The High School Musical, “City of Angels” is opening tonight at 7PM!
Dear Families,
The dynamic cast and crew, and musical directorJoanne Magee, have been working hard to put together a fantastic evening of music and drama. “City of Angels” opens tonight with shows on Friday and Saturday evening, 7PM, Charlton Street Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available at the reception desk this week and Saturday evening. Hope to see you at the show!
Below, please find a message from Phil Kassen, Director of LREI:
Wednesday was a thrilling day at LREI. As they greeted each other, teachers, students and parents were bubbling with excitement, thoughts, ideas and hopes. No matter which candidate one supported, it was not lost on anyone that we were living in an historic moment. Even our youngest students knew that it was a day to work hard to understand. Each division had an assembly to mark the day. These gatherings varied so as to be age-appropriate, yet all were joyful events filled with conversation, singing, speeches and, most of all, optimism.
We are thrilled by the level of interest the students, in all three divisions, have shown for the candidates, the election process and the issues. As many of you know the election has been a part of the curriculum throughout the fall and for many of our students for much of last year, as well. Our fourth graders worked with librarian Stacy Dillon to study electoral politics through a process of “electing” their favorite books. Stacy announced the winner on Wednesday. Congratulations go to Green Eggs and Ham. The middle school students participated in a national mock election that allowed them to vote on the major party candidates for President and on local ballot initiatives. I am looking forward to seeing the results. In addition, one of our middle school advisory groups spent time out and about in the neighborhood registering more than a dozen people to vote. In the high school, discussions, projects and assemblies dealing with the candidates and the campaign have been going on for quite some time. Throughout the primary season the high school students created a series of debates with students portraying the candidates. Our high schoolers are to be commended for their deep understanding of each candidate’s beliefs. One of our high school students even arranged for the candidates from the Socialist Workers Party to come in and speak to interested schoolmates about this party’s platform. Over the past couple of weeks, many high school faculty and students traveled to Pennsylvania on the weekends to campaign. A group of faculty and students spent last Thursday supporting the last moments of their candidate’s campaign as part of our Minimester—a series of three-day intensive classes in which all eighth – twelfth graders participate. (See Ruth’s blog from two weeks ago to see all of the Minimester offerings.) As I have said to a number of you, I have been in the school for five election cycles and have never seen this level of interest, education and commitment. I hope that our students’ interest in civic involvement remains at this level. Excellent work, all.
My family decided that we would vote very early on Tuesday morning. All agreed that the excitement of Election Day and avoiding lines was a good reason to set our alarm clocks to rouse us before the usual time. The plan was to vote and go out for a celebratory breakfast before the school day began. As I sat on the edge of my four year old son’s bed, watching him at peace and allowing him a last moment’s rest before our adventure began, I realized that there was a possibility, that is now a reality, that the first face he really remembers as the face of a leader, of a President, will be a Black man’s face. That for him and many others this simple fact will change their assumptions and judgments, the goals they will have and the plans they will make. Am I making too much of this? We will have to wait and see, but I don’t think so. While there is still much work to do, the fact that in a few short months the United States of America will have an African-American President will have a long lasting and far-reaching impact. I am eager, for myself and for our children, to see what the future holds.
One final thought, I hope that the future holds a recognition that two people choosing to commit themselves to each other is good for everyone and that all people should have the same right to be a family. So even as we celebrate Tuesday’s victory, we should not ignore Tuesday’s defeats. We need to keep our eyes on any discrimination that needs our continued focus and energy.
On a completely different note…..I want to take this opportunity to remind you of some important upcoming due dates.
Irwin Scholar applications are due Monday, November 17, 2008. Each year LREI offers merit scholarships to students moving from our eighth grade into the ninth grade who have demonstrated exceptional accomplishment and promise in the areas of scholarship, citizenship, leadership and service.
Sibling and Alumni/ae Admissions to the Fours, Kindergarten and First Grade:
LREI offers the option of Early Notification to siblings of current LREI students, and to the children and grandchildren of LREI alumni. Should you wish to participate in this program, please download the Early Notification form from our web site and submit by Monday, December 1, 2008. Please note that all Early Notification application files must also be completed by this date.
Tuition Remission deadline for applying for Tuition Remission is December 15, 2008.
Re-enrollment contracts will be mailed to all families no later than January 15, 2009
Re-enrollment contracts are due on February 1, 2009
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Phil
Have a great weekend,
Ruth
Updates and Announcements:
- The school’s calendar can be accessed by clicking here.
- Click here to view the 2008-2009 LREI Calendar.
- For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and game recaps.
Attached is the first LREI fall newsletter for the year. In our ongoing drive to be more sustainable we are distributing it exclusively by email. Phil welcomes your feedback as we move forward with this and other green initiatives. For additional news highlights, please visit http://www.lrei.org/news/.
Mark Bledstein, who has been teaching at LREI for 40 years, will be presenting “Teaching Modern China: Art and Politics/Images and Documents” on November 11, 2008, 3:45-5:15, Charlton Street. Parents and student families are invited to attend. This presentation is sponsored by Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado, Boulder and funded by the Freeman Foundation and an LREI summer grant.
Family/Advisor conferences are on November 14, all day. Advisors make appointments with families. If you have not heard from your advisor yet, and would like to make this appointment, please feel free to contact the student’s advisor or class dean.
1. A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community:
Bring The Conversation Home: Strategies for addressing challenging diversity topics your child brings home: Part I
Join us on Tuesday, November 11th at 8:45 AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria for a discussion and Q&A on a number of diversity topics you and your family face on a regular basis, with a particular focus on socioeconomic class. Please consider inviting another LREI parent or two to this important community discussion.
2. From the Big Auction Committee: The Big Auction will be held on March 5th, 2009 and the Art Auction is scheduled to take place during the 2009-2010 school year. You should have received a letter in the mail, along with a donation form. Our goal this year is to have every parent solicit one item for the auction…we hope that you will join us in realizing this goal! If you have any questions or would like to discuss a potential donation, please contact Jenn at jenn_espo@msn.com or Mamie at mamie.mcindoe@gmail.com. If you prefer, you can also contact the Office of Advancement. Pippa can be reached at 212-477-5316 x236 or pgerard@lrei.org, and Sandra at 212-477-5316 x275 or ssong@lrei.org. Thank you in advance for your support!
3. From the LREI PA Literary Committee and the LREI PA Multicultural Committee: Please take a look at the attached letter for ways you can get involved! Your participation is key!
4. Ronnie Halper, P’11, is the Vice-President for the Parent Association and is available if you need to talk to someone, bring an issue or question to the Parent Association, or would like to know how to get involved. She can be reached at rsh@panix.com.
5. Red is Green Committee:
Thanks to all who turned out for our first Red is Green Committee meeting. We had a great turn out. Starting Monday November 10th we will begin our monthly recycling drive. During the month of November we will be collecting plastic bags in the lobbies of both buildings. Plastic bags currently can not be recycled with our plastics in NYC. We will take them to venues in NYC where they can be recycled. Future recycling drives: December – bring in any brand of old sneakers to be recycled into sports surfaces like basketball courts or playgrounds. Stay tuned for future recycling drives. Our next meeting is Monday November 24th at 8:45am in Sixth Ave. cafeteria. If you would like to receive updates please email Liselotte at lhommen@hotmail.com or Kim at kbeck2@nyc.rr.com.