The Beginning of the End
Dear Families,
It is surprising how quickly it happens, but the long ending of the school year has started. Signaled by the first lower school potluck earlier this week, or maybe it was the middle school Performing Arts Showcase last week (a great new event), and culminating with the school’s 65th commencement exercises in June, the end is beginning. Between now and then, when the ending ends, we will host 14 lower school potlucks, the middle school musical (tomorrow evening, Saturday afternoon and evening), senior project presentations, the senior banquet, MS and HS awards ceremonies, the fourth grade immigration play, the Spring Concert, field day, Stir the Pot (buy your tickets now) and the Afterschool share and instrumental concert, among others. I encourage you to make time not only for your child’s events but also for events that sound interesting, maybe featuring students in another division. This is a great way to see what is going on at LREI.
One event that took place this week and that was a very big deal in the life of the School was this past Monday’s High School Ribbon Cutting—a small ceremony for the high school students and faculty inaugurating our newly enlarged high school campus. After some thoughtful words from Ruth Jurgensen, high school principal, and Michael Patrick ’71, Board Chair, the ribbon was cut and the students streamed into our newly expanded facility. They were so excited! Maybe it was the beautiful cake provided by the PA, but I like to think that it was the new classrooms, the student lounge and the courtyard. A very exciting morning indeed. However, I think that the next day may have been even more exciting. The hoopla was over and, from the student lounge to the new seminar room, the students had made the building their own. In one day we went from brand new to well used. Fantastic! Stay tuned for information about an all LREI Ribbon Cutting event—coming soon!
As with the new high school spaces, in the midst of all of the big events of the season, I encourage you to keep your eye on the day-to-day, the “regular.” While the big moments are exciting, and I surely don’t want to minimize their importance, the day-to-day learning, hard work, struggle and success continue to be our main focus. So, while you are finding time to be with children at big moments be sure to ask them about the journey that took them there. These will truly be things of which to be proud.
Best,
Phil
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LETTERS FROM LOWER SCHOOL TEACHERS
Danielle & Anne’s Fours: Please click here for this week’s updates, and here for our latest photo album, “Danielle & Anne’s April/May Photos!”
Diane & Charles’ Fours-K: Please click here for our May letter.
Elizabeth & Stephanie’s Kindergarten: Click here for some spring updates!
Dot & Becka’s 3rd Grade: Please click here for this week’s letter.
A note to all Fourth Grade Families, from Stacy, Lower School Librarian: National Poetry Month is celebrated throughout the month of April, and in 4th grade library last week, we created spine poems. Poets create spine poems by stacking books and using their titles for the lines. There are many challenges o this type of poetry. We talked about the fact that we can’t add any “extra” words to make our poems make a different kind of sense. We talked about trying to find a theme to the titles to create our poems. We also talked about being flexible in our ideas and facing the fact that there may not be a book with the exact title that we have in our minds! Please click here to view a flickr slideshow of our poems – and ask your 4th grader which one(s) he or she created!
A note to all Fourth Grade Families, from Ann, Lower School Art Teacher: Your children are invited to come to a Knitting Workshop on Thursday, May 13, from 8 – 8:30 a.m. to finish their knitted squares for the fourth grade gift to the school. This is particularly important for children who have not yet finished their square. It’s been exciting to see your children discover knitting! I look forward to seeing your fourth grader at the next knitting workshop.
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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.
5/7 Grandparents and Special Friends Day. We are looking forward to a day of fun classroom visits! The following are updated schedules of the day: please click here for the morning schedule (fours through first grade families), and click here for the afternoon schedule (second through fourth grade).
5/7 – 5/8 Middle School Musical: Travel back to the legendary days of ancient China with this stage adaption of Disney’s Mulan. This is a heartwarming celebration of culture, honor and a fighting spirit. Come see the middle school musical, with an outstanding set, Beautiful costumes, action, singing and dancing. This production is sure to delight your sense and guarantees a wonderful family night out. Tickets are on sale in the Sixth Avenue lobby from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. on Monday, May 3rd and all week. Directed by Joanne Magee; Musical Director, Matthew McLean; Choreographer, Peggy Peloquin. Please click here for the poster with more details!
5/13 Stir the Pot: Taste of the Future — Thursday, May 13th at 6:00 p.m., Charlton Street. Please click here for more information.
5/13 What to Expect in Third Grade, 8:45 a.m. in the 6th Avenue Cafeteria.
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!
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
5/10 Danielle’s Fours
5/11 Dina’s 4th Grade
5/12 Colleen’s 2nd Grade
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 Lower School Music Assemblies are held in our Auditorium at 8:45 a.m., and all Movement Assemblies are held in the P.A.P.A.S. (on the Fourth Floor) at 8:45 a.m.
5/12 3rd Grade Music Assembly
5/19 4th Grade Music Assembly
5/26 Kindergarten Movement Assembly
6/2 4s & Movement Assembly
6/3 4s-K Movement Assembly
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UPCOMING PARENT ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
5/7 Literary Committee Meeting
5/11 Stir the Pot Committee Meeting
5/12 Stir the Pot Committee Meeting
5/14 Literary Committee Meeting
5/17 Multi Cultural Committee Meeting
5/18 LS POCOC Meeting
5/19 Parent SEED Meeting
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
The GLASS MENAGERIE, LREI’s resident adult chorus, conducted by Susan Glass, will hold their annual spring concert this Saturday, May 8th, 8 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Church, 6th Avenue and Washington Place.
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
From the Art Auction… Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Art Auction a rounding success! There are still some pieces of art for sale so please visit http://artauction.lrei.org/ for additional information and to view items that are available. Additionally, there are still tickets available for two exciting events coming up this spring — click here for more details!
From Red is Green Committee:Cork comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. While it is a renewable resource, it takes a long time to harvest (25 years for the first harvest, 9 years thereafter). We recycle corks either by fulfilling teacher demand for them, or sending them to Terracycle, who turns them into products like cork boards. Drop off all used corks – natural or synthetic, wine or champagne. Drop off corks in the Red is Green bins in the Sixth Ave. or Charlton St. lobbies through the month of April. April’s recycle drive is… Corks.