Pictures Come to Life

In this historic office, where I am so fortunate to be, where the name of Elisabeth Irwin is carved in an old oval sign above the doorway (it really is, come and see!), there are books and books and books on education filling my bookshelves. One of them is called The Block Book. Many of you may have noticed the array of blocks in our classrooms, especially in the youngest grades. The book is filled with chapters that give advice and examples to teachers: Learning Through Play, The Art of Block Building, The Block Builder Mathematician, Social Studies Through Block Building, and the like. It is also filled with black and white photos of children working on elaborate block constructions.

To my delight, the pictures in the The Block Book sprang to life this week. In every classroom, introductory activities are giving way in this third full week of school to the real stuff. Rich experiences for learning are blossoming and routines are strengthening into the rhythms of the day. Birthdays are celebrated in classrooms; students march about with clipboards recording where all the recycling bins are or where they notice people in the neighborhood reading; and pies are being baked with fruit from the farmer’s market. In kindergarten, the children were building amazing things with blocks! They worked as a team, they noticed when something was ‘about to fall’, they solved problems of balance, their imaginations led them to make castles, and tall buildings, and secret hidden entrances! Just like the children in the book, our kindergartners were learning through play, through open-ended thinking, and by doing directly with their hands. Below are just a couple of the magic moments.

– Namita

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WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

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School Photos: School Picture Day is coming up! Coffee Pond Photography will be taking individual portraits of each student and each class. Your child’s pictures will be taken on 10/6/08 (in case of inclement weather, pictures will be taken on 10/27). Portraits will be taken indoors in case of inclement weather. After photo day, you will receive proofs in the mail directly from Coffee Pond and you may choose which photograph you like best. All orders must be placed online using the Coffee Pond website after photo day. To geth the best photo of your child, please make sure they are dressed appropriately that day. If you have any questions, you can email Coffee Pond at lifeguards@coffeepond.com or call 800.635.2323 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.

 

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Acclaimed author T.A. Barron will be visiting LREI on Monday, September 29th to introduce Merlin’s Dragon, the first book in his new trilogy. After speaking with the sixth grade, Mr. Barron will be available to meet, speak with, and sign books for all students and parents from 3:15-4:15PM in the Sixth Avenue library. Orders for books must be placed in advance through the linked payment form and informational flyer (http://lrei.org/pdf/TA_Barron.pdf).

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Childcare for upcoming curriculum nights:
Fours through 1st grade – Thursday, October 2nd
2nd through 4th grade – Tuesday, October 7th
Childcare will be available at the usual fee of $15 per child and $5 for siblings. If you require childcare for either evening you must signup on the sheets at the reception desk. The will be a sheet for each evening. You can also email Mary Shea (mshea-at-lrei.org) no later than Monday, September 29th. Please remember that when you arrive you must sign your child in and when leaving you must sign out. Pizza and Juice will be served.

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From Phil: LREI participates in a voluntary program under which we have agreed to reduce our energy consumption when peak energy requirements may place extreme demands on the system. In preparation for an actual event of this kind, we are required to reduce energy consumption in exercises (not real events) that take place twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. As you may have heard from your children, today we participated in such an exercise. From 11:00AM-12:00PM we turned off as many lights, computers and other electronic devices/appliances as possible. All seems to have gone smoothly.

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Notes from the recent Parent Rep meeting can be read here (0925-PAmtgNotes); the next meeting will be held on October 16 at 8:45AM.

 

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UPCOMING PARENT MEETINGS & EVENTS

  • 9/30: Rosh Hashanah, School Closed
  • 10/1, 8AM: Asian American Families Breakfast
  • 10/2, 8AM: Third grade Parent Farm Trip Meeting
  • 10/2, 8:45AM: LGSA meeting
  • 10/2, 6PM: Fours – First grade Curriculum Night
  • 10/6: LS/MS Photo Day
  • 10/7, 6PM: Second – Fourth grade Curriculum Night
  • 10/9: Yom Kippur, School Closed
  • 10/10: Professional Day – School Closed
  • 10/13: Columbus Day – School Closed
  • For an up-to-date, searchable all school calendar, please visit www.lrei.org/calendar

 

 

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LOWER SCHOOL NOTES & ATTACHMENTS
(click on the links below to view and print information from teachers and specialists.)

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