Dear Lower School Parents,

As promised, here is the updated 2006 – 07 faculty list, with just a couple of holes to fill. As you read, you will notice some familiar names in new positions. So nice when this happens! I’ve provided new faculty bios at the end of the list. We’re extremely proud to count these extraordinary educators among our faculty.

Permanent Substitute:
Dave Cataletto

Fours:
Beth Binnard and Molly Clarke

Early Kindergarten:
Diane Thatcher and Lisa Chung

Kindergarten:
Luise Haladay and Julia Rassman
Lauren Bien and Laura Araman

First Grade:
Dorothy Mehler and Stacey Miehe
Jamie Atlas and Bonnie Maloney
Gina Goldmann (associate hire in process)

Second Grade:
Colleen Moore and Michael Parrish
Tasha Hernandez and Romy Goldsmith

Third Grade:
Sandra (Chap) Chapman and Meredith Pressman
Kelly O'Keefe and Ayanna Greenidge

Fourth Grade:
Suzanne Cohen and Caroline Johnston
Gwen Morrison (associate hire in process)

• Fours: Beth Binnard, an experienced Early Childhood teacher currently at the City and Country School, will be our Fours Maternity Leave Replacement.

• Kindergarten: Lauren Bien, Assistant Director of the Crimson Summer Academy at Harvard, will be our new Kindergarten teacher. Lauren comes with seven years teaching experience and educational training at Sarah Lawrence and Bank Street Colleges.

• Math Specialist: Dawn Wheatley, currently at Brooklyn Friends School, will be our Math Specialist, and comes with 20 years experience as a classroom and math teacher.

• Math Consultant: Sharon White has been a Math Consultant for over 20 years and worked previously in our Lower School. She co-authored “Teaching Children Mathematics” for the National Council of Mathematics and is a strong advocate of the TERC Investigations program.

• Fourth Grade: Gwen Morrison joins us from the Glenville Elementary School in Greenwich CT, where she has been teaching Third Grade for four years. Trained at the Connecticut Writing Project, Gwen has also been an instructor in Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop.

• The new Associate Teachers who will join us are:
o Ayanna Greenidge will work with Kelly.
o Meredith Pressman will work with Chap.
o Lisa Chung will work with Diane.

• Administrative Assistant: Kate Greathead, a writer and recent Wesleyan graduate, will move into Bonnie’s second floor office and be on hand to help as we transition back in the fall.

We are there! Warm summer wishes to all,

Elaine

Projects and Publications

Dear Lower School Families,

Just as the start of the school year gathers momentum through welcoming rituals and community building, in similar fashion we end by sharing in collective achievements and rites of closure. In an inquiry-based institution such as ours, these good-byes take the shape of projects and publications as students pool their knowledge and skills. Final projects and class anthologies represent a culmination of months of learning. They also herald new learning as students take their understanding to a higher level, generalize from it and make it their own. Of note this season:

Fours and EKs joined their love of science with their care for animals by contributing the proceeds from their sale of lovingly grown basil and marigold plants to the Wolf Conservation Center. Children learned about the needs of these wolves during our recent assembly.

Some Kindergartners have designed and stitched their own beautiful pillows. Others concluded their exploration of music and musical instruments with a visit to hear the high school jazz band and with many musical parent visits.

The Post Office in Dorothy and Romy’s room has been performing a genuine service of late. Not only is correspondence weighed, stamped, assorted and delivered, but it has prompted us all to write a little more frequently. My latest letter from a First Grader read, "Dear Elaine, is it fun being a prinsabel? I love this school. Who choses what clas we are in?" and included a snowflake cutout for me to complete. Another note read, "Dear Elaine, thank you for being such a Nice Principal. I love you. I hope you are still here next year." (Amen)

The marvelous "Once Upon a Bookstore" in Gina and Elizabeth’s First Grade opened its doors this week. It was created entirely by children who had visited (and revisited!) neighborhood bookstores and libraries, and sold items such as a class-made poetry anthology, "Neighborhood Poems", bookmarks, student-made postcards and used books. There were "Staff Picks" to browse through as well as a selection of original "How To" books. Every First Grader had an important job and performed it with complete seriousness and competence.

And, of course, the Red Ribbon Bakery is still alive in our memories.

New York City, represented in two large-scale models, now occupies a significant portion of each Second Grade classroom. Buildings, parks and surrounding waterways are in place – each feature selected to meet the specific needs of city dwellers. Important details are now being added, including "Central Park" with live, growing grass. This design and construction project represents a powerful culmination of the grade’s year-long city study.

Third Graders, now immersed in their study of New Amsterdam, have made Delft tiles, large-scale maps and period journals. They recently completed – and published – collections of carefully crafted "feature articles", magazine-like descriptions of an activity or hobby of their own personal interest.

More poetry is blossoming in Fourth Grade and, here too, anthologies are nearing publication. Students are about to publish a collection of poems selected by students from the year’s body of work and illustrated through collage. In addition, students are poised to make a beautiful, lasting gift to the Lower School – a set of ceramic tiles depicting their favorite rain forest animals; animals they have researched, reported on and visited in the Bronx Zoo Rain Forest.

With the arrival of June, there is much to celebrate!

Elaine

This Week's Attachments:

Brooke and Charles' Kindergarten

Second Grade - from teachers

Second Grade - information about next year's farm trip
Second Grade - farm trip part II

Third Grade - from teachers

Third Grade - information about next year's farm trip
Third Grade - farm trip part II

Parent Association Election Ballot

Spanish Resource List


Announcements:

From High School Principal Tony Fisher -
Last night was an amazing one for our Seniors. This year's Senior Project Evening featured so many fabulous presentations that I hesitate to single any of them out. I will say that in the weeks of the internships and during the research process, our students worked in the arts, real estate, education, food, politics, and on and on. In addition, two of our students' projects took them abroad. Click here to see the program for the evening and the complete lists of project titles and mentors.

Family Picnic - Sunday, June 11th
Welcoming families touched by adoption and the friends and classmates who support us. A chance to celebrate LREI's diverse community of families.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
Time: 11:00AM on - throughout the afternoon
Place: Hudson River Park (just north of the World Financial Center)
Rain Date: sometime in September
We'll set up on the grass just across from the playground. Look for lots of balloons! Bring your own lunch/snack/beverage and something to sit on. There are sprinklers for younger kids, so bringing bathing suits/towels is also a good idea.

Sponsored by the LREI Adoptive Families Committee
For more info, contact Susan Glass at: sglass9@nyc.rr.com or Mamie McIndoe at: mmcindoe@marblechurch.org


Upcoming Events:

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.