LREI: Middle School

Click on one of the dates below to read any of the messages
from the 2005-2006 school year:

Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July
8/17			11/7			2/22

Dear Lower School Families,

The culmination of an in-depth study in Third Grade warrants celebration! Since the fall, students have been learning about the "Northeast Woodland" Native Americans. Their study extended over months so that students could organize and develop topics thoroughly and in great depth; so that different aspects of curriculum could be meaningfully interwoven.

Our Third Graders took trips, researched, read and experimented firsthand. They then discussed, reflected on and organized what they had learned in order to construct aspects of an authentic Northeast Woodlands Village life. With just a few "final touches" remaining, they are now ready to teach others – their fellow students. Tomorrow morning, each Second Grade class will visit the model village to learn about the lives, ways and culture of the Natives. Third Graders focused their efforts on specific projects and will present accordingly. They’ll offer descriptive background in order to orient the Second Graders and will then highlight the important ideas. Students will also discuss the process they followed to create representational models.

Here are examples of the work on display: There is a series of village murals with specific, carefully researched detail. A topographical model features clay figures actively hunting and fishing for food. Student-made cornhusk dolls replicate children’s playthings, and beaded wampum belts provide the opportunity for new math experiences. Some students recalled their earlier farm experience of weaving and then created individual woven mats. Another group measured and sewed moccasins, while others used Native techniques to form a coil pot.

As Second Graders pass by the birch bark walls and slip through curtains made of "animal hides", they will feel they are entering a real longhouse. As they tour the exhibits and listen to presentations, they will know they’re in the presence of experts. Some may even think ahead to next year when they themselves will be those Third Grade experts.

I’d like to acknowledge some people who have enriched our experience and community in extraordinary ways of late:

Members of the Lesbian Gay Straight Alliance for their truly tireless and creative efforts with Visibility
Members of the Parent Multi-Cultural Committee for filling our halls and the PAC with Karamu!
Members of the faculty Multi-Cultural Committee for planning and coordinating the moving Martin Luther King, Jr. and Families Assemblies
Ann Schaumburger for her work on next week’s Lower School Art Show
And, behind the scenes, our Admissions team for the great care they take in meeting and inviting wonderful new families into our community.

Dear Families,

As I write this, I’m taking a short break from the Third and Fourth Grade Family Math and Science Evening: sixteen activity stations are set up in the Big Room. Parents and children are playing games, solving puzzles, creating instruments, categorizing leaves and dinosaur pictures; they’re sending messages in Morse Code (forget email!), using water droplets as magnifying lenses, constructing pentominoes and estimating the number of candies in a bucket. Children and parents are working together – equal partners. The tone is serious and fun at the same time, explorative and thoroughly engaging. Participants bring to bear strategies learned in related contexts as they hypothesize, collaborate, experiment, grapple and dabble. Our founder would have been proud! Thank you, Megan and Margaret!!

Every Friday morning, Second through Fourth Graders share in Morning Meeting conversations – also in the Big Room. Last week I asked if they could recall the ceramic tiles in the Reading Room…those portraits of people who have "stood up" for their and others’ rights. I said that this week two women were in the news who had stood up for their rights. Could they name them? Fourth Graders opened with a discussion of Rosa Parks. They explained how she had resisted relinquishing her seat on the bus and offered reasons why. Director of Education Nick O’Han asked what we would have done had we been at LREI in 1955 and heard about the bus boycott. Children suggested that we might have marched or boycotted ourselves. "What might we have sent?," asked Nick. "Food?," "Taxis?," "Bicycles?," suggested the students. And Nick then told the story of the Little Red Third Grade class (with Grace Cohen) that did just that – raised money, purchased bicycles and shipped them to Montgomery, Alabama so people could ride to work and school during the boycott.

When I fished for the name of the second woman in the news, a few hands shot up and students identified Sheryl Swoopes, the WNBA star. When I asked what she had done to place her in the news, a student replied that she had "admitted she is a lesbian". We spent a few moments on the term "admitted", eventually changing it to "announced". Why had she kept this a secret? "Because her coach might not let her play." "Because her fans might not like her anymore." A Fourth Grader said, " A lot of celebrities might be afraid to say they are gay or lesbian. She did this so they could feel safer, too." Younger students asked what it meant to be lesbian or gay. "To love someone of the same gender,” I said, "Just like in this school some of us have lesbian parents." A Second Grader sighed, "I don’t get it…why would people be teased for that? It doesn’t make any difference.”

I feel privileged to work with this extraordinary faculty and with your questioning, thoughtful and adventurous children!

We move into this 2005-2006 year with great excitement and anticipation – eager both to build upon established foundations and to experiment with new ways to make our environment as stimulating and meaningful as possible for the children we teach. Our progressive template encourages playful engagement and social interaction, authentic learning, and direct experience. Children work hard and enjoy the learning process because their teachers are sensitive to developmental orientation and respectful of individual learning styles.

Whether in the Fours or Fourth Grade, Lower School teachers encourage a sense of cohesive community among students so that project work is collaborative and dynamic. Individual expression is supported through music and dramatic play, literacy and art, Spanish lessons and discussion. Activities are structured to guide students toward the mastery of essential concepts and conventions, as well as creative experimentation. As they move from grade to grade, students come to know themselves well as learners and take pride in their efforts and achievements.

A lively sense of citizenship sets the tone in the Lower School as students actively explore and develop a sense of fairness and respect for others. As they grow, their commitment extends from the classroom into the broader world. They weigh varying points of view and assume responsibility for their opinions.

The Lower School is a happy, welcoming place for families and outside educators. We invite a wide range of parent participation as we all learn from and with each other.