Weekly Email March 16, 2006

Dear parents,

GO WILDE! What an amazing show! On three consecutive nights, audiences were transported in time and place to a land of gentility and farce. From outstanding performances to spot-on set and costume design, a truly magnificent evening. Now, on to Scotland for the traveling troupe!

We head into Spring Break and look ahead to a typically packed April and May, Coming up:

* Once again, I have attached a workshop proposal, in .pdf format and in .doc format, for the LREI Arts Festival 2006! This year, the Arts Festival is occurring on Friday, April 28, and will involve all students from grades 8 through 12. This is an exciting day when students choose from a variety of workshops offered by faculty, friends, parents and others in and out of the LREI school community. The workshops run in the morning and are followed by an afternoon of exhibitions. For more details, please see the attachment; in particular, if you or someone you know is interested in offering a workshop, please send the form in to me by Friday, April 14.

* Repeat announcement: For parents of Seniors: A letter outlining the details of how the Senior Project will run during the third trimester.

* Heads up - on the first Saturday back from break, COFFEEHOUSE! (When I say "Coffee," you say ...). This COFFEEHOUSE will have a bit of a harder rocking theme, with some of our louder bands playing.

* COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITY
Saturday, April 8
LREI Spring Arts Project at Hudson Guild
Ages: all ages boys and girls LS through High School (COMMUNITY SERVICE CREDIT AVAILABLE)
Hours: 11am - 1:00pm
Location: Elliott Center, 441 W. 26th St (bet. 9th & 10th)
description LREI children and parents will make Spring Crafts to decorate
the Community Center. The center is located in Chelsea and provides services
and programs for young and old which help community members achieve
stability and self-sufficiency.
For more information, see www.hudsonguild.org

LREI contacts: Denise Adler - 917.363.3343 or Jennifer Edson - 917.740.8654

From my family to yours, wishing you a break filled with rest and relaxation,

Tony

March
* Wednesday 1 - Friday 3 Trimester II Exams/Presentations
* Thursday 2 Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support Meeting
* Monday 6 First day of Trimester III classes
* March 7 Diversity and Community Discussion
* Thursday 9 - Saturday 11 High School Play
* Tuesday 14 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Friday 17 Founder's Day; School closes at noon for Spring Break

April
* Monday 3 School reopens
* Saturday 8 Coffeehouse!
* Tuesday 11 Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day
* Thursday 13 School closed - Passover
* Friday 14 School closed - Good Friday
* Tuesday 18 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Friday 21 School closed - High School Planning/Meetings Day
* Friday 28 High School Arts Festival

May
* Saturday 13 Coffeehouse!
* Tuesday 16 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Thursday 18 Spring Concert; Day 40 of Trimester III classes
* Tuesday 23 High School Sports Award Evening
* Friday 26 Field Day - No Classes
* Monday 29 School closed - Memorial Day
* Wednesday 31 Senior Project Presentation Evening

June
* Monday 5 Last day of Trimester III classes
* Tuesday 6-Thursday 8 Trimester III Exams/Presentations; End of Trimester II
* Thursday 8 Senior Banquet
* Friday 9 Graduation
* Monday 12-Tuesday 13 Closing days
* Tuesday 13 School closes at noon for Summer Vacation





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 March 9, 2006

Dear parents,

First - THANKS FOR THE APPRECIATION!!!

From all of us to all of you.

Last week's three-day Trimester II Exams/Presentations showed the range of product that results from our excellent progressive program. Just a few highlights:

* Tenth grade English students gave multi-media presentations on major figures from the Harlem Renaissance in the PAC, while ninth grade English students performed scenes from Macbeth. One student in Fairy Tale Literature presented from the point of view of a therapist who treats those characters who, it turns out, do not live so "happily ever after" after all.

* Students in the ninth grade Arts rotations displayed amazing work in Studio Art and Photography and gave rousing dance and dramatic performances. Meanwhile, students in the various music classes entertained the entire High School in a post-exams assembly.

* Students in science classes from all grades gave presentations to their peers on everything from comparative digestive systems in lions and sea lions to futuristic "green" communities to the physics of planetary orbits.

* Students in tenth grade history presented outlines of their upcoming research papers on major historical figures of the United States.

* Students in Calculus demonstrated that using integrals to calculate volumes of revolution actually works by measuring common household shapes (e. g., a Bundt cake pan), performing the calculations and then filling the shapes with water. Meanwhile, ninth grade mathematics students showed their geometrical prowess in everything from designs to bridge-building.

* Students in various French and Spanish classes presented on a variety of cultural aspects of various countries and regions where those languages are spoken. As always, food was involved.

Needless to say - with my apologies to many of my colleagues - this list is not complete. And needless to say, there were many papers handed in and many "traditional" tests being taken. In all, the week represented a terrific window into a High School where students amass the facts and learn the skills they need, but then put those facts and skills to use toward authentic tasks in which they are deeply invested.

Another window into the High School is this year's list of assemblies to date. The attached list - as impressive as it is - does not do justice to the richness of experience that the students have come to expect every Tuesday afternoon. The list of assemblies up through January included civil rights lawyer Ron Kuby and Diana Osana, co-screenwriter for the - I can say this now - Oscar-winning screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, and also included inspiring multi-media presentations on Diwali, Hispanic Heritage, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Chinese New Year. Despite these highlights, the presentations from the past four weeks have raised the bar even higher. The four presentations - by Shirin Neshat, Iranian-born filmmaker, visual artist and political activist; Staceyann Chin, Jamaican-born lesbian, feminist and performance artist; Kyra Gaunt, NYU Associate Professor and author of The Games Black Girls Play; and the Central Asian Cultural Exchange presenting the musical and oral traditions of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan - were, in turns and together, entertaining, absorbing, thrilling, emotionally and intellectually challenging.

In and out of the classroom, we - students and faculty alike - are continually expanding our horizons.

This week's announcements:
* I have attached a workshop proposal, in .pdf format and in .doc format, for the LREI Arts Festival 2006! This year, the Arts Festival is occurring on Friday, April 28, and will involve all students from grades 8 through 12. This is an exciting day when students choose from a variety of workshops offered by faculty, friends, parents and others in and out of the LREI school community. The workshops run in the morning and are followed by an afternoon of exhibitions. For more details, please see the attachment; in particular, if you or someone you know is interested in offering a workshop, please send the form in to me by Friday, April 14.

* COME TO THE SHOW! That is, this year's H.S. Play, Gone Wilde - An Evening with Oscar Wilde (see the press release on the web site), which will open Thursday evening, March 9th at 7pm, with performances Friday, March 10th, and Saturday March 11th, also at 7pm, in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $8 in advance (available at the Charlton Street front desk), $10 at the door.

* Repeat announcement: For parents of Seniors: A letter outlining the details of how the Senior Project will run during the third trimester.

* The next Parent Rep meeting will be on Tuesday, March 14 at 6:30 PM. Director of Diversity and Community Sharon Dupree will join us.

All the best,

Tony

CALENDAR
February
* Wednesday 22 VISIBILITY opens at Charlton Street
* Tuesday 28 Last day of Trimester II classes

March
* Wednesday 1 - Friday 3 Trimester II Exams/Presentations
* Thursday 2 Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support Meeting
* Monday 6 First day of Trimester III classes
* March 7 Diversity and Community Discussion
* Thursday 9 - Saturday 11 High School Play
* Tuesday 14 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Friday 17 Founder's Day; School closes at noon for Spring Break

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 March 2, 2006

Dear parents,

A number of important attachments/announcements this week:

* For parents of Seniors: A letter outlining the details of how the Senior Project will run during the third trimester.

* From Phil Kassen, Director:

On Tuesday, March 7th we invite you to join the first of two upcoming diversity discussions. At this gathering, Sharon DuPree—our Director of Diversity and Community—will present our Diversity and Community Action Plan. This plan outlines the ways in which we, the LREI community, will achieve the diversity goals that are central to our mission. We are finishing the last draft of this plan and parent input is essential to the success of these efforts.

During the second part of this evening we will all—parents and faculty—share strategies for having important and often difficult conversations about issues of diversity with your children. Conversations started in school often travel home. How can you continue and expand these conversations so that your children can see that their families are thinking about these important issues as well.

On Monday, April 17th we will host a second conversation. We invite you to join a discussion of the School’s placement policy for Lower and Middle School students. We send home more information about this conversation over the next few weeks, but are hoping to address questions and concerns that we hear in the community.

Finally, please see the attached copy of the Diversity and Community Action Plan and a flyer for the two discussions. I hope to see you on Tuesday.

* Minutes from the most recent Parent Rep meeting. Next meeting: Tuesday, March 14 at 6:30 PM.

* You are cordially invited to attend this year's H.S. Play, Gone Wilde - An Evening with Oscar Wilde, which will open Thursday evening, March 9th at 7pm, with performances Friday, March 10th, and Saturday March 11th, also at 7pm, in the Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $8 in advance (available at the Charlton Street front desk), $10 at the door.

Other (some repeat) announcements:

* From Middle School Dean of Students Gabrielle Keller: From Monday, March 6th, through Thursday, March 9th, help us build classroom libraries in New York City Public Schools by donating your new and gently used books. For more information, please read the attached flyer.

* VISIBILITY: If you did not have a chance to see the Visibility: Lesbian and Gay People We Love Photo Exhibit (see the attached press release), it has now moved over to Charlton Street, where it looks fantastic and where it will stay through Friday, March 10. Please do stop by to see this inspiring exhibit.

* From Phil Kassen, Director: Please see the attached invitation to join The Glass Menagerie--an adult chorus started at LREI over 20 years ago. We are thrilled to continue to host their rehearsals and that many members of the LREI community are part of this talented group of singers.

* Art Auction: Thanks to all who attended LREI's Art Auction on February 2, 2006. The Art Auction is an annual silent auction of contemporary fine art. This year's auction has raised almost $100,000 for the Tuition Assistance Program. Please help us to meet our goal by browsing the work still available - go to the Events section of www.lrei.org. If you see a piece that you are interested in buying, feel free to drop by LREI's Sixth Avenue Campus (272 Sixth Avenue at Bleecker Street) between 8AM - 5PM, Monday through Friday. You may also call 212.477.5316 ext. 236 to make an appointment.

* Big Auction: LREI's spring benefit, The Big Auction, will be held on Wednesday, April 26. The auction committee needs help in securing donations from the community in order to be able to offer a wide range of items to make the auction exciting for all who attend. We welcome all creative and unique ideas. Please use the attached donation form and return to the Development Office. If you have any questions, or would like to discuss a potential donation, contact Pippa Gerard in the Development Office by phone: 212-477-5316 ext. 236 or email: pgerard@lrei.org.

Take care,

Tony

CALENDAR
February
* Wednesday 22 VISIBILITY opens at Charlton Street
* Tuesday 28 Last day of Trimester II classes

March
* Wednesday 1 - Friday 3 Trimester II Exams/Presentations
* Thursday 2 Parents of Children who Receive Academic Support Meeting
* Monday 6 First day of Trimester III classes
* March 7 Diversity and Community Discussion
* Thursday 9 - Saturday 11 High School Play
* Tuesday 14 High School Parent Rep Meeting
* Friday 17 Founder's Day; School closes at noon for Spring Break

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.