Dear Families,

In last week’s Morning Meeting, I asked the Second, Third and Fourth Graders about events they were looking forward to now that we’re nearing the end of the school year. They mentioned the following: Mother’s Day, the Human Rights Coffee House, the Chorus Concert, Grandparents and Special Friends Day, Field Day, the Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony, class potlucks, assemblies, class trips and Afterschool Shares. All this coming at us (and them!) within the span of just under four weeks!

We are a busy community with exciting, overlapping agendas. And while this is standard fare in our adult worlds, research tells us that this is not the ideal recipe for learning and growing among young people. Reflection, consolidation, comparison and evaluation are processes that spark a deeper kind of growth and understanding. They allow children to merge aspects of their learning, to both generalize from the specific and personalize from the generic, to form opinions and to speculate. They require time.

Because we know this, we are revisiting our current schedule. As a faculty, we have been putting our heads together for much of this year to come up with ways to streamline our students’ school experience. The following are among our goals:

• To create uninterrupted blocks of time for in-depth analysis and creative endeavor
• To build a pattern of predictability into the schedule that allows students the stability of a familiar rhythm
• To extend the possibility of integrated efforts among classroom and specialist teachers
• To permit teachers a greater degree of flexibility and increased opportunity to respond to student interest and program demands
• To ensure regular recess and/or social times
  

We realize that some classes will need to be reduced or reconfigured in order to make space for more student-friendly routines. Of course, we will keep this to a minimum. Faculty are committed to the process, our conversations have been productive and we are confident that the overall benefits to your children will be significant.

Elaine

This Week's Attachments:
FIELD DAY
Fours
Luise and Julia's Kindergarten
Spanish Story Hour
Spanish Resource List

Announcements:

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is tomorrow! - Fours through First Grade visitors will gather in the auditorium at 9:00AM for a light breakfast and welcome from Phil and Elaine. They will then visit in classrooms from 9:30AM until 11:00AM. Second through Fourth Grade visitors will gather in the auditorium at 1:00PM to be greeted by Phil and Elaine. They will spend time in their host's classroom from 1:30PM to 3:00PM. Adult-sized seating will be available in each room.

- Two helpful thoughts:

• Please let your child's visitor know the name of her or his teacher.
• Please be sure your child's teacher knows who will be picking your child up at 3:00PM.

Scooters - Please help us keep the lobby and bench area clear by not storing scooters there. Please put scooters in your child's cubby area for storage during the day.

Spring Into Summer Book Fair - The book fair is next Thursday, May 25th! Click here for details.

LREI Summer Fun-Raiser - The fun-raiser is next Thursday, May 25th! Click here for more information.

Field Day - Field Day is next Friday, May 26. This is a time for children to have fun outdoors with their buddies. School will dismiss at 1:00 (Fours-Fourth Grades, 12:45). Please note that these times are different than our typical half-day dismissals.

First Grade Bookstore - The grand opening of Gina and Elizabeth's First Grade Bookstore is Wednesday, May 31st. Stay tuned for more information!

LREI Camping Trip - Dig the tent out of storage! It's time for the 13th annual LREI Camping Trip, June 2-4. It's a great time filled with swimming, softball, fishing, campfires, s'mores and a wonderful dinner by Peter Hoffman of the Savoy.

The cost is $30 per adult and $20 per child. For more information see us in the lobby on Wednesday, May 17 and Thursday, May 25, contact Richard Cleves at 917-408-6211 or richard@cxny.org, or check the LREI website. A great time will be had by all! Payment deadline is May 26.

Upcoming Events:

5/19 - TOMORROW - Grandparents and Special Friends Day!

5/22 - 6:00PM - Chap and Michael's Third Grade Picnic

5/23 - 6:00PM - Dorothy and Romy's First Grade Picnic

5/24 - 8:45AM - Second Grade Assembly

5/24 - 6:00PM - Gina and Elizabeth's First Grade Picnic

5/25 - Spring Into Summer Book Fair!

5/25 - LREI Summer Fun-Raiser!

5/26 - Field Day! School closes at 1:00PM (Fours-First Grades 12:45)

5/29 - School Closed for Memorial Day

5/31 - 6:00PM - Brooke and Charles' Kindergarten Picnic

6/5 - 6:00PM - Jamie and Dave's First Grade Picnic

6/6 - 6:00PM - Michelle and Laura's Fours Picnic

6/7 - 6:00PM - Luise and Julia's Kindergarten Picnic

6/8 - 8:45AM - Multicultural Committee Meeting

6/8 - 6:00PM - Diane and Molly's Early Kindergarten Picnic

6/9 - High School Graduation - School closes at 12:00PM (Fours-First Grades, 11:45AM)

6/12 - 9:00AM - Fourth Grade Moving Up Ceremony, Auditorium

6/13 - Last Day of School - School closes at 12:00PM (Fours-First Grades, 11:45AM)

Click here to access the full calendar.