Weekly Email October 27, 2005

Dear Parents,

I have had many occasions to think in the past few weeks about traditions. There have been three signature events recently that represent new incarnations of venerable LREI traditions. Let me speak first about our visitors from Germany. Immediately after September 11, 2001, students from the Gunter-Stohr-Gymnasium School outside of Munich, Germany felt the need to reach out to students from a school in downtown New York City. Out of this initial correspondence, the German exchange program was founded. Ten German students and their chaperone arrived nearly two weeks ago, and they have fully integrated themselves into our community over these past days. On our website, we note that, "Eighty years ago Elisabeth Irwin revolutionized American education by taking students out of the classroom and into the world." Now in its fourth year, this exchange represents a natural manifestation of that philosophy.

Next, Minimester: Last week, all students from grades eight through twelve, plus our German exchange students, participated in mixed grade groups in our three-day immersion term of mini-courses designed to engage students in a stimulating range of subjects. Students are afforded extraordinary opportunities to learn and experience a subject on multiple levels - immersion in one topic, an interdisciplinary approach and freedom from the constraints of the regular schedule. Minimester itself is only five years old as a tradition, but the spirit behind Minimester springs from the long history of LREI as a laboratory school. This year's offerings (descriptions attached): Contemporary Art; Food; Kinetic Sculpture; Foreign Culture Through Cinema; Bollywood Musical; Drumline; Buddhism; Genealogy - Learning About Your Family; From Pictures to Print: A VERY Concise History and Exploration of Publishing; Pinhole Photography; Box Sculpture: Remnants of Memory - Sculpture, Painting, and Collage; Broadcasting; The Sikh Faith; Religious Observance in New York City. Students built robots and pinhole cameras; visited galleries and restaurants and schools and houses of worship; analyzed foreign films and modern art trends; made exotic dishes and decorative book jackets; formed a drumline, recorded part of a radio show and filmed a Bollywood musical; and investigated themselves by designing family trees, creating personal history box sculptures and interviewing family members about their religious traditions. The final presentation on Friday afternoon, which consisted of visual presentations outside of the PAC and performances/demonstrations inside, showed what students can accomplish together when they are engaged in meaningful work. An entire community left for the weekend exhilarated by the fruits of this collective progressive endeavor.

One other LREI tradition that is very much alive is that of service to the community. Last week, I wrote about the Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert, the second benefit concert in two years. Through a long history of activism and of involvement in a variety of movements, most notably the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, LREI students have, as long as the school has existed, poured their minds and their bodies and their souls into the service of the community and of those in need. And, when all goes well, administrators are smart enough to get out of their way.

Other long-held LREI traditions continue as well. While we do not go on one trip per week as an entire school, as the whole of LREI did for many years at its inception, just recently - along with the many Minimester trips referenced above - twelfth grade Data Analysis students visited the New York Stock Exchange; tenth and eleventh grade music students went to hear Itzhak Perlman and the New York Philharmonic rehearse Mozart's Adagio in E and Rondo in C, Schubert's Symphony No. 3 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 at Avery Fisher Hall (see the New York Philharmonic website for more open rehearsal dates); tenth grade history students went to explore the Slavery in New York exhibition at the New York Historical Society; eleventh and twelfth graders from the Dangerous Language English elective traveled to Bleecker Street and Sixth Avenue to teach lower school students about banned children's books; and on, and on. These trips all serve a common purpose, just as they did in 1921 - to inspire students who are blessed with a rich, interdisciplinary, rigorous, progressive educational experience, one I see in classrooms every day.

What traditions will the High School Principal be writing about in twenty, thirty, forty years? What tradition will your child start?

Important announcement
Bhawanie Singh, LREI High School Biology and Environmental Science Teacher since 1994, has decided to retire in the middle of this year in order to pursue his many outside-of-school passions. Prominent among these are the Bhawanie Singh Sunday Night Show. From his website:

Bhawanie Singh has been hosting radio shows for approximately five years. He's currently hosting The Bhawanie Singh Sunday Night Show on WWRL 1600 AM Super Radio. The show is aired every Sunday Night from 8.30 - 10.30 pm. The Bhawanie Singh Sunday Night Show is in its third year and is listened to by a population with a density of approximately 4 to 5 million people in the tri-state area.

The Bhawanie Singh Sunday Night Show offers two full hours of solid entertainment. Listeners get a chance to interact with Bhawanie Singh on matters of Hinduism, Sensitive Community Issues, The News from Guyana and Trinidad and Provocative Indian Songs. Listeners described the experience as truly thrilling and rewarding. The show specially targets the Indo- community in the Tri-State area, an amalgamation of people from India, Guyana, Trinidad, and the rest of the world. Prior to this Bhawanie hosted the Local Talent show on WPAT 930 AM radio for three years. He also did some work on WBAI 99.5 FM.

A search for Bhawanie's replacement for the remainder of this year is already underway, and several excellent candidates have been identified; the new teacher will start at the beginning of the second trimester. Bhawanie has graciously agreed to continue to work for the school through January in order to ensure a smooth transition for the students, the continuation of trips to such places as the Gowanus Canal and our connection with the River Project at Pier 26. I will be in touch with the parents of Bhawanie's advisees directly. Please join me in wishing Bhawanie the best as he begins this next chapter in his life.

Events coming up soon/attachments:

Please see Director Phil Kassen's letter on the Hurrican Katrina relief efforts at LREI.

Thursday, October 27, 6:30 PM - Eleventh Grade Potluck/College Information Evening

Sunday, October 30 - Halloween Fair (see attached flyer), 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Don't Miss the Halloween Fair!
This Sunday, October 30th from 1:30pm-4:30pm at St. Anthony's Gym, 143 Thompson Street (between Houston & Prince)

There is still a need for volunteers to help run ghostly games, creepy crafts and the haunted maze. Please sign up in the Sixth Avenue lobby or contact PamDalton@aol.com or ZedPicayo@aol.com.

For those who want to help set up and decorate, please come to St. Anthony's Gym on Saturday, October 29th from 10am to 6pm. Childcare will be available.

Don't miss the fun!

Tuesday, November 1, 6:30 PM - Ninth Grade Potluck

Thursday, November 3, 6:30 PM - The first Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support meeting, Charlton Street

If there are any questions please contact Lisa Auerbach at Luna671@aol.com.

Thursday, November 10, 6:30 PM - Tenth Grade Potluck

Friday, November 4 - Saturday, November 5 - High School Musical: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Tuesday, November 15, 6:30 PM - High School Parent Reps Meeting

Grade level meetings followed by group meeting. Ninth grade parents will meet at 6:00 PM for a discussion group facilitated by NYC- Parents In Action, Inc.; other grades meet at 6:30 PM. Minutes from the last meeting are attached.

Take care,

Tony

CALENDAR
October
* Thursday 27 Eleventh Grade Potluck, 6:30 PM
* Sunday 30 Halloween Fair, 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM

November
* Tuesday 1 Ninth Grade Potluck, 6:30 PM
* Thursday 3 The first Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support meeting, Charlton Street, 6:30 PM
* Friday 4-Saturday 5 High School Musical
* Thursday 10 Tenth Grade Potluck
* Tuesday 15 High School Parent Reps Meeting
* Wednesday 23 School closes at noon for Thanksgiving
* Tuesday 29 Last day of Trimester I classes
* Wednesday 30 Trimester I Exams/Presentations

December
* Thursday 1-Friday 2 Trimester I Exams/Presentations; End of Trimester I
* Monday 5 Trimester II begins

As always, please browse the web site at www.lrei.org. Also, note the links to the Middle and Lower School weekly emails on the right. Please take a look at what the students in the other two divisions are up to!

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