CRLS Calendar

6/2/11 CRLS Class of 2011 Commencement 6PM (in the Field House)

6/4/11 SAT and SAT Subject Exams, 8 AM, 9th Grade Campus

6/06/11 Preliminary schedules will be distributed in homerooms

6/15/11 Senior report cards mailed

6/17/11 Final schedules will be mailed home

6/20/11 Semester 2 Final Exams-Early Release

6/21/11 Semester 2 Final Exams-Early Release

6/22/11 Make-up Exams (attendance required)

6/23/11 Last Day of School, Early Release, Community Service Hours for helping teachers pack. (attendance optional)

6/30/11 - Report cards mailed (grades 9-11)

Mark your calendars! 

The film, Race to Nowhere, will be shown Wednesday, June 8, at 7 pm at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, in the Fitzgerald Theater.  Filmmaker and mother, Vicki Abeles, aims her camera at high-stakes, high-pressure school culture and its impact on students.  The film asks families, educators, and the community to question our assumptions on how to best prepare our youth to become caring, engaged, and contributing adults. 

The showing will be followed by a short discussion.  Tickets may be purchased on the Race to Nowhere web site and at the door (unless sold out).  The film is co-sponsored by the CRLS Student Council and School Council.  More information below.

What is it? Race to Nowhere, a documentary inspired by a parent's desire to understand how schools were causing stress in kids, has been making the rounds in nearby communities.  The grassroots phenomenon has parents across the country talking about homework policies and promising to lower stress on their kids and has students thinking deeply about the meaning of education.  Many people in Cambridge saw the movie in other places, and the buzz led a few to organize a showing.    

Why this movie?  It's a thought-provoking movie that inspires parents, teachers, students and community members to ask questions about our education system.  The CRLS Student Council and School Council are co-sponsors.  In the words of one senior who saw it in another town  "I think parents and teachers NEED to see it." 

When? Wednesday, June 8 @ 7 pm  

How much?   Tickets are $10/adult, (plus small processing fee) if bought in advance and $15 at the door.  Every adult who buys a ticket can get one free student ticket.  The film distribution company charges a license fee and requires admission -- but shares proceeds with a nonprofit.  For the CRLS showing, all proceeds beyond the licensing fee will go to Friends of CRLS.

Tickets?  Buy online at:   rtncrls.eventbrite.com

As part of the agreement, the filmmakers handle ticketing for all community screenings. 

If the link doesn't work, go to the website www.racetonowhere.com  -- click on screenings and find the June 8 CRLS showing.  

Read what a CRLS teacher wrote after seeing the movie:

I went into this screening without any prior knowledge of the film, nor an idea of "who" the film was targeting (cynically assuming a film like this had to target one group or another).

During the next eighty minutes I sat and watched -  at times, ashamed, saddened by what was being said and seen before me, reflecting on my role as an educator and parent; I was angered by some, empathized with most.  At the end of the screening three professors in the education department at Tufts answered questions and responded to comments for 25-30 minutes or so.  Many individuals, from the Medford, Boston, and Somerville public schools were present. A lot of undergraduate education students from Tufts were present, and used this time to comment on the film in light of their recent experiences in high school.  I sat back and listened, thinking to myself, yes, something needs to change....I feel passionately about this film, and believe that it is something the community should definitely see.

If anyone has any questions about this event, please feel free to email me at kira.leekeenan@gmail.com or kleekeenan@cpsd.us. 

Announcing The Dr. Christopher Saheed Scholarship Fund! 

please make a generous donation in honor of Dr. Saheed

Friends of CRLS has received an anonymous "kick-off" donation of $2,000 to start a Scholarship Fund in honor of Dr. Christopher Saheed, retiring Principal of CRLS.  This fund is a recognition of the enormous progress that has occured during Chris's tenure as principal.  But it's more than that. This new scholarship fund celebrates the vision, high standards, and 37 years of dedication of Chris Saheed to Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and to its core values "diversity, opportunity, respect", which Dr. Saheed envisioned as "guideposts to help [our students] remember what is important about a CRLS education...as [they] prepare for life after CRLS."  With this scholarship, and your help, CRLS graduates in 2012 and beyond will continue to feel the impact of Dr. Saheed's vision long after his retirement.

Donate online at www.FOCRLS.org/donate

or by mail to Friends of CRLS -  P.O. Box 391-541  - Cambridge, MA 02139

please designate "Saheed Fund" online or on your check

Questions? find us at FOCRLS@ gmail.com or (617) 275-6338

Friends of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (FOCRLS) is a 501(c)3 tax-deductible non-profit public charity founded by two parents in January '07.  The mission of FOCRLS is to raise private funds from within the Cambridge community to support and enrich the academic and social development programs at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, and in so doing,  promote achievement for all students and a greater community investment in the future of Cambridge youth. 

To make a tax-deductible donation to FOCRLS, go to:

http://www.focrls.org/donate

For more information or to volunteer: check out our new website!!

www.focrls.org

(617) 275-6338

P.O. Box 39-1541

Cambridge, MA  02139

CRLS SUMMER READING LIST  2011

GRADE 9

Required Reading

The Contender, Robert Lipsyte

Alfred's life is going nowhere fast. He's a high-school dropout working at a grocery store. His best friend is drifting behind a haze of drugs and violence, and now some street punks are harassing him for something he didn't do. Feeling powerless and afraid, Alfred gathers up the courage to visit Donatelli's Gym, the neighborhood's boxing club. He wants to be a champion--on the streets and in his own life. Slowly he learns that a winner isn't necessarily the one standing when the fight is over.

Choose ONE additional book from the following lists:

Beach Reads

Jazmin's Notebook, Nikki Grimes

The Killer's Cousin, Nancy Werlin

Small Steps, Louis Sachar

The Summer I Turned Pretty, Jenny Han

Twilight series, Stephanie Meyer (choose one)

Classics

The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

The Pearl, John Steinbeck

A Separate Peace, John Knowles

Historical Fiction

Bloody Jack series, L.A. Meyer (choose one)

Chain of Fire, Beverley Naidoo and Eric Velasquez

Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers

Forge, Laurie Halse Anderson

Under the Blood-Red Sun, Graham Salisbury

Contemporary Literature

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Sherman Alexie

Forged by Fire series, Sharon Draper (choose one)

If You Come Softly, Jacqueline Woodson

Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson

Tyrell, Coe Booth

Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Feed, M.T. Anderson

Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling (choose one)

The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings series, J.R.R. Tolkien (choose one)

Interstellar Pig, William Sleator

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L"Engle

Non-fiction

Farewell to Manzanar, James D. Houston and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston

I Have Lived a Thousand Years, Livia Bitton Jackson

Letters to a Bullied Girl, Olivia Gardner, Emily Buder, and Sarah Buder

They Called Themselves the KKK, Susan Campbell Bartoletti

We Beat the Streets, Sampson Davis, George Jen-kins, Rameck Hunt, and Sharon Draper

GRADE 10

Required Reading

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak

Death himself narrates this story of Liesl, a young girl in Nazi Germany who is taken from her family to live with two tough but loving foster parents. She arrives with many nightmares and a stolen book, The Gravediggers Handbook, which is only the first of many stolen books. Along the way she also collects friends, including her wild neighbor Rudy and the Jewish refugee Max-whose presence risks everything.

Choose ONE additional book from the following lists:

Beach Reads

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have, Allen Zadoff

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

Pretties, Uglies, Specials series, Scott Westerfeld (choose one)

Rucker Park Setup, Paul Volponi

Very LeFreak, Rachel Cohn

Classics

Animal Farm, George Orwell

Nectar in a Sieve, Kamala Markandaya

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Historical Fiction

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier

The Glory Field, Walter Dean Myers

Old School, Tobias Wolff

Revolution, Jennifer Donnelly

The Samurai's Garden, Gail Tsukiyama

Contemporary Literature

Every Time a Rainbow Dies, Rita Williams-Garcia

Hate List, Jennifer Brown

Marcelo in the Real World, Francisco X. Stork

Monster, Walter Dean Myers

Title & Author of the 2011 Cambridge READS book to be announced!

Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Dune, Frank Herbert

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Ad-ams

How I Live Now, Meg Rossof

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness

Non-fiction

The Color of Water, James McBride

Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama

Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder

Roots, Alex Haley

Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, Danzy Senna

Grade 11

Required Reading

The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X and Alex Haley

This is the personal story of the man who rose from hoodlum, thief, dope peddler, and pimp to become a leader of the Black Revolution of the 1960s. Malcolm is born in Michigan but moves to Boston after his father is murdered and his mother is institutional-ized. Victimized, he turns to a life of crime, but through education and religion, he transforms his life to become a leading advocate for black unity in America.

Choose ONE additional book from the following lists:

Beach Reads

The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown

The Dying Ground: A Hip-Hop Noir Novel, Nichelle D. Tramble

The Gospel According to Larry, Janet Tashjian

Maximum Ride series, James Patterson (choose one)

That Summer, Sarah Dessen

Classics

The Color Purple, Alice Walker

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Light in August, William Faulkner

Native Son, Richard Wright

On the Road, Jack Kerouac

Historical Fiction

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon

Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier

Copper Sun, Sharon Draper

Jesse, Gary Soto

Killer Angels, Michael Shaara

Contemporary Literature

Bel Canto, Ann Patchett

Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri

My Name is Memory, Ann Brashares

Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

Winter's Bone, Daniel Woodrell

Sci-Fi / Fantasy

The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton

Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause

Discworld series, Terry Prachett (choose one)

Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut

Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Non-fiction

Confederates in the Attic, Tony Horwitz

The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls

Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser

Our America, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman

The Wordy Shipmates, Sara Vowell

GRADE 12

Required Reading

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

In 1975, Amir and Hassan run the streets

of Kabul, Afghanistan. This is before the revolution, before the Taliban, before

terrorists. However, their relationship is

complex, as Hassan and his father are the servants of Amir and his father. When Amir has to make a choice to stand up for his best friend or stay silent, he doesn't know that the repercussions of that choice will haunt him for years. Life is only complicated further when Afghani-stan is invaded by Russia, setting in motion political events that affected all of us in 2001.

Choose ONE additional book from the following lists:

Beach Reads

Fortunate Son, Walter Mosley

Little Brother, Cory Doctorow

Love Sick, Jake Coburn

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Chris Crutcher

Traitor, Andy McNab & Robert Rigby

Classics

All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky

Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert

Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf

One Hundred Years of Soli

Historical Fiction

Caucasia, Danzy Senna

A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien

Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks

Contemporary Literature

Double Helix, Nancy Werlin

Little Bee, Chris Cleave

The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris

Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides

Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

The Road, Cormac McCarthy

The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

V for Vendetta, Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Non-fiction

127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Aron Ralston

A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot

Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich

The World is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman

Cambridge Public Library 359 Broadway, Cambridge, Ma. 02139 (617) 349-4040

Boudreau Branch Library

245 Concord Ave., Cambridge, Ma. 02138 (617) 349-4017

Central Square Branch Library

45 Pearl St., Cambridge, Ma. 02139 (617) 349-4010

Collins (Mt. Auburn) Branch Library

64 Aberdeen Ave.,

Cambridge, Ma. 02138 (617) 349-4021

O'Connell (East Cambridge) Branch Library

48 Sixth St., Cambridge, Ma. 02141 (617) 349-4019

O'Neill (North Cambridge) Branch Library

70 Rindge Ave., Cambridge, Ma. 02140 (617) 349-4023

Valente (Cambridge Field) Branch Library

826 Cambridge St., Cambridge, Ma. 02141 (617) 349-4015

Thanks to:

Summer Reading Committee:

Ariel Maloney (Chair), Holly Samuels, Alice Chen, Kira LeeKeenan, Courtney Wilkes, Amanda Hughes, Maya Escobar (Cambridge Public Library)

Many thanks to:

CRLS ELA Department

Linda G. Mason, CRLS Dean of ELA Curriculum

 Sincerely, Greta Hardina, CRLS