lincoln Center for a Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola performance of “Blues is the Roots.” This performance is part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center series. Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds or glass bottles).

2) A reminder that students should arrive to school on Tuesday, May 10th, at 7:45AM so that the group can leave on time for the Gettysburg and DC trip.

3) Please join is on Tuesday, June 7th, at 6:00PM in the Sixth Avenue auditorium for the Science Exploratorium. This culminating event will afford students an opportunity to share with you the fruits of their independent research on key science concepts that were explored throughout the year.

4) Mark your calendar: Eighth Grade Pre-Moving Up Party, Friday, June 10th. Please arrive by 6:00PM for the Potluck Dinner and Recognition Program. Additional details from your parent reps will follow. Click here to access the potluck sign-up form (make sure that you select the tab for the correct event).

5) The Moving Up Assembly/Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 14th, 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 and 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) On Friday, May 6th, the seventh graders will participate in our annual High School Arts Festival. The Arts Festival is an intensive one-day arts elective experience. Each student will participate in a workshop led by a practicing artist.

2) A group of seventh graders will be going with librarian Jennifer Hubert on Monday, May 9th to the main branch of the NYPL to visit the Rare Book Division in conjunction with a presentation by Newbery award winning author Gary Schmidt about his new book. Okay For Now. The rest of the class is invited to watch the live webcast of the event from their homerooms.

3) The seventh grade potluck breakfast and Constitution Works is scheduled for Thursday, June 10th. The breakfast will begin at 8:00AM in the seventh grade classrooms. Following the potluck, we will leave for the Constitution Works program at 9:15AM, which will be conducted at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Parents are encouraged to attend this exciting event. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast. Click here to access the potluck sign-up form (make sure that you select the tab for the correct event).

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) The annual sixth grade poetry and potluck breakfast will take place on Tuesday, June 7th at 8:00AM in the cafeteria. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast. Click here to access the potluck sign-up form (make sure that you select the tab for the correct event).

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) Our annual Grecian Festival will take place on the evening of Wednesday, June 8th at 6:00PM. From 6:00-6:30PM, you are invited to view students’ projects in the classrooms. 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. Click here to access the potluck sign-up form (make sure that you select the tab for the correct event).

============= 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