Greetings,
I'm pleased to announce that as of March 24th, all students who selected the hybrid learning model, from Ready to Learn (RTL) through high school, have returned to the building. Looking back, who would have predicted, in March 2020, our students would be out of the building for a year. A safe return to the building for a total of 140 hybrid-learning students has truly brought some challenges. I sincerely appreciate everyone's patience and flexibility as we work through the complexities of new arrival and dismissal routines. I would like to thank our families for their support and encourage then to check our website for step-by-step instructions on completing the required daily health form.
For those who missed the Drama Club's first virtual production, Diverse Connections, a video of the show is available on our YouTube channel. The cast is to be commended for an incredible job in portraying multiple characters in stories that ranged from heart-wrenching to humorous. I would like to thank the creative team - Jared Lopatin (Artistic Director), Jillian Anderson (Assistant Director), Kimberly Hale (Technical Director), Grace Ann Ashley (Business Manager) - and the many volunteer interpreters who made this production a success.
With wishes for health and safety,
Russell O. West
CEO/Superintendent
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Welcome Back to the Nest - Part Two |
High school and middle school students in the hybrid learning model returned to Lexington on March 16th and 17th, respectively. Over the past two weeks, faculty helped students acclimate to new routines - from morning temperature checks to wiping down desks and walking six feet from one another. Students are happy to be back at school with their peers and teachers and have been very responsible about wearing their masks throughout the day and following health and safety procedures. |
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Middle School faculty welcomed students with banners & balloons! |
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Supervisors Cindy Roberts Figueroa and Frank Dattolo greeted returning students. |
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Jennifer Spensieri, Behavioral Specialist, and Carl Sorrentino, Athletic Director, displayed early morning spirit. |
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Staff explained the new arrival process to students. |
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Temperatures are checked via our new walk-through monitors. |
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Hand-held thermometers are used as needed. |
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Family ASL Classes – Registration Deadline March 30th |
Lexington will be offering free, virtual ASL classes to all families of Lexington students beginning April 6th. Classes will be scheduled two times a week for one hour sessions over four weeks. Parents, guardians, siblings, grandparents and other family members are welcome to participate. To register for the classes, click here (English form) or here (Spanish form). If you have questions or need support filling out the registration form, please contact Meggi Smith, Family Liaison (msmith@lexnyc.org), Leigh Crane, Bilingual Education Coordinator (lcrane@lexnyc.org), or through HRT (Spanish) at (347) 848-3656 or (347) 997-0683.
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Lexington families are encouraged to visit our Family ASL Resource Page for sign vocabulary and many other ASL resources. During Family ASL workshops, families can ask our instructors for assistance with specific ASL words and phrases. Click here to visit our ASL Resource Page!
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High fives to the cast and crew of Diverse Connections for an amazing production! Auditions, rehearsals and filming of this year’s show was done remotely with an Opening Night Virtual Watch Party on March 18th. According to the students, this year’s show was especially challenging because they had to inhabit multiple roles. Thanks to everyone who supported the show by contributing a story, purchasing a ticket or making a donation. A video of the show is available on Lexington’s YouTube channel (click here) and a copy of the show's Jaybill is available on our website (click here). The students dedicated the show to alumna Angie Rosario (Lex '20) who recently passed away.
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Liliana Aviles-Ramirez
Technical Crew
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Andrew Constantiescu
Cast
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Authors & Actors Discussion |
On March 21st, the student actors and some of the authors of the Diverse Connections stories held a panel discussion to share their experiences. The students enjoyed learning about the real-life stories and people they were portraying. For the authors, who ranged from a 13-year-old to an Emmy-winner, it was a chance to discuss the actors' creative journey in bringing the characters to life. The Drama Club would like to thank the 34 authors whose stories were selected, the 18 volunteer interpreters, the six professional actors who provided acting advice and techniques - Monique Holt, John McGinty, Alexandria Wailes, Amelia Hensley, and Kailyn Aaron-Lozano - and Rhys McClelland and The Public Theatre. |
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Cast member Andrew Constantiescu was surprised to learn that he portrayed the real-life story of new mother and assistant director, Jillian Anderson, in the vignette, "New Mom." |
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Staples Donates More School Supplies |
Customers of Staples #171 – Woodside recently donated 261 individual bags of school supplies to Lexington students. Melissa Concepcion, Store Manager, (far left in photo) supplemented the donation with markers, pencils and pens from the store. Store employees collected the donations and packed them into 12 large bins. Lexington driver, Gustavo ‘Gus’ Orduz, (far right in photo) helped to deliver the supplies to the school, where they were distributed to students. A big Lexington thanks to everyone at Staples for this thoughtful donation!
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Superintendent’s Conference Day |
The focus of Lexington’s March 9th Superintendent’s Conference Day was Anti-Bias Education and Bilingual Education. Doralynn Folce and Amy Parsons continued their November 2020 presentation on Anti-Bias Education and its four goals – identity, diversity, justice, and action. Leigh Crane and Debra Cole, Lexington’s Bilingual Education Committee co-chairs, and specialists from Gallaudet University’s Clerc Center, provided resources and examples of five American Sign Language (ASL)/English Bilingual teaching strategies– chaining, sandwiching, classifiers, ASL presentation and fingerspelling/fingerreading. Staff then worked towards incorporating these techniques into their lessons and activities with students. The goal of Bilingual Education is to ensure deaf and hard of hearing children become socially and academically proficient in both ASL and English. Lexington is committed to our ongoing efforts in both Anti-Bias Education and Bilingual Education, strengthening our work in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Lexington's principal, Jane Moran, was one of ten educational leaders recognized for their contributions to special education by New York's 4201 Schools Association during Women’s History Month. (Photos courtesy of 4201 Schools Association.)
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