On the first day of school . . .

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear LREI Community,

I am writing this to you mid-day today, the first day of school. As I write, the upper classes in the high school have been dismissed and the ninth grade is continuing their orientation. The middle school is moving from a morning with a schedule of abbreviated classes to an afternoon filled with family conferences. Our youngest students are all gone for the day, having spent some time in their new classrooms as part of the phase-in schedule and the upper elementary students are enjoying lunch and recess. The past few hours have been filled with excited reunions and the eagerness to return to school that we see each year on this most wonderful of occasions. The school year is off to a terrific start and over the next few days all students will begin their full program. I look forward to sharing their many and varied successes with you.

Of special note, as you have heard, we did significant construction in the middle school and the high school over the summer. I invite you to visit the middle school classrooms which are as functional as they are beautiful. I also extend an invitation to all to attend a gathering on Wednesday, September 24th to hear more about our plans for both sites.

I have attached two letters to this week’s blog. Click here to read a note from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community, reminding families of students new to LREI about our family orientation, LREI 101, which we ask you to attend on Monday, September 8th at 8:45AM. The second is from the parents of a student in our Early Kindergarten introducing their son, who has a physical disability, to the community.

A reminder of a few upcoming events:

  • Monday, September 8th, from 8:45AM-10:15AM I ask that all new families attend LREI 101, our orientation program for new families. This gathering is an essential component of your entry into the LREI community. We will meet in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.
  • Monday, September 8th, 6:00PM, Michael Patrick, ’71, Chair of the LREI Board of Trustees and his wife, Carol Sedwick, invite new families to a reception in their home at 6:00PM, 250 West 94th Street, 15E.
  • Wednesday, September 24th the LREI Board of Trustees will host an event to share plans for the future of LREI. Please plan on attending this evening event. You will receive an invitation shortly.

Finally, mark your calendar for your child’s curriculum night:

  • Fours-First Grade—Thursday, October 2nd, 6:00PM (new date)
  • Second-Fourth Grade—Tuesday, October 7th, 6:00PM
  • Middle School—Tuesday, September 16th, 6:30PM (correct date)
  • High School—Monday, September 22nd, 6:30PM

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Best,
Phil

============================

Dear Families,

As Phil so eloquently summarized, our first day was with filled with a palpable sense of excitement about what the year holds in store for us. I also hope that your afternoon meeting with your child’s advisor marked the beginning of an important year-long collaboration. It was truly a first day filled with promise.

That said, the loss of Owen Gerson continues to be very present in our minds and I wanted to share with you how the Middle School faculty is preparing to address questions and concerns that may arise from students. Ultimately, our focus is to support students, the parent community, and the community of teachers and staff. This will be an interdependent process founded in open, honest, and developmentally appropriate dialog.

Yesterday, middle school faculty members met with a psychologist who is a bereavement specialist. She was helpful and wise and provided us with resources that will guide us through this on-going process. We will also take important cues from the students themselves as we listen to their thoughts and questions. We are also very much aware that conversations at home have varied in their level of detail and depth. This is fine.

Following up on your meeting with your child’s advisor, it may be useful to let her/him know how this discussion has unfolded (if you have decided to have it) in your family. For some this topic may be complex, so feel free to be brief in your response; it really is just a way for advisors to stay in touch with how the experience differs for each family.

As it is important for students to experience the start of the school year as exciting and joyous, we will look for those moments that emerge naturally as entry points for more structured conversations to acknowledge the range of responses that students will be having and to provide appropriate levels of support.

In the face of this tragedy, I have been comforted by the immeasurably profound sense of community that resonates throughout LREI. I hope that it has been and continues to be a source of strength and support for you as we move forward. If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Regards,
Mark

This Week’s Attachments
General:
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Permission form to leave and reenter the building
DC Trip Registration Form
Seventh Grade:
Permission form to leave and reenter the building
Williamsburg Trip Registration Form
Fifth and Sixth Grade:
Ashokan Trip Registration Form

Of General Interest . . .

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

 

2) 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 2008-2009 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

For all grades . . .
1) Click here here to review revisions to the 2008-2009 Student & Family Handbook.

2) The official start of the school day for Middle School students is 8:15AM. Morning homeroom will run from 8:15-8:30AM. It is important that students arrive to school on time. Please remember that students who are late to school and who do not have a note from their parent/guardian will be expected to make up this time at the end of the day.

3) I have posted to this website a document that contains several of the letters of communication that faculty members may send out as email during the course of the year. We recognize that these letters have a formal tone, but we feel that they contain important information that you should know about your child’s progress. In addition, this information allows for better coordination among Middle School faculty members. It is helpful if you read these letters now so that you are familiar with their form. You can access the letters here.

4) Middle School Chorus and Band—The Little Red Singers (grades 5-8) meets once a week on Tuesdays, 11:30AM-12:30PM. Lower School music teacher Ledell Mulvaney directs the chorus. The Middle school band meets on Fridays from 2:15-3:15PM. Middle School music teacher Matt McLean directs the band.

5) From School Nurse Kitty Highstein: Welcome back! It’s good to see everyone after the summer break. Now is the time when we do our school-wide, post-vacation head checks for lice. As a measure of insurance that the school remains lice free, we ask “Licenders” to come in and help us out. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Licenders, it’s a company that sends trained personnel into schools to check children’s heads for lice. Each individual head check takes only a few minutes, at most. Licenders will be coming to the school on Monday, September 8th, and will begin checking children, class by class, at 8:30AM in the Lower School art room. Head lice do not discriminate, not by age group, area or economics. Even the Vikings had them, we’re told! If your child is found to have lice and/or nits, s/he will need to go home to be treated. In that case, we will call you right away and ask that you come to pick him/her up. I will make your child comfortable in my office until you arrive. On the morning that your child returns to school, please stop by my office before going to the classroom so that I can do a final head check. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to stop by my office or give me a call. My extension is 235.
6) New Parents—you are invited to a cocktail party hosted by Board Chair Michael Patrick (LREI ’71) and his wife Carol Sedwick— Monday, September 8th at 6PM, at the home of Michael and Carol, 250 West 94th St. 15E

7) Middle School Curriculum Night—Tuesday, September 16th at 6:30PM. All are invited to attend.

For Seventh and Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) As outlined in the handbook, seventh and eighth graders who want to leave the building after dismissal and then return to use the library or lab must have a signed permission form. Click here to download the form.

2) First meetings dates for the fall sports teams are below. If you have questions contact Athletic Director Peter Fisher. Game schedules can be found at http://lrei.org/athletics/fallsports.html. The full practice schedules will be forthcoming.

  • Soccer: first practice is Tuesday, September 9th at 7:00AM at JJ Walker (Hudson and Carmine St.). Students should meet at the field.
  • Volleyball: first meeting is Tuesday, September 9th at 3:45PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center.
  • Cross-country: first meeting is Monday, September 8th at 3:45PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center

Click here for the permission form, which should be brought to the first practice. I also encourage you to read the Sports Information Packet; it contains useful information about the philosophy and expectations of our athletic program.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) While the trip to DC is not until the spring, please use the attached form to register your child for the trip. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) If you have not done so already, please use the attached form to register your child for the upcoming Williamsburg trip. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

For Fifth and Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Please note that the upcoming trip to Ashokan is scheduled for October 6-8 (not the September dates that appear in the Art Calendar). If you have not done so already, please complete and submit the trip registration and payment form. If you have questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. Given that on the evening of the 8th some of you will be celebrating Yom Kippur, the trip is structured so that students will be back by 3:30PM.

2) The Middle School Intramural Soccer Program for fifth and sixth graders will begin on Monday, September 15th with practices on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 7:00AM at J.J. Walker Field on Carmine Street just west of Hudson. Students will be walked back to the school building after the practice. Click here for the permission form (you do not need to complete the travel page), which should be brought to the first practice. I also encourage you to read the Sports Information Packet; it contains useful information about the philosophy and expectations of our athletic program.

===============For additional information, follow these links: ===============

  • View important middle school dates here.
  • View all events with the LREI On-line Calendar
  • 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

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