Life is ten percent what you make it, and ninety percent how you take it.

Irving Berlin

With the holiday season, which seems to begin right after Halloween, and of course, with the high school musical, Ragtime, opening tonight and running through Saturday, I have thought of Irving Berlin, who played an essential role in the age of musicals, the advent of jazz and in ragtime. I especially love the quote above and think of it often.

I will really miss the music drifting from the PAC in the evenings, the sound of student voices warming up and running through songs, members of the cast stopping by for a chat between scenes, and talking with Musical Director, Julia Collura, about the complexities of not only the musical itself, with its challenging songs and involved setting, but also the difficulties of our American history and how Ragtime inspires discussion. When reviewing the script initially, we were disturbed by the extensive use of racist language by many characters in the show. After meeting with Director of Diversity and Community, Sharon Dupree, it quickly became clear to us that, while we were confident our students and families have the education to put into context the use of such racially prejudiced and hateful language, we could not guarantee this would be true for every single audience member. We felt that its use would detract from the musical as a whole.

As you may know, Ragtime, is set in the early 1900’s, and examines immigrant tensions and issues of race in America. The musical as it was originally written employs racist and offensive language considered acceptable during the period in which the story is set. Yet, since the musical opened on Broadway in 1988, it has been critically acclaimed and considered by some to be one the preeminent American musicals, which makes the issue very complex but worth addressing. Our production features a very large cast, dynamic musical numbers, and many moving moments. It is ambitious, challenging, entertaining, and thought provoking. We hope to see you tonight, tomorrow night and Saturday night. Enjoy the show!

All the best,
Ruth


Calendar for November:

November 2, 3 and 4, 2006- Don't miss Ragtime, The High School Musical, 7 PM, PAC.
November 7, 2006-High School Parent Rep meeting, 6:30 PM in the cafeteria
November 12-15, 2006-NYSAIS Decennial Visit
November 14, 2006- We invite you LREI High School Arts Showcase at the Apple Store Soho, 103 Prince Street. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see our talented High School students' artistic and technological successes. Join us to experience their photography and digital film creations. 6-8 PM.
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 29-31, 2006-Trimester I Exams and Exhibitions


This Week's Attachments and Announcements:


1. Reminder for all Tenth Grade parents: You are invited to a parent discussion on Monday, Nov. 13th from 6:15-8:00 in the High School Cafeteria. The discussion will be lead by two facilitators from the Parents in Action group. Those who attended last year's meeting found it very informative. The meeting is open to any topic that parents would like to discuss. Hope to see you there.

2. Please note the following message from Admissions regarding early notification for applicants to the Fours and Kindergarten.

3. Please check out the Community Service Calendar!

4. 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!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. Attention book lovers: On Tuesday, November 8th join the Literary Committee as the LREI librarians present, "East Meets West" an evening of youth books that feature culture clashes and truces, diverse viewpoints and changing perspectives. Each year our nationally recognized librarians share their literary suggestions for students in all grades, Fours-12th grade, with the LREI community as they do with other school and professional audiences throughout the school year. All three of our full time librarians have served, or are presently serving, on American Library Association panels responsible for selecting prize winning books. Join this evening as Stacy, Jennifer and Karyn share their book selections with us, along with LS library teacher and graphic novel reviewer, Jesse Karp (LREI '87), who will give his suggestions for the best in graphic novels.

Each year the Literary Committee brings us the book fairs, Book Week, the amazing Literary Evening (December 7th) and this evening with our librarians. The Committee also supports the librarians', and their students', attendance at conferences.

If you have questions for the librarians, don't forget to join us for Learn Your Library morning on October 23rd in the Sixth Avenue Library.

8. The LREI Business Office has relocated into 40 Charlton Street. Members of the Business Office can now be reached through LREI's main phone number, 212.477.5316, Michel de Konkoly Thege at ext. 319, Tema Tischler at ext. 306 and Marie Horan at ext. 317. E-mail addresses remain the same. In general, inquiries regarding status of tuition accounts may be directed to Tema, regarding facility rentals to Marie and all others, including tuition remission issues, to Michel.

9. 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.

10. 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.