Happy New Year! I hope that you had a restful and restorative break. We in the Kassen clan took it easy for the past few weeks, enjoying each other’s company and that of friends and neighbors. That said, it is nice to be back at LREI and if the smiles and excitement I have seen this week are any indication, the students agree with me.
While I generally stay away from making New Year’s resolutions, early New Year’s morning I found myself in a quiet home and a reflective mood. What follows are a few resolutions, both for me as a parent and as LREI’s director.
- Over the years, I have convinced myself that there are long stretches of time when I am too busy to read. Rubbish. As we ask our students to do, I will read and write at least a little each day. I read a fair amount over the break—read to myself, read to my kids, read with my kids and had them read to me. I highly recommend it. Please seek out our expert librarians for suggestions for all members of your family.
- While it can be difficult to find service opportunities in which a family with young(ish) kids can participate, I have to do a better job with this if I want my children to see service to others as a requirement, rather than an option. The search is on. If you are interested in a family friendly service opportunity, join the PA Community Service Committee on Monday, January 22nd from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. in the Sixth Avenue Cafeteria.
- While I feel that I learn something new each day, one should always be open to new ideas. By reading more, spending time wandering in and out of the three divisions’ classrooms and finding on-line sources I can increase the flow of new ideas coming my way, some for me to use and some to pass on to others. In the same vein, I invite you to participate in our Adult r(ED) classes, which will begin again in February. I will send home a list of offerings in the coming weeks. Also, please join us for this year’s LREI:Ideas speakers series. We will have three evening events in this series:
- NYU Professor Joeseph Ledoux (LREI alum parent) giving a talk entitled, “Rethinking Emotion: And Why It Matters”, January 31, 7:00 p.m.
- Manhattan Surrogate Judge Rita Mella and a panel of attorneys joining in a discussion focused on, “A Day in the Life of New York City’s Justice System,” Tuesday, April 16, 7:00p.m.
- LREI alum and former staff member Dina Hampton ‘77 speaking about her soon to be published book, “Little Red: Three Passionate Lives Through the Sixties and Beyond,” profiling three LREI alumni–Angela Davis ‘61, Elliott Abrams ‘65 and Tom Hurwitz ‘65, May 30. Time TBA.
Tickets will go on sale soon–$20 / evening or $50 for all three. Students, 7th grade and older, admitted free of charge.
For the school:
- Communication—This is one of those areas that should be on every school’s annual resolution list. We will do our level best to clearly communicate with families about school policy, school events and, most importantly, your child’s intellectual and emotional growth and achievement. We feel we get this right much of the time. However, we can always improve. The flip side is that we ask you to let us know when you have something on your mind, to share your concerns first with the people who are most able to help out, most often those closest to the situation. Please be careful to choose the mode of communication that best fits the message.
- Mission—We work, each day, to have your children’s school experience and all of the institutional decisions we make be reflective of LREI’s historic mission. Our current strategic planning process will certainly help the school to sharpen its focus in this regard. If you have questions about how our progressive practice will meet our educational goals for your children, please ask. Few of us had a progressive education and sometimes our children’s experiences feel unfamiliar. While this is good as it may mean that we are leaving unsuccessful strategies behind, it does not always feel comfortable in the moment. Questions or concerns? Please let us know.
If you have resolutions of your own that you would like to share or discuss or if you have comments or questions about mine, please join me for a cup of coffee next Friday, January 18th, at 8:45 a.m. in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria.
Finally, there are many exciting LREI events in the coming weeks—the Spirit Game and Karamu on Friday, Jan. 25th, and the high school musical, Guys and Dolls, in early February. Check on LREI.org for all of the details. Hope to see you there.
Best to all for a fruitful 2013.