Dear Families,

As I mentioned in my last blog, our eighth graders were looking forward to presenting their social justice work to a broader audience on Monday, May 2nd, at the NYC Social Justice Expo at NYU. The Expo is a forum for high school students around the city who have been working on social justice oriented projects to showcase their work to each other and to other New York educators and activists. As an affirmation of their hard work, committed leadership and activism, our eighth graders were recognized by the close to 300 student participants for a number of “People’s Choice Awards.” These awards included:

• Most Informed
• Most Impact
• Most Organized, and
• Most Collaborative

I think it is interesting that these areas of recognition map so closely onto the values that are at the heart of the LREI mission and reinforces our sense of the school mission as an invitation to action.

Consistent with the idea of our middle schoolers going out into the world and making a difference, this weekend our Model Congress team will participate in the 21st Packer Collegiate Middle School Model Congress. This year’s participants include sixth graders Amalia, Julia and Ray and eighth graders Ben, Marcelo, Nicholas, Odelia, and Olivia. The group has worked with faculty facilitator Sharyn Hahn since the end of October to write bills, prepare speeches, read students’ bills from the other schools that participate, and learn about and practice parliamentary procedure. The team spent the entire day on Saturday at Packer Collegiate High School for the annual culminating event.

Nearly 200 middle school students from 13 area independent schools, including LREI, will send delegations of model legislators to the event. When students arrive at the event, they will break off into one of 17 separate committees based upon the content of their bill. These committees are meant to resemble actual congressional committees and include among others Judiciary, Education, Health, Housing & Urban Affairs, and Science Space & Technology. After a morning committee session that is likely to be filled with heated debate and criticism, the bills that pass committee will be  reviewed in one of four full sessions. (House I, House II, Senate I and Senate II).

The bills to be introduced by the LREI delegation include the following:

1. Delegates: Marcelo and Benjamin
   Title: The National Dignified Death Act of 2011
   Preamble: The purpose of this act is to ensure that those living with severe and incurable terminal physical disease can have the option of choosing legal physician-assisted suicide.
2. Delegates: Odelia and Olivia
   Title: An act to abolish hand held cell phone or smart-phone usage while operating a motor vehicle of any type.
   Preamble: The purpose of this act is to prevent the accidental injury or deaths of passengers and pedestrians who could potentially be victimized by the drivers in the United States who are contravening this law. We plan to decrease the number of injuries and deaths by creating a uniform law that eliminates the hand held use of mobile phones and appliances.
3. Delegates: Nicholas and Ray
   Title: An act to legalize the use of bedbug chemicals, and the use of these chemicals by companies to assist in the removal of bedbugs, due to the massive increase in bed bug infestations.
   Preamble: The purpose of the bill  is to allow the use of bedbug chemicals in removal of bedbugs.
4. Delegates: Julia and Amalia
   Title: An Act to Eliminate Soft Drinks in Public School Vending Machines
   Preamble: As a result of the bad effects of soft drinks on children and adolescents, the purpose of this bill is to prohibit soft drinks in vending machines in public schools.

Best of luck to the team and I’ll update you on their experience in next week’s blog.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of the Middle School musical Oliver. Thanks also to director Joanne Magee, musical director Matthew McLean, and choreographer Peggy Peloquin for so ably leading the students on this journey. Look for photos in next week’s blog.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Password Anyone? – 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.

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) Click here for the 2011-2012 school calendar.

5) 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.  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 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 Sixth Ave. cafeteria. Click here for flyer. 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.

6) 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.

7) 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.

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

9)) 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.

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

11) 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 . . .

2) From judo team coaches Larry, Frank and Ana: The spring Judo season is in full swing and we wanted to give you a few updates. First, any students who were involved in the Middle School play can still join the team for the spring season. We will continue to work out on Wednesday and Fridays after school through June. There are enough practices left that students who join now can participate in our final Shiai (tournament) at the end of the season and earn a belt promotion. Second, the team will be traveling to a tournament this Saturday, May 14th in New Jersey. It’s a great opportunity to spend time together as a team and we strongly encourage everyone to come along. We will be leaving together from school on the bus at 10:30AM and returning when the tournament is over in the afternoon (contact Larry at lkaplan@lrei.org is you are interested in coming out to watch the team). Finally, our own tournament, the Shiai, will be held at the Thompson Street Athletic Center on the afternoon of June 10th. This is the culmination of all the work the team has done this season. It is a chance for students to demonstrate what they have learned and for families to watch and cheer them on. It is well-attended and highly anticipated each year – we strongly encourage you to come. Every student on the team will earn a medal, and everyone who has participated this season will be promoted. We hope to see you there!’

3) Field Day Information: On Friday, May 27th, we will hold our annual Field Day and Senior Appreciation at Pier 40. We’re looking forward to an exciting day! School will close at 1:00PM on this day. Some additional information follows:

• It is important for all students to arrive on time.
• Students will spend the first part of Field Day in activities with their buddies. The younger lower school classes will return to the school after lunch 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.
• We will return to school in time for 1:00PM dismissal.
• Middle school students and their buddies will wear matching color t-shirts.  Writing on the shirt or some design is okay, no need to buy a whole new shirt if you’ve got the right color.  Buddy groups have been assigned the following colors of shirts to wear to field day:

• 4s and 4s/K and Sixth grades:  LIGHT BLUE
• Ks and Seventh grades:  WHITE
• First and Eighth grades:  GREEN
• Fifth and Twelfth grades: RED

4) A Message from the Middle School Students of Color facilitators Chap and Sherezada: As we wrap up the year, we wanted to share with you all the work many of our Middle School Students of Color have done during our regular meetings and to announce the final meeting of the year. In the fall, we attended all of the Middle School classes to demystify why LREI has a students of color group and to clarify who is welcomed to attend the meetings. This was followed by our Welcome Breakfast on October 13 where 8th grade students lead an icebreaker activity for small groups of students. The following two meetings focused on identity awareness, pride and advocacy. In November, students worked in ethnic affinity groups to create poems and in January we met with High School Students of Color at the Charlton Street Student Center. Our March meeting was meant to provide an opportunity for students to share with the larger school community some of their lived experiences. They focused on two questions, “We never want people to say, do or think about our race/ethnic group,” and “We want people to know that….” In order to facility the affinity work, the group was joined by middle school teachers, Momii, Elizabeth, and Frank. Please follow this link to view their thoughts: http://prezi.com/fycbgd-6guxt/ms-students-of-color-the-little-things/. Our final meeting is another breakfast where we will meet the rising fifth grade students of color and honor our eighth grade students. Click here for more details about the last breakfast meeting. Thank you for an empowering and inspiring year.

5) 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

6) 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.

7) 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.

8) 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.

9) 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.

10) 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) A reminder that the scheduled retrn time from DC is 6:30PM. I will send out an email when the group is on the road. For more up-to-date information on arrival, you can call into reception after 5:00PM.

2) From former LREI middle school teacher and current Nightingale-Bamford Middle School principal Noni Thomas: Come to the 8th Grade Interschool Dance on May 20th from 7:00-9:00 PM at The Nightingale-Bamford School Auditorium. The dance is to benefit a School-for-a-School, our successful campaign to build a co-ed school in Cambodia. We have raised the $13,000 necessary to build our school, and the girls are now working to raise funds for supplies. RSVP (include parental permission and emergency contact number) to astovicek@nightingale.org. Admission: $10, which will go to funding our school building project  in Cambodia.

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 Eighth and Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Join us on Thursday, May 26th at 6:30PM for our annual parent discussion with a counselor from the Freedom Institute about substance abuse and prevention issues. This conversation for parents can serve as a useful bridge to connect with conversations that have taken place in Adolescent Issues classes. It is also an excellent opportunity to dialog with other parents about strategies to best support your children so that they make safe and healthy decisions.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) The seventh grade potluck breakfast and Constitution Works is scheduled for Thursday, June 9th. 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) An update on fifth grade music from music teacher Matt Mclean:

• Student Composer’s Concert, Thursday, June 2nd
  I am excited to announce our second Student Composer’s Concert!  Students who have completed their compositions for strings and woodwinds from last quarter will have their pieces performed by 8 musicians from Mannes College. Pieces may be revised up until May 24th. There are many, many wonderful pieces that will come to life!  Exact time and more information to follow.
• The Grecian Pageant, Wednesday, June 8th

  In music class students are composing music that will be used as a soundtrack to an animation they are creating in art class with Melissa.  This project is a culmination of everything students have experienced in Music over the course of the year. There are 5 short composition assignments that utilize the composition skills we have explored in other pieces. Students who have learned to play an instrument have the option of recording a short original piece for the soundtrack and students who love to sing may add a vocal selection.   The animation will be shown at the Pageant. For all project details, visit the assignment page by clicking here.  In addition, all students are learning a number of Grecian themed songs composed by Lower School music teacher Ledell Mulvaney.

2) 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