Weekly Email December 15, 2005

Dear Parents,

All the best for a restful vacation filled with family and friends,

Tony

Announcements:

* Tomorrow is a half-day. School will close at 12:00PM (11:45AM, Early Childhood).

* From Phil: In the case of a transit strike, no school on Friday, December 16th. If we decide to close we will send out a community-wide email and phone call.

* Important announcements for parents of eleventh graders from College Guidance Counselor Amy Shapiro:

(1) Proposals for NYU college preview courses (see attachment) are due at the end of the day on Wednesday, Jan. 4th - no exceptions!

(2) Mark your calendars for College Night (see attachment): Tuesday, January 10 for parents of Sarvjit's and Janet's advisees or Wednesday, January 11 for parents of Julia/Ruth's, Vin's, and Karyn's advisees.

(3) Veritas Test Prep begins on January 18th. Secure your child's spot with a check for $600, payable to LREI.

* LREI College Panel and Parent Reception
Join recent LREI graduates and hear them talk about their college experiences and how LREI influenced their transition to college.
Thursday, January 5, 6:30 PM
40 Charlton Street, Library
Panel discussion and questions, reception to follow.

Panelists:
Akim St. Omar '02 - Boston College
Shayna Jeffers '02 - Wesleyan
Thea Bardin '02 - University of Florida
Ian Patrick '03 - Vassar College
Brian Marmolejos '04 - Yale University
Michael Sokol '04 - Drexel University
Alison Wiggins '05 - Skidmore College

* Please see the attached letter from Director of Education Nick O'Han about the visit to the school of Dr. Joseph Featherstone on January 3rd and 4th.

* The next meeting of the Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support will take place on Thursday, January 12th - NOTE THE DATE CHANGE - at 6:30 PM.

* Please note that LREI will be closed on Monday, January 2 and that we will have a professional day on Tuesday, January 3. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 4.

* There will also be no classes on Friday, January 13 to allow for Parent-Advisor conferences. Your child's advisor will be in touch with you during the first week back to set up appointments.

* Our next Parent Reps meeting will be on Tuesday, January 17.

* A very nice note from Middle School Community Service Coordinator Gabrielle Keller: Last year, for three weeks in February and March, the MS participated in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's "Pennies for Patients" program. The students collected their pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters in core homerooms and together raised more than $1700! On Wednesday, December 14th, Andi Grahlman, LREI's campaign coordinator, came to MS meeting to present the school with a plaque on behalf of the Society. The MS was recognized for tripling its giving last year from the first year, and we also had the highest per capita donation amount in the five boroughs! Congratulations to all the students. We look forward to participating again come February.

* Finally, another reminder - please see the invitation to participate in VISIBILITY: Celebrating the Lesbian and Gay People We Love, coming February 13, 2006.


January
* Monday 2 School closed - Legal Holiday
* Tuesday 3 School closed - Professional Development Day
* Wednesday 4 School reopens
* Thursday 5 LREI College Panel and Parent Reception
* Thursday 12 Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support meeting
* Friday 13 School closed (High School) - Parent-Advisor Conferences
* Monday 16 School closed - MLK, Jr. Day
* Tuesday 17 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Saturday 21 Coffeehouse!

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!

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.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.

Weekly Email December 8, 2005

Dear all,

What a week at the High School! The start of the new trimester, with all of the excitement of new science classes for ninth and tenth graders, new arts classes in all grades, and new English and history electives for eleventh and twelfth graders, has coincided with an incredible array of speakers who have come in to delight and enlighten and challenge us as part of this year's Book Week (see attached flyer). At Tuesday's assembly, Diana Ossana, co-writer of the movie script of Brokeback Mountain (based on short story by Annie Proulx), showed a few clips of the film and gave an absolutely fabulous talk about reading and writing, the creative process, adaptation, and the trials and tribulations of putting on a movie that pushes the boundaries. Once again, here are the other authors who have come to speak this week (or are coming tomorrow):
+ Gini Alhadeff, author of The Sun at Midday, Tales of a Mediterranean Family
+ Holly Black, author of VALIANT: A Modern Tale of Faerie
+ Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty
+ Jim Knipfel, author of Slackjaw and Ruining It for Everybody
+ John Leland, New York Times Reporter and author of History of Hip
+ Eliot Schrefer, author of The Glamorous Disasters
+ John Patrick Shanley, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Doubt
+ Ed Sikov, author of Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers and Screwball
+ Diana Son, playwright, author of BOY and Stop Kiss
+ Martha Southgate, author of The Fall of Rome

Then, today. Led by eleventh grader Adriane Alicea, the Human Rights/Amnesty International Club led an emotional, thought-provoking day centered around a viewing of the movie Hotel Rwanda. As mentioned in last week's email, the discussion groups that followed were co-led by students and faculty who trained specifically for this day and will use materials developed by high school educators, including our own Spanish teacher Nick Sullivan, specifically for Amnesty International USA (for more information about this program, see Amnesty International USA's education website, or look at the "Hotel Rwanda Teacher's Guide"). In the best progressive tradition, this was a charged and challenging day, one that will have lasting positive effects; however, it was also a thoughtful and safe day, and all credit goes to Adriane and the other students who put an enormous amount of time and energy and care into its planning.

Finally, a personal word. When discussing my new role next year at LREI with both the High School faculty and with the parent reps on Tuesday, I emphasized that we are not in a place in the growth of the High School where we can afford to pause in our management of that growth or our planning for the future, and I intend to do neither over the next six months. Know also that, as always, my first priority will be the care of your children, and that I will continue to be here for whatever assistance I can provide. Do not hesitate to contact me for whatever reason.

Sincerely,

Tony

Announcements:

* LREI College Panel and Parent Reception
Join recent LREI graduates and hear them talk about their college experiences and how LREI influenced their transition to college.
Thursday, January 5, 6:30 PM
40 Charlton Street, Library
Panel discussion and questions, reception to follow.

Panelists:
Akim St. Omar '02 - Boston College
Shayna Jeffers '02 - Wesleyan
Thea Bardin '02 - University of Florida
Ian Patrick '03 - Vassar College
Brian Marmolejos '04 - Yale University
Michael Sokol '04 - Drexel University
Alison Wiggins '05 - Skidmore College

* The next meeting of the Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support will take place on Thursday, January 12th - NOTE THE DATE CHANGE - at 6:30 P.M.

* TONIGHT is Literary Evening! Please see attachment for details.

* Please see the following from the Community Service Committee:
1) A letter about an upcoming event this Saturday;
2) A list of December events;
3) Pictures from the recent Thanksgiving activity.

* The Food Committee will meet on 12/12 at 8:30AM in the 6th Avenue Cafeteria. All are welcome to attend.

* Please note that LREI will be closed on Monday, January 2 and that we will have a professional day on Tuesday, January 3. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 4.

* There will also be no classes on Friday, January 13 to allow for Parent-Advisor conferences. More on that next week ...

* Our next Parent Reps meeting will be on Tuesday, January 17.

* An announcement from High School and Middle School Musical Director Julia Collura:

Dear all:

The Middle School is currently in production for "Arabian Nights", which goes up January 20th and 21st. If you have any of the following items that you are able to lend or donate for the production, I and the cast would be very grateful. Thanks so much and hope to see you at the show!

Theatrical regards,

Julia Collura
Middle School Drama Director

old cushions that can be re-covered.
oriental rugs
two or three divans
sari tops
wide turkish type pants
belly dancing outfits and/or accessories
pointed slippers
costume jewelry
very wide leather belts

* Finally, another reminder - please see the invitation to participate in VISIBILITY: Celebrating the Lesbian and Gay People We Love, coming February 13, 2006.

December
* Monday 5 Trimester II begins
* Monday 5 - Friday 9 Book week
* Tuesday 6 Parent Reps Meeting, 6:30 PM
* Tuesday 6 Book Week Assembly
* Thursday 8 Literary Evening, 7:00 PM
* Thursday 15 Winter Concert, 6:00 PM

January
* Monday 2 School closed - Legal Holiday
* Tuesday 3 School closed - Professional Development Day
* Wednesday 4 School reopens
* Thursday 5 LREI College Panel and Parent Reception
* Thursday 12 Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support meeting
* Friday 13 School closed (High School) - Parent-Advisor Conferences
* Monday 16 School closed - MLK, Jr. Day
* Tuesday 17 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Saturday 21 Coffeehouse!

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!

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.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.

Weekly Email December 1, 2005

Dear all,

The High School is buzzing with terrific presentations of culminating projects over the past week and a half. As the Trimester I exams/presentations period comes to a close, we look forward to a truly exciting first week of the new trimester:

* BOOK WEEK!!! LREI Book Week (see attached flyer) is December 5 through 9, and we have an incredible line-up of authors coming to visit High School classes, as well as the High School assembly:

+ Tuesday's Assembly-Diana Ossana, co-writer of the movie script of Brokeback Mountain (based on short story by Annie Proulx)
+ Gini Alhadeff, author of The Sun at Midday, Tales of a Mediterranean Family
+ Holly Black, author of VALIANT: A Modern Tale of Faerie
+ Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty
+ Jim Knipfel, author of Slackjaw and Ruining It for Everybody
+ John Leland, New York Times Reporter and author of History of Hip
+ Eliot Schrefer, author of The Glamorous Disasters
+ John Patrick Shanley, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Doubt
+ Ed Sikov, author of Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers and Screwball
+ Diana Son, playwright, author of BOY and Stop Kiss
+ Martha Southgate, author of The Fall of Rome

Also as part of Book Week, on Thursday, December 8th at 7 PM at Charlton Street, we will have the 9th annual Literary Evening. This year we are featuring six outstanding Gulf Coast authors (including LREI parent and poet Ron Price), and serving Gulf Coast cuisine; see attached flyer for more details. Tickets cost $20 and will be available in the 6th Avenue lobby or at the door. As part of the evening, on the 8th we will have the Book Fair Annex at Charlton Street from 2 PM to 6 PM, featuring many of the authors who are visiting High School classes as well as those who will speak at the Literary Evening. Please see a note from the Literary Commitee to High School parents regarding Book Week in general and the purchasing of books inn particular.

Speaking of books: Here is a response from a High School in Louisiana to the great quantity of High School books that were gathered by our terrific Literary Committee with High School Librarian Karyn Silverman and sent down to the area from LREI:

Once again, I can't thank you and all of those who helped you for your time and generosity. I have divided books among eleven English teachers, a drama teacher and a chemistry teacher. The leftover chemistry books will go to my friend who is the principal of the Math/Science High School in New Orleans. Their building flooded and most of their materials could best be described as mush. They think they may re-open in January. My school's enrollment is at about 80%, and our principal announced that we will probably lose about 7 teachers. (We are supposed to be one of the lucky schools.) I am not concerned about my job, but I do feel for the younger faculty members. It is a very strange year indeed. We have taken in kids form New Orleans and other area schools so obviously many of ours have not returned.

Things here are far from normal-- even though much of the stuff in our neighborhoods has been picked up. Some neighborhoods are still piled with trees, trash, sheet rock and carpets, and most New Orleans neighborhoods are still uninhabitable after dark because there is still no electricity. In some areas people come in to work during the day and then drive 50 or more miles to sleep at night. The French Quarter and the University areas are slowly coming back. The mayor estimates that about 20% of New Orleaneans are back now. Others say less. Others should return as utilities are restored; however, we know some areas will never be the same or even rebuilt.

Anyway-- I wanted to thank you again and update you on our progress. Your generosity made a difference.

And there's even more going on during this packed week:

* On Tuesday and Wednesday, the school store will be open (see attached flyer) during both lunch periods (11 to 1 and 12 to 2, respectively). Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like stuff with the LREI logo!

* Our next Parent Reps meeting will be on Tuesday, December 6 and will focus on issues regarding safety and the Internet. High School Graphic Arts teacher and Technology Coordinator Tim Cooper will join us. Please peruse the minutes of the most recent meeting on November 15.

* On Thursday, December 8, the Human Rights/Amnesty International Club will run an ambitious day centered around a viewing of the movie Hotel Rwanda. The discussion groups will be run by students and teachers who have trained specifically for this day and will use materials developed by high school educators, including our own Spanish teacher Nick Sullivan, specifically for Amnesty International USA. For more information about this program, see Amnesty International USA's education website, or look at the "Hotel Rwanda Teacher's Guide."

* An announcement from High School and Middle School Musical Director Julia Collura:

Dear all:

The Middle School is currently in production for "Arabian Nights", which goes up January 20th and 21st. If you have any of the following items that you are able to lend or donate for the production, I and the cast would be very grateful. Thanks so much and hope to see you at the show!

Theatrical regards,

Julia Collura
Middle School Drama Director

old cushions that can be re-covered.
oriental rugs
two or three divans
sari tops
wide turkish type pants
belly dancing outfits and/or accessories
pointed slippers
costume jewelry
very wide leather belts

A quick summary of just some of the recent events at the High School:

* Buddy Day activities linking our students with their fellow LREI-ers from the Lower and Middle Schools
* An exciting and fun-filled Spirit Game (yes, the faculty were victorious!)
* A student-run Hispanic Heritage assembly
* Another successful showing at Apple Store Soho
* A student-run assembly paying tribute to departing Biology teacher Bhawanie Singh (see the email from October 27 for more details about Bhawanie's careers inside and outside of LREI)

Finally, another reminder - please see the invitation to participate in VISIBILITY: Celebrating the Lesbian and Gay People We Love, coming February 13, 2006.

All the best,

Tony

December
* Thursday 1 - Friday 2 Trimester I Exams/Presentations; End of Trimester I
* Monday 5 Trimester II begins
* Monday 5 - Friday 9 Book week
* Tuesday 6 Parent Reps Meeting, 6:30 PM
* Tuesday 6 Book Week Assembly
* Thursday 8 Literary Evening, 7:00 PM
* Thursday 15 Winter Concert, 6:00 PM

January
* Monday 2 School closed – Legal Holiday
* Tuesday 3 School closed – Professional Development Day
* Wednesday 4 School reopens
* Friday 13 School closed (High School) – Parent-Advisor Conferences
* Monday 16 School closed – MLK, Jr. Day
* Tuesday 17 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Saturday 21 Coffeehouse!

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!

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.
If you are having trouble opening the attachments, go to http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ms/ to access the files.