Dear Families:

It seems that wherever I look in the building I am running into merry bands of fifth grade actors practicing scenes for the upcoming Grecian Festival. When they are not rehearsing lines or creating music for this production, they have been hard at work putting Ulysses on trial to determine whether or not he should be considered a hero and working to put the finishing touches on their robotic creations for science.

On the heels of their successful performance at Carnegie Hall, the sixth graders are deeply invested in completing their own adventure with the five-paragraph essay; it has been an adventure that has also helped them to integrate many of their key understandings of the Middle Ages. Along the way, they have stopped to write a collection of poems, which they will share at the upcoming potluck breakfast.

In just a week, the seventh graders will be presenting and defending arguments at the Federal Courthouse in lower Manhattan as part of our Constitution Works program. The case that will be heard asks them to develop reasoned positions around issues related to national security and freedom of speech. Yesterday, they had the opportunity to meet with a constitutional lawyer whose work has focused on human rights issues connected to the detainment camp at Guantanamo Bay.

The eighth graders are hard at work on a number of culminating projects and treated us to slide shows about the France and Costa Rica trips at Middle School meeting yesterday. While they are also focused on completing tasks for their Moving Up ceremony, they could be found yesterday exploring the building as part of a science scavenger hunt, which asked them to find examples of key science concepts that they have explored over the course of the year.

With all of this going on, we were also able to find time on Tuesday for a faculty-student softball game at JJ Walker Field. It was a hard fought battle, but in the end both teams walked of the field with the score a tie so that we could return in time for dismissal. It was a most excellent way to let off a little steam.

On a slightly different playing field, the the preliminary rounds of our annual math department sponsored 24 Tournament took place yesterday and this morning in the cafeteria. The finals will take place on Wednesday, June 6th at Middle School Meeting. On the card for this event are fifth graders Margaux and Katharine in the one digit one dot match, fifth grader Benno and sixth grader Rene in the one digit two dot finals, fifth graders Jullian and Will one digit three dot finals, fifth grader Niles and seventh grader David in the two digit one dot finals, and sixth graders Charles and Liam C. in the two digit two dot finals. The prelinminary rounds did produce two winners: fifth grader Ryn won in the integer one dot division and seventh grader Ella won in teh integer three dot division. Congratulation to these two and to all of the participants in the preliminary rounds!

All in all it’s been a busy week and I look forward to seeing you all at next week’s events.

One important calendar note: On Friday, June 8th, the Middle School students will attend our High School Graduation Ceremony at the 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 12:45. 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.

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:
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Summer Math Letter
Summer Reading Assignment
Sixth Grade:
Summer Math Letter
Summer Reading Assignment
Fifth Grade:
Summer Math Letter
Summer Reading Assignment

Of General Interest . . .
1) 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.

2) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert: A reminder 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.

3) 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.

4) Please join LREI families, faculty and administrators on the first ever LREI float in the Gay Pride Parade, Sunday June 24, 2007. We leave Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street at noon. High school students can receive three hours of community service credit by helping out. We will have music, kids, and fun–all are welcome! Click here for more information.

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

6) 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. Details from your parent reps to follow.

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.

3) For those families moving on to EI, should have receive information about summer reading and summer math at the recent New Families Reception. If you did not attend this event, we will get these materials to your child. Reading lists are available on-line at http://www.lrei.org/libres/sr07.html.

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.

2) Please read the attached letter about summer math work from the math department and the attached letter about summer reading/writing assignments from next year’s core teachers. Please note that we will provide your child with the Warriors Don’t Cry text. The summer reading lists are posted at http://www.lrei.org/libres/sr07.html.

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.

2) Please read the attached letter about summer math work from the math department and the attached letter about summer reading/writing assignments from next year’s core teachers. The summer reading lists are posted at http://www.lrei.org/libres/sr07.html.

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.

2) Please read the attached letter about summer math work from the math department and the attached letter about summer reading/writing assignments from next year’s core teachers. The summer reading lists are posted at http://www.lrei.org/libres/sr07.html.

3) In the next day or two, I will send you an email with information about the foreign language program for next year and about choosing either French or Spanish for on-going study. Once you have read the email, please dicuss this choice with your child and then respond to me by June 8th to let me know your language choice.

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)

• 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