When Middle Schoolers Represent

Dear Middle School Families,

One of the fall traditions in the Middle School is the election of student representatives. In Adolescent Issues classes, we discuss the characteristics that might make one a good representative and we explore the many responsibilities that representatives are expected to meet. After these discussions, students who are interested in being a rep write an essay to their classmates in support of their candidacy. At the same time, students who are not running for class rep consider what they are looking for in a class rep. In fifth through seventh grades, these essays are then read by their teacher to the class without attribution. This calls on students to really listen to the substance of each essay and makes the election of a class rep more than just a popularity contest.

The essays are always thoughtful and, while some candidates make bold promises (e.g., a three-day school week, extended recess, nap time), all address issues of real concern to middle school students (e.g., more recess equipment, additional clubs, more independent work time). In the eighth grade, students discuss the pros and cons of reading their own speeches and consider the additional obligations that come when a candidate reads her/his own speech. These are always intense conversations and the students’ commitment to the integrity of the democratic process really rises to the fore.

Students in all grades take the voting process seriously, applaud the efforts of all of the candidates, are supportive of those candidates that are not selected, and have high expectations for their elected representative. As the terms of these newly elected representatives begin, they will be asked to seek out the full range of opinions on issues discussed by their classmates, help their classmates to work towards consensus on these issues, on occasion represent ideas with which they may not agree, help to resolve conflicts, problem solve with their classmates, welcome and speak with families visiting the school as part of the admission process, make presentations at middle school meeting, and work with the deans and the principal to clarify old roles and develop new roles for class representatives. These are weighty challenges and this year’s reps in collaboration with their classmates are ready to meet them.

In this spirit of collaboration, we are looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday evening at 6:30PM for our Middle School Curriculum Night. At the event, you will get to meet your child’s teachers who will provide you with an overview of their classes and their class expectations. We hope that all of you will be able to attend as Curriculum Night helps to provide a meaningful frame for the work that we will undertake together over the course of the year.

Childcare for this evening is available. Please contact Mary Shea at mshea@lrei.org to register or to inquire about the details. We ask that you make every effort to contact Mary by mid-day on Monday and that you do not drop your child off on the evening of the event without having first contacted Mary.

Of General Interest . . .

1) Click here to access the most current “At a Glance” calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.

2) For additional school news, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

3) From the Red is Green Committee: Prescription Drug Drop Off Day — The DEA is promoting a nationwide pilot “Take-Back” event for disposal of prescription drugs and over-the-counter pills. Flushing pharmaceuticals into wastewater can have an unfortunate impact on aquatic life and people who draw drinking water downstream. Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove these types of chemicals. This Saturday expired or otherwise unwanted drugs can be dropped off at a variety of locations. A few local drop off points are: Engine 24 Fire Station at 227 Sixth Ave; Engine 9 Fire Station at 75 Canal Street; and St Patricks Old Cathedral – corner of Mott and Prince Streets. A list of other drop off points and details of the program are available on the front page of www.dea.gov.

4) 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) Click here to read the minutes from this week’s Middle School Parent Rep meeting.

2) Middle School Curriculum Night — Tuesday, September 28th at 6:30PM. This will be an opportunity to hear from your child’s teachers about the curriculum for the year..

3) The Ashokan slide show now contains pictures from the last day of the trip. You can also view these pictures on our on-line gallery at http://blog.lrei.org/photo-gallery/gallery/.

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”lrei-photos” id=”72157624840628063″ width=”460″ height=”345″]

4) Practices for the Middle School robotics team (grades 6-8)  are on Wednesday and run from 3:15PM until 5:15PM. A snack will be provided. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact coach Sherezada Acosta at sacosta@lrei.org.

5) We are thrilled to announce that the Middle School Play this year will be…

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

  • Performances are scheduled for Friday, December 10th at 7:00PM and Saturday, December 11th at 2:00PM and 7:00PM, 2010.
  • There will be a pre-audition workshop Monday, October 4th, to help students prepare and familiarize themselves with the language and the story. Audition pieces are available outside of Mark’s office,  but there is no need to learn the lines.
  • Auditions (for 6th-8th grade) will be held Tuesday, October 5th from 3:30PM onwards in the eighth grade classrooms.
  • Fifth graders will work with Melissa in Art classes to produce work for the set and props. Interested fifth graders will also be able to help with the stage crew.
  • Rehearsals will be after school, both on Sixth Avenue and on Charlton Street at the High school Campus. Students will be walked over to the other campus by a teacher or can be given written permission to make their own way there.
  • Students will not be scheduled to attend every rehearsal. The schedule will be arranged based on which scenes are being worked and what characters are available. As we come closer to the production, rehearsals will become more regular. The final two weeks of rehearsal must be cleared from other conflicts as we enter final production. In addition there will be two Sunday rehearsals (11/21 and 12/5) that students are required to attend. All students who audition and have signed a contract, thereby committing themselves to attend rehearsals, will be given a position or part in the play. PLEASE READ THE CONTRACT CAREFULLY, which is also available outside of Mark’s office..
  • Please take care to fill out all the information in the contract and consider that availability after school does affect the casting. There are no “cuts” so the casting is based on skill, confidence and the availability to commit to rehearsals.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

1) For students in Math X, please read the new unit letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

2) Next Tuesday, September 28, as part of our eighth grade core curriculum surrounding memorialization, we will pay a visit to the planning offices of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Our host, our very own LREI parent, Amy Weisser (Will Yarinsky’s mom) whose job includes planning the future Memorial and Museum site, will engage us in a dialog about the memorial and museum. We aim to depart LREI slightly at 11:00AM, travel by subway, and return around 2:30PM. Students should bring their own lunches (no nuts, seed, or glass bottles please) on this day. We anticipate that it will be an emotional, thought-provoking, and engaging experience for us all.

3) Looking ahead to the spring, click here to access the registration form for the spring Gettysburg/DC trip that will take place next May. I’m sending you this information now so that you can spread out payments over a longer period of time. If you register online, please use the following trip ID#: 55757. If you have specific questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me. The deadline for registration for this trip is next Friday, October 1st.

4) Please join other LREI eighth grade families for a ParentTalk on Thursday, October 14th at 6:30PM. This discussion will provide an opportunity for parents to come together to talk about a variety of issues with a trained facilitator from Parents In Action.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Please read the new unit letter from math teacher Michelle Boehm.

2) Click here to access the registration form for the Williamsburg / Jamestown trip that will take place next October. If you register online, please use the following trip ID#: A76310. All families should be registered for the trip at this point. If you have specific questions about payment, please do not hesitate to contact me.

3) Please join other LREI seventh grade families for a ParentTalk on Monday, October 25th at 6:30PM. This discussion will provide an opportunity for parents to come together to talk about a variety of issues with a trained facilitator from Parents In Action.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) On Wednesday, September 29th, sixth graders will participate in our annual Downtown Independent Schools Committee (DISC) Field Day at Pier 40. 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 10:30AM and have a picnic lunch at Pier 40 at 11:00AM. The field day activities will begin at 11:30PM and will finish around 1:30PM. We should return to the Sixth Avenue building by about 2:00PM. We expect all sixth graders to participate in this event. In preparation for this event, students should dress appropriately for the weather. A jacket or sweatshirt will be important. Sneakers, hats, water bottles, sunglasses, etc. are recommended. Students will need to bring a lunch on this day (no nuts, seeds, and glass bottles). This is an exciting day for sixth graders. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

2) Please join other LREI sixth grade families for a ParentTalk on Tuesday, October 12th at 6:30PM. This discussion will provide an opportunity for parents to come together to talk about a variety of issues with a trained facilitator from Parents In Action.

3) The sixth grade will travel to the Cloisters on Friday, October 15th, to view their Medieval collection. Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) to school on this day.

4) On Wednesday, October 20th, please join me at 8:00AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria for a discussion on “Making Sense of MS Reports.” This will be an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the format of the Middle School progress report and to think about how best to prepare for Middle School Family Conferences.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) On Friday, October 1st, the fifth grade will travel to the New Victory Theater to view Puss In Boots, an opera. Students should bring a bagged lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) to school on this day.

2) Please join other LREI fifth grade families for a ParentTalk on Tuesday, October 5th at 6:30PM. This discussion will provide an opportunity for parents to come together to talk about a variety of issues with a trained facilitator from Parents In Action.

3) On Tuesday, October 12th, please join me at 8:00AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria for a discussion on “Making Sense of MS Reports.” This will be an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the format of the Middle School progress report and to think about how best to prepare for Middle School Family Conferences.

4) From fifth grade math teacher Ana Chaney: Are you curious about your child’s experience learning math in the Middle School? Do you want to know how you child will be challenged and supported in fifth grade and beyond? Are you wondering how you can be involved at home? Join me for a hands-on investigation taken from the curriculum, short talk and Q&A. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend the Fifth Grade Math Breakfast, which will take place on Monday, October 18th, at 8:00AM in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.

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

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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