A Year in a Night

Dear Families:

It was a pleasure to see so many of you this week at Curriculum Night. As I mentioned in my opening remarks that evening, the Middle School faculty is truly an exceptional group of professionals and I have no doubt that you found their presentations to be informative and inspiring. While Curriculum Night affords you an albeit too brief glance into what goes on each day in the Middle School, I do encourage you to read through the curriculum guide that was included in your folders as it provides a clear overview of the Middle School program.

I also hope that you will use Curriculum Night as an opportunity to talk with your child about his or her impressions of the Middle School so far this year. There is an opportunity here for a rich dialog about the curriculum itself and its relationship to your child’s strengths and areas of challenge as a learner and as an adolescent. What ideas have already captured their imagination? On what goals are they working?

I also hope that you will spend some time reviewing our new format for the progress reports and the accompanying year-long subject area skills. This work represents substantial effort on the part of the middle school faculty and is also the result of the thoughtful feedback that you provided to us last year. The purpose for this new format is to make the assessment and evaluation process more transparent and better aligned with our progressive values. If you have any questions about these new reports, do not hesitate to contact me.

For those of you who were unable to attend Curriculum Night, your child should have brought home a folder that contained some of the materials given out on Tuesday night. Curriculum Night provides an opportunity to view the Middle School through a wide-angle lens that takes in the full spectrum of the essential questions that drive our work with your children; Family Conferences, which are scheduled for Friday, November 15th (half day) and Friday, November 17th (full day), provide a lens that allow you to better focus on your child’s experience and progress. Sign-up sheets for conferences with core teachers will be posted outside of their classrooms and sign-up sheets for conferences with specialist teachers will posted on the bulletin board outside of my office in the next few weeks. I will let you know when these sign-up sheets are posted. If you feel that there are issues that you would like to address with your child’s teachers before the Family Conferences, please contact them directly.

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:
Sample Progress Report
Year-Long Skills
Middle School Play Letter/Contract
Parents in Action Flyer
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Seventh Grade Math Unit
Williamsburg Trip Payment Forms
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .

1) From Middle School play director Julia Collura: This week at Middle School meeting, I announced this year’s Middle School double-feature play, which will include:

Afraid of the Dark – A Mystery Farce by James Reach
Chauncey and Lillums Stone arrive one June night at “Stone Mansion” to spend their two-week honeymoon. “Stone Mansion “ is an isolated country estate which has been lent to them by Chauncey’s Aunt Alberta, and is supposed to be unoccupied. Chauncey has a confession to make to Lillums: he owns up that, ever since his childhood he has been “afraid of the dark” and has never been able to overcome this childish phobia. No sooner has he unburdened himself, when the lights go out and they are plunged into darkness! When the lights go on again, the astounded couple find themselves surrounded by fantastic characters in the supposedly deserted house, and they are plunged willy-nilly into the e midst of a spy plot – but a spy plot with a difference…

The Hitch-Hiker (a radio play) by Lucille Fletcher
The tale of Ronald Adams, an average motorist, who sets out to drive from Brooklyn to California and who early on his journey begins to encounter a strange and inexplicable hitch-hiker. His efforts to explain, then avoid, and finally destroy the constantly appearing figure along the highway carry him through several episodes and many states until the adventure finally culminates in an amazing and terrifying climax in New Mexico. (The Hitch-Hiker was written for Orson Welles in the days when he was one of the master producers and actors in radio)

The performances are December 8th at 7:00PM and December 9th at 2:00PM and 7:00PM. Please read the attached letter and contract for information about the production schedule. Please note that if your child is interested in auditioning for the play, a parent/guardian must attend the meeting on Tuesday, October 3rd from 8:00-8:30AM, and your child must attend a meeting during IWP on that same date.

2) From the PA Co-Presidents–Thank you to all who have completed the parent survey for LREI’s 10-year reaccreditation process. Your responses are very helpful to us as we prepare the Parent Association’s section of the self-study. By popular request, we will continue to accept responses through the end of the month. The survey can be accessed at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=11362252235

3) Just a reminder that Coffee Pond Photography will be with us on Monday, October 16th to take individual and class pictures (in case fo inclement weather, the pictures will be taken on Monday, October 23rd). After the pictures are taken, you will receive a proofs and an order form in the mail. To get the best portrait of your child, please make sure that they are dressed appropriately on Portrait Day. If you have specific questions about the ordering process, you can contact Coffee Pond Photography at lifeguards@coffeepond.com or by phone at 1-800-632-2323 extension 0.

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

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. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2006-2007 calendar. You can also access their on-line calendar of events at www.parentsinaction.org.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) High School tours for eighth grade families are scheduled for Wednesday, October 11th and Wednesday, October 18th at 9AM. Also, the High School Open Houses are scheduled for Thursday, October 12th and Tuesday, October 24th. Both Open Houses will start at 6:30PM. If you would like to make a reservation for one of the Open House nights or one of the tours, please contact Director of Admissions Samantha Caruth (scaruth@lrei.org or at extension 305). If you are unable to make one of these times, please contact Director of Admissions Samantha Caruth at scaruth@lrei.org or at extension 305. Samantha can sign you up for one of the general high school admissions tours or she can schedule you for a tour at some other time that is more convenient for you. Finally, if you have any questions about the high school program, please contact Ruth (rjurgensen@lrei.org or at extension 303) who will be glad to answer your questions.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Before you know it, students will be packing and hitting the road for the annual seventh grade trip to Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia, which is scheduled for the week of October 23rd. The attached form provides important information about payment for the trip. Next week, you will receive additional information about the itinerary and packing suggestions. A parent meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 18th at 8:00AM.

3) Please read the attached letter from seventh grade math teacher Michelle Boehm about the new math unit.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) On Wednesday, October 4th, the Downtown Independent Schools Committee (DISC) will gather for our annual Field Day at the East River Playing Fields. Sixth graders from LREI will participate in a variety of games and athletic events with students from Village Community School, Grace Church School, Friends, City and Country, and St. Luke’s School. The students will leave at 11:00AM and have a picnic lunch at 11:30AM. The field day activities will begin at 12:30PM and will finish around 2:00PM. We should return to the Sixth Avenue building by about 3:00PM. We expect all sixth graders to participate in this event. The class will travel to and from the playing fields by bus.
In preparation for this event, students should dress appropriately for the weather. It can be quite windy as the playing fields are on the River. A jacket or sweatshirt will be important. Hats, water bottles, sunglasses, etc. are recommended. The students will need to bring a lunch on this day. Please keep the school’s Nut and Seed Policy in mind as you prepare this lunch. Students should not bring glass bottles. This is an exciting day for sixth graders. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

2) The sixth grade will visit the Cloisters museum on Wednesday, October 18th. We will be participating in the “Medieval Artist” tour. This will provide a great introduction to the art and techniques of the middle ages (how artists worked, what kinds of techniques and materials they used, etc), as well as give a historical overview of this time period in European history.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Pictures from the trip to Greenkill can be viewed at http://lrei.emptyfortunecookie.com/ms/.

Middle School Sports
Schedules, permission forms and general information about Middle School sports programs can be found at http://www.lrei.org/athletics/index.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)

  • Monday, October 9, 2006 — Columbus Day – School Closed
  • Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 6:30PM — Diversity and Community Evening
  • Wednesday, October 11, 2006 — Eighth Grade HS Tour
  • Thursday, October 12, 2006 6:30PM — HS Open House
  • Monday, October 16, 2006 — Photo Day (raindate Monday, October 23, 2006)
  • Tuesday, October 17, 2006, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Wednesday, October 18, 2006 – Sixth Grade to the Cloisters
  • Wednesday, October 18, 2006 — Eighth Grade HS Tour
  • Thursday, October 19, 2006, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Meeting
  • Saturday, October 21, 2006, 7:00PM — Coffeehouse
  • Monday, October 23, 2006, 8:00AM — Seventh Grade to Williamsburg (return on Friday, October 27, 2006)
  • Tuesday, October 24, 2006 — HS Minimester (through Thursday, October 26, 2006)
  • Tuesday, October 24, 2006, 6:30PM — HS Open House
  • Sunday, October 29, 2006 — Halloween Fair
  • Tuesday, October 31, 2006 — Fifth Grade to the Met (Ancient Near Eastern Art)
  • Friday, November 3, 2006 — MS-End of 1st Quarter
  • Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 12:15PM — MS Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • Thursday, November 16, 2006, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
  • Friday, November 17, 2006, 8:30AM — MS Parent-Teacher Conferences (MS closed)
  • Monday, November 20, 2006 — Irwin Scholars Application due
  • Tuesday, November 21, 2006, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Wednesday, November 22, 2006 — Thanksgiving-School closes at 12:00PM (school reopens on Monday, 27, 2006)
  • Friday, December 1, 2006, 7:00PM — Seventh Grade DISC Dance 40 CHST
  • Monday, December 4, 2006 — Book Week (through Friday, November 8, 2006)
  • Wednesday, December 6, 2006 — Book Fair (through Friday November 8, 2006)
  • Thursday, December 7, 2006, 7:00PM — Literary Evening
  • Friday, December 8, 2006, 7:00PM — MS Play
  • Saturday, December 9, 2006, 2:00PM and 7:00PM — MS Play
  • Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 8:15AM — MS Parent Rep. Mtg.
  • Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 6:00PM — Seventh Grade Colonial Museum
  • Thursday, December 14, 2006, 6:00PM — Winter Concert
  • Thursday, December 14, 2006, 6:00PM — MS POCOC Mtg.
  • Friday, December 15, 2006 — Winter Break – School closes at 12:00PM (school reopens on Wednesday, January 3, 2007)

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

Be well,
Mark

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