Weekly Email April 28, 2005

Dear all,

I start this week's email with a note from Director of College Guidance and Eleventh Grade Dean Amy Shapiro. While this note is written to Eleventh Grade parents, I believe that this is an important note for everyone to read. Our college guidance program is truly progressive in every sense of the word: individualized, student-centered, and empowering. By the time students apply to schools, they feel fully in charge of the process, and they have found colleges and universities that they feel fit their own individual talents and needs. I give you over to Amy:

Dear Eleventh Grade Parents,

I write today to update you about TWO important college-related announcements.

First:
Last week's college trip was an absolute success. The students were enthusiastic, well-behaved, attentive, and prepared. They impressed the admissions representatives with their thoughtful questions and genuine interest, and they were model representatives of LREI. Most importantly, though, they are now ready and better able to discuss with you (and with me) those qualities and programs they are seeking as they continue to conduct their college research (i.e., City school or suburbs?, Art school or liberal arts?, Small school or larger?, Public or private?, University or college?, etc.). With this experience under their belts, they also are better prepared to consider and evaluate the programs and facilities that are of interest to them at any schools they visit in the future. I hope they found the experience a valuable one and that they had as much fun as the chaperones (Sarvjit, Tom, and Micah) and I did.

Second:
There are two college fairs coming up and I strongly encourage you and your child to attend both (I generally do not urge you to attend college fairs but I promise you these won't disappoint). One is the Manhattan College Fair, scheduled for May 1st from 6pm-8pm. The other is the "Colleges that Change Lives" information session and fair which is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18th from 7-9pm. Details on each of these events including location and some general information are attached. I hope to see you there.

Amy :)

Coming next week from Amy: Lists of college acceptances and up-to-the-minute matriculation news ...

Other announcements:

* Next week, on Tuesday May 3rd, LREI welcomes back William Ayers, Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bill Ayers has written extensively about social justice, democracy and the political and cultural contexts of schooling. He will meet with students, visit classes and conduct a faculty workshop. A reception will be sponsored by The Parents Association at 8:45 AM in the 6th Avenue cafeteria. For more about Bill Ayers and about educating for democracy and social justice at LREI please see Nick O'Han's message about this important educational thinker and innovator.

* The School Store will be open at Charlton Street on Friday from 12 PM - 2 PM. Nothing says "Happy Spring" like stuff with the LREI logo!

* The next High School Parents of Students of Color Group meeting will take place tonight from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM, at 40 Charlton Street, Room 13. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

* Please note the upcoming events listed below, including the Middle School play (featuring many soon-to-be High Schoolers) on May 6 and 7 and the RESCHEDULED COFFEEHOUSE on May 21.

Take care,

Tony


UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, April 28, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM - High School Parents of Students of Color Group Meeting, Charlton Street

Friday, April 29, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM - School Store open at Charlton Street

Wednesday, May 4, 6:30 PM - The Big Auction

Friday, May 6, 7:00PM - Middle School Musical, Charlton Street PAC

Saturday, May 7, 2:00PM & 7:00PM - Middle School Musical, Charlton Street PAC

Wednesday, May 18, 6:30 PM - High School Parent Reps Meeting, Charlton Street

Thursday, May 19, 6:30PM - Spring Chorus Concert, Charlton Street PAC

Saturday, May 21, 7:00PM - Coffeehouse, Charlton Street PAC - NOTE NEW DATE!!



As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org for updates and information about goings on around the school. All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.

Weekly Email April 21, 2005

Dear all,

As you read this email, second trimester grades and comments are on their way to you. As I reviewed the comments, I was struck by a number of things:

* These comments demonstrate the enormous number of ways that students are able to choose their own educational paths. From personal narratives to science projects to creative presentations across the disciplines to uniquely individualized artistic opportunities, in class after class, students are able to direct their own curricula in ways large and small. This is one of the basic tenets of progressive education - that students will be more invested in material they own and will thus better internalize lifelong learning habits and, indeed, love of learning.

* These comments also demonstrate the great extent to which our faculty knows and cares about each individual student. In comment after comment, I was impressed by the insight the teachers have into the students' learning styles and habits. More impressive, however, was the affection that is so obvious in so many of the comments. I especially noticed the tone of the comments to Seniors. Many of the comments came from teachers who had known the students for several years, and there was an unmistakable mixture of pride and sadness as faculty wished the 12th graders well as they completed their LREI classwork. This continues to be a school built upon the wonderful relationships between students and faculty.

It is also true that because the writing of these comments coincided with the start of the third trimester, the comments took a long time to complete and assemble, longer really than is acceptable. The faculty spent a good deal of time in a recent meeting discussing ways in which we can make our communication home more efficient. As we come up with concrete proposals, I will be sure to discuss these ideas with the parent reps. In addition, High School Technology Coordinator Tim Cooper and I are hard at work on a technological approach that will allow the comments to have a more unified look and format (we are on our way there already, but have not yet arrived at where we should be). Again, the content of the comments is – I think - terrific in the ways I have discussed above, but as we grow as a school we need to improve our format and delivery.

Some announcements:

1) Please see the attached Literary Committee "Stay-at-Home" Flyer. Stay at home and read TONIGHT!!!

2) The next High School Parents of Students of Color Group meeting will take place on Thursday, April 28th from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM, at 40 Charlton Street, Room 13. Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Take care,

Tony


UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, April 21 - Literary Committee "Stay-at-Home" Evening

Thursday, April 28, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM - High School Parents of Students of Color Group Meeting, Charlton Street

Wednesday, May 4, 6:30 PM - The Big Auction


As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org for updates and information about goings on around the school. All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.

Weekly Email April 14, 2005

Dear all,

Important announcement: Parents of 11th Graders, please read this notice from Director of College Guidance Amy Shapiro about the upcoming college trip on Wednesday April 20 and Thursday April 21. The most crucial reminder - the trip starts when the students arrive at 7:00 AM on Wednesday morning!

Typically, we have hit the ground running as Trimester III begins. There were some exciting events over the past week at Charlton Street:

* On Saturday, we had an extended Coffee House. As usual, the Jazz Band played a nice number, and there were performances by a good number of student and faculty combos. We then had two featured performances by the Medics and the Hysterics, two bands which include LREI High School students. The PAC was packed, and a fabulous time was had by all.

* On Tuesday, the High School celebrated Poem In Your Pocket Day with an assembly dedicated to student and faculty readings. Many members of the community read old favorites, while others read original works. As always, long-time History teacher Mark Bledstein closed the show, this time with a rousing rendition of a monologue from the movie Slam. PIYP Day was actually designated for Wednesday; however, we read our poetry on Tuesday because of another important event on Wednesday ...

* On Wednesday, more than thirty-five high school students participated in a national Day of Silence, organized at LREI by the Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance. Each student wore a rainbow ribbon and carried a card that read:

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices that you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?

The Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association (USSA), is a student-led day of action where those who support making anti-LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) bias unacceptable in schools take a day-long vow of silence to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT students and their allies.

There was another event on Tuesday evening - Phil, Director of Admissions Samantha Caruth, a number of faculty and students and I talked to parents of current fifth through seventh graders about the High School. Afterward, one parent approached me to say how impressive our students were as they talked about their enthusiasm for their curricular and extracurricular lives at LREI. All of these events together remind me of our commitment to celebrate the intellectual and the aesthetic and the principles of social justice, and to do so every week and every day.

Two more items:

1) Please see the attached Literary Committee "Stay-at-Home" Flyer.

2) Saturday's Family Sing dedicated to former LREI music teacher Charity Bailey was a remarkable community event, highlighted by the surprise visit of Pete Seeger, who knew Charity when she taught at LREI and came to help us celebrate her musical legacy. For more on the event, including a wonderful photo gallery, go to Nick O'Han's message at http://www.lrei.org/whoweare/family_sing.html.

Take care,

Tony


UPCOMING EVENTS

Friday, April 15 - School closed - High School Professional/Planning Day

Tuesday, April 19, 6:30 PM - High School Parent Reps Meeting, Charlton Street

Wednesday, May 4, 6:30 PM - The Big Auction


As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org for updates and information about goings on around the school. All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.

Weekly Email April 7, 2005

Dear all,

Welcome back from what I hope was a restful break. The third trimester has begun, and the Charlton Street building is quickly back to its usual buzz. Some important announcements:

1) Music on Saturday, Part I: This Saturday is our annual " Family Sing," a terrific Community Event starting at 1:00 PM in the 6th Avenue auditorium. This year we will be remembering the life and legacy of legendary LREI music teacher named Charity Bailey. For more about this remarkable person and the event, please go to Nick O'Han's message at http://lrei-ed-news.blogspot.com.

2) Music on Saturday, Part II: The Coffeehouse has been moved back 1/2 hour to 6:30 PM on Saturday at Charlton Street - all are welcome!

3) The New York City Stock Market Game program is pleased to announce that a two-person team of LREI 12th graders (members of the Data Analysis class) was the first place finisher in the High School division of the 1/24-4/01 Stock Market Game (SMG) session. The team has been invited to attend the SMG Awards Ceremony held in late May 2005 at the New York Stock Exchange. The ceremony will recognize the top teams of both the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 sessions. (It should be noted that a different LREI two-person team came in third in the Fall 2004 session!)

4) From the members of the High School Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance (LGSA): On Wednesday, April 13th, students in the high school will be participating in a national Day of Silence organized by the High School LGSA. The Day of Silence, a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ([ http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/home.html ]GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association ([ http://www.usstudents.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=7 ]USSA), is a student-led day of action where those who support making anti-LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) bias unacceptable in schools take a day-long vow of silence to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT students and their allies.

5) From School Nurses Kitty Highstein and Joanne Gouge: Welcome back to spring! Thank you for everything you’ve done to keep our students with nut/seed allergies safe. Please continue to remember to be especially careful when preparing or buying food to bring into school for special occasions such as potlucks, intermission snacks for plays, publishing parties, etcetera, that none of it contains nuts or seeds of any kind. Meals packed for field trips should also be nut and seed free. The same goes for off-site spring picnics. We hope you all had a wonderful break. It’s good to see everyone again!

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org for updates and information about goings on around the school.

All the best,

Tony


UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday, April 9, 7:00 PM - COFFEEHOUSE AT CHARLTON STREET!!

Friday, April 15 - School closed - High School Professional/Planning Day

Tuesday, April 19, 6:30 PM - High School Parent Reps Meeting, Charlton Street

Wednesday, May 4, 6:30 PM - The Big Auction


(All attachments are in .pdf format. To view these files, please download Adobe Reader, if you do not already have it. Click on this link or paste it into your browser: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html.)