Welcome 2010

Welcome Back Lab Families!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break and a great start to the new year. I spent much of my time snowbound in Omaha, NE. It was nice to relax with family but I found myself longing for Lab after only my third day on break. The energy and noise of 600 middle schoolers was missing from my life. It was exciting to see everyone yesterday - our school seems to be in such high spirits.

It has been a busy start to 2010. Yesterday I watched presentations by Ms. Licht's 6th graders on ancient Mesopotamia. The presentations were the culminating projects to the unit. Each group was responsible for researching and creating a presentation on a specific topic about Mesopotamia. During my time in the classroom I learned about Mesopotamian architecture through a study of ziggurats. I also learned about the Code of Hammurabi through a game show called "Guess the Punishment". It was a lively and original experience. The most important part of the project was how student driven the process was. Students practiced skills of writing, researching, planning, presentation and collaboration. I am so proud of our 6th graders (all of whom worked on these projects).

Monday was also our monthly full-staff meeting. Yesterday we began the process of developing a 5-year strategic plan for the our school. The work started with brainstorming in six key areas: Instructional Technology, Communications and Operations, Student Support Services and Intervention, Curriculum and Instruction, Climate and Culture, and Staff Development and Support. It was an exciting and productive conversation to have. My leadership cabinet and I will use these brainstorms ("where we are at" and "where we want to go") to start the framework for these plans. The School Leadership Team is also working on this process - looking specifically at Instructional Technology. There is so much to do and I will certainly be soliciting help from families as we move forward in this project.

It is shaping up to be a very busy winter sports season. We currently have three sports representing our Gator Pride. Both the girls and boys basketball teams have gotten off to a great start. The teams are playing in a challenging league against many tough opponents. Basketball has been a long tradition at Lab Middle School - it was wonderful to see our gym bleachers filled with Labbies. We also introduced two new sports to this season. Our golf team started just before the break. We are running the sport in collaboration with a program called First Tee - the program helps us secure (and afford) space at Chelsea Piers. We are lucky to be part of such a great partnership and I am thankful to our golf coach Mr. Skinner for building this relationship. We are also starting a Table Tennis team. Ms. Rinna will be holding an informational session next week - all interested students (not already in a winter sport) are invited to join. The team will be playing against other middle schools in Lower Manhattan. The growth of our sports and after school programs is one of the things that most excites me about our school. These programs help students make a connection to each other, to our faculty and to our school. They have helped to make Lab a richer and more fulfilling place.

First period is coming to a close and I am off to see some science classrooms.

Warmly,

Meg