A Literary Festival

Dear Families:

The energy and attention that daily works its way through the building as students collaborate, discuss, and problem-solve turned itself inward this week as students applied themselves to the challenges of the ERBs. Not surprisingly, students were serious and focused throughout the testing sessions. Those students with whom I spoke felt prepared and confident about their work. On Wednesday afternoon, students participated in our annual Literary Festival. The Festival provides students with an opportunity to explore a range of literary activities and provides a nice change of pace for students during what can be a stressful week. This year’s workshops, which are listed below, reflected a rich menu of literary opportunities that had students writing, editing, interviewing, designing, and composing. Here is the list:

Picture Books and Children’s Literature (with Matthew Rosen). Matthew Rosen, former editor, talked about writing and how picture books are produced. In the second half of the session, students had the opportunity to create their own picture books.

Booktalking (with Jennifer Hubert Swan). Want to find a more dynamic way to tell someone, “You’ve got to read this book!”? Jen, the Queen of the Book Talk, helped students to uncover the joys of reading for others.

Found Poetry (with Heather Brandstetter) Students explored the streets of New York and found the poetry that is there everyday. It was a fascinating poetry-finding adventure!

Poetry Writing (with Deborah Landau). Students experienced the pleasures of writing poetry. In this hands-on workshop, published poet, Deborah Landau, talked about her writing process, shared some of her poems, and helped studentsto write poems of their own. Students went home with two new poems-in-progress.

Interviewing the Stars (with Jeannie Park and Peter Castro). Students joined Executive Editors Jeannie Park and Peter Castro from People Magazine and learned the art of interviewing. Peter was fresh off this year’s Grammys and gave students real-life interviewing examples not only from the Grammys, but from the many celebrities he has interviewed over the years as well.

Writing Poetry from Everyday Objects (with Alan Herman). Is all poetry filled with fancy language and confusing subjects? Can it be about something mundane, something “everyday”? In this workshop students read poetry that dealt with universal feelings, but which did so simply. They then wrote their own poetry about an everyday object or subject.

Who the Heck Are You?? (with Dennis Kitchen). Ever wonder who that person is you see wandering around the building? You know they work here, but you’re not quite sure what they do. In this workshop, students were outfitted with a camera and then “hunted” these people down, snapped their picture and then interviewed them. Dennis Kitchen shared interviewing techniques and helped students to create a fascinating bio on that person they thought they knew, but not really….

Bookmaking Workshop (with Melissa Rubin) Come prepared to create your very own hardcover book. Students had fun creating journals, poetry books, sketch books and any other kind of book they could imagine.

Writing From What Influences You (with Charles Hassell). All writers are influenced by other writers, and sometimes writers purposely try to emulate the work of others whom they admire. In this workshop, students read the poetry that has influenced Charles and thought about the writers who influence them. Each student left the workshop with at least one poem that they’d written.

The Art of Fiction (with Charis Conn). Ever wonder how a writer goes from looking at the blank page to creating a piece of fiction? In this workshop, students did just that. With the help of writing teacher Charis Conn, they discovered how to develop an idea for a story from a piece of free writing, develop colorful characters and dialogue and write a great piece of fiction.

Playwriting (with Raquel Cion) In this hour long workshop students joined in a facilitated discussion of what constitutes dramatic writing. Students learned about the who, where, what, and how of in constructing scenes. By using tools such as automatic writing, image, and structured writing time students explored character, action, conflict, setting, the building blocks of playwriting. Through this explorations students wrote a “mini-play”. These plays will then be read in class. The class will culminate in a discussion of how to continue writing and creating plays on their own.

Songwriting (with Henry Chapin) In this workshop, students explored the relationship between music and words. Students learned about the craft of songwriting through a guided experience that turned their words on paper into songs.

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:
MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes 2-14-06
Sixth-Eighth Grade Chelsea Piers PE Program
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Colonial Museum
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
ERB Makeups will take place next week. We will try to do most of them on Wednesday. Those students who missed more than one day will need to make the tests up over consecutive days. Makeups will take place during the day. As a result, students making up tests will need to check-in with their teachers regarding any missed work.

1) If you did not get a chance to see The Visibility: Lesbian and Gay People We Love Exhibit in the Sixth Avenue building it will be up from Wednesday, February 22nd, through Friday, March 10th, at the Charlton Street building.

2) From Middle School Dean of Students Gabrielle Keller: Just a reminder that we are in the middle of the Pennies for Patients drive for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The collection ends Friday, February 24th. Thanks.

3) The LREI PA Community Service Committee is once again collecting donations for Room to Grow from Monday, February 13th through Friday, February 17th in the lobby of the Sixth Avenue Building. Use this as away to get your children to get rid of items they are not using. Donations should be anything appropriate for children (newborns to 3 years of age) and in good condition (something you would pass on to a friend or family member). Room to Grow accepts books, clothing, video and music tapes, toys, bedding, strollers, highchairs, swings, baby monitors, baby’s room accessories. They do not accept stuffed animals, recalled items, furniture, diapers, car seats, cribs. If you would like a tax donation receipt please label all your boxes and bags with your name and address. Please hold onto larger items until the last collection day, Thursday, February 16. For more information on the organization and a more detailed list of what they accept/do not accept go to http://www.roomtogrow.org/.

4) From Director of Development Pippa Gerard: Art Auction 2006 – Thanks to all who attended LREI’s Art Auction on February 2, 2006. The Art Auction is an annual silent auction of contemporary fine art. This year’s auction has raised almost $100,000 for the Tuition Assistance Program. Please help us to meet our goal by browsing the work still available – go to the Events section of www.lrei.org. If you see a piece that you are interested in buying, feel free to drop by LREI’s Sixth Avenue Campus (272 Sixth Avenue at Bleecker Street) between 8AM – 5PM, Monday through Friday. You may also call 212.477.5316 ext. 236 to make an appointment. The Big Auction – LREI’s spring benefit, The Big Auction, will be held on Wednesday, April 26. The auction committee needs help in securing donations from the community in order to be able to offer a wide range of items to make the auction exciting for all who attend. We welcome all creative and unique ideas. Please use the attached donation form and return to the Development Office. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss a potential donation, contact Pippa Gerard in the Development Office by phone: 212-477-5316 ext. 236 or email: pgerard@lrei.org.

5) DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY DISCUSSION SERIES:

Part I: March 7, 2006 at 6:00PM
Sixth Avenue Auditorium
Topics:
Introduction of LREI’s Diversity and Community Action Plan.
How to continue diversity conversations at home.
Hosted by: Sharon DuPree, Director of Diversity and Community;
Phil Kassen, Director and the divisional principals.

Part II: Date TBA (will be after Spring Break)
Sixth Avenue Auditorium
Topic: Discussion of Class Lower School and Middle School Class Placement Policy
Hosted by: Phil Kassen, Director,
Elaine Winter Lower School Principal; Mark Silberberg, Middle School Principal;
Sharon DuPree Director of Diversity and Community and Samantha Caruth, Director of Admissions

6) For updates on faculty performances, openings, presentations, and publications visit the Faculty in the News page on the school web site.

7) 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.

8) 92nd St Y Lectures & Conversations: Parenting Perspectives
Kids, Teens and Sex: Tackling the Tough Questions, Robie H. Harris, Thursday, 3/9/06, 8:00pm, Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street

For 8th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Middle School PE teacher Marcus Chang about the upcoming Chelsea Piers program for sixth through eighth graders.

2) A reminder that next tomorrow the eighth grade will go to City Center to participate in the Young People’s Dance Series. Please be sure your child brings a bag lunch (no bottles and no nuts and/or seeds) to school that day.

For 7th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Middle School PE teacher Marcus Chang about the upcoming Chelsea Piers program for sixth through eighth graders.

2) Just a reminder that the Colonial Museum is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1st at 6:30PM. Following the viewing of the Colonial Museum, we will retire to the cafeteria for a colonial inspired pot luck repast. A sign-up sheet will be posted in the lobby.

For 6th Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached letter from Middle School PE teacher Marcus Chang about the upcoming Chelsea Piers program for sixth through eighth graders.

2) Andrew Weiss and I will host a fifth and sixth grade Adolescent Issues Parent Evening on Tuesday, February 28th at 6:30PM. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any topics you’d like to discuss.

3) The Intramural Basketball schedule is on-line at http://lrei.org/athletics/int_bball.html.

For 5th Grade Families . . .
1) Photos of last week’s trip to the Brooklyn Museum to view their Ancient Egyptian collection can be viewed at:http://lrei.emptyfortunecookie.com/ms/ (you need to have flash installed to view).

2) Just a reminder that the Egyptian Tomb event is just around the corner. The tomb will be opened on Thursday, March 16th. Viewing will take place throughout the day. Additional information will be forthcoming.

3) Andrew Weiss and I will host a fifth and sixth grade Adolescent Issues Parent Evening on Tuesday, February 28th at 6:30PM. Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any topics you’d like to discuss.

4) The Intramural Basketball schedule is on-line at http://lrei.org/athletics/int_bball.html.

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, February 22nd – Friday March 10th – Visibility Photo Exhibit at Charlton Street
  • Wednesday, February 22nd – Black History Month Assembly
  • Friday, February 24th, 7:30PM-9:30PM — Eighth Grade DISC dance. The dance will be held at Grace Church School (86 Fourth Avenue)
  • Wednesday, March 1st, 6:00PM – Seventh Grade Colonial Museum Exhibit
  • Thursday, March 2nd, 8:00AM– Lesbian/Gay/ Straight Alliance Meeting in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria
  • Tuesday, March 14th, 8:15AM — Parent Rep Meeting
  • Wednesday, March 15th, 6:00PM – Sixth Grade Medieval Pageant
  • Thursday, March 16th, 8:45AM-3:00PM – Fifth Grade Egyptian Tomb
  • Thursday, March 16th, 6:00PM — Middle School Parents of Children of Color meeting
  • Friday, March 17th – School closes at noon for Spring 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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