Dear Middle School Families,

For our fifth graders, it has been an exciting last few days as the many weeks of study of the ancient Egyptians culminated in their much anticipated Egyptian Tomb project. The depth of their study was clearly in evidence in the comprehensive tours that they gave of the tomb, in their focused museum demonstrations and in the recorded excerpts from their research papers playing in the listening room. In what was one of the most important part of the project, students stepped into the demanding role of expert and guide. Through this process, students solidified the important knowledge and skills that they had worked on throughout the project. As a result, the tomb became more than just a culminating experience it was an authentic assessment of student learning.

Authentic assessments ask students to read real texts and use real materials, to write for authentic purposes about meaningful topics, to confront meaningful problems that may have multiple solutions, and to participate in authentic tasks such as discussions, presentations, experiments, journal and letter writing, and regular revision of their work. Most importantly, authentic assessment values the thinking behind work, the process, as much as the finished product. As the tomb was unearthed beneath the sands of our “third floor Sahara,” the more significant discovery was each student’s realization of just how far s/he had traveled on this journey.

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I hope that you all have a relaxing and restful spring break and return refreshed for the many other authentic assessments that will unfold as we move towards the end of the year.

Of General Interest . . .

1) From Phil–“Congratulations to Jesse Karp, LREI ’87, and one of our librarians, on the publication of his first novel, Those That Wake, hitting the shelves in a bookstore near you on Monday, March 21st.  I was so engrossed as I read Jesse’s compelling prose on the ride home tonight that I almost missed my stop. More info at www.beyondwhereyoustand.com“

2) We thrilled to announce that our High School Robotics team won the US FIRST Tech challenge championship at the Javits Center against 66 other private and public high school teams from New York City, and around the Tristate area. LREI’s High School Robotics team’s competition included the three robotics teams from Stuyvesant High School, schools with thousands of students and against schools with as many as seven teams in one school. As a result of their hard work, their incredible efforts and most importantly their design and innovation, LREI Robotics are representing the region in the World Championship competition in St. Louis at the end of April. In addition to winning the tournament, LREI also won the PTC Design Award (and they report that this is the one they are most proud of) for innovation and function of their robot and were finalists in 2 other notable awards: The Think Award which is for their Engineering Notebook (designs, ideas and process) and The Innovate Award (for original design of robot). We could not be more proud or more inspired by this team!

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3) To parents who drive for drop off or pick up: We had a dangerous near miss on Wednesday in the crosswalk at Bleecker and Sixth Avenue. Please remember safe driving etiquette is critical in front of a school. If you drive to or from school, do not stop the car in crosswalks as these are for pedestrians. Wherever you’re pulled over, look around alertly for people walking before pulling out. We know that ours is a busy intersection and that it is hard to find spots, but all the more important that parents who drive are alert and safe. And, remember, that there is no legal parking on either the Sixth Avenue or the Bleecker Street sides of the school.

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

5) Adult r (ED): The third term of our adult classes, Adult r(ED), begins after Spring Break. Click here to see a listing for these courses.

6) A message from Chap, Director of Diversity and Community: A reminder that our final Open PA Diversity morning, How to Raise an Ally: Social Justice at LREI Part 3 of 3 is on Friday, April 29, 8:45 – 10:00 am

7) From the LREI librarians: LREI’s WELL REaD event is coming up on Thursday, April 7th from 6-8 pm. This year WELL REaD offers a book club model in place of the panel of librarian we’ve had in the past. This means audience participation! You will be reading the books in advance and joining in the discussion. Each group has an overarching thread that the librarians have pulled out, and each book chosen is there for specific reasons. Where the discussion goes is entirely up to the group! This is what makes it so exciting! We invite you to choose a book according to your interest (not necessarily by your child’s age).

• Perhaps you are interested in the supernatural or have heard all of the buzz around the Hunger Games series – sign up for Karyn Silverman’s group (Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins).
• If graphic novels are your thing, sign up for Jesse Karp’s group (American Born Chinese by Gene Yang and The Arrival by Shaun Tan).
• Are you interested in exploring a mix of dystopian and realistic fiction? Jennifer Hubert Swan’s group (The Schwa Was Here by Gary Schmidt, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer) demonstrates just how fabulous middle grade fiction can be.
• If you are interested in teasing out positivity and exploring social justice in a more subtle way, come to Stacy Dillon’s group with a mix of a picture book, a graphic novel and an illustrated novel (A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams, Cameron and His Dinosaurs by Scott Christian Sava, and The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow).

We are very excited to have this opportunity to “talk books” on a deeper level with you all! You’ll find information about when and where you can sign up for a book group and purchase these books in the next item below, and a sign up to attend at the front desk of the Sixth Avenue building. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to stop by the library and speak with one of the librarians! We hope to see you there!

8) Literary Committee: Get ready for a great evening of wine, cheese and lots of lively discussion about the books our kids are reading! Make sure you give yourself time to read those books. Spring Break is right around the corner and a perfect time to do just that! If you didn’t get a chance to sign up, the RSVP and Childcare forms are at the Sixth Avenue Reception Desk. (Childcare is $15 per child, $5 for siblings.) You may also e-mail Mary Shea, at mshea@LREI.org. Please sign up by Monday, April 4. If you still need books, please write to us at LiteraryCommittee@lrei.org. We’re looking forward to a fun night of spirited discussions with our fellow parents and librarians! Hope to see you there!

9) Red is Green: Save the Date. April 20th, 6-8pm. During “Earth Week” at LREI, Jamie Cloud of the Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education (and LREI parent) will be giving a presentation/workshop for parents, teachers and students (5th grade and older). Jamie has worked with several schools to advance sustainability in the classroom. She will lead a hands-on workshop that will help participants develop an awareness of sustainability and how to apply it to every day living and learning. If you want to attend, please email Red is Green at RedisGreen@lrei.org

10) Come check out the Afterschool blog at: http://blog.lrei.org/afterschoolphotos/

11) The Big Auction Committee needs your help! We have four weeks to collect all our donations for the auction. The auction benefits LREI’s tuition remission program. The deadline for donations is March 13th. We have received some amazing donations so far but we need more! We would love to get 100% participation from all the families at the school. If each family could solicit or donate one item that would be amazing. We welcome donations that are big and small. Here is a list of ideas/suggestions:

• Restaurant gift cards (we have very few restaurant donations so far)
• Services like music lessons, exercise sessions, cooking lesson, closet makeover, spa treatment, interior design consultation
• Air miles
• Know a designer? Is there a store you frequent? Bags, dresses, jeans, all clothing, mens, womens, kids (all new of course)
• Jewelry (again, new of course)
• Theatre tickets, sport event tickets
• Studio tours
• Holiday homes
• Kids’ parties
• Beauty products
• Hotels
• Autographed signed items, guitars, posters, etc.
• Cases of wine

These are just some ideas. Please feel free to email us, bigauction@lrei.org, with questions or suggestions. We have attached a donation form; completed donation forms should be returned to Liza Sacks in the Advancement Office. You should have all received the Save the Date card. The Big Auction will be at Capitale on May 11th. We are planning a great party and look forward to seeing you all there.

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

13) 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 past week’s Middle School Parent Rep Meeting.

2) We wish safe travels to members of our eighth grade who are off to Paris and Madrid and our high school students who leave this week for Beijing.  We look forward to hearing of  your adventures!

3) Last week, our seventh and eighth graders had the opportunity to dialog with Brooklyn College professor Moustafa Bayoumi about the historic events happening in North Africa and the Middle East. Professor Bayoumi provided important geographic, cultural, and political background to the events and then engaged students in a discussion about the meaning and significance of these events for the region and for us. Students were focused and thoughtful and well-informed on the issues, which have been a subject for discussion in classes. We hope that Professor Bayoumi will join us for future discussion; you can learn more about his work at http://www.moustafabayoumi.com/.

4) As you heard from Phil earlier in the week, students from all three divisions will be working together to identify ways that LREI can provide support for the on-going relief efforts in Japan. On a more immediate note, I hope that you were able to participate in today’s bake sale run by our fourth graders, which represented an initial effort to engage the LREI community in this important work. To this end, sixth grader Luca informs me that her band Outer Child will be performing at Nublu in the East Village (Avenue C, between 4th and 5th Streets) this Sunday, March 20th, at 4:00pm. All proceeds from this concert will go to Red Cross – Japan’s Relief Found. Click here for more information about the show.

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5) Family Conferences and Subject Area Meetings (April 14th and 15th): Click here to sign up for conferences . At the Family Conference, your child will share work samples, offer reflections on her/his work and identify some goals for the fourth 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 year. As we did in the first quarter, you will also be able to have brief meetings with each of your child’s teachers should you so choose. To schedule these subject specific meetings please click here (link will be activated shortly). As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers if you have questions about her/his performance and/or the curriculum.

6) Mark your calendars: Just a heads up that our annual MS Arts Festival will open on Thursday, April 28th at 6:00PM for seventh and eighth grade families and at 6:30PM for fifth and sixth grade families. The evening will feature studio art work from students in all grades, digital art created by the eighth graders and performances by the seventh and eighth grade performing arts major classes (instrumental music, vocal music, dance and drama). The entire Sixth Avenue building will come alive with the arts. We hope to see you all there. In addition, the art displays in the auditorium will also be up on Friday, April 29th.

For Eighth Grade Families . . .

No updates this week.

For Eighth and Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) The New York State Theatre Education Association (NYSTEA) and Reaching Andromeda Theatre (RAT) invite you to attend the NYC Student Theatre Conference hosted by and taking place at LREI. This interactive conference for seventh and eighth graders will take place on Saturday, April 9th, 2011 at Charlton Street and will run from 10:00AM-4:00PM.  A broad range of performing arts workshops available from introductory to advanced levels. A sample of workshop offerings include: Theatre Sports, Improvisation, Shakespeare, Juggling, Acting, Commedia dell’arte, Directing, Radio Plays, Theatre Tech, and Musical Theatre, just to name a few… The conference is  great way to get to know kids from other schools and an amazing opportunity to work with theatre educators and professionals in the arts in NYC! There is a $5.00 entrance fee. Email Mark Silberberg to sign up your child. For more information contact Meghan Farley Astrachan, mastrachan@lrei.org. Click here to view the conference flyer.

For Seventh Grade Families . . .

1) Mark your calendars for our annual Sixth and Seventh Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Monday, April 11th at 6:30PM.

2) From Elizabeth and Matthew: We are excited to inform you that in conjunction with our current study of the American Revolution and our upcoming study of the Constitution itself, on Thursday, April 21st, the seventh grade will travel to Philadelphia for a day-long trip. We will visit the National Constitution Center, where we will participate in several activities that will help us better understand the founding and establishment of our country and its constitution. We will also visit Independence Hall and, time permitting, other historical sites. Like our trip to Williamsburg, the trip to Philadelphia will give us a first-hand understanding of important events in Colonial American history. Students should arrive to LREI on the morning of April 21st by 7:00AM. Our chartered bus will be departing promptly at 7:15AM. Students should be sure to bring their writer’s notebook, a bag lunch (with an extra snack for the return trip — we will not stop at a rest stop on the return trip — and as always no nuts, seeds, or glass bottles), an extra sweatshirt and a backpack for these items. Cameras and some spending money (no more than $10) are optional. Students should dress appropriately for the day’s predicted weather, and they should be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes. We will be departing from Philadelphia at around 2:45PM, and expect to return to LREI by 4:15PM. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns. Thank you.

For Sixth Grade Families . . .

1) Mark your calendars for our annual Sixth and Seventh Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Monday, April 11th at 6:30PM.

2) On Wednesday, April 13th, your presence is requested at our annual Medieval Pageant. The evening will begin at 6:00PM and will afford you the opportunity to view your child’s work as it relates to her/his on-going studies of the Middle Ages. Following the viewing of this work, we will convene in the auditorium for a dramatic and musical telling of tales connected to this study. The evening will conclude with a potluck supper in the cafeteria. Your class reps will be contacting you about preparations. In the spirit of the event, you are encouraged to bring in medieval inspired dishes. Below are a number of useful resources for potential recipes:

• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_index.html
• http://www.bitwise.net/~ken-bill/med-p1.htm
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/food.html
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/islamic_dinner.html
• http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_toc.html

2) A related Medieval Pageant request: 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 April 11th. 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.

For Fifth Grade Families . . .

1) A reminder that our annual Egyptian Tomb exhibit will take place during the day on Thursday, March 17th. Heather and Wendy will be in contact with you about scheduling visit times (8:30AM, 9:00AM, and 12:00PM — you should plan to spend about 30 minutes at the exhibit). They would also appreciate a few parent volunteers to help on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 16th, with set up for the tomb and would also appreciate a few volunteers to help with taking down the tomb the day of the 17th starting at 2:15PM. Click here for additional information.

2) Mark your calendars for our annual Fifth Grade Parents Adolescent Issues Evening scheduled for Tuesday, April 12th at 6:30PM.

============= 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