Spring has sprung!

Dear LREI Families,

Welcome back. I hope that you had a relaxing Spring Break, whether here in NYC or away. It was such a pleasure to welcome your children back to school on Monday and to see how relaxed and rested they were. We are expecting great things from them in the months to come.

So here it is, the first day of April (I am writing this note on Wednesday so that the blog gets out on time) and as advertised we are having April showers. Whether or not these sprinkles bring May flowers remains to be seen. However, one thing that is definitely growing and blooming is our college list. Over the past couple of weeks, and continuing for a few weeks more, our seniors are, and will be, receiving affirmation of four years of hard work and success. The acceptances received this month are the culmination of a college process that lasts for over two years. Working with our college counselor, Amy Shapiro, students identify their interests, investigate options, plan their application process and get to work. Juniors spend two trimesters in a class devoted to the college process and seniors spend considerable time during the first half of their twelfth grade year moving ever closer to the day when they will decide where they will spend the next four years.

Our seniors apply to a wide variety of schools and make choices based on academic interests, distance from home and financial concerns to name but a few of a tremendous number of variables. Some students choose to apply to small liberal arts schools similar to the high school where they spent the past four years, colleges such as Bard, Oberlin, Wesleyan, Gettysburg, Williams, Vassar, Hamilton and Occidental. Other students apply to schools that match their specific interests-the Art Institute of Chicago, Polytechnic University of NYU and Rochester Institute of Technology. Foreign universities call out to some students with their promise of cultural challenges along with the academic ones. This year, these schools include, St. Andrew’s in Scotland, Montreal’s McGill University and American University in Paris. Still other students decide that they need larger universities, public and private, in New York and beyond—NYU, SUNY New Paltz, Georgetown, Boston University, the University of Indiana at Bloomington, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Duke, Harvard, Brown and Cornell. Each of the schools named here has accepted at least one member of our twelfth grade. This list is quite incomplete and does not represent our pride in each senior. I look forward to sending home an initial acceptance list very soon and a complete list of acceptances in the next few weeks. You will be thrilled when you see the complete list. I know you join me in congratulating the members of the class of 2009. Seniors, we are so proud of you!

One final note, at the same time that we are celebrating the seniors’ successes, the juniors are preparing to leave on their first group college visit tomorrow morning. The process begins again.

Best,

Phil

Updates and Announcements:

• The school’s calendar can be accessed by clicking here.

• Click here to view the 2008-2009 LREI Calendar. You can also now access the 2009-2010 calendar here! Note that school will begin on the Wednesday after Labor Day this year, not Thursday. Middle School and High School orientation will be on the Tuesday after Labor Day. Lower School phase in schedules, for our early childhood classes, will be distributed during the summer.
• For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and game recaps.

Dear LREI HS Families,

We are all really excited for Ruth and her growing family, we couldn’t be happier but will miss her dearly while she is on leave. Sarvjit and I wanted to let you know that we are here to support you, as Ruth has done, for the remainder of this school year. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks so much,
Micah

Micah Dov Gottlieb
Dean of Students
212-477-5316 xt.304
MDGottlieb@lrei.org

Sarvjit Moonga
Vice Principal
212-477-5316 xt.405
SMoonga@lrei.org

Community Service Opportunities!

SATURDAY, APRIL 25
Volunteer with The Brooklyn Green Team as part of Hands on New York
Day in Prospect Park.
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: Grand Army Plaza Entrance to Prospect Park, near the
Eagle Column
We’ll be weeding, doing path edging, sweeping, raking and painting.
We can take up to 20 people so PLEASE RSVP by replying to this email
with your name and how many you are bringing. We will check in with
you closer to the event.

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Volunteer with Brooklyn Green Team, GreenEdge Collaborative NYC and
the Prospect Park Volunteer Corp for It’s My Park! Day.
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: Grand Army Plaza Entrance to Prospect Park, near the
Eagle Column
This event may include weeding, raking, sweeping, path edging,
lake-shore clean-up, litter patrol, etc. We can take up to 20 people
so PLEASE RSVP by replying to this email with your name and how many
you are bringing. We will check in with you closer to the event.
Keep emailing (brooklyngreen@gmail.com) to let us know what you are up
to and how you are doing. And check out our blog for more ideas and
updates.

On Sunday, April 19, as part of the Week of the Young Child, The Educational Alliance will be hosting its annual Literacy Fair, which promotes early literacy and learning in our community. We invite all of the children in our preschools and Head Start/Early Head Start programs to participate, and last year we were able to distribute over 1,000 donated books to over 200 children (ages 0-6). In addition to receiving free books, the children participate in a number of activities including storybook making, puppetry, face painting, improv, and arts and crafts.

“We could use between 10 to 15 volunteers to staff the various stations, and I believe it would be a wonderful opportunity for high school students. The event will be held at our community center at 197 East Broadway from 11 AM to 2 PM, and we will need volunteer support from 10:30 AM to 3 PM.”

Please sign up at the high school with Micah or look for the list near the Community Service Roundtable calendar.

1. The annual High School Arts Festival is coming up on May 1st.
The Arts Festival is a day dedicated to art. Our goal is to bring artists into the school to give students a chance to spend their day as artists. We offer a variety of classes from introductory to master level workshops in every area of the arts. Students take a three hour class in the morning led by the artists; this gives students the opportunity to focus on a single art project. In the afternoon there is an assembly where performing arts workshops can present and perform, and special guest performers inspire students to follow their artistic passions. If you or someone you know is an artist and interested in offering a workshop Friday, May 1st (9-noon), or perform in the afternoon assembly (1-2:30pm), please contact me for more info. We would love to have some parents offer workshops to our students.
Thank you, Micah

2. Hall Auction Update:
Don’t miss out–you still have a chance to bid on great auction items! You can choose from: a week-long vacation in Oaxaca, Mexico; cupcakes and conversation with Atoosa Rubinstein, former editor-in-chief of Cosmo Girl and Seventeen magazines for your child and up to 19 of her/his friends; 4 VIP tickets to the 2009 Great Night in Harlem Concert at the Apollo Theater; fashionable apparel for women and men; and much more. Head over to the bulletin boards in the lobby of the Sixth Avenue building to start bidding!

3.  A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community
Bring The Conversation Home: Strategies for addressing challenging diversity topics your child brings home, Socioeconomic Class Part III

Join us for the last parent diversity discussion of the year.
Monday April 6, 8:45-10:00 AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria

4. From Mary Shea, if you did not receive an email and/or the phone call announcing our snow day on Monday please contact Mary Shea to update your contact information. Also let Mary know if you would like to add to or change your contact numbers or addresses. You can reach Mary at mshea@lrei.org or at extension 244.

5. Update from Red is Green:

Save the date: Wednesday, April 22 is Earth Day. Look for information about LREI’s First Annual Earth Day Celebration for lower and middle school kids from 2:45-4pm in the 6th Ave. auditorium.