From guest blogger Director Phil Kassen:

Dear Families,

Hello and welcome back from Spring Break. Whether you found yourself in a far-flung locale or here in NYC (with the least “springy” weather of any Spring Break in memory) I hope you had good times with family and friends. As we enter the last quarter of the school year, I offer a couple of updates:

• The admissions season for the 2011-2012 school year (next year) is officially over. Now we can look ahead to next fall when we will have wait lists in all grades, Fours-Ninth. We will enroll our largest ninth grade class ever – over 60 new excited, eager and talented freshmen will arrive in September. This growth is an essential component of LREI’s strategic plan and includes 75% of our current eighth grade continuing on to ninth grade.

• Speaking of admissions, we are in the home stretch of the college admissions process. I look forward to sharing lists of acceptances and final choices with you in the next few weeks.  Congratulations to the class of 2011!

• The 11th grade spent today visiting Bard College and Sarah Lawrence College as a way to learn more about how to visit and evaluate schools. Tomorrow, the juniors get back on the bus with Director of College Guidance Carey Socol and her Associate, Analisa Cipriano LREI ’05, and will set off to visit Brown University and Connecticut College.  Not to be left out, 10th grade families will meet with our college guidance staff next week to begin their journey.

• As you read in a recent email from me, our high school robotics team came in first in the recent NY/NJ championships. Before they leave for the world championships at the end of this month they would like to share their robots with you. Members of the middle school and high school robotics teams will be out in Little Red Square before school on Monday, April 25th. Stop by and congratulate your robotics champions.

• The 25 honors projects created for the coming trimester by our high school students include: a ninth grade study of non-Euclidian geometry, a tenth grade study of the Watergate scandal and a group of five students studying organic chemistry.  We will also have an eleventh grade student studying the portrayal of Christ and Christ-like figures in cinema, another studying stem cells and a third focusing on Before Night Falls: Spanish Literature and Poetry.  We will also have a senior focusing on drawing human anatomy.

There are so many special events and classroom projects this month and during May and June. Participating in these is a great way to see the power of the education your children are engaged in each day. Choose a concert or play to attend.  How about cheering for a middle or high school baseball team?  Take time to see how your children and their schoolmates apply what they learn in class, ask questions and find new answers to old problems. Of special note, please make time to attend the all school benefit to support relief efforts in Japan on April 16th. More information coming soon.

Lastly, I draw your attention to the Parents Association’s Red is Green Committee’s plans for Earth Week—April 18th – April 22nd.

• We are asking that students give a pledge of one thing they will do to help the environment. For example- Lily, Kindergarten: “I will turn lights off when I leave the bathroom“. These pledges will stream on the TV in the Sixth Avenue lobby during Earth Week. Please send your pledges to redisgreen@lrei.org.

• Monday April 18th – after school, children will decorate canvas tote bags and we will have a demonstration of how to make green cleaning supplies. (The recipes will be posted in the blog.)  We will also have a petition for people to sign about stopping the use of plastic bags.

• Wednesday April 20^th from 6:00PM-8:00PM – the PA will host a presentation/workshop with Jamie Cloud (LREI parent) of the Cloud Institute on Sustainability. This will be an interactive and enlightening evening during which participants will think about sustainability and their relationship to the planet. Basically, how you can start thinking in new ways to help us “operate the planet” in a more effective, sustainable manner. For more information, see is www.cloudinstitute.org.  All LREI adults and students in the fifth grade and older are invited.  It is very important to RSVP to redisgreen@lrei.org. Click to see the flyer with complete details.

• Thursday April 21st – children are invited to attend an after school gathering during which they will learn to plant and care for their own seedlings.

Sincerely,
Phil

Of General Interest . . .

1) From High School juniors Emma and Maya and sophomore Aaron: We are organizing a school-wide fundraising event on Saturday, April 16th, 2011, from 7:00-9:00PM in the PAC at 40 Charlton Street.  This fundraiser, known as the Little Red House of the Rising Sun, will raise money for the victims of the Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. All funds raised will go to the Yoshiki Foundation of America. Yoshiki Foundation of America is a non-profit, public benefit corporation whose funds are going to the Japanese Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami recovery efforts through the Japanese Red Cross Society. The coffeehouse will be a special event that will involve student performances from all three divisions of the school as well as guest performers. In addition to the performances, there will be food and drinks, and activities for attendees. Activities will begin at 6PM. Donation boxes will be placed at the Charlton St and Sixth Avenue buildings, on Monday morning.  If you cannot make it to the coffeehouse, please donate! The donation boxes  will be available until May 6th. You can support us by donating money, food for the event, and by attending the event itself.  Tickets are $10. For more information about the event, to volunteer, to perform, or if you plan to donate food, please email us at LREI-Japan@lrei.org. Thank you so much for your support!

2) A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community: A reminder that our final Open PA Diversity morning, How to Raise an Ally: Social Justice at LREI Part 3 of 3 is on Friday, April 29, 8:45 – 10:00 am

3) Come check out the Afterschool blog at: http://blog.lrei.org/afterschoolphotos/

4) The Big Auction will be at Capitale on May 11th. We are planning a great party and look forward to seeing you all there.

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

6) 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) Family Conferences and Subject Area Meetings (April 14th and 15th): Click here to sign up for conferences . At the Family Conference, your child will share work samples, offer reflections on her/his work and identify some goals for the fourth quarter. It is also a time for you to dialog with your child and her/his advisor about your child’s learning experience in the Middle School so far this year. As we did in the first quarter, you will also be able to have brief meetings with each of your child’s teachers should you so choose. To schedule these subject specific meetings please click here (link will be activated shortly). As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers if you have questions about her/his performance and/or the curriculum.

2) Mark your calendars: Just a heads up that our annual MS Arts Festival will open on Thursday, April 28th at 6:00PM for seventh and eighth grade families and at 6:30PM for fifth and sixth grade families. The evening will feature studio art work from students in all grades, digital art created by the eighth graders and performances by the seventh and eighth grade performing arts major classes (instrumental music, vocal music, dance and drama). The entire Sixth Avenue building will come alive with the arts. We hope to see you all there. In addition, the art displays in the auditorium will also be up on Friday, April 29th.

3) Afterschool Recitals:

• Tuesday, May 3rd at 5:30 – Early Concert for students ages 4s-1st grade. (This concert includes Piano, Voice and Instrumental (guitar/bass, drums, brass and flute) students, PAPAS
• 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

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) The Eighth Grade DISC Dance is tomorrow at Grace Church School from 7:00-9:00PM. Please make sure that your child has returned a completed permission form along with the $6 admission fee.

2) Some important dates :

• Wed, May 4, 2010, 8:00am — 8th Gr. DC trip Parent Mtg.
• Tue, May 10, 2010, — 8th Grade trip to DC (return on Friday)
• Tue, Jun 7, 2010, 6:00pm — 8th Grade Science Exploratorium
• Fri, Jun 10, 2010, 6:00pm — 8th Grade Moving Up Party
• Tue, Jun 14, 2010, 9:00am — 8th Grade Moving Up

For Eighth and Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) The New York State Theatre Education Association (NYSTEA) and Reaching Andromeda Theatre (RAT) invite you to attend the NYC Student Theatre Conference hosted by and taking place at LREI. This interactive conference for seventh and eighth graders will take place on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 at Charlton Street and will run from 10:00AM-4:00PM. A broad range of performing arts workshops available from introductory to advanced levels. A sample of workshop offerings include: Theatre Sports, Improvisation, Shakespeare, Juggling, Acting, Commedia dell’arte, Directing, Radio Plays, Theatre Tech, and Musical Theatre, just to name a few… The conference is great way to get to know kids from other schools and an amazing opportunity to work with theatre educators and professionals in the arts in NYC! There is a $5.00 entrance fee. Email Mark Silberberg to sign up your child. For more information contact Meghan Farley Astrachan, mastrachan@lrei.org. Click here to view the conference flyer.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Mark your calendars for our annual Sixth and Seventh Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Monday, April 11th at 6:30PM.

2) From Elizabeth and Matthew: We are excited to inform you that in conjunction with our current study of the American Revolution and our upcoming study of the Constitution itself, on Thursday, April 21st, the seventh grade will travel to Philadelphia for a day-long trip. We will visit the National Constitution Center, where we will participate in several activities that will help us better understand the founding and establishment of our country and its constitution. We will also visit Independence Hall and, time permitting, other historical sites. Like our trip to Williamsburg, the trip to Philadelphia will give us a first-hand understanding of important events in Colonial American history. Students should arrive to LREI on the morning of April 21st by 7:00AM. Our chartered bus will be departing promptly at 7:15AM. Students should be sure to bring their writer’s notebook, a bag lunch (with an extra snack for the return trip — we will not stop at a rest stop on the return trip — and as always no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles), an extra sweatshirt and a backpack for these items. Cameras and some spending money (no more than $10) are optional. Students should dress appropriately for the day’s predicted weather, and they should be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. We will be departing from Philadelphia at around 2:45PM, and expect to return to LREI by 4:15PM. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. Thank you.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) Mark your calendars for our annual Sixth and Seventh Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Monday, April 11th at 6:30PM.

2) On Wednesday, April 13th, your presence is requested at our annual Medieval Pageant. The evening will begin at 6:00PM and will afford you the opportunity to view your child’s work as it relates to her/his on-going studies of the Middle Ages. Following the viewing of this work, we will convene in the auditorium for a dramatic and musical telling of tales connected to this study. The evening will conclude with a potluck supper in the cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about preparations. In the spirit of the event, you are encouraged to bring in medieval inspired dishes. Below are a number of useful resources for potential recipes:

• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_index.html
• http://www.bitwise.net/~ken-bill/med-p1.htm
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_dinner.html
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_toc.html

3) A related Medieval Pageant request: Students are enthusiastically learning their music, making props and rehearsing their parts to get ready for the big event. Joanne has requested that all sixth grade students bring in a basic black outfit for the week of April 11th. The black bottoms and tops need to be comfortable and practical with regards to movement and will likely have other items of costume layered on top. Sneakers and shoes do not need to be black. If you have questions, you can contact Joanne directly at jmagee@lrei.org.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) Mark your calendars for our annual Fifth Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Tuesday, April 12th at 6:30PM.

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