If, in the light of things, you fade
real, yet wanly withdrawn
to our determined and appropriate
distance, like the moon left on
all night among the leaves, may
you invisibly delight this house;
O star, doubly compassionate, who came
too soon for twilight, too late
for dawn, may your pale flame
direct the worst in us
through chaos
with the passion of plain day.

Derek Walcott

Dear Families,

Please join us on Monday night for our "Save Darfur" benefit, produced by students Vio Picayo, Lily Wiggins and Kamillah akLaff. Some reasons to make every effort to support this cause (from SaveDarfur.org):

-Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.

-Since early 2003, Sudanese armed forces and Sudanese government-backed militia known as “Janjaweed” have been fighting two rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The stated political aim of the rebels has been to compel the government of Sudan to address underdevelopment and the political marginalization of the region. In response, the Sudanese government’s regular armed forces and the Janjaweed – largely composed of fighters of Arab nomadic background – have targeted civilian populations and ethnic group from which the rebels primarily draw their support – the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

-The Bush Administration has recognized these atrocities – carried out against civilians primarily by the government of Sudan and its allied Janjaweed militias – as genocide. António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has described the situation in Sudan and Chad as “the largest and most complex humanitarian problem on the globe.” The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militias are responsible for the burning and destruction of hundreds of rural villages, the killing of tens of thousands of people and rape and assault of thousands of women and girls.

-With much international pressure, the Darfur Peace Agreement was brokered in May 2006 between the government of Sudan and one faction of Darfur rebels. However, deadlines have been ignored and the violence has escalated, with in-fighting among the various rebel groups and factions dramatically increasing and adding a new layer of complexity to the conflict. This violence has made it dangerous, if not impossible, for most of the millions of displaced persons to return to their homes. Humanitarian aid agencies face growing obstacles to bringing widespread relief. In August 2006, the UN's top humanitarian official Jan Egeland stated that the situation in Darfur is "going from real bad to catastrophic." Indeed, the violence in Darfur rages on with government-backed militias still attacking civilian populations with impunity.

-On July 30, 2004, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 1556 demanding that the government of Sudan disarm the Janjaweed. This same demand is also an important part of the Darfur Peace Agreement signed in May of 2006. On August 31, 2006, the Security Council took the further step of authorizing a strong UN peacekeeping force for Darfur by passing resolution 1706. Despite these actions, the Janjaweed are still active and free to commit the same genocidal crimes against civilians in Darfur with the aid of the Sudanese government.

Many thanks to all who have supported this event. If you cannot attend the benefit, but would like to make a donation, please let me know.

In other LREI news, as you may know, this week we were visited by a group of educators and administrators for our ten year accreditation review for NYSAIS. Although the week was incredibly busy, it was also rewarding for all of us, since we had the opportunity to discuss all aspects of our program. Following is a letter from Director, Phil Kassen:

Dear LREI Families,

Our NYSAIS Visiting Committee left at the end of the school day on Wednesday. As the next steps in the accreditation process will continue for the next few months, there was little that our visitors could tell us at a meeting we had on Wednesday afternoon. A few comments they did share:

· They were impressed with the level of engagement of students in all three divisions. They commented on how welcoming and articulate the students are and how happy they seem in school.
· They spoke of the thoughtful conversations they had with LREI’s faculty and staff.
· They thanked us for the ways in which we welcomed them into the LREI community.

Once we have received a final copy of the committee’s report we will share appropriate sections with the community. We will share commendations, recommendations and our plans for addressing the recommendations. We will share a similar set of plans that grows out of our conversations about your responses to the parent survey.

Thank you for your participation and interest.

Best,

Phil

Finally, as this will be the last blog before Thanksgiving, there is quite a bit of information and announcements, so be sure to scroll down. Most importantly, let me wish you and your family a wonderful holiday.

All the best,

Ruth


Calendar for November:
November 17, 2006-Special Assembly: The Skidmore Accents, an acappella group from Skidmore which includes our own alum, Allison Wiggins (class of 2005), 1:00 PM, PAC
November 20, 2006-Please join us for a very important event: Save Darfur benefit concert, 6:30-8 PM, PAC
November 22, 2006- Thanksgiving break. School closes at 12:00 PM.
November 27, 2006- Review Day (regular classes meet)
November 28, 2006- Reading Day (School is open. Students may use this time to work on papers, projects, meet with teachers and use the Tech Center and Library. No regular classes.)
November 29-Dec. 1, 2006-Trimester I Exams and Exhibitions
November 30, 2006-Parents of Children who receive Academic Support meeting, 6:30 PM. The topic for this meeting will be The Learning Support Program here at the high school. Jerry Cascio and Patricia Carter will join the meeting.
December 4, 2006- Human Rights Day, all day, Charlton Street.
December 5, 2006-Arts Assembly, 1:00 PM, PAC


This Week's Attachments and Announcements:


1. Join the LREI Varsity boys and girls basketball teams for their home openers on Tuesday, November 28th at 4:15 and Wednesday, November 29th at 4:00PM in the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 143 Thompson Street. Come out and cheer on our student athletes. Go Knights!

2.Ragtime DVD is available now! Professionally shot and edited DVDs of Ragtime (of the Saturday evening performance) can be ordered through danmeyerson@gmail.com or mattschlichter@gmail.com. DVDs are $28 each and include a copy of the artwork on the playbill and the cast list. This is a great opportunity to hold onto the experience of this production for future portfolios, family screenings, as well as adding a great DVD to your collection.

3. This Saturday, the Parents Association Community Service Committee will be going to the Fulton Community Center of Hudson Guild to join with some of the seniors to make centerpieces and decorations for the Hudson Guild's Annual Thanksgiving Feast.

This event is open~to students in~all divisions as well as parents, teachers and staff. As an added benefit, this~is a community service opportunity for High School students. More importantly, it is a wonderful intergenerational event that affords the opportunity to meet some very interesting senior citizens who live in our area. It's really a lot of fun. There will be bagels, juice and coffee.

4. LREI in the news: The New York Sun

5. Please do not schedule appointments, medical or otherwise, during the school day, between 8:30 AM and 3:50 PM. When a student must leave early for a non-emergency, it is very disruptive to the academic program and to a student's progress in any given class. Thank you.

6. Please check out the Community Service Calendar!

7. There is a change of date for the next Parent Rep meeting. We will be meeting on December 5, 6:30 PM in the Charlton Street cafeteria. Here are the minutes from our last meeting on November 7, 2006 written by parent Denise Adler:

Joining us was Amy Shapiro who introduced Jane Gabin (jgabin@lrei.org), who is working as a part time associate with Amy until she goes on maternity leave. Jane will be full time until Amy's return, and then will go back to part time. This is Jane's third year in college counseling; she has ten years experience working in college admissions at UNC Chapel Hill. She started her career as an English professor. She is very much into “de-stressing the college selection process” and knows what admissions offices are looking for based on her experience. She is also a mother who has been through this process with her own children.
The two counselors described the process as it takes place at EI. They said it helped that they were able to really get to know the students because it was such a small community. They also said that it was fine for students to be undecided in a major, that professors preferred this. The key is to find out what students expect in their college communities by distinguishing between the must haves and the negotiable. There is a college trip in the spring to three or four campuses with the Eleventh Grade. Where they go is based on the broad a spectrum of needs in the class. January 7, 2006 is College Night and College Class starts in December with two trimesters in Eleventh Grade and one in Twelfth.
A question was asked about taking a gap year (deferring for a year). Both Amy and Jane said it was much better to take advantage of the support available here, which means if a student is considering this, he or she should apply, get accepted and then defer. There are established gap year programs and some colleges are more flexible to them than others.
Also on the agenda was PSAT, SAT and ACT tests. Tenth and Eleventh graders take the PSATs in October. This is a preparatory test only and the scores do not count. They are a good measure of where a student is and where one should be. For students who are not strong test takers, there is test prep program in the spring for Eleventh Graders. This prep is for the SATs but some people think they should also try ACT test as these tests are gaining popularity in our area. In addition, there are some colleges that do not require tests -- go to www.fairtest.org where there is a list of colleges that are test optional.
Finally, Ruth told us of the new schedule for exams. Instead of starting right after Thanksgiving break, Monday will be a review day. Attendance is required. Tuesday is a reading day (the library will be open, all staff will be here and students can use this day to prepare at school or at home), and exams begin on Wednesday -- students may come for their exams and then leave.

Submitted 11/15/06 DJA

8. The Parents' Association Food Committee is hard at work! Through the efforts of this very active parent body, we aim to work with an enthusiastic administration and an open-minded catering company to continue to upgrade the quality and variety of the food served in school. We are also discussing ways to bring nutrition discussions into each classroom to educate our children about how to eat more healthfully. In the future, the Food Committee hopes to invite guest speakers to talk to parents interested in learning more about your family's nutrition. Stay tuned!

9. Please do not plan vacations that fall outside of scheduled school breaks. Each school day is important. Today’s classroom experiences are building blocks for tomorrow’s. Missing school on either end of a scheduled break, or at any time other than when school is closed, is disruptive to your child’s education and to that of her/his classmates. Often, the days preceding our longer breaks include community events such as buddy activities and assemblies. These essential community events are important. We feel strongly that students should not miss these occasions. It is our policy that teachers not prepare work ahead of time, or help students to catch up, if your family will be vacationing at times when school is in session. If your family is presented with a singular opportunity to travel that offers significant educational advantages we encourage you to speak with the division’s principal in advance.

10. It is essential that all students arrive at school on time. Students who arrive late often find it difficult to enter into the class’s discussion or activity. Some students find that this lag can last for the whole school day.

11. Parents! Have your own LREI experience through the SEED (Seeking Educational Equity & Diversity) monthly parent dialogue group. Share stories, explore assumptions, view films and exchange information. Please contact Sharon DuPree (sdupree@lrei.org) or Peggy Peloquin (ppeloquin@lrei.org) if you are interested in joining LREI's first parent SEED group and the next meeting.

12. 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.