April 12, 2007

Dear Lower School Families,

Soon you will be meeting with your children’s teachers on one of the days set aside for spring conferencing (April 20th or 27th). Classroom teachers look forward to this second conference with you to share what they have learned and observed of your children’s development over the year. They will be well prepared – with descriptions, work samples, illustrations and stories about your children’s experiences in different curriculum areas and reflections on their social and emotional growth. In some cases, teachers will suggest additional ways to support your child’s learning at home. As always, they will be seeking constructive dialogue and welcome your questions and insights.

Often, these springtime conversations also focus on class placement. This year, I would like to recast our model so that you may get the full benefit of your child’s conference. I refer you to P.14 of the Family Handbook, which discusses class placement. This year teachers will hold to the recommendations in the final paragraph: Parent requests are discouraged, but parent input, regarding preservation of friendships for instance, is given serious consideration. Naturally, we want to consider any relevant, new information that will help us in placing your child, so please do share whatever you feel is important. We ask, however, that you refrain from making specific requests and understand that teachers can offer no promises or guarantees. Please know that we take this process of class placement very seriously and will make every effort to create productive, balanced and welcoming classroom communities. Know also that each child’s needs are considered individually within the context of their own classroom experience. We take great care; it is our responsibility.

The following party reminder is again taken from a page in our Family Handbook (P. 17). I wanted to share it with you before spring events get into full swing and to ask you to please honor the feelings of every student by inviting all or just a few of your children’s classmates to outside gatherings and celebrations.

Birthday Parties: Birthday parties are important events in the lives of children-not only to the birthday child but equally to classmates who may or may not be invited. Please read the following carefully. These are tried and true guidelines that protect our children from hurt feelings and disappointment. We strongly encourage all LS families to follow them.

Home Birthday Parties:

• Regarding invitations: It's fine to invite just a few; it's never fine to invite all but a few.
• If you invite more than half of your child's class to a birthday party (or more than half of the boys or girls), we request that you invite the whole group.
• Be sensitive to children who may not receive frequent invitations. Include them where possible.
• When at all possible, please hold birthday parties on the weekend.
• Send all invitations through the mail.
• Please encourage your child to be sensitive to all classmates when discussing party plans or activities.
• Should an afterschool time be necessary, we encourage you to convene children off-site to allow for as usual dismissal.
  

Thank you for sifting through the above suggestions. (No more, I promise!) I hope they pave the way for a smooth and thoroughly enjoyable end to the school year.

Elaine

This Week's Attachments:

Fours

Early Kindergarten

Kindergarten

Gina and Rebecca's First Grade

Upcoming Lice Check

Summers at LREI

Global Warming Awareness Event

Sea of People Event Flyer

Spanish Resource List


This Week's Announcements:

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.

Parent Teacher Conference Childcare:
Childcare will be provided for upcoming Parent Teacher Conference Days, Friday, April 20th, and Friday, April 27th. Sign-up sheets will be available at the front desk.

• Friday, April 20th, Childcare will run from 8:00AM to 3:30PM in the Big Room and pizza will be served. The cost is $30 per child and $15 per sibling.
• Friday, April 27th, which is a half-day, Childcare will go from noon to 3:30PM in the Big Room and pizza will be served. The cost is $20 per child and $10 per sibling.

Both days we will also offer half-hour Conference Coverage, free of cost, until 5PM. For further questions call or email Lower School Assistant, Kate: Kgreathead@lrei.org, (212) 477-5316 ext. 215

First Grade Parent Meeting:
Dear First Grade Parents,
We look forward to discussing with you our plans for next year's Second Grade and hope you can join us in the cafeteria at 8:45AM on Tuesday, May 1st. This will replace the "What to Expect" Meeting scheduled for May 10th.
Phil and Elaine

Second Grade Parent Meeting:
Dear Second Grade Parents,
We look forward to discussing with you our plans for next year's Third Grade and hope you can join us in the cafeteria at 8:45AM on Monday, April 30th. This will replace the "What to Expect" Meeting schedulied for May 3rd.
Phil and Elaine

AfterSchool's First Friday:
Join us for an inspiring First Friday event with returning guest artist, Sidiki Conde. Sidiki is a dynamic drummer and dancer from Guinea, West Africa who is the founder of the New York City based dance company Tokounou. He is a gifted performer and a generous teacher - focused on enabling children and adults of all abilities to move and experience music with joy.
The program will take place this Friday, April 13th, from 4:15-5:15 in the Physical and Performing Arts Space. Call the Afterschool Office at 212-477-5316, ext. 239 to register.

Shop News:
Be sure and look at the lobby display case! Third Graders carved spoons when they studied the Native Americans of the Northeast Woodlands.
They learned how to use chisels and they shaped their spoons using saws, rasps, files, and sandpaper.

In the Upcoming Weeks...

4/16- Licenders Check

4/18- Third Grade Assembly, 8:45 AM, Auditorium.

4/18- Internet Safety Meeting, 6:30PM, Cafeteria.

4/19- Kindergarten Breakfast, 8:30AM, Cafeteria.

4/20- Parent Teacher Conference Day (No School or Afterschool)

4/25- First Grade Assembly, 8:45AM, Auditorium.

4/27- Noon Dismissal (11:45AM for Early Childhood) for Parent Teacher Conferences.

4/30- Second Grade Parent Meeting, 8:45AM, Cafeteria.

5/1- First Grade Parent Meeting, 8:45AM, Cafeteria.

5/2- Fours and Early Kindergarten Assembly, 8:45, Auditorium.

5/2- Big Auction