Dear LREI Community,
Welcome back for the last week of school before Spring Break. Our plan is to have school all week unless it becomes safer not to do so. Two thoughts on this:
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As I said in my Friday, March 6 message (which can be found at LREI.org/updates), while we will definitely close if the public schools close, we may decide to close if the public schools remain in session.
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It is possible that we will close, for a day or longer, with little or no notice. In addition to whatever other preparations you may be taking, it would be prudent to begin to plan for childcare, as needed.
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Wash your hands, stay home if sick, seek medical help as needed. Can’t say it enough.
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LREI Lunch Service – in order to limit exposure during lunch service, we will be offering fewer options at the salad bar and on the hot food line. All serving will be done by adults. We will continue to have vegetarian options, etc. For the time being, lower school and middle school students will use the hot food line to get their lunches rather than eating family-style.
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For families that have planned travel for Spring Break – We will be in touch near the end of the break with reminders of public health suggestions as to which areas, when visited, will require self-quarantine. Do not hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.
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We know that many members of our community are required to travel for their professions. Please keep the school informed if your travel has resulted in exposure to the virus or if your health care provider has additional guidance for you and your family as a result of any business travel.
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Suspected exposure – If you suspect that a member of your family may have been exposed to the coronavirus, please alert one of the school nurses by calling the school’s main number, 212-477-5316 or by emailing them. For the lower school and middle school, Ava Dawson – adawson@lrei.org. For the high school, Linda Perlmutter – lperlmutter@lrie.org or Joanne MacDonald – jmacdonald@lrei.org.
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You have or will receive some general information regarding our plans for
LREI@home. By Wednesday, we will post more specific plans for all three divisions on LREI.org/updates. These plans will be put into practice after Spring Break IF we are closed. We are posting them this week to allow families to have some idea of our expectations for their child’s participation in our daily LREI@home program.
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For older students, we are asking students to bring their school assigned devices and many of their other school materials home with them each evening and back to school each day. Thanks, families, for helping to keep students organized.
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LREI@home will include Afterschool for those students who are enrolled in core Afterschool, enrichment classes, and/or instrumental lessons. The Afterschool office will be in touch with details.
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If your family will have challenges accessing this online program at home for technical reasons, please speak with your child’s teacher, advisor, or any trusted LREI adult. We will work with you to find a solution.
A childhood friend who is the excellent head of an excellent school emailed a list of illnesses that have impacted the lives of many more people than COVID-19 has, thus far, and likely more than it will in the long run. Another friend posted on social media the question of what would happen if we were able to create the same energy we have around the coronavirus in service to preparing for and responding to the issues brought on by climate change the way we have in only the past few weeks regarding the novel coronavirus. I was at a meeting of NYC school heads last week and one member of the group asked why we were able to motivate so many to prepare for school closing, to respond to this illness, but we have a harder time motivating all in our communities to respond to the “sickness” of racism? I am still thinking about this one.
I like these questions. I like the idea that one thing that could possibly come out of our current situation is that we recognize the power of science and truth, the power of clear communication, and the power of collective action. Let’s all remember this when we are through this current period.