Dear Lower School Families,

Happy New Year!

It is wonderful to be back and to rekindle relationships with your children. No question – they bring the school to life! On Tuesday, however, our building pulsed in a quieter way as faculty in all divisions came together around issues of diversity. This year’s winter Professional Day was opened by our Diversity and Community Director Sharon DuPree, who introduced speaker Dr. Pat Romney, longtime friend of LREI, author and consultant. Pat warned against “diversity fatigue” and compared the never-ending work of achieving our diversity goals to the equally never-ending goals of achieving educational excellence and rigor within a progressive school environment. She helped us to frame our community’s approaches to educating citizens with the vision, purpose and “human skills” necessary for living in the twenty-first century. In small groups and large, the faculty discussed the challenges of weaving personal and community identity as we educate for democracy. It was all tremendously, thoughtful and provocative and helpful.

In the afternoon hours, LREI staff members shared their expertise and experience with faculty colleagues in a series of workshop sessions on a wide range of diversity issues. They included:

• East Meets West, an overview of current diversity titles - Jesse Karp, Stacy Dillon, Jennifer Hubert Swann, Karyn Silverman
• Examining Class and Race, an exercise designed to examine issues of class and race in our lives – Delia Hernandez
• The Culturally Competent Educator, an explanation of Multicultural Counseling Therapy – Noni Polhill
• LGBT at LREI, welcoming new LGBT families into our community – Elaine Winter
• “A Different Place”: Diversity in Greenwich Village - Tracing the changing racial, cultural, ethnic, and socio-economic “geography” of Greenwich Village – Nicholas O’Han
• White Allies, examining the role of white allies within a school community – Sandra Chapman and Kelly O’Keefe
• African American and Caribbean American Cultures, comparing historical legacies, immigration patterns and experiences, communication styles, family values and traditions – Samantha Caruth and Sharon DuPree
• An Open Dialogue about Religion in LREI, how religion and religious study present themselves at LREI – Pat Romney
• Discussions about Class, a look at the sometimes forgotten “ism” in diversity work – Marcus Chang

It was a stimulating day as well as a privilege to participate in such meaningful dialogue. I will close by sharing a passage from the LREI Self-Study:

“The foundations of democracy,” Elisabeth Irwin wrote, “are built by daily habits of recognizing the rights of those who differ from us.” The school’s objective, she wrote, was to instill in its students “the widest possible understanding and appreciation of all the peoples of the earth, a commitment to using knowledge to make a difference in the world, to enrich human life, to reduce human drudgery, to study community problems and to act upon them in constructive, democratic fashion.”

Our founder, Elisabeth Irwin, regarded the school as a laboratory for the development of those skills and values that are prerequisites for effective citizenship, democratic life and civic endeavor. The culture of the school was marked by pervasive respect for the dignity of each individual - the recognition and celebration of racial, ethnic and religious diversity and an ethic of abiding trust, cooperation and group decision-making. We continue to cultivate these values today as the LREI experience nurtures in your children a predisposition to pursue learning within the context of active citizenship and service to the community. Yesterday’s Professional Day reinforced our school’s historic mission. Everyday of the school year witnesses that mission in action.

Elaine Winter

This Week's Attachments:

Diane and Lisa's EK

Lauren and Laura's Kindergarten

Fourth Grade Math



This Week's Announcements:

Meeting About Tuition Increase and 2007-2008 Budget
Michel de Konkoly Thege, Director of Finance and Operations, will give presentations to the LREI community concerning the planned tuition increase and overall budget for the 2007-2008 school year. These presentations will take place at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, January 16 in the Charlton Street cafeteria and at 8:00 and 8:45 am on Wednesday, January 24 in the Sixth Avenue cafeteria. All parents and other members of the LREI community are invited to attend and ask questions.

Lost and Found
Please browse the rack of Lost and Found items that will be in the lobby. At the end of next week, all unclaimed items will be donated to God's Love.

Reminder for Second Grade Parents
Second Graders will be taking a bus trip to the East River on Wednesday, January 10th in order to examine different types of bridges. We need two parents from each class to join us for this half-day trip (approx. 9:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.). The sign-up sheets are posted in the stairwell on the Second Grade bulletin board.

Afterschool, Enrichment, Early Bird and Music Lessons
Registration for Core Afterschool, Enrichment, Early Bird and Instrumental programs will take place Monday, January 8th through Friday, January 12th. We will begin to process forms at 3:00pm on Monday the 8th. All Afterschool programs will start the week beginning Tuesday, January 16th.

A class and instrumental list for the Winter/Spring session is available to view on the Afterschool at LREI section of the school's website. We have also added an Afterschool Drop-In form to the website as a PDF that you may download and use as needed during the session.

Click here

Afterschool childcare is available free of charge during registration week. You may simply let your child's teacher know if you plan for her or him to attend.


In the Upcoming Weeks...

1/8-1/12- Afterschool Registration Week

1/15- School Closed for Martin Luther King Day

1/16- Tuition Meeting, 6:30PM

1/18- LS Parent Rep Meeting, 8:45AM

1/24- LS MLK Assembly (Students Only)

1/26- Karamu

1/31- Art Auction