When students, families, and teachers talk together . . .

Dear LREI Families,

Over the past week, I have heard from many of you about your Family Conferences and how they provided an important opportunity to learn more about your child’s school experience. Many of you commented not only on how deeply your child’s teachers knew your child as a learner, but also on how much insight your child had into his or her own learning. I’m not surprised when I hear this because I know just how hard everyone works to prepare for these conferences. Changes to the advisory system helped to ensure ensure that students had ample time to prepare for their conferences and to identify areas of strength and challenge that they wanted to share. Many of you mentioned your excitement at looking at and talking about specific work samples and how they helped to provide a meaningful frame for your discussions.

What’s clear to me is that when students, families, and teachers get together and apply their combined knowledge and experience to the challenges of teaching and learning, amazing things can happen. The commitment to inquiry that guides our Family Conferences encourages all participants to work collaboratively to arrive at a set of goals and strategies that can best support each student’s learning. It’s my hope that each of you left your conferences with a deeper insight into the link between instruction and your child’s school experience—and with a renewed sense of how best to support your child’s continued success.

Thank you for partnering with us in these crucial dialogs and I wish you the best for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
Visibility Exhibit Letter
LREI Fall Craft Event
Community Service Committee Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Irwin Scholars Application
DC Trip Payment Letter
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) We remind families to only take vacations during LREI breaks and that your child’s time away from school does not begin before the school break does or end afterwards. Teachers use each scheduled day to support their classroom program goals and the School’s mission. Students who miss days adjacent to breaks, or who take vacations outside of our break times, miss work and can disrupt planned activities. This affects the learning of the absent students and her/his classmates. In addition, divisional or all-school assemblies often precede our longer vacations. These gatherings are essential for creating the sort of community that drew you to LREI. Students sing, listen to speakers, applaud their schoolmates, meet students in other divisions and generally strengthen community ties. We will not honor families’ requests to receive work their children will miss due to family vacation plans. Families that are presented with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to make an extended visit to another city, country, etc. should speak to their child’s principal. In general, we are focused on making sure that we are using each moment of each school day as effectively as possible. Part of being able to do this is to have each student in school each of these days. Thank you for your support of these efforts.

2) The school store will be open before school on Friday, November 16th at the Sixth Avenue location.

3) From the Community Service Committee: Please view the calendar of events, a few highlights are below:

  • Kickoff for St. John’s Can Drive for Lower and Middle School students: The middle school will have a box in the lobby for can & dry goods donations. The lower school will be collecting on a floor by floor basis. Talk to your teacher or parent rep to see when your class is scheduled. Middle schoolers will be collecting and stocking the shelves at the St. John’s food pantry throughout the year. For more information contact Gabrielle Keller – 212.477.5316 ext. 260
  • Saturday, November 17th, 11AM-1PM — LREI Arts Project at Hudson Guild
    A wonderful opportunity for LREI children and parents to make centerpieces for the Community Center’s Thanksgiving Feast. Please read the attached flyer for additional information about this annual event.
  • Nov 19 –21 Dollar for Thanks
    Ages: All Ages
    Description: We will be collecting in the Sixth Avenue lobby and the Charlton Street lobby. All proceeds will go towards purchasing a Thanksgiving turkey for a soup kitchen. LREI contact: Tatjana Kalinin – 917 371 6591

4) Would you like to contribute to a great cause and get in a good run or walk at the same time? Join the LREI Race to Deliver team! God’s Love We Deliver will hold their annual 4-mile run/walk called the Race to Deliver on Sun., Nov. 18; this year will be the first time there is an LREI team! To join, visit http://www.racetodeliver.org, click on Join a Team, and choose LREI from the list of teams. Prior to the main race, there are Fun Runs for kids, at manageable distances. It is lots of fun, the kids get goody bags, you can run, walk or cheer on the participants. Even if you don’t run, your children can participate in the kids’ runs, and any running friends you may have can sign up to be on our team as well.

5) PA Sponsored Theater Event: The PA would like to invite parents to a (quickly) upcoming event as part of our school’s ongoing discussion of diversity and community.
On this Monday, November 19th, the LREI Parents’ Association is sponsoring an evening at the Public Theater to see “Yellow,” the latest work by David Henry Hwang, award-winning author of M Butterfly(see link below for more information). We will then have the opportunity to meet with the playwright after the show. Tickets are $30. Additional information is available at: www.publictheater.org/view.php?mode=eventdisplay&eventid=869. For tickets please contact Sue Richman at: susan.richman@mssm.edu

6) Save the date: The Literary Evening is scheduled for Thursday, December 6th at 7 PM in the Charlton Street PAC. This year’s event is entitled “Kinfolk and Other Strangers,” featuring authors A.M. Homes, Marthe Jocelyn, Bliss Broyard, Porochista Khakpour, and Dominic Carter. Please plan to join the Literary Committee for an evening of literature, plus great food and drink.

7) Please read the attached letter from the LREI Lesbian Gay Straight alliance (LGSA) announcing the upcoming Visibility show.

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

9) 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 2007-2008 calendar. You can also access their website at http://www.parentsinaction.org/.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) A reminder that Irwin Scholar Applications are due no later than 4PM on Monday, November 19, 2007. Notification letters will be mailed during the week of December 10, 2007.

2) From High School Principal Ruth Jurgensen: Thanks to those of you who joined a tour or attended one of the open houses. It was a pleasure to meet with you. For those parents who were unable to attend, we hope you will schedule a visit to get to know your high school, or feel free to attend my informal Thursday coffee in the high school cafeteria, 7:45-8:15 AM, through November 29. I look forward to getting to know your child’s passions, academic interests and plans for their LREI High School experience. If you have any questions regarding our diverse, rigorous program, please do not hesitate to contact me. Here are some additional opportunities to learn more about the high school program:

  • Over the next few weeks, each eighth grader will spend a morning at the High School visiting classes.
  • If you were not able to attend one of the High School tours, please contact Director of Admissions Samantha Caruth who can schedule you for a tour at some other time that is more convenient for you. Samantha can be reached at scaruth@lrei.org or at extension 305.
  • If you have any questions about the high school program, please contact Ruth (rjurgensen@lrei.org or at extension 303). If you would like to make a reservation for one of the general admission tours, please contact Director of Admissions Samantha Caruth (scaruth@lrei.org or at extension 305).

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

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

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

For additional information, follow these links:

Don’t forget to check the LREI website for updates and other interesting school-related information.

Be well,
Mark

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