There’s no place like home...

Dear Families,


As basketball season ends, it is safe to say our TSAC has been soundly broken in. The tremendous girls’ basketball team’s last game against BWL on February 13 turned out to be the sporting event of the season. With dozens of students, many with painted faces and signs of support, all of the high school faculty, several parents, and of course, our mascot, The Knight, played by Jesse Highstein, ’07, the roar of the crowd was deafening and inspiring. There was not a bleacher seat in the house. The girls pulled out a victory at this last home game, winning by five points, and the victory brought them to the semi-finals yesterday against UNIS. While we lost to UNIS in the semi-finals, we made sure that the team felt the EI spirit; more than fifty students insisted they bring the girls some home away from home. At the end of our school day, dozens of students crowded the school bus, meant for the team, for a seat. Other students pulled up in their own cars (something I never thought I would see in NYC!) to take fired-up fans to the game.

I hope this spirit continues throughout the year, the pride in the EI of LREI. Both basketball teams, boys and girls, demonstrated tremendous teamwork and effort. Congrats to our graduating seniors who played their last high school game: Lily Wiggins, Sara Wyatt, Naida Gluhic, and Bella Klein, and also to our graduating Knight, Jesse. They are leaving a legacy of leadership, passion and vision.

Next up: The High School production of "Apartment 6D" written by our own Meghan Farley Astrachan, March 2 and 3. We cannot wait!


All the best,


Ruth


February, 2007-Black History Month celebration, every Tuesday, 1PM
February 19 and 20, 2007-President's Weekend, School Closed.
March 2, 3, 2007-High School Play, "Apartment 6D" 7PM, PAC
March 9, 2007-End of Trimester Party, 8PM-11:30PM, 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. 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.

2.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.


3. 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."

4.LREI Community Drive: The Commmunity Service Committee will be collecting NEW and VERY GENTLY used baby items for 0-3 years of age. They will be collecting at the Sixth Avenue campus next week, Monday - Friday, Feb 12 - 16. All donations are tax deductible, and if you attach your name and address and value of donation, RTG will send you a receipt.

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. 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.