Dear Families,

As you know, this week is exam week here at the high school. I have seen many impressive scenes, from the entire Ninth Grade in the PAC taking their final for History 9, to original interpretations of the most pivotal scenes from Macbeth. English 10 today presented a living museum, filled with incredible stories from the 1920’s, all of which relate to their study of The Great Gatsby. Even The Marx Brothers (played by students from our middle school, and a parent of a high school student) were there! English teacher, Ileana Jimenez, loved having “the opportunity to watch a re-enactment of Al Capone’s trial, learn the Charleston…, was blown away by a student analysis of the film, Birth of a Nation and [was] even more inspired by a performance of a song by Josephine Baker sung by Amy Hernandez, ’09, in French.”

This morning I also sat in on Twelfth Grade Calculus, where students worked on an in-class essay, which was to address the following topics

-definitions of the derivative and the integral
-derivatives and integrals as they relate to graphs
-derivatives and integrals of various types of functions
-rules for differentiation and integration
-applications of the derivative and the integral

and include specific examples. At lunch today, I sat with students who reviewed for their exam for “Gotham,” and saw other students studying together for Physics 9. While at the same table, a few others put the final changes on their projects for “Journeys,” Jane Belton's English elective.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of touring classes with a prospective family. On the tour, we witnessed traditional assessments, exhibitions in progress, discussions in final classes and students preparing art for display. Later, I also had the pleasure of judging Twelfth Grade final portfolios for Studio Art. Each portfolio, carefully edited, included a painting in oil or acrylic, a sculpture in any medium, a print (artists chose their method), and an illustration to a children’s story. The portfolio also included the prep work for each final work.

Students will end the week proud of their achievements, and exhausted from their efforts. As I told the family on the tour, this is a place where our students do everything, are prepared for any assessment, and can present their knowledge in a variety of ways. I am so impressed and proud of the entire faculty. The rigor we witnessed demonstrated their consistent efforts. Because of them, students are actively engaged, and their education, meaningful. What a wonderful week!

Monday is GWOT (Global War on Terror) Day prepared and taught by students of Tom’s elective class of the same name. Not only will students participate in a variety of workshops, including “The Bush Revolution,” and “New Terrorism,” they will view “Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience,” which will not be available for public viewing until mid-April (Tom Murphy called the director after taking his class to see the film at Film Forum, and he kindly offered to lend the film to us for the day!). We are also fortunate to have Martin Smith, PBS Frontline reporter, as our keynote speaker joining us at 1:30 PM. We look forward to a thought-provoking, enlightening day.

All the best,

Ruth


March 5-9, 2007- Exam Week
March 12, 2007- First Monday, "Global War on Terror"
March 13, 2007- Arts Assembly I, 1 PM
March 15, 2007- Arts Assembly II, 1 PM
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.

March 22, 2007- Eleventh Grade College Trip to Columbia University
March 23, 2007- Founder's Day

Academic Calendar, Trimester II

Mar. 7-9- Exams
Mar. 16-Grades and Comments due, 8:30 AM





This Week's Attachments and Announcements:

1. An Invitation from Phil Kassen, Director: On March 20th Tim Wise will speak with the LREI community on the topic of privilege and class in America. Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and activists in the U.S. Wise has spoken in 48 states, and on over 400 college campuses, including Harvard, Stanford, and the Law Schools at Yale and Columbia. Many of our faculty members have heard Mr. Wise speak and found him to be engaging and insightful. He will spend a good part of the day here on March. 20th and 21st meeting with students, faculty and parents.

Parent Events featuring Tim Wise:

Tuesday, March 20th, 7:00PM, Performing Arts Center, 40 Charlton Street. (Child Care Available, please sign up at the Sixth Ave. Reception Desk.

Wednesday, March 21st, 8:45 AM, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria, Breakfast Discussion with Tim Wise. (We recommend you attend the evening talk on March 20th if you plan to attend this conversation.)

There are several copies of Tim Wise’s book, White Like Me, in each library.

Click here for more information about Tim Wise.

Tim Wise’s visit to LREI is generously supported by the Wendling Foundation as part of an ongoing grant to support diversity efforts, including the visit by the Human Race Machine, earlier this year.

2. THE LREI STEP TEAM will be performing as part of FAMILY MATTERS

The body becomes a canvas on which colorful legends and rueful stories are painted. Strokes of genius are delivered by Merce Cunningham alum Glen Rumsey presenting a gender-bending ballet, the inspirational step dancing of the LREI STEP TEAM, and the Brazilian influenced free world music of The Nation Beat. The feast continues with Lawrence Goldhuber and his all-diva cast who serve-up a cautionary tale about what can happen if you eat too much. Flamenco fans will delight in the foot falls of the Ballet Hispanico School Ensemble, while the graceful Trinayan Collective execute a fable in the Odissi style of classical Indian dance.

Dance Theater Workshop 219 West 19th street
March 17th at 2:00pm
reservations 212 924 0077
TKTS $10.00 children $20.00 adults
Family Matters. This show is for ages 3 and up!

3. On Tuesday, March 20, a group of students and a few faculty are headed to Washington, DC for Climate Crisis Action Day. The trip is being organized by Kai Furbeck, '10 and Gabe Cook, '10. Click here for more information. There may be room on the bus! Please let me know if you would like to attend.

4. An open invitation to those in our community who would like to participate in creating this year's Afghan Quilt for the Big Auction: It is time to pick up your needles and yarn and knit or crochet a 6x6" square in colors and patterns of your choosing to be assembled into a beautiful, cozy, handmade creation. In celebration of this group effort, Claudia Baez will host a Champagne & Cheese Knitting Circle on Wednesday, March 14th for anyone who would like to participate. Beginners to seasoned knitters and crocheters are welcome. Please bring your children and encourage them to give it a try! All you need to start is some yarn and a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. We will meet at 260 West Broadway, #11B, from 4-6PM. If you can't join us on March 14th, you can drop completed squares off in the collection box in the Sixth Avenue lobby up until Thursday, April 12th. This us a perfect project for Spring Break that will also support the school.If you have any questions, please contact Jenna Torres at jennasdreamworld@hotmail.com.

5. 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.

6. 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!

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

8. Attention Sports Fans---Friday, March 16th (not Friday, February 23 as originally announced) will be the annual LREI Spirit 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."

9.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.

10. 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!

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