And Still I Rise

Dear Families,

This week, we had our annual Black History Month assembly. It afforded us a chance to look forward and back as we considered important achievements made by Black Americans and, at the same time, reflected on the the many ways in which we are all connected.

The eighth grade class reps opened the assembly with a reading by Matthew Whitaker on the subject of why Black History Month is important. This segued into a reading of Maya Angelou‘s moving poem “And Still I Rise.” After viewing an excerpt from Ken Burns‘ documentary Jazz, we were treated to a rousing performance of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers‘ “Moanin‘” by the Middle School Jazz Band. This was followed by a video of the fifth grade music classes performing the music and singing the civil rights era protest song “Which Side Are You On?” Victor, Sarah and David’s advisory then followed up on an activity that they had prepared for the other advisory groups last week and shared the fruits of their research on a number of important African-American figures that included Mae Jemison, Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisolm, Dr. Charles Drew, Mary McLeod Bethune and W.E.B. DuBois. In a similar vein, Margaret, Sherezada and Sharyn’s advisory produced a video of other influential people of color set to the music of Stevie Wonder’s “Black Man.” Our assembly concluded with the singing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” led by the Middle School Chorus. All in all it was a thought provoking and engaging student-run affair.

On a related note, our students have been busy this week talking to others about their learning experience at LREI. On Monday, a group of students met with author Laurie Halse Anderson for a book discussion about her most recent book. For more information about this meeting, click here to read Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert Swan’s blog. On Wednesday, members of the Robotics Team traveled to the offices of Google to talk about their involvement in the FIRST Lego League. We hope to have video of both of these discussion available on the website soon.

And so we rise . . .

Of General Interest . . .

1) Director’s Drop-In — Phil will be available for drop-in conversations in his Sixth Avenue office from 8:45AM-9:30AM on Friday, March 6th. Drop in, ask a question, and hear about what is going on at LREI. Can’t make these times? Give a call or send and email.

2) The High School play, The Taming of the Shrew, will be performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, February 26th-28th, 7:00PM each evening.  Tickets on sale at both reception desks and at the door.

3) Big Auction Updates: The Big Auction is just one week away!!! If you haven’t done so already, you can buy your ticket(s) by emailing or calling Sandra Song at ssong@lrei.org or 212-477-5316 x275. Please have your credit card information ready with the expiration date and three digit security code–we only accept MasterCard and Visa.

  • This year, we’re featuring select items online–please visit http://lreibigauction.cmarket.com and start bidding today!
  • If you would like to bid anonymously for any of the LIVE items, you may do so by submitting an Absentee bid. Please contact Sandra Song or Pippa Gerard (pgerard@lrei.org, 212-477-5316 x236) by noon on Wednesday, March 4th.
  • To see this week’s featured items (Arts and Entertainment) click here.
  • To view the whole catalog online, please visit www.lrei.org/bigauction.

We hope we’ll be seeing you on March 5th!

4) Red is Green Committee Updates:

  • LREI went Green to School on Wednesday February 25th.  What an amazing turnout and response! Thank you to all who made the effort to go ‘green.’ It was impressive to hear how everyone got to school from carpooling to walking to taking the ferry. The next LREI Goes Green to School is on Earth Day, Wednesday April 22nd.
  • Take the LREI Green Pledge! We are asking all students and families to sign an environmental pledge to do our part to save our earth. We’ve included things like conserving water, turning off lights and recycling. Look for the Red is Green table in the 6th Ave. lobby this Friday morning to sign the pledge. Please return the signed portion of your pledge by next Wednesday, Feb. 25. There is an envelope at the reception desk.
  • Recycle update: So far the LREI community has collected 40 cell phones, 90 ink cartridges and over 600 batteries! Next month’s recycle drive will be corks and bare naked granola bags. Start saving now!
  • If you have any questions or suggestions, please email the Red is Green committee (lhommen@hotmail.com or kbeck2@nyc.rr.com).
  • And don’t forget to check out Lets Go Green’s website for eco-friendly water bottles, garbage bags, light bulbs, paper goods etc. LREI receives 25% of all sales as profit. Thanks for all your help. Start collecting and keep recycling!

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

6) 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/.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
February MS Parent Rep Meeting Minutes
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Fifth Grade:
Sixth Grade:

For All Grades . . .
1) Congratulations to our 7th/8th grade girls basketball team as they defeated Columbia Prep in the semi-finals yesterday 50-28! The finals will be at Columbia Prep on Friday, Feb 27th at 3:00PM. Columbia Prep’s gym is located at 5 W. 93rd St. just off Central Park West. Go Knights!

2) Monday, March 2, 2008 — Project Cicero Book Drive (through March 5) Project Cicero is an annual non-profit book drive designed to create — or supplement — school and classroom libraries for children in under-resourced New York City public schools. Please bring in your unwanted books for school-age children—in good condition only please!—and drop them in the box in the Sixth Avenue lobby. Now in its eighth year, Project Cicero has distributed nearly 1,000,000 new and gently used books to 5,500 New York City classrooms and libraries, reaching 180,000 students. They solicit donations from individuals and families from over 90 independent, public, and parochial schools each year, and have received generous contributions from many book publishers.

3) Our Annual School Spirit Game, in which our Middle School and High School basketball teams play against the faculty is scheduled for Friday, March 6th at 3:30PM in the Thompson Street Athletic Center at 145 Thompson Street. This is a fun event for young and old. You are all invited to attend. See you at the gym. Click here for more information.

4) On Saturday, March 7th you can cheer for our Middle School Robotics Teams as they take their First Place finish in the Manhattan championships to the 2009 New York City FIRST LEGO League Championship.  For more information, click here.

5) THE ARTS EFFECT is thrilled to invite you to FIND YOUR VOICE! on MARCH 8th @ The Brooklyn Lyceum from 2-6pm. This exciting, unprecedented GIRL POWER event will bring girls (ages 8-14) and their families together to share their voices, celebrate their history, and raise awareness. Enjoy amazing performances, inspiring guest speakers, a dance party and more—all while supporting Eve Ensler’s VDay Organization. 100% OF PROCEEDS will help END VIOLENCE against girls around the globe!!

6) Thinking ahead? Join us for the High School Preview Night on Tuesday, April 7th at 6:30pm in the Charlton Street Performing Arts Center (PAC). This event is a wonderful opportunity for Middle School and Lower School parents to learn more about the High School from parents, students and recent alumni. We hope to see you there! RSVP to Samantha Caruth, Director of Admissions, at 212-477-5316 ext. 305, scaruth@lrei.org.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Monday, April 13th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Fifth and Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) Schedule Change: Please note that our annual Intramural Basketball League Student-Parent game originally scheduled for Friday, March 12 after the championship game has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 4th. Game times are as follows:

  • green @ 3:30PM
  • blue @ 3:50PM
  • red @ 4:10PM
  • purple @ 4:30PM

See you on the court!

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) On Wednesday, March 11th, your presence is requested at our annual Medieval Pageant. The evening will begin at 6:00PM and will afford you the opportunity to view your child’s work as it relates to her/his on-going studies of the Middle Ages. Following the viewing of this work, we will convene in the auditorium for a dramatic and musical telling of tales connected to this study. The evening will conclude with a potluck supper in the cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about preparations. In the spirit of the event, you are encouraged to bring in medieval inspired dishes. Below are a number of useful resources for potential recipes:

2) A related Medieval Pageant request: Students are enthusiastically learning their music, making props and rehearsing their parts to get ready for the big event. Joanne has requested that all sixth grade students bring in a basic black outfit for the week of March 9th. The black bottoms and tops need to be comfortable and practical with regards to movement and will likely have other items of costume layered on top. Sneakers and shoes do not need to be black. If you have questions, you can contact Joanne directly at jmagee@lrei.org.

3) Monday, April 13th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) A reminder that our annual Egyptian Tomb exhibit will take place during the day on Thursday, March 12. Heather and Wendy will be in contact with you about scheduling visit times. They would also appreciate a few parent volunteers to help on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 11, with set up for the tomb.

2) Tuesday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

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

  • View important middle school dates here.
  • View all events with the LREI On-line Calendar
  • Click here to see the 2009-2010 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 individual homework blog and the “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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