Weekly Email January 5, 2006

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year! I hope the vacation has left you and your family rested and relaxed. Two important events in the next two weeks:

* TONIGHT!!! 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

* Parent-Advisor Conference Day - Friday, January 13
Your child's advisor should call to set up an appointment in the next couple of days if he or she has not done so already. This is a vital time for you and your child, working with your child's advisor, to take stock of how the first trimester went and look to the remainder of the school year. During the next week and a half, students will discuss their first trimester results with their advisors and set goals for themselves for the remainder of the school year. During the conferences on Friday, parents and advisors will have some time by themselves and then will be joined by the students. The purpose of these meetings is not only to help each student think about how to improve academic performance, but also and in the long run more crucially, to help each student come to know him- or herself as a student and as a person, and to move toward becoming an independent and self-correcting life-long learner.

Other announcements:

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

(1) 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.

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

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

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

* I am sorry to report that, after struggling with her health over the past several months, first-year Mathematics and Science Teacher Alissa Wall has decided not to return to LREI for the remainder of the school year. Nicholas Taussig, who has been filling in for Alissa since early November, has agreed to stay on and continue to teach her classes. Tenth Grade Dean Tom Murphy will continue to serve as Advisor to Alissa's advisees, as he has been. Please join me in wishing Alissa well.

All the best,

Tony

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

February
* Saturday 4 Coffeehouse!
* Tuesday 14 High School Parent Rep Meeting

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.