Dear Families,

Welcome back! I hope everyone had an enjoyable spring vacation. With 42 class days left (so students have told me), there is much to do in little time. Please be sure to take note of the calendar below.

A few days ago, I had the pleasure of participating in the High School Preview Night for families of LREI students in fifth through seventh grades. My opening talk focused on the quest that families often find themselves on, the quest for the 'perfect' high school to provide their child access to the 'right' college. However, more and more, families are beginning to realize and read that it is not nearly as easy as that. Colleges and universities have never been more selective. Acceptance letters are few and far between, no matter where a student attends high school, no matter the test scores, the extra-curriculars or the varsity sport participation.

Our students are aware that they must be competitive, and of course, they are offered every opportunity to be so in every area at LREI. They understand that they must measure up and be able to do it all. They also realize they attend the most ideal place to learn the skills and participate in the activities that will ultimately distinguish themselves from the rest, a very crowded field of adolescents. I can confidently say our students stand out because they attend a school that has always remained true to its values, its commitment to diversity, to community service, academic excellence and nurturing the most extraordinary group of teenagers in the city.

And so in the landscape of seemingly impossible odds of being admitted to the college of one's dreams, take comfort in the fact that your children attend the most standout high school in the city. Members of The Senior Class, Amy Shapiro, Director of College Guidance, and Jane Gabin, College Counselor, are to be commended for successfully demonstrating this to the colleges and universities, including those schools that have been in the news lately for their huge volume of applications, low acceptance rates and long waitlists including Tufts, Amherst, Middlebury, Johns Hopkins, Bates, Carnegie-Mellon, Colby, Occidental, Columbia, Pratt, University of Vermont, NYU, Skidmore, Vassar, Smith, Wesleyan and Oberlin. This list does not include all of the terrific schools our students have to choose from. A more complete list will hopefully go out to families very soon.

All of our Twelfth Graders and their families should be very, very proud of their accomplishments. Throughout, our students' self-esteem was never compromised. Rather, our 2007 graduates understand that their place in the world is not defined by their college choice, but rather the choices they make while here on Earth.

All the best,

Ruth

Calendar:


April
17-Parent Rep meeting, 6PM, Marie Weiss Reading Room, 6th Avenue. This meeting will take place before the Internet Safety meeting for all parents at 6:30 PM, also at 6th Avenue. Please see details below.
27-Arts Festival

May
1 2007-2008 Registration for courses (Grades 10-12)
1 Special Meeting with 12th grade parents, "Transition to College," 6:30 PM, PAC
2 Big Auction
9 Interims due for all students in the arts rotation and earning B- and below.
22 Sports Awards Night, 6:30 PM, PAC
23 New Families reception, 6:00 PM, PAC
25 Field Day
28 Memorial Day, school closed
30 Senior Project presentations, 6:30 PM



This Week's Announcements and Attachments:

1. Please be reminded that all students must complete 25 hours of community service this school year. There are many opportunities available to students now that spring is here! Please click here for a unique opportunity for community service this weekend. Also coming up, on May 20, NYC's AIDSwalk and several spring clean-up opportunities through the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

2. Internet Safety--Facebook, AIM, Club Penguin, BitTorents, YouTube, and countless other old, new and emerging web technologies are used by our children everyday. What do you know about them? How safe are they for your kids? Are there ways to make my child/tween/teen's computer environment safer and more productive? What can I do as a parent? What can the school do? The answers to these and other questions in a frank discussion on kids and technology moderated by the LREI tech coordinators. We will visit some sites, explore options that will make you child's cyber-environment safer and give you an overview of what we teach at LREI about internet safety. Additional resources will be given out for parents on paper and on www.lrei.org.

Two sessions:

Session One for parents of 7th - 12th graders on April 17th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium
Session Two for parents of 3rd - 6th graders on April 18th at 6:30 in the Sixth Avenue auditorium.

3. Click here for the calendar for the 2007-2008 school year.

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 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.