Community

I hope that this note finds you well.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day On – I want to begin today’s note by expressing my gratitude to all who participated in Monday’s MLK Jr. day on. Thank you to the organizers – the Parents Association Community Service Committee, thank you to the families who came and worked and talked and sang together, and thanks to all who donated pajamas and books. We will deliver over 500 PJ/Book/Scarf packs for children in need through our work with the Pajama Program. A great day and a great tradition.

Federal Shutdown – if your family is affected by the federal shutdown, please let us know if and how we can support you and your family. Contact whoever at the school you are most comfortable speaking with.

Senior Project – The clock is ticking for the members of the class of 2019. I am not sure how many days of classes they have left, but with their last day of classes being the day before Spring Break, we are getting close. After Spring Break, the seniors are involved in their senior projects which they have been planning since the beginning of the school year. As we explain to the seniors, Senior Project is the culmination of each student’s career at the High School. An inquiry-based independent project, Senior Project challenges students to explore the values and academics of LREI in the outside world. Through a process of reflection, research, and prototyping, students design individual projects that allow them to answer an essential question through an experience in an area of personal interest. Projects may take many forms: academic coursework, internships, independent undertakings, or some combination. Challenges should be personal, professional, intellectual, or creative.

For many of our students, internships or apprenticeships are a pivotal part of the Senior Project experience. We’ve found that the single best resource to find opportunities for our senior class is our own community of families. We invite you to help our seniors out and add to our rich program by becoming involved! If you can host a bright, thoughtful, and hard-working LREI senior in your own work, or have a connection to a person or organization who would welcome this opportunity, we hope that you will contact us and let us know. If you have questions about the program,  feel free to contact me for more information or contact our Senior Project coordinators, high school librarian Karyn Silverman at ksilverman@lrei.org, or high school science teacher Preethi Thomas-McKnight at ptmcknight@lrei.org.

Below are some experiences seniors have already identified as potential Senior Project paths. I have not listed all that our seniors are looking for, and sometimes an LREI connection will spark an important revision of a student’s plan, so please do not feel limited by this list. Send us your thoughts, we will make the connections.

Opportunities being sought by seniors – magazine publishing (fashion and/or political/current events); podcasting, radio, and journalism; immigration law or related non-profit agencies; fashion marketing and/or branding; sports management/marketing; and film making or editing; automotive engineering, and tech/coding.

Even if you can’t offer support or a connection for Senior Project opportunities, we hope you will still contribute to our database of community expertise and experience. As a reminder:

“To make it easier for your share your passions and interests with students at LREI, we’ve created The Wellspring, which will serve as a central place to collect these possibilities for partnership. By adding your information to The Wellspring, teachers across all grades will be better able to connect with members of the community who can help to narrow the distance between the classroom and the larger world. One thing that we do know from our many years of work with families is that every family has something important to add to the well.

Please add to the well.