It takes a village . . .

Dear Families:

One of the things that impresses me about the Middle School faculty is the daily commitment that each faculty member makes to get to know your child as a learner and as a person. This allows each teacher to think about how to best support the students in his or her class and to design learning experiences that challenge each student in meaningful ways. This depth of understanding plays itself out most obviously through individual student-teacher relationships, but is supported by a collegial and reflective team approach to all matters concerning curriculum and kids.

As we approach Family Conferences and students and teachers think about progress made and areas of strength and challenge, I thought that it would be useful to speak a bit about how, as a team, the Middle School Faculty supports your children. On a regular basis, grade-level teams meet to discuss students and to explore how we can best meet individual needs in the context of the larger learning community. The grade-level team consists of teachers, learning specialists, advisors, a dean, the school psychologist, and the principal. In grade-level meetings, the team seeks to develop the most complete picture of a student and to do this it draws on the collective experience of those who work with the student. This “portraiture” through multiple perspectives opens the door to the development of innovative strategies that draw on the lived experience of each of the student’s many student-teacher relationships. These discussions, while not only useful for addressing issues relevant to a particular student, often generalize to approaches and strategies that benefit a whole group of students. This leads to a deeper and richer educational experience for all students.

In many schools, the involvement of learning specialists and school psychologists on grade-level, or support teams, is reserved for students who have been identified as “in crisis.” At LREI, these individuals play an active role in all discussions. Their input is important as it provides another lens through which we can explore how to best meet an individual student’s needs. Beyond being members of the team, they are active members of the Middle School community who make deep and lasting connections with students and who view their work in terms of the shared needs of our learning community.

Each of you will have conferences with a number of teachers next week. It is important to also keep in mind the many individuals with whom you may not speak who, on a daily basis, help to support your child as part of a team that is committed to his or her success.

Family Conferences are scheduled for Friday, November 4th (full day) and Friday, November 11th (half day). Sign-up sheets for conferences with core teachers are posted outside of their classrooms and sign-up sheets for conferences with specialist teachers are posted on the bulletin board outside of my office.

This Week’s Attachments
(Click on the links below to open the attachments. If you are having trouble opening the links, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.)

General:
Letter From Phil Kassen – Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
Halloween Fair
PA Community Service Committee Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:
Math Update

1) Please see Director Phil Kassen’s letter on the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts at LREI. Pictures from last week’s Benefit Concert to Aid the Victims of Hurricane Katrina can be viewed at http://www.lrei.org/whoweare/KB/. For information about LREI’s other efforts to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina please go to http://www.lrei.org/whoweare/katrina.html. For additional service opportunities, please see the attached calendar from the PA Community Service Committee.

2) Middle School drama teacher Julia Collura is pleased to announce that this year’s Middle School play will be The Arabian Nights. A pre-audition meeting for sixth-eighth graders (fifth graders will be able to assist with the technical aspects of the play) will take place on Tuesday, November 8th after school. Auditions will take place on Wednesday, November 9th and Thursday, November 10th. More information from Julia will be forthcoming.

3) Don’t Miss the Halloween Fair! This Sunday, October 30th from 1:30pm-4:30pm at St. Anthony’s Gym, 143 Thompson Street (between Houston & Prince) There is still a need for volunteers to help run ghostly games, creepy crafts and the haunted maze. Please sign up in the Sixth Avenue lobby or contact PamDalton@aol.com or ZedPicayo@aol.com. For those who want to help set up and decorate, please come to St. Anthony’s Gym on Saturday, October 29th from 10am to 6pm. Childcare will be available. Don’t miss the fun! See the attached flyer for additional information. Any Middle School students who are interested in volunteering to help at the fair can sign up on the sheet that is posted on the Community Service bulletin board.

4) From the PA Community Service Committee: As a school community effort, LREI is again collecting money for UNICEF during the Halloween season. Those handy recognizable UNICEF boxes have already been distributed by your child’s classroom teacher (sixth and seventh graders can pick up boxes at the reception desk). Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, is a Halloween tradition beloved by generations, and one of America’s longest-running youth volunteer activities. The funds collected enables kids to help save and improve the lives of their most vulnerable peers around the globe. Let’s see how we can collectively give…(last year it was nearly $800).PLEASE HAVE ALL money returned to the your child’s classroom teacher by Thursday November 3rd. Further information about UNICEF is at: http://www.unicefusa.org/

5)LREI is a member of NYC-Parents in Action (NYC-PIA). NYC-PIA provides parenting education, information and a communications network to help parents prepare their children and teenagers to cope with social pressures and to make sound choices towards a future free of alcohol and drug abuse. You can access their on-line calendar of events at www.parentsinaction.org. Two upcoming seminars that may be of interest to Middle School families are: Wednesday, November 16th – Independence: Holding On and Letting Go; and Wednesday, December 7th – Independence in Middle School: Safety, Self Reliance and Risk Taking.

For 8th Grade Families . . .
1) Each year LREI offers scholarships to incoming ninth graders who demonstrate exceptional accomplishment and promise in the areas of scholarship, citizenship, leadership and service in their time at LREI. LREI is an exciting place to go to high school. LREI challenges students to be their best selves – academically, socially and personally. Irwin Scholars are expected to be exemplary members of the community. Students are considered for Irwin Scholarships on the basis of:

  • Commitment to academic excellence;
  • Meaningful contributions to the governance and social life of the School; and
  • Contributions to the school’s Community Service Program.

During their time at the High School, Irwin Scholars are expected to be leaders in the classroom, in extracurricular activities and in service both inside and outside the LREI community. Irwin Scholars are often class reps and/or members of the Community Service Roundtable. In addition, they are often asked to participate in the Fall Open Houses, lead tours and/or host visiting students, talk in both formal and informal settings to current eighth graders about the High School, and perform other ambassadorial duties as they arise. Information about the application process, including important dates, will be included in next week’s update.

2) The schedule of boys and girls basketball games is on-line at http://lrei.org/athletics/at_4b.html. Practices will start the week of November 7th. The practice schedules for the team will be forthcoming.

For 7th Grade Families . . .
1) The schedule of boys and girls basketball games is on-line at http://lrei.org/athletics/at_4b.html. Practices will start the week of November 21st. The practice schedules for the team will be forthcoming.

For 6th Grade Families . . .
1) No updates this week.

For 5th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached math update from math teacher Ana Chaney.

2) Fifth Grade Chorus – Helen will have an extra chorus rehearsals to make up for the one missed due to holidays. This will be after school on Monday, November 21st and will end at 4:00PM.

Middle School Sports
Schedules and general information about Middle School sports programs can be found at http://lrei.org/athletics/at_4b.html. Information is also available through the LREI Sports Hotline at 212.477.5316 x 494.

Looking Ahead . . .
On the LREI web site additional information about upcoming events can be found at http://www.lrei.org/caleven/index.html (the middle school events page can be found at http://www.lrei.org/midschool/Events.html)

  • Wednesday, November 2nd — Eighth Grade to view the Slavery in New York exhibit at the New York Historical Society.
  • Thursday, November 3rd, 8:00AM — Lesbian/Gay/ Straight Alliance Meeting in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria.
  • Friday, November 4th, 8:30AM-3:30PM — School is closed for Family Conferences
  • Friday, November 11th, 12:10PM- 3:00PM — School closes at noon for Family Conferences
  • Monday, November 14th – Friday, November 18th — Seventh Grade trip to Williamsburg
  • Tuesday, November 15th, 8:15AM — Parent Rep Meeting
  • Thursday, November 17th, 6:00PM — MS Parents of Children of Color Meeting
  • Tuesday, November 22nd — Fifth Grade to the Met
  • Thursday, December 1st, 8:00AM — Lesbian/Gay/ Straight Alliance Meeting in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria.
  • Friday, December 2nd, 7:00PM-9:00PM — Seventh Grade DISC dance. The dance will be held at St. Luke’s School (487 Hudson Street).
  • Monday, December 5th — “Book Week” begins. The Book Fair will take place Wednesday-Friday.
  • Thursday, December 8th — Literary Evening
  • Tuesday, December 13th, 8:15 AM — MS Parent Rep Meeting
  • Thursday, December 15th — Winter Concert
  • Thursday, December 15th — School closes at 12:00PM for Winter Break

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and interesting information – http://www.lrei.org.

Be well,
Mark

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