Where in the world is . . .
Dear Middle School Families,
For most of us, the middle school years represent a time when the pressing existential question of “Who am I?” begins to take hold. An equally interesting question in our now more-than-ever-GPS-driven world is “Where am I?” Understanding our relationship to others and our relationship to the larger world in which we live has never been more important. And, as Alisa Miller, head of Public Radio International, points out in the video below, answering this question from the perspective of the average US citizen has never been harder.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfiT3XqtcbE
(Note: Despite the seemingly obvious incongruity of the above pictures of Britney Spears, please do click through to hear Ms. Miller’s comments as they do provide a meaningful context for the above images.)
So while powerful digital tools can bring far off lands and peoples right into the palms of our hands, we are often stymied by the narrow provincialism that sometimes defines the “American” experience. To provide our students with a broader view, the geography strand of the middle school curriculum plays an important role in helping students to better understand the concept of place and how place informs the way we live in and with the world and with others. In this spirit, each year middle schoolers participate in the National Geographic Geography Bee.
At this Wednesday’s Middle School Meeting, we had our annual National Geography Bee. Preceding the meeting, students competed in their homerooms to identify our eight finalists. The first round was exciting and challenging. Students pondered a range of questions and supported each other as we worked through thesepreliminary competitions. A number of these competitions were decided by tie breakers, which added to the excitement. So with a thank you first to all of those students who participated, the participants in the Final Round were as follows: Fifth Grade – Ally and Harry, Sixth Grade – August and Julia H., Seventh Grade – Gabe and Mekhi, and Eighth Grade – Harmon and Katya. At the end of the Final Round, Harmon emerged as the third place winner and Ally and Katya moved on to the Championship Round. The Championship Round ended with a tie and it took six tiebreaker questions for Katya to emerge as the champion. Next week, she will take the qualifying exam for the State Geography Bee competition. The state level competition will take place in the spring in Albany, NY. Congratulations to all of the finalists for a job well done!
In addition to the good fun that the National Geography Bee provides, it also points to the critical importance that a basic understanding of geography plays in being an informed citizen of the world. As technology makes the world smaller and increases our interconnectedness, we should not let ourselves be fooled into thinking that the boundaries, borders, and geographic features of our planet don’t matter any more. The geography of our planet provides a key to understanding important aspects of history and culture and provides a lens for focusing on issues that are “of the moment.”
Knowing where something is by necessity establishes a relationship to it. With an understanding of place, we can gain a deeper insight into the people who inhabit that place while we simultaneously gain new insights about our own place in the world. It is these moments of insight that help to define us and our relationship to the larger world.
Of General Interest . . .
1) If your contact information—address, phone numbers, email addresses—has changed since we distributed the directory in September, please contact Mary Shea, mshea@lrei.org, as she is preparing an updated directory for distribution in the coming weeks. Thanks.
2) If you are looking for an activity that will turn Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr. day off into a DAY ON, visit the Children for Children website. This has been a fun activity in the past and promises to be so again this year. If you have other ideas for family community service happening on Monday, January 17 please email them to Phil and h will do hisbest to distribute the information.
3) 1/21, Save the Date for Karamu! Friday, January 21st… Karamu! is LREI’s annual multicultural event of music, dance, and food celebrating the diversity of our school and community. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 18th… Karamu! always sells out; get your tickets early (discounted tickets available – contact multiculturalcommittee@lrei.org). We need food and volunteers! … Sign up sheets to help produce Karamu! have been posted in the Sixth Avenue lobby, as have sheets to sign up to contribute to the potluck. If you would like to sign up, but do not visit the buildings often, you can email the committee at the address above. There will also be a Karamu! bake sale after school on Thursday, January 13th in the Sixth Avenue lobby.
4) Sports Committee: Ready for some indoor fun on a chilly afternoon? Our basketball teams are RED HOT! So warm up with friends and come to one of our exciting home games! Be prepared to scream, yell, wave your flags and MAKE SOME NOISE as we CHEER OUR TEAMS ON TO VICTORY! All games are held at Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street. LET’S GO KNIGHTS!! Knights home game schedule for next week:
- Tuesday 1/18 4pm Varsity Girls vs York Prep
- Thursday 1/20 4pm Varsity Girls vs Brooklyn Friends
- Friday 1/21 5th/6th Grade Intramurals 3:30 Green/Black 4:15 Tiedye/Blue
Also, save the date for our annual Spirit Game, Friday January 28th. All are welcome to come and cheer as our 7th-12th grade basketball teams take on the LREI Faculty! Please see flyer for details.
5) Red is Green: In January the Red is Green Committee will be collecting holiday cards for recycling. The cards will be donated to St. Jude’s Ranch. St. Jude’s will remove the front of each card and attach a new back then sell the new card to raise money for the organization. Cards that can be recycled must not have writing on the back side of the front cover. Please, no cards with personal photographs or Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards. Cards can be placed in the collection bin located in the lobby.
6) Our brand-new community cookbook, Downtown Potluck, a wonderful compilation of recipes from our talented parents and teachers will be on sale on Wednesday, December 8th, at the Book Fair, through Friday, December 10th. The book costs $25 for those in our community and supplies are limited. Think of it for your holiday gift-giving. If you pre-ordered a cookbook, please pick it up at the book fair, or email cookbook@LREI.org.
7) Click here to access the most current “At a Glance” calendar for the 2010-2011 school year.
8) For additional school news, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
9) 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) From Director Phil Kassen: On Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 6:30PM, I invite you to join Michael Patrick, ’71, Chair of LREI’s Board of Trustees, and me for a discussion of the Board’s and Administration’s plans for the expansion of the high school building and the redesign of our progressive secondary curriculum. This event will take place in the 40 Charlton Street building. Do not hesitate to email or call if you have any questions. I hope to see you at this event.
2) The new date for the POCOC Book Club & Potluck is Friday, February 4th from 6:00-8:00PM in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. Rita Williams-Garcia , the author of our Middle School book selection and winner of the 2011 Scott O’Dell Award will join us. Reminder: The Parents of Children of Color Committee (POCOC) provides a forum for discussion on the needs and concerns of parents of children of color. Each school division hosts its own Parent of Color Children Committee for dialogue and support on common issues. Currently, the Lower and Middle school POCOC meet together every third Wednesday of the month starting at 8:15 am in the cafeteria. The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 19th.
3) Just a reminder that the first Middle School dance is scheduled for Friday, January 28th. The dance will start at 6:30PM for fifth graders and at 7:00PM for sixth through eighth graders. The dance will end at 8:30PM for fifth and sixth graders and at 9:00PM for seventh and eighth graders. Permission slips will go out the week of the dance. The afternoon of Friday, January 28th is also our much anticipated Spirit Game in which faculty take on the seventh-twelfth grade basketball teams. Both of these events will cap off our first annual Middle School Spirit Week that will serve as the culmination to the Kind-a-thon that has been organized by the student reps.
For Eighth Grade Families . . .
1) Starting next week, eighth graders will travel in groups of four to the high school for half-day visits in the morning. During the visit, the will have the opportunity to sit in on several classes and to speak with High School principal Ruth Jurgensen and other members of the High School team. These visits provide students with a window into the high school experience.
2) A reminder that there will be parent meeting on Thursday, January 27th at 8:00AM for the spring France and Spain trips. If you have not done so already, please make sure that Gabrielle or Sharyn have your child’s passport information.
3) Click here to read librarian Jennifer Hubert’s most recent post on the Eighth Grade Social Justice Project.
4) 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. If you have not done so already, please register ASAP.
For Seventh Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.
For Sixth Grade Families . . .
No updates this week.
For Sixth and Fifth Grade Families . . .
From Athletic Director Peter Fisher: We are excited to start the 5th and 6th grade Intramural Season this Friday! Players will be given their team shirts before the games. All players should wear their game shirts (to games only), shorts or athletic pants as well as proper athletic shoes to every game and practice.
We will be checking the weather, as a snow storm is headed our way again. If we decide to cancel Friday’s games, I will send an email out to everyone to let you know. We will also update the online Intramural Basketball Game Schedule. The link to the schedule can be found HERE. Below is our season schedule:
- Every Tuesday – Blue and Green Teams practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)
- Every Wednesday – Black Team practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)
- Every Thursday – Red and Tie Dye Teams practices from 7-8AM at TSAC (145 Thompson St.)
Game Schedule:
Friday, Jan 7th – Red vs Black at 3:30, Tye Die vs Green 4:15 —- Blue – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 14th – Blue vs Black at 3:30, Green vs Red 4:15 —– Tie Dye – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 21st – Green vs Black at 3:30, Blue vs Tie Dye 4:15 — Red – Bye Week
Friday, Jan 28th – LREI SPIRIT GAME, 3:30 – 5:30
Friday, Feb 4th – Red vs Tie Dye, 3:30, Blue vs Green 4:15 – Black – Bye Week
Friday Feb 11th – Red vs Blue 3:30, Tie Dye vs Black 4:15 – Green – Bye Week
Friday Feb 18th – Playoffs
Friday Feb 25th – Playoffs
Friday Mar 4th – Consolation and Championship
Friday Mar 11th – Parents Game 3:30
**The last practice will be March 3rd, no practices the week of the parents game
If you have any questions, please let me know!
For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) On Thursday, January 20th, the fifth grade will travel to the Brooklyn Museum for our annual visit to their Egyptian collection. Students should bring a bag lunch (no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles) on that day.
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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