From Building Blocks to Steel Beams

From guest blogger Phil Kassen:

Dear Families,

I have spent a fair amount of time over the past few days sharing the new construction our Charlton Street campus with a variety of members of the LREI community. As you have heard, over the summer we completely renovated the high school’s lobby and one of our science labs, as well as beginning work on the creation of new and renovated spaces in the adjacent townhouse. These spaces include generous basement rooms excavated from what was the townhouse’s rear yard in addition to a restored parlor, circa 1840, that will house our College Guidance Office. It is exciting to watch the construction crews at work and to imagine what this new space will add to the high school program once completed and occupied.42ChSt_047_CMO1435

I visited the construction site today with a group of four and five year olds, decked out in shiny LREI hard hats. They asked many thoughtful questions as we watched the sparks fly from where a new stairway was being welded and while looking at the new elevator being assembled out of a room full of parts. It was exciting to hear  these young students make curricular connections, noticing that the steel beams holding up the back of the townhouse were similar to the long blocks they use in their classroom constructions, for example. It was fascinating to stand there having this basic discussion of engineering, knowing that just on the other side of the wall between the old and new spaces was a class of high school students studying topics in mathematics, the knowledge of which makes possible the type of construction their younger schoolmates were watching.

As I walked back to the Sixth Avenue building with these young learners I imagined them entering high school nine years from now. It was not hard to do. These students are learning to work together, to plan, to investigate and to integrate what they learn in school into their daily lives. We saw today how talented they are. They talked as a class about how they would travel to the construction site, about what they might see there, about who they would meet and how to operate appropriately during their visit. Their high school colleagues were involved in a similar exercise in their calculus class, thirty feet away. They were working together to hone problem-solving skills and subject area knowledge in order to better understand the world around them.

I look forward to watching our youngest students grow into their high school selves in ever improving facilities. More importantly, I look forward to watching them develop into ever more able learners and citizens.

Phil

P.S. I will be taking many other students on tours, including increasing numbers of high school students. If you are a parent who drops off on Sixth Avenue, keep an eye out. If you see me in the lobby sporting my red hard hat, it means that I am on my way to lead another tour. Grab a hat and come along!

Of General Interest . . .
1) LREI High School Thespians present an original play for all LREI audiences (LS, MS, & HS)!

THE SPIRIT OF THE RIDGE
is inspired by the lives and legends of the Lenni Lenape,
the indigenous Native Americans who lived here in NYC
and the surrounding Mid-Atlantic States for thousands and thousands of years.

Set inside a pre-contact Lenape wigwam, THE SPIRIT OF THE RIDGE is a story about the timelessness and necessity of friendship and peace, and the importance of connecting to the past. Themes and topics covered in the play include school bullying, inner-strength, loyalty, compassion, celebrating differences, and learning about Native cultures and traditions. Shows are scheduled for Friday, November 13th, at 7:00PM, and Saturday, November 14th, at 2:00PM and 7:00PM and will take place at the Charlton Street Performing Arts Center. Tickets will be on sale next week in both the Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street locations. For more information contact Meghan Farley Astrachan at 212-477-5316 x399.

2) Coffee Pond Photography recently sent information for ordering your child’s school portraits. Occasionally, a parent or student may want a different look from the original portrait taken, in which case Coffeepond will offer an opportunity for a retake, which is scheduled for 11/16/2009. Simply click on the retake link on your child’s portrait page to register. Please sign up at least 2 days before the scheduled day. If you have not received information by either email or mail please contact their Customer Care Department directly for assistance. By phone: 1-800-632-2323 ext “0.” By Email: Lifeguards@coffeepond.com

3) Red is Green Committee: The Red is Green committee is sponsoring a week long Clothing Drive to celebrate America Recycles Day.  Beginning next Monday, November 9, through Friday, November 13, drop off your unwanted (but clean) clothing, curtains, linens, towels, shoes, hats, handbags and belts.  They will be recycled or reused in places like Eastern Europe and South America.  Look for drop-off boxes in the 6th Ave. lobby and the high school lobby.  For more information, click here for our flyer, or go to www.wearablecollections.com. Also, starting Monday November 2nd bring in your empty ink cartridges to be recycled at LREI. Every year in the US we throw over 375 million ink cartridges away in the trash. Empty ink cartridges will be accepted at both the high school and at 6th Ave locations. Bins are located by the reception desk. For more details about our monthly recycling drives and Go Green to School dates, please click Red is Green PA Page.

4) Visit the Afterschool Photo Blog at http://blog.lrei.org/afterschoolphotos/ to get a glimpse of what we have been up to in Afterschool. Photos will continue to be posted, so please return throughout the year (you may visit any time by clicking “Afterschool Photos Blog” on the left side of this page, under “LREI Links”).

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 – http://www.parentsinaction.org/). 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. Click here to view upcoming events and/or to download their calendar.

For All Grades . . .
1) As our fall sports season comes to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to applaud both students and coaches for a productive season. Our Middle School Soccer Team finished with a record of 2-3-1 with a couple of the loses being only by a single goal difference. They played hard throughout the season and improved with every game. Our Middle School volleyball team ended the season with a 5-4 record and played strong throughout the season. The team came in second place at this week’s DISC tournament. The Middle School Cross Country Team worked hard all year with runners improving their times at every meet. At the final championship meet, two runners placed in the top five. Special note goes to seventh grader Will for setting the fastest time on the course for any middle school runner in LREI history. Our judo club continues to go and participants who competed in their most recient meet brought home a collection of medals. On the intrmural front, the soccer season was a great success. Well done and “Go Knights!”

2) A reminder that you can access teachers’ blogs by following the “Digital Classroom” link on the sidebar.

3) Family Conferences and Subject Area Meetings (November 6th an 13th): Please check your child’s advisor’s blog to schedule a family conference for one of the dates indicated above. At this conference, your child will share work samples, offer reflections on her/his work and identify some goals for the second quarter. It is also a time for you to dialog with your child and her/his advisor about your child’s learning experience in the Middle School so far this quarter.

We have also decided to adjust the conference schedule on these two dates to allow for brief meetings with each of your child’s teachers should you so choose. To schedule these subject specific meetings please click here. As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers if you have questions about her/his performance and/or the curriculum.

3) From Middle School librarian Jennifer Hubert Swan: While it’s always a good time to write, the month of November is notable for a couple of great writing opportunities:

For Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) From Director of Admissions Barbara Scott: Completed Irwin Scholars Program applications are due Monday, November 16th, by 4:00PM (click here to download the application).

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
2) The seventh grade will go to the main branch of the New York Public Library to attend the National Book Award Youth Division press conference on Tuesday, November 17, from 10:00AM-12:00PM. They should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds or glass bottles) to school on that day.

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

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) The fifth grade will view the Ancient Near Eastern galleries at the Met, on Thursday, November 12th.  Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds or glass bottles) to school on that day.

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

  • 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

Comments are closed.