Dear Families,

As we have wrapped up Trimester I,and head into a new Trimester (and soon a new year), students and faculty are enjoying the sparkle of fresh beginnings:

-Amy Shapiro, Director of College Guidance, had her baby girl, Sadie, on November 29. Everyone is doing great! She is absolutely adorable, and we can't wait to meet her.

-We have timely new electives to choose from in the History Department, including:

"The Middle East," which is a brief survey of the religious, the literary, and the cultural history of the Middle East. There is emphasis on Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the Palestinian - Israeli conflict, and a brief study of both the past and present cultural and political histories of Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

and

"The War on Terror: American Foreign Policy Since 9/11" which will examine American foreign policy since 9/11 from a variety of perspectives. The War on Terrorism, (also the Global War on Terrorism or GWOT) campaign was launched by the United States, with support from NATO and other allies, following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington. The class will examine American foreign policy since 9/11 from a variety of perspectives.

-We are getting good use out of our new athletic center! The girls and boys basketball teams are incredible to watch; the support they have for each other is inspiring. If you can, please come and join the crowd!

-Many of our Twelfth Graders are starting to hear from colleges and realizing that they have to truly think about choosing a new home away from home.

We have so much to be thankful for, so many things to be proud of. We will take the next six class days and enjoy them together before we take a break.

All the best,

Ruth

Calendar for December and January:


December 8, 9, 2006- Middle School Play, 7:00 PM, Friday, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM on Saturday, PAC
December 12, 2006- Assembly, Arts and sing-along, 1:00 PM, PAC
December 14, 2006- Winter Concert, 6:30 PM, PAC
December 15, 2006- School closes for Winter Break, 12:00 PM.
January 3, 2007- School reopens.
January 10, 2007- College Night with Junior parents and families, 6:30 PM, Cafeteria
January 12, 2007- Parent-Advisor Conferences, all day. School closed for students.
Advisors will contact parents to set up appointments the week of January 1.


This Week's Attachments and Announcements:

1. A reminder from Phil Kassen as we approach the Winter Break:

Gifts to Teachers: If your child wants to give his or her teacher a gift at winter break, the end of the year, or any other time during the year, a homemade gift or drawing is welcome and appreciated. A group gift from parents and children in the class may be given at the end of the school year. It has been our experience that individual gifts, though thoughtfully intended, may be misinterpreted by the children and, consequently, we discourage this. Thank you for your awareness and cooperation.


2. Please join us for a longstanding LREI tradition:
The Glass Menagerie Chorus Holiday Concert.
Susan Glass, founder and director (former LREI music teacher, current LREI parent)
Friday, December 8th at 8:00PM
St. Joseph's Church in the Village
371 Sixth Ave. (2 blocks south of 8th Street.)

3.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.

4. 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.

5. Please check out the Community Service Calendar!

6. 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!

7. 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.

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.