All affinity groups and diversity clubs will be doing a bake sale to benefit the Inter-Faith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization committed to finding common ground through respecting our differences. Please bring money if you would like a treat to help this amazing organization!

Join fellow members of the Lab community for a screening and discussion of May I Be Happy.

May I Be Happy is an internationally acclaimed documentary that depicts the benefits of mindfulness in education. The film captures the first-hand work of dedicated educators who find ways to teach mindfulness to youth, whether in elite private schools, public schools, on the streets or in juvenile detention centers. This feature length documentary reminds us of children's natural capacity for wellbeing, resilience and happiness. The film is 79 minutes in length.

Please reserve your seat here.

To make it easier for you to report or prearrange an absence, a button to all of this information is now at the top of the Parent webpage. You may access the Parent webpage from the upper right hand corner on every page of the Lab website.

Please bookmark this page which connects you directly to the information and forms parents use most.

The Planning/No School Calendars show all of the days that Lab has vacation breaks and holidays when school is not in session. You can access these from the bottom of every page of Lab's website. Please note that the 2019–2020 calendar does not yet include parent-teacher conference days.

The votes are in and we have a winner! Thank you to our fifth graders for their entries and to the students from across the schools that voted. Congratulations to Asher Dennis and Spencer Davis for their winning design! Order your Rites of May t-shirt (supplies limited) and entry pass here.

Here is your chance to recognize and celebrate some of the best volunteers at Lab. Please nominate someone who you feel deserves to be congratulated for their volunteerism at Lab this year.

Getting involved on committees, chaperoning field trips, assisting as a class parent—whatever form it takes, volunteers are a crucial part of the Lab experience.

Please send in your nomination by Friday, April 19.

And be sure to save the date for Lab's Annual Volunteer Celebration! Tuesday, May 28, 5–7 p.m., John & Victoria Rogers Lobby, Gordon Parks Arts Hall

Be a part of the team! Parent and U-High student volunteers are needed to assist with art installation April 22–24 and LabArts activities April 27–May 5. Sign up here.

LabArts is the gallery-style presentation of more than 1,700 pieces of student visual art, along with musical and stage performances from every division of our school. Bring the family to Gordon Parks Arts Hall for this free, all-ages event, showcasing the depth and breadth of the fine and performing arts programs at Lab.

Click here for schedule.

Please join The Jewish Family Group for a Shabbat potluck! We will have an arts and crafts table, a game table and plenty of food and songs for the whole family. Please remember to bring vegetarian dishes. It is Passover, so please note that you cannot bake with flour (i.e., no bread, bread products, or pasta). Rice and legumes are acceptable. If you want recommendations on what to bring, please reach out and we will share recipes.

Please sign up here. For questions, please contact Emily Engel.

The Desi Culture Group invites all students and families to participate in an interactive art installation of Rangoli during LabArts. Families can stop by to try their hand at making different types of Rangolis from all around the Indian subcontinent using everything from chalk to lentils! For more information, please contact Monika Bahroos.

Please submit your vote electronically by clicking here. To learn more about the candidates, please read their personal statements. If you have any questions, please direct them to PA secretary-elect, Mariana Ingersoll.

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In the late 1800s, Laboratory Schools founder John Dewey developed a philosophy of education to meet the needs of a changing society—a philosophy based on his belief that humanity is best served by a democratic society of informed, engaged individuals. From 1919–1921, he shared his work with educators, lecturing at schools and universities across China.

Now, 100 years after that transformative trip, the need for cultivating informed, engaged individuals is stronger than ever. Are Dewey's principles as relevant today as they were then? How have they evolved in our changing societies? What can we learn from cross-cultural collaborations?

Join researchers, policymakers, and educators from the US and China at the Centennial Colloquium on Dewey: Then and Now, May 2-4, 2019. Registration is free for the Laboratory Schools and University of Chicago communities with the discount code COMP.

Can't make the full conference? Join us for any of the sessions below; no registration necessary.

Opening Program
Thursday, May 2, 3–4:30 p.m.
Gordon Parks Assembly Hall

Nobel laureate James Heckman will deliver the keynote address, "Building the Skills that Matter," followed by a reception from 4:30–6:30 p.m.

John Dewey: Art as Experience Social Sculpture Workshop
Thursday, May 2, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. and 4:30–6 p.m.
Friday, May 3, 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 4, 1:45–3:45 p.m.
Gordon Parks Arts Hall, John Rogers Lobby

Work with artist Jeremiah Hulsebos-Spofford on a social sculpture and ephemeral monument to John Dewey. Workshops include plaster casting, press molding, and creating written responses to contribute to a 10-foot-high shelf system inspired by Dewey's writings and pedagogy.

Learning by Dewey in China
Student Documentary Film
Friday, May 3, 5:30–7 p.m.
Gordon Parks Assembly Hall

Last summer, 12 high school students from the Laboratory Schools, University of Chicago Woodlawn Charter School, and RDFZ, Lab's partner school in Beijing, traveled to China where they retraced the path taken by John and Alice Dewey for 26 months starting in 1919. Join us for a screening of the documentary film they made of that experience.

Morning Meditation with Venerable Mahinda
Saturday, May 4, 9:30–10 a.m.
Gordon Parks Assembly Hall

Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master Venerable Mahinda, Executive Director of the Yunnan Buddhist Association, will lead attendees in a morning meditation session.

Community Immersion Activities
Saturday, May 4
Depart: 1:30 p.m., Kimbark Avenue parking lot
Return: 4 p.m., Kimbark Avenue parking lot

Sign up Saturday morning from 8:30–9:30 a.m., Gordon Parks Arts Hall, John Rogers Lobby or emaildeweyconference@ucls.uchicago.edu to participate in one of these community immersion activities:

• A guided tour of the South Side Community Art Center
• A guided bicycle tour from Hyde Park through historic Bronzeville to Chinatown
  NOTE: Must be 16 years old to participate in the bicycle tour; minors must have parental consent signed on site

Labapalooza is a completely student run Dance Marathon Fundraiser sponsored by the High School Student Council. ALL are invited—ESH, LS, MS, HS, faculty and parents. In addition to the dancing, activities include dance routines, silent auction, food, and raffle prizes. Proceeds will go to I Grow Chicago which aims to grow Englewood through community enrichment.

Lab community members can participate as dancers or observers. Dancers receive dinner and are entered for raffle prizes that vary by age group. Parents of dancers enter for free. Observers support dancers, watch performances, and participate in activities and actions.

Visit our Labapalooza site for more information and registration. Help us meet our fundraising goal of $5,000. Together, we can build our Lab community and beyond!

KJ Dell'Antonia is a former lead editor of the New York Times Motherlode blog and author of How to Be a Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a Life, and Loving (Almost) Every Minute. Her book is an encouraging guide to helping parents find more happiness in their day-to-day family life. The book will be available for sale and the author will sign books after the talk. This is a free, adults-only event, and childcare is available (for Lab children ages 3 and up is available). For childcare, please contact Amanda Norton by Thursday, May 2. Please RSVP here.

The Parents' Association Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee invites you to a conversation with:

• Director Charlie Abelmann
• Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Priyanka Rupani
• Registrar Brent LaRowe
• Director of Admissions Irene Reed

Updated information will be presented around Lab's DEI efforts over the past year, and input will be gathered from parents around expanded identity marker gathering, use, and oversight.

Please email Amanda Lewis if you need child care.