T-Shirt Day!

Dear Parents,

Just before school ended for Winter Break, lower school students celebrated something new - the first-ever T-Shirt Day. The plan was a simple one – every child and teacher who chose to would wear a t-shirt, bracelet or pin in support of a cause dear to them. Then, at our weekly Friday morning meeting, students and teachers took turns sharing the message each had chosen to display. Our Second through Fourth Graders rose to this occasion with personal, heartfelt and often sophisticated allegiances. Some created their own apparel, others dug into their drawers or their parents’. I think we surprised ourselves by the range and depth of commitment to the "bettering of our world". It was a powerful moment of "learning from and with each other".
Without editing, I’d like to share some of their T-shirt pledges and comments with you, including a sprinkling from our teachers:

• World Wildlife Fund
• Free the Animals (in zoos)
• Support Animals with Disabilities
• Rescue Animal Victims of Katrina
• Bad Rap – Support Pit Bull
• ONE!
• Support the Westside Highway
• See it! Film it! Change it!
• Harvard "It’s a school – a college, I think. It’s a good school."
• No a la Exploracion Petrolera en el Caribe de Costa Rica (Since this T-shirt was printed in Spanish, it was particularly difficult to read upside down by the wearer. A native Spanish speaker read it for us, then translated the message into English.)
• Wear Hemp!
• "I’m wearing a pink ribbon because three of my relatives have breast cancer."
• "I’m wearing a green ribbon pin because my aunt has Lyme disease."
• Support After School Programs
• AIDS Walk
• Dog Haven: Dogs are just little people in fur coats.
• FDNY – "Because they’re brave and they save people everyday"
• Peace or peace symbol
• Dog tags – gays can marry
• More Trees Less Bush
• No Blood for Oil
• Withdraw U.S. Forces from Iraq!
• Red sweatshirt – "Wearing red on Friday means I’m against war and I’m also wearing it because I believe in Santa and Christmas."
• New Orleans / Katrina Relief
• It’s up to women
• Star of David – "Because I’m Jewish and I’m proud of that."
• Donate to Kids with Cancer
• Jesus loves me
• Save Siberian Tigers

Bracelets:

• Live Strong!
• Trust!
• Believe!
• Rainbow colors "Because I’m proud to be a lesbian!"
• Tsunami Support

Our meeting reminded me how much we, as educators, parents, and members of a school community, can learn from children, how strong their voices are, and how important it is to listen closely to them.

Elaine

This Week's Attachments:

Fours - http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ls/Fours%20morning.pdf

Important: Core Afterschool Pricing - http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ls/Core%20Pricing.pdf

After Five Adult Enrichment - http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ls/After%20Five.pdf and http://www.lrei.org/weekly/ls/After%20Five%20Registration%20F%202.pdf

Announcements:

Third Grade Parents are reminded to take a tour of the middle school on Tuesday at 9:00AM.

All Parents are reminded to leave photos for the VISIBILITY - Lesbian and Gay People We Love photo exhibit at the front desk. This exhibit is an opportunity for you to support your friends and loved ones by giving them a chance to be visible with you at LREI. Simply bring in a photo of you and your loved one who is lesbian or gay, plus a caption about the people in the photo.

And don't forget to save the date -- on January 31st at 8:45AM in the Cafeteria, all LREI parents are invited to attend a discussion of lesbian and gay issues.

In January...

1/9 - Erin and Carin's class trip to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

1/10 - 8:45AM - Parents of Children of Color (POCOC) meets

1/10 - 9:00AM - Middle School Tour for Third Grade Parents

1/10 - Suzanne and Patricia's class trip to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

1/11 - Dorothy and Romy's First Grade Memoir Publishing Celebration

1/13 - Third Grade trip to the Museum of Natural History

1/16 - School Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

1/18 -8:45AM - Third Grade Assembly

1/19 - 8:45AM - Parent Rep Meeting

1/23 - 8:45AM - Suzanne and Patricia's Fourth Grade Biography Breakfast

1/24 - 8:45AM - Lower School Spanish Meeting

1/25 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly (students only)

1/26 - 8:45AM - Erin and Carin's Fourth Grade Biography Breakfast

1/27 - 5:00PM - Karamu!

1/31 - 8:45AM - LREI Parents on Lesbian and Gay Issues