February 21, 2008

Adolescent Issues

Dear Families:

The Adolescent Issues program is an important part of the LREI middle school educational experience. In general, The Adolescent Issues program has three goals. They are:

to help students develop good discussion skills. This includes the ability to explain themselves clearly and the more difficult skill of active and effective listening.
to provide factual information about, and opportunities for discussion on, a wide variety of topics important to pre-adolescents and adolescents.
to provide the skills for, and opportunities to practice, reflective and informed decision making.

We achieve these goals through our weekly Adolescent Issues meetings. These meetings are led by the homeroom advisors, me (fifth and sixth grades) and Phil (seventh and eighth grades). During the first half of the school year, the faculty and the students choose the discussion topics. Throughout the year the fifth grade will continue to have their weekly meeting with a wide range of topics. Starting in January, the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades began the personal safety, sexuality, substance abuse, and portion of the Adolescent Issues program. Below you will find a list of the general areas of discussion for these meetings.

Values and their role in decision making
Sexuality and sexual/gender stereotypes
Puberty, reproductive anatomy, and physiology
Responsibilities of sexual activity
Relationships
Peer Pressure and refusal strategies
Substance abuse
Personal safety

Though the general topics are the same throughout the grades, the actual content and activities differ with the age of the students. However, all of the discussions are based in the belief that as we cannot make all of children’s decisions for them, we must help them to become informed and responsible decision makers. Current discussion and activities include:

Fifth Grade — The fifth grade spent much of the first two quarters discussing issues related to the transition to middle school. These discussions focused on the responsibilities that come with the independence that is part of the middle school experience. We have also spent a fair amount of time talking about friendships and the many pressures that can exert a push or pull on these relationships. In future discussions, we will talk more about issues of school culture, personal safety, and social justice.

Sixth Grade — The sixth grade recently finished an extended unit on the people and forces that influence us. Throughout the unit, we explored the positive and negative aspects of peer pressure. In small groups, students created original skits that showed situations where individuals were being influenced to do things that they didn’t want to do. This led to several discussions on refusal strategies and using peers for positive support. Over the next few weeks, we will explore issues related to personal and home safety. After the Spring Break, we will focus our discussion on substance abuse and puberty and sexuality.

Seventh Grade–At this point in the seventh grade, the focus of Adolescent Issues is supporting the students as they learn to make decisions that are based on their values and to practice making a variety of decisions with increasing independence. Early in the New Year we discussed nutrition and the choices they make about what they eat. We have spent the past few weeks discussing situations where their friends might influence their decisions and skills they can use to make sure that they are following their best instincts. In the weeks to come, we will discuss issues of substance abuse and begin discussions of puberty and sexuality.

Eighth Grade–The Eighth Grade spent time early in the New Year discussing the choices they make about their diet and how they can learn to think ahead to make the most healthful selections. We have spent the past few weeks discussing issues of substance use and abuse and skills that the students can bring to bear on decisions in this realm as they move into high school. These discussions will continue for a few more weeks and then we will begin discussions of puberty and adolescence. As part of the Eighth Grade internship program, we will also use Adolescent Issues time to discuss appropriate work place etiquette.We feel that an important part of this program is the on-going discussion and learning that will hopefully take place at home. We encourage students to discuss the class topics with you. To support these home discussions we are planning a number of Parent Adolescent Issues evenings. They will take place on the following evenings:

Monday, April 7th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Fifth grade evening
Monday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Sixth/Seventh grade evening
We will do an eighth grade evening towards the end of the year, which will focus on issues related to the transition to high school

Middle School psychologist Andrew Weiss and I look forward to seeing you on these evenings. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the Adolescent Issues program.

This Week’s Attachments
General:
2008-2009 LREI Calendar
Eighth Grade:
Seventh Grade:
Sixth Grade:
Fifth Grade:

Of General Interest . . .
1) From Director of Diversity & Community Sandra Chapman: Remember that the LREI Community Photo Exhibit Visibility: Lesbian and Gay People We Love will be on display at 40 Charlton Street until February 29th. You are welcomed to join us this evening from 6-8PM for the High School reception, which will feature photographs and performances by members of the high school community. Beginning March 3rd, the exhibit will be on display for two weeks in the 6th Avenue building. Please join us for the Reception on Tuesday, March 4th, from 6-8pm. If you are unable to attend either reception, we invite you to view the photos with your child and family.

2) Our Annual School Spirit Game, in which our middle school and high school
basketball teams play against the faculty has been rescheduled for
Wednesday, March 5th 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.

3) Also on the subject of basketball, our boys and girls teams have had excellent seasons and both teams have made it to the playoffs. The playoff schedule is below. I hope that many of you can attend to support the teams.

The girls play on Tuesday, February 26th at St. Hilda’s at 4:30PM
The boys play on Wednesday, February 27th at Thompson Street at 4:15PM
The girls finals are at Calhoun on the Thursday, February 28th at 4:30PM
The boys finals are at Trevor Day on Friday, February 29th at 3:30 PM

4) Click here to view the 2008-2009 LREI Calendar.

5) Students enjoyed seeing a preview of An Evening with Tennesse Williams at this week’s Middle School meeting. All of the performers featured were fantastic, and the play, a series of one-acts, which will head to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland this summer, promises to be a memorable, enjoyable night of theater! Please join us on Thursday, Feb. 28, Friday, Feb. 29 and/or Saturday, March 1, at 7 PM. Tickets are on sale at the Charlton Street reception desk starting tomorrow.

6) Presentation on LREI’s Finances: Michel de Konkoly Thege will make a presentation concerning LREI’s finances that is open to all interested members of the LREI community. The presentation will be in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria at 8:45AM on Tuesday, February 26.

7) On Thursday, February 28, 2008, 7:00PM, Freedom Institute‘s Independent School Program presents an evening with Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair on “How to Be a Go-To Parent: Raising Kids of Character.” To be held at the Nightingale-Bamford School (20 East 92nd Street, New York, NY). For more information, contact: Charlanne Zepf Bauerlein at 212-838-0044 ext. 11.

8) We are very pleased to announce that six of our high school photography students were selected among High School and University student submissions for an upcoming exhibition at Synchronicity Fine Arts, 106 West 13th Street. The opening reception is on February 9 from 2-5 PM; the show runs from February 5 through March 1.

9) The NY INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL runs from February 29 through March 16. Check out the best new film and video for ages 3-18 featuring animated, live action and experimental shorts and features. For info and to purchase tickets click here and use the LREI discount code (DCT2007)

10) Upcoming Service events:

Monday, February 4, 2008 — Pennies for Patients Drive begins (through 2/25)
The funds, collected during this three-week period, benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Monday, March 3, 2008 — Project Cicero Book Drive (through March 6)
We are 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. 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. We 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.
As a class fundraiser, the ninth graders are collecting used ink jet cartridges and old/broken cell phones. They will send the collected items to an organization that recycles them and the class will receive cash for these items. Please note that the collection is limited to used ink jet cartridges and old/broken cell phones. For additional information go to www.fundingfactory.com. They will begin collecting used cartridges and cell phones on Wednesday, February 6th and will continue until Thursday, May 22nd. A collection box will be located in the Sixth Avenue lobby. Tell your friends and family about this opportunity so that these items can be recycled and don’t end up in landfills.

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

12) 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 grades 6-8
It’s time to go….. “INTO THE WOODS” for the Middle School musical! This adapted version of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapin’s original Broadway hit exquisitely combines our favorite fairy tale characters in a humorous script with unforgettable music. The results promise to be a hugely entertaining production for all ages.

Auditions will take place this Friday, February 22nd and Monday, February 25th after school.
As an ensemble, we will sing a portion of the prologue together. You can practice the piece by listening to the sound file that appears below (click here to view the lyrics).
[display_podcast]
At the audition, students will also be asked to sing a song of their choosing and to present one of the following scenes from the musical (Rapunzel’s/Cinderella’s Prince or Cinderella).
Actors can find out more about the play and the characters online at Audition Central.
Sign up sheets and contracts are posted on the bulletin board outside of Mark’s office.
Students will need to attend assigned rehearsals after school leading up to the performances on May 9th and 10th. (No rehearsals will take place during spring break). Contracts will need to be signed before a role can be assigned.

For Eighth Grade Families . . . .
1) Please make sure that your child is registered for the DC trip and that all balances are due by 3/4/08. Click here to access the registration form.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .
1) Monday, April 14th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM: Adolescent Issues Parent Evening

For Sixth Grade Families . . .
1) The Medieval Pageant is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12th . 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 10th. 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.

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

For Fifth Grade Families . . .
1) We will have two fifth grade parent-only discussion groups to address adolescent issues. The first one on Thursday, March 6th at 6:15PM will be lead by a Parents In Action facilitator. The second one on Monday, April 7th at 6:30PM will be lead by Mark Silberberg and Middle School psychologist Andrew Weiss. All parents/guardians are encouraged to attend.

For additional information, follow these links:

Calendar of Events
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.

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

Be well,
Mark