Summer Reading
Guest blog from Stacy Dillon, Lower School Librarian–
Dear Families,
It’s that time of year again. It’s hard to believe, but it’s time to start thinking about summer reading! Our Spring Book Fair is taking place Thursday May 20th and Friday May 21st, and you and your child(ren) will be able to pick up some books that are full of appeal to young readers! Please keep in mind that the lists that the librarians provide are not “must-reads” rather they are “can-reads.”
Lower School parents will find 5 lists to choose from for their children. Jesse designs the “Early Childhood” reading list for ultimate enjoyment for our youngest students. Stacy designs the First through Fourth Grade Reading Lists with the wide range of readers at LREI in mind. There are books on all of the lists for independent reading, for sharing, and for reading aloud. Our lists are simply suggestions of titles with some or all of the following qualities: they are reflective of the LREI community, they are ALA award winners, they are classics, they are stand outs in their genres, they are quality read aloud titles, they have been suggested by classroom teachers.
Helpful Hints
Since we do not want summer reading to become arduous, here are some suggestions from your librarians and classroom teachers to help make summer reading fun instead of frustrating.
- Sit down with your child to map out summer reading. Which titles will your child read independently? Which will you read together?
- If your child is becoming frustrated with a particular book, try to find out what is going on. Is it too difficult for independent reading? If it is, take the opportunity to make that title a read aloud.
- Feel free to drop a title. If your child is not enjoying a book simply for plot reasons, choose another book! Not every book is made for every child.
- Don’t leave summer reading until the last week of August. Reading should happen throughout the days of summer.
- Don’t feel too tied to our lists. There are many opportunities for summer reading out there. Check out the public libraries where your family will be during the summer. New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queen’s Borough Public Library all have summer reading lists and summer reading programs in which your children can participate.
- Create your own summer reading lists. Have your child come up with 5 or so books that s/he wants to read this summer. Set some goals, and read together!
- Take reading outside. There is no reason to be cooped up inside…books are portable! Have a reading picnic in a local park.
- Have a book swap. Summer play-dates can be reading themed. Have your child swap some well-loved books with their friends.
- Start a book club. Get together with friends and choose some books to read together. Then meet up to have a book discussion over snacks!
- Always carry some books with you! If you are stuck in traffic, end up waiting somewhere, or have a moment, hand your child a book. This helps to solidify the culture of the reading family.
As always, please see your librarians or your child’s teacher if you have any questions about book titles or reading choices.
Thanks,
Stacy
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LETTERS FROM LOWER SCHOOL TEACHERS
Vonick & Randi’s 3rd Grade: Please click here for our letter.
Dot & Becka’s 3rd Grade: Please click here for this week’s updates!
Kate & Maren’s 4th Grade: Please click here for our letter on social narratives.
Dina & Jessi’s 4th Grade: Click here for our newsletter!
To All Fourth Grade Families:
We can’t wait to share our Lower East Side Musical with you on Wednesday, May 19th at 9:00 a.m. (immediately following the “What to Expect in 5th Grade” meeting at 8:00). The performance will last approximately one hour, with a reception to follow. See you there!
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UPCOMING LOWER SCHOOL MEETINGS & EVENTS
For the most up-to-date information visit the school’s online calendar at www.lrei.org/calendar. Click here to download the one-page 2009-10 school calendar.
5/14 What to Expect in Fourth Grade, 8:45 a.m. in the 6th Avenue Cafeteria.
5/19 What to Expect in Fifth Grade, 8:00 a.m. in the 6th Avenue Cafeteria. Immediately following this meeting, please head up for the Fourth Grade Assembly, featuring their Immigration Musical!
5/20 – 21 The Annual LRE Spring Book Fair is coming up on May 20 – 21! As usual, the book selection for this fair is based on the summer reading lists put together by the faculty and librarians. The lists will be posted online at http://lrei.org/libres/sr.html before the fair starts, so please check them with your kids to plan out some great summer reading! Incoming 4th-graders have reading requirements; these will be noted on the lists, or you can check with your kids’ teachers. Please click here for the poster with more information.
5/27 Spring Concert
5/28 Field Day — School closes at 1 p.m.; no Afterschool on this date.
5/31 School closed for Memorial Day
6/4 – 6/6 LREI Camping Trip: Sign-up tables will be in front of the Sixth Avenue building on the mornings of Tuesday,May 11 and Thursday, May 27. It’s time for the 17th Annual LREI Camping Trip, which will take place the weekend of June 4-6 this year at the Riverbend Group Campground along the Delaware River. Swimming, hiking, games, fishing, bird-watching & S’mores! All LREI families and their children — from all grades pre-K through high school — are invited to participate. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help out, please contact Larry White at LWhite@stern.nyu.edu or (212) 533-1966.
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LOWER SCHOOL END OF YEAR CLASS PICNICS
5/17 Rebecca’s 1st Grade
5/18 Tasha’s 2nd Grade
5/19 Gina’s 1st Grade
5/24 Luise’s Kindergarten
5/26 Penny’s 1st Grade
6/2 Elizabeth’s Kindergarten
6/7 Diane’s Fours-K
6/8 Beth’s Fours
6/9 Kate’s 4th Grade
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LOWER SCHOOL ASSEMBLIES
All Movement Assemblies are held in the P.A.P.A.S. (on the Fourth Floor) at 8:45 a.m.
5/19 4th Grade Lower East Side Musical, 9 – 10 a.m. in the P.A.P.A.S.
5/26 Kindergarten Movement Assembly
6/2 4s & Movement Assembly
6/3 4s-K Movement Assembly
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UPCOMING PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
5/14 Literary Committee Meeting
5/17 Multi Cultural Committee Meeting
5/18 LS POCOC Meeting
5/19 Parent SEED Meeting
5/24 Red is Green Committee
5/27 Adoption Committee Meeting
5/28 Literary Committee Meeting
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
From Phil Kassen, Director —
Last week there was a front page article in the New York Times conerning the ERB test for admission to Pre-K and Kindergarten programs and the fact that some schools are considering dropping the test as an admissions requirement. Below are links to the article and to a letter to the editor that I wrote in response to the article that was printed on Wednesday.
A Test Parents Fear and Loathe Loses Luster in Private Schools
Best,
Phil
For next year PA interested parents:
Spring is here, so we are starting to plan for the next school year. The PA would like to let you know the many ways you can participate. Becoming a parent rep is a great way to get involved. If you have not been a parent rep before but would like to try it or find out more about it, please let us know. We would be happy to talk to you more about what the job entails. In the meantime, you can look at the Family Handbook, page 36 (link on our website www.LREI.org) for the Parent Rep Guidelines. Of course, until the classes are actually made up for next year (mid-August or so), we cannot match parent reps to classes.
If you’re looking for other ways to get involved, you could consider volunteering for any of our PA committees; please click here for the list. Also in the Family Handbook (p. 38), is a list of the co-chairs of the PA committees if you would like to contact them for more information.
Please email us at PA-Presidents@lrei.org if you would like to get involved.
Thank you,
Regina Trumbull and Kim Hostler