Dear Families,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had an enjoyable spring vacation. With 42 class days left (so students have told me), there is much to do in little time. Please be sure to take note of the calendar below.

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of participating in the High School Preview Night for families of LREI students in fifth through seventh grades. My opening talk focused on the quest that families often find themselves on, the quest for the ‘perfect’ high school to provide their child access to the ‘right’ college. However, more and more, families are beginning to realize and read that it is not nearly as easy as that. Colleges and universities have never been more selective. Acceptance letters are few and far between, no matter where a student attends high school, no matter the test scores, the extra-curriculars or the varsity sport participation.

Our students are aware that they must be competitive, and of course, they are offered every opportunity to be so in every area at LREI. They understand that they must measure up and be able to do it all. They also realize they attend the most ideal place to learn the skills and participate in the activities that will ultimately distinguish themselves from the rest, a very crowded field of adolescents. I can confidently say our students stand out because they attend a school that has always remained true to its values, its commitment to diversity, to community service, academic excellence and nurturing the most extraordinary group of teenagers in the city.

And so in the landscape of seemingly impossible odds of being admitted to the college of one’s dreams, take comfort in the fact that your children attend the most standout high school in the city. Members of The Senior Class, Amy Shapiro, Director of College Guidance, and Jane Gabin, College Counselor, are to be commended for successfully demonstrating this to the colleges and universities, including those schools that have been in the news lately for their huge volume of applications, low acceptance rates and long waitlists including Tufts, Amherst, Middlebury, Johns Hopkins, Bates, Carnegie-Mellon, Colby, Occidental, Columbia, Pratt, University of Vermont, NYU, Skidmore, Vassar, Smith, Wesleyan and Oberlin. This list does not include all of the terrific schools our students have to choose from. A more complete list will hopefully go out to families very soon.

All of our Twelfth Graders and their families should be very, very proud of their accomplishments. Throughout, our students’ self-esteem was never compromised. Rather, our 2007 graduates understand that their place in the world is not defined by their college choice, but rather the choices they make while here on Earth.

All the best,

Ruth

Calendar:

April
17-Parent Rep meeting, 6PM, Marie Weiss Reading Room, 6th Avenue. This meeting will take place before the Internet Safety meeting for all parents at 6:30 PM, also at 6th Avenue. Please see details below.
27-Arts Festival

May
1 2007-2008 Registration for courses (Grades 10-12)
1 Special Meeting with 12th grade parents, “Transition to College,” 6:30 PM, PAC
2 Big Auction
9 Interims due for all students in the arts rotation and earning B- and below.
22 Sports Awards Night, 6:30 PM, PAC
23 New Families reception, 6:00 PM, PAC
25 Field Day
28 Memorial Day, school closed
30 Senior Project presentations, 6:30 PM

This Week’s Announcements and Attachments:

1. Please be reminded that all students must complete 25 hours of community service this school year. There are many opportunities available to students now that spring is here! Please click here for a unique opportunity for community service this weekend. Also coming up, on May 20, NYC’s AIDSwalk and several spring clean-up opportunities through the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

2. Internet Safety–Facebook, AIM, Club Penguin, BitTorents, YouTube, and countless other old, new and emerging web technologies are used by our children everyday. What do you know about them? How safe are they for your kids? Are there ways to make my child/tween/teen’s computer environment safer and more productive? What can I do as a parent? What can the school do? The answers to these and other questions in a frank discussion on kids and technology moderated by the LREI tech coordinators. We will visit some sites, explore options that will make you child’s cyber-environment safer and give you an overview of what we teach at LREI about internet safety. Additional resources will be given out for parents on paper and on www.lrei.org.

Two sessions:

Session One for parents of 7th – 12th graders on April 17th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium
Session Two for parents of 3rd – 6th graders on April 18th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.

3. Click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year.

4.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

5. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Phil Kassen, guest blogger, here. A quick word of “Thanks” to all of our students for their hard work and dedication and for being involved and active members of their classrooms. Within the last three weeks we have experienced the outstanding high school musical and a series of one-act plays written by juniors and seniors—among them a musical depiction of the seven deadly sins. High schoolers also spent a day learning about American foreign policy and the war in Iraq. For more information on Global War on Terror Day—a series of student created and taught seminars on the current world situation—see Ruth Jurgensen’s high school blog from last week. Fifth and sixth graders presented major social studies projects this week. Working with the art, music and drama teachers, sixth graders presented their annual Medieval Pageant featuring folk tales from Europe, Asia and Africa. Fifth graders turned their classrooms into an Egyptian tomb. Visitors were treated to a variety of artifacts including beautiful artwork, life size sarcophagi and a variety of Egyptian relics. In the Lower School, we all enjoyed and learned from the annual Art Show, which included work from all lower school students; the first grades’ bookstore, bakery and penguin study; the third graders’ presentation on the Native Americans of the northern woodlands and publishing parties in various classrooms. The stands were filled with cheering fans at the Thompson Street Athletic Center last Friday as the faculty lost a close game to the middle and high school basketball teams in our annual Spirit Game. Finally, today we have three groups leaving on foreign adventures—a group of high school students are off to visit a school in Munich with which we have an exchange relationship and the eighth graders are off to Costa Rica or Paris, depending on whether they study Spanish or French. A well deserved rest approaches. All that separates us from Spring Break is the Founder’s Day Assembly with its traditional re-enactment of the founding of the school and annual ice cream celebration.

One comment about next week. This year the annual Kick Butts Day is on Wednesday, March 28th. Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (www.tobaccofreekids.org), Kick Butts Day is a day of learning and activism focused on ending the use of tobacco and tobacco products by children and teens. A few facts from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids web site:

• Each day, about 4,000 kids try their first cigarette; and each day another 1,000 other kids under 18 years of age become new regular, daily smokers. That’s 416,000 new underage daily smokers each year.
• The addiction rate for smoking is higher than the addiction rates for marijuana, alcohol, or cocaine; and symptoms of serious nicotine addiction often occur only weeks or even just days after youth “experimentation” with smoking first begins.
• 90 percent of all adult smokers begin while in their teens, or earlier, and nearly two-thirds become regular, daily smokers before they reach the age of 19.
• Roughly one-third of all youth smokers will eventually die prematurely from smoking-caused disease.

As a school community, one of the most important things we can do to promote our children’s health is to emphatically state that it is unacceptable for our students, of any age, to smoke. No exceptions. We will look for every opportunity to reinforce the message that smoking is neither cool nor glamorous and that the expectation of the adults in their lives is that your children will never smoke. We will also spend considerable time discussing the manipulative messages used by tobacco companies in their advertising campaigns.

I encourage all families to spend time discussing the dangers of tobacco use and to take every opportunity presented by advertising, movies and TV to discuss the often misleading messages about smoking presented by the media.

Interested in additional resources about kids and smoking?

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/body/smoking
http://www.scenesmoking.org
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/smoking.html

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Please don’t hesitate to email or call if you would like to discuss it further. Have a great spring break. See you on April 9th!!

This Week’s Announcements and Attachments:

1. Upcoming Parent Events–Facebook, AIM, Club Penguin, BitTorents, YouTube, and countless other old, new and emerging web technologies are used by our children everyday. What do you know about them? How safe are they for your kids? Are there ways to make my child/tween/teen’s computer environment safer and more productive? What can I do as a parent? What can the school do? The answers to these and other questions in a frank discussion on kids and technology moderated by the LREI tech coordinators. We will visit some sites, explore options that will make you child’s cyber-environment safer and give you an overview of what we teach at LREI about internet safety. Additional resources will be given out for parents on paper and on www.lrei.org.

Two sessions:

Session One for parents of 7th – 12th graders on April 17th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium
Session Two for parents of 3rd – 6th graders on April 18th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.

2. An open invitation to those in our community who would like to participate in creating this year’s Afghan Quilt for the Big Auction: It is time to pick up your needles and yarn and knit or crochet a 6×6″ square in colors and patterns of your choosing to be assembled into a beautiful, cozy, handmade creation. In celebration of this group effort, Claudia Baez will host a Champagne & Cheese Knitting Circle on Wednesday, March 14th for anyone who would like to participate. Beginners to seasoned knitters and crocheters are welcome. Please bring your children and encourage them to give it a try! All you need to start is some yarn and a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. We will meet at 260 West Broadway, #11B, from 4-6PM. If you can’t join us on March 14th, you can drop completed squares off in the collection box in the Sixth Avenue lobby up until Thursday, April 12th. This us a perfect project for Spring Break that will also support the school.If you have any questions, please contact Jenna Torres at jennasdreamworld@hotmail.com.

3. Click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year.

4. Remember…The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.

5.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

6. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

The dominant group is damaged even as it receives huge benefits. You pay for the privilege and the cost is enormous.

Tim Wise, Director of the Association for White Anti-Racist Education (AWARE)

Dear Families,

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, anti-racism activist and writer, Tim Wise, will visit us. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to dialogue and meet with the dynamic speaker. Most recently, he has visited University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Pennsylvania, dozens of independent schools, and is coming to us directly from speaking at Harvard Law. He works tirelessly in the quest to “challenge racism in an age of backlash.” Some of his most interesting work,in my opinion, comes from his commentary on such events as 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. He successfully sheds a provocative light on media influence, the history of racism, and socio-economic equality. He is an expert in student activism, white privilege, and alliance building, and cares deeply about equality and civil rights, during a time when those things can seem old or out of touch to some people.

Tim Wise will be here Tuesday morning and be with us through Wednesday afternoon. During his time here, he will visit with students in classes such as “Human Rights,” and meet with Student Government. Students will also hear from him in a special assembly, and have the opportunity to continue the conversation on Wednesday afternoon. Parents will also have the unique opportunity to engage in the same subject matter with their child by attending the parent meeting at 7 PM, Tuesday night. The opportunity to continue that conversation will occur at 6th Avenue on Wednesday morning, 8:45 AM. I encourage you to attend both events and speak with your child about his or her experience with Tim. That dialogue would be well worth the time.

Click here to take a look at Tim Wise’s blog.

On another note, from Phil Kassen, Director:

On Monday, High School students participated in a daylong examination of American foreign policy since September 11, 2001called, Global War on Terror Day. This event grew out of an eleventh/twelfth grade history elective of the same name taught by History Department Chair Tom Murphy. Throughout the day, students participated in seminars such with topics such as, Middle East Geopolitics, The Bush Revolution, Islam and Terrorism, Human Rights, the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and Human Rights. In addition to these student created and student run conversations, each student watched an advance copy of Operation: Homecoming and the day ended with the whole school coming together to hear a presentation by Martin Smith, dad of Sam in the 10th grade and producer for Frontline, who has spent a considerable amount of time in Iraq. When I congratulated Tom on the day, he told me that the whole idea came from his students and that they created the structure for the day, organized their schoolmates’ participation and spent considerable time preparing themselves to teach the seminars. As I stood in the hall outside of the first floor classrooms as students moved from one seminar to the next I was pleased to see clusters of kids moving out of the rooms while continuing the conversation. I was thrilled to hear one young woman turn to another and say, “I learned so much in there” and excitedly move off towards her next opportunity to learn from a colleague.

It really was a terrific day!

All the best,

Ruth

Calendar:

March 16, 2007- An Evening of One Acts, 6:30PM, PAC

This winter, seventeen juniors and seniors enrolled in Julia Heaton’s new English elective – “Playwriting: From Page to Stage.” In this writing workshop class, students studied the foundations of dramatic writing and took on the unique challenge of bringing human experience to life on the stage. Through exposure to a variety of dramatic texts, from classical to contemporary, students learned to identify and analyze various aspects of the playwriting form— dramatic structure, characterization, conflict, dialogue, plot and setting, stage directions, and design. Over the course of the trimester, each student wrote a ten-minute scene, a character monologue, and a one-act play. Each day, students took turns reading and performing each other’s work, offering constructive feedback, and engaging in peer revision. Friday night’s “Playwrights Showcase” is the culmination of three months of hard work by an incredibly talented group of writers, actors, and directors. We hope you will enjoy it! Admission is free.

March 20, 2007-Parent Rep meeting, 7:00 PM with Special Guest Speaker, Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.

March 22, 2007- Eleventh Grade College Trip to Columbia University

March 23, 2007- Founder’s Day; Spring Break begins, 12:00 PM.

April 9, 2007- School reopens.

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. An Invitation from Phil Kassen, Director: On March 20th Tim Wise will speak with the LREI community on the topic of privilege and class in America. Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Many of our faculty members have heard Mr. Wise speak and found him to be engaging and insightful. He will spend a good part of the day here on March. 20th and 21st meeting with students, faculty and parents.

Parent Events featuring Tim Wise:

Tuesday, March 20th, 7:00PM, Performing Arts Center, 40 Charlton Street. (Child Care Available, please sign up at the Sixth Ave. Reception Desk.

Wednesday, March 21st, 8:45 AM, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria, Breakfast Discussion with Tim Wise.

There are several copies of Tim Wise’s book, White Like Me, in each library.

Click here for more information about Tim Wise.

Tim Wise’s visit to LREI is generously supported by the Wendling Foundation as part of an ongoing grant to support diversity efforts, including the visit by the Human Race Machine, earlier this year.

2. THE LREI STEP TEAM will be performing as part of FAMILY MATTERS this Saturday!

The body becomes a canvas on which colorful legends and rueful stories are painted. Strokes of genius are delivered by Merce Cunningham alum Glen Rumsey presenting a gender-bending ballet, the inspirational step dancing of the LREI STEP TEAM, and the Brazilian influenced free world music of The Nation Beat. The feast continues with Lawrence Goldhuber and his all-diva cast who serve-up a cautionary tale about what can happen if you eat too much. Flamenco fans will delight in the foot falls of the Ballet Hispanico School Ensemble, while the graceful Trinayan Collective execute a fable in the Odissi style of classical Indian dance.

Dance Theater Workshop 219 West 19th street
March 17th at 2:00pm
reservations 212 924 0077
TKTS $10.00 children $20.00 adults
Family Matters. This show is for ages 3 and up!

3. On Tuesday, March 20, a group of students and a few faculty are headed to Washington, DC for Climate Crisis Action Day. The trip is being organized by Kai Furbeck, ’10 and Joe Sharp, ’10. Click here for more information. There may be room on the bus for parents! Please let me know if you would like to attend. The bus is leaving from Charlton Street at 6:00 AM sharp, and the bus will return by 10:00 PM.

4. Upcoming Parent Events–Facebook, AIM, Club Penguin, BitTorents, YouTube, and countless other old, new and emerging web technologies are used by our children everyday. What do you know about them? How safe are they for your kids? Are there ways to make my child/tween/teen’s computer environment safer and more productive? What can I do as a parent? What can the school do? The answers to these and other questions in a frank discussion on kids and technology moderated by the LREI tech coordinators. We will visit some sites, explore options that will make you child’s cyber-environment safer and give you an overview of what we teach at LREI about internet safety. Additional resources will be given out for parents on paper and on www.lrei.org.

Two sessions:

Session One for parents of 7th – 12th graders on April 17th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium
Session Two for parents of 3rd – 6th graders on April 18th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.

5. An open invitation to those in our community who would like to participate in creating this year’s Afghan Quilt for the Big Auction: It is time to pick up your needles and yarn and knit or crochet a 6×6″ square in colors and patterns of your choosing to be assembled into a beautiful, cozy, handmade creation. In celebration of this group effort, Claudia Baez will host a Champagne & Cheese Knitting Circle on Wednesday, March 14th for anyone who would like to participate. Beginners to seasoned knitters and crocheters are welcome. Please bring your children and encourage them to give it a try! All you need to start is some yarn and a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. We will meet at 260 West Broadway, #11B, from 4-6PM. If you can’t join us on March 14th, you can drop completed squares off in the collection box in the Sixth Avenue lobby up until Thursday, April 12th. This us a perfect project for Spring Break that will also support the school.If you have any questions, please contact Jenna Torres at jennasdreamworld@hotmail.com.

6. Click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year.

7. Remember…The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.

8. Attention Sports Fans—Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit Game that will match up LREI’s multi-talented faculty/staff against the up-and-coming stars of the Middle School and High School basketball teams. This will be a great opportunity to witness the athletic talents of our student athletes and to experience firsthand how exciting it has been to have a home court gym this year. At half time there will be a foul shooting contest for athletes sixth grade or younger. We have hosted some amazing games this season, where the roars for the home team were heard on Houston Street. So come out and see what all of the excitement is about — March 16th at 3:30PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street between Houston and Prince. We look forward to having a big crowd help to celebrate the end of our first year of having a “home court advantage.”

9.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

10. As Spring Break approaches, please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Dear Families,

As you know, this week is exam week here at the high school. I have seen many impressive scenes, from the entire Ninth Grade in the PAC taking their final for History 9, to original interpretations of the most pivotal scenes from Macbeth. English 10 today presented a living museum, filled with incredible stories from the 1920’s, all of which relate to their study of The Great Gatsby. Even The Marx Brothers (played by students from our middle school, and a parent of a high school student) were there! English teacher, Ileana Jimenez, loved having “the opportunity to watch a re-enactment of Al Capone’s trial, learn the Charleston…, was blown away by a student analysis of the film, Birth of a Nation and [was] even more inspired by a performance of a song by Josephine Baker sung by Amy Hernandez, ’09, in French.”

This morning I also sat in on Twelfth Grade Calculus, where students worked on an in-class essay, which was to address the following topics

-definitions of the derivative and the integral
-derivatives and integrals as they relate to graphs
-derivatives and integrals of various types of functions
-rules for differentiation and integration
-applications of the derivative and the integral

and include specific examples. At lunch today, I sat with students who reviewed for their exam for “Gotham,” and saw other students studying together for Physics 9. While at the same table, a few others put the final changes on their projects for “Journeys,” Jane Belton’s English elective.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of touring classes with a prospective family. On the tour, we witnessed traditional assessments, exhibitions in progress, discussions in final classes and students preparing art for display. Later, I also had the pleasure of judging Twelfth Grade final portfolios for Studio Art. Each portfolio, carefully edited, included a painting in oil or acrylic, a sculpture in any medium, a print (artists chose their method), and an illustration to a children’s story. The portfolio also included the prep work for each final work.

Students will end the week proud of their achievements, and exhausted from their efforts. As I told the family on the tour, this is a place where our students do everything, are prepared for any assessment, and can present their knowledge in a variety of ways. I am so impressed and proud of the entire faculty. The rigor we witnessed demonstrated their consistent efforts. Because of them, students are actively engaged, and their education, meaningful. What a wonderful week!

Monday is GWOT (Global War on Terror) Day prepared and taught by students of Tom’s elective class of the same name. Not only will students participate in a variety of workshops, including “The Bush Revolution,” and “New Terrorism,” they will view “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” which will not be available for public viewing until mid-April (Tom Murphy called the director after taking his class to see the film at Film Forum, and he kindly offered to lend the film to us for the day!). We are also fortunate to have Martin Smith, PBS Frontline reporter, as our keynote speaker joining us at 1:30 PM. We look forward to a thought-provoking, enlightening day.

All the best,

Ruth

March 5-9, 2007- Exam Week
March 12, 2007- First Monday, “Global War on Terror”
March 13, 2007- Arts Assembly I, 1 PM
March 15, 2007- Arts Assembly II, 1 PM
March 16, 2007- An evening of One Acts, 6:30PM, PAC
March 20, 2007-Parent Rep meeting, 6:30PM with Special Guest Speaker, Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.

March 22, 2007- Eleventh Grade College Trip to Columbia University
March 23, 2007- Founder’s Day

Academic Calendar, Trimester II

Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 16-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. An Invitation from Phil Kassen, Director: On March 20th Tim Wise will speak with the LREI community on the topic of privilege and class in America. Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, and on over 400 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, and the Law Schools at Yale and Columbia. Many of our faculty members have heard Mr. Wise speak and found him to be engaging and insightful. He will spend a good part of the day here on March. 20th and 21st meeting with students, faculty and parents.

Parent Events featuring Tim Wise:

Tuesday, March 20th, 7:00PM, Performing Arts Center, 40 Charlton Street. (Child Care Available, please sign up at the Sixth Ave. Reception Desk.

Wednesday, March 21st, 8:45 AM, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria, Breakfast Discussion with Tim Wise. (We recommend you attend the evening talk on March 20th if you plan to attend this conversation.)

There are several copies of Tim Wise’s book, White Like Me, in each library.

Click here for more information about Tim Wise.

Tim Wise’s visit to LREI is generously supported by the Wendling Foundation as part of an ongoing grant to support diversity efforts, including the visit by the Human Race Machine, earlier this year.

2. THE LREI STEP TEAM will be performing as part of FAMILY MATTERS

The body becomes a canvas on which colorful legends and rueful stories are painted. Strokes of genius are delivered by Merce Cunningham alum Glen Rumsey presenting a gender-bending ballet, the inspirational step dancing of the LREI STEP TEAM, and the Brazilian influenced free world music of The Nation Beat. The feast continues with Lawrence Goldhuber and his all-diva cast who serve-up a cautionary tale about what can happen if you eat too much. Flamenco fans will delight in the foot falls of the Ballet Hispanico School Ensemble, while the graceful Trinayan Collective execute a fable in the Odissi style of classical Indian dance.

Dance Theater Workshop 219 West 19th street
March 17th at 2:00pm
reservations 212 924 0077
TKTS $10.00 children $20.00 adults
Family Matters. This show is for ages 3 and up!

3. On Tuesday, March 20, a group of students and a few faculty are headed to Washington, DC for Climate Crisis Action Day. The trip is being organized by Kai Furbeck, ’10 and Gabe Cook, ’10. Click here for more information. There may be room on the bus! Please let me know if you would like to attend.

4. An open invitation to those in our community who would like to participate in creating this year’s Afghan Quilt for the Big Auction: It is time to pick up your needles and yarn and knit or crochet a 6×6″ square in colors and patterns of your choosing to be assembled into a beautiful, cozy, handmade creation. In celebration of this group effort, Claudia Baez will host a Champagne & Cheese Knitting Circle on Wednesday, March 14th for anyone who would like to participate. Beginners to seasoned knitters and crocheters are welcome. Please bring your children and encourage them to give it a try! All you need to start is some yarn and a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. We will meet at 260 West Broadway, #11B, from 4-6PM. If you can’t join us on March 14th, you can drop completed squares off in the collection box in the Sixth Avenue lobby up until Thursday, April 12th. This us a perfect project for Spring Break that will also support the school.If you have any questions, please contact Jenna Torres at jennasdreamworld@hotmail.com.

5. From Phil Kassen, Director: Dear Families, click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year. I am sorry that it is so late in coming. I hope that this has not caused any inconvenience. A couple of notes–the two long vacations have moved back to their traditional spots, we will have two professional development days for faculty—October 5th and February 29th—and we have added a second full day of conferences for the Lower School in the fall and the spring. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.

6. After notifying students in homeroom and advisory about missing or long overdue books, we are now preparing to send invoices home for lost books. This invoice will detail the missing text(s) and the price of the book. Please know, replacement copies are accepted!

7. Remember…The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.

8. Attention Sports Fans—Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit Game that will match up LREI’s multi-talented faculty/staff against the up-and-coming stars of the Middle School and High School basketball teams. This will be a great opportunity to witness the athletic talents of our student athletes and to experience firsthand how exciting it has been to have a home court gym this year. At half time there will be a foul shooting contest for athletes sixth grade or younger. We have hosted some amazing games this season, where the roars for the home team were heard on Houston Street. So come out and see what all of the excitement is about — March 16th at 3:30PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street between Houston and Prince. We look forward to having a big crowd help to celebrate the end of our first year of having a “home court advantage.”

9.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

10. As Spring Break approaches, please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Dear Families,

One can find over twenty-five different definitions of plagiarism and about a dozen different types of plagiarism, including cyber-plagiarism, incremental plagiarism, intentional plagiarism, global plagiarism, patchwork plagiarism and unintentional plagiarism.

In this Internet Age, it is becoming more and more difficult to determine what counts as plagiarism. As a result, more and more time is spent in classes discussing the definition, yet one all-inclusive policy is difficult to reach. The members of this year’s Honor Board, a group of students elected by their peers to represent any member of the student body who finds themselves in a disciplinary situation involving one’s integrity or honesty, decided to take the problem of plagiarism on as one of their projects for the school year (not unlike Student Government, which is actively reworking LREI’s Student Handbook).

Honor Board began their work with an assembly, which ended with an explanation of Honor Board’s role in the school community, and with a definition of plagiarism here at LREI. Here is the definition they decided to use in cases of plagiarism. A student has plagiarized if the student did not acknowledge using someone else’s

words or phrases
ideas or thoughts
term paper
recording
images
computer code
experiment results
lecture content

or if a student uses his or her own previously submitted work or he or she falsifies data.

Further, members of Honor Board met with each class to go over different scenarios of plagiarism or cheating students may or may not find themselves in. Here is an example of one of the scenarios discussed during class meetings:

“You and a friend are struggling in Physics class. You work together on an assignment for class. You both do the work and hand in exactly the same work. A friend of yours was absent from class, so you give your assignment to that person and he/she copies it exactly. Who is plagiarizing? Who is cheating? Who is responsible?”

One can imagine just how complicated it is to determine what happened, who is to blame, and what the consequences should be. However difficult, Honor Board will continue its work to bring us closer to clarity and closer to a resolution regarding this complex issue. What is the faculty doing? We will have two guest speakers in the spring, an expert in academic honesty, and a copyright lawyer to discuss fair use with us.

It is really great to have a partnership with the student body regarding those issues most important to the community. Working together, we can provide a clear definition of plagiarism, a program that continues to value honesty and integrity above all things when it comes to one’s academic and social experiences, guidelines across the curriculum for all students and hopefully in the future, a distinctive honor code.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

All the best,

Ruth

March 2, 3, 2007- High School Play, “Apartment 6D,” 7PM, PAC
March 5-9, 2007- Exam Week
March 9, 2007- End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:00PM, PAC
March 12, 2007- First Monday, “Global War on Terror”
March 13, 2007- Arts Assembly I, 1 PM
March 15, 2007- Arts Assembly II, 1 PM
March 16, 2007- An evening of One Acts, 6:30PM, PAC
March 20, 2007-Parent Rep meeting, 6:30PM with Special Guest Speaker, Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.

March 22, 2007- Eleventh Grade College Trip to Columbia University
March 23, 2007- Founder’s Day

Academic Calendar, Trimester II

Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. Please come to the High School Play, written by LREI Arts Chair and director Meghan Farley Astrachan, “Apartment 6D,” 7 PM, Charlton Street PAC, this Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3. “Apartment 6D” is a play about friendship, loss, betrayal, and hope. Set in a cramped West Village apartment, it is the story of four friends attempting to cope with the future four months after the September 11th disaster that shook the foundations of downtown Manhattan and of the world as they knew it.

2. Coming soon! Saturday, March 17, 2 PM at Dance Theater Workshop, 219 West 19 Street, our LREI Step Team will be performing as part of the professional show, Family Matters. This show is for ages 3 and up! $10 for kids, $20 for adults.

3. 5) An open invitation to those in our community who would like to participate in creating this year’s Afghan Quilt for the Big Auction: It is time to pick up your needles and yarn and knit or crochet a 6×6″ square in colors and patterns of your choosing to be assembled into a beautiful, cozy, handmade creation. In celebration of this group effort, Claudia Baez will host a Champagne & Cheese Knitting Circle on Wednesday, March 14th for anyone who would like to participate. Beginners to seasoned knitters and crocheters are welcome. Please bring your children and encourage them to give it a try! All you need to start is some yarn and a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. We will meet at 260 West Broadway, #11B, from 4-6PM. If you can’t join us on March 14th, you can drop completed squares off in the collection box in the Sixth Avenue lobby up until Thursday, April 12th. This us a perfect project for Spring Break that will also support the school.If you have any questions, please contact Jenna Torres at jennasdreamworld@hotmail.com.

4. From Phil Kassen, Director: Dear Families, click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year. I am sorry that it is so late in coming. I hope that this has not caused any inconvenience. A couple of notes–the two long vacations have moved back to their traditional spots, we will have two professional development days for faculty—October 5th and February 29th—and we have added a second full day of conferences for the Lower School in the fall and the spring. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.

4. After notifying students in homeroom and advisory about missing or long overdue books, we are now preparing to send invoices home for lost books. This invoice will detail the missing text(s) and the price of the book. Please know, replacement copies are accepted!

5. Think LREI Big Auction!
While shopping in your favorite stores or dining out at your favorite
restaurant, take along some donor forms and make on-the-spot requests.
It’s easier than you think!

Think…
Restaurants
Entertainment (tickets to shows, sporting events, film festivals)
Beauty and Health (facials, massages, spa gift certificates)
Wine, Champagne and Specialty Foods
Children’s Items and Services (passes to museums, classes, birthday party certificates)
Designer Fashion (handbags, gift certificates, jewelry)
Vacation Homes
Creative One-of-a-Kind Events (behind the scenes tours,backstage passes)
Frequent Flyer Miles and Preferred Guest Points

Donation forms can be found at here or in
Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street lobbies. Please return your forms to
the LREI Development Office no later than Friday, March 2nd. If you
have any questions, please contact Sandra Song at ssong@lrei.org.

Remember…
The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.

6. Attention Sports Fans—Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit Game that will match up LREI’s multi-talented faculty/staff against the up-and-coming stars of the Middle School and High School basketball teams. This will be a great opportunity to witness the athletic talents of our student athletes and to experience firsthand how exciting it has been to have a home court gym this year. At half time there will be a foul shooting contest for athletes sixth grade or younger. We have hosted some amazing games this season, where the roars for the home team were heard on Houston Street. So come out and see what all of the excitement is about — March 16th at 3:30PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street between Houston and Prince. We look forward to having a big crowd help to celebrate the end of our first year of having a “home court advantage.”

7.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

8. As Spring Break approaches, please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

There’s no place like home…

Dear Families,

As basketball season ends, it is safe to say our TSAC has been soundly broken in. The tremendous girls’ basketball team’s last game against BWL on February 13 turned out to be the sporting event of the season. With dozens of students, many with painted faces and signs of support, all of the high school faculty, several parents, and of course, our mascot, The Knight, played by Jesse Highstein, ’07, the roar of the crowd was deafening and inspiring. There was not a bleacher seat in the house. The girls pulled out a victory at this last home game, winning by five points, and the victory brought them to the semi-finals yesterday against UNIS. While we lost to UNIS in the semi-finals, we made sure that the team felt the EI spirit; more than fifty students insisted they bring the girls some home away from home. At the end of our school day, dozens of students crowded the school bus, meant for the team, for a seat. Other students pulled up in their own cars (something I never thought I would see in NYC!) to take fired-up fans to the game.

I hope this spirit continues throughout the year, the pride in the EI of LREI. Both basketball teams, boys and girls, demonstrated tremendous teamwork and effort. Congrats to our graduating seniors who played their last high school game: Lily Wiggins, Sara Wyatt, Naida Gluhic, and Bella Klein, and also to our graduating Knight, Jesse. They are leaving a legacy of leadership, passion and vision.

Next up: The High School production of “Apartment 6D” written by our own Meghan Farley Astrachan, March 2 and 3. We cannot wait!

All the best,

Ruth

February, 2007-Black History Month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
February 19 and 20, 2007-President’s Weekend, School Closed.
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, “Apartment 6D” 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, PAC
March 16, 2007-An evening of One Acts, 6:30PM, PAC
March 20, 2007-Parent Rep meeting, 6:30PM with Special Guest Speaker, Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.

Academic Calendar, Trimester II

Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. Change of date! The next meeting of Parents whose Children Receive Academic Support will be held on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 P.M. at Charlton Street. The topic for the meeting will be The Educational Testing Process. Dr. Iona Aibel will speak on the testing process and how to use the results of this testing to help your child succeed in school.

2.Think LREI Big Auction!
While shopping in your favorite stores or dining out at your favorite
restaurant, take along some donor forms and make on-the-spot requests.
It’s easier than you think!

Think…
Restaurants
Entertainment (tickets to shows, sporting events, film festivals)
Beauty and Health (facials, massages, spa gift certificates)
Wine, Champagne and Specialty Foods
Children’s Items and Services (passes to museums, classes, birthday party certificates)
Designer Fashion (handbags, gift certificates, jewelry)
Vacation Homes
Creative One-of-a-Kind Events (behind the scenes tours,backstage passes)
Frequent Flyer Miles and Preferred Guest Points

Donation forms can be found at here or in
Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street lobbies. Please return your forms to
the LREI Development Office no later than Friday, March 2nd. If you
have any questions, please contact Sandra Song at ssong@lrei.org.

Remember…
The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.

3. Attention Sports Fans—Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit Basketball Game that will match up LREI’s multi-talented faculty/staff against the up-and-coming stars of the Middle School and High School basketball teams. This will be a great opportunity to witness the athletic talents of our student athletes and to experience firsthand how exciting it has been to have a home court gym this year. At half time there will be a foul shooting contest for athletes sixth grade or younger. We have hosted some amazing games this season, where the roars for the home team were heard on Houston Street. So come out and see what all of the excitement is about — March 16th at 3:30PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street between Houston and Prince. We look forward to having a big crowd help to celebrate the end of our first year of having a “home court advantage.”

4.LREI Community Drive: The Commmunity Service Committee will be collecting NEW and VERY GENTLY used baby items for 0-3 years of age. They will be collecting at the Sixth Avenue campus next week, Monday – Friday, Feb 12 – 16. All donations are tax deductible, and if you attach your name and address and value of donation, RTG will send you a receipt.

5.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

6. As Spring Break approaches, please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Education + Action=Impact

Dear Families,

This week, the faculty participated in a workshop presented by the wonderful facilitators at NetAid, an organization committed to “educating, inspiring and empowering young people to fight global poverty.”

After an introduction, we got down to work. First, we defined poverty (which is not as simple as one would think), then participated in two challenging activities. Both asked each of us to make the sacrifices a family in poverty must make. The discussion that followed, and the impact of the meeting were extraordinary. Already, this powerful workshop inspired several departments to incorporate lessons and discussion questions into their classes. Other teachers are working furiously to include many of the resources and activities into the elective offerings for next trimester. Finally, as we work to make advisory and community service much more extensive next year, the NetAid program proved valuable, and its impact on us as a professional community will be long lasting.

Here are some of the other professional development opportunities members of our faculty have participated in so far this school year:

Pat Carter, Academic Support: “Providing Organizational Systems for Note taking, Study Skills and Homework.”

Guo-Qing Heaton, Chinese: “Classroom Management for (Relatively) New Teachers-Series.”

Benjamin Rubin, Math and Physics: The American Association of Physics Teachers-Winter Meeting, Seattle, Washington.

Vinay Chowdry, Media Arts, and Ileana Jimenez, English: National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference, “Nurishing Ourselves for the Swim Upstream.”

Julia Heaton, Jane Belton and Ileana Jimenez, English: Bard Institute for Writing and Thinking, “Writer as Reader Workshops.”

Karyn Silverman, Librarian and Chair of the 2007 Best Books for Young Adults Committee: “American Library Association Conference.”

Professional development is a challenge to fit in during the school year, but our commitment to it is ongoing. We are grateful to have had so many opportunities.

All the best,
Ruth

February, 2007-Black History Month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
February 13, 2007-HS Parent Rep meeting, 6:30 PM
February 19 and 20, 2007-President’s Weekend, School Closed.
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, “Apartment 6D” 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, PAC

Academic Calendar

Jan. 31-Interims due, 8:30 AM (students earning B- and below; Arts)
Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. Change of date! The next meeting of Parents whose Children Receive Academic Support will be held on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 P.M. at Charlton Street. The topic for the meeting will be The Educational Testing Process. Dr. Iona Aibel will speak on the testing process and how to use the results of this testing to help your child succeed in school.

2. LREI Community Drive: The Commmunity Service Committee will be collecting NEW and VERY GENTLY used baby items for 0-3 years of age. They will be collecting at the Sixth Avenue campus next week, Monday – Friday, Feb 12 – 16. All donations are tax deductible, and if you attach your name and address and value of donation, RTG will send you a receipt.

3.Art Auction Encore: Thank you all for your support of last week’s Art Auction. The auction brought in sales of $107,000. There are still some wonderful pieces available so next week we will have the Art Auction Encore in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. Pieces will be on show and available for sale. There will be a final reception and last chance to purchase the art on Thursday, 2/15 from 5:30-7:00PM. For those who missed it the first time, here’s your chance to see some great art and support the School.

4.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

5. As Spring Break approaches, please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Dear Families,

The High School Admissions Committee has tirelessly worked all week to fit in reading student files, dozens and dozens of applications, in preparation for our day long meeting to determine not only the potential class of 2011, but a couple of additions to other classes as space allows.

As I write this update, students surround me, even though it is well after the last period of the day, gradually becoming dark outside and I am hungry for dinner. Student Government, a group of twelve dedicated students, are meeting next door to my office discussing the results of the latest school survey (this one focused on student programming, mainly assemblies, for the rest of the year) and preparing their edits to the student handbook for my review. The LREI Step Team, a solid group of nineteen with new uniforms, are practicing across the hall (plenty of stomping, clapping, and laughing), thirty-five students are preparing for play practice, ten others are in the library studying for their Veritas (SAT prep) class, a dozen are trickling in from seeing a play with their class this afternoon, and another thirty students are over at Thompson Street Athletic Center at basketball practice or warming up for their game (and a group of teachers are headed over there to see it). Three library assistants are helping Karyn catalog books, five Twelfth Graders are working on the yearbook downstairs in the photo room, and a few more lingering at reception, relentlessly teasing Adria, our receptionist.

As I notice and cherish all the different voices, and as I watch students who have worked all day continue with their passions and projects with such energy, well after the school day has concluded, my heart fills with joy. We must have the most active high school student body in the city. And as the Admissions Committee retreats into ‘seclusion’ to construct the next great class, our students’ distinct voices will echo in my head. Our applicants have a lot to live up to. We expect a lot from our students, but not nearly as much as what our students expect from themselves and their peers. I expect an acceptance letter is followed by a feeling of great pride in knowing that we feel a student can successfully distinguish his or herself in the most dynamic of populations, but also great desire to get started! We can’t wait to welcome them.

On another note, while we just had parent/advisor conferences not too long ago, another update will be going home tomorrow. Interims for students earning B- or below in any course, along with comments for all 9th graders in the Arts rotation, are complete. We have a month before exam week, so there is plenty of time for conversation with teachers and renewed efforts from students.

All the best,
Ruth

Please check out our Winter Sports Schedule and join us at a home game!

February, 2007-Black History Month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
February 13, 2007-HS Parent Rep meeting, 6:30 PM
February 19 and 20, 2007-President’s Weekend, School Closed.
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, “Apartment 6D” 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, PAC

Academic Calendar

Jan. 31-Interims due, 8:30 AM (students earning B- and below; Arts)
Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. The next meeting of Parents whose Children Receive Academic Support will be held on Thurs. Feb. 15 at 6:30 P.M. at Charlton Street. The topic for the meeting will be The Educational Testing Process. Dr. Iona Aibel will speak on the testing process and how to use the results of this testing to help your child succeed in school.

2. The 2007 LREI Art Auction is TONIGHT!

I-20 Gallery at 529 West 20th Street (11th Floor) NYC

Admission is Free – Reception and Final Bidding on Thursday, February 1st, 6:00PM to 8:00PM

3.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

4. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Dear Families,

I thought I would take the first snowy day to give a winter update!

-We were fortunate to have Nancy Burson’s The Human Race Machine here all last week. Almost every member of our community experienced the art project, which allows participants to see themselves as different ethnicities. Several courses incorporated the machine into the curriculum. In fact, there are wonderful color photo portraits from our Tenth Grade on display on the lower level, all inspired by Burson’s own art work. Since the machine’s stay coincided with alumni events, even some former students had the opportunity to try it out. Needless to say, they wished they were back in High School! The Human Race Machine also encouraged students to reject the “Santa Clausification” (as coined by Dr. Cornell West) of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and provide an assembly that celebrated the man and his legacy in a way that encouraged students to believe they have the same potential within themselves.

-Speaking of alumni, the LREI Alumni Basketball game was one of the most competitive of the year! Alumni came up with the win after a fierce battle on the court; they won by one point. It was wonderful to see so many former students, not only at the basketball game, but at the Alumni College Night event. Other Alumni dropped by during the school day to connect with former teachers and speak with current students. Those who could not come by, called. It was fantastic to see everyone!

-We have noticed that our Ninth Graders have matured into confident high school students. They are staying later in the library to work on Chemistry projects, studying Macbeth and tutoring each other in several subjects. We are very proud that each and every one has made the transition successfully.

-Just in time for the winter blast, our faculty has been inspired to use this month to take many of their classes on educational trips. Some recent trips have included destinations such as Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and The Islamic Center of New York. In fact, our students are participating in several interesting academic projects. Tenth Grade English students are discussing self-invention, lies and rumors in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in preparation for their mid-trimester papers. In Physics, Tenth Graders are working on a major project called, “Finding Forces,” and our seniors are beginning another significant project for Physics, studying the “motion of their choice” and using LoggerPro to analyze the results. Also notable, several students submitted writing portfolios for this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing awards, which awarded two of our Twelfth Graders silver and gold keys last year.

-Our students are in heavy rehearsal for the spring production of the play “Apartment 6D,” written by our Arts Department Chair Meghan Farley Astrachan. This play was powerful, thought-provoking theater five years ago, right after September 11, and in honor of the fifth anniversary, we will produce the play again. It is a significant, moving event with alumni and former faculty participation.

-Finally, after a wildly successful run of The Importance of Being Earnest at last summer’s Fringe Festival (the largest international theater festival; we were the only New York school invited to perform last year!) in Edinburgh, Scotland, we have been nominated to bring another show in 2008!

I hope this finds you and yours warm and well.

All the best,

Ruth

Please check out our Winter Sports Schedule and join us at a home game!

January 25, 2007-Parents of children who receive academic support meeting, 6:30 PM.
January 26, 2007-KARAMU! 5:00 PM, Dinner and 6:00 PM, Show, Charlton Street
February, 2007-Black History month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, “Apartment 6D” 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, PAC

Academic Calendar

Jan. 31-Interims due, 8:30 AM (students earning B- and below; Arts)
Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. Meeting About Tuition Increase and 2007-2008 Budget

Michel de Konkoly Thege, Director of Finance and Operations, will give presentations to the LREI community concerning the planned tuition increase and overall budget for the 2007-2008 school year. This presentation will take place on Wednesday, January 24 in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria at 8:00 AM and 8:45 AM. All parents and other members of the LREI community are invited to attend and ask questions.

2. Save the Date: The 2007 LREI Art Auction
Wednesday, January 31st and Thursday, February 1st, 2007
I-20 Gallery at 529 West 20th Street (11th Floor) NYC

Admission is Free – Reception and Final Bidding on Thursday, February 1st, 6:00PM to 8:00PM

Auction catalogs will be available on Monday, January 22 in the Sixth Avenue Lobby. Visit the auction website to preview the exhibition, pre-register and get further information.

3.Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

4. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.

Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dear Families,

As the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. encourages, Monday’s day off should not be a day off, but a “day on.” I love the idea of using this time to contribute to a community with one’s family or friends in a simple way.

When I consider Martin Luther King and his legacy, I cannot help but also think his assassination. In total, his hope, his dream for a better country, and thus, his legacy is intertwined with the violence and injustice of his murder. His message and his untimely death encourage a complex and serious reflection. On his holiday, we tend to focus on his famous speech, his impact on all people, and his fight for socio-economic equality, but not necessarily the impact of his assassination, although it frames our celebration and is in the forefront of our minds as we recall lines from “I Have a Dream.” What does it say when someone with such clarity in his vision, someone who is giving, powerful in voice, significant in impact, is gunned down? When we reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy, we must look at it in total and, I think, recommit ourselves to our own social justice efforts.

What can you do on Monday? Click here.

All the best,

Ruth

Please check out our Winter Sports Schedule and join us at a home game!

January 15, 2007- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday observed. School Closed.
January 16, 2007- High School Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration assembly, 1:00 PM, PAC
January 16, 2007-High School Parent Rep meeting, 6:30 PM, Room 13. Meeting about Tuition Increase with Michel de Konkoly Thege, Director of Finance and Operations, 6:30 PM, Cafeteria.
January 25, 2007-Parents of children who receive academic support meeting, 6:30 PM.
February, 2007-Black History month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, “Apartment 6D” 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, PAC

Academic Calendar

Jan. 31-Interims due, 8:30 AM (students earning B- and below; Arts)
Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM

This Week’s Attachments and Announcements:

1. Meeting About Tuition Increase and 2007-2008 Budget

Michel de Konkoly Thege, Director of Finance and Operations, will give presentations to the LREI community concerning the planned tuition increase and overall budget for the 2007-2008 school year. These presentations will take place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, January 16 in the Charlton Street cafeteria and at 8:00 and 8:45 am on Wednesday, January 24 in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. All parents and other members of the LREI community are invited to attend and ask questions.

2. Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student’s progress in any given class. Thank you.

3. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access.