home (hōm)
n.
1. A place where one lives; a residence.
2. The physical structure within which one lives, such as a house or apartment.
3. A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it; a household.
4. An environment offering security and happiness.
5. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.
6.The place, such as a country or town, where one was born or has lived for a long period.
7. The native habitat, as of a plant or animal.
8. The place where something is discovered, founded, developed, or promoted; a source.
9. A headquarters; a home base.
10. An institution where people are cared for.

Admissions season has begun. As we are ready to tour families and host open houses, our Twelfth Graders are ready to apply to college. They are naturally beginning to feel stress; we all are aware, competition is fierce and students are made to feel by some colleges that they are not good enough before they even apply.

The class of 2007, who have been so good at balancing everything, now worry about how they look on paper and how they will be judged by their transcripts and scores. Thank goodness, they continue to go through this process with the unconditional support of our faculty and staff, but especially with Director of College Guidance, Amy Shapiro.

Now that she is pregnant, we look to our new community member, Associate College Guidance Counselor, Jane S. Gabin, to assist our students while Amy is on maternity leave. Jane comes to us from UNIS, United Nations International School, where she was a college guidance counselor. She has also worked in admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill and at Chapin in the college guidance office. Jane has a PhD in English from UNC-Chapel Hill and just had her book, American Women in Gilded Age Britain: Expatriates Rediscovered, published by University Press of Florida. Undoubtedly, her experiences will help our students understand and articulate their own, and we welcome her to LREI!

So, even though Twelfth Graders are beginning to feel the pressure, we are confident in their ability to successfully balance classes and college applications with Amy and Jane’s guidance. And in a few months, they will graduate and move on. However, we know they will continue to love their school and come back to visit, not only because of the friends and faculty they knew, and not because of the college they will choose to attend. Perhaps it is because when they were here, we expected them n to of course do their homework, participate in the community, and make a commitment to civic responsibility, but also to respect each other, to pick up after themselves, and to have fun. We do this because LREI is not just a school. It is a home.

All the best,
Ruth


Calendar for October:

October 14, 2006: Coffee House! 7:00 PM, Charlton Street in the PAC. This is an evening of poetry, music, dance and comedy, all performed by students and faculty!
October 17, 2006: High School Parent Rep Meeting with "Freedom Institute," 6:30 PM, Charlton Street. This is open to all high school parents. We will be discussing student wellness, substance use and abuse, and how to speak to your children about making informed choices.
October 18, 2006: PSAT day for Tenth and Eleventh Grades
October 19, 2006: Parents of Students who receive Academic Support meeting, 6:30 PM, Charlton Street
October 26, 2006: Tenth Grade Potluck Dinner, Charlton Street, 6:30 PM
October 24-26, 2006: New dates for Minimester

This Week's Attachments and Announcements:


Diversity & Community Evening

Please join us for the next Diversity & Community Evening: "How to Continue Diversity Conversations at Home," on October 10th at 6:30pm in the Sixth Avenue Auditorium. The evening will be hosted by Sharon DuPree, Director of Diversity & Community, Phil Kassen, Director and Administrative and Faculty Colleagues. Come hear about effective strategies, share experiences, ask questions and learn about resources available to parents.


Please remember, every Thursday morning through December 7, parents are invited to have coffee at the high school with me. We are there from 7:45-8:15, in the cafeteria.

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.