Opening Doors
Dear Families,
With the end of the year almost upon us, students in all grades are hard at work on a range of culminating activities. I look forward to seeing all of you in the coming weeks at the various grade level potlucks. These are always wonderful opportunities to celebrate the impressive work that students have done this year and provide an open door through which you can view the richness of their daily school experience.
On the subject of doors, I’d like to share an impressive art project that a group of eighth graders completed quietly and without much fanfare. This year, the whole Middle School has explored the ways in which art can be used as a tool for social and political activism. Through the Paydirt/Fundred Dollar Bill Project, which is still ongoing, we discovered first hand how art and collective action can make a difference. In the same spirit, The Doors of Hope project empowered our students to address civic and social issues through the creation of public art.
As Middle School art teacher Carin Cohen who coordinated our group of artists notes:
This Spring, LREI was asked to participate with Cityarts in the Doors of Hope Project. Emerging from the theme Young Minds Build Bridges, CITYarts created a portable mural consisting of eight doors, painted by students from eight schools in New York, to be given to the kids of New Orleans. The groups of students were each given a standard-size wooden door to paint and asked to think about inspirational messages and images that celebrate nature while raising awareness of global warming. The students were also encouraged to think about and incorporate aspects of their own New York City culture or what they know about New Orleans culture.The students designed the doors specifically with their contemporaries in New Orleans in mind. They were visited by Paul Deo, a professional artist from New Orleans who moved to New York after Katrina. He provided some insight about New Orleans culture as well as sharing some related imagery with the students. Upon completion, the doors were assembled together into a paneled mural. The mural was displayed at CITYarts’ 40th Anniversary Benefit and Awards Ceremony in early May. Following the Benefit, the Doors of Hope panel was sent to the Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans as a gift from the youth of New York City to the youth of New Orleans. The doors and the collective spirit reflected in the work will provide encouragement and support for the children of New Orleans, who are still coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Click on the above images to see the full image.
Congratulations and thanks to eighth graders Maya P-H, Henry, Jack G., Gaia, Brianna, Lilly, David, and Emma for their beautiful work and committed activism.
This Week’s Attachments
General:
PA Officers Ballot
Middle School Supplemental Reading List
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
LREI Camping Trip
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment
Sixth Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment
Williamsburg Trip Registration Form
Fifth Grade:
Summer Reading Assignment and Reading List
Summer Math Assignment
Of General Interest . . .
1) Please join us to thank Dorothy for her many years of service to the students of LREI, June 4th from 3:00 – 4:30PM in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium.
[Click here to download the PDF]
2) Attached is the ballot for electing Parent Association Officers for the 2008-2009 school year. You can print out the attachment or pick up a hard copy of the ballot from the Reception Desk at either the Sixth Avenue or Charlton Street buildings. Ballots need to be returned by Tuesday, June 10th. If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to contact Kasey Picayo or Sharon Fong. Thanks so much for participating in the election.
3) I would again like to thank this year’s Middle School Parent Representatives for their hard work on your behalf in helping to make the Middle School the vibrant learning community that it is. If you are interested in continuing as a rep next year or would like to volunteer to serve as rep for the 2008-2009 school year, please let Kasey Picayo know. You can email Kasey at picayosmith@aol.com.
4) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert: A gentle reminder that Sixth Avenue library will end book circulation on Monday, June 2. This means that no more materials may be checked out from the library so that we can begin shelving and shelf-reading. However, regularly scheduled classes will continue as usual and students, faculty and parents should feel free to use the library space for study and independent reading. Please encourage your students to look for and return any overdue library books that may be hiding in their desks, lockers, closets, backpacks or under the bed. If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s library books, please contact me.
5) Save the date: The 15th annual LREI Camping Trip will be held on the weekend of June 6-8. All LREI families and their children — pre-K through high school — are invited to participate. As in past years, we expect that a good time will be had by all: hiking, swimming, sports, fishing, camping, cooking, eating, singing around the campfire, etc. The site, as in past years, will be near the Delaware Water Gap (somewhat north of where I-80 crosses the Delaware River). The cost will be $30 per adult, $20 per child. Also, we need volunteers to help with hauling food and supplies and equipment out to the camp site (and back) and providing extra space in their vehicles for those who need a ride out and back. More details will be forthcoming for those who are interested. Please see the website. Please save the date and let us know if you are interested in receiving more information — and especially if you are interested in volunteering: Send an email to Larry White at Lwhite@stern.nyu.edu. Click here for more information.
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. Please read the attached flyer to view their 2007-2008 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.
For all Grades:
1) The attached 2008-2009 calendar reflects an important change. Next year’s Family Conference dates for the Middle School will mirror those of the Lower School (November 7 and 14 and April 17 and 24 — All Fridays and both divisions will be closed on these days).
2) Please make sure to read the attached summer work assignments, which appear below in the grade level sections.
3) Just a heads up that the annual End-of-Year Middle School dance will take place on Monday, June 16th (not the 9th as indicated on the Art calendar). Also, the dance will be held at the Thompson Street Athletic Center because of renovation work at Charlton Street. The dance will start at 6:00PM and pizza and ice cream will be provided.
4) On Friday, June 13th, the Middle School students will attend our High School Graduation Ceremony at the New York University. Please note that this is not an early dismissal day for Middle School students. Students will leave the Sixth Avenue building at about 12:45PM. At the graduation, Middle School students will be recognized for their hard work, completion of their current grade and their movement to the next, and will join in the celebration of the accomplishments of the seniors as they move on to the next phase in their education. As this is a very special occasion, we ask that students dress appropriately—no jeans, no printed T-shirts, shirts with collars and shoes are preferable. After graduation, the students will return to the Sixth Avenue buildings by 3:15PM.
5) From School Nurse Kitty Highstein: By now you have received the packet from my office that includes the health form for 2008-09. I need to bring several things to your attention:
- The health form must be returned to my office before school opens in the fall. Your child’s physical should be current for the 2008-09 school year. If the date for this physical falls on a birthday that is after the first day of school, please include a note with the other forms you’re returning to me to let me know when the appointment with your pediatrician will be.
- Please make sure you complete the medication permission and that your pediatrician signs it.
- Always make a copy of the health form to keep with your child’s records. Parents of children going on overnight school trips will need information it contains to complete forms for those events.
- Check over all the forms before you send them in. Be sure they’re completed and signed so they don’t have to be returned to you! Thank you.
For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) For those students moving on to EI, you should have received the summer work assignments. If you have not received them, please contact high school principal Ruth Jurgensen.
2) Next Wednesday, June 4, as part of our eighth grade core curriculum surrounding memorialization, we will pay a visit to the former site of the World Trade Center. Our guide will be an LREI parent whose job includes planning the future National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the site. We aim to depart LREI slightly before 10:00AM, travel by subway, and return around 12:30PM. Students will miss school lunch and should bring their own lunches (no nuts, seed, or glass bottles) on this day. We anticipate that it will be an emotional, but thought-provoking experience for all.
3) Gabrielle and Sharyn would like to invite you to the their respective foreign language trip slide shows on Thursday morning, June 5th at 8:00AM. You will have the opportunity to see images from the trip and your child will share her/hisMemory Books with you. The presentations will finish by 8:45AM at the latest.
4) Mark your calendar: Eighth Grade Pre-Moving Up Party, Friday, June 13, 2008. Please arrive by 6:00PM for the Potluck Dinner and Recognition Program, which will be followed by dancing until 9:00PM. The event will take place in the Sixth Avenue auditorium. Please note that due to space consideration, we ask that attendance at this event be limited to parents/guardians and their eighth grader. Additional details from your parent reps will follow.
5) The Moving Up Assembly/Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 17th, in the Sixth Avenue auditorium. The assembly will start promptly at 9:00AM and will run until about 10:30AM. Given space constraints we ask that only immediate family members attend (that being said, if there are extenuating circumstances please contact me directly). Immediately following the assembly, the eighth graders will return to their classroom and parents will exit out the Bleecker Street doors and gather by the steps in front of Sarah’s classroom. The rest of the Middle School community will exit the building from the Sixth Avenue side and then join families by the steps. When all are assembled, the eighth graders will receive their certificates and process one-by-one down the steps.
For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.
2) The seventh grade potluck breakfast and Constitution Works event will take place on Thursday, June 12th. The breakfast will begin at 8:00AM in the seventh grade classrooms. Following the potluck, we will leave for Constitution Works program at 9:15AM, which will be conducted at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. Parents are encouraged to attend this exciting event. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.
For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.
2) Just a reminder that sixth grade students who want to do work in the library or lab after school must do so under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or caregiver. The supervising adult must be with the student in the library or lab. Students who do not have an adult to supervise them will be asked to wait in the lobby for pick-up. Thank you for your cooperation with this policy.
3) The annual sixth grade poetry and potluck breakfast will take place on Tuesday, June 10th at 8:00AM in the cafeteria. Your parent reps will be in touch with you about the potluck breakfast.
4) While there is still much to do this year, I wanted to get information about next year’s trip to Williamsburg out to you. We are asking that families register for the trip by June 1, 2008. Registration for the trip is handled by our tour company NCT. The attached form continues the relevant registration information. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.
For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) Please read the attached summer reading and summer math assignments. Click here to view the supplemental reading list. Next year’s core teachers will visit the class to go over the assignment. If you have questions about the summer math work, please let me know. If there is sufficient interest, we will do a morning informational session for parents/guardians with the math teachers.
2) Just a reminder that fifth grade students who want to do work in the library or lab after school must do so under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or caregiver. The supervising adult must be with the student in the library or lab. Students who do not have an adult to supervise them will be asked to wait in the lobby for pick-up. Thank you for your cooperation with this policy.
3) Our annual Grecian Festival will take place on the evening of Wednesday, June 11th at 6:00PM. From 6:00-6:30PM, you are invited to view students’ robotics projects in the computer lab and in the science lab. At 6:30PM, we will convene in the Sixth Avenue auditorium for a dramatic presentation, which will be followed by the fifth grade potluck in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about the potluck.
For additional information, follow these links:
- Calendar of Events
- LREI Athletics. For general LREI Athletics news go to this link . This page will provide general announcements, game summaries, league standings and season recaps.
- Click here to view the Middle School Photo Gallery.
A reminder that the homework blog “feeds” for every class can be accessed from the Digital Classroom link on the sidebar (you may want to bookmark this page for easy access). These feeds provide an easy “one-click” solution to find out what has been assigned for homework. Keep in mind that a feed will only show what has been posted as of the time you check it.
Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and other interesting school-related information.
Be well,
Mark