"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy ... I mean, that's a storybook, man."

Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del


Dear Families,


As our students celebrate Black History Month, I find that my colleagues and I are astounded by the history created right now, this year. Senator Barack Obama is not the first African-American candidate for president, but widely considered to be the first electable African-American candidate (although I do understand he is in fact from a bi-racial background, he identifies as African-American).

Our students had the luxury of experiencing "The Human Race Machine" a month ago, and learned about the origins of ‘race’ as a category. This experience was meant to put our community on the same page regarding race and diversity issues, and it really did. As we ask our students to participate in assembly programming celebrating the achievements of African-Americans, many noted that our celebration is not about African-Americans, but all of us, and the impact different cultures have on the wider culture. We are starting to attempt at a deeper connection with other cultures and ethnicities by understanding and respecting aspects of both.

While we continue in this work, and celebrate how many things have changed in the years since we attended high school, we must confront the challenges so many from different ethnicities still face. Even Senator Obama must face the celebration of his articulateness (click here for an interesting New York Times article about the racial politics of speaking well), his cleanliness, above all things, by a colleague. Further, I have read time and time again articles that question whether or not Senator Obama is really African-American enough, whether or not he understands the experience of African-Americans. These discussions seem to me to be distractions. There are far more serious, pressing issues to discuss, issues that directly affect all of us, but especially adolescents.

While students are preparing their own arguments for who should be elected as the next President of the United States, and while students do reflect the opinions of many Americans (yesterday, a student declared that he was "ready for an African-American president, but not a woman, and especially not another Clinton"), we still can assume the impact all of the current candidates are bound to have on history. Senator Obama is destined to be part of future discussions regarding Black History. And every educator here continues to work tirelessly to make sure our students are not needlessly distracted, because history should not be made without them.

All the best,


Ruth

February 27, 2007-High School Play preview, 1PM, PAC
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, "Apartment 6D" 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:00PM, PAC
March 16, 2007-An evening of One Acts, 6:30PM, PAC
March 20, 2007-Parent Rep meeting, 6:30PM with Special Guest Speaker, Tim Wise, author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White.

Academic Calendar, Trimester II


Mar. 2-End, Trimester 2
Mar. 5-Review day for all classes
Mar. 6-Reading day for all students
Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 14-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM





This Week's Attachments and Announcements:

1. Our own Ninth Grader, Claudia Berger wrote an essay last year, which was selected to be part of a collection of esasys written by teenaged girls, called: RED: The Next Generation of American
Writers—Teenage Girls—on What Fires Up Their Lives Today, from Hudson
Street Press (a division of Penguin-Viking). We are so proud of her achievement!

2. From Phil Kassen, Director: Dear Families, click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year. I am sorry that it is so late in coming. I hope that this has not caused any inconvenience. A couple of notes--the two long vacations have moved back to their traditional spots, we will have two professional development days for faculty—October 5th and February 29th—and we have added a second full day of conferences for the Lower School in the fall and the spring. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.

3. After notifying students in homeroom and advisory about missing or long overdue books, we are now preparing to send invoices home for lost books. This invoice will detail the missing text(s) and the price of the book. Please know, replacement copies are accepted!

4. Change of date! The next meeting of Parents whose Children Receive Academic Support will be held on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 P.M. at Charlton Street. The topic for the meeting will be The Educational Testing Process. Dr. Iona Aibel will speak on the testing process and how to use the results of this testing to help your child succeed in school.

5. Think LREI Big Auction!
While shopping in your favorite stores or dining out at your favorite
restaurant, take along some donor forms and make on-the-spot requests.
It's easier than you think!

Think...
Restaurants
Entertainment (tickets to shows, sporting events, film festivals)
Beauty and Health (facials, massages, spa gift certificates)
Wine, Champagne and Specialty Foods
Children's Items and Services (passes to museums, classes, birthday party certificates)
Designer Fashion (handbags, gift certificates, jewelry)
Vacation Homes
Creative One-of-a-Kind Events (behind the scenes tours,backstage passes)
Frequent Flyer Miles and Preferred Guest Points

Donation forms can be found at here or in
Sixth Avenue and Charlton Street lobbies. Please return your forms to
the LREI Development Office no later than Friday, March 2nd. If you
have any questions, please contact Sandra Song at ssong@lrei.org.

Remember...
The Big Auction is on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007.
All proceeds of the auction support Tuition Assistance.
Donations are tax deductible.


6. Attention Sports Fans---Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit Basketball Game that will match up LREI's multi-talented faculty/staff against the up-and-coming stars of the Middle School and High School basketball teams. This will be a great opportunity to witness the athletic talents of our student athletes and to experience firsthand how exciting it has been to have a home court gym this year. At half time there will be a foul shooting contest for athletes sixth grade or younger. We have hosted some amazing games this season, where the roars for the home team were heard on Houston Street. So come out and see what all of the excitement is about -- March 16th at 3:30PM at the Thompson Street Athletic Center, 145 Thompson Street between Houston and Prince. We look forward to having a big crowd help to celebrate the end of our first year of having a "home court advantage."

7.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.

8. As Spring Break approaches, 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.